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The IMDb Top 250 on 1st January, 2023


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, 2023, with some data that ties it to previous years.

Here are equivalent pages for 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 2022 to 2013, 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 2022 is a new entry, even if it was in the list in a previous year.

Notes

There's much worthy of note in this New Year's list.

Averages

For once, the averages are surprising. Across the decade I've been tracking this, the mean gets newer at roughly one year per year and, as I've previously mentioned, "no doubt, it will continue to do so because people keep on making new films". However, the mean drops for the first time from 1987 to 1986 probably because of COVID-19 and a period when people weren't able to keep on making new films.

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. 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. However, COVID-19 is once again a skewing factor, because almost nothing new joined the list in 2022. Of the seventeen new entries this year, only one was made in the last decade, Top Gun: Maverick, released in 2022.

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 tenth year running, with the same eight films from that year represented as in the 2022 list. It's stretching away from other years too, with only 2004 at seven; 1957 and 2019 drop to six, alongside 1999, 2003 and 2009. 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 better represented for 1957 than for its own golden year of 1939, with only three titles from that year in this list, notably up from two in 2022.

Decade Change

The oldest film in the list remains Charlie Chaplin's The Kid, released in 1921, so over a hundred years old. It's one of six films from the 1920s in this year's list, three years older than the next oldest, Buster Keaton's Sherlock, Jr., which will celebrate its centennial next year.

It's traditionally rare for an older decade to increase in representation, but both the 1930s and 1940s did this year, with only the 1990s and 2000s joining them in that increase. That's due to The Wizard of Oz being added from the thirties and The Grapes of Wrath and The Best Years of Our Lives from the forties. Notably, all three were regular inclusions in the Top 250 that dropped out in 2020.

New Entries

Talking of new entries, this is where everything shakes up this year, because those three are far from alone. Traditionally, the new entries include a combination of brand new English language films and classic foreign films, but recent foreign films have been becoming the norm too. That all changed in 2022.

Only one new entry is from the previous year, Top Gun: Maverick, also the highest new entry at 88, which isn't particularly high as such annual records go (last year's was Spider-Man: No Way Home at 16). And talking of records, that's a notable new low for recent films, especially as only three of the other sixteen are from the 21st century: 2003's Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, 2004's The Incredibles and 2011's The Help. The rest range from 1939's The Wizard of Oz to 1999's The Iron Giant.

Only one of these seventeen new entries is a foreign film, the 1955 French classic Rififi. All the rest are either American films or, in the case of Gandhi, a British film with American co-production credits. So much for both recent and classic foreign films, especially given how many dropped out this year, as you'll see in the Downs and Outs section.

What's more, the vast majority of these new entries are actually reentries, having or maintaining a presence in the Top 250 in previous years. Only The Sound of Music and The Iron Giant may actually be true new entries in the Top 250 for the first time. While The Incredibles isn't in any of my lists going back to 2013 or in my original list from 2004, it did make the list at some point in between 2004 and 2013, when I was only tracking new entries rather than recording full copies of the Top 250.

There's also an odd pattern here. Of the thirteen films that I have previous Top 250 placing for, seven dropped off the list in 2020 after long periods within it, only to spend three years gone and return this year. That's over half and I can't explain that. It's certainly not due to them reaching new thresholds of votes, because they include films as prominent as Jaws and Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.

Ups

Continuing the COVID-19 shake up, the number of films moving up the list over the past year increased massively. The previous high I'm tracking is 84 films going up in 2018, but that was eclipsed by the 126 going up in 2022. It's such a large number that it's notably higher than the number of films going down, breaking a long standing trend because I've never seen that happen before. When those 84 films went up in 2018, 102 went down for a difference of 18. In 2022, 126 went up and only 90 went down, a difference of 36 in the opposite direction. That's a huge change.

No doubt this is partly because there was only one new entry in the top two hundred (last year, there were seven). The traditional pattern is for films, often new Hollywood blockbusters, to enter high, so bouncing a large number of films down. That didn't happen in 2022, outside of Top Gun: Maverick.

However, that didn't mean that there was less change, because there was actually more. Films moved an average of 11.50 places in 2022, making it the most volatile year, beating 2014's record of 10.83. By comparison, the last two years have been under 6 (5.71 and 5.84 respectively), while the low, in 2019, was 4.70.

Why the list was so unstable this year, I have no idea. Whatever the reason, a lot of films leapt up the list in 2022, no fewer than seventeen of them jumping at least twenty places, with Million Dollar Baby the highest climber at 42 places, from 216 to 174. To highlight how high seventeen is, that number compares with only seven over the past seven years combined. There were thirteen across 2014 and 2015, making only twenty over a nine year period, but seventeen this past year alone. That's notable.

Downs and Outs

As always, the biggest drop was a mainstream Hollywood film that was a new entry the previous year. This time that was Dune, which entered at 183 last year but was gone this year, meaning a drop of at least 68 places. However, like last year, the vast majority of films dropping out of the list entirely were foreign language.

Seventeen films dropped out of the list entirely and only three are English language, the other two being The Princess Bride and Paris, Texas. Of course, Dune was directed by a French Canadian and Paris, Texas by a German, but they were American films made in the English language.

