Favorite Christian Bale Live-Action Movie
by urbanemovies | created - 23 Jan 2016 | updated - 25 Jan 2023 | PublicChristian Bale's birthday is January 30th. The young actor has compiled an impressive body of work filled with memorable performances. His recent string of Oscar worthy turns bodes well for what audiences can expect in the future. In a salute to Bale, a retrospective of his best live-action films and character portrayals.
Which Christian Bale live-action movie is your favorite, so far?
Discuss the topic here.
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1. The Fighter (I) (2010)
R | 116 min | Action, Biography, Drama
Based on the story of Micky Ward, a fledgling boxer who tries to escape the shadow of his more famous but troubled older boxing brother and get his own shot at greatness.
Director: David O. Russell | Stars: Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Melissa Leo
Votes: 388,811 | Gross: $93.62M
2. The Big Short (2015)
R | 130 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
In 2006-2007 a group of investors bet against the United States mortgage market. In their research, they discover how flawed and corrupt the market is.
Director: Adam McKay | Stars: Christian Bale, Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Brad Pitt
Votes: 484,292 | Gross: $70.26M
3. The Prestige (2006)
PG-13 | 130 min | Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
After a tragic accident, two stage magicians in 1890s London engage in a battle to create the ultimate illusion while sacrificing everything they have to outwit each other.
Director: Christopher Nolan | Stars: Christian Bale, Hugh Jackman, Scarlett Johansson, Michael Caine
Votes: 1,440,676 | Gross: $53.09M
4. American Hustle (2013)
R | 138 min | Crime, Drama
A con man, Irving Rosenfeld, along with his seductive partner Sydney Prosser, is forced to work for a wild F.B.I. Agent, Richie DiMaso, who pushes them into a world of Jersey powerbrokers and the Mafia.
Director: David O. Russell | Stars: Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence
Votes: 500,266 | Gross: $150.12M
5. The Machinist (2004)
R | 101 min | Drama, Thriller
An industrial worker who hasn't slept in a year begins to doubt his own sanity.
Director: Brad Anderson | Stars: Christian Bale, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Aitana Sánchez-Gijón, John Sharian
Votes: 415,438 | Gross: $1.08M
6. Batman Begins (2005)
PG-13 | 140 min | Action, Crime, Drama
After witnessing his parents' death, Bruce learns the art of fighting to confront injustice. When he returns to Gotham as Batman, he must stop a secret society that intends to destroy the city.
Director: Christopher Nolan | Stars: Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Ken Watanabe, Liam Neeson
Votes: 1,578,007 | Gross: $206.85M
7. American Psycho (2000)
R | 102 min | Crime, Drama, Horror
A wealthy New York City investment banking executive, Patrick Bateman, hides his alternate psychopathic ego from his co-workers and friends as he delves deeper into his violent, hedonistic fantasies.
Director: Mary Harron | Stars: Christian Bale, Justin Theroux, Josh Lucas, Bill Sage
Votes: 715,012 | Gross: $15.07M
8. Empire of the Sun (1987)
PG | 153 min | Drama, War
A young English boy struggles to survive under Japanese occupation of China during World War II.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Christian Bale, John Malkovich, Miranda Richardson, Nigel Havers
Votes: 134,270 | Gross: $22.24M
9. The Dark Knight (2008)
PG-13 | 152 min | Action, Crime, Drama
When the menace known as the Joker wreaks havoc and chaos on the people of Gotham, Batman must accept one of the greatest psychological and physical tests of his ability to fight injustice.
Director: Christopher Nolan | Stars: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Michael Caine
Votes: 2,869,663 | Gross: $534.86M
10. Velvet Goldmine (1998)
R | 118 min | Drama, Music
In 1984, British journalist Arthur Stuart investigates the career of 1970s glam superstar Brian Slade, who was heavily influenced in his early years by hard-living and rebellious American singer Curt Wild.
Director: Todd Haynes | Stars: Ewan McGregor, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Christian Bale, Toni Collette
Votes: 38,300 | Gross: $1.05M
11. Out of the Furnace (2013)
R | 116 min | Action, Crime, Drama
When Rodney Baze mysteriously disappears and law enforcement doesn't follow through fast enough, his older brother Russell takes matters into his own hands to find justice.
