ELDORADO SHOWDOWN
Al Pacino versus Robert De Niro
Comparing their careers and ranking their films
MAR 4 2018
Tale of the Tape - Box Office - Reviews - "Godfather Ratings" - Genres
Al Pacino versus Robert De Niro
Comparing their careers and ranking their films
MAR 4 2018
Tale of the Tape - Box Office - Reviews - "Godfather Ratings" - Genres
Part II: Box Office Receipts
One metric we can use to compare the careers of Al Pacino and Robert De Niro is box office receipts. I used data from Box Office Mojo to analyze each actor’s domestic (U.S.) box office performance. The figures account for ticket price inflation and are expressed in 2018 dollars. In aggregate, De Niro has grossed $5.7 billion at the domestic box office on 83 films – about 50% more than Pacino’s $3.7 billion on 40 films.[1]
De Niro has appeared in more movies, especially in recent years, and he’s increasingly played supporting roles in blockbusters like Meet the Parents (2000), Shark Tale (2004), Meet the Fockers (2004), Little Fockers (2010), Silver Lining’s Playbook (2012), and American Hustle (2013). Those films are a testament to his versatility and longevity. But they also underscore the need to account for the actors’ “billing” in each film (i.e., were they the lead, the #2, the #3, etc.).
De Niro should be rewarded for staying relevant through supporting roles, but we shouldn’t interpret box office results through complementary roles (e.g., Pacino as Big Boy Caprice in Dick Tracy, De Niro as Pat Sr. in Silver Lining’s Playbook) the same way we do box office results that came by way of leading roles. By showing receipts in context of the actors’ billing in each film, we add a necessary layer of nuance to our look at the evolution of Pacino and De Niro’s careers:
One metric we can use to compare the careers of Al Pacino and Robert De Niro is box office receipts. I used data from Box Office Mojo to analyze each actor’s domestic (U.S.) box office performance. The figures account for ticket price inflation and are expressed in 2018 dollars. In aggregate, De Niro has grossed $5.7 billion at the domestic box office on 83 films – about 50% more than Pacino’s $3.7 billion on 40 films.[1]
De Niro has appeared in more movies, especially in recent years, and he’s increasingly played supporting roles in blockbusters like Meet the Parents (2000), Shark Tale (2004), Meet the Fockers (2004), Little Fockers (2010), Silver Lining’s Playbook (2012), and American Hustle (2013). Those films are a testament to his versatility and longevity. But they also underscore the need to account for the actors’ “billing” in each film (i.e., were they the lead, the #2, the #3, etc.).
De Niro should be rewarded for staying relevant through supporting roles, but we shouldn’t interpret box office results through complementary roles (e.g., Pacino as Big Boy Caprice in Dick Tracy, De Niro as Pat Sr. in Silver Lining’s Playbook) the same way we do box office results that came by way of leading roles. By showing receipts in context of the actors’ billing in each film, we add a necessary layer of nuance to our look at the evolution of Pacino and De Niro’s careers:
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Pacino won the 1970s and early 1980s, powered by his legendary “supporting actor” role as Michael Corleone in The Godfather ($724M) and leading roles in Serpico ($155M), The Godfather: Part II ($233M), Dog Day Afternoon ($224M), And Justice for All ($122M), and Scarface ($126M). (Domestic box office receipts expressed in 2018 dollars.)
De Niro, meanwhile, was the number two in The Godfather: Part II ($233M) and the lead in Taxi Driver ($120M), The Deer Hunter ($192M), and Raging Bull ($80M). He also starred in Mean Streets ($16M) – De Niro’s first collaboration with director Martin Scorsese – but the film barely made a dent at the box office and ranks only 90th in U.S. box office receipts among all of Pacino and De Niro’s films.[2] Raging Bull wasn't a huge box-office hit either, slotting in at 45th on the actors' combined all-time list.
In the end, Pacino had more top-tier box-office production in the 1970s and early 1980s, headlined by an unrivaled $724 million in The Godfather, the 25th-highest grossing film of all time (domestic receipts in 2018 dollars). You can see how much of an outlier it is on this chart:
The 1980s were relatively quiet at the box office for Pacino and De Niro. Pacino was in only five films, including the aforementioned Scarface ($126M) and less-famous-but-more-commercially-successful Sea of Love ($135M). De Niro did 13 films and had a spectacular run in terms of audience ratings – he won the 1981 Academy Award for Best Actor for Raging Bull and owns 1976-1990 on the ratings side – but that didn't translate into box-office success. The Untouchables ($179M) was his only film to break $100 million; Raging Bull ($80M) and Midnight Run ($86M) were the only others to top $50 million.
Both men made up for it in the 1990s. Pacino starred in The Godfather: Part III ($145M), Scent of a Woman ($140M), Carlito’s Way ($82M), Heat ($141M), Donnie Brasco ($84M), and Any Given Sunday ($132M) and played supporting roles in Dick Tracy ($225M) and The Devil’s Advocate ($122M). And after four unsuccessful nominations, he finally won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Lt. Col. Frank Slade in Scent of a Woman. It remains his last Oscar nomination.
De Niro’s 1990s was the best box-office decade in either actor’s career, and he did most of it as a leading man in films like Goodfellas ($102M), Awakenings ($114M), Cape Fear ($173M), Casino ($89M), Sleepers ($110M), and Analyze This ($193M). (De Niro was officially the lead in Goodfellas. More on that later.) He was billed as the two in Heat ($141M) and the three in Backdraft ($169M), both of which were blockbusters. Nevertheless, Pacino still led De Niro in lifetime domestic box office receipts through 1999 ($3.1 billion to $2.9 billion):
Both men made up for it in the 1990s. Pacino starred in The Godfather: Part III ($145M), Scent of a Woman ($140M), Carlito’s Way ($82M), Heat ($141M), Donnie Brasco ($84M), and Any Given Sunday ($132M) and played supporting roles in Dick Tracy ($225M) and The Devil’s Advocate ($122M). And after four unsuccessful nominations, he finally won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Lt. Col. Frank Slade in Scent of a Woman. It remains his last Oscar nomination.
De Niro’s 1990s was the best box-office decade in either actor’s career, and he did most of it as a leading man in films like Goodfellas ($102M), Awakenings ($114M), Cape Fear ($173M), Casino ($89M), Sleepers ($110M), and Analyze This ($193M). (De Niro was officially the lead in Goodfellas. More on that later.) He was billed as the two in Heat ($141M) and the three in Backdraft ($169M), both of which were blockbusters. Nevertheless, Pacino still led De Niro in lifetime domestic box office receipts through 1999 ($3.1 billion to $2.9 billion):
But De Niro has dominated since then, transitioning into big-ticket supporting roles and diversifying his genres. In many respects, we've been re-introduced to De Niro as a sort of fun-loving uncle. The majority of his box office success in the 2000s came as a number two in comedic roles, and most of his receipts this decade have come in even more of a supporting capacity. That adaptability has given De Niro new life on the silver screen, and it’s settled the “Pacino vs. De Niro” career box-office debate.
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A Quick Word on Film Volume and Average Box Office Results
De Niro wins the career box-office duel, but to be fair, he's been in a lot more films. Perhaps he’s more willing and versatile, or maybe Pacino’s stage interests have kept him away from the big screen. Either way, De Niro has 113 credits listed on IMDb (all types), 83 of which are films with box office receipts that are meaningful enough to be reported. Pacino has 56 credits on IMDb (all types), 40 of which are films with box-office data.[3]
Against that imbalance, the average Pacino film has grossed more at the domestic box office ($92 million) than the average De Niro film ($68 million).[4] Major blockbusters – especially The Godfather – stretch those averages northward. The median Pacino film has grossed $60 million in the U.S., and the median De Niro film has grossed $43 million.
In the next chart, you can see these box-office averages on a decade-by-decade basis. Pacino boasted better “per film” results in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. But De Niro has long been more active, appearing in 2.3x more films than Pacino after they both became famous in the 1970s:
De Niro wins the career box-office duel, but to be fair, he's been in a lot more films. Perhaps he’s more willing and versatile, or maybe Pacino’s stage interests have kept him away from the big screen. Either way, De Niro has 113 credits listed on IMDb (all types), 83 of which are films with box office receipts that are meaningful enough to be reported. Pacino has 56 credits on IMDb (all types), 40 of which are films with box-office data.[3]
Against that imbalance, the average Pacino film has grossed more at the domestic box office ($92 million) than the average De Niro film ($68 million).[4] Major blockbusters – especially The Godfather – stretch those averages northward. The median Pacino film has grossed $60 million in the U.S., and the median De Niro film has grossed $43 million.
In the next chart, you can see these box-office averages on a decade-by-decade basis. Pacino boasted better “per film” results in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. But De Niro has long been more active, appearing in 2.3x more films than Pacino after they both became famous in the 1970s:
Includes films with box-office data on Box Office Mojo
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The Top Grossing Pacino and De Niro Films
The following table shows Pacino and De Niro’s top 20 grossing films at the domestic box office (in 2018 dollars). Interestingly, the actors played the lead role in only five of their top 15 films – Pacino in The Godfather: Part II and Dog Day Afternoon and De Niro in Analyze This, The Deer Hunter, and Cape Fear. The two men split the top seven – three apiece plus The Godfather: Part II, which they were both in, of course – but De Niro alone owns 10 of the top 15 spots on the list.
