Highest-Grossing College Movies
Who doesn’t love a good college movie? Following the hijinks of students on campus can be inspiring, touching or just plain hilarious. Whether you’re still looking forward to college or fondly remembering your glory days, there is no shortage of college flicks to keep you in the mood.
Since the point of college is to provide you with an education that will (fingers crossed) eventually provide you with a great career and salary, we thought it was time to see which college movies get an “A” for money-making. Here are the 23 top-grossing college movies of all time.
Note: To define a “college movie,” we looked at a couple of simple criteria. Does it mostly take place on a college campus? Is the main character dealing with issues around education and college? We’re looking for the college experience here. Financial numbers are taken from IMDPpro.com. We adjusted those figures for inflation and ranked the movies accordingly.
23. ‘Life of the Party’
Year: 2018
Worldwide gross: $65,859,911
Worldwide gross adjusted for inflation: $67,365,699
Production budget: $30 million
Another non-trade college flick, this one has Melissa McCarthy playing a woman who’s life derails, so she ends up back in school right alongside her daughter. Hijinks ensue.
Fans of McCarthy’s boisterous comedy shelled out their money to see her take her goofiness to school. While it didn’t break any records, it did more than double its budget.
22. ‘The Skulls’
Year: 2000
Worldwide gross: $50,802,120
Worldwide gross adjusted for inflation: $75,811,985
Production budget: $35 million
Diving into the world of secret campus societies, “The Skulls” rode the popularity of “Dawson’s Creek”’s Joshua Jackson and heartthrob Paul Walker to a nifty $51 million payday. Think of it as “Dead Poet’s Society” for the college years, but with a dark and sinister twist. We can all relate to that from our dorm years, right?
21. ‘Drumline’
Year: 2002
Worldwide gross: $57,588,485
Worldwide gross adjusted for inflation: $82,260,941
Production budget: 20 million
Nick Cannon stars as a drummer at the fictional Atlanta A&T University, whose style clashes with the marching band’s drumline. Zoe Saldana and Orlando Jones also star.
20. ‘Larry Crowne’
Year: 2011
Worldwide gross: $72,008,245
Worldwide gross adjusted for inflation: $82,263,399
Production budget: $30 million
There are a handful of college movies that focus on a non-trad student trying to cope with going back to school. This one is about Larry Crowne, a middle-aged guy who just lost his job going back to school and falling in love with his teacher.
With Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts playing the lead roles, it’s a little bit like cheating when it comes to making money at the box office.
19. ‘The House Bunny’
Year: 2008
Worldwide gross: $70,439,696
Worldwide gross adjusted for inflation: $84,073,006
Production budget: $25 million
Anna Faris stars as a former Playboy bunny thrown out of the Playboy Mansion and thrown into the leadership of a not-so-sexy sorority. Emma Stone also stars as a nerdy sorority member.
18. ‘Revenge of the Nerds’
Year: 1984
Worldwide gross: $40,874,452
Worldwide gross adjusted for inflation: $101,094,046
Production budget: $8 million
“Revenge of the Nerds” made nerds cool long before “The Big Bang Theory” started doing its thing. It was the ultimate “loveable losers” story set on a college campus.
17. ‘Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising’
Year: 2016
Worldwide gross: $108,007,109
Worldwide gross adjusted for inflation: $115,642,538
Production budget: n/a
Seth Rogan and Rose Byrne return in the sequel to the very successful “Neighbors” (see below). This time around, they go head to head with a sorority led by Chloë Grace Moretz.
16. ‘Old School’
Year: 2003
Worldwide gross: $87,055,349
Worldwide gross adjusted for inflation: $121,581,311
Production budget: $24 million
“Let’s go streaking!” One of the great college movie classics, “Old School” pits a bunch of late 20-something guys against the college establishment at they create an off-campus frat house. Okay, so technically, they’re not enrolled, but “Old School” had to be on this list. With Luke Wilson playing the straight man and Will Farrell doing his best work outside of an elf costume, it was an instant classic with an 86 percent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.
15. Pitch Perfect’
Year: 2012
Worldwide gross: $115,350,426
Worldwide gross adjusted for inflation: $129,106,424
Production budget: $17 million
A movie about a college acapella singing group made up of all women? Yep. “Pitch Perfect” takes this novel concept and puts it together with a fun variety of characters and some pretty catchy musical numbers to make a box office success. It hit a high note with audiences and did well enough to justify two sequels.
14. ‘Road Trip’
Year: 2000
Worldwide gross: $119,754,278
Worldwide gross adjusted for inflation: $178,709,267
Production budget: $16 million
The first half of “Road Trip” shows Breckin Meyer’s character, Josh, trying to adjust to life at Ithaca College while his high school girlfriend is across the country. When he sends her the wrong video cassette, it’s time to get in the car and intercept the package. Tom Green, Sean William Scott and DJ Qualls help to make this college flick a blast. The snake feeding scene was priceless. “Unleash the fury!”
13. ‘Mona Lisa Smile’
Year: 2003
Worldwide gross: $141,337,989
Worldwide gross adjusted for inflation: $197,392,328
Production budget: $65 million
How do you set “Dead Poets’ Society” in an all-girls college? “Mona Lisa Smile.” Julia Roberts plays an art teacher who helps her students appreciate art and shake off their societal expectations. Shockingly, the institution doesn’t like her upending the status quo. Julia Stiles, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Kirsten Dunst form an all-star cast of students in this predictable, but still enjoyable college movie.
