The Sixth Sense Outsold The Matrix Despite Its Modest Budget ( Photo Credit – Prime Video )
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Directed by The Wachowskis, the 1999 sci-fi action film The Matrix is still hailed as one of the greatest science fiction movies of all time. With groundbreaking visuals and thought-provoking themes, it earned widespread acclaim and achieved cult status among cinephiles. It also became the highest-grossing Warner Bros. movie of that year.
But another film, from a completely different genre, released in the same year, not only outperformed The Matrix at the global box office but also scored higher with critics on Rotten Tomatoes. With a twist ending that redefined the genre, this film haunted the viewers long after the credits rolled. Can you guess which movie it was? Read on to find out.
The Film That Beat The Matrix At The Box Office
That film was none other than M. Night Shyamalan’s The Sixth Sense, the haunting psychological horror thriller starring Bruce Willis and Haley Joel Osment. Released in the same year as The Matrix, it became a massive box office success, grossing approximately $293.5 million in the U.S. and $379.3 million internationally, for a staggering global total of $672.8 million, according to Box Office Mojo.
In comparison, The Matrix earned about $171.5 million domestically and $292 million from international markets, bringing its worldwide total to $463.5 million (via Box Office Mojo). This means that The Sixth Sense earned roughly 45% more than The Matrix globally, a surprising achievement considering the sci-fi film’s revolutionary status. Even more impressively, The Sixth Sense was produced on a relatively modest budget of $40 million, significantly lower than The Matrix’s $63 million budget.
The Sixth Sense vs. The Matrix — Rotten Tomatoes Scores
Moreover, on the review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes, The Sixth Sense holds an 86% critics’ score and an even higher 90% audience score. Meanwhile, The Matrix sits slightly lower with an 83% critics’ score and an 85% audience rating.
What Was The Sixth Sense All About
Directed by M. Night Shyamalan, the film follows child psychologist Dr. Malcolm Crowe (played by Bruce Willis), who is battling his own personal demons. He takes up a unique case of a young boy, Cole Sear (played by Haley Joel Osment), who lives with his single mother (played by Toni Collette). As their bond grows stronger, Cole reveals a disturbing secret: he can see dead people. Now, Malcolm must find a way to help the troubled child and bring him peace.
