By Benjamin Hathaway
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Tina Fey is, besides Lorne Michaels, the definitive Saturday Night Live personality. Whether it's her time on Weekend Update, her incredible writing skills, or her intermittent cameos in subsequent years since her departure, Fey represents the heart of SNL. But it's not just that sketch show where Fey has excelled, as she also created, wrote, and starred in 30 Rock, a show that gave a pseudo look into the creation of an SNL episode.
And, while Fey has made her biggest mark on television, she's also built up a solid filmography over time. The following films are her highest-grossing, from would-be franchise starters to rom-coms. All specific financial information was provided by Box Office Mojo.
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10 This Is Where I Leave You (2014) — $34.3 Million
This is Where I Leave You (2014)
R
- Release Date
- September 10, 2014
- Director
- Shawn Levy
- Cast
- Jason Bateman , Tina Fey , Jane Fonda , Adam Driver , Rose Byrne , Corey Stoll
- Main Genre
- Comedy
Shawn Levy's This Is Where I Leave You is an admirable attempt at adapting Jonathan Tropper's novel, but more often than not it comes across as saccharine, not sincere, and critics responded negatively. An ensemble piece, the narrative primarily spends time with four siblings (Fey, Jason Bateman, Corey Stoll, and Adam Driver), all of whom sit shiva for their departed father. But there's also their mother, old flames, and a priest who grew up with a crass nickname.
How Much Did It Make?
With a budget of just under $20 million, This Is Where I Leave You needed about $60 million to hit profitability after marketing. It generated only $43 million worldwide, and didn't generate enough chatter to become a big hit on rentals and streaming services.
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Stream it on Netflix
9 A Haunting in Venice (2023) — $42.3 Million
A Haunting in Venice
- Release Date
- September 15, 2023
- Director
- Kenneth Branagh
- Cast
- Kyle Allen , Kenneth Branagh , Camille Cottin , Jamie Dornan , Tina Fey , Jude Hill , Kelly Reilly , Michelle Yeoh
- Main Genre
- Crime
The third (and probably final) Agatha Christie adaptation from Kenneth Branagh, A Haunting in Venice tells a slightly smaller tale than Murder on the Orient Express or Death on the Nile. Branagh's Hercule Poirot is dragged into a new mystery by his old friend, Ariadne Oliver (Fey). But, when the mystery is derailed by a séance, Poirot begins suspecting that he's being used for a coverup.
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How Much Did It Make?
While 2022's Death on the Nile and 2023's A Haunting in Venice have avoided being called bombs, they still didn't perform quite as well as 2017's Murder on the Orient Express. That film hit the big screen with a relatively slim (given the cast) budget of $55 million and earned $352.8 million for its trouble. Nile performed the worst of the three with $137 million against a price tag of at least $90 million. This made A Haunting in Venice's $120 million against $60 million both a rebound and a victory, if only a minor one.
Stream it on Hulu
8 Muppets Most Wanted (2014) — $51.2 Million
Muppets Most Wanted
PG
- Release Date
- March 20, 2014
- Director
- James Bobin
- Cast
- Ricky Gervais , Ty Burrell , Tina Fey , Steve Whitmire , Eric Jacobson , Dave Goelz
- Main Genre
- Adventure
Muppets Most Wanted follows the titular stuffed characters as they go on a world tour to boost their dwindling popularity. Along the way, they meet lots of wild folks, including Fey's Nadya, a Gulag prison guard with a particular love for Kermit the Frog.
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How Much Did It Make?
2011's catchy song-filled The Muppets pulled in $165 million against a $45 million price tag, making it a solid hit for the holiday season. March 2014's globe-trotting Muppets Most Wanted, however, had a slightly upped budget of $50 million and could only pull in $80 million worldwide.
Stream it on Disney+
7 Baby Mama (2008) — $60.5 Million
Baby Mama
PG-13
- Release Date
- April 25, 2008
- Director
- Michael McCullers
- Cast
- Tina Fey , Amy Poehler , Greg Kinnear , Dax Shepard , Romany Malco , Sigourney Weaver
- Main Genre
- Comedy
Baby Mama tells the story of Kate (Fey), a woman reaching middle age who is desperate to procreate. Unfortunately for her, not only is she single, but she's unable to procreate, so she seeks a surrogate. Too bad the one she gets is so irresponsible.
How Much Did It Make?
Baby Mama isn't exactly a set piece-laden film, but it still had a relatively high (for a comedy) $30 million budget. The film doubled that figure, making it a minor success, but it was always going to be a movie that played well on cable and streaming over time.
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Stream it on Netflix
6 Mean Girls (2004) — $86 Million
Mean Girls (2004)
PG-13
- Release Date
- April 30, 2004
- Director
- Mark Waters
- Cast
- Amy Poehler , Lacey Chabert , Tina Fey , Rachel McAdams , Amanda Seyfried , Lindsay Lohan
- Main Genre
- Comedy
Written solely by Fey, Mean Girls was a phenomenal boost to the comedy icon's resume. The cult favorite follows Cady Heron (Lindsay Lohan), a formerly-homeschooled teen who has just entered public high school. Fortunately for her, the popular girls, AKA The Plastics, have embraced her. Unfortunately for her, the head of The Plastics, Regina Georgia, is a spiteful, vindictive monster.
How Much Did It Make?
Mean Girls' $17 million budget allowed it some space to breathe as a wide release. At that figure, it would need about $50 million to reach profitability and, with $130 million worldwide, Fey's film was a big hit.
Stream it on fuboTV, Paramount+, Showtime
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5 Sisters (2015) — $87 Million
Sisters
R
- Release Date
- December 18, 2015
- Director
- Jason Moore
- Cast
- Amy Poehler , Tina Fey , Santino Fontana , Maya Rudolph , John Leguizamo , Madison Davenport
- Main Genre
- Comedy
Reteaming seven years after Baby Mama, Sisters has Fey and Poehler playing Kate and Maure Ellis, siblings of two very different maturity levels. When the duo learns that their parents intend to sell their childhood home, the irresponsible Kate and ever-reserved Maura decide to experience the old days one last time.
How Much Did It Make?
At $30 million, the second cinematic pairing of Fey and Poehler (not including Mean Girls) cost exactly as much as Baby Mama. But, whereas that film only doubled its production budget, Sisters more than tripled it to the tune of $105 million worldwide.
Stream it on Apple TV, Google Play, YouTube, and Vudu
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4 Date Night (2010) — $98.7 Million
Date Night
pg-13
- Release Date
- April 9, 2010
- Director
- Shawn Levy
- Cast
- Steve Carell , Tina Fey , Mark Wahlberg , Mark Ruffalo , Kristen Wiig , James Franco , Mila Kunis
- Main Genre
- Comedy
Fey and Steve Carell took a break from, respectively, 30 Rock and The Office to team up for a Date Night. They star as a married couple who have settled into boredom and decide to go to a fancy restaurant. Unfortunately, it's packed, so they claim to be a couple who had made reservations. Unfortunately, that leads to a case of mistaken identity that may cost the couple their lives.
How Much Did It Make?
Certainly Fey's most high-profile live-action film released up to that point, Date Night scored nearly $100 million domestic and a further $53 million from overseas venues. Considering the laugh and action-filled night from Hell cost only $55 million to produce, that's a figure studio heads smile at.
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Stream it on Max and Paramount+
3 Free Guy (2021) — $121.6 Million
Free Guy
PG-13
- Release Date
- August 13, 2021
- Director
- Shawn Levy
- Cast
- Jodie Comer , Ryan Reynolds , Taika Waititi , Channing Tatum , Joe Keery , Utkarsh Ambudkar
- Main Genre
- Action
The Mean Girls mastermind can briefly be heard during 2021's hit action comedyFree Guy as a mom vacuuming in the hallway as her son yells at a video game. And video games are what Free Guy is all about, as the plot follows the title character as he realizes he's a non-playable character within a video game. And his world is coming to an end.
How Much Did It Make?
A mixed-messages marketing campaign (that was rectified towards the end of its roll-out) couldn't keep Free Guy from becoming a big success. With a budget of at most $125 million, the cinematic roller coaster ride generated almost $122 million domestically and about $210 million overseas, making it a bit of an unexpected hit at the box office. And, considering it's the type of movie that will have longevity when it comes to at-home viewing, those millions are just icing on the profitability cake.
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Stream it on Disney+ and fuboTV
2 Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (2013) — $127.4 Million
Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues
PG-13
- Release Date
- December 18, 2013
- Director
- Adam McKay
- Cast
- Will Ferrell , David Koechner , Steve Carell , Paul Rudd , Christina Applegate , Luke Wilson , Vince Vaughn , Fred Willard
- Main Genre
- Comedy
Fey had a bit role in the third act battle of Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues as an Entertainment Tonight Reporter. The plot of the sequel again follows Ron Burgundy and his crew, but now they have to exist in a further developing entertainment industry where white men are falling out of favor.
How Much Did It Make?
As far as comedy movie budgets go, $50 million is pretty high. But, Anchorman 2 is also a continuation of a pre-existing IP, and that means contract re-negotiations. Yet, even with the high price tag, the sequel netted nearly $175 million worldwide, an impressive figure.
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Related
Every Adam McKay Movie, Ranked
The director has gone from insanely funny to dramatically prescient, so let's see how his filmography stacks up.
Stream it on Netflix and Paramount+
1 Megamind (2010) — $148.4 Million
Megamind
PG
- Release Date
- October 28, 2010
- Director
- Tom McGrath
- Cast
- Will Ferrell , Brad Pitt , Tina Fey , Jonah Hill , David Cross , Justin Theroux
- Main Genre
- Animation
DreamWorks Animation's Megamind follows the super-evil title character (voiced by Will Ferrell) as he uses every poor invention his mind can create to take over Metro City. It never works out. And now that an actually formidable villain has entered the fray, Megamind sees an opportunity to revise his public image and become well-known in a more heroic light.
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How Much Did It Make?
Released the same year as the very similar Despicable Me, Megamind may have been a comparative disappointment at the box office, but it's Fey's most successful film nonetheless. With $148 million domestic and $173.5 million internationally, it did fine on a $130 million budget. Not spectacularly, but fine.
Stream it on Netflix and The Roku Channel
- Movie Lists
- Tina Fey
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