Want to know the best Christian Bale movies? How about the worst Christian Bale movies? Curious about Christian Bale’s box office grosses or which Christian Bale movie picked up the most Oscar® nominations? Need to know which Christian Bale movie got the best reviews from critics and audiences? Well you have come to the right place….because we have all of that information and much much more.
I have been a huge Christian Bale fan ever since I saw him in Steven Spielberg’s Empire of the Sun. The first time I saw Empire of the Sun, I thought it was two child actors playing the role of Jamie Graham. It was just Bale. The movie covers World War II over the years 1937 to 1945. In my opinion it is one of the best performances from a child actor ever
As he got older, Bale graduated from mostly supporting roles to lead actor by 2000’s American Psycho. In 2005 he was cast as Bruce Wayne in the Batman reboot. This reboot has produced monster hits in Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. He played Bruce Wayne/Batman three times in The Dark Knight trilogy. Since becoming Batman, Bale has also managed to star in the hits The Prestige, 3:10 to Yuma, and Terminator Salvation. Christian Bale’s The Fighter won him the Academy Award® and Golden Globe® as Best Supporting Actor for The Fighter. About the only bad thing to happen to Bale in the last few years is the release of his infamous rant on the set of Terminator Salvation.
His IMDb page shows over 50 acting credits since 1986. This page will rank Christian Bale movies from Best to Worst in six different sortable columns of information. Television appearances, shorts, cameos and movies that were not released in theaters were not included in the rankings.
Christian Bale Movies Ranked In Chronological Order With Ultimate Movie Rankings Score (1 to 5 UMR Tickets) *Best combo of box office, reviews and awards.
Christian Bale Movies Can Be Ranked 6 Ways In This Table
The really cool thing about this table is that it is “user-sortable”. Rank the movies anyway you want.
- Sort Christian Bale movies by titles and that movie’s trailers
- Sort Christian Bale movies by co-stars of his movies
- Sort Christian Bale movies by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost
- Sort Christian Bale movies by yearly domestic box office rank
- Sort Christian Bale movies how they were received by critics and audiences. 60% rating or higher should indicate a good movie
- Sort by how many Oscar® nominations and how many Oscar® wins each Christian Bale movie received.
- Sort Christian Bale movies by Ultimate Movie Rankings (UMR) Score. UMR Score puts box office, reviews and awards into a mathematical equation and gives each movie a score.
- If Co-Star has a link…it will take you to that person’s UMR page
Christian Bale Adjusted World Wide Box Office Grosses
Steve’s Christian Bale YouTube Video
Check out Christian Bale‘s career compared to current and classic actors. Most 100 Million Dollar Movies of All-Time.
Academy Award® and Oscar® are the registered trademarks of the Academy of Motion Arts and Sciences. Golden Globes® are the registered trademark and service mark of the Hollywood Foreign Press.
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1 I have to be careful what I say about the Christians Bale and Slater because I often confuse them and for a time in my data base Bale was credited with Slater’s 1995 Murder in the First Also I read that one of them was very difficult to work with but honestly I can’t remember which. However when I get it right I regard Bale as the more charismatic and entertaining of the two
2 I think though Christian Bale has yet to prove that he has the ability to be a consistent box office star who can “open” a picture. The Batman flicks apart he has so far very few films in the Cogerson $100 million + bracket, since the last Batman flick in 2012 he has made 7 films and 5 of them have a miserable Cogerson adjusted domestic gross of $105 million overall [ie average of $21 million] and his last big hit was 4 years ago.
3 Also [Batman aside] when there is another really important star in the movie Bale will not get top billing as demonstrated in the Prestige with Hugh Jackman, 3.10 to Yuma with Russell Crowe, Public enemies with Depp and The Fighter with Mark Walberg.
4 Despite some opinions to the contrary expressed on this site I personally still regard billing as normally a key indicator of a performer’s status within the movie business. The English actor Terry-Thomas apparently agrees with me. In a 1958 TV interview with TT the interviewer told the audience that the latter who was billed equal 3rd in the then-current movie Tom Thumb was “the star” of the film but Terry-Thomas politely corrected him with “Actually I’m just the 3rd star.” [Ah could Tracy have been so modest!]
5 However Bale is a highly respected ACTOR and I thought him Terrific in American Psycho. Also I’m not a big superhero fan [the 1978 Superman and the 2006 Superman Returns excepted] but I though Bale great as Batman and indeed the best of the lot which is saying something because my George was of course one of them!
Hey Bob. Good thoughts on Christian Bale. I can see getting the two Christians mixed up..,.,but Bale has far outshone Slater…from box office to Oscar glory.
Bale has one “rant” in his past that became global news….but generally I think people like working with him. Slater has had some police problems in his past.
I actually like both of them..,Bale’s career is now in it’s 4th decade and still going strong. His Hostiles is doing well and his turban Dick Chaney is already getting Oscar buzz for next year.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on today’s birthday boy. Good stuff.
