How Much Money Has Every X-Men Movie Made?

X-Men movies have made $3 billion worldwide since the original X-Men in 2000. That’s set to change, with 2016’s Deadpool and X-Men: Apocalypse about to hit the silver screen in February and May.

The biggest grossing X-Men movie ever was 2014’s X-Men: Days of Future Past with $748 million. That holds true whether we adjust for inflation or not. The weakest earnings in the series came from the original X-Men in 2000. However, adjusting for inflation gives that dubious honor to 2011’s X-Men: First Class.

Unlike Marvel Studios movies or Star Wars films, no X-Men movie has yet cracked $1 billion in box office gross. Apocalypse and Deadpool are both likely contenders for the billion dollar throne.

See the complete list of X-Men movies by earnings in the tables below. The first table shows the films adjusted for inflation. The descriptions below are all inflation-adjusted too.

1. X-Men: Days of Future Past: $747,862,780

2014’s X-Men: Days of Future Past is the biggest money maker in the franchise, with close to 3/4 of a billion in worldwide box office gross. The movie earned $234 million domestically. It scored an impressive 91% on review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes.

One possible reason for the film’s success is that it combined previous cast members with newer actors, pulling two different age groups of fans. The movie had a budget of $200 million. It brought in $263 million in its opening weekend. That’s the biggest opening for any X-Men film. More than half the viewers were men and over age 25.

Director Bryan Singer has said he would have only done the film once Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart and Hugh Jackman had signed on. Both Stewart and McKellen were in a traveling stage production of Waiting for Godot when Singer approached them. McKellen reported that both he and Stewart were shocked and delighted to be included once again. The pair had thought their X-Men days were behind them.

Also see: How Much Money Has Every Marvel Movie Made?

2. X-Men: The Last Stand: $542,044,281

X-Men: The Last Stand is the #2 X-Men money maker, with a box office gross of $542 million. The 2006 movie actually pulled in more in the U.S. than Days of Future Past at $234 million even without the inflation adjustment.

The film was not critically well received, earning a “rotten” score of 58% on critics aggregator site RottenTomatoes.com. Even the positive critical reviews called it silly, devoid of magic and emotionless. Box office attendance fell off by 67% in its second weekend.

The Last Stand had a budget of $210 million. At the time, that made it the most expensive film ever produced. Visual effects supervisor John Bruno has said that a full 1/6th of the movies budget went into the Golden Gate Bridge sequence. A full size model of one section of the bridge had to be constructed for the movie. Brian Singer who directed the first two movies, said he regretted not directing this one, especially after seeing it.

So why did The Last Stand earn so much? Possibly just because it was the third in the X-Men series and fans wanted to be part of the big finale.

Every X-Men Movie Adjusted for Inflation

The table below shows the worldwide and domestic gross of every X-Men film to date. The numbers are inflation-adjusted. All told, X-Men films have pulled in $3.4 billion in inflation-adjusted dollars. That puts the franchise about $4 billion behind the Star Wars movie franchise and $17 billion behind the gross of all Marvel movies. That said, the X-Men movies are a subset of the Marvel films, even if Marvel Studios doesn’t own the rights. The upshot is that no matter how much the X-Men films make, they’ll never “overtake” the Marvel franchise.

The Honest Trailers trailer below will make you realize two things: 1) It’s so wrong. 2) So is Days of Future Past.

Also see: Marvel Movies Are Worth More Than Belize

3. X2: $525,947,900

2003’s X2 didn’t come in far behind Last Stand, grossing $526 million at the worldwide box office. The movie earned $277 million domestically on a budget of $110 million. The budget was originally $25 million. That was a $50 million dollar boost over the original X-Men three years earlier. Director Brian Singer won the budget because of the success of the first film. The studio later cut the budget by $15 million. That decision forced Singer to cut the “Danger Room” from the film – a combat simulation room where the X-Men would train.

X2 earned a respectable 86% on critics aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes. The positive reviews may partially explain why the film earned back its production budget three times over.

The extras in the movie who played frozen people were mostly mimes. There’s one scene where an ice wall separates Wolverine from his nemesis. The wall is real ice. It weighed over 3500 pounds. The replica of the White House Oval Office desk took a full two months to construct.

4. The Wolverine: $423,124,814

Maybe he’s angry because he’s done 6 X-Men movies and he’s still got at least one left?

