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The IMDb Top 250 on 1st January, 2025


Introduction

To help track the Change in the IMDb Top 250, I grab a static copy of that list each 1st January. Here's the list as it was on 1st January, 2025, with some data that ties it to previous years.

Here are equivalent pages for 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013 and 2004.

Of course, the list changes all the time. Here's the current version of the IMDb Top 250 at the Internet Movie Database.


The Usual Suspects | The New Batch | The Departed

Key

This list is in ranking order and lists the title, year and director of each film, with a link to its IMDb page, along with its position (if applicable) in the list I grabbed on 1st January of each year from 2014 to 2025, as well as at some point in mid-2004. The last column highlights the change in position over the last twelve months. A film that wasn't in the list in 2024 is a new entry, even if it was in the list in a previous year.

Notes

After a quiet year in 2023, the IMDb Top 250 had another quiet year in 2024.

Averages

The mean continues to creep forward, from 1987 to 1988. That's an ongoing trend that's been in place for a quite a while. The COVID-19 pandemic put a temporary dent in it but it's moving forward again as expected. More new films get made. More new films join the list. That's the nature of things.

The median ought to get newer too, but it does that less cleanly. In fact, it actually dropped in 2022 for the first time since I've been gathering data, from a median year of 1995 to 1994, and it stayed there in 2023. It moved forward a year to 1995 in 2024 but it stayed there in 2025. The reason why it generally gets newer is because new entries tend to spread across the decades, both new releases and old classics reaching the minimum number of votes to qualify, while the films they replace tend to be more recent. That happened again this year, with five of the seven new entries dating to the 2020s but only one of the seven films that left the list. However, it didn't happen much, that change of seven being only a touch up on the change of five in 2024, compared to double digits every year before that that I've recorded, with that number often being over twenty.

The mode, the year most represented in the list, is the one value that doesn't have to get newer at all. Right now, it's 1995, for at least a thirteenth year running, with all eight films from that year having remained in the list since 2014. As with last year, 2004 sits behind it at seven, with 1957, 1999, 2003, 2009 and 2019 sharing third place with six each. 1957 is often seen as world cinema's greatest year, though only the two Ingmar Bergmans (The Seventh Seal and Wild Strawberries) are foreign language from those six. That means that Hollywood is once again better represented for 1957 than for its own golden year of 1939, with only three titles from that year in this list.

Decade Change

The oldest film in the list remains Charlie Chaplin's The Kid, released in 1921, now one of two titles that are over a hundred years old, Buster Keaton's Sherlock, Jr., having reached that milestone during the past year. There are four other titles in the list from the 1920s, each of which has been there since at least 2017.

It's traditionally rare for an older decade to increase in representation and that hasn't happened for the second year running. The 1920s, 1940s, 1960s, 1970s and 1980s remained unchanged. The 1930s and 1950s dropped one each and the 1990s, hardly an older decade, dropped two. That only left room for the four new entries from the 2020s, as the 2000s and 2010s remained unchanged.

New Entries

I mentioned that there are precious few new entries once more, though seven is an increase on last year's five. By comparison, the lowest number of new entries over the past eleven years was twelve in 2022. Seven is so low that it makes trending difficult to quantify, but maybe the trend is a reflection of fewer quality films being made. Certainly that's what the oldtimers tend to suggest, but it hasn't been backed up by data before because there have always been classic new films joining the list.

However, of the seven new entries, only two come from Hollywood, Dune: Part Two, made by a Canadian director, and the Dreamworks animated feature The Wild Robot. Of the other five, two are Indian (12th Fail and Maharaja) and two Japanese anime (Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - Tsuzumi Mansion Arc and A Silent Voice: The Movie). The final new entry is a French classic, Robert Bresson's A Man Escaped from 1956, whose appearance at 240 is arguably the biggest surprise I found in this year's list.

Ups

Traditionally, more films drop within the list than rise within it. That's to be expected, because a single new entry high in the list moves everything below it down a slot. There have been more downs than ups every single year I've tracked this list except 2023, which was an anomaly in so many ways. This year was relatively typical, with 57 films rising (compared to 58 last year) and 153 falling (compared to 150 last year).

As with last year's list, very few films moved by much. No film climbed more than 15 places and only two climbed more than 7 (Mad Max: Fury Road moving up 15 and Ratatouille 11). Only one film dropped more than 15 places, which was Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer, dropping 44 places from 68 to 112, keeping the trend of the biggest drop being a mainstream Hollywood film that was a new entry the previous year, following in the footsteps of Top Gun: Maverick last year, which dropped 42 places from 88 to 130.

As with last year, this is partly because there was notably very little change within the list. In fact, the average number of places changed dropped to a new record low, last year's 4.08 average dropping to only 3.86 this time out.

Downs and Outs

The highest placed film to leave the list entirely also tends to be a mainstream Hollywood film that was a new entry the previous year and that changed slightly this time out, because it was a mainstream Japanese film, Godzilla Minus One, which entered at 172 last year but was gone in this list.

The other six were literally the bottom of last year's list, occupying the lowest six places from 245 to 250. Two were mainstays, It Happened One Night and The 400 Blows having been in the Top 250 ever since my first snapshot of it all the way back in 2004 and certainly every year since I started grabbing it annually in 2013.

Directors

This year's top directors are last year's top directors. Christopher Nolan remains in top spot with eight, ahead of Stanley Kubrick, Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg on seven each. Akira Kurosawa and Alfred Hitchcock remain on six. Charlie Chaplin, Quentin Tarantino and Billy Wilder remain on five.

Nolan probably isn't worrying about losing his top spot, though he has slipped a little over the past twelve months. In last year's list, seven of his eight films resided in the top 70, the only exception being Batman Begins, at a still respectable 128. This year, three are outside the top 70, The Dark Knight Rises and Oppenheimer falling out of it, with Batman Begins slipping a further two places. Of his films, only Interstellar increased its placing, moving up 3 places from 22 to 19, almost back to 16 where it started as a new entry in 2015.

The Top Ten

The Top Ten doesn't change a lot over time, but there was a change this year, as The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King nudged past Schindler's List to take sixth place.

A little further down, other swaps included The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers passing Fight Club into twelfth place and Interstellar hopping above Se7en, It's a Wonderful Life and Seven Samurai to reach 19. Otherwise the mild churn begins as far down as 26.

