Most Profitable Post 9/11 War Movies

“The Wall” tells the fictional story of two American soldiers who, after answering a distress call in the desert in Iraq, are trapped behind an unsteady stone wall while an unseen sniper is aiming at them.

“In the Valley of Elah” follows the search for a missing Iraq war veteran by a police detective (Charlize Theron) and retired Army sergeant (Tommy Lee Jones), who is also the father of the missing man.

“A Mighty Heart” is based on the true story of Mariane Pearl. For several weeks she tries to find her husband, American journalist Daniel Pearl, who was kidnapped by terrorists and later beheaded in Pakistan. The movie focuses on her journey coping with the international attention on the case, as well as her dealings with underground local politics in the attempt to find him.

“Brothers” is a psychological (and fictional) drama about siblings Tommy and Sam and Sam’s wife. Sam is presumed dead in Afghanistan and Tommy starts to look after the family. After a few months of being a prisoner of war, Sam is rescued and returns home, paranoid about many things, including that his wife and Tommy are having an affair.

“13 Hours” is based on the true story of the attack by Islamic militants on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, on Sept. 11, 2012, during which the U.S. ambassador and a foreign service officer were killed. The movie shows how a U.S. security team nearby fights to save the lives of the remaining Americans.

Max is a fictional service dog who is too traumatized to stay in service after his handler, Kyle, is killed in Afghanistan. Kyle’s family adopts the dog. The movie shows how the soldier’s former dog and his family help each other recover from the terrible and sudden loss.

In this 2007 war drama focused on the U.S. involvement in Iraq, Streep plays TV journalist Janine Roth who interviews a U.S. senator played by Tom Cruise about his plan to win the war on terror. The movie was meant to encourage dialogue about America’s role in the fight against terrorism. The Critics Consensus on Rotten Tomatoes found the film disjointed.

Kathryn Bigelow made history at the Oscars in 2010. Her low-budget, apolitical Iraq war film “The Hurt Locker” won a total of six Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director. The movie follows three American soldiers, members of a bomb-disposal unit in Baghdad, who are at the end of their tours.

“12 Strong” is the story of the first Special Forces team that was deployed to Afghanistan after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Once there, they partner up with an Afghan warlord to fight the Taliban and al-Qaeda.

The movie is only loosely based on a true story. “War Dogs” follows two friends who try to make money as international arms dealers. Problems begin when they win a $300 million contract to supply weapons to Afghan forces.

“The Men Who Stare at Goats” tells the fictional story of a struggling reporter who, after receiving a tip about a unit of psychic soldiers, follows them on a dangerous mission to Iraq.

The action thriller follows an insubordinate CIA operative in Jordan who is on a quest to track down a terrorist leader. He finds himself in a difficult situation between the unclear intentions of his supervisor and Jordan intelligence services.

“Zero Dark Thirty” chronicles the hunt for al-Qaeda terrorist group leader Osama bin Laden after the 9/11 attacks through to his death at the hands of the Navy SEAL Team 6 in May 2011. The film was directed by Kathryn Bigelow, the first woman to have won an Oscar for best directing (“The Hurt Locker”). The movie was nominated for five Oscars and won one — for Best Achievement in Sound Editing.

“Lone Survivor” is based on the true story of four Navy SEALs who go on a mission to take out a Taliban leader in Afghanistan in 2005. As in many U.S.-made movies set during the war in Afghanistan, the American soldiers in “Lone Survivor” find themselves outnumbered by enemies.

Legend Clint Eastwood’s homage to the U.S. soldier as a killing machine, the film’s base is “American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History,” written in part by its subject sniper Chris Kyle who kills 244 of the enemy in the Iraq War. It is the highest grossing film ever made, or starred in by Eastwood with a box office take of over $550 million to date. The film received criticism for its unusually heroic glorification of a man whose only role was to hunt and kill.