Both Die Hard and Lethal Weapon are regarded as landmarks of the action genre, yet their shared box office couldn’t match that of the action-comedy sequel Beverly Hills Cop II. The 1980s saw the rise of the action genre with stars such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, Bruce Willis, and Mel Gibson. The latter two are now synonymous with the Die Hard and Lethal Weapon franchises.

In 1988, Bruce Willis’s everyman charm as John McClane in Die Hard contrasted with the invincible action heroes of the era. Meanwhile, Mel Gibson and Danny Glover’s chemistry made 1987’s Lethal Weapon the crown jewel of the buddy-cop subgenre. Due in great part to Die Hard and Lethal Weapon, Bruce Willis and Mel Gibson built a thriving career as action stars spanning multiple decades.

Beverly Hills Cop II Outgrossed Die Hard & Lethal Weapon Combined

The 1980s were the golden era of action movies. In 1984 alone, audiences were treated to Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, The Terminator, and Conan the Barbarian. Beverly Hills Cop surpᴀssed all of these movies, plus Ghostbusters, Gremlins, and Footloose, with an astounding $295.5 million worldwide (via TheNumbers). In 1987, Beverly Hills Cop II replicated the first installment’s success with $276.6 million (TheNumbers).

Only two months before Beverly Hills Cop II, Lethal Weapon started its run towards $120.1 million worldwide (TheNumbers). One year later, Die Hard came in at tenth in 1988’s top ten highest-grossing movies with $146.6 million (TheNumbers). Despite being pop culture phenomena, Die Hard and Lethal Weapon‘s shared $246.8 million still came $30 million short of Beverly Hills Cop II‘s $276.6 million.

Die Hard & Lethal Weapon Ultimately Became Bigger Franchises Than Beverly Hills Cop

Die Hard grew from a sleeper hit into a blockbuster franchise. Die Hard 2 kept the claustrophobic tension in a larger setting, but later entries expanded their scope, losing momentum with critics but maintaining their box office performance. Ultimately, the Die Hard franchise ended with a total gross of $1.436 billion (TheNumbers).

Lethal Weapon stuck to its buddy-cop premise with Gibson’s Riggs and Glover’s Murtaugh starring in every sequel. Lethal Weapon 2 boosted humor and action, while Lethal Weapon 3 and 4 embraced bigger ensemble casts. After four installments, the Lethal Weapon franchise has earned a total of $952.6 million (TheNumbers).

Meanwhile, Beverly Hills Cop struggled to maintain momentum. Beverly Hills Cop III shifted the tone, sidelined Murphy’s trademark wit, and lost critical goodwill. Unlike Die Hard and Lethal Weapon, the Beverly Hills Cop franchise failed to consistently expand its formula, ending with $712.1 million (TheNumbers) and only three installments, despite Eddie Murphy’s enduring popularity.