I’ve also included the films’ audience ratings from IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes. As you can see, box office receipts and fans’ opinions don’t quite correlate. Shark Tale, Dick Tracy, Analyze This, and Little Fockers are all in the top 15 despite mediocre (or poor) ratings. Meanwhile, several famous Pacino and De Niro films fall further down the box-office list, including Scarface (#23), Taxi Driver (#26), Goodfellas (#31), Casino (#34), Donnie Brasco (#38), Carlito’s Way (#40), Raging Bull (#45), A Bronx Tale (#71), Glengarry Glen Ross (#84), Mean Streets (#90), and Once Upon a Time in America (#94) – and Gigli (#96).
The following table shows Pacino and De Niro’s top 20 grossing films at the domestic box office (in 2018 dollars). Interestingly, the actors played the lead role in only five of their top 15 films – Pacino in The Godfather: Part II and Dog Day Afternoon and De Niro in Analyze This, The Deer Hunter, and Cape Fear. The two men split the top seven – three apiece plus The Godfather: Part II, which they were both in, of course – but De Niro alone owns 10 of the top 15 spots on the list.
I’ve also included the films’ audience ratings from IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes. As you can see, box office receipts and fans’ opinions don’t quite correlate. Shark Tale, Dick Tracy, Analyze This, and Little Fockers are all in the top 15 despite mediocre (or poor) ratings. Meanwhile, several famous Pacino and De Niro films fall further down the box-office list, including Scarface (#23), Taxi Driver (#26), Goodfellas (#31), Casino (#34), Donnie Brasco (#38), Carlito’s Way (#40), Raging Bull (#45), A Bronx Tale (#71), Glengarry Glen Ross (#84), Mean Streets (#90), and Once Upon a Time in America (#94) – and Gigli (#96).
ELDORADO SHOWDOWN
Al Pacino versus Robert De Niro
I. Introduction (Tale of the Tape)
II. Box Office Receipts
III. Online Audience Ratings
IV. "The Godfather Ratings"
V. Film Genres Over Time
Al Pacino versus Robert De Niro
I. Introduction (Tale of the Tape)
II. Box Office Receipts
III. Online Audience Ratings
IV. "The Godfather Ratings"
V. Film Genres Over Time
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Footnotes
[1] Box Office Mojo shows 81 films with box-office data for Robert De Niro and 40 films with box-office data for Al Pacino. My reference to 83 films for De Niro includes Mean Streets (1973) and Arthur and the Invisibles (2006), which are not listed on his Box Office Mojo summary but are listed under his IMDb credits. My reference to 40 films for Pacino includes Gigli (2003), which is listed on his Box Office Mojo summary (but is greyed out as a bit part) as well as on his IMDb credits. De Niro has 113 works listed on IMDb, which includes television, shorts, unreleased, and foreign work. Pacino has 56 works listed on IMDb.
[2] The box office results for Mean Streets (1973) are not reported consistently. Box Office Mojo shows N/A and The-Numbers.com shows $32,645. For purposes of this analysis, I used a $3 million gross, sourced from Entertainment Weekly. That equates to $15.6 million in 2018 (adjusted for ticket-price inflation).
[3] See Footnote #1.
[4] As a result of the modifications detailed in Footnote #1, my box-office averages and totals for the two actors vary slightly from the figures that are directly reported on Box Office Mojo.
[1] Box Office Mojo shows 81 films with box-office data for Robert De Niro and 40 films with box-office data for Al Pacino. My reference to 83 films for De Niro includes Mean Streets (1973) and Arthur and the Invisibles (2006), which are not listed on his Box Office Mojo summary but are listed under his IMDb credits. My reference to 40 films for Pacino includes Gigli (2003), which is listed on his Box Office Mojo summary (but is greyed out as a bit part) as well as on his IMDb credits. De Niro has 113 works listed on IMDb, which includes television, shorts, unreleased, and foreign work. Pacino has 56 works listed on IMDb.
[2] The box office results for Mean Streets (1973) are not reported consistently. Box Office Mojo shows N/A and The-Numbers.com shows $32,645. For purposes of this analysis, I used a $3 million gross, sourced from Entertainment Weekly. That equates to $15.6 million in 2018 (adjusted for ticket-price inflation).
[3] See Footnote #1.
[4] As a result of the modifications detailed in Footnote #1, my box-office averages and totals for the two actors vary slightly from the figures that are directly reported on Box Office Mojo.
The primary data sources for this story are Box Office Mojo (February 6), IMDb (January 26), and Rotten Tomatoes (February 2). Data was compiled and analyzed by ELDORADO. All charts and graphics herein were created by ELDORADO.
ELDORADO | Berkeley, CA | New York, NY
eldo.co | @eldo_co
ELDORADO | Berkeley, CA | New York, NY
eldo.co | @eldo_co