Once Upon a Time, Westerns Ruled The Box Office.
While a handful became timeless classics, many once-massive hits slowly disappeared from the spotlight despite making millions and winning over audiences around the world. These forgotten blockbusters prove that even Hollywood's biggest successes are not guaranteed to stand the test of time.
Maverick Won Big At The Card Table
Maverick earned about $183 million worldwide, which made it one of the biggest Western box-office performers on Stacker’s The Numbers-based list. Mel Gibson, Jodie Foster, and James Garner turned a classic TV property into a glossy 1990s comedy adventure. For a movie that opened at number one and made serious money, it feels oddly quiet in today’s blockbuster conversation.
Warner Brothers Studio, Wikimedia Commons
The Electric Horseman Rode Off With A Fortune
The Electric Horseman paired Robert Redford and Jane Fonda in a modern cowboy story about a washed-up rodeo star and a runaway horse. The film grossed about $61.8 million worldwide, a huge return for a 1979 Western comedy-drama. It had major stars and real box-office muscle, but it rarely gets mentioned beside Redford’s more famous classics.
Screenshot from The Electric Horseman, Columbia Pictures (1979)
Billy Jack Became A Counterculture Giant
Billy Jack earned about $98 million worldwide, which is staggering for such an unusual anti-establishment Western. Tom Laughlin wrote, directed, and starred as a half-Native American, half-white ex-Green Beret defending a desert freedom school. It was once a full-blown phenomenon, but many modern viewers barely know the name.
Screenshot from Billy Jack, Warner Bros. (1971)
Hidalgo Took A Long Ride To The Bank
Hidalgo earned about $108 million worldwide with Viggo Mortensen as endurance rider Frank Hopkins. The movie mixed Western imagery with an Arabian desert adventure and sold itself as a sweeping old-school epic. It made plenty of money, but it has faded far faster than many early-2000s adventure films.
Screenshot from Hidalgo, Buena Vista Pictures Distribution (2004)
Shanghai Knights Made More Than People Remember
Shanghai Knights earned about $88 million worldwide, outgrossing its already successful predecessor. Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson moved the cowboy buddy formula to London for a revenge comedy full of fights and historical jokes. It made a pile of money, then slipped into the fog of early-2000s sequels.
BenditaPrimavera, Wikimedia Commons
A Million Ways To Die Made A Surprising Pile
A Million Ways To Die In The West earned about $86.8 million worldwide. Seth MacFarlane turned the Old West into a filthy comedy playground with Charlize Theron, Liam Neeson, Amanda Seyfried, and Neil Patrick Harris. Critics were not especially kind, but audiences still turned it into a notable Western box-office performer.
Screenshot from A Million Ways To Die, Universal Pictures (2014)
Shanghai Noon Turned Cowboys Into Kung Fu
Shanghai Noon earned about $71.2 million worldwide by mixing Jackie Chan’s martial arts with Owen Wilson’s wannabe outlaw routine. The premise sent an Imperial Chinese guard into the American West to rescue a kidnapped princess. It was a genuine hit, but today it feels more like a nostalgic cable-TV memory than a major genre success.
3:10 To Yuma Had Prestige And Profit
The 2007 remake of 3:10 To Yuma earned about $71.2 million worldwide. Russell Crowe and Christian Bale gave the film a serious dramatic punch, while the story updated Elmore Leonard’s classic setup for modern audiences. It was respected and profitable, but it rarely gets the spotlight given to louder 2000s hits.
Screenshot from 3:10 to Yuma, Lionsgate (2007)
Open Range Was Costner’s Quiet Comeback
Open Range earned about $68.6 million worldwide and gave Kevin Costner another successful trip into the Western. Costner directed and starred alongside Robert Duvall in a story about cattlemen fighting a ruthless landowner. It was a critical and commercial success, but it lives in the shadow of Dances With Wolves.
Screenshot from Open Range, Buena Vista Pictures Distribution (2003)
Urban Cowboy Made The West Trendy
Urban Cowboy earned about $46.9 million worldwide and turned a Houston honky-tonk into a pop-culture moment. John Travolta and Debra Winger brought romance, dancing, and mechanical bull riding into the mainstream. The movie helped country style explode, but it is not always remembered as a major Western-adjacent hit.
