One of the most respected, celebrated, and influential filmmakers of all time, Martin Scorsese has been producing cinema’s directorial gold standard for more than half a century. The creative mind behind some of the greatest films ever made. Scorsese’s best movies include the revered likes of Raging Bull, Taxi Driver, and Goodfellas, to name but a few. Most directors can hope to produce one iconic movie in their career, but the preternaturally gifted Scorsese seems to produce a minimum of one every decade.

Scorsese is no slouch from a commercial perspective either, with the vast majority of his movies generating good-enough box office returns to match their glowing reviews. Taking the context of the period that many of his classic films were released as well as the topics they tackled into account casts the director in an even more impressive light, with Scorsese’s box office hits rubber-stamping the legendary filmmaker’s status as one of the most talented individuals to ever bring their trade to Hollywood.

10

The Color Of Money (1986)

Worldwide Box Office Gross: $52 million

A sequel to Robert Rossen’s 1961 offering, The Hustler, 1986’s The Color of Money follows a trio of hustlers as they navigate their way from small-time pool halls to a lucrative tournament in Atlantic City. Boasting an Academy Award-winning performance from cinematic icon Paul Newman, reprising his role as “Fast Eddie” Felson from the original, the movie also features Mission: Impossible action-hero Tom Cruise in one of his best drama roles.

Earning widely positive reviews from fans and critics alike, The Color of Money narrowly beats out 1990’s seminal gangster outing Goodfellas to clock in as Scorsese’s tenth-highest-grossing movie of all time. The fan-favorite sports drama took home more than $52 million at the box office worldwide, a total that becomes even more noteworthy in light of the time that the movie was released.

9

Casino (1995)

Worldwide Box Office Gross: $110 million

Boasting an ensemble cast including the likes of Robert De Niro, Sharon Stone, and Joe Pesci, 1995’s Casino often finds itself overshadowed by the likes of The Departed and Goodfellas in terms of Scorsese’s most revered crime films. It’s a crying shame because the 1995 outing is a near-perfect gangster movie, boasting powerhouse performances from the all-star cast to carry an electric storyline.

Casino’s status as one of Scorsese’s most successful bodies of work is underlined by a respectable box office return to complement an array of glowing reviews. The epic crime drama grossed more than $110 million worldwide, justifying the film’s considerable budget of around $45 million. Scorsese’s first movie to gross more than $100 million worldwide, Casino more than doubled the returns turned in by the director’s previous gangster offering, 1990’s Goodfellas.

8

Killers of the Flower Man (2023)

Worldwide Box Office Gross: $156 million

Released to effusive critical praise and earning ten Academy Award nominations, 2023’s Killers of the Flower Moon chronicles an array of murders perpetrated against Osage Nation members after oil is discovered on their tribal land. Based on a true story, Scorsese leans on the tried-and-tested presence of frequent collaborators Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro, as well as an exemplary breakout bow from Lily Gladstone, to produce a masterful picture for the ages.

However, the epic anti-Western movie’s commercial performance unfortunately didn’t quite correlate to its box office returns. Produced on a whopping budget estimated to be more than $200 million, 2023’s Killers of the Flower Moon’s entirely respectable gross of approximately $156 million regrettably still saw the movie labeled as a box office bomb, despite receiving widespread critical acclaim.

7

Hugo (2011)

Worldwide Box Office Gross: $180 million

An elegant and visually arresting adventure drama led by Asa ʙuттerfield as the тιтular character, 2011’s Hugo served as Martin Scorsese’s first 3-D offering. Winning five out of the eleven Academy Awards that it received nominations for, Scorsese’s adaptation of The Invention of Hugo Cabret was widely praised by fans and critics alike, clocking in with a first-rate approval rating of 93% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Unfortunately, Hugo’s colossal budget of more than $150 million came back to haunt the movie. Grossing just over $185 million at the box office worldwide, Hugo is still widely regarded as a financial disappointment. The quintessential example of a superb movie where the quality of proceedings simply didn’t translate into good box office returns, Hugo still retains status as one of Scorsese’s most underrated movies.

6

Cape Fear (1991)

Worldwide Box Office Gross: $182 million

A remake of the 1962 film of the same name, 1991’s Cape Fear chronicles the campaign of sadistic vengeance perpetrated by Robert De Niro’s psycH๏τic convicted rapist, Max Cady, against Nick Nolte’s public defender, Sam Bowden. While the psychological thriller didn’t receive the same degree of critical acclaim afforded to his best movies, Cape Fear is still one of the director’s fan-favorite offerings, boasting a brilliantly wicked performance from Scorsese cast regular De Niro as the movie’s big bad.

Garnering two Academy Award nominations and a host of positive reviews, Cape Fear would go on to land as the sixth-highest-grossing movie of Scorsese’s career. The white-knuckle thriller raked in north of $182 million worldwide against a budget of $35 million, underlining the movie’s reputation as a critical and commercial success story.

5

Gangs Of New York (2002)

Worldwide Box Office Gross: $183 million

While 2002’s Gangs of New York may be notorious for its historically inaccurate accents, the epic historical drama is still one of Martin Scorsese’s most highly regarded efforts. Featuring an exceptional Daniel Day-Lewis performance alongside a young Leonardo DiCaprio, Scorsese’s star-studded period film received ten Academy Award nominations, although it remarkably failed to win in any category.

Allegedly bestowed with a budget of more than $100 million, Scorsese’s period gangster offering took home just over $183 million at the box office worldwide. The director’s first film of the new millennium and his highest-grossing movie at the time of its release, Gangs of New York stands as the fifth-highest-grossing entry in Scorsese’s illustrious career as of 2025.

4

The Aviator (2004)

Worldwide Box Office Gross: $208 million

An epic biographical movie, The Aviator is based on Howard Hughes’ life story, dramatizing formative moments in the legendary aviation pioneer’s existence and his long-term struggles with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Led by a powerhouse performance from Leonardo DiCaprio as Hughes that established him as a serious leading man, the 2004 movie earned a leading 11 Academy Award nominations, taking home five statuettes to underline the film’s status as one of Scorsese’s most critically acclaimed bodies of work.

Producing a commercial return that would have impressed the man who inspired it, The Aviator raked in over $208 million at the box office worldwide, eclipsing 2002’s Gangs of New York by some distance to become the highest-grossing movie of Scorsese’s career at the time. His first movie to break the $200 million mark at the box office, the Hughes biopic still stands as the director’s fourth-highest-grossing movie, more than two decades after it was initially released.

3

The Departed (2006)

Worldwide Box Office Gross: $290 million

A movie that has defined the modern gangster genre, 2006’s The Departed is one of Scorsese’s finest films. Inspired by the real-life Boston Winter Hill Gang, the director’s English-language remake of the Hong Kong classic Infernal Affairs earned rave reviews from critics. Clocking in with a Rotten Tomatoes approval rating of 91%, the movie took home four out of the five Academy Awards that it received nominations for, including Best Director for Scorsese, in what is remarkably his only personal Oscar win to date.

Beating his personal record at the box office for the third movie in a row, The Departed continued the director’s increasingly rich run of commercial form since the turn of the century. The third-highest-grossing movie of Scorsese’s entire career, the 2006 gangster drama also became his second consecutive movie to gross north of $200 million, raking in a lucrative tally of just under $290 million worldwide.

2

Shutter Island (2010)

Worldwide Box Office Gross: $299 million

The quintessential example of a thriller guaranteed to keep you hooked from start to finish, 2010’s Shutter Island saw Scorsese adapt Dennis Lehane’s 2003 novel of the same name to explosive results onscreen. A mind-bending psychological thriller notorious for its jaw-dropping plot twists, Shutter Island is one of Scorsese’s most divisive movies. Clocking in with an approval rating of 69% on Rotten Tomatoes, the Leonardo DiCaprio-led movie is typically either revered as a masterpiece or reviled as criminally overrated.

Whatever the consensus on the film’s overall quality and wider bearing on Scorsese’s legacy, Shutter Island stood as the director’s most commercially successful body of work until being eclipsed by The Wolf of Wall Street in 2013. The second-highest-grossing entry of the Academy Award winner’s career as of 2025, Shutter Island earned just shy of $300 million at the box office worldwide.

1

The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)

Worldwide Box Office Gross: $390 million

Martin Scorsese’s highest-grossing movie by a considerable distance, 2013’s The Wolf of Wall Street stands as the director’s most profitable enterprise out of 26 feature-length films. A debauched triumph inspired by the real-life story of stockbroker Jordan Belfort, the black-comedy crime film is regarded as one of Scorsese’s most iconic films despite its controversial subject matter, a status underlined by five Oscar nominations and exemplary financial returns.

The Wolf of Wall Street produced a whopping commercial return at the box office that Belfort himself would have been proud of. The movie took home a little under $390 million worldwide, eclipsing its nearest compeтιтor in Scorsese’s filmography, 2009’s Shutter Island, by the better part of $100 million.

Source: The Numbers, Rotten Tomatoes