A number of boxing movies have cleaned up at the box office — mostly those starring Sylvester Stallone as Rocky Balboa. Now that “Creed II” is entering theaters, also starring — you guessed it — Sly Stallone, let’s look at the highest-grossing boxing films of all time.
10. Cinderella Man (2005) Domestic gross: $61.6 million – Starring Russell Crowe, Renee Zellweger and Paul Giamatti, the film is about a washed-up boxer who returns to the sport in the 1930s.
9. Rocky Balboa (2006) Domestic gross: $70.3 million – Thirty years after his first fight, Rocky Balboa (Stallone) comes out of retirement and steps into the ring for his final fight against the reigning heavyweight champion, Mason “The Line” Dixon.
8. Rocky II (1979) Domestic gross: $79. 2 million – Rocky (Stallone) struggles in family life after his losing match against Apollo Creed, but the defeated champ goads him into a rematch so that Rocky can pay his bills.
7. Real Steel (2011) Domestic gross: $85.5 million – The movie stars Hugh Jackman, Dakota Goyo and Evangeline Lilly, and follows a man who thinks he found a champion in a discarded robot — in the future, robot boxing has become the go-to sport.
6. The Fighter (2010) Domestic gross: $93.6 million – Starring Mark Wahlberg, Amy Adams and Christian Bale, the film gives us a look at the starting years of boxer “Irish” Micky Ward and his brother, who helped him train before going pro.
5. Million Dollar Baby (2004) Domestic gross: $100.4 million – Starring Hilary Swank, Clint Eastwood, Jay Baruchel and Morgan Freeman, the film follows a determined woman who trains with a hardened boxing trainer to become a professional.
4. Creed (2015) Domestic gross: $109.8 million – Future “Black Panther” director/star duo Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan teamed up with Stallone for this critically acclaimed spinoff, in which Apollo Creed’s son Adonis convinces Rocky to train him to follow in his father’s footsteps.
3. Rocky (1976) Domestic gross: $117.2 million – Rocky Balboa, a small-time boxer, gets the rare opportunity to fight heavy-weight champion, Apollo Creed.
2. Rocky III (1982) Domestic gross: $125 million – Rocky (Stallone) has been holding the title of heavyweight champion until he is defeated by a challenger — then, he must regain his title by defeating his previous opponent: Apollo Creed.
1. Rocky IV (1985) Domestic gross: $125.5 million – Starring Sylvester Stallone and Carl Weathers, the movie follows Rocky to Russia for 15 brutal rounds of boxing revenge after Soviet athlete Drago kills Apollo Creed in an exhibition match.