The Usual Suspects | The New Batch | The Departed


The List

# Title Year Director IMDb '24 '23 '22 '21 '20 '19 '18 '17 '16 '15 '14 '13 '04 Change
1 The Shawshank Redemption 1994 Frank Darabont IMDb 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 =
2 The Godfather 1972 Francis Ford Coppola IMDb 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 =
3 The Dark Knight 2008 Christopher Nolan IMDb 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 6 7 =
4 The Godfather: Part II 1974 Francis Ford Coppola IMDb 4 4 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 4 =
5 12 Angry Men 1957 Sidney Lumet IMDb 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 7 7 6 21 =
6 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King 2003 Peter Jackson IMDb 7 7 7 7 7 7 8 8 9 9 9 9 3 ↑1
7 Schindler’s List 1993 Steven Spielberg IMDb 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 8 8 8 6 ↓1
8 Pulp Fiction 1994 Quentin Tarantino IMDb 8 8 8 8 8 8 7 7 7 5 4 4 16 =
9 The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring 2001 Peter Jackson IMDb 9 9 10 10 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 13 9 =
10 The Good, the Bad and the Ugly 1966 Sergio Leone IMDb 10 10 9 9 9 9 9 9 8 6 5 5 20 =
11 Forrest Gump 1994 Robert Zemeckis IMDb 11 11 12 12 12 12 12 13 13 14 15 19 115 =
12 The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers 2002 Peter Jackson IMDb 13 13 14 14 15 15 15 15 16 17 19 21 8 ↑1
13 Fight Club 1999 David Fincher IMDb 12 12 11 11 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 41 ↓1
14 Inception 2010 Christopher Nolan IMDb 14 14 13 13 13 14 14 14 14 13 14 14 =
15 The Empire Strikes Back 1980 Irvin Kershner IMDb 15 15 15 15 14 13 13 12 12 12 12 11 13 =
16 The Matrix 1999 Andy & Larry Wachowski IMDb 16 16 17 16 16 18 18 18 17 19 20 18 34 =
17 Goodfellas 1990 Martin Scorsese IMDb 17 17 18 17 17 17 17 17 18 18 16 15 29 =
18 One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest 1975 Milos Forman IMDb 18 18 19 18 18 16 16 16 15 15 13 12 12 =
19 Interstellar 2014 Christopher Nolan IMDb 22 26 28 29 31 32 32 33 29 16 ↑3
20 Se7en 1995 David Fincher IMDb 19 19 21 20 20 21 22 22 22 23 22 23 55 ↓1
21 It’s a Wonderful Life 1946 Frank Capra IMDb 20 21 23 24 24 24 24 24 25 26 26 30 27 ↓1
22 Seven Samurai 1954 Akira Kurosawa IMDb 21 20 20 19 19 19 19 19 20 21 18 17 5 ↓1
23 The Silence of the Lambs 1991 Jonathan Demme IMDb 23 22 22 23 23 23 23 23 23 25 24 24 28 =
24 Saving Private Ryan 1998 Steven Spielberg IMDb 24 24 26 26 27 28 29 29 30 34 34 39 58 =
25 City of God 2002 Fernando Meirelles & Kátia Lund IMDb 25 23 24 22 21 20 21 21 21 22 21 20 23 =
26 The Green Mile 1999 Frank Darabont IMDb 27 27 30 28 29 31 34 37 40 42 48 65 132 ↑1
27 Life is Beautiful 1997 Roberto Benigni IMDb 26 25 25 21 22 25 25 26 26 29 36 55 72 ↓1
28 Terminator 2: Judgment Day 1991 James Cameron IMDb 29 29 35 37 38 42 44 44 41 40 39 36 110 ↑1
29 Star Wars 1977 George Lucas IMDb 28 28 27 25 25 22 20 20 19 20 17 16 10 ↓1
30 Back to the Future 1985 Robert Zemeckis IMDb 31 30 36 36 37 43 45 45 45 49 46 47 143 ↑1
31 Spirited Away 2001 Hayao Miyazaki IMDb 32 31 29 27 28 27 28 28 31 36 38 43 43 ↑1
32 The Pianist 2002 Roman Polanski IMDb 33 33 34 35 39 39 40 42 42 43 43 49 37 ↑1
33 Gladiator 2000 Ridley Scott IMDb 36 37 44 41 42 48 47 47 47 48 49 63 168 ↑3
34 Parasite 2019 Bong Joon Ho IMDb 34 34 31 30 30 =
35 Psycho 1960 Alfred Hitchcock IMDb 35 32 38 40 41 33 35 35 35 33 31 29 25 =
36 The Lion King 1994 Roger Allers & Rob Minkoff IMDb 37 36 39 34 35 47 48 51 54 54 69 79 ↑1
37 The Departed 2006 Martin Scorsese IMDb 40 39 46 43 45 41 42 43 44 46 47 50 ↑3
38 Grave of the Fireflies 1988 Isao Takahata IMDb 43 45 41 47 50 55 58 59 64 71 82 104 171 ↑5
39 Whiplash 2014 Damien Chazelle IMDb 41 42 43 45 46 44 46 46 43 ↑2
40 American History X 1998 Tony Kaye IMDb 39 38 42 38 36 34 31 32 32 32 32 34 61 ↓1
41 Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse 2023 Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers & Justin K. Thompson IMDb 30 ↓11
42 The Prestige 2006 Christopher Nolan IMDb 42 41 48 46 48 49 49 50 51 51 61 68 =
43 Harakiri 1962 Masaki Kobayashi IMDb 44 44 33 33 33 ↑1
44 Leon 1994 Luc Besson IMDb 38 35 32 31 32 30 27 27 27 28 28 31 64 ↓6
45 Casablanca 1942 Michael Curtiz IMDb 46 43 49 49 49 37 36 34 33 30 27 25 7 ↑1
46 The Usual Suspects 1995 Bryan Singer IMDb 45 40 37 32 34 26 26 25 24 24 25 26 18 ↓1
47 The Intouchables 2011 Olivier Nakache & Eric Toledano IMDb 47 46 47 44 43 40 38 39 38 38 45 64 =
48 Cinema Paradiso 1988 Giuseppe Tornatore IMDb 49 50 52 50 52 54 55 57 57 57 64 76 99 ↑1
49 Modern Times 1936 Charles Chaplin IMDb 48 47 40 39 40 38 39 40 39 39 41 45 69 ↓1
50 Alien 1979 Ridley Scott IMDb 52 51 53 53 53 52 52 52 53 50 44 40 60 ↑2
51 Rear Window 1954 Alfred Hitchcock IMDb 50 49 51 51 51 45 43 41 37 37 30 28 14 ↓1
52 Dune: Part Two 2024 Denis Villeneuve IMDb →
53 Once Upon a Time in the West 1968 Sergio Leone IMDb 51 48 50 48 47 36 33 30 28 27 23 22 32 ↓2
54 Django Unchained 2012 Quentin Tarantino IMDb 55 56 58 58 60 62 60 60 60 56 53 ↑1
55 City Lights 1931 Charles Chaplin IMDb 53 52 45 42 44 35 37 36 34 35 33 41 91 ↓2
56 Apocalypse Now 1979 Francis Ford Coppola IMDb 54 53 54 54 55 50 51 49 48 45 40 35 36 ↓2
57 Memento 2000 Christopher Nolan IMDb 56 54 55 55 56 51 50 48 46 41 37 33 19 ↓1
58 WALL-E 2008 Andrew Stanton IMDb 58 57 62 62 65 63 62 62 62 61 60 59 =
59 Raiders of the Lost Ark 1981 Steven Spielberg IMDb 57 55 56 57 54 46 41 38 36 31 29 27 17 ↓2
60 The Lives of Others 2006 Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck IMDb 59 58 59 59 58 58 57 56 56 53 55 60 ↓1
61 Avengers: Infinity War 2018 Anthony & Joe Russo IMDb 62 63 63 64 61 56 ↑1
62 12th Fail 2023 Vidhu Vinod Chopra IMDb →
63 Sunset Boulevard 1950 Billy Wilder IMDb 60 59 61 65 66 57 54 54 50 44 35 32 31 ↓3
64 Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse 2018 Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey & Rodney Rothman IMDb 63 66 66 69 64 29 ↓1
65 Paths of Glory 1957 Stanley Kubrick IMDb 61 60 60 61 63 60 59 58 58 59 54 54 40 ↓4
66 Witness for the Prosecution 1957 Billy Wilder IMDb 65 64 64 66 70 65 67 71 76 83 83 102 164 ↓1
67 The Shining 1980 Stanley Kubrick IMDb 64 61 65 63 62 61 61 61 59 58 51 46 89 ↓3
68 The Great Dictator 1940 Charles Chaplin IMDb 66 62 57 56 57 53 53 55 55 52 59 69 97 ↓2
69 Aliens 1986 James Cameron IMDb 67 65 74 73 73 69 68 66 65 63 62 58 87 ↓2
70 Inglourious Basterds 2009 Quentin Tarantino IMDb 69 72 85 85 85 95 98 98 100 101 109 113 ↓1
71 The Dark Knight Rises 2012 Christopher Nolan IMDb 70 69 73 71 71 67 65 63 61 55 50 38 ↓1
72 Coco 2017 Lee Unkrich & Adrian Molina IMDb 74 73 72 75 76 71 30 ↑2
73 Amadeus 1984 Milos Forman IMDb 75 71 83 84 83 81 86 89 88 89 92 88 79 ↑2
74 Toy Story 1995 John Lasseter IMDb 76 75 81 81 82 91 95 95 97 107 113 118 177 ↑2
75 Oldboy 2003 Chan-wook Park IMDb 73 70 69 67 69 68 66 67 69 70 76 85 ↓2
76 Dr. Strangelove 1964 Stanley Kubrick IMDb 72 68 67 70 68 59 56 53 49 47 42 37 15 ↓4
77 Avengers: Endgame 2019 Anthony & Joe Russo IMDb 79 78 76 76 59 ↑2
78 American Beauty 1999 Sam Mendes IMDb 71 67 82 77 75 66 63 64 63 60 57 51 30 ↓7
79 Good Will Hunting 1997 Gus Van Sant IMDb 82 81 87 88 86 101 103 110 119 127 140 157 248 ↑3
80 Braveheart 1995 Mel Gibson IMDb 78 76 84 78 77 74 76 77 78 79 79 83 85 ↓2
81 Das Boot 1981 Wolfgang Peterson IMDb 77 77 78 79 78 72 70 70 71 69 71 71 46 ↓4
82 Princess Mononoke 1997 Hayao Miyazaki IMDb 81 79 68 68 67 64 64 65 68 72 81 93 100 ↓1
83 Your Name 2016 Makoto Shinkai IMDb 83 82 71 74 74 80 79 =
84 High and Low 1963 Akira Kurosawa IMDb 86 87 79 83 ↑2
85 Joker 2019 Todd Phillips IMDb 80 74 70 60 26 ↓5
86 3 Idiots 2009 Rajkumar Hirani IMDb 85 85 80 80 79 87 94 103 114 120 158 240 ↓1
87 Once Upon a Time in America 1984 Sergio Leone IMDb 84 80 75 72 72 70 69 68 72 74 77 77 124 ↓3
88 Singin’ in the Rain 1952 Gene Kelly & Stanley Donen IMDb 87 84 98 99 103 94 92 96 90 86 86 86 47 ↓1
89 Capernaum 2018 Nadine Labaki IMDb 88 90 77 82 110 ↓1
90 Come and See 1985 Elem Klimov IMDb 90 95 90 109 139 168 171 181 =
91 Requiem for a Dream 2000 Darren Aronofsky IMDb 89 83 97 91 89 82 80 79 81 80 75 73 51 ↓2
92 Toy Story 3 2010 Lee Unkrich IMDb 91 86 122 110 106 102 97 88 80 68 66 56 ↓1
93 Return of the Jedi 1983 Richard Marquand IMDb 92 89 88 86 80 78 75 74 73 73 78 81 131 ↓1
94 The Hunt 2012 Thomas Vinterberg IMDb 94 94 96 94 94 103 104 107 116 125 132 =
95 Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind 2004 Michel Gondry IMDb 93 91 100 95 92 86 88 86 86 84 80 75 38 ↓2
96 Ikiru 1952 Akira Kurosawa IMDb 97 104 101 107 113 124 128 130 131 132 120 193 ↑1
97 2001: A Space Odyssey 1968 Stanley Kubrick IMDb 95 92 89 90 88 89 93 93 92 98 103 92 73 ↓2
98 Reservoir Dogs 1992 Quentin Tarantino IMDb 96 93 91 89 84 77 77 76 77 77 74 70 71 ↓2
99 The Apartment 1960 Billy Wilder IMDb 99 102 108 118 115 109 108 106 102 97 96 96 81 =
