Most Bankable U.S. President Movies
by urbanemovies | created - 14 Feb 2016 | updated - 17 Feb 2018 | PublicA number of Presidential biopics have made recent debuts, including Southside with You (2016), Barry (2016) and LBJ (2016); more are in development like Roosevelt with Hollywood A-listers lining up to take a turn in the Oval Office.
Which movie that centers on a President of the United States or an event about them is your favorite? * poll options limited to feature length movies with $1 million+ in inflation adjusted box office receipts or a TV-Streaming movies with 500+ votes.
Discuss the topic here.
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1. JFK (1991)
R | 189 min | Drama, History, Thriller
New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison discovers there's more to the Kennedy assassination than the official story.
Director: Oliver Stone | Stars: Kevin Costner, Gary Oldman, Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau
Votes: 133,447 | Gross: $70.41M
John F. Kennedy
$205,405,498 1991 Box Office
$357,449,302 2015 Adjusted Box Office
Biopic about investigation into John F. Kennedy assassination
2. Lincoln (2012)
PG-13 | 150 min | Biography, Drama, History
As the American Civil War continues to rage, America's president struggles with continuing carnage on the battlefield as he fights with many inside his own cabinet on the decision to emancipate the slaves.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field, David Strathairn, Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Votes: 233,046 | Gross: $182.21M
Abraham Lincoln
$275,293,450 2012 Box Office
$284,193,958 2015 Adjusted Box Office
Biopic primarily about Abraham Lincoln's years in White House
3. Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004)
R | 122 min | Documentary, Drama, War
Michael Moore's view on what happened to the United States after September 11; and how the Bush Administration allegedly used the tragic event to push forward its agenda for unjust wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Director: Michael Moore | Stars: Michael Moore, George W. Bush, Ben Affleck, Stevie Wonder
Votes: 123,447 | Gross: $119.19M
George W. Bush
$222,446,882 Box Office
$283,383,668 2015 Adjusted Box Office
Political documentary looks at events of 9/11 and George W. Bush's agenda
4. Lee Daniels' The Butler (I) (2013)
PG-13 | 132 min | Biography, Drama
As Cecil Gaines serves eight presidents during his tenure as a butler at the White House, the civil rights movement, Vietnam, and other major events affect this man's life, family, and American society.
Director: Lee Daniels | Stars: Forest Whitaker, Oprah Winfrey, John Cusack, Jane Fonda
Votes: 104,054 | Gross: $116.63M
Multiple Presidents
$176,598,908 Box Office
$179,676,693 2015 Adjusted Box Office
Biopic views the lives of eight presidents through the life of a butler who served in the White House for 34 years
5. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012)
R | 105 min | Action, Fantasy, Horror
Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States, discovers vampires are planning to take over the United States. He makes it his mission to eliminate them.
Director: Timur Bekmambetov | Stars: Benjamin Walker, Rufus Sewell, Dominic Cooper, Anthony Mackie
Votes: 144,841 | Gross: $37.52M
Abraham Lincoln
$116,471,580 2012 Box Office
$120,237,2212015 Adjusted Box Office
Mash-up half derived from Abraham Lincoln's personal diary and half pure fiction.
6. Thirteen Days (2000)
PG-13 | 145 min | Drama, History, Thriller
In October 1962, the Kennedy administration struggles to contain the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Director: Roger Donaldson | Stars: Kevin Costner, Bruce Greenwood, Shawn Driscoll, Drake Cook
Votes: 51,614 | Gross: $34.59M
John F. Kennedy
$66,579,890 2000 Box Office
$91,640,916 2015 Adjusted Box Office
Biopic about John F. Kennedy's handling of Cuban Missile Crisis Robert F. Kennedy's book, "Thirteen Days,"
7. Primary Colors (1998)
R | 143 min | Comedy, Drama
A man joins the political campaign of a smooth-operator candidate for president of the USA.
Director: Mike Nichols | Stars: John Travolta, Emma Thompson, Kathy Bates, Larry Hagman
Votes: 26,441 | Gross: $38.97M
William 'Bill' Clinton
$52,090,187 1998 Box Office
$75,743,925 2015 Adjusted Box Office
Biopic thinly veiled about William 'Bill' Clinton's 1992 Presidential campaign
8. 2016: Obama's America (2012)
PG | 87 min | Documentary
A documentary that examines the question, "If Barack Obama wins a second term, where will we be in 2016?"
