The films

The definitive top 250, scored across four pillars: critical standing (the 500-greatest canon and major awards), audience acclaim (TMDb), box-office dominance, and cultural longevity (weeks at number one). The blend leans critical, so the canon and the blockbusters share one board. Films marked * are from years reported on a rentals basis.

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The Godfather *

Score82.24Box office30.75Gross $m86Genredrama, epicDirectorFrancis Ford CoppolaTMDb8.7HonoursBest Picture · Golden Globe (Drama)

1972

Year

Gone with the Wind *

Score80.16Box office52Gross $m20Genredrama, warDirectorVictor FlemingTMDb7.9HonoursBest Picture

1939

Year

Ben-Hur *

Score75.5Box office35.82Gross $m36Genredrama, actionDirectorWilliam WylerTMDb7.9HonoursBest Picture · BAFTA Best Film · Golden Globe (Drama)

1959

Year

The Sound of Music *

Score69.43Box office34.26Gross $m72Genredrama, biographicalDirectorRobert WiseTMDb7.7HonoursBest Picture

1965

Year

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

Score68.13Box office19.08Gross $m1119Genrefantasy, adventureDirectorPeter JacksonTMDb8.5HonoursBest Picture · BAFTA Best Film · Golden Globe (Drama)

2003

Year

Star Wars

Score67.57Box office25.52Gross $m221Genreaction, adventureDirectorGeorge LucasTMDb8.2

1977

Year

Titanic

Score66.72Box office35.88Gross $m1843Genredrama, epicDirectorJames CameronTMDb7.9HonoursBest Picture · Golden Globe (Drama)

1997

Year

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest *

Score65.42Box office15.4Gross $m59Genrecomedy, prisonDirectorMiloš FormanTMDb8.4HonoursBest Picture · BAFTA Best Film · Golden Globe (Drama)

1975

Year

Schindler's List

Score64.35Box office9.27Gross $m321Genredrama, warDirectorSteven SpielbergTMDb8.6HonoursBest Picture · BAFTA Best Film · Golden Globe (Drama)

1993

Year

Forrest Gump

Score63.54Box office20.26Gross $m678Genredrama, comedyDirectorRobert ZemeckisTMDb8.5HonoursBest Picture · Golden Globe (Drama)

1994

Year

Lawrence of Arabia *

Score62.75Box office17.94Gross $m15Genredrama, adventureDirectorDavid LeanTMDb8HonoursBest Picture · BAFTA Best Film · Golden Globe (Drama)

1962

Year

Casablanca *

Score62.5Box office7.67Gross $m3Genredrama, film noirDirectorMichael CurtizTMDb8.1HonoursBest Picture

1943

Year

#
1	The Godfather *	1972	82.24	30.75	86	drama, epic	Francis Ford Coppola	8.7	Best Picture · Golden Globe (Drama)
2	Gone with the Wind *	1939	80.16	52	20	drama, war	Victor Fleming	7.9	Best Picture
3	Ben-Hur *	1959	75.5	35.82	36	drama, action	William Wyler	7.9	Best Picture · BAFTA Best Film · Golden Globe (Drama)
4	The Sound of Music *	1965	69.43	34.26	72	drama, biographical	Robert Wise	7.7	Best Picture
5	The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King	2003	68.13	19.08	1119	fantasy, adventure	Peter Jackson	8.5	Best Picture · BAFTA Best Film · Golden Globe (Drama)
6	Star Wars	1977	67.57	25.52	221	action, adventure	George Lucas	8.2
7	Titanic	1997	66.72	35.88	1843	drama, epic	James Cameron	7.9	Best Picture · Golden Globe (Drama)
8	One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest *	1975	65.42	15.4	59	comedy, prison	Miloš Forman	8.4	Best Picture · BAFTA Best Film · Golden Globe (Drama)
9	Schindler's List	1993	64.35	9.27	321	drama, war	Steven Spielberg	8.6	Best Picture · BAFTA Best Film · Golden Globe (Drama)
10	Forrest Gump	1994	63.54	20.26	678	drama, comedy	Robert Zemeckis	8.5	Best Picture · Golden Globe (Drama)
11	Lawrence of Arabia *	1962	62.75	17.94	15	drama, adventure	David Lean	8	Best Picture · BAFTA Best Film · Golden Globe (Drama)
12	Casablanca *	1943	62.5	7.67	3	drama, film noir	Michael Curtiz	8.1	Best Picture
13	The Godfather Part II *	1974	61.84	9.45	31	drama, action	Francis Ford Coppola	8.6	Best Picture
14	Jaws *	1975	61	34.7	133	horror, adventure	Steven Spielberg	7.7
15	The Empire Strikes Back	1980	60.55	23.6	209	fantasy, action	Irvin Kershner	8.4
16	The Bridge on the River Kwai *	1957	59.4	20.55	15	drama, war	David Lean	7.8	Best Picture · BAFTA Best Film · Golden Globe (Drama)
17	The Exorcist *	1973	58.82	25.07	89	drama, horror	William Friedkin	7.7	Golden Globe (Drama)
18	E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial	1982	58.63	28.58	359	drama, science fiction	Steven Spielberg	7.5	Golden Globe (Drama)
19	Rocky *	1976	58.43	17.88	56	drama, action	John G. Avildsen	7.8	Best Picture · Golden Globe (Drama)
20	The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring	2001	57.22	16.7	884	fantasy, action	Peter Jackson	8.4	BAFTA Best Film
21	Back to the Future	1985	56.44	20.8	211	comedy, adventure	Robert Zemeckis	8.3
22	City Lights *	1931	56.43	14.66	2	tragicomedy, comedy drama	Charlie Chaplin	8.2
23	The Silence of the Lambs	1991	55.53	9.69	273	drama, horror	Jonathan Demme	8.3	Best Picture
24	Raiders of the Lost Ark	1981	55.37	23.6	212	action, treasure hunt	Steven Spielberg	7.9
25	The Graduate *	1967	55.33	20.74	43	drama, independent	Mike Nichols	7.6	BAFTA Best Film
26	Modern Times *	1936	55.33	8.81	2	tragicomedy, silent	Charlie Chaplin	8.3
27	The Great Dictator *	1940	54.36	14.24	4	drama, comedy	Charlie Chaplin	8.3
28	Apocalypse Now	1979	54.22	10.18	83	drama, action	Francis Coppola	8.3	Palme d'Or
29	The Dark Knight	2008	53.68	15.64	997	drama, action	Christopher Nolan	8.5
30	It Happened One Night *	1934	53.64	9.73	1	romantic comedy	Frank Capra	7.8	Best Picture
31	Psycho *	1960	52.88	11.48	9	drama, film noir	Alfred Hitchcock	8.4
32	The Best Years of Our Lives *	1946	52.62	12.69	8	drama, war	William Wyler	7.7	Best Picture · BAFTA Best Film · Golden Globe (Drama)
33	Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs *	1938	52.57	17.19	4	fantasy, musical	David Hand, Perce Pearce, Larry Morey	7.1
34	Citizen Kane	1941	52.32	0		—	Orson Welles	8
35	Gladiator	2000	52.3	12.38	466	drama, action	Ridley Scott	8.2	Best Picture · BAFTA Best Film · Golden Globe (Drama)
36	Avatar	2009	52.06	30.17	2744	action, adventure	James Cameron	7.6	Golden Globe (Drama)
37	2001: A Space Odyssey *	1968	51.66	12.78	22	epic, mystery	Stanley Kubrick	8
38	The Wizard of Oz *	1939	51.2	5.32	2	drama, fantasy	Victor Fleming, King Vidor, Norman Taurog	7.6
39	West Side Story *	1961	51.11	20.35	20	drama, musical	Robert Wise, Jerome Robbins	7.2	Best Picture
40	Pulp Fiction	1994	50.9	0		—	Quentin Tarantino	8.5
41	The Apartment *	1960	50.77	8.45	7	drama, Christmas	Billy Wilder	8.2	Best Picture · BAFTA Best Film
42	Saving Private Ryan	1998	50.63	13.14	482	drama, action	Steven Spielberg	8.2	Golden Globe (Drama)
43	Jurassic Park	1993	50.48	26.38	915	action, adventure	Steven Spielberg	8
44	Rebecca *	1940	50.26	12.21	3	drama, romance	Alfred Hitchcock	7.9	Best Picture
45	Alien	1979	50.14	9.87	81	fantasy, action	Ridley Scott	8.2