Major foreign language films to vanish in 2022 included Andrei Tarkovsky's Stalker, which had been in the list since I started grabbing annual lists in 2013, and Hayao Miyazaki's Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, which had been there since 2014. Other mainstays now gone include films like In the Mood for Love, Fanny and Alexander and Nights of Cabiria, though they hover low in the Top 250 and have left the list before, only to rejoin it again.

It's more common for films to fall a long way within the Top 250 than climb within it. The big drops this past year are for Spider-Man: No Way Home, falling 132 places from 16 to 148, and Pather Panchali, the Indian classic, which fell 100 places from 120 to 220. Sixteen other films dropped more than 20 places, the one placed highest in the list being Hamilton, adding another 21 places to the 34 it dropped the year before. It's now at 107, down from an initial new entry point in 2021 of 58.

Directors

This year's top directors are again balanced well between the modern and classic eras, with little change. Last year's most represented directors were Akira Kurosawa, Stanley Kubrick, Christopher Nolan and Martin Scorsese, with seven each. Joining them on seven this year is Steven Spielberg, after Jaws reentered the top 250. Behind them on six is Alfred Hitchcock, with Billy Wilder, Charlie Chaplin and Quentin Tarantino on five each.

The Top Ten

The Top Ten doesn't change a lot. In fact, the top twenty in 2022 was pretty consistent with the top twenty in 2021, with just two instances of two films swapping places, the same thing happening with different films in the year before that. The only time that affected the top ten over the past three years was when The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring edged past Fight Club to take the 10 spot in 2021. Before that, it was The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King moving past Pulp Fiction to 7 in 2019.

This time out, there are lots of swaps. The Dark Knight moves from 4 to 3, bumping The Godfather: Part II down, while The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring moves from 10 to 9 past The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.

That volatility continues into the second ten, with six films moving up, two moving down and only two staying put. The film moving in to fill the gap left by Spider-Man: No Way Home is Se7en, up two from last year's 21 to this year's 19, hopping over Seven Samurai.