Just saw The Promise in an early sneak peek. Bale has a supporting role to Oscar Isaacs. Movie is not bad but not one I would easily recommend.
Hey Samuel….sorry The Promise was not better. I am a huge Bale fan but have no interest in seeing it in theaters. Thanks for the mini-review.
I am looking forward to his Ridley Scott movie. Nice page with lots of great stats.
@BaleFan…..I am looking forward to Exodus: Gods and Kings even with all of the horrible reviews
He is great. Dark Knight is one of the best films ever, although that was more down to Heath Ledger than Christian Bale. Sadly the new one doesnt really compare. No where near as good, I saw it last night and thought it was ok but a very slow starter. Good set up for a next one through!
Hey daisydayz….thanks for the visit and the comment….I agree with you about The Dark Knight Rises….good but not as good as The Dark Knight. When I saw The Dark Knight the first time, I immediately wanted to see it again…..when the Dark Knight Rises ended….I thought I will buy it on Blu-Ray but I do not need to see it again at the theater.
I also agree that they have made it easy to make a new one….as Bale, Nolan and Caine hang up their Batman uniforms for good…..I see a reboot in 5 years.
I’m not a fan but I have seen 16 of his films, not bad for a non-fan. 🙂
I’ll have to agree with The Dark Knight being his best film, Batman Begins no.2.
I didn’t much like his Spielberg debut, I know it has a devoted fanbase, but it left me cold so did young Bale’s performance.
I enjoyed his nasty persona in American Psycho and Shaft but his mannerisms annoyed me in The Fighter.
The Prestige was good the couple of times I saw it.
Reign of Fire was interesting, a film about dragons destroying the world, but somehow the director made it seem so dull and unexciting.
My guilty pleasure favourite of Christian Bale’s films is Equilibrium, it’s set in the future and introduces a new fighting style called gun-kata. Recommended if you haven’t seen it.
Hey Steve….I think you are running out hubs of mine to comment on for the first time(first Travolta now Bale) that I am going to have to write some new ones….obviously I am a bigger Bale fan….I have seen 23 of the 27 movies…and number 24 will be watched in a little over 12 hours.
Not sure I think Empire of the Sun is a great movie….but his performance was so impressive(to me it least) that I thought two kids had played the part….one at the beginning and one at the end.
I agree with you about Equilibrium….one of the underrated movies of the 2000s…..at one time it held the record for most on screen deaths in a movie….not sure if it still holds that record.
As for the Machinist….it is unbelievable about the weight he lost….but the movie is very difficult to watch….once was enough for me with that one.
So when are you going to see The Dark Knight Rises? Thanks for the comment and the visit.
Bruce I’m hoping to see Dark Knight Rises some time next week, let all the fanboys see it first. 🙂
I hope its as good as Amazing Spiderman and Green Lantern. [wink]
The reviewers here havent been as kind as the US critics, one of them saying the new Batman film is “bloated and humourless” oof.
Bale looks extremely emaciated in that picture you posted from the Machinist, it can’t have been healthy.
Hey Steve….well I am now on the countdown to see the movie….just over 8 hours to go….I am glad I have no idea what the movie is about….seems with most trailers these days you know where the movie is going and there is little room for surprise.
I will be shocked if they kill off Bruce Wayne…then again I have not read any of the later Batman comics these movies are based on so it could happen.
The reviewers here that have given The Dark Knight Rises bad reviews got threaten so much that RottenTomatoes.com had to pull down the comment boxes….I guess the English critics do not mind threats…..lol.
Bale was too thin for The Machinist….it actually is painful to watch that movie….I had a chance to buy it on Blu-Ray for a very low prize and I was easily able to avoid the movie.
SteveLensman
One reviewer says that our friend Michael Caine cries a lot in The Dark Knight Rises. I hope it’s not that tragic.
I read about the threats to reviewers by Batty fans, I went to one negative review today and at the bottom of the page were the most terrible comments, “I hope you get cancer” “eat sh!t and die” and worse.
Hey Steve….hopefully Michael Caine(Alfred) is not crying over Bruce Wayne’s death. With the economy being so bad….maybe Bruce had to let go off Alfred….that might make him upset. Or maybe they finally got the new mansion built and the bat cave is filled bats again….that might make Alfred upset….or maybe Bruce Wayne refused to eat his vegetables at dinner…..all I know is I will find out soon.
As for the critics and their haters… I never can understand people…it is only a movie…..it probably will not be as good as The Dark Knight..but why get upset if a critic does not like the new one….speaking of The Dark Knight have you ever seen this video?
http://www.collegehumor.com/video/5824443/the-dark…
Haha and the voices were pretty accurate too. 🙂
This one was posted on my movie forum recently –
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/10/the-dark
Funny stuff…..the tones of the TV series and the Nolan movies seem to go pretty well together….lol….thanks for sharing. If only I had a Batman costume for tonight’s showing.
SteveLensman