The 2013 movie The Wolverine pulled in $423 million worldwide and $135 million in the U.S. It scored a 70% with critics on Rotten Tomatoes. The film had a budget of $120 million. The movie more than made up for its low domestic earnings with its high foreign gross. Wolverine had the lowest domestic opening weekend of any of the X-Men films with $53 million.

The Wolverine was shot on sound stages in Fox Studios in Australia, which also hosts an abandoned theme park. The failed Universal Studios-like park cost $261 million to construct.

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson gave Wolverine star Hugh Jackman tips on bulking up for the role. Johnson’s advice? Jackman could gain a pound each week by eating “an awful lot” of meats like chicken and steak, plus brown rice. His food intake would have to total 6,000 calories per day. That’s more than twice what most mere mortals consume.

Also see: How Much Money Has Every Star Wars Movie Made?

5. X-Men Origins: Wolverine: $414,099,780

The 2009 movie X-Men Origins: Wolverine comes in at #5 on our list. The film grossed $414 million worldwide and $200 million domestically. It had a budget of $150 million. The movie scored a dismal 38% on Rotten Tomatoes. Origins is an excellent example of how a film can be a critical flop but a financial success.

Star Hugh Jackman is actually one of the producers of the Wolverine origin film. He earned a reported $25 million through his production company. Jackman has expressed dismay that the film didn’t live up to his hopes. He came back to the table with 2013’s The Wolverine in an effort to right past wrongs.

Ryan Reynolds had always dreamed of playing Deadpool. When he learned the marvel anti-hero would be in the Wolverine origin film, he lobbied to get the part and won. Reynolds will reprise the role in 2016’s big budget movie named after the character.

6. X-Men: $408,948,551

The movie that kicked off the franchise, 2000’s X-Men brought in an inflation-adjusted $409 million worldwide. It grossed $217 million domestically on a budget of $75 million. At the time, the average summer blockbuster cost $100 million to produce. The film also made more than $50 million from home video sales.

A short time after Ian McKellen accepted the role of Magneto, he was approached to play Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings. McKellen initially had to decline the wizardly role. However, director Bryan Singer reorganized the movie’s shooting schedule so McKellen could appear as both the bearded mage and the X-Men nemesis.

Also see: How Much Money Did Harrison Ford Make for Star Wars?

7. X-Men: First Class: $374,841,573

It’s somewhat of a shocker that 2011’s X-Men: First Class comes in dead last for earnings in the franchise. The film grossed $375 million worldwide, but got high marks from fans and critics alike, earning an 87% favorable score at Rotten Tomatoes. The movie grossed $155 million domestically. The movie had a budget of $160 million

One reason for First Class’s low earnings might be its reboot status. The film did not include any of the original cast members, and some fans may have resisted the transition.

Star James McAvoy shaved his head to prepare for the role of Charles Xavier. Shortly after doing so, he learned that his character would actually have hair in the movie. McAvoy had to wear hair extensions for the first month of shooting. The actor had to shave his head a second time for X-Men: Apocalypse in 2016. We’re betting this time he double-checked about the hair requirements before picking up the trimmer.

X-Men: Apocalypse and Deadpool?

If recent box office trends are any hint, the 2016 movies Deadpool and X-Men: Apocalypse are slated to earn huge money. Estimates place Deadpool’s earnings at half a billion and Apocalypse’s gross at roughly $1 billion. Watch the trailer for Apocalypse below.

Also see: How Much Money Does Daisy Ridley Make?

Deadpool may be a box office surprise. The character’s crass edges may narrow the movie’s appeal among some demographics. That said, the Marvel anti-hero is inarguably hilarious. Be warned that the red band trailer below may be offensive to some viewers. Then again, other viewers who see it (such as the  one who wrote this article) won’t have any choice but to see it in the theatre.

Every X-Men Movie Not Adjusted for Inflation

The bulk of our article is based on inflation-adjusted numbers. There isn’t a huge time gap between the first X-Men film in 2000 and the newest ones in 2016. The franchise doesn’t need inflation adjustments as much as a series like Star Wars, which has a span of almost forty years from the first film to the most recent. Still, according to the Consumer Price Index, $1 in 2000 was worth $1.38 in 2015. We show the movies’ earnings without adjusting for inflation in the table below.

Also see: Mexico Pays Millions to Change New Bond Movie “Spectre”