The Usual Suspects | The New Batch | The Departed


The List

# Title Year Director IMDb '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 2 =
2 The Godfather 1972 Francis Ford Coppola IMDb 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 =
3 The Dark Knight 2008 Christopher Nolan IMDb 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 6 7 ↑1
4 The Godfather: Part II 1974 Francis Ford Coppola IMDb 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 4 ↓1
5 12 Angry Men 1957 Sidney Lumet IMDb 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 7 7 6 21 =
6 Schindler’s List 1993 Steven Spielberg IMDb 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 8 8 8 6 =
7 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King 2003 Peter Jackson IMDb 7 7 7 7 8 8 9 9 9 9 3 =
8 Pulp Fiction 1994 Quentin Tarantino IMDb 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 10 10 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 13 9 ↑1
10 The Good, the Bad and the Ugly 1966 Sergio Leone IMDb 9 9 9 9 9 9 8 6 5 5 20 ↓1
11 Forrest Gump 1994 Robert Zemeckis IMDb 12 12 12 12 12 13 13 14 15 19 115 ↑1
12 Fight Club 1999 David Fincher IMDb 11 11 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 41 ↓1
13 The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers 2002 Peter Jackson IMDb 14 14 15 15 15 15 16 17 19 21 8 ↑1
14 Inception 2010 Christopher Nolan IMDb 13 13 13 14 14 14 14 13 14 14 ↓1
15 The Empire Strikes Back 1980 Irvin Kershner IMDb 15 15 14 13 13 12 12 12 12 11 13 =
16 The Matrix 1999 Andy & Larry Wachowski IMDb 17 16 16 18 18 18 17 19 20 18 34 ↑1
17 Goodfellas 1990 Martin Scorsese IMDb 18 17 17 17 17 17 18 18 16 15 29 ↑1
18 One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest 1975 Milos Forman IMDb 19 18 18 16 16 16 15 15 13 12 12 ↑1
19 Se7en 1995 David Fincher IMDb 21 20 20 21 22 22 22 23 22 23 55 ↑2
20 Seven Samurai 1954 Akira Kurosawa IMDb 20 19 19 19 19 19 20 21 18 17 5 =
21 It’s a Wonderful Life 1946 Frank Capra IMDb 23 24 24 24 24 24 25 26 26 30 27 ↑2
22 The Silence of the Lambs 1991 Jonathan Demme IMDb 22 23 23 23 23 23 23 25 24 24 28 =
23 City of God 2002 Fernando Meirelles & Kátia Lund IMDb 24 22 21 20 21 21 21 22 21 20 23 ↑1
24 Saving Private Ryan 1998 Steven Spielberg IMDb 26 26 27 28 29 29 30 34 34 39 58 ↑2
25 Life is Beautiful 1997 Roberto Benigni IMDb 25 21 22 25 25 26 26 29 36 55 72 =
26 Interstellar 2014 Christopher Nolan IMDb 28 29 31 32 32 33 29 16 ↑2
27 The Green Mile 1999 Frank Darabont IMDb 30 28 29 31 34 37 40 42 48 65 132 ↑3
28 Star Wars 1977 George Lucas IMDb 27 25 25 22 20 20 19 20 17 16 10 ↓1
29 Terminator 2: Judgment Day 1991 James Cameron IMDb 35 37 38 42 44 44 41 40 39 36 110 ↑6
30 Back to the Future 1985 Robert Zemeckis IMDb 36 36 37 43 45 45 45 49 46 47 143 ↑6
31 Spirited Away 2001 Hayao Miyazaki IMDb 29 27 28 27 28 28 31 36 38 43 43 ↓2
32 Psycho 1960 Alfred Hitchcock IMDb 38 40 41 33 35 35 35 33 31 29 25 ↑6
33 The Pianist 2002 Roman Polanski IMDb 34 35 39 39 40 42 42 43 43 49 37 ↑1
34 Parasite 2019 Bong Joon Ho IMDb 31 30 30 ↓3
35 Leon 1994 Luc Besson IMDb 32 31 32 30 27 27 27 28 28 31 64 ↓3
36 The Lion King 1994 Roger Allers & Rob Minkoff IMDb 39 34 35 47 48 51 54 54 69 79 ↑3
37 Gladiator 2000 Ridley Scott IMDb 44 41 42 48 47 47 47 48 49 63 168 ↑7
38 American History X 1998 Tony Kaye IMDb 42 38 36 34 31 32 32 32 32 34 61 ↑4
39 The Departed 2006 Martin Scorsese IMDb 46 43 45 41 42 43 44 46 47 50 ↑7
40 The Usual Suspects 1995 Bryan Singer IMDb 37 32 34 26 26 25 24 24 25 26 18 ↓3
41 The Prestige 2006 Christopher Nolan IMDb 48 46 48 49 49 50 51 51 61 68 ↑7
42 Whiplash 2014 Damien Chazelle IMDb 43 45 46 44 46 46 43 ↑1
43 Casablanca 1942 Michael Curtiz IMDb 49 49 49 37 36 34 33 30 27 25 7 ↑6
44 Harakiri 1962 Masaki Kobayashi IMDb 33 33 33 ↓11
45 Grave of the Fireflies 1988 Isao Takahata IMDb 41 47 50 55 58 59 64 71 82 104 171 ↓4
46 The Intouchables 2011 Olivier Nakache & Eric Toledano IMDb 47 44 43 40 38 39 38 38 45 64 ↑1
47 Modern Times 1936 Charles Chaplin IMDb 40 39 40 38 39 40 39 39 41 45 69 ↓7
48 Once Upon a Time in the West 1968 Sergio Leone IMDb 50 48 47 36 33 30 28 27 23 22 32 ↑2
