HEAD-TO-HEAD COMPARISON
#8
#1
#3
#1
23
13
3
4
35.5
29.8
27
25
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King $377.0 Million
Chicago $170.7 Million
$2.1 Billion
Box Office
$1.0 Billion
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CAREER RANKING HISTORY
FILMOGRAPHY COMPARISON
Ian McKellen
27 theatrical releases • $2.1 Billion Domestic
| Year | Movie | Domestic Box Office Domestic BO |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | X-Men: The Last Stand | $234.4 Million |
| 2006 | The Da Vinci Code | $217.5 Million |
| 2006 | Flushed Away | $64.7 Million |
| 2006 | Doogal | $7.4 Million |
| 2005 | Emile | $5,799 |
Renee Zellweger
25 theatrical releases • $1.0 Billion Domestic
| Year | Movie | Domestic Box Office Domestic BO |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Miss Potter | $3.0 Million |
| 2005 | Cinderella Man | $61.6 Million |
| 2004 | Shark Tale | $160.9 Million |
| 2004 | Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason | $40.2 Million |
| 2003 | Down With Love | $20.3 Million |
Career Comparison Summary AI-generated historical comparison. Click to expand.
Note: Films released during the selected year influence the following year's rankings.
By the 2006 season, the comparison is less about a single breakout moment and more about the shape of each actor's accumulated Hollywood results. The biggest-hit category sharpens the box office contrast, especially because Ian McKellen's leading film creates the stronger single-release benchmark.
Commercial scale is another meaningful divider, with the career domestic box office measure giving Ian McKellen the larger theatrical footprint. Taken together, the comparison suggests stays evenly split while still showing distinct strengths on each side.