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The IMDb Top 250 on 1st January, 2026


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, 2026, with some data that ties it to previous years.

Here are equivalent pages for 2025, 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 2013 to 2026, 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 2025 is a new entry, even if it was in the list in a previous year.

Notes

The IMDb Top 250 had a quiet year for the third year running. That suggests a new quieter norm.

Averages

The mean continues to creep forward, from 1988 to 1989. 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 back to 1995 in 2024 but it stayed there in 2025 and it's still there in 2026. 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 only three of the eight new entries dating to the 2020s but only one of the eight films that left the list. However, it didn't happen much, that change of eight being only one up on 2025 and three up on 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 fourteenth 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, but it's joined this year by 2003, after the new entry of The Best of Youth. 1957, 1999, 2009 and 2019 continue to sharing the next 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 three titles that are over a hundred years old, along with Buster Keaton's Sherlock, Jr., from 1924, and Chaplin's The Gold Rush, which reached that milestone during the past year. There are three 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 but the 1970s gained one this year in a Turkish film called The Chaos Class Failed the Class. The 1920s, 1930s and 1980s remained unchanged. Every decade from the 1940s to the 2000s dropped one, with the exception of the 1970s. That left room for four new films from the 21st century, two each from the 2010s and 2020s.

New Entries

I mentioned that there are precious few new entries once more, though eight is an increase on last year's seven and the previous year's five. By comparison, the lowest number of new entries over the past eleven years was twelve in 2022. Eight 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 eight new entries, none come from Hollywood for the very first time. In addition to the Turkish film mentioned above, there's an Italian film, The Best of Youth; three Indian films, Gangs of Wasseypur, Drishyam and Andhadhun; and three Japanese films, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - Infinity Castle, Chainsaw Man - The Movie: Reze Arc and Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - Mugen Train.

It's worth noting that the three Indian films, alone from this list, have all been in the Top 250 before only to drop out gain. In fact, Drishyam has joined and then left the list twice already and Gangs of Wasseypur three times. Also, as with last year, all the Japanese new entries are anime, including two from the same Demon Slayer franchise.

Ups and Downs

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 83 films rising (compared to 57 last year) and 114 falling (compared to 153 last year). It's pretty close to 2019's 81 up and 117 down.

As with the last couple of years, very few films moved by much. Only one film climbed more than 15 places, which was A Silent Voice: The Movie, which moved up 24 places from 249 to 225, ironically the only place it had previously occupied in the list, in 2022. Only five others climbed more than 7 places. Three films dropped more than 15 places, the most change going to The Wild Robot, which fell 23 places from 158 to 181. The other two, were Maharaja and Spider Man: No Way Home, falling 18 and 17 places respectively. 23 places isn't much of a drop historically for the highest faller.

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 record low of 3.86 dropping once more to 3.72 this time out.

Downs and Outs

The highest placed film to leave the list entirely tends to be a mainstream Hollywood film that was a new entry the previous year but, for the second year running, it was a Japanese film, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - Tsuzumi Mansion Arc, which entered at 181 last year but was gone in this list.

The highest placed of the other seven was still very low, A Man Escaped at 240 last year. For a change most of these leavers were mainstays, Amores Perros, Rebecca and Cool Hand Luke 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. Into the Wild hadn't been released in 2004 but was in the list in 2013 and every year since. Groundhog Day and The Help have left before, only to rejoin again, but they've been in the list more often than not; both of them eleven times out in fourteen years. As The Help didn't come out until 2011, it was only absent once, in 2022.

Directors

This year's top directors changed very little from last year. Christopher Nolan remains in top spot with eight titles, ahead of Stanley Kubrick, Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg on seven each. Akira Kurosawa remains on six but, with the loss of Rebecca, Alfred Hitchcock drops to five, alongside Charlie Chaplin, Quentin Tarantino and Billy Wilder.

Nolan probably isn't worrying about losing his top spot, though Oppenheimer continues to drop. It entered at 68 in 2024, dropped to 112 in 2025 and dropped another fourteen places to 126 this year. However, Batman Begins remains his lowest Top 250 film and that's in a pretty safe spot at 130.

The Top Ten

The Top Ten has remained relatively unchanged for a long while, the only change to the line-up since 2014 happening in 2021, when The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring kicked out Fight Club. The order has changed slightly over the years and there was one subtle change last year, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King moving ahead of Schindler's List. This year, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring moved up to 8, dislodging Pulp Fiction.

Just below it, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers moved ahead of Forrest Gump to sit just one place outside the Top Ten at 11. One more move upward and the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy will be in the Top Ten.

Other high swaps included Interstellar moving above One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, The Silence of the Lambs moving above Seven Samurai and The Green Mile moving above City of God. The larger changes don't start until 36.

The Usual Suspects | The New Batch | The Departed


The List

# Title Year Director IMDb '25 '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 1 2 =
2 The Godfather 1972 Francis Ford Coppola IMDb 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 =
3 The Dark Knight 2008 Christopher Nolan IMDb 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 6 7 =
4 The Godfather: Part II 1974 Francis Ford Coppola IMDb 4 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 5 7 7 6 21 =
6 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King 2003 Peter Jackson IMDb 6 7 7 7 7 7 7 8 8 9 9 9 9 3 =
7 Schindler’s List 1993 Steven Spielberg IMDb 7 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 8 8 8 6 =
8 The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring 2001 Peter Jackson IMDb 9 9 9 10 10 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 13 9 ↑1
9 Pulp Fiction 1994 Quentin Tarantino IMDb 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 7 7 7 5 4 4 16 ↓1
10 The Good, the Bad and the Ugly 1966 Sergio Leone IMDb 10 10 10 9 9 9 9 9 9 8 6 5 5 20 =
11 The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers 2002 Peter Jackson IMDb 12 13 13 14 14 15 15 15 15 16 17 19 21 8 ↑1
12 Forrest Gump 1994 Robert Zemeckis IMDb 11 11 11 12 12 12 12 12 13 13 14 15 19 115 ↓1
13 Fight Club 1999 David Fincher IMDb 13 12 12 11 11 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 41 =
14 Inception 2010 Christopher Nolan IMDb 14 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 15 14 13 13 12 12 12 12 11 13 =
16 The Matrix 1999 Andy & Larry Wachowski IMDb 16 16 16 17 16 16 18 18 18 17 19 20 18 34 =
17 Goodfellas 1990 Martin Scorsese IMDb 17 17 17 18 17 17 17 17 17 18 18 16 15 29 =
18 Interstellar 2014 Christopher Nolan IMDb 19 22 26 28 29 31 32 32 33 29 16 ↑1
19 One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest 1975 Milos Forman IMDb 18 18 18 19 18 18 16 16 16 15 15 13 12 12 ↓1
20 Se7en 1995 David Fincher IMDb 20 19 19 21 20 20 21 22 22 22 23 22 23 55 =