46	The Kid *	1921	50.05	8.06	3	drama, silent	Charlie Chaplin	8.1
47	Metropolis	1927	50	0		—	Fritz Lang	8.1
48	The Matrix	1999	49.95	9.64	466	cyberpunk, film noir	The Wachowskis	8.3
49	Toy Story	1995	49.68	11.1	362	fantasy, comedy	John Lasseter	8
50	Midnight Cowboy *	1969	49.26	12.07	21	drama, buddy	John Schlesinger	7.5	Best Picture · BAFTA Best Film
51	All About Eve *	1950	49.11	6.84	3	drama, comedy	Joseph L. Mankiewicz	8.1	Best Picture · BAFTA Best Film
52	M	1931	49.01	0		—	Fritz Lang	8.1
53	All Quiet on the Western Front *	1930	48.84	11.1	2	drama, war	Lewis Milestone	7.8	Best Picture
54	American Beauty	1999	48.76	7.37	356	drama, comedy drama	Sam Mendes	8	Best Picture · BAFTA Best Film · Golden Globe (Drama)
55	The French Connection *	1971	48.55	12.34	26	drama, action	William Friedkin	7.5	Best Picture · Golden Globe (Drama)
56	Terminator 2: Judgment Day	1991	48.37	18.5	521	drama, comedy	James Cameron	8.2
57	Rear Window *	1954	48.35	7.57	5	drama, crime	Alfred Hitchcock	8.3
58	Annie Hall	1977	48.32	4.41	38	drama, comedy	Woody Allen	7.7	Best Picture · BAFTA Best Film
59	A Trip to the Moon	1902	48.19	0		—	Georges Méliès	7.9
60	The Gold Rush *	1925	48.16	4.01	2	comedy, silent	Charlie Chaplin	8
61	12 Angry Men	1957	48.01	0		—	Sidney Lumet	8.6
62	The Deer Hunter	1978	47.84	5.55	49	drama, war	Michael Cimino	8	Best Picture
63	Some Like It Hot *	1959	47.6	8.09	8	drama, screwball comedy	Billy Wilder	8.1
64	The Shawshank Redemption	1994	47.51	0		—	Frank Darabont	8.7
65	The Good, the Bad and the Ugly	1966	47.43	0		—	Sergio Leone	8.5
66	GoodFellas	1990	47.33	0		—	Martin Scorsese	8.5
67	A Clockwork Orange *	1971	47.28	7.98	17	drama, action	Stanley Kubrick	8.2
68	Battleship Potemkin	1925	46.74	0		—	Sergei M. Eisenstein	7.6
69	Spirited Away	2001	46.74	0		—	Hayao Miyazaki	8.5
70	Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans *	1927	46.64	2.38	1	drama, silent	F. W. Murnau	7.8
71	Taxi Driver	1976	46.41	0		—	Martin Scorsese	8.1
72	North by Northwest *	1959	46.39	5.71	6	drama, action	Alfred Hitchcock	8
73	The Passion of Joan of Arc	1928	46.01	0		—	Carl Theodor Dreyer	8
74	Seven Samurai	1954	45.97	0		—	Akira Kurosawa	8.4
75	Inception	2010	45.79	10.92	828	drama, action	Christopher Nolan	8.4
76	Goldfinger *	1964	45.68	16.21	23	action, spy	Guy Hamilton	7.4
77	Double Indemnity	1944	45.63	0		—	Billy Wilder	8.1
78	The Lion King	1994	45.09	9.35	313	drama, adventure	Roger Allers, Rob Minkoff	8.3
79	The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers	2002	44.9	16.48	937	fantasy, action	Peter Jackson	8.4
80	Vertigo	1958	44.68	0		—	Alfred Hitchcock	8.1
81	Stagecoach	1939	44.57	0		—	John Ford	7.6
82	It's a Wonderful Life	1946	43.89	0		—	Frank Capra	8.3
83	The Sting *	1973	43.86	22.38	79	drama, comedy	George Roy Hill	8	Best Picture
84	Parasite	2019	43.79	0		—	Bong Joon-Ho	8.5
85	The Ten Commandments *	1956	43.75	29.48	34	drama, adventure	Cecil B. DeMille	7.8
86	Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb	1964	43.66	0		—	Stanley Kubrick	8.1
87	The Avengers	2012	43.53	16.36	1519	action, adventure	Joss Whedon	8.1
88	Singin' in the Rain	1952	43.45	0		—	Stanley Donen, Gene Kelly	8.1
89	My Fair Lady *	1964	43.28	21.61	30	drama, musical	George Cukor	7.5	Best Picture · BAFTA Best Film
90	The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari	1920	43.25	0		—	Robert Wiene	7.9
91	Rome, Open City	1945	43.15	0		—	Roberto Rossellini	8
92	Mr. Smith Goes to Washington *	1939	43.14	9.1	4	drama, comedy	Frank Capra	7.8
93	Seven	1995	42.85	10.04	327	drama, action	David Fincher	8.4
94	King Kong	1933	42.8	0		—	Merian C. Cooper, Ernest B. Schoedsack	7.6
95	Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid *	1969	42.77	17.19	29	Western, biographical	George Roy Hill	7.6	BAFTA Best Film
96	The Rules of the Game	1939	42.73	0		—	Jean Renoir	7.5
97	Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? *	1966	42.68	12.56	15	drama	Mike Nichols	7.7	BAFTA Best Film
98	Superman	1978	42.61	15.21	134	action, science fiction	Richard Donner	7.2
99	Fight Club	1999	42.52	0		—	David Fincher	8.4
100	The Birth of a Nation	1915	42.45	0		—	D. W. Griffith	5.9

Genre eras

Share of each decade's top-grossing films carrying the era's dominant genres (Wikidata classifications; films can carry several). The musical's collapse and action's takeover are the century of Hollywood in two lines.

DramaActionComedyAdventureMusical

Ratings: This product uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB.