Highest-Grossing College Movies

The hijinks of students on campus can be inspiring, touching or just plain hilarious.

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.