21 It’s a Wonderful Life 1946 Frank Capra IMDb 21 20 21 23 24 24 24 24 24 25 26 26 30 27 =
22 The Silence of the Lambs 1991 Jonathan Demme IMDb 23 23 22 22 23 23 23 23 23 23 25 24 24 28 ↑1
23 Seven Samurai 1954 Akira Kurosawa IMDb 22 21 20 20 19 19 19 19 19 20 21 18 17 5 ↓1
24 Saving Private Ryan 1998 Steven Spielberg IMDb 24 24 24 26 26 27 28 29 29 30 34 34 39 58 =
25 The Green Mile 1999 Frank Darabont IMDb 26 27 27 30 28 29 31 34 37 40 42 48 65 132 ↑1
26 City of God 2002 Fernando Meirelles & Kátia Lund IMDb 25 25 23 24 22 21 20 21 21 21 22 21 20 23 ↓1
27 Life is Beautiful 1997 Roberto Benigni IMDb 27 26 25 25 21 22 25 25 26 26 29 36 55 72 =
28 Terminator 2: Judgment Day 1991 James Cameron IMDb 28 29 29 35 37 38 42 44 44 41 40 39 36 110 =
29 Star Wars 1977 George Lucas IMDb 29 28 28 27 25 25 22 20 20 19 20 17 16 10 =
30 Back to the Future 1985 Robert Zemeckis IMDb 30 31 30 36 36 37 43 45 45 45 49 46 47 143 =
31 Spirited Away 2001 Hayao Miyazaki IMDb 31 32 31 29 27 28 27 28 28 31 36 38 43 43 =
32 The Pianist 2002 Roman Polanski IMDb 32 33 33 34 35 39 39 40 42 42 43 43 49 37 =
33 Gladiator 2000 Ridley Scott IMDb 33 36 37 44 41 42 48 47 47 47 48 49 63 168 =
34 Parasite 2019 Bong Joon Ho IMDb 34 34 34 31 30 30 =
35 Psycho 1960 Alfred Hitchcock IMDb 35 35 32 38 40 41 33 35 35 35 33 31 29 25 =
36 Grave of the Fireflies 1988 Isao Takahata IMDb 38 43 45 41 47 50 55 58 59 64 71 82 104 171 ↑2
37 The Lion King 1994 Roger Allers & Rob Minkoff IMDb 36 37 36 39 34 35 47 48 51 54 54 69 79 ↓1
38 Harakiri 1962 Masaki Kobayashi IMDb 43 44 44 33 33 33 ↑5
39 The Departed 2006 Martin Scorsese IMDb 37 40 39 46 43 45 41 42 43 44 46 47 50 ↓2
40 Whiplash 2014 Damien Chazelle IMDb 39 41 42 43 45 46 44 46 46 43 ↓1
41 The Prestige 2006 Christopher Nolan IMDb 42 42 41 48 46 48 49 49 50 51 51 61 68 ↑1
42 American History X 1998 Tony Kaye IMDb 40 39 38 42 38 36 34 31 32 32 32 32 34 61 ↓2
43 Leon 1994 Luc Besson IMDb 44 38 35 32 31 32 30 27 27 27 28 28 31 64 ↑1
44 Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse 2023 Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers & Justin K. Thompson IMDb 41 30 ↓3
45 Cinema Paradiso 1988 Giuseppe Tornatore IMDb 48 49 50 52 50 52 54 55 57 57 57 64 76 99 ↑3
46 Casablanca 1942 Michael Curtiz IMDb 45 46 43 49 49 49 37 36 34 33 30 27 25 7 ↓1
47 The Intouchables 2011 Olivier Nakache & Eric Toledano IMDb 47 47 46 47 44 43 40 38 39 38 38 45 64 =
48 The Usual Suspects 1995 Bryan Singer IMDb 46 45 40 37 32 34 26 26 25 24 24 25 26 18 ↓2
49 Alien 1979 Ridley Scott IMDb 50 52 51 53 53 53 52 52 52 53 50 44 40 60 ↑1
50 Modern Times 1936 Charles Chaplin IMDb 49 48 47 40 39 40 38 39 40 39 39 41 45 69 ↓1
51 Rear Window 1954 Alfred Hitchcock IMDb 51 50 49 51 51 51 45 43 41 37 37 30 28 14 =
52 Django Unchained 2012 Quentin Tarantino IMDb 54 55 56 58 58 60 62 60 60 60 56 53 ↑2
53 Once Upon a Time in the West 1968 Sergio Leone IMDb 53 51 48 50 48 47 36 33 30 28 27 23 22 32 =
54 City Lights 1931 Charles Chaplin IMDb 55 53 52 45 42 44 35 37 36 34 35 33 41 91 ↑1
