BothDie HardandLethal Weaponare regarded as landmarks of the action genre, yet their shared box office couldn’t match that of the action-comedy sequelBeverly Hills CopII. 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 theDie HardandLethal Weaponfranchises.
In 1988,Bruce Willis’s everyman charm as John McClane inDie Hardcontrasted with the invincible action heroes of the era. Meanwhile, Mel Gibson and Danny Glover’s chemistry made 1987’sLethal Weaponthe crown jewel of the buddy-cop subgenre. Due in great part toDie HardandLethal 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 toIndiana Jones and the Temple of Doom,The Terminator, andConan the Barbarian.Beverly Hills Copsurpassed all of these movies, plusGhostbusters,Gremlins, andFootloose, with an astounding $295.5 million worldwide (viaTheNumbers).In 1987,Beverly Hills Cop IIreplicated the first installment’s success with $276.6 million(TheNumbers).
$276.6 million
$146.6 million
Lethal Weapon
$120.1 million
Only two months beforeBeverly Hills Cop II,Lethal Weaponstarted its run towards $120.1 million worldwide (TheNumbers). One year later,Die Hardcame in at tenth in 1988’s top ten highest-grossing movies with $146.6 million (TheNumbers).Despite being pop culture phenomena,Die HardandLethal Weapon’s shared $246.8 million still came $30 million short ofBeverly Hills Cop II’s $276.6 million.
Die Hard & Lethal Weapon Ultimately Became Bigger Franchises Than Beverly Hills Cop
Die Hardgrew from a sleeper hit into a blockbuster franchise.Die Hard 2kept the claustrophobic tension in a larger setting, but later entries expanded their scope, losing momentum with critics but maintaining their box office performance. Ultimately, theDie Hardfranchise ended with a total gross of $1.436 billion (TheNumbers).
Lethal Weaponstuck to its buddy-cop premise withGibson’s Riggs and Glover’s Murtaugh starring in every sequel.Lethal Weapon 2boosted humor and action, whileLethal Weapon 3and4embraced bigger ensemble casts. After four installments, theLethal Weaponfranchise has earned a total of $952.6 million (TheNumbers).
$1.436 billion
$952.6 million
Beverly Hills Cop
$712.1 million
Meanwhile,Beverly Hills Copstruggled to maintain momentum.Beverly Hills Cop IIIshifted the tone, sidelined Murphy’s trademark wit, and lost critical goodwill. UnlikeDie HardandLethal Weapon, theBeverly Hills Copfranchise failed to consistently expand its formula, ending with $712.1 million (TheNumbers) and only three installments, despite Eddie Murphy’s enduring popularity.
