From Avatar To Titanic: Ranking The Highest Grossing Kate Winslet Movies

Quick Links

• Finding Neverland (2004)

• Sense And Sensibility (1995)

• Contagion (2011)

• The Holiday (2006)

• Divergent (2014)

• Insurgent (2014)

• Titanic (1997)

• Avatar: The Way Of Water (2022)

Highlights

• In February, Kate Winslet spoke about her experience with fame after Titanic, expressing gratitude, but describing the scrutiny as "horrible."
• Finding Neverland was the first Kate Winslet movie to cross the eight-figure mark, earning over $128 million globally.
• Winslet's movies, including narrations and ensemble roles, have grossed a whopping $6.7 billion, solidifying her status as a Hollywood legend.

People often think Titanic was Kate Winslet's first movie – a reasonable inference, as that film instantly catapulted Winslet to worldwide fame.

On February 12th, Net-A-Porter published a wide-ranging interview with the star, in which Winslet addressed the impact of Titanic on her career.

With respect to the aftermath of Titanic, Winslet recalled in part:

"[After Titanic was released] I felt like I had to look a certain way, or be a certain thing, and because media intrusion was so significant at that time, my life was quite unpleasant ..."

"... guess what, being famous was horrible. I was grateful, of course. I was in my early twenties, and I was able to [afford] a flat. But I didn’t want to be followed [by reporters while I was] literally feeding the ducks."

However, her actual debut was in Peter Jackson's Heavenly Creatures, an engaging film based on real-life events, focused on the unusually close (and eventually violent) relationship between two teenage girls in the 1950s.

A heavenly beauty herself, Kate Winslet's work on Heavenly Creatures and caught the attention of the directors, due to her incredible acting skill and stunning presence on the screen.

After a brief role in A Kid In King Arthur's Court, her landmark performance in Sense And Sensibility affirmed her acting reputation, solidifying her status as a versatile and accomplished actress.

Kate did not stop there; she delivered back-to-back unforgettable performances, in Jude and Hamlet, before securing a massive career-boosting role in Titanic.

After Titanic, Winslet never slowed down, building her filmography diligently until she became a legend in Hollywood.

As a leading actress, Winslet's movies have grossed over $3.2 billion, and through her supporting roles, her filmmakers brought in $3.1 billion.

All Kate Winslet movies, including those where she served as a narrator and lead ensemble member, together have grossed a whopping $6.7 billion.

Let's take a peek at the highest-grossing movies of Kate Winslet's career, and examine how these films impacted her trajectory in Tinseltown.

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8 Finding Neverland (2004)

Finding Neverlands's Total Gross: $128.2 Million

Finding Neverland is based on the epic life story of author J.M. Barrie (Johnny Depp), creator of Peter Pan, and his legendary fantasy locale of Neverland.

Finding Neverland is about how Depp's Barrie made a Platonic connection with a widow named Sylvia, and started to recognize her four children as his, serving as his inspiration for the creation of Peter Pan.

After Titanic, Finding Neverland was the first Kate Winslet movie to cross the eight-figure mark.

However, Winslet starred in several major movies in that period, like Iris, The Life Of David Gale, and Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind.

Finding Neverland started off modestly, but picked up its pace steadily in several countries.

The film's box office take was around $116.6 million, but streaming platforms and online purchases added approximately $12 million more to its haul to date.

This Kate Winslet movie earned more than $100 million, and Kate took home $9.3 million for her incredible performance as Sylvia.

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7 Sense And Sensibility (1995)

Sense And Sensibility’s Total Gross: $134.5 Million

Sense And Sensibility is an adaptation of the iconic author Jane Austen's novel of the same name, and the movie follows two sisters and their widowed mother.

Sense And Sensibility is, at its core, a classic and apt depiction of life, emotions, and heartbreak, all of which were Austen's forte.

It was the third movie in Kate Winslet's career, and her portrayal of Marianne Dashwood earned her the first Oscar nomination, in the category of "Best Supporting Actress."

Starring Emma Thompson alongside Winslet, it was – given the movie was released in 1995 – met with a decent haul of more than $700,000 at the domestic box office.

Sense And Sensibility was the first movie of Winslet's career to shatter the $100 million mark.

6 Contagion (2011)

Contagion’s Total Gross: $139.2 Million

Contagion was a stunningly prescient movie, one of the few films to re-enter and top the charts nearly a decade after its release:

The reason for its astonishing second act success was unfortunately tied to current events – released in 2011, Contagion eerily and accurately depicted a worldwide pandemic, nine years before a novel Coronavirus was discovered in Wuhan, China.

