Malcolm X (1992)

Based On the Life of: Malcolm X

Starring: Denzel Washington

Movie Budget: $34-$35 million

Star Salary: $3 million

Directed by Spike Lee, Malcolm X is a film about the Black liberation activist of the same name. The biographical drama, which was adapted from The Autobiography of Malcolm X,  worked through several periods of the Civil Rights hero’s life, including his imprisonment in the fifties and his later assassination.

It also covers his conversion to Islam and later leadership role in the Nation of Islam. Denzel Washington stars as Malcolm X. The film won an NAACP Image Award and Washington was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor.