Movies

Jared Leto’s Biggest Box Office Flop Is Also Among His Highest-Grossing Films

Jared Leto might be a major movie star, but even the biggest flop of his career still somehow stands as one of his highest-grossing movies.

by Robert Yaniz Jr.

Published on April 5, 2022

2 min read

Jared Leto has appeared in a surprising number of blockbuster hits

Fans of TV’s My So-Called Life probably first came across Leto on that TV Show. But soon afterward, he entered the world of movies and has rarely looked back. The actor’s A-list status, however, took a while. More often than not, Leto served as an integral part of an ensemble supporting cast. This is precisely how he appeared in so many popular movies in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

More than a decade before his Oscar win for Dallas Buyers Club, Leto appeared in Fight Club, Girl, Interrupted, American Psycho, and Requiem for a Dream. Other hits such as Panic Room, Lord of War, Suicide Squad, and House of Gucci. But amidst those films was a costly epic that both critics and audiences snubbed their collective noses at.

The actor’s biggest box office flop still ranks high among his movies

According to The-Numbers.com, Leto’s highest-grossing movie is 2016’s Suicide Squad. Given that the film is a part of the DC Extended Universe (DCEU), that commercial performance — $746 million worldwide, to be exact — makes sense. After that, the actor’s biggest hits are 2017’s Blade Runner 2049 and 2002’s Panic Room. Although the former was also a box office disappointment, it still performed better than another of Leto’s big-budget films.

2004’s Alexander, after all, reportedly cost $155 million to produce. And the film — which stars Colin Farrell as Alexander the Great — brought in only $167 million worldwide. While that makes the movie a box office flop, Alexander still ranks as the fourth highest-grossing movie Leto has appeared in. The actor plays Alexander’s longtime friend and confidante Hephaistion in director Oliver Stone’s critically maligned historical epic.

‘Morbius’ could mark a new high point for Jared Leto’s movie career

In his latest project, Leto takes a break from the DCEU to become a Marvel character. The actor plays the titular “living vampire” and Spider-Man villain in 2022’s Morbius. Made for roughly $80 million, the film was produced for a comparatively modest budget to most other comic book movies. And it could give Leto his very own franchise.

The actor has been open about his enthusiasm to star in Morbius. Considering Sony’s expansive plans for the Spider-Man franchise, audiences will likely see Leto’s Morbius again. Rumors continue to swirl about Leto facing off against Tom Holland’s Spidey, and Morbius features a direct set-up to an eventual Sinister Six movie.