In terms of the highest grossing movies at the box office of all time, a modern Westerns box office hit doesn’t appear on the list until “Dances with Wolves” at 177th. That makes it also the number one movie on this top ten list of highest grossing, modern, box office Westerns since 1976.
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“Dances with Wolves”
Not only is “Dances with Wolves” the highest grossing Western at the box office, but it also accumulated the highest number of Oscars at seven, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium, among others. Kevin Costner is credited with 34 leading roles, which grossed over $2.9 billon in the worldwide box office.
“True Grit” (2010)
This film paired Matt Damon and Jeff Bridges in a Joel and Ethan Coen film, and the result was $171 million at the box office.
“Django Unchained”
Another recent film to take a top spot is “Django Unchained,” released in 2012 and directed by Quentin Tarantino. It won two Oscars for Best Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor for Christoph Waltz.
“City Slickers”
This comedy doesn’t fit the typical Western; it was still a moviegoer favorite coming in at number four highest grossing Western at the theater.
“Rango”
Perhaps more surprising than “City Slickers” to make this top ten Westerns list is “Rango,” an animated feature film. Johnny Deep lends his vocals for the leading role, a goofy lizard that finds himself in the Wild West.
“Blazing Saddles”
This 1974 comedy is a cult classic directed and written by the famous and notoriously eccentric Mel Brooks.
“Wild Wild West”
Will Smith helped this unconventional Western hit box office gold in 1999 and bring in $114 million.
“Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid”
Perhaps the most classic Western on our list, this movie features the great Paul Newman and Robert Redford and depicts two bank robbers on the run.
“Maverick”
Released during the height of Mel Gibson’s career in the mid-90s, Maverick focuses more on gambling than anything else, but the banter between Jodie Foster and Gibson made it a hit.
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“Unforgiven”
It wouldn’t seem right to have a top ten Westerns list without Clint Eastwood, so luckily “Unforgiven,” in which he directed and starred in, makes this list at number 10.
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