Directors: Dinesh D'Souza, John Sullivan | Stars: Jay Bastian, Joe Biden, Cait Brasel, Gene Burris Jr.
Votes: 10,210 | Gross: $33.45M
Barack Obama
$33,449,086 2012 Box Office
$34,531,271 2015 Adjusted Box Office
Political documentary looks at Barack Obama life and influences
9. W. (I) (2008)
PG-13 | 129 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
A chronicle of the life and Presidency of George W. Bush.
Director: Oliver Stone | Stars: Josh Brolin, Elizabeth Banks, Ioan Gruffudd, Colin Hanks
Votes: 44,895 | Gross: $25.53M
George W. Bush
$29,506,464 2008 Box Office
$32,482,286 2015 Adjusted Box Office
Biopic primarily about George W. Bush's years in White House
10. Frost/Nixon (2008)
R | 122 min | Biography, Drama, History
A dramatic retelling of the post-Watergate television interviews between British talk-show host David Frost and former president Richard Nixon.
Director: Ron Howard | Stars: Frank Langella, Michael Sheen, Kevin Bacon, Sam Rockwell
Votes: 98,311 | Gross: $18.59M
Richard M. Nixon
$27,426,335 2008 Box Office
$30,192,369 2015 Adjusted Box Office
Biopic primarily about Richard M. Nixon's Frost/Nixon interviews
11. Wilson (1944)
Passed | 154 min | Biography, Drama, History
A chronicle of the political career of US President Woodrow Wilson.
Director: Henry King | Stars: Alexander Knox, Charles Coburn, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Thomas Mitchell
Votes: 1,357 | Gross: $2.00M
Woodrow Wilson
$2,000,000 1944 Box Office
$ 26,930,000 2015 Adjusted Box Office
Biopic about Woodrow Wilson's rise to and time in White House
12. LBJ (2016)
R | 98 min | Biography, Drama, History
Lyndon B. Johnson aligns himself with John F. Kennedy, rises to the Presidency, and deals with the civil rights struggles of the 1960s.
Director: Rob Reiner | Stars: Woody Harrelson, Michael Stahl-David, Richard Jenkins, Jennifer Jason Leigh
Votes: 4,862 | Gross: $2.47M
Lyndon B. Jonhson
Still in active release, Running Totals here.
$ 2016 Box Office
$ 2015 Adjusted Box Office
Biopic about Lyndon B. Jonhson's rise to and time in White House * Worldwide premiere 09 September 2016 (Toronto), USA premiere 12 October 2016 (New Orleans)
13. Nixon (1995)
R | 192 min | Biography, Drama, History
A biographical story of former U.S. President Richard Milhous Nixon, from his days as a young boy, to his eventual Presidency, which ended in shame.
Director: Oliver Stone | Stars: Anthony Hopkins, Joan Allen, Powers Boothe, Ed Harris
Votes: 27,430 | Gross: $13.56M
Richard M. Nixon
$13,681,765 1995 Box Office
$21,278,287 2015 Adjusted Box Office
Biopic about Richard M. Nixon's rise to and time in White House
14. Barry (II) (2016)
104 min | Biography, Drama
A look into the early life of U.S. President Barack Obama.
Director: Vikram Gandhi | Stars: Devon Terrell, Anya Taylor-Joy, Jason Mitchell, Ellar Coltrane
Votes: 5,640
Barack Obama
Streaming Service Release
N/A 2016 Box Office
N/A 2015 Adjusted Box Office
Biopic about Barack Obama during his student days at Columbia. * Worldwide premiere 10 September 2016 (Toronto), USA premiere 16 December 2016 Netflix(steaming) and Limited Theatrical Release for Oscar consideration.
15. The Conspirator (2010)
PG-13 | 122 min | Crime, Drama, History
Mary Surratt is the lone female charged as a co-conspirator in the assassination trial of Abraham Lincoln. As the whole nation turns against her, she is forced to rely on her reluctant lawyer to uncover the truth and save her life.
Director: Robert Redford | Stars: Robin Wright, James McAvoy, Tom Wilkinson, Kevin Kline
Votes: 26,691 | Gross: $11.54M
Abraham Lincoln
$15,478,800 2010 Box Office
$16,824,832 2015 Adjusted Box Office
Biopic about conspiracy behind Abraham Lincoln's assassination
16. 1776 (1972)
G | 141 min | Drama, Family, History
A musical retelling of the American Revolution's political struggle in the Continental Congress to declare independence.