49 Rear Window 1954 Alfred Hitchcock IMDb 51 51 51 45 43 41 37 37 30 28 14 ↑2
50 Cinema Paradiso 1988 Giuseppe Tornatore IMDb 52 50 52 54 55 57 57 57 64 76 99 ↑2
51 Alien 1979 Ridley Scott IMDb 53 53 53 52 52 52 53 50 44 40 60 ↑2
52 City Lights 1931 Charles Chaplin IMDb 45 42 44 35 37 36 34 35 33 41 91 ↓7
53 Apocalypse Now 1979 Francis Ford Coppola IMDb 54 54 55 50 51 49 48 45 40 35 36 ↑1
54 Memento 2000 Christopher Nolan IMDb 55 55 56 51 50 48 46 41 37 33 19 ↑1
55 Raiders of the Lost Ark 1981 Steven Spielberg IMDb 56 57 54 46 41 38 36 31 29 27 17 ↑1
56 Django Unchained 2012 Quentin Tarantino IMDb 58 58 60 62 60 60 60 56 53 ↑2
57 WALL-E 2008 Andrew Stanton IMDb 62 62 65 63 62 62 62 61 60 59 ↑5
58 The Lives of Others 2006 Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck IMDb 59 59 58 58 57 56 56 53 55 60 ↑1
59 Sunset Boulevard 1950 Billy Wilder IMDb 61 65 66 57 54 54 50 44 35 32 31 ↑2
60 Paths of Glory 1957 Stanley Kubrick IMDb 60 61 63 60 59 58 58 59 54 54 40 =
61 The Shining 1980 Stanley Kubrick IMDb 65 63 62 61 61 61 59 58 51 46 89 ↑4
62 The Great Dictator 1940 Charles Chaplin IMDb 57 56 57 53 53 55 55 52 59 69 97 ↓5
63 Avengers: Infinity War 2018 Anthony & Joe Russo IMDb 63 64 61 56 =
64 Witness for the Prosecution 1957 Billy Wilder IMDb 64 66 70 65 67 71 76 83 83 102 164 =
65 Aliens 1986 James Cameron IMDb 74 73 73 69 68 66 65 63 62 58 87 ↑9
66 Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse 2018 Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey & Rodney Rothman IMDb 66 69 64 29 =
67 American Beauty 1999 Sam Mendes IMDb 82 77 75 66 63 64 63 60 57 51 30 ↑15
68 Dr. Strangelove 1964 Stanley Kubrick IMDb 67 70 68 59 56 53 49 47 42 37 15 ↓1
69 The Dark Knight Rises 2012 Christopher Nolan IMDb 73 71 71 67 65 63 61 55 50 38 ↑4
70 Oldboy 2003 Chan-wook Park IMDb 69 67 69 68 66 67 69 70 76 85 ↓1
71 Amadeus 1984 Milos Forman IMDb 83 84 83 81 86 89 88 89 92 88 79 ↑12
72 Inglourious Basterds 2009 Quentin Tarantino IMDb 85 85 85 95 98 98 100 101 109 113 ↑13
73 Coco 2017 Lee Unkrich & Adrian Molina IMDb 72 75 76 71 30 ↓1
74 Joker 2019 Todd Phillips IMDb 70 60 26 ↓4
75 Toy Story 1995 John Lasseter IMDb 81 81 82 91 95 95 97 107 113 118 177 ↑6
76 Braveheart 1995 Mel Gibson IMDb 84 78 77 74 76 77 78 79 79 83 85 ↑8
77 Das Boot 1981 Wolfgang Peterson IMDb 78 79 78 72 70 70 71 69 71 71 46 ↑1
78 Avengers: Endgame 2019 Anthony & Joe Russo IMDb 76 76 59 ↓2
79 Princess Mononoke 1997 Hayao Miyazaki IMDb 68 68 67 64 64 65 68 72 81 93 100 ↓11
80 Once Upon a Time in America 1984 Sergio Leone IMDb 75 72 72 70 69 68 72 74 77 77 124 ↓5
81 Good Will Hunting 1997 Gus Van Sant IMDb 87 88 86 101 103 110 119 127 140 157 248 ↑6
82 Your Name 2016 Makoto Shinkai IMDb 71 74 74 80 79 ↓11
83 Requiem for a Dream 2000 Darren Aronofsky IMDb 97 91 89 82 80 79 81 80 75 73 51 ↑14
84 Singin’ in the Rain 1952 Gene Kelly & Stanley Donen IMDb 98 99 103 94 92 96 90 86 86 86 47 ↑14
85 3 Idiots 2009 Rajkumar Hirani IMDb 80 80 79 87 94 103 114 120 158 240 ↓5
86 Toy Story 3 2010 Lee Unkrich IMDb 122 110 106 102 97 88 80 68 66 56 ↑36
87 High and Low 1963 Akira Kurosawa IMDb 79 83 ↓8
88 Top Gun: Maverick 2022 Joseph Kosinski IMDb →
89 Return of the Jedi 1983 Richard Marquand IMDb 88 86 80 78 75 74 73 73 78 81 131 ↓1
90 Capernaum 2018 Nadine Labaki IMDb 77 82 110 ↓13
91 Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind 2004 Michel Gondry IMDb 100 95 92 86 88 86 86 84 80 75 38 ↑9
92 2001: A Space Odyssey 1968 Stanley Kubrick IMDb 89 90 88 89 93 93 92 98 103 92 73 ↓3
93 Reservoir Dogs 1992 Quentin Tarantino IMDb 91 89 84 77 77 76 77 77 74 70 71 ↓2
94 The Hunt 2012 Thomas Vinterberg IMDb 96 94 94 103 104 107 116 125 132 ↑2
95 Come and See 1985 Elem Klimov IMDb 90 109 139 168 171 181 ↓5
96 Citizen Kane 1941 Orson Welles IMDb 95 96 93 73 72 69 66 64 56 44 11 ↓1
97 M 1931 Fritz Lang IMDb 94 93 87 79 78 75 74 67 58 52 50 ↓3
98 Lawrence of Arabia 1962 David Lean IMDb 103 111 105 85 85 82 85 82 73 66 24 ↑5
99 North by Northwest 1959 Alfred Hitchcock IMDb 99 103 96 76 74 72 67 62 52 42 22 =
100 Vertigo 1958 Alfred Hitchcock IMDb 93 92 90 75 73 73 70 66 63 48 33 ↓7