55 Apocalypse Now 1979 Francis Ford Coppola IMDb 56 54 53 54 54 55 50 51 49 48 45 40 35 36 ↑1
56 WALL-E 2008 Andrew Stanton IMDb 58 58 57 62 62 65 63 62 62 62 61 60 59 ↑2
57 Memento 2000 Christopher Nolan IMDb 57 56 54 55 55 56 51 50 48 46 41 37 33 19 =
58 Dune: Part Two 2024 Denis Villeneuve IMDb 52 ↓6
59 Raiders of the Lost Ark 1981 Steven Spielberg IMDb 59 57 55 56 57 54 46 41 38 36 31 29 27 17 =
60 Avengers: Infinity War 2018 Anthony & Joe Russo IMDb 61 62 63 63 64 61 56 ↑1
61 The Lives of Others 2006 Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck IMDb 60 59 58 59 59 58 58 57 56 56 53 55 60 ↓1
62 Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse 2018 Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey & Rodney Rothman IMDb 64 63 66 66 69 64 29 ↑2
63 Sunset Boulevard 1950 Billy Wilder IMDb 63 60 59 61 65 66 57 54 54 50 44 35 32 31 =
64 Witness for the Prosecution 1957 Billy Wilder IMDb 66 65 64 64 66 70 65 67 71 76 83 83 102 164 ↑2
65 Paths of Glory 1957 Stanley Kubrick IMDb 65 61 60 60 61 63 60 59 58 58 59 54 54 40 =
66 The Shining 1980 Stanley Kubrick IMDb 67 64 61 65 63 62 61 61 61 59 58 51 46 89 ↑1
67 The Great Dictator 1940 Charles Chaplin IMDb 68 66 62 57 56 57 53 53 55 55 52 59 69 97 ↑1
68 Inglourious Basterds 2009 Quentin Tarantino IMDb 70 69 72 85 85 85 95 98 98 100 101 109 113 ↑2
69 12th Fail 2023 Vidhu Vinod Chopra IMDb 62 ↓7
70 Aliens 1986 James Cameron IMDb 69 67 65 74 73 73 69 68 66 65 63 62 58 87 ↓1
71 High and Low 1963 Akira Kurosawa IMDb 84 86 87 79 83 ↑13
72 The Dark Knight Rises 2012 Christopher Nolan IMDb 71 70 69 73 71 71 67 65 63 61 55 50 38 ↓1
73 Coco 2017 Lee Unkrich & Adrian Molina IMDb 72 74 73 72 75 76 71 30 ↓1
74 Avengers: Endgame 2019 Anthony & Joe Russo IMDb 77 79 78 76 76 59 ↑3
75 Good Will Hunting 1997 Gus Van Sant IMDb 79 82 81 87 88 86 101 103 110 119 127 140 157 248 ↑4
76 Amadeus 1984 Milos Forman IMDb 73 75 71 83 84 83 81 86 89 88 89 92 88 79 ↓3
77 Toy Story 1995 John Lasseter IMDb 74 76 75 81 81 82 91 95 95 97 107 113 118 177 ↓3
78 Your Name 2016 Makoto Shinkai IMDb 83 83 82 71 74 74 80 79 ↑5
79 Das Boot 1981 Wolfgang Peterson IMDb 81 77 77 78 79 78 72 70 70 71 69 71 71 46 ↑2
80 Oldboy 2003 Chan-wook Park IMDb 75 73 70 69 67 69 68 66 67 69 70 76 85 ↓5
81 Dr. Strangelove 1964 Stanley Kubrick IMDb 76 72 68 67 70 68 59 56 53 49 47 42 37 15 ↓5
82 Braveheart 1995 Mel Gibson IMDb 80 78 76 84 78 77 74 76 77 78 79 79 83 85 ↓2
83 Princess Mononoke 1997 Hayao Miyazaki IMDb 82 81 79 68 68 67 64 64 65 68 72 81 93 100 ↓1
84 American Beauty 1999 Sam Mendes IMDb 78 71 67 82 77 75 66 63 64 63 60 57 51 30 ↓6
85 3 Idiots 2009 Rajkumar Hirani IMDb 86 85 85 80 80 79 87 94 103 114 120 158 240 ↑1
86 Capernaum 2018 Nadine Labaki IMDb 89 88 90 77 82 110 ↑3
87 Joker 2019 Todd Phillips IMDb 85 80 74 70 60 26 ↓2
88 Singin’ in the Rain 1952 Gene Kelly & Stanley Donen IMDb 88 87 84 98 99 103 94 92 96 90 86 86 86 47 =
89 Once Upon a Time in America 1984 Sergio Leone IMDb 87 84 80 75 72 72 70 69 68 72 74 77 77 124 ↓2