100 Lawrence of Arabia 1962 David Lean IMDb 98 98 103 111 105 85 85 82 85 82 73 66 24 ↓2
101 Incendies 2010 Denis Villeneuve IMDb 108 111 107 116 118 125 131 148 159 174 202 226 ↑7
102 Scarface 1983 Brian De Palma IMDb 105 108 116 106 102 105 106 104 108 113 121 129 ↑3
103 Double Indemnity 1944 Billy Wilder IMDb 104 105 110 119 112 92 87 83 83 78 67 57 45 ↑1
104 North by Northwest 1959 Alfred Hitchcock IMDb 102 99 99 103 96 76 74 72 67 62 52 42 22 ↓2
105 Citizen Kane 1941 Orson Welles IMDb 100 96 95 96 93 73 72 69 66 64 56 44 11 ↓5
106 Heat 1995 Michael Mann IMDb 110 113 126 123 121 123 123 126 123 124 122 119 245 ↑4
107 M 1931 Fritz Lang IMDb 101 97 94 93 87 79 78 75 74 67 58 52 50 ↓6
108 Vertigo 1958 Alfred Hitchcock IMDb 103 100 93 92 90 75 73 73 70 66 63 48 33 ↓5
109 Full Metal Jacket 1987 Stanley Kubrick IMDb 107 106 105 98 95 96 91 90 87 85 85 82 102 ↓2
110 Up 2009 Pete Docter IMDb 111 112 124 121 117 114 115 118 115 115 118 114 ↑1
111 Amelie 2001 Jean-Pierre Jeunet IMDb 106 101 119 112 101 90 83 78 75 65 65 62 26 ↓5
112 Oppenheimer 2023 Christopher Nolan IMDb 68 ↓44
113 A Clockwork Orange 1971 Stanley Kubrick IMDb 109 103 113 104 97 88 84 80 79 75 70 61 74 ↓4
114 To Kill a Mockingbird 1962 Robert Mulligan IMDb 112 109 121 120 114 97 90 85 84 81 72 67 35 ↓2
115 A Separation 2011 Asghar Farhadi IMDb 114 115 114 114 111 111 110 109 105 105 101 105 ↓1
116 Die Hard 1988 John McTiernan IMDb 117 118 129 125 123 121 122 123 120 119 111 101 156 ↑1
117 The Sting 1973 George Roy Hill IMDb 113 110 115 113 107 100 96 92 89 87 90 98 67 ↓4
118 Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade 1989 Steven Spielberg IMDb 116 120 125 122 116 112 112 108 104 103 100 97 141 ↓2
119 Like Stars on Earth 2007 Aamir Khan IMDb 119 122 92 87 81 84 82 84 111 148 =
120 Metropolis 1927 Fritz Lang IMDb 118 116 111 115 108 110 109 111 106 109 98 89 86 ↓2
121 Snatch 2000 Guy Ritchie IMDb 120 119 117 105 98 104 101 97 93 91 104 112 221 ↓1
122 1917 2019 Sam Mendes IMDb 123 123 118 102 ↑1
123 L.A. Confidential 1997 Curtis Hanson IMDb 122 117 127 124 119 108 107 101 98 94 93 80 49 ↓1
124 The Bicycle Thief 1948 Vittorio De Sica IMDb 121 121 102 100 100 98 99 94 91 88 84 91 104 ↓3
125 Downfall 2004 Oliver Hirschbiegel IMDb 125 124 133 131 128 120 121 120 118 117 116 107 =
126 Dangal 2016 Nitesh Tiwari IMDb 126 126 106 97 91 83 71 =
127 Taxi Driver 1976 Martin Scorsese IMDb 124 114 112 108 104 93 89 81 82 76 68 53 42 ↓3
128 Hamilton 2020 Thomas Kail IMDb 115 107 86 52 ↓13
129 The Wolf of Wall Street 2013 Martin Scorsese IMDb 131 133 142 141 144 149 150 154 144 130 ↑2
130 Batman Begins 2005 Christopher Nolan IMDb 128 127 137 129 124 116 116 115 111 108 107 103 ↓2
131 For a Few Dollars More 1965 Sergio Leone IMDb 127 125 123 117 109 107 105 102 99 95 108 111 ↓4
132 Green Book 2018 Peter Farrelly IMDb 134 132 132 126 127 ↑2
133 Some Like It Hot 1959 Billy Wilder IMDb 129 129 136 134 131 118 118 116 110 100 97 87 44 ↓4
134 The Truman Show 1998 Peter Weir IMDb 137 140 166 168 181 187 207 214 211 232 239 215 ↑3
135 Judgment at Nuremberg 1961 Stanley Kramer IMDb 136 134 143 148 146 137 134 146 147 153 145 250 ↑1
136 The Kid 1921 Charles Chaplin IMDb 132 128 104 101 99 99 100 99 96 99 110 128 ↓4
137 The Father 2020 Florian Zeller IMDb 133 130 109 ↓4
138 Shutter Island 2010 Martin Scorsese IMDb 140 143 155 152 161 171 180 189 192 209 240 234 ↑2
139 All About Eve 1950 Joseph L Mankiewicz IMDb 135 131 135 137 137 115 114 114 103 96 88 95 54 ↓4
140 There Will Be Blood 2007 Paul Thomas Anderson IMDb 138 139 144 144 151 160 166 182 175 184 185 173 ↓2
141 Jurassic Park 1993 Steven Spielberg IMDb 142 147 167 166 169 182 199 209 199 237 250 245 ↑1
142 Casino 1995 Martin Scorsese IMDb 139 135 146 139 138 143 146 145 141 141 144 150 ↓3
143 The Sixth Sense 1999 M Night Shyamalan IMDb 144 141 165 164 162 161 159 171 160 163 153 143 96 ↑1
144 Ran 1985 Akira Kurosawa IMDb 141 136 130 135 135 136 133 134 132 135 127 133 76 ↓3
145 Top Gun: Maverick 2022 Joseph Kosinski IMDb 130 88 ↓15
146 No Country for Old Men 2007 Joel & Ethan Coen IMDb 147 151 157 156 157 158 161 175 165 168 160 139 ↑1
147 Pan’s Labyrinth 2006 Guillermo Del Toro IMDb 143 137 148 142 140 129 130 129 126 123 117 106 ↓4
148 The Thing 1982 John Carpenter IMDb 150 153 161 162 164 163 163 174 166 165 164 147 ↑2
149 Unforgiven 1992 Clint Eastwood IMDb 145 138 138 133 126 119 120 119 113 110 105 94 127 ↓4
150 A Beautiful Mind 2001 Ron Howard IMDb 146 142 149 138 136 141 145 147 149 160 182 199 ↓4
151 Kill Bill: Vol 1 2003 Quentin Tarantino IMDb 151 152 179 175 177 172 173 178 170 171 163 152 63 =
152 The Treasure of the Sierra Madre 1948 John Huston IMDb 148 145 147 149 145 122 119 117 107 102 87 74 68 ↓4
153 Yojimbo 1961 Akira Kurosawa IMDb 149 144 128 128 125 117 113 113 109 106 102 109 107 ↓4
154 Prisoners 2013 Denis Villeneuve IMDb 159 169 187 196 198 208 216 233 232 246 234 ↑5
155 Finding Nemo 2003 Andrew Stanton IMDb 154 154 177 171 171 167 164 170 163 167 170 163 75 ↓1
156 The Great Escape 1963 John Sturges IMDb 153 149 145 140 133 127 126 125 121 118 119 110 77 ↓3
157 Monty Python and the Holy Grail 1975 Terry Gilliam & Terry Jones IMDb 152 146 134 127 120 106 102 100 94 90 95 84 56 ↓5
158 The Wild Robot 2024 Chris Sanders IMDb →
159 Howl’s Moving Castle 2004 Hayao Miyazaki IMDb 158 164 141 136 132 135 137 141 142 146 168 189 ↓1
160 The Elephant Man 1980 David Lynch IMDb 156 155 164 160 159 148 148 151 140 133 126 116 130 ↓4
161 Dial M for Murder 1954 Alfred Hitchcock IMDb 160 162 158 150 152 155 154 162 158 162 166 167 ↓1
162 Rashomon 1950 Akira Kurosawa IMDb 155 150 131 130 122 113 111 105 101 92 91 90 57 ↓7
163 Gone with the Wind 1939 Victor Fleming IMDb 161 159 180 170 165 162 157 166 155 157 151 158 148 ↓2
164 Chinatown 1974 Roman Polanski IMDb 157 156 152 154 149 131 129 127 122 116 99 78 48 ↓7
165 The Secret in Their Eyes 2009 Juan José Campanella IMDb 165 163 150 143 142 138 136 136 135 139 143 155 =
166 Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels 1998 Guy Ritchie IMDb 163 161 156 145 143 142 143 142 137 138 137 142 224 ↓3
167 V for Vendetta 2005 James McTeigue IMDb 162 158 171 157 153 152 149 153 145 145 152 164 ↓5
168 Inside Out 2015 Pete Docter & Ronnie del Carmen IMDb 166 160 174 158 154 147 138 128 95 ↓2
169 Klaus 2019 Sergio Pablos & Carlos Martinez López IMDb 175 183 160 169 176 ↑6
170 Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri 2017 Martin McDonagh IMDb 167 166 162 151 147 144 ↓3
171 Raging Bull 1980 Martin Scorsese IMDb 164 157 151 147 141 126 124 121 117 112 106 99 59 ↓7
172 Trainspotting 1996 Danny Boyle IMDb 169 167 173 165 158 159 155 163 157 154 149 151 203 ↓3
173 The Bridge on the River Kwai 1957 David Lean IMDb 170 165 175 177 166 140 139 137 129 126 114 100 52 ↓3
174 Catch Me if You Can 2002 Steven Spielberg IMDb 174 173 197 193 197 215 220 236 245 =
175 Fargo 1996 Joel Coen IMDb 171 170 176 178 174 164 160 167 156 152 136 127 88 ↓4
176 Warrior 2011 Gavin O’Connor IMDb 173 168 178 161 156 153 153 152 143 143 146 153 ↓3
177 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 2011 David Yates IMDb 179 181 215 214 220 217 218 224 219 217 227 220 ↑2
178 Gran Torino 2008 Clint Eastwood IMDb 176 171 192 181 175 165 156 159 146 140 131 125 ↓2
179 Spider-Man: No Way Home 2021 Jon Watts IMDb 168 148 16 ↓11
180 Million Dollar Baby 2004 Clint Eastwood IMDb 178 174 216 209 210 200 203 205 189 190 183 172 ↓2
181 Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - Tsuzumi Mansion Arc 2021 Haruo Sotozaki IMDb →
182 My Neighbor Totoro 1988 Hayao Miyazaki IMDb 177 172 153 146 134 133 132 131 128 128 141 165 ↓5
183 Mad Max: Fury Road 2015 George Miller IMDb 198 198 213 207 206 206 204 199 152 ↑15
184 Ben-Hur 1959 William Wyler IMDb 185 182 212 213 217 197 196 202 191 185 186 169 129 ↑1
185 Children of Heaven 1997 Majid Majidi IMDb 180 175 139 132 129 128 127 124 ↓5
186 12 Years a Slave 2013 Steve McQueen IMDb 182 180 207 204 200 199 202 201 184 175 ↓4
187 Barry Lyndon 1975 Stanley Kubrick IMDb 186 191 200 205 208 220 228 239 222 229 214 209 ↓1
188 Blade Runner 1982 Ridley Scott IMDb 181 176 172 173 167 154 147 139 134 136 128 124 94 ↓7
189 Before Sunrise 1995 Richard Linklater IMDb 183 179 195 191 196 205 212 219 207 215 231 ↓6
190 The Grand Budapest Hotel 2014 Wes Anderson IMDb 184 188 189 189 193 189 195 203 186 182 ↓6
191 Hacksaw Ridge 2016 Mel Gibson IMDb 189 193 203 192 188 177 174 91 ↓2
192 Dead Poets Society 1989 Peter Weir IMDb 196 206 210 211 223 224 243 ↑4
193 Gone Girl 2014 David Fincher IMDb 187 185 201 190 187 178 179 180 164 114 ↓6
194 Memories of Murder 2003 Bong Joon Ho IMDb 191 196 170 176 189 196 201 211 216 227 218 ↓3
195 In the Name of the Father 1993 Jim Sheridan IMDb 190 190 199 187 186 186 191 195 187 188 200 221 ↓5
196 Monsters, Inc. 2001 Pete Docter & David Silverman IMDb 202 203 230 233 231 221 224 228 213 223 226 222 161 ↑6
197 The Gold Rush 1925 Charles Chaplin IMDb 188 177 159 153 150 139 135 135 130 131 130 137 151 ↓9