Director: Peter H. Hunt | Stars: William Daniels, Howard Da Silva, Ken Howard, Donald Madden
Votes: 7,277 | Gross: $6.10M
Multiple Presidents
$ 2,800,000 1972 Box Office
$15,880,000 2015 Adjusted Box Office
Period drama depicting the lives of many early U.S. Presidents
17. Young Mr. Lincoln (1939)
Passed | 100 min | Biography, Drama, History
A fictionalized account of the early life of the American president as a young lawyer facing his greatest court case.
Director: John Ford | Stars: Henry Fonda, Alice Brady, Marjorie Weaver, Arleen Whelan
Votes: 6,918
Abraham Lincoln
Verifiable box office not available
Biopic primarily about Abraham Lincoln's earliest years
18. Sunrise at Campobello (1960)
Not Rated | 144 min | Biography, Drama
In 1921, unsuccessful vice-presidential candidate Franklin D. Roosevelt contracts poliomyelitis and, with the help of his wife Anna Eleanor Roosevelt and close friend Louis Howe, battles his newfound disability.
Director: Vincent J. Donehue | Stars: Ralph Bellamy, Greer Garson, Hume Cronyn, Jean Hagen
Votes: 1,012
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Verifiable box office not available
Biopic primarily about Franklin D. Roosevelt's early years and polio battle
19. Abe Lincoln in Illinois (1940)
Approved | 110 min | Biography, Drama, History
Humble Abraham Lincoln gains the respect of his Illinois neighbors, growing in stature and respect until he is elected President in 1860 and departs for Washington.
Director: John Cromwell | Stars: Raymond Massey, Gene Lockhart, Ruth Gordon, Mary Howard
Votes: 1,566
Abraham Lincoln
$666,000 1940 Box Office
$11,275,237 2015 Adjusted Box Office
Biopic primarily about Abraham Lincoln's early years
20. Hyde Park on Hudson (2012)
R | 94 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
The story of the love affair between FDR and his distant cousin Margaret "Daisy" Suckley, centered around the weekend in 1939 when the King and Queen of the United Kingdom visited upstate New York.
Director: Roger Michell | Stars: Bill Murray, Laura Linney, Olivia Williams, Samuel West
Votes: 10,896 | Gross: $6.37M
Franklin D. Roosevelt
$8,887,603 2012 Box Office
$9,174,948 2015 Adjusted Box Office
Biopic about Franklin D. Roosevelt's affairs and Summer @ Hyde Park
21. Southside with You (2016)
PG-13 | 84 min | Biography, Drama, History
The film chronicles the summer 1989 afternoon when the future President of the United States, Barack Obama, wooed his future First Lady, Michelle Obama, on a first date across Chicago's South Side.
Director: Richard Tanne | Stars: Tika Sumpter, Parker Sawyers, Vanessa Bell Calloway, Phillip Edward Van Lear
Votes: 7,460 | Gross: $6.30M
Barack Obama
Still in active release, Running Totals here.
$6,512,004 2016 Box Office
$ 2015 Adjusted Box Office
Biopic about Barack and Michelle Obama's first date
* Worldwide premiere 24 January 2016 (Sundance), Limited Release USA 26 August 2016
22. Jefferson in Paris (1995)
PG-13 | 139 min | Biography, Drama, History
One of the obsessive speculations in American history is whether Thomas Jefferson, in the years before he became president, had an affair with (and fathered a child with) his 15-year-old ... See full summary »
Director: James Ivory | Stars: Nick Nolte, Greta Scacchi, Gwyneth Paltrow, Estelle Eonnet
Votes: 2,706 | Gross: $2.47M
Thomas Jefferson
$2,473,668 1995 Box Office
$3,847,122 2015 Adjusted Box Office
Biopic about Thomas Jefferson's years in Paris as U.S. Ambassador
23. The War Room (1993)
PG | 96 min | Documentary, History
A documentary of the Bill Clinton 1992 presidential campaign and the organization who ran it.
Directors: Chris Hegedus, D.A. Pennebaker | Stars: James Carville, George Stephanopoulos, Heather Beckel, Paul Begala
Votes: 3,602 | Gross: $0.90M
William 'Bill' Clinton
$901,668 1993 Box Office
$1,478,996 2015 Adjusted Box Office
Documentary about William 'Bill' Clinton's 1992 Presidential campaign
24. Ike: Countdown to D-Day (2004 TV Movie)
PG | 89 min | Drama, History, War
A dramatization of the 90 days leading up to Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of Normandy, and how General Dwight Eisenhower, against all odds, brilliantly orchestrated the most important military maneuver in modern history.
