The Top 11 Most Profitable Films in Box Office History

4. Pretty Woman

Pretty Woman is the definitive example of a sleeper hit. Sometimes you catch lightning a bottled, and when filmmakers do, it oftentimes seems to be a romantic comedy. Julia Roberts became America’s sweetheart with her performance in Pretty Woman, and the luster of her shine: she was still undiscovered by so many movie goers. People felt like they were in on the discovery. Julia had established herself as a solid actress in other films, but Gary Marshall knew something the rest of us would soon find out: Julia Roberts was cinematic magic, and she could carry a big feature film. The chemistry between Julia and Richard Gere was electric, and it translated to a second marketing campaign after the initial push pre-release. Bottom line: $23 million budget; $463 million gross. That equates to a profit twenty times over budget. How often does that happen? Only three other times.