Contagion foretold a nearly identical pandemic, and imagined how people might react to it; similarities between real life and the film were astounding and unsettling.

It quickly became a worldwide sensation as the pandemic erupted, when neither people nor governments had any clue what to do; ultimately, it became something of a reference point in those early days.

In 2020, pandemic-related mitigation measures began in mid-March, but on March 5th, the New York Times reported that Contagion had begun "climbing the charts" on streaming platforms:

"According to Warner Bros., ['Contagion'] was listed as No. 270 among its catalog titles at the end of December [2019]. Since the start of 2020, it has jumped to second, bested only by Harry Potter movies. 'Contagion' is also trending on Amazon Prime Video and has flirted with the iTunes top 10."

In Contagion, Oscar winner Kate Winslet portrayed Dr. Erin Mears, a devoted epidemiologist deployed to decode the film's virus and prevent it from spreading.

Contagion kicked off with an impressive $22.4 million domestic take, and grossed an equally impressive $139.2 million.

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5 The Holiday (2006)

The Holiday’s Total Gross: $214.5 Million

One more Kate Winslet movie and another story of high caliber – Winslet's knack for choosing scripts is outstanding.

The Holiday tells the tale of two women from different countries, who swapped homes to escape their localized problems.

Both of their lives were changed, as each unexpectedly met local men:

It is a gripping tale of hope and perseverance, and due in part to its happy ending, it's become a rom-com mainstay.

Nancy Meyers directed The Holiday, which started off strong, with $12.7 million at the domestic box office.

The Holiday's budget was estimated at $85 million, which means the film turned a gargantuan $129.5 million profit for the studio.

4 Divergent (2014)

Divergent’s Total Gross: $288.8 Million

In Divergent, Kate Winslet portrayed Jeanine (the antagonist), the protector of Chicago's futuristic dystopian society of five factions.

Divergent is a modern masterpiece, and its distinctive story garnered the attention of the masses.

In its first week, it earned a massive $54.6 million.

Neil Burger directed Divergent, which returned a stunning profit of $203.8 million.

As such, Divergent is the fourth highest-grossing of Kate Winslet's movies.

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3 Insurgent (2014)

Insurgent’s Total Gross: $327.2 Million

After the huge success of Divergent, Insurgent continues the story of a dystopian society.

Kate Winslet, reprising her role as Jeanine, becomes a more powerful villain, who tries to thwart the insurgents bringing the dystopian society down.

Insurgent registered a tidy profit of $297 million, and Netflix's acquisition alongside online sales added almost $30 million to the studio's coffers.

2 Titanic (1997)

Titanic’s Total Gross: $2.26 Billion

In Titanic, Kate Winslet’s unforgettable character as Rose is still a frequently discussed topic, notwithstanding her recent commentary on making the film.

In particular, fans and social media users (as well as news outlets) often wonder why Rose didn’t make room for Jack on the door in Titanic's epic final scenes.

Titanic set a record for the highest-grossing movie of the time, and remained the highest-grossing, defending the title for over twelve years.

Later, James Cameron's Avatar broke its Titanic record.

Titanic was also the first ever billion dollar movie in the history of film.

Cameron's first profitable, multi-billion project had a budget of only $200 million, but went on to gross a staggering $2.26 billion.

Titanic's start was decent at the domestic box office, earning $28.6 million in its opening week.

But word of mouth (and several of its most talked-about scenes) created intrigue among the masses, and that buzz was one of the reasons behind its enormous success.

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1 Avatar: The Way Of Water (2022)

Avatar: The Way Of Water: $2.32 Billion

James Cameron appears to have made a habit of making multi-billion dollar movies.

In three of James Cameron's multi-billion dollar films, Kate Winslet has featured in two.

Winslet is a lucky charm for James Cameron:

Avatar represents a new world imagined by Cameron, wherein Kate Winslet portrays Ronal.

Winslet's Ronal is a fierce warrior, determined to save her world and clan.

Avatar: The Way Of Water was released in 2022.

In less than two years, the film became the highest-grossing movie of all time, surpassing even Titanic ($2.26 billion) and Star Wars: The Force Awakens ($2.06 billion).

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Winslet is a master of portraying unforgettable characters, from her debut in Heavenly Creatures to her recent film Lee, where she portrayed Lee Miller, a model who became a war correspondent in World War 2; each performance was phenomenal.

She is a kind person who always immerses herself in her craft, and appears to steer clear of controversy.

Kate Winslet's movies, as well as her career, serve as a reminder that if one is truly focused on their craft, success will almost always follow.

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