101 Amelie 2001 Jean-Pierre Jeunet IMDb 119 112 101 90 83 78 75 65 65 62 26 ↑18
102 The Apartment 1960 Billy Wilder IMDb 108 118 115 109 108 106 102 97 96 96 81 ↑6
103 A Clockwork Orange 1971 Stanley Kubrick IMDb 113 104 97 88 84 80 79 75 70 61 74 ↑10
104 Ikiru 1952 Akira Kurosawa IMDb 101 107 113 124 128 130 131 132 120 193 ↓3
105 Double Indemnity 1944 Billy Wilder IMDb 110 119 112 92 87 83 83 78 67 57 45 ↑5
106 Full Metal Jacket 1987 Stanley Kubrick IMDb 105 98 95 96 91 90 87 85 85 82 102 ↓1
107 Hamilton 2020 Thomas Kail IMDb 86 52 ↓21
108 Scarface 1983 Brian De Palma IMDb 116 106 102 105 106 104 108 113 121 129 ↑8
109 To Kill a Mockingbird 1962 Robert Mulligan IMDb 121 120 114 97 90 85 84 81 72 67 35 ↑12
110 The Sting 1973 George Roy Hill IMDb 115 113 107 100 96 92 89 87 90 98 67 ↑5
111 Incendies 2010 Denis Villeneuve IMDb 107 116 118 125 131 148 159 174 202 226 ↓4
112 Up 2009 Pete Docter IMDb 124 121 117 114 115 118 115 115 118 114 ↑12
113 Heat 1995 Michael Mann IMDb 126 123 121 123 123 126 123 124 122 119 245 ↑13
114 Taxi Driver 1976 Martin Scorsese IMDb 112 108 104 93 89 81 82 76 68 53 42 ↓2
115 A Separation 2011 Asghar Farhadi IMDb 114 114 111 111 110 109 105 105 101 105 ↓1
116 Metropolis 1927 Fritz Lang IMDb 111 115 108 110 109 111 106 109 98 89 86 ↓5
117 L.A. Confidential 1997 Curtis Hanson IMDb 127 124 119 108 107 101 98 94 93 80 49 ↑10
118 Die Hard 1988 John McTiernan IMDb 129 125 123 121 122 123 120 119 111 101 156 ↑11
119 Snatch 2000 Guy Ritchie IMDb 117 105 98 104 101 97 93 91 104 112 221 ↓2
120 Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade 1989 Steven Spielberg IMDb 125 122 116 112 112 108 104 103 100 97 141 ↑5
121 The Bicycle Thief 1948 Vittorio De Sica IMDb 102 100 100 98 99 94 91 88 84 91 104 ↓19
122 Like Stars on Earth 2007 Aamir Khan IMDb 92 87 81 84 82 84 111 148 ↓30
123 1917 2019 Sam Mendes IMDb 118 102 ↓5
124 Downfall 2004 Oliver Hirschbiegel IMDb 133 131 128 120 121 120 118 117 116 107 ↑9
125 For a Few Dollars More 1965 Sergio Leone IMDb 123 117 109 107 105 102 99 95 108 111 ↓2
126 Dangal 2016 Nitesh Tiwari IMDb 106 97 91 83 71 ↓20
127 Batman Begins 2005 Christopher Nolan IMDb 137 129 124 116 116 115 111 108 107 103 ↑10
128 The Kid 1921 Charles Chaplin IMDb 104 101 99 99 100 99 96 99 110 128 ↓24
129 Some Like It Hot 1959 Billy Wilder IMDb 136 134 131 118 118 116 110 100 97 87 44 ↑7
130 The Father 2020 Florian Zeller IMDb 109 ↓21
131 All About Eve 1950 Joseph L Mankiewicz IMDb 135 137 137 115 114 114 103 96 88 95 54 ↑4
132 Green Book 2018 Peter Farrelly IMDb 132 126 127 =
133 The Wolf of Wall Street 2013 Martin Scorsese IMDb 142 141 144 149 150 154 144 130 ↑9
134 Judgment at Nuremberg 1961 Stanley Kramer IMDb 143 148 146 137 134 146 147 153 145 250 ↑9
135 Casino 1995 Martin Scorsese IMDb 146 139 138 143 146 145 141 141 144 150 ↑11
136 Ran 1985 Akira Kurosawa IMDb 130 135 135 136 133 134 132 135 127 133 76 ↓6
137 Pan’s Labyrinth 2006 Guillermo Del Toro IMDb 148 142 140 129 130 129 126 123 117 106 ↑11
138 Unforgiven 1992 Clint Eastwood IMDb 138 133 126 119 120 119 113 110 105 94 127 =
139 There Will Be Blood 2007 Paul Thomas Anderson IMDb 144 144 151 160 166 182 175 184 185 173 ↑5
140 The Truman Show 1998 Peter Weir IMDb 166 168 181 187 207 214 211 232 239 215 ↑26
141 The Sixth Sense 1999 M Night Shyamalan IMDb 165 164 162 161 159 171 160 163 153 143 96 ↑24
142 A Beautiful Mind 2001 Ron Howard IMDb 149 138 136 141 145 147 149 160 182 199 ↑7
143 Shutter Island 2010 Martin Scorsese IMDb 155 152 161 171 180 189 192 209 240 234 ↑12
144 Yojimbo 1961 Akira Kurosawa IMDb 128 128 125 117 113 113 109 106 102 109 107 ↓16
145 The Treasure of the Sierra Madre 1948 John Huston IMDb 147 149 145 122 119 117 107 102 87 74 68 ↑2
146 Monty Python and the Holy Grail 1975 Terry Gilliam & Terry Jones IMDb 134 127 120 106 102 100 94 90 95 84 56 ↓12
147 Jurassic Park 1993 Steven Spielberg IMDb 167 166 169 182 199 209 199 237 250 245 ↑20
148 Spider-Man: No Way Home 2021 Jon Watts IMDb 16 ↓132
149 The Great Escape 1963 John Sturges IMDb 145 140 133 127 126 125 121 118 119 110 77 ↓4
150 Rashomon 1950 Akira Kurosawa IMDb 131 130 122 113 111 105 101 92 91 90 57 ↓19
151 No Country for Old Men 2007 Joel & Ethan Coen IMDb 157 156 157 158 161 175 165 168 160 139 ↑6
152 Kill Bill: Vol 1 2003 Quentin Tarantino IMDb 179 175 177 172 173 178 170 171 163 152 63 ↑27
153 The Thing 1982 John Carpenter IMDb 161 162 164 163 163 174 166 165 164 147 ↑8
154 Finding Nemo 2003 Andrew Stanton IMDb 177 171 171 167 164 170 163 167 170 163 75 ↑23
155 The Elephant Man 1980 David Lynch IMDb 164 160 159 148 148 151 140 133 126 116 130 ↑9
156 Chinatown 1974 Roman Polanski IMDb 152 154 149 131 129 127 122 116 99 78 48 ↓4
157 Raging Bull 1980 Martin Scorsese IMDb 151 147 141 126 124 121 117 112 106 99 59 ↓6
158 V for Vendetta 2005 James McTeigue IMDb 171 157 153 152 149 153 145 145 152 164 ↑13
159 Gone with the Wind 1939 Victor Fleming IMDb 180 170 165 162 157 166 155 157 151 158 148 ↑21
160 Inside Out 2015 Pete Docter & Ronnie del Carmen IMDb 174 158 154 147 138 128 95 ↑14
161 Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels 1998 Guy Ritchie IMDb 156 145 143 142 143 142 137 138 137 142 224 ↓5
162 Dial M for Murder 1954 Alfred Hitchcock IMDb 158 150 152 155 154 162 158 162 166 167 ↓4
163 The Secret in Their Eyes 2009 Juan José Campanella IMDb 150 143 142 138 136 136 135 139 143 155 ↓13
164 Howl’s Moving Castle 2004 Hayao Miyazaki IMDb 141 136 132 135 137 141 142 146 168 189 ↓23
165 The Bridge on the River Kwai 1957 David Lean IMDb 175 177 166 140 139 137 129 126 114 100 52 ↑10
166 Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri 2017 Martin McDonagh IMDb 162 151 147 144 ↓4
167 Trainspotting 1996 Danny Boyle IMDb 173 165 158 159 155 163 157 154 149 151 203 ↑6
168 Warrior 2011 Gavin O’Connor IMDb 178 161 156 153 153 152 143 143 146 153 ↑10
169 Prisoners 2013 Denis Villeneuve IMDb 187 196 198 208 216 233 232 246 234 ↑18
170 Fargo 1996 Joel Coen IMDb 176 178 174 164 160 167 156 152 136 127 88 ↑6
171 Gran Torino 2008 Clint Eastwood IMDb 192 181 175 165 156 159 146 140 131 125 ↑21
172 My Neighbor Totoro 1988 Hayao Miyazaki IMDb 153 146 134 133 132 131 128 128 141 165 ↓19
173 Catch Me if You Can 2002 Steven Spielberg IMDb 197 193 197 215 220 236 245 ↑24
174 Million Dollar Baby 2004 Clint Eastwood IMDb 216 209 210 200 203 205 189 190 183 172 ↑42
175 Children of Heaven 1997 Majid Majidi IMDb 139 132 129 128 127 124 ↓36
176 Blade Runner 1982 Ridley Scott IMDb 172 173 167 154 147 139 134 136 128 124 94 ↓4
177 The Gold Rush 1925 Charles Chaplin IMDb 159 153 150 139 135 135 130 131 130 137 151 ↓18
178 On the Waterfront 1954 Elia Kazan IMDb 182 183 170 145 140 132 125 121 115 115 78 ↑4
179 Before Sunrise 1995 Richard Linklater IMDb 195 191 196 205 212 219 207 215 231 ↑16
180 12 Years a Slave 2013 Steve McQueen IMDb 207 204 200 199 202 201 184 175 ↑27
181 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 2011 David Yates IMDb 215 214 220 217 218 224 219 217 227 220 ↑34
182 Ben-Hur 1959 William Wyler IMDb 212 213 217 197 196 202 191 185 186 169 129 ↑30
183 Klaus 2019 Sergio Pablos & Carlos Martinez López IMDb 160 169 176 ↓23
184 Wild Strawberries 1957 Ingmar Bergman IMDb 168 172 172 156 151 149 138 134 125 126 138 ↓16
185 Gone Girl 2014 David Fincher IMDb 201 190 187 178 179 180 164 114 ↑16
186 The Third Man 1949 Carol Reed IMDb 169 180 168 132 125 122 112 104 89 72 39 ↓17
187 The General 1926 Buster Keaton & Clyde Bruckman IMDb 190 200 192 157 152 150 139 137 123 120 93 ↑3
188 The Grand Budapest Hotel 2014 Wes Anderson IMDb 189 189 193 189 195 203 186 182 ↑1
189 The Deer Hunter 1978 Michael Cimino IMDb 188 185 179 166 158 164 151 147 139 134 117 ↓1
190 In the Name of the Father 1993 Jim Sheridan IMDb 199 187 186 186 191 195 187 188 200 221 ↑9
191 Barry Lyndon 1975 Stanley Kubrick IMDb 200 205 208 220 228 239 222 229 214 209 ↑9
192 The Wages of Fear 1953 Henri-Georges Clouzot IMDb 218 222 202 203 192 191 173 161 ↑26
193 Hacksaw Ridge 2016 Mel Gibson IMDb 203 192 188 177 174 91 ↑10
194 Sherlock, Jr. 1924 Buster Keaton IMDb 191 199 194 169 ↓3
195 Mr. Smith Goes to Washington 1939 Frank Capra IMDb 198 206 190 151 144 138 127 122 112 108 66 ↑3