How The West Was Won Was Once Enormous
How The West Was Won earned about $46.5 million worldwide and was built as a massive Western event. It had three directors and a cast that included James Stewart, John Wayne, Henry Fonda, Gregory Peck, and Spencer Tracy. The title still sounds legendary, but the actual movie is far less watched by casual audiences today.
Screenshot from How The West Was Won, MGM (1963)
Grizzly Adams Became A Family Brand
The Life And Times Of Grizzly Adams earned about $45.4 million worldwide. Dan Haggerty played a wrongly accused mountain man who escapes into the wilderness and befriends a bear named Ben. The film launched a TV series and more projects, but the once-famous brand has nearly vanished from everyday movie talk.
NBC Television, Wikimedia Commons
Young Guns Made The Brat Pack Go Western
Young Guns earned about $44.7 million worldwide and turned Billy the Kid into an 1980s youth-movie outlaw. Emilio Estevez, Charlie Sheen, Kiefer Sutherland, Lou Diamond Phillips, and Dermot Mulroney gave the Western a younger edge. It was a pop hit, but its cultural footprint has shrunk compared with other 1980s favorites.
BillyTheKid2020, Wikimedia Commons
Young Guns II Kept The Outlaws Riding
Young Guns II earned about $44.1 million worldwide after bringing back several stars from the original film. The sequel followed Billy the Kid’s run from Pat Garrett and used the later “Brushy Bill” claim as part of its framing device. Jon Bon Jovi even supplied the soundtrack, yet the sequel is far less remembered than its box office suggests.
Screenshot from Young Guns II, 20th Century Fox (1990)
City Slickers II Found More Gold
City Slickers II: The Legend Of Curly’s Gold earned about $43.4 million worldwide. Billy Crystal, Daniel Stern, and Jon Lovitz returned for a treasure-hunting Western comedy, while Jack Palance came back in a new twist. The sequel made real money, but it has been almost completely swallowed by the first film’s reputation.
Screenshot from City Slickers II, Columbia Pictures (1994)
Pale Rider Brought Eastwood Back
Pale Rider earned about $41.4 million worldwide and marked Clint Eastwood’s return to the Western after The Outlaw Josey Wales. Eastwood directed and starred as a mysterious preacher who protects miners from a powerful landowner. It was a strong hit, but Unforgiven later became the Eastwood Western everyone talks about.
Screenshot from Pale Rider, Warner Bros. (1985)
The Missing Had A Serious Pedigree
The Missing earned about $38.3 million worldwide and came from Ron Howard after A Beautiful Mind. Tommy Lee Jones and Cate Blanchett played an estranged father and daughter searching for a kidnapped girl in 1880s New Mexico. With that cast and director, it is surprising how quietly the film has slipped from memory.
Screenshot from The Missing, Sony Pictures Releasing (2003)
Hostiles Found Modern Western Money
Hostiles earned about $37 million worldwide with Christian Bale as a cavalry captain escorting a Cheyenne chief and his family. Scott Cooper directed the grim adult Western, and Wes Studi co-starred in a key role. It did solid business for a serious genre drama, but it rarely comes up in modern Western conversations.
Screenshot from Hostiles, Entertainment Studios Motion Pictures (2017)
Silverado Looked Like A Revival
Silverado earned about $33.2 million worldwide and arrived with a stacked cast that included Scott Glenn, Kevin Kline, Danny Glover, and Kevin Costner. Lawrence Kasdan directed it as a throwback adventure at a time when Westerns were no longer box-office guarantees. It helped boost Costner’s profile, but the film itself is not as widely remembered as its influence suggests.
Michael Ochs Archives, Getty Images
The Apple Dumpling Gang Was Disney Gold
The Apple Dumpling Gang earned about $31.9 million worldwide and proved family audiences still had room for Westerns in the 1970s. Bill Bixby, Don Knotts, and Tim Conway helped turn orphans, gold, and bumbling outlaws into a hit. It was successful enough to spawn a sequel, but it rarely gets treated as a major Disney live-action success today.