90 Come and See 1985 Elem Klimov IMDb 90 90 95 90 109 139 168 171 181 =
91 Requiem for a Dream 2000 Darren Aronofsky IMDb 91 89 83 97 91 89 82 80 79 81 80 75 73 51 =
92 Return of the Jedi 1983 Richard Marquand IMDb 93 92 89 88 86 80 78 75 74 73 73 78 81 131 ↑1
93 Toy Story 3 2010 Lee Unkrich IMDb 92 91 86 122 110 106 102 97 88 80 68 66 56 ↓1
94 The Hunt 2012 Thomas Vinterberg IMDb 94 94 94 96 94 94 103 104 107 116 125 132 =
95 Ikiru 1952 Akira Kurosawa IMDb 96 97 104 101 107 113 124 128 130 131 132 120 193 ↑1
96 Incendies 2010 Denis Villeneuve IMDb 101 108 111 107 116 118 125 131 148 159 174 202 226 ↑5
97 Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind 2004 Michel Gondry IMDb 95 93 91 100 95 92 86 88 86 86 84 80 75 38 ↓2
98 The Apartment 1960 Billy Wilder IMDb 99 99 102 108 118 115 109 108 106 102 97 96 96 81 ↑1
99 Lawrence of Arabia 1962 David Lean IMDb 100 98 98 103 111 105 85 85 82 85 82 73 66 24 ↑1
100 2001: A Space Odyssey 1968 Stanley Kubrick IMDb 97 95 92 89 90 88 89 93 93 92 98 103 92 73 ↓3
101 Reservoir Dogs 1992 Quentin Tarantino IMDb 98 96 93 91 89 84 77 77 76 77 77 74 70 71 ↓3
102 Scarface 1983 Brian De Palma IMDb 102 105 108 116 106 102 105 106 104 108 113 121 129 =
103 Heat 1995 Michael Mann IMDb 106 110 113 126 123 121 123 123 126 123 124 122 119 245 ↑3
104 Double Indemnity 1944 Billy Wilder IMDb 103 104 105 110 119 112 92 87 83 83 78 67 57 45 ↓1
105 Up 2009 Pete Docter IMDb 110 111 112 124 121 117 114 115 118 115 115 118 114 ↑5
106 North by Northwest 1959 Alfred Hitchcock IMDb 104 102 99 99 103 96 76 74 72 67 62 52 42 22 ↓2
107 Like Stars on Earth 2007 Aamir Khan IMDb 119 119 122 92 87 81 84 82 84 111 148 ↑12
108 Full Metal Jacket 1987 Stanley Kubrick IMDb 109 107 106 105 98 95 96 91 90 87 85 85 82 102 ↑1
109 M 1931 Fritz Lang IMDb 107 101 97 94 93 87 79 78 75 74 67 58 52 50 ↓2
110 Citizen Kane 1941 Orson Welles IMDb 105 100 96 95 96 93 73 72 69 66 64 56 44 11 ↓5
111 Amelie 2001 Jean-Pierre Jeunet IMDb 111 106 101 119 112 101 90 83 78 75 65 65 62 26 =
112 Vertigo 1958 Alfred Hitchcock IMDb 108 103 100 93 92 90 75 73 73 70 66 63 48 33 ↓4
113 A Separation 2011 Asghar Farhadi IMDb 115 114 115 114 114 111 111 110 109 105 105 101 105 ↑2
114 Die Hard 1988 John McTiernan IMDb 116 117 118 129 125 123 121 122 123 120 119 111 101 156 ↑2
115 To Kill a Mockingbird 1962 Robert Mulligan IMDb 114 112 109 121 120 114 97 90 85 84 81 72 67 35 ↓1
116 The Sting 1973 George Roy Hill IMDb 117 113 110 115 113 107 100 96 92 89 87 90 98 67 ↑1
117 Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade 1989 Steven Spielberg IMDb 118 116 120 125 122 116 112 112 108 104 103 100 97 141 ↑1
118 A Clockwork Orange 1971 Stanley Kubrick IMDb 113 109 103 113 104 97 88 84 80 79 75 70 61 74 ↓5
119 Metropolis 1927 Fritz Lang IMDb 120 118 116 111 115 108 110 109 111 106 109 98 89 86 ↑1
120 Snatch 2000 Guy Ritchie IMDb 121 120 119 117 105 98 104 101 97 93 91 104 112 221 ↑1
121 1917 2019 Sam Mendes IMDb 122 123 123 118 102 ↑1
