Denzel Washington has appeared in dozens of action thrillers throughout his long, illustrious and distinguished career, making him one of the industry’s most reliable box office draws, as well as one of its most well-regarded actors.
However, the single highest-grossing movie of his career doesn’t see him running and gunning at all, even if he is responsible for more than his fair share of murders during the epic 157-minute running time of Ridley Scott’s American Gangster, which traces the rise and fall of New York crime kingpin Frank Lucas.
The sprawling street-level saga wasn’t quite the awards season favorite many were predicting it to be, despite the respective track records of Washington and Scott being coupled with an engrossing true-life tale that also featured Russell Crowe, Idris Elba, Josh Brolin, Chiwitel Ejiofor, and more.
That being said, a $266 million haul still makes it the top earner of the leading man’s career, and it’s regularly enjoyed a resurgence on streaming. Having recently vanished from the library, American Gangster is now back on Netflix, where it’s well-placed to crack the Top 10 all over again looking at how regularly the screen legend’s filmography has charted, regardless of what movie it is.
Published: Nov 1, 2021 04:57 am