Secrets, stunts and plenty of gadgets are just a few things you can expect from your typical spy movie. Plus, a ton of box-office success, if the movie's done right.
These are the highest-grossing spy movies made to date, based on worldwide box office numbers provided by BoxOfficeMojo. The numbers clearly show spy films are big business. The budgets are often huge, and the payoffs can be even bigger.
Spy movies themselves tend to fall into multiple genres, like comedy or action or thriller or drama or some mishmash of all of the above. They all usually feature high stakes and unexpected turns to keep audiences entertained. The 20 movies featured below fall into various types of genres, but all are considered spy movies because their protagonist is a spy or the main storyline features a spy.
And don’t worry. It’s not all James Bond movies as the beginning of the list might suggest.