Screenshot from The Apple Dumpling Gang, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures (1975)
Little Big Man Was Bigger Than People Remember
Little Big Man earned about $31.6 million worldwide and gave Dustin Hoffman one of the strangest Western roles of the era. Arthur Penn directed the story of Jack Crabb, a 121-year-old man looking back on his wild life in the American West. It was acclaimed and successful, but it is much less discussed than many 1970s classics.
Screenshot from Little Big Man, 20th Century Fox (1970)
Appaloosa Had Prestige Written All Over It
Appaloosa earned about $27.9 million worldwide and brought together Ed Harris, Viggo Mortensen, Renée Zellweger, and Jeremy Irons. Harris directed and starred in the story of two lawmen trying to control a dangerous town. It had the feel of a classy adult Western, but it never became the modern staple its cast suggested.
Screenshot from Appaloosa, Warner Bros. Pictures. (2008)
The Outlaw Josey Wales Made Eastwood A Western Force
The Outlaw Josey Wales earned about $27 million worldwide and gave Clint Eastwood one of his defining post-Dollars Western roles. Eastwood played a Missouri farmer turned outlaw after his family is killed during the Civil War. It is respected by fans, but casual audiences tend to jump from his spaghetti Westerns straight to Unforgiven.
Screenshot from The Outlaw Josey Wales, Warner Bros. Pictures (1976)
Desperado Shot Its Way Into The 1990s
Desperado earned about $25.5 million worldwide and helped bring Robert Rodriguez’s kinetic style to a larger audience. Antonio Banderas starred as El Mariachi, hunting a drug lord in a stylish revenge story. It was a hit and helped define Rodriguez’s early career, but it is not always remembered as part of the Western tradition.
Screenshot from Desperado, Sony Pictures Releasing (1995)
Quigley Down Under Sent Selleck Overseas
Quigley Down Under earned about $21.4 million worldwide and gave Tom Selleck one of his signature film roles. Selleck played a Wyoming sharpshooter lured to Australia by a corrupt rancher with a brutal plan. The setting made it stand out, but today it feels more like a cult favorite than a widely remembered hit.
Screenshot from Quigley Down Under, MGM (1990)
The Man From Snowy River Galloped Past Expectations
The Man From Snowy River earned about $20.7 million worldwide and became a major Australian Western success. Tom Burlinson starred opposite Kirk Douglas in a story built around horses, romance, and rugged mountain landscapes. It once had real box-office power, but outside devoted fans, it has largely faded from mainstream film memory.
Screenshot from The Man From Snowy River, 20th Century Fox (1982)
Duel In The Sun Was Once A Sensation
Duel In The Sun earned about $20.4 million worldwide, a huge number for a 1946 Western melodrama. King Vidor directed, while Jennifer Jones and Gregory Peck starred in a story of desire, jealousy, and family conflict in Texas. It was once notorious and widely seen, but today its scandalous reputation is bigger than its audience.
Unknown authorUnknown author, distributed by: Selznick Releasing Organization, Wikimedia Commons
The Professionals Had Prestige And Muscle
The Professionals earned about $19.5 million worldwide and came loaded with major talent. Burt Lancaster, Lee Marvin, Robert Ryan, Woody Strode, and Jack Palance starred in Richard Brooks’s rescue-mission Western. It even received three Oscar nominations, but it rarely gets mentioned with the genre’s most famous 1960s hits.
Posse Tried To Rewrite The Western
Posse earned about $19.3 million worldwide and brought a sharper political edge to the early-1990s Western cycle. Mario Van Peebles directed and starred in the story of Buffalo Soldiers, stolen gold, and violent racism. It made money and had a bold point of view, but it is rarely placed beside the decade’s bigger Western revival titles.
Screenshot from Posse, Gramercy Pictures (1993)
Geronimo Had Stars And Serious Ambition
Geronimo: An American Legend earned about $18.3 million worldwide and featured Wes Studi, Gene Hackman, Jason Patric, Robert Duvall, and a young Matt Damon. Walter Hill directed the film as a serious historical Western about Geronimo and Apache resistance. It had prestige, scale, and a strong cast, but it has become one of the quieter titles in the 1990s Western boom.
Screenshot from Geronimo: An American Legend, Columbia Pictures (1993)
You May Also Like:
15 Incredible New Westerns That Prove The Genre Is Still Alive
12 Things Movie Westerns Get Completely Wrong About The Old West
