5 3
Age 87

HEAD-TO-HEAD COMPARISON

Age 96

#41

Current Rank

Not Ranked

#3

Peak Rank

#7

43

Years Ranked

34

6

Years in Top 10

7

28.2

Average Rank

25.6

42

Theatrical Releases

55

Beauty and the Beast $504.0 Million

Biggest Hit

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade $197.2 Million

$3.9 Billion

Career Domestic
Box Office

$1.8 Billion

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Career Comparison Summary AI-generated historical comparison. Click to expand.

Note: Films released during the selected year influence the following year's rankings.

The 2026 comparison presents Ian McKellen and Sean Connery through the ranking data available at that point in time. 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. Overall, the head-to-head score leans leans toward Ian McKellen, but the strongest context comes from the categories where the gap is clearest.

CAREER RANKING HISTORY

Ian McKellen Sean Connery

FILMOGRAPHY COMPARISON

Ian McKellen

42 theatrical releases • $3.9 Billion Domestic

Year Movie Domestic Box Office Domestic BO
2026 The Christophers $1.8 Million
2024 The Critic $449,020
2019 Cats $27.2 Million
2019 The Good Liar $17.2 Million
2019 All Is True $1.2 Million

Sean Connery

55 theatrical releases • $1.8 Billion Domestic

Year Movie Domestic Box Office Domestic BO
2003 The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen $66.5 Million
2000 Finding Forrester $51.8 Million
1999 Entrapment $87.7 Million
1999 Playing by Heart $4.0 Million
1998 The Avengers $23.4 Million