196 Memories of Murder 2003 Bong Joon Ho IMDb 170 176 189 196 201 211 216 227 218 ↓26
197 Wild Tales 2014 Damián Szifron IMDb 185 182 184 181 185 197 194 ↓12
198 Mad Max: Fury Road 2015 George Miller IMDb 213 207 206 206 204 199 152 ↑15
199 The Seventh Seal 1957 Ingmar Bergman IMDb 163 159 155 146 141 140 133 129 124 117 95 ↓36
200 Room 2015 Lenny Abrahamson IMDb 202 179 160 150 142 133 ↑2
201 Mary and Max 2009 Adam Elliot IMDb 196 188 185 176 178 179 167 169 175 183 ↓5
202 How to Train Your Dragon 2010 Dean DeBlois & Chris Sanders IMDb 211 201 191 179 175 176 153 151 165 166 ↑9
203 Monsters, Inc. 2001 Pete Docter & David Silverman IMDb 230 233 231 221 224 228 213 223 226 222 161 ↑27
204 Jaws 1975 Steven Spielberg IMDb 233 236 237 214 205 181 141 82 →
205 The Big Lebowski 1998 Joel Coen IMDb 209 197 183 170 165 161 148 142 133 131 222 ↑4
206 Dead Poets Society 1989 Peter Weir IMDb 210 211 223 224 243 ↑4
207 The Passion of Joan of Arc 1928 Carl Theodor Dreyer IMDb 204 226 209 202 181 157 205 ↓3
208 Tokyo Story 1953 Yasujiro Ozu IMDb 181 184 180 175 167 165 ↓27
209 Hotel Rwanda 2004 Terry George IMDb 234 227 221 198 189 186 172 164 155 146 ↑25
210 Ford v Ferrari 2019 James Mangold IMDb 206 203 130 ↓4
211 Rocky 1976 John G Avildsen IMDb 238 231 227 219 221 222 215 220 212 201 ↑27
212 Platoon 1986 Oliver Stone IMDb 228 217 207 191 187 187 174 172 162 144 147 ↑16
213 Spotlight 2015 Tom McCarthy IMDb 229 225 224 210 205 193 ↑16
214 The Terminator 1984 James Cameron IMDb 243 226 229 232 210 213 196 171 202 →
215 Stand by Me 1986 Rob Reiner IMDb 219 212 204 190 193 194 180 183 184 175 196 ↑4
216 Ratatouille 1986 Brad Bird IMDb 218 →
217 Logan 2017 James Mangold IMDb 221 219 214 211 188 ↑4
218 Rush 2013 Ron Howard IMDb 236 221 212 201 194 185 168 156 142 ↑18
219 Network 1976 Sidney Lumet IMDb 220 210 203 193 190 190 177 176 172 170 217 ↑1
220 Pather Panchali 1955 Satyajit Ray IMDb 120 ↓100
221 Into the Wild 2007 Sean Penn IMDb 237 220 201 183 182 177 161 158 161 161 ↑16
222 The Wizard of Oz 1939 Sean Penn IMDb 231 233 231 201 191 173 149 62 →
223 Before Sunset 2004 Richard Linklater IMDb 242 239 238 238 244 249 ↑19
224 Groundhog Day 1993 Harold Ramis IMDb 230 231 234 212 216 201 178 204 →
225 The Best Years of Our Lives 1946 William Wyler IMDb 243 237 241 203 194 171 106 →
226 The Exorcist 1973 William Friedkin IMDb 243 205 197 →
227 To Be or Not to Be 1942 Ernst Lubitsch IMDb 208 198 179 ↓19
228 The Incredibles 2004 Brad Bird IMDb →
229 The Battle of Algiers 1966 Gillo Pontecorvo IMDb 246 248 247 247 217 218 ↑17
230 La haine 1995 Mathieu Kassovitz IMDb 222 228 234 229 234 238 224 224 224 230 ↓8
231 Hachi: A Dog's Tale 2009 Lasse Hallström IMDb 224 216 211 209 211 210 195 192 213 ↓7
232 My Father and My Son 2005 Çagan Irmak IMDb 184 155 148 130 117 87 ↓48
233 Jai Bhim 2021 T. J. Gnanavel IMDb 140 ↓93
234 Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl 2003 Gore Verbinski IMDb 244 250 233 228 225 216 188 →
235 The Grapes of Wrath 1940 John Ford IMDb 222 222 215 193 189 167 159 136 →
236 Amores Perros 2000 Alejandro González Iñárritu IMDb 239 230 222 212 208 207 188 186 180 181 139 ↑3
237 Rebecca 1940 Alfred Hitchcock IMDb 231 236 226 174 172 173 150 144 129 123 105 ↓6
238 Cool Hand Luke 1967 Stuart Rosenberg IMDb 223 215 199 173 170 172 154 150 138 135 121 ↓15
239 The 400 Blows 1959 François Truffaut IMDb 226 224 219 207 200 198 179 187 179 184 160 ↓13
240 The Handmaiden 2016 Chan-wook Park IMDb 217 218 229 240 248 ↓23
241 The Sound of Music 1965 Robert Wise IMDb →
242 It Happened One Night 1934 Frank Capra IMDb 241 243 233 188 184 183 162 149 135 140 113 ↓1
243 Persona 1966 Ingmar Bergman IMDb 193 195 195 195 198 206 181 193 190 185 235 ↓50
244 Life of Brian 1979 Terry Jones IMDb 232 223 205 185 183 184 171 173 174 162 159 ↓12
245 Dersu Uzala 1975 Akira Kurosawa IMDb 154 ↓91
246 The Iron Giant 1999 Brad Bird IMDb →
247 Aladdin 1992 Ron Clements & John Musker IMDb 246 →
248 The Help 2011 Tate Taylor IMDb 245 239 235 242 248 235 234 248 →
249 Gandhi 1982 Richard Attenborough IMDb 227 226 221 200 199 192 187 192 →
250 Rififi 1955 Jules Dassin IMDb 237 →


The New Batch

The following films were not part of the IMDb Top 250 on 1st January, 2022, but had entered (or re-entered) it by 1st January, 2023:

# Title Year Director IMDb '22 '21 '20 '19 '18 '17 '16 '15 '14 '13 '04 Change
88 Top Gun: Maverick 2022 Joseph Kosinski IMDb →
204 Jaws 1975 Steven Spielberg IMDb 233 236 237 214 205 181 141 82 →
214 The Terminator 1984 James Cameron IMDb 243 226 229 232 210 213 196 171 202 →
216 Ratatouille 1986 Brad Bird IMDb 218 →
222 The Wizard of Oz 1939 Sean Penn IMDb 231 233 231 201 191 173 149 62 →
224 Groundhog Day 1993 Harold Ramis IMDb 230 231 234 212 216 201 178 204 →
225 The Best Years of Our Lives 1946 William Wyler IMDb 243 237 241 203 194 171 106 →
226 The Exorcist 1973 William Friedkin IMDb 243 205 197 →
228 The Incredibles 2004 Brad Bird IMDb →
234 Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl 2003 Gore Verbinski IMDb 244 250 233 228 225 216 188 →
235 The Grapes of Wrath 1940 John Ford IMDb 222 222 215 193 189 167 159 136 →
241 The Sound of Music 1965 Robert Wise IMDb →
246 The Iron Giant 1999 Brad Bird IMDb →
247 Aladdin 1992 Ron Clements & John Musker IMDb 246 →
248 The Help 2011 Tate Taylor IMDb 245 239 235 242 248 235 234 248 →
249 Gandhi 1982 Richard Attenborough IMDb 227 226 221 200 199 192 187 192 →
250 Rififi 1955 Jules Dassin IMDb 237 →


The Departed

The following films were part of the IMDb Top 250 on 1st January, 2022, but had dropped out of it by 1st January, 2023:

# Title Year Director IMDb '22 '21 '20 '19 '18 '17 '16 '15 '14 '13 '04 Change
Dune 2021 Denis Villeneuve IMDb 183 ←
Stalker 1979 Andrei Tarkovsky IMDb 186 174 182 194 206 213 198 206 217 213 ←
Z 1969 Costa-Gavras IMDb 194 ←
Andhadhun 2018 Siram Raghavan IMDb 205 194 173 ←
Autumn Sonata 1978 Ingmar Bergman IMDb 214 186 ←
A Silent Voice: The Movie 2016 Naoko Yamada IMDb 225 ←
Gangs of Wasseypur 2012 Anurag Kashyap IMDb 227 232 236 196 ←
In the Mood for Love 2000 Wong Kar Wai IMDb 233 240 240 236 241 242 238 ←
The Bandit 1996 Yavuz Turgul IMDb 235 202 178 192 168 143 ←
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind 1984 Hayao Miyazaki IMDb 240 234 218 216 213 212 196 197 210 ←
Fanny and Alexander 1982 Ingmar Bergman IMDb 243 249 223 214 194 236 ←
The End of Evangelion 1997 Hideaki Anno & Kazuya Tsurumaki IMDb 244 ←
Andrei Rublev 1966 Andrei Tarkovsky IMDb 245 229 216 204 169 ←
Nights of Cabiria 1957 Federico Fellini IMDb 247 234 217 192 ←
The Princess Bride 1987 Rob Reiner IMDb 248 247 237 214 214 208 185 181 188 191 101 ←
Paris, Texas 1984 Wim Wenders IMDb 249 241 245 242 244 250 ←
Miracle in Cell No. 7 2019 Mehmet Ada Öztekin IMDb 250 ←



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Last update: 1st January, 2023