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Rihanna’s talents extend far beyond her chartbusters and stage performances, with her videography thriving from her twerking her assets to eclectic roles at major film productions. The Barbadian popstar has successfully transitioned from music icon to accomplished actress, proving that her star power translates to the big screen and, most importantly, to impressive worldwide box office numbers that spotlights her commercial appeal across different entertainment mediums.
From animated features to action-comedy films and heist capers, Rihanna’s box office track record demonstrates her growing influence in Hollywood, with her films collectively grossing over $1.3 billion worldwide. Here’s a comprehensive ranking of Rihanna’s best theatrical releases based on worldwide box office performance.
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1. Home (2015)
- Worldwide Gross: $386.0 Million
- Rotten Tomatoes Score: 53%
- Director: Tim Johnson
- Streaming On: Netflix
In yet another one of her films about aliens, Rihanna lends her distinctive voice to Tip, a resourceful teenage girl as she befriends an otherworldly refugee named Oh. The DreamWorks Animation adventure witnesses her character establish the film’s emotional core, searching for her mother while helping Oh find acceptance.
Home was a significant box office success, grossing $386 million worldwide, per Box Office Mojo. This number, alongside its North American box office total of $177.4 million, edged out the likes of Mad Max Fury Road in 2015, resonating with family audiences all across the planet. In addition to Rihanna, Jennifer Lopez’s involvement in both voice acting and the soundtrack helped boost the film’s fate across multiple demographics.
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2. Battleship (2012)
- Worldwide Gross: $303.0 Million
- Rotten Tomatoes Score: 34%
- Director: Peter Berg
- Streaming On: JioHotstar, Peacock
In this big-budget tentpole, Rihanna plays Officer Raikes, a tough Navy weapons specialist who joins the fight against an alien fleet. With her persona manifesting determination and military precision while defending Earth from extraterrestrial forces, she partakes in a series of adrenaline naval battles across the Pacific Ocean.
Despite negative reviews, and flopping at the domestic box office with merely $65 million, Battleship performed well internationally, dragging its final total to $303 million worldwide (as Box Office Mojo reports). The film’s overseas haul, particularly in China, have often been attributed to Rihanna’s global image and star power.
3. Ocean’s 8 (2018)
- Worldwide Gross: $297.7 Million
- Rotten Tomatoes Score: 69%
- Director: Gary Ross
- Streaming On: JioHotstar
Rihanna stars as Nine Ball, the tech-savvy hacker in this all-female spinoff of Steven Soderbergh’s popular Ocean’s trilogy. As part of Debbie Ocean’s (Sandra Bullock) crew, she brings a cool aura as the team’s digital nucleus. Starring alongside Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonham Carter, and more, the pop singer plays an imperative role in Ocean’s flamboyant new gang as it orchestrates a jewelry heist during the Met Gala.
Ocean’s 8 proved to be a commercial success, earning $140 million at the North American box office alone, and accumulating $297.7 million worldwide (according to Box Office Mojo). The film attracted strong female audience support and continued the commercial viability of the Ocean’s series.
4. Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017)
- Worldwide Gross: $225.9 Million
- Rotten Tomatoes Score: 47%
- Director: Luc Besson
- Streaming On: Lionsgate Play, HBO Max
Rihanna delivers a memorable supporting performance as a shape-shifting entertainer in Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets. The visually spectacular sci-fi flick, despite only assigning the self-made female billionaire limited screen time, found its heart in her crucial assistance to the protagonists Valerian (Dane DeHaan) and Laureline (Cara Delevingne) as they save the cosmic metropolis of Alpha.
Valerian was a box office bomb, struggling to recoup its gigantic $180 million budget, and folding its box office tally at mere $225.9 million globally, per Box Office Mojo. However, Rihanna’s brief appearance brought her praise from critics and audiences, perpetuating her tradition of producing lasting impressions even in smaller roles.
5. Annie (2014)
- Worldwide Gross: $136.8 Million
- Rotten Tomatoes Score: 28%
- Director: Will Gluck
- Streaming On: Apple TV+
In this adaptation of the beloved musical comedy, headlined by Cameron Diaz, Rihanna makes a cameo appearance as herself, performing her hit song “Money,” and instilling a wave of inspiration in its Gen-Z lead — a fellow woman of color. The former’s contemporary musical contribution bridged the classic Broadway elements with modern pop lore, rendering the tale of an orphan all the more emotional.
Annie made $136.8 million at the worldwide box office according to Box Office Mojo, though critical reception was unanimously negative. Rihanna’s musical contribution supplemented star power to its soundtrack, albeit the ticket admissions insinuate that it failed to attract her fanbase to theaters.
6. This Is the End (2013)
- Worldwide Gross: $126.0 Million
- Rotten Tomatoes Score: 82%
- Director: Evan Goldberg, Seth Rogen
- Purchase or Rent on: Apple TV+, Amazon Prime Video
Like most of its starcast, including Seth Rogen and Emma Watson, Rihanna appears as herself in this apocalyptic comedy. Before the riches are devoured by nature in the movie’s first act, Bad Gal Riri delivers one of the film’s most talked-about and brutally emasculating moments when she slaps Michael Cera across the face at James Franco’s house party, almost knocking down the opposite gender effortlessly.
Rihanna’s brief but impactful cameo in this R-rated comedy proves adequate in familiarizing comedy fandoms with her combat skills, natural comic timing, and willingness to poke fun at celebrity culture during the end times. Not only did This Is the End triumph at the global box office with $126 million, but as Box Office Mojo points out, most of the gross materialized within the domestic market, revitalizing a fading genre.
7. Smurfs (2025)
- Worldwide Gross: $100 million (Ongoing)
- Rotten Tomatoes Score: 20%
- Director: Chris Miller
- Streaming On: TBD
In this animated reboot of the eponymous franchise, Rihanna voices Smurfette, the female protagonist and one of the most recognizable Smurf characters. Supplying her vocal prowess to the blue-skinned heroine, Rihanna’s performance strives to modernize the classic while respecting the legacy that has made it a fan favorite across generations.
The Paramount Animation revival proved a box office failure, coming drastically short of the lifetime global haul of the 2011 flick. Despite Rihanna lending her voice in a rare protagonist role, the movie struggled to connect with audiences. To aggravate its situation, critics deemed it an embarrassingly bad affair as it became one of the lowest grossing movies of Rihanna’s film career.
Note: Box office numbers are attributed to estimates from various sources. Numbers have not been independently verified by Koimoi.
Stay tuned to Koimoi for more box office updates and stories!
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