Director: Robert Harmon | Stars: Tom Selleck, James Remar, Timothy Bottoms, Ian Mune
Votes: 2,895
Dwight D. Eisenhower
TV movie box office not applicable
TV biopic about Ike's life in the 3 months leading up to the start of Operation Overlord, the invasion of Europe by the allies during WW II
25. The Missiles of October (1974 TV Movie)
150 min | Drama, History, Thriller
In October 1962, the Kennedy administration struggles to contain the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Director: Anthony Page | Stars: William Devane, Ralph Bellamy, Howard Da Silva, James Hong
Votes: 889
John F. Kennedy
TV movie box office not applicable
TV biopic about John F. Kennedy's handling of Cuban Missile Crisis based Robert F. Kennedy's book, "Thirteen Days"
26. Killing Lincoln (2013 TV Movie)
Unrated | 92 min | Biography, Drama, History
Based on The New York Times best-selling novel, Killing Lincoln is the suspenseful, eye-opening story of the events surrounding the assassination of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln.
Director: Adrian Moat | Stars: Tom Hanks, Regen Wilson, Billy Campbell, Jesse Johnson
Votes: 2,027
Abraham Lincoln
TV movie box office not applicable
TV biopic about events surrounding the assassination of Abraham Lincoln based on the novel, "Killing Lincoln"
27. Warm Springs (2005 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 121 min | Biography, Drama
The stirring true story of Franklin D. Roosevelt's battle with polio in 1921.
Director: Joseph Sargent | Stars: Kenneth Branagh, Cynthia Nixon, David Paymer, Tim Blake Nelson
Votes: 2,507
Franklin D. Roosevelt
TV movie box office not applicable
TV biopic about Franklin D. Roosevelt battle with polio
28. The World According to Bush (2004 TV Movie)
90 min | Documentary, War
The 1000 days of George W. Bush's presidency from the 9/11 attacks to the iraqi quagmire. How a bunch of people influenced by neo-cons hawks took control of the US foreign policy.
Director: William Karel | Stars: John Ashcroft, Robert Baer, Tony Blair, Antony Blinken
Votes: 673
George W. Bush
TV movie box office not applicable
TV political documentary looks at George W. Bush's presidency in the thousand days in following 9/11
29. All the Way (2016 TV Movie)
TV-14 | 132 min | Biography, Drama, History
Lyndon Baines Johnson becomes the President of the United States in the chaotic aftermath of John F. Kennedy's assassination and spends his first year in office fighting to pass the Civil Rights Act.
Director: Jay Roach | Stars: Bryan Cranston, Anthony Mackie, Melissa Leo, Frank Langella
Votes: 12,139
30. Path to War (2002 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 165 min | Biography, Drama, War
In the mid 1960s, President Lyndon B. Johnson (Sir Michael Gambon) and his foreign-policy team debate the decision to withdraw from or escalate the war in Vietnam.
Director: John Frankenheimer | Stars: Michael Gambon, Donald Sutherland, Alec Baldwin, Bruce McGill
Votes: 2,926
31. Jefferson in Paris (1995)
PG-13 | 139 min | Biography, Drama, History
One of the obsessive speculations in American history is whether Thomas Jefferson, in the years before he became president, had an affair with (and fathered a child with) his 15-year-old ... See full summary »
Director: James Ivory | Stars: Nick Nolte, Greta Scacchi, Gwyneth Paltrow, Estelle Eonnet
Votes: 2,706 | Gross: $2.47M
32. PT 109 (1963)
Approved | 140 min | Biography, Drama, War
During WW2, Lieut. John F. Kennedy takes command of PT 109 to fight the Japanese in the Solomon Islands.
Director: Leslie H. Martinson | Stars: Cliff Robertson, Robert Culp, Ty Hardin, James Gregory
Votes: 2,106
33. Abraham Lincoln (1930)
Passed | 96 min | Biography, Drama, History
An episodic biography of the 16th President of the United States.
Director: D.W. Griffith | Stars: Walter Huston, Una Merkel, William L. Thorne, Lucille La Verne
Votes: 1,241
34. Give 'em Hell, Harry! (1975)
PG | 104 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
One man show about the presidency of Harry S Truman.
Directors: Steve Binder, Peter H. Hunt | Star: James Whitmore
Votes: 416 | Gross: $11.00M
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