122 L.A. Confidential 1997 Curtis Hanson IMDb 123 122 117 127 124 119 108 107 101 98 94 93 80 49 ↑1
123 Downfall 2004 Oliver Hirschbiegel IMDb 125 125 124 133 131 128 120 121 120 118 117 116 107 ↑2
124 Dangal 2016 Nitesh Tiwari IMDb 126 126 126 106 97 91 83 71 ↑2
125 The Bicycle Thief 1948 Vittorio De Sica IMDb 124 121 121 102 100 100 98 99 94 91 88 84 91 104 ↓1
126 Oppenheimer 2023 Christopher Nolan IMDb 112 68 ↓14
127 The Wolf of Wall Street 2013 Martin Scorsese IMDb 129 131 133 142 141 144 149 150 154 144 130 ↑2
128 The Truman Show 1998 Peter Weir IMDb 134 137 140 166 168 181 187 207 214 211 232 239 215 ↑6
129 Green Book 2018 Peter Farrelly IMDb 132 134 132 132 126 127 ↑3
130 Batman Begins 2005 Christopher Nolan IMDb 130 128 127 137 129 124 116 116 115 111 108 107 103 =
131 Shutter Island 2010 Martin Scorsese IMDb 138 140 143 155 152 161 171 180 189 192 209 240 234 ↑7
132 Hamilton 2020 Thomas Kail IMDb 128 115 107 86 52 ↓4
133 Judgment at Nuremberg 1961 Stanley Kramer IMDb 135 136 134 143 148 146 137 134 146 147 153 145 250 ↑2
134 Taxi Driver 1976 Martin Scorsese IMDb 127 124 114 112 108 104 93 89 81 82 76 68 53 42 ↓7
135 For a Few Dollars More 1965 Sergio Leone IMDb 131 127 125 123 117 109 107 105 102 99 95 108 111 ↓4
136 Some Like It Hot 1959 Billy Wilder IMDb 133 129 129 136 134 131 118 118 116 110 100 97 87 44 ↓3
137 Jurassic Park 1993 Steven Spielberg IMDb 141 142 147 167 166 169 182 199 209 199 237 250 245 ↑4
138 There Will Be Blood 2007 Paul Thomas Anderson IMDb 140 138 139 144 144 151 160 166 182 175 184 185 173 ↑2
139 The Kid 1921 Charles Chaplin IMDb 136 132 128 104 101 99 99 100 99 96 99 110 128 ↓3
140 The Father 2020 Florian Zeller IMDb 137 133 130 109 ↓3
141 All About Eve 1950 Joseph L Mankiewicz IMDb 139 135 131 135 137 137 115 114 114 103 96 88 95 54 ↓2
142 The Sixth Sense 1999 M Night Shyamalan IMDb 143 144 141 165 164 162 161 159 171 160 163 153 143 96 ↑1
143 Ran 1985 Akira Kurosawa IMDb 144 141 136 130 135 135 136 133 134 132 135 127 133 76 ↑1
144 Casino 1995 Martin Scorsese IMDb 142 139 135 146 139 138 143 146 145 141 141 144 150 ↓2
145 No Country for Old Men 2007 Joel & Ethan Coen IMDb 146 147 151 157 156 157 158 161 175 165 168 160 139 ↑1
146 The Thing 1982 John Carpenter IMDb 148 150 153 161 162 164 163 163 174 166 165 164 147 ↑2
147 Top Gun: Maverick 2022 Joseph Kosinski IMDb 145 130 88 ↓2
148 Prisoners 2013 Denis Villeneuve IMDb 154 159 169 187 196 198 208 216 233 232 246 234 ↑6
149 Pan’s Labyrinth 2006 Guillermo Del Toro IMDb 147 143 137 148 142 140 129 130 129 126 123 117 106 ↓2
150 Unforgiven 1992 Clint Eastwood IMDb 149 145 138 138 133 126 119 120 119 113 110 105 94 127 ↓1
151 Kill Bill: Vol 1 2003 Quentin Tarantino IMDb 151 151 152 179 175 177 172 173 178 170 171 163 152 63 =
152 A Beautiful Mind 2001 Ron Howard IMDb 150 146 142 149 138 136 141 145 147 149 160 182 199 ↓2
153 The Chaos Class Failed the Class 1975 Ertem Egilmez IMDb →
154 The Treasure of the Sierra Madre 1948 John Huston IMDb 152 148 145 147 149 145 122 119 117 107 102 87 74 68 ↓2