12. ‘Legally Blonde’
Year: 2001
Worldwide gross: $141,774,679
Worldwide gross adjusted for inflation: $205,716,580
Production budget: $18 million
How do you make the snooty blonde bombshell who’s also rich a sympathetic character? Send her to Harvard to duke it out with the brainiacs. Reese Witherspoon’s portrayal of Elle won audiences over and made for a box office success that launched two sequels. That’s like extra credit.
11. ‘Back to School’
Year: 1986
Worldwide gross: $91,258,000
Worldwide gross adjusted for inflation: $213,968,369
Production budget: $11 million
This is the non-trad college movie that the others only wish they could be. Featuring Rodney Dangerfield at the height of his popularity, “Back to School” is a laugh riot. The scene where Professor Turgeson goes on a tirade was worth the price of admission alone. With a 1986 gross of $91 million — more than $200 million in today’s dollars — apparently more than a few people were willing to part with their Ramen noodle money to see this one.
10. ‘The Social Network’
Year: 2010
Worldwide gross: $224,920,315
Worldwide gross adjusted for inflation: $265,063,437
Production budget: $40 million
College is a time and place for ideas. Have you ever had that late-night conversation where you are just sure that you’ve stumbled on to your million dollar idea? Well, “The Social Network” tells the tale of someone who made it work for real. His name was Mark Zuckerberg. You may have heard of him.
9. ‘The Waterboy’
Year: 1998
Worldwide gross: $185,991,646
Worldwide gross adjusted for inflation: $293,220,964
Production budget: $23 million
There was a time when Adam Sandler could do no wrong and “The Waterboy” is a good example. It’s dumb, but it’s funny. Sandler plays a university football team’s assistant in charge of water and he’s obsessed with the stuff. Full of southern stereotypes and slapstick humor, it isn’t a showcase of higher learning, but it earned some green.
8. ‘Neighbors’
Year: 2014
Worldwide gross: $270,665,134
Worldwide gross adjusted for inflation: $293,803,655
Production budget: $18 million
Rogan and Byrne find themselves in an ever-escalating battle with the fraternity next door, led by Zac Efron.
7. ‘Pitch Perfect 2’
Year: 2015
Worldwide gross: $287,144,079
Worldwide gross adjusted for inflation: $311,321,814
Production budget: $29 million
Fans who were still tapping their feet to the tunes from “Pitch Perfect” jumped at the chance to tune in again. This time, the film raked in a cool $287 million in 2015 dollars. Even with a significantly higher production budget, this sequel outperformed its original.
6. ‘22 Jump Street’
Year: 2014
Worldwide gross: $331,333,876
Worldwide gross adjusted for inflation: $359,658,824
Production budget: $50 million
The sequel to “21 Jump Street” puts Jenko (Channing Tatum) and Schmidt (Jonah Hill) undercover in college. Whether it’s Hill’s comedy or Tatum’s abs, something drew crowds to see this one in a big way.
5. ‘Good Will Hunting’
Year: 1997
Worldwide gross: $225,933,435
Worldwide gross adjusted for inflation: $361,738,433
Production budget: $10 million
Written by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, “Good Will Hunting” tells the tale of a math savant who’s pushing a broom at MIT. With a little guidance from Robin Williams, he’s able to chuck his bad attitude and make good on his skills. The film won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor (Williams) and best writing. Not bad for a $10 million budget. “How do you like ‘dem apples!”
4. ‘American Pie 2’
Year: 2001
Worldwide gross: $287,553,595
Worldwide gross adjusted for inflation: $417,243,351
Production budget: $30 million
The kids who ruined apple pie for you forever are back and this time they’re in college. Of course, it’s set during the summer break, but they’re still college kids. They get together at a beach house for the summer and let the craziness kick in. Poor Jim continues to have trouble with his very private stuff. Hint: super glue.
3. ‘National Lampoon’s Animal House’
Year: 1978
Worldwide gross: $141,600,000
Worldwide gross adjusted for inflation: $558,090,773
Production budget: $3 million
The original National Lampoon’s movie, “Animal House” might be the quintessential college movie. From Bluto’s inspirational speech to food fights and toga parties, “Animal House” became a pop-culture cornerstone in America. Even Bluto’s “College” sweatshirt has become a classic. Simply. Brilliant.
2. ‘The Graduate’
Year: 1967
Worldwide gross: $104,982,118
Worldwide gross adjusted for inflation: $807,714,814
Production budget: $3 million
What came first, the movie or the song? As it turns out, they were a tag-team item. Simon and Garfunkel were working on a song, but didn’t have the woman’s name picked out just yet. They tagged it “Mrs. Robinson” and, boom!, soundtrack magic.
“The Graduate” launched Dustin Hoffman’s iconic career. The movie grossed 35 times its production budget. Maybe this one doesn’t take place on campus too much, but it’s definitely a learning experience.
1. ‘Monsters University’
Year: 2013
Worldwide gross: $743,559,607
Worldwide gross adjusted for inflation: $820,217,836
Production budget: $200 million
Yes, the highest-grossing college movie of all time is animated. Disney Pixar’s “Monsters University” had a beast of a production budget at $200 million, but it graded out just fine with $744 million in 2013 earnings.
It has all the makings of a classic college movie including frats, crucial tests and the awkwardness of fitting in. Sully and Mike are just too darned loveable not to watch in this prequel to “Monsters Inc.”
No humans were harmed in the making of this movie.
Related: Highest-Grossing Movies of All Time