198 Ratatouille 1986 Brad Bird IMDb 209 216 218 ↑11
199 Wild Tales 2014 Damián Szifron IMDb 195 197 185 182 184 181 185 197 194 ↓4
200 Maharaja 2024 Nithilan Saminathan IMDb →
201 How to Train Your Dragon 2010 Dean DeBlois & Chris Sanders IMDb 205 202 211 201 191 179 175 176 153 151 165 166 ↑4
202 Jaws 1975 Steven Spielberg IMDb 203 204 233 236 237 214 205 181 141 82 ↑1
203 The Deer Hunter 1978 Michael Cimino IMDb 194 189 188 185 179 166 158 164 151 147 139 134 117 ↓9
204 Sherlock, Jr. 1924 Buster Keaton IMDb 201 194 191 199 194 169 ↓3
205 The General 1926 Buster Keaton & Clyde Bruckman IMDb 193 187 190 200 192 157 152 150 139 137 123 120 93 ↓12
206 Mary and Max 2009 Adam Elliot IMDb 206 201 196 188 185 176 178 179 167 169 175 183 =
207 On the Waterfront 1954 Elia Kazan IMDb 192 178 182 183 170 145 140 132 125 121 115 115 78 ↓15
208 Ford v Ferrari 2019 James Mangold IMDb 207 210 206 203 130 ↓1
209 The Wages of Fear 1953 Henri-Georges Clouzot IMDb 200 192 218 222 202 203 192 191 173 161 ↓9
210 Mr. Smith Goes to Washington 1939 Frank Capra IMDb 204 195 198 206 190 151 144 138 127 122 112 108 66 ↓6
211 Wild Strawberries 1957 Ingmar Bergman IMDb 197 184 168 172 172 156 151 149 138 134 125 126 138 ↓14
212 The Third Man 1949 Carol Reed IMDb 199 186 169 180 168 132 125 122 112 104 89 72 39 ↓13
213 Logan 2017 James Mangold IMDb 215 217 221 219 214 211 188 ↑2
214 Rocky 1976 John G Avildsen IMDb 213 211 238 231 227 219 221 222 215 220 212 201 ↓1
215 Tokyo Story 1953 Yasujiro Ozu IMDb 212 208 181 184 180 175 167 165 ↓3
216 The Big Lebowski 1998 Joel Coen IMDb 211 205 209 197 183 170 165 161 148 142 133 131 222 ↓5
217 The Seventh Seal 1957 Ingmar Bergman IMDb 208 199 163 159 155 146 141 140 133 129 124 117 95 ↓9
218 Spotlight 2015 Tom McCarthy IMDb 216 213 229 225 224 210 205 193 ↓2
219 Room 2015 Lenny Abrahamson IMDb 210 200 202 179 160 150 142 133 ↓9
220 The Terminator 1984 James Cameron IMDb 219 214 243 226 229 232 210 213 196 171 202 ↓1
221 Hotel Rwanda 2004 Terry George IMDb 214 209 234 227 221 198 189 186 172 164 155 146 ↓7
222 Platoon 1986 Oliver Stone IMDb 217 212 228 217 207 191 187 187 174 172 162 144 147 ↓5
223 Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl 2003 Gore Verbinski IMDb 228 234 244 250 233 228 225 216 188 ↑5
224 La haine 1995 Mathieu Kassovitz IMDb 226 230 222 228 234 229 234 238 224 224 224 230 ↑2
225 Jai Bhim 2021 T. J. Gnanavel IMDb 221 233 140 ↓4
226 Before Sunset 2004 Richard Linklater IMDb 220 223 242 239 238 238 244 249 ↓6
227 The Best Years of Our Lives 1946 William Wyler IMDb 223 225 243 237 241 203 194 171 106 ↓4
228 The Passion of Joan of Arc 1928 Carl Theodor Dreyer IMDb 218 207 204 226 209 202 181 157 205 ↓10
229 The Exorcist 1973 William Friedkin IMDb 225 226 243 205 197 ↓4
230 The Wizard of Oz 1939 Sean Penn IMDb 229 222 231 233 231 201 191 173 149 62 ↓1
231 The Incredibles 2004 Brad Bird IMDb 230 228 ↓1
232 Rush 2013 Ron Howard IMDb 222 218 236 221 212 201 194 185 168 156 142 ↓10
233 Network 1976 Sidney Lumet IMDb 224 219 220 210 203 193 190 190 177 176 172 170 217 ↓9
234 Stand by Me 1986 Rob Reiner IMDb 227 215 219 212 204 190 193 194 180 183 184 175 196 ↓7
235 The Sound of Music 1965 Robert Wise IMDb 239 241 ↑4
236 Hachi: A Dog's Tale 2009 Lasse Hallström IMDb 232 231 224 216 211 209 211 210 195 192 213 ↓4
237 My Father and My Son 2005 Çagan Irmak IMDb 235 232 184 155 148 130 117 87 ↓2
238 The Handmaiden 2016 Chan-wook Park IMDb 234 240 217 218 229 240 248 ↓4
239 To Be or Not to Be 1942 Ernst Lubitsch IMDb 233 227 208 198 179 ↓6
240 A Man Escaped 1956 Robert Bresson IMDb →
241 The Iron Giant 1999 Brad Bird IMDb 243 246 ↑2
242 The Battle of Algiers 1966 Gillo Pontecorvo IMDb 236 229 246 248 247 247 217 218 ↓6
243 Into the Wild 2007 Sean Penn IMDb 231 221 237 220 201 183 182 177 161 158 161 161 ↓12
244 The Grapes of Wrath 1940 John Ford IMDb 237 235 222 222 215 193 189 167 159 136 ↓7
245 Groundhog Day 1993 Harold Ramis IMDb 238 224 230 231 234 212 216 201 178 204 ↓7
246 Amores Perros 2000 Alejandro González Iñárritu IMDb 240 236 239 230 222 212 208 207 188 186 180 181 139 ↓6
247 The Help 2011 Tate Taylor IMDb 244 248 245 239 235 242 248 235 234 248 ↓3
248 Rebecca 1940 Alfred Hitchcock IMDb 241 237 231 236 226 174 172 173 150 144 129 123 105 ↓7
249 A Silent Voice: The Movie 2016 Taichi Ishidate & Naoko Yamada IMDb 225 →
250 Cool Hand Luke 1967 Stuart Rosenberg IMDb 242 238 223 215 199 173 170 172 154 150 138 135 121 ↓8