155 Howl’s Moving Castle 2004 Hayao Miyazaki IMDb 159 158 164 141 136 132 135 137 141 142 146 168 189 ↑4
156 Finding Nemo 2003 Andrew Stanton IMDb 155 154 154 177 171 171 167 164 170 163 167 170 163 75 ↓1
157 Yojimbo 1961 Akira Kurosawa IMDb 153 149 144 128 128 125 117 113 113 109 106 102 109 107 ↓4
158 The Great Escape 1963 John Sturges IMDb 156 153 149 145 140 133 127 126 125 121 118 119 110 77 ↓2
159 Klaus 2019 Sergio Pablos & Carlos Martinez López IMDb 169 175 183 160 169 176 ↑10
160 The Elephant Man 1980 David Lynch IMDb 160 156 155 164 160 159 148 148 151 140 133 126 116 130 =
161 The Best of Youth 2003 Marco Tullio Giordana IMDb →
162 Monty Python and the Holy Grail 1975 Terry Gilliam & Terry Jones IMDb 157 152 146 134 127 120 106 102 100 94 90 95 84 56 ↓5
163 Dial M for Murder 1954 Alfred Hitchcock IMDb 161 160 162 158 150 152 155 154 162 158 162 166 167 ↓2
164 Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - Infinity Castle 2025 Hikaru Kondô IMDb →
165 Gone with the Wind 1939 Victor Fleming IMDb 163 161 159 180 170 165 162 157 166 155 157 151 158 148 ↓2
166 The Secret in Their Eyes 2009 Juan José Campanella IMDb 165 165 163 150 143 142 138 136 136 135 139 143 155 ↓1
167 Chinatown 1974 Roman Polanski IMDb 164 157 156 152 154 149 131 129 127 122 116 99 78 48 ↓3
168 Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels 1998 Guy Ritchie IMDb 166 163 161 156 145 143 142 143 142 137 138 137 142 224 ↓2
169 V for Vendetta 2005 James McTeigue IMDb 167 162 158 171 157 153 152 149 153 145 145 152 164 ↓2
170 Inside Out 2015 Pete Docter & Ronnie del Carmen IMDb 168 166 160 174 158 154 147 138 128 95 ↓2
171 Rashomon 1950 Akira Kurosawa IMDb 162 155 150 131 130 122 113 111 105 101 92 91 90 57 ↓9
172 Catch Me if You Can 2002 Steven Spielberg IMDb 174 174 173 197 193 197 215 220 236 245 ↑2
173 Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri 2017 Martin McDonagh IMDb 170 167 166 162 151 147 144 ↓3
174 Trainspotting 1996 Danny Boyle IMDb 172 169 167 173 165 158 159 155 163 157 154 149 151 203 ↓2
175 The Bridge on the River Kwai 1957 David Lean IMDb 173 170 165 175 177 166 140 139 137 129 126 114 100 52 ↓2
176 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 2011 David Yates IMDb 177 179 181 215 214 220 217 218 224 219 217 227 220 ↑1
177 Dead Poets Society 1989 Peter Weir IMDb 192 196 206 210 211 223 224 243 ↑15
178 Fargo 1996 Joel Coen IMDb 175 171 170 176 178 174 164 160 167 156 152 136 127 88 ↓3
179 Raging Bull 1980 Martin Scorsese IMDb 171 164 157 151 147 141 126 124 121 117 112 106 99 59 ↓8
180 Warrior 2011 Gavin O’Connor IMDb 176 173 168 178 161 156 153 153 152 143 143 146 153 ↓4
181 The Wild Robot 2024 Chris Sanders IMDb 158 ↓23
182 Barry Lyndon 1975 Stanley Kubrick IMDb 187 186 191 200 205 208 220 228 239 222 229 214 209 ↑5
183 Ben-Hur 1959 William Wyler IMDb 184 185 182 212 213 217 197 196 202 191 185 186 169 129 ↑1
184 Million Dollar Baby 2004 Clint Eastwood IMDb 180 178 174 216 209 210 200 203 205 189 190 183 172 ↓4
