The Highest-Grossing Movies And TV Shows Of Larry David, Ranked
You can't bring up a conversation surrounding comedians and TV sitcoms without mentioning the Curb Your Enthusiasm co-creator, Larry David. At 76 years old, David has lived the exciting life of a comedian, writer, actor, and television producer. His name is mentioned most synonymously with fellow actor, comedian, and legendary sitcom creator, Jerry Seinfeld who has been David's partner on some of his most lucrative projects. While the majority of his financial and professional success came from television series, he has also lent his talents to similar ventures like film production. He may not be recognized as the richest comedian in the business, but his net worth of $400 million puts his ahead of other top comedians like David Letterman and Happy Madison Productions founder Adam Sandler. Here are Larry David's highest-grossing movies and TV shows.
8 The Three Stooges - $54.8 Million
They say that laughter is the best medicine for the soul, and that may be true since Larry David still has so much fuel left in his tank. At 65 years old, David starred in the slapstick comedy film in 2012, The Three Stooges, alongside comedians Sean Hayes, Will Sasso, and Chris Diamantopoulos. David is used to playing the role of himself or some other male character in a movie or TV series, but this is the first movie where he openly plays the role of a cheeky nun who works at the orphanage where the Three Stooges are kept. However, he isn't the only comedian who has gone to such lengths to entertain his audience - Adam Sandler, John Travolta, Jim Carey, and the famous Tyler Perry have all went above and beyond in their roles. Albeit, the film received mixed reviews, and grossed $54.8 million globally.
7 Whatever Works - $35 Million
David is known for the down-to-earth approach his characters take in movies, and his role in the romantic comedy, Whatever Works, struggles to reveal this trait. The film, directed by Woody Allen and was released in 2009, focuses on a pessimistic chess teacher and former Columbia University quantum mechanics professor, Boris Yelnikoff, who is a divorced recluse with low tolerance for anyone who doesn't meet his intellectual prowess. One day, he arrives home to a much-younger woman on his doorstep named Melody, played by actress Evan Rachel Wood, who's sweet but not too bright. Nevertheless, they develop feelings for each other and soon marry. But Melody's mother, Marietta (Patricia Clarkson) arrives from Mississippi in search of her and is immediately repulsed by their marriage. She works to actively separate their union, but abandons her southern customs for more liberal ways in the process. The film grossed $35 million at the box office.
6 Radio Days - $14.8 Million
Released in 1987, Radio Days is another comedy film directed by Woody Allen and is all about reminiscing on the Golden Age of Radio, also known as the old-time radio era, during the 1930s and 1940s. The movie is actually narrated by a man called Joe (Woody Allen), who gives the audience a nostalgic look of his childhood where he lived with his Jewish-American family in Queens, New York. David played the role of a Communist neighbor, and made up part of an incredible ensamble of actors, which included a young Seth Green, Harlem Nights actor Danny Aiello, actor and playwright Jeff Daniels, Diane Keaton, and many others. This film did not fare well at the box office, grossing $14.8 million against a $16 million budget.
5 Envy - $14.5 Million
It's been said that some of the most successful people are extremely hard on themselves, and when it comes to writers like Larry David, he probably heads the list. So much so that for the black comedy buddy film, Envy (2004), it's rumored that after several rejected pitches for his script to be made into a movie, when it finally was accepted and performed poorly at the box office, David had his name removed as the film's co-writer. Today, he is only credited as the film's Executive Producer. Despite two of the biggest names in comedy, Meet The Focker's Ben Stiller and Jack Black, starring together in the movie, it was a major flop, grossing $14.5 million against a budget of $35 million.
4 New York Stories - $10.7 Million
Unfortunately, Envy wouldn't be the only movie David was connected to that did poorly at the box office. But at least this time in New York Stories, he would only (truthfully) be credited with a part as a theater manager. He teamed up with Woody Allen again, who was the actor and co-director, along with Francis Ford Coppola and Goodfellas director Martin Scorsese. New York Stories is an anthology film, which means that it consists of three separate smaller films which together make up a single film. Other popular names that were featured in the film include Nick Nolte, Rosanna Arquette, and dynamic actor Steve Buscemi. Against a budget of $15 million, the film grossed a loss of $10.7 million at the box office.
3 Sour Grapes - $123,104
Released in 1998, Sour Grapes is a black comedy film that was actually directed by Larry David. While it's not clear what the film's budget was, it can be assumed that it was way more than the $123,000 it grossed at the box office. In Roger Ebert's review of the film, he stated his disapproval by writing, "I can't easily remember a film I enjoyed less." The film centers around two cousins - Richie Maxwell, played by Max Bierko, and Evan Maxwell, played by Steven Weber - who are cousins. They're in Atlantic City and Richie asks Evan for two more coins for a final spin at the slot machine. He hit a $400,000 jackpot, and the two immediately begin a heated argument over how the money will be split. Richie quits his job as a sneaker designer and Evan fakes having cancer as revenge on his cousin. The two come to a truce, but Richie loses all his money and is back to square one.
2 Seinfeld - $405 Million
Despite the blemishes of his portfolio as a writer, actor, and director, Larry David redeemed himself majorly when he became the co-creator of the beloved television sitcom, Seinfeld, in 1989. Once David and Jerry submitted the pilot, entitled The Seinfeld Chronicles, NBC aired the show and it became an instant favorite. The Seinfeld show was one of the main reasons for David's incredible net worth, and according to Parade, in 2013 it netted over $3 billion in syndicate earnings. After nine seasons, when the show came to an end in 1998, it was sold to syndication for $1.7 billion, earning David a whopping $250 million. But the Seinfeld millions just started rolling in. In 2015, he made another $80 million after Hulu obtained rights to begin streaming the show. Again, in 2021, Netflix landed worldwide rights to also begin streaming the comedy, and David earned another $100 million from that deal.
1 Curb Your Enthusiasm - $40-50 Million Annually
Two years after Seinfeld came to an end on NBC, David's creative genius would again pay off when he created the cringe comedy television sitcom, Curb Your Enthusiasm. In addition to being the show's executive producer and writer, he also starred as the show's main character. He plays a fictionalized version of himself, similar to the way Jerry Seinfeld did in the Seinfeld series. According to Movie Web, Curb Your Enthusiasm became an official hit series advancing into its 12th season and has continued to grow ever since. With the show still on the air, it's estimated that David earns between $40 and $80 million annually from merchandise sales, DVD sales, and other royalties.
Sources: RogerEbert.com, Esquire, Parade, Movie Web
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