The New Batch

The following films were not part of the IMDb Top 250 on 1st January, 2024, but had entered (or re-entered) it by 1st January, 2025:

# Title Year Director IMDb '24 '23 '22 '21 '20 '19 '18 '17 '16 '15 '14 '13 '04 Change
52 Dune: Part Two 2024 Denis Villeneuve IMDb →
62 12th Fail 2023 Vidhu Vinod Chopra IMDb →
158 The Wild Robot 2024 Chris Sanders IMDb →
181 Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - Tsuzumi Mansion Arc 2021 Haruo Sotozaki IMDb →
200 Maharaja 2024 Nithilan Saminathan IMDb →
240 A Man Escaped 1956 Robert Bresson IMDb →
249 A Silent Voice: The Movie 2016 Taichi Ishidate & Naoko Yamada IMDb 225 →


The Departed

The following films were part of the IMDb Top 250 on 1st January, 2024, but had dropped out of it by 1st January, 2025:

# Title Year Director IMDb '24 '23 '22 '21 '20 '19 '18 '17 '16 '15 '14 '13 '04 Change
Godzilla Minus One 2023 Takashi Yamazaki IMDb 172 →
It Happened One Night 1934 Frank Capra IMDb 245 242 241 243 233 188 184 183 162 149 135 140 113 ↑242
Pather Panchali 1955 Satyajit Ray IMDb 246 220 120 ↑220
The 400 Blows 1959 François Truffaut IMDb 247 239 226 224 219 207 200 198 179 187 179 184 160 ↑239
Aladdin 1992 Ron Clements & John Musker IMDb 248 247 246 ↑247
Dances with Wolves 1990 Kevin Costner IMDb 249 →
Gangs of Wasseypur 2012 Anurag Kashyap IMDb 250 227 232 236 196 →



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Last update: 1st January, 2025