Director: Scott Cooper | Stars: Christian Bale, Casey Affleck, Zoe Saldana, Woody Harrelson
Votes: 125,063 | Gross: $11.33M
12. The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
PG-13 | 164 min | Action, Drama, Thriller
Eight years after the Joker's reign of chaos, Batman is coerced out of exile with the assistance of the mysterious Selina Kyle in order to defend Gotham City from the vicious guerrilla terrorist Bane.
Director: Christopher Nolan | Stars: Christian Bale, Tom Hardy, Anne Hathaway, Gary Oldman
Votes: 1,826,638 | Gross: $448.14M
13. Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014)
PG-13 | 150 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
The defiant leader Moses rises up against Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses II, setting six hundred thousand slaves on a monumental journey of escape from Egypt and its terrifying cycle of deadly plagues.
Director: Ridley Scott | Stars: Christian Bale, Joel Edgerton, Ben Kingsley, Sigourney Weaver
Votes: 179,200 | Gross: $65.01M
14. The New World (2005)
PG-13 | 135 min | Biography, Drama, History
The story of the English exploration of Virginia, and of the changing world and loves of Pocahontas.
Director: Terrence Malick | Stars: Colin Farrell, Q'orianka Kilcher, Christopher Plummer, Christian Bale
Votes: 89,833 | Gross: $12.71M
15. Public Enemies (2009)
R | 140 min | Action, Biography, Crime
The Feds try to take down notorious American gangsters John Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson, and Pretty Boy Floyd during a booming crime wave in the 1930s.
Director: Michael Mann | Stars: Christian Bale, Johnny Depp, Christian Stolte, Jason Clarke
Votes: 318,523 | Gross: $97.10M
16. I'm Not There (2007)
R | 135 min | Biography, Drama, Music
Ruminations on the life of Bob Dylan, where six characters embody a different aspect of the musician's life and work.
Director: Todd Haynes | Stars: Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Heath Ledger, Ben Whishaw
Votes: 61,177 | Gross: $4.02M
17. Equilibrium (2002)
R | 107 min | Action, Drama, Sci-Fi
In an oppressive future where all forms of feeling are illegal, a man in charge of enforcing the law rises to overthrow the system and state.
Director: Kurt Wimmer | Stars: Christian Bale, Sean Bean, Emily Watson, Taye Diggs
Votes: 346,939 | Gross: $1.20M
18. Terminator Salvation (2009)
PG-13 | 115 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
In 2018, a mysterious new weapon in the war against the machines, half-human and half-machine, comes to John Connor on the eve of a resistance attack on Skynet. But whose side is he on, and can he be trusted?
Director: McG | Stars: Christian Bale, Sam Worthington, Anton Yelchin, Moon Bloodgood
Votes: 377,206 | Gross: $125.32M
19. 3:10 to Yuma (2007)
R | 122 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A small-time rancher agrees to hold a captured outlaw who's awaiting a train to go to court in Yuma. A battle of wills ensues as the outlaw tries to psych out the rancher.
Director: James Mangold | Stars: Russell Crowe, Christian Bale, Ben Foster, Logan Lerman
Votes: 330,989 | Gross: $53.61M
20. Reign of Fire (2002)
PG-13 | 101 min | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
A brood of fire-breathing dragons emerges from the earth and begins setting everything ablaze, establishing dominance over the planet.
Director: Rob Bowman | Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Christian Bale, Izabella Scorupco, Gerard Butler
Votes: 145,416 | Gross: $43.06M
21. Rescue Dawn (2006)
PG-13 | 125 min | Adventure, Biography, War
A U.S. fighter pilot's epic struggle of survival after being shot down on a mission over Laos during the Vietnam War.
Director: Werner Herzog | Stars: Christian Bale, Steve Zahn, Jeremy Davies, Zach Grenier
Votes: 110,790 | Gross: $5.49M
22. Little Women (1994)
PG | 115 min | Drama, Family, Romance
The March sisters live and grow in post-Civil War America.
