Few names command attention in Hollywood, such as Jerry Bruckheimer. For decades, Bruckheimer has been voted one of Hollywood’s most powerful producers, with a track record of hits to back it up. His production company, Jerry Bruckheimer Films, and its logo have been a staple in American cinema since the early 1980s. He’s co-produced hits like Beverly Hills Cop films, Days of Thunder (1990), Armageddon (1998), National Treasure films, Black Hawk Down (2001), 12 Strong (2018), and The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare (2024).
Although he studied and graduated with a degree in psychology from the University of Arizona, Bruckheimer had always been a film buff. Jerry Bruckheimer began his career producing TV commercials, before moving to film. For about a decade in his early career as a producer, Bruckheimer was known for his collaboration with Don Simpson until Simpson’s death in 1996. Although he continued to co-produce several Box Office hits, Bruckheimer has also successfully produced several solo movie projects. Having produced several movies for the “Big Five” film studios, here are Jerry Bruckheimer’s biggest solo-produced films.
10. Confessions of a Shopaholic
Director: P. J. Hogan
Distributed By: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
The 2009 Confessions of a Shopaholic is a romantic comedy based on Sophie Kinsella’s Shopaholic series of novels. The movie’s plot centers around Rebecca Bloomwood (Isla Fisher), a young journalist living in New York City who has a compulsive shopping habit. Although she dreams of working for a prestigious fashion magazine, Alette, she ends up writing for a financial publication called Successful Saving.
Ironically, despite her advice column’s growing popularity, she struggles with overwhelming credit card debt due to her shopping addiction. English actor High Dancy joins the cast as Rebecca’s boss at Successful Saving and love interest. Confessions of a Shopaholic was a commercial success despite being panned by critics. Confessions of a Shopaholic grossed $108.3 million against its $44 million budget.
9. Déjà Vu
Director: Tony Scott
Distributed By: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
The Denzel Washington-led 2006 Déjà Vu film was a Box Office hit. Déjà Vu doubled its $75 million production budget, grossing an impressive $180.6 million after its theatrical run. The sci-fi action thriller revolves around ATF agent Doug Carlin (Washington), who investigates a catastrophic New Orleans ferry bombing. After the bombing, Carlin is recruited into a secret government program that uses advanced surveillance technology to look into the past. Déjà Vu combines elements of time travel, mystery, and action as Doug Carlin tries to rewrite the past to save lives in the present. The movie was praised for its incentive premise and Denzel Washington’s performance but generally received mixed reviews from critics.
8. King Arthur
Director: Antoine Fuqua
Distributed By: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Jerry Bruckheimer produced the 2004 historical adventure movie King Arthur. With a screenplay from David Franzoni, the 2004 King Arthur is a historically inspired reimagining of the Arthurian legend. Unlike the traditional mythological tales of magic and chivalry, King Arthur presents a more realistic and grounded narrative set during the late Roman Empire.
English actor Clive Owen leads the cast as Arthur. The film also casts Ioan Gruffudd (as Lancelot), Mads Mikkelsen (as Tristan), Joel Edgerton (as Gawain), Hugh Dancy (as Galahad), Ray Winstone (as Bors), Ray Stevenson (as Dagonet), Keira Knightley (as Guinevere), and Stephen Dillane (as Merlin). The film was produced on a big budget of $120 million. Although panned by critics, King Arthur grossed $203.6 million at the Box Office.
7. The Sorcerer’s Apprentice
Director: Jon Turteltaub
Distributed By: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Despite its $215.3 million Box Office earnings, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice was a commercial flop. Produced on a $150 million budget, critics were also less enthused about the movie. The Sorcerer’s Apprentice makes the list as one of Jerry Bruckheimer’s biggest projects because of the size of its production budget and Box Office earnings. The movie starred Nicolas Cage, Jay Baruchel, and Alfred Molina. The Sorcerer’s Apprentice’s plot follows Balthazar Blake (Cage). He’s a powerful sorcerer and one of Merlin’s three apprentices who seeks a successor (Baruchel) to defeat his arch-enemy, Maxim Horvath (Molina), and the dark sorceress Morgana le Fay (Alice Krige).
6. Con Air
Director: Simon West
Distributed By: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
The Sorcerer’s Apprentice wasn’t the first time Jerry Bruckheimer was working with Nicolas Cage. The 1997 action thriller Con Air was their first collaboration. John Cusack and John Malkovich joined Cage in the lead roles. Con Air also featured an ensemble cast that included Steve Buscemi and Ving Rhames. The movie’s plot centered around a prison break aboard a JPATS aircraft. Con Air was produced on a $75 million budget and grossed $225 million at the Box Office.
5. Enemy of the State
Director: Tony Scott
Distributed By: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Enemy of the State (1998) is a high-stakes action thriller starring Will Smith and Gene Hackman. Smith played labor lawyer Robert Clayton Dean, who inadvertently comes into possession of a video showing the murder of a U.S. congressman. The murder was orchestrated by corrupt National Security Agency (NSA) official Thomas Reynolds (Jon Voight) as part of a plan to push through a controversial surveillance bill. Enemy of the State was a critical and commercial success, grossing $250.8 million against its $90 million budget.
4. Bad Boys II
Director: Michael Bay
Distributed By: Sony Pictures Releasing
The Bad Boys franchise began in 1995 with Jerry Bruckheimer and Don Simpson co-producing its first installment. With Simpson’s death the following year, Bruckheimer solo produced the 2003 sequel, Bad Boys II. The movie brought back lifelong friends and Miami Police narcotics detectives Mike Lowrey (Will Smith) and Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence). Commercially, Bad Boys II was a success, grossing $273.3 million against its $130 million production budget. However, the critics weren’t a fan of Bad Boys II. Jerry Bruckheimer co-produced the other two sequels, Bad Boys for Life (2020) and Bad Boys: Ride or Die (2024).
3. G-Force
Director: Hoyt H. Yeatman Jr.
Distributed By: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
The 2009 G-Force is a live-action/animated family adventure comedy that follows a group of specially trained guinea pigs. These guinea pigs work as secret agents for the U.S. government. The team is equipped with high-tech gadgets and exceptional skills, making them capable of carrying out covert operations. The G-Force plot revolves around the G-Force team attempting to stop an evil billionaire, Leonard Saber (Bill Nighy), who plans to take over the world. While Zach Galifianakis played Dr. Ben Kendall, Sam Rockwell, Tracy Morgan, and Penélope Cruz voiced the three G-Force guinea pigs. The movie was critically panned, but a Box Office hit. G-Force grossed $292.8 million against its $150 million budget.
2. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
Director: Mike Newell
Distributed By: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010) had a production budget estimate of $150–200 million. It is one of Jerry Bruckheimer’s most expensive solo-produced films. The movie is based on the popular video game series, blending action, romance, and elements of Persian mythology. Jake Gyllenhaal portrayed Prince Dastan of Persia, with Gemma Arterton and Ben Kingsley playing Princess Tamina of Alamut and Prince Nizam of Persia, King Sharaman’s brother, respectively. Critical reviews were generally mixed but its $336.4 million Box Office earnings made it the highest-grossing video game film adaptation. However, it was surpassed by Warcraft’s $439.1 million Box Office earnings in 2016.
1. Pirates of the Caribbean
Directors: Gore Verbinski, Rob Marshall, Joachim Rønning, and Espen Sandberg
Distributed By: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
The Pirates of the Caribbean franchise is one of Jerry Bruckheimer’s most successful films as a producer. What is most interesting about it is that all five films in the series were solo-produced by Bruckheimer. The film series began in 2003 with Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl and ended with the 2017 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales.
Actors Johnny Depp (as Captain Jack Sparrow), Geoffrey Rush (as Hector Barbossa), and Kevin McNally (as Joshamee Gibbs) played the major characters in the series. All five films were produced on a budget estimate of $1.274–1.364 billion and grossed $4.524 billion at the Box Office. Besides this Jerry Bruckheimer film franchise, here are the highest-grossing movie franchises in history.
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