Director: Gillian Armstrong | Stars: Susan Sarandon, Winona Ryder, Kirsten Dunst, Claire Danes
Votes: 63,565 | Gross: $50.08M
23. Harsh Times (2005)
R | 116 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A tough-minded drama about two friends in South Central Los Angeles and the violence that comes between them.
Director: David Ayer | Stars: Christian Bale, Freddy Rodríguez, Eva Longoria, Chaka Forman
Votes: 68,564 | Gross: $3.34M
24. The Flowers of War (2011)
R | 146 min | Drama, History, Romance
An American finds refuge during the 1937 Japanese invasion of Nanking in a church with a group of women. Posing as a priest, he attempts to lead the women to safety.
Director: Yimou Zhang | Stars: Christian Bale, Ni Ni, Xinyi Zhang, Tianyuan Huang
Votes: 55,709 | Gross: $0.01M
25. Swing Kids (1993)
PG-13 | 112 min | Drama, Music
A group of teens adores forbidden music in Nazi Germany just before the outbreak of World War II.
Director: Thomas Carter | Stars: Robert Sean Leonard, Christian Bale, Frank Whaley, Barbara Hershey
Votes: 17,348 | Gross: $5.63M
26. Hostiles (2017)
R | 134 min | Drama, Western
In 1892, a legendary Army Captain reluctantly agrees to escort a Cheyenne chief and his family through dangerous territory.
Director: Scott Cooper | Stars: Scott Shepherd, Rosamund Pike, Ava Cooper, Stella Cooper
Votes: 95,664 | Gross: $29.82M
Added 11 February 2018
27. The Promise (II) (2016)
PG-13 | 133 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
Set during the last days of the Ottoman Empire, The Promise follows a love triangle between Michael, a brilliant medical student, the beautiful and sophisticated Ana, and Chris - a renowned American journalist based in Paris.
Director: Terry George | Stars: Oscar Isaac, Charlotte Le Bon, Christian Bale, Daniel Giménez Cacho
Votes: 178,563
Added 15 December 2019
28. Vice (I) (2018)
R | 132 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
The story of Dick Cheney, an unassuming bureaucratic Washington insider, who quietly wielded immense power as Vice President to George W. Bush, reshaping the country and the globe in ways that are still felt today.
Director: Adam McKay | Stars: Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Steve Carell, Sam Rockwell
Votes: 162,368 | Gross: $47.84M
Added 15 December 2019
29. Ford v Ferrari (2019)
PG-13 | 152 min | Action, Biography, Drama
American car designer Carroll Shelby and driver Ken Miles battle corporate interference and the laws of physics to build a revolutionary race car for Ford in order to defeat Ferrari at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1966.
Director: James Mangold | Stars: Matt Damon, Christian Bale, Jon Bernthal, Caitríona Balfe
Votes: 473,825 | Gross: $117.62M
Added 15 December 2019
30. Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)
PG-13 | 118 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
Thor enlists the help of Valkyrie, Korg and ex-girlfriend Jane Foster to fight Gorr the God Butcher, who intends to make the gods extinct.
Director: Taika Waititi | Stars: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Christian Bale, Tessa Thompson
Votes: 400,736 | Gross: $343.26M
Added 25 January 2023
31. Amsterdam (2022)
R | 134 min | Comedy, Drama, History
In the 1930s, three friends witness a murder, are framed for it, and uncover one of the most outrageous plots in American history.
Director: David O. Russell | Stars: Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, John David Washington, Alessandro Nivola
Votes: 93,163
Added 25 January 2023
32. The Pale Blue Eye (2022)
R | 128 min | Crime, Horror, Mystery
A world-weary detective is hired to investigate the murder of a West Point cadet. Stymied by the cadets' code of silence, he enlists one of their own to help unravel the case - a young man the world would come to know as Edgar Allan Poe.
Director: Scott Cooper | Stars: Christian Bale, Harry Melling, Simon McBurney, Timothy Spall
Votes: 124,565
Added 25 January 2023
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