185 Mad Max: Fury Road 2015 George Miller IMDb 183 198 198 213 207 206 206 204 199 152 ↓2
186 Gran Torino 2008 Clint Eastwood IMDb 178 176 171 192 181 175 165 156 159 146 140 131 125 ↓8
187 My Neighbor Totoro 1988 Hayao Miyazaki IMDb 182 177 172 153 146 134 133 132 131 128 128 141 165 ↓5
188 Children of Heaven 1997 Majid Majidi IMDb 185 180 175 139 132 129 128 127 124 ↓3
189 Hacksaw Ridge 2016 Mel Gibson IMDb 191 189 193 203 192 188 177 174 91 ↑2
190 The Grand Budapest Hotel 2014 Wes Anderson IMDb 190 184 188 189 189 193 189 195 203 186 182 =
191 12 Years a Slave 2013 Steve McQueen IMDb 186 182 180 207 204 200 199 202 201 184 175 ↓5
192 Before Sunrise 1995 Richard Linklater IMDb 189 183 179 195 191 196 205 212 219 207 215 231 ↓3
193 Blade Runner 1982 Ridley Scott IMDb 188 181 176 172 173 167 154 147 139 134 136 128 124 94 ↓5
194 Ratatouille 1986 Brad Bird IMDb 198 209 216 218 ↑4
195 Memories of Murder 2003 Bong Joon Ho IMDb 194 191 196 170 176 189 196 201 211 216 227 218 ↓1
196 Spider-Man: No Way Home 2021 Jon Watts IMDb 179 168 148 16 ↓17
197 How to Train Your Dragon 2010 Dean DeBlois & Chris Sanders IMDb 201 205 202 211 201 191 179 175 176 153 151 165 166 ↑4
198 Gone Girl 2014 David Fincher IMDb 193 187 185 201 190 187 178 179 180 164 114 ↓5
199 Monsters, Inc. 2001 Pete Docter & David Silverman IMDb 196 202 203 230 233 231 221 224 228 213 223 226 222 161 ↓3
200 Jaws 1975 Steven Spielberg IMDb 202 203 204 233 236 237 214 205 181 141 82 ↑2
201 In the Name of the Father 1993 Jim Sheridan IMDb 195 190 190 199 187 186 186 191 195 187 188 200 221 ↓6
202 Ford v Ferrari 2019 James Mangold IMDb 208 207 210 206 203 130 ↑6
203 Wild Tales 2014 Damián Szifron IMDb 199 195 197 185 182 184 181 185 197 194 ↓4
204 The Gold Rush 1925 Charles Chaplin IMDb 197 188 177 159 153 150 139 135 135 130 131 130 137 151 ↓7
205 Sherlock, Jr. 1924 Buster Keaton IMDb 204 201 194 191 199 194 169 ↓1
206 Mary and Max 2009 Adam Elliot IMDb 206 206 201 196 188 185 176 178 179 167 169 175 183 =
207 The Deer Hunter 1978 Michael Cimino IMDb 203 194 189 188 185 179 166 158 164 151 147 139 134 117 ↓4
208 The Wages of Fear 1953 Henri-Georges Clouzot IMDb 209 200 192 218 222 202 203 192 191 173 161 ↑1
209 The General 1926 Buster Keaton & Clyde Bruckman IMDb 205 193 187 190 200 192 157 152 150 139 137 123 120 93 ↓4
210 Logan 2017 James Mangold IMDb 213 215 217 221 219 214 211 188 ↑3
211 Mr. Smith Goes to Washington 1939 Frank Capra IMDb 210 204 195 198 206 190 151 144 138 127 122 112 108 66 ↓1
212 Rocky 1976 John G Avildsen IMDb 214 213 211 238 231 227 219 221 222 215 220 212 201 ↑2
213 On the Waterfront 1954 Elia Kazan IMDb 207 192 178 182 183 170 145 140 132 125 121 115 115 78 ↓6
214 Tokyo Story 1953 Yasujiro Ozu IMDb 215 212 208 181 184 180 175 167 165 ↑1
215 Wild Strawberries 1957 Ingmar Bergman IMDb 211 197 184 168 172 172 156 151 149 138 134 125 126 138 ↓4
216 Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl 2003 Gore Verbinski IMDb 223 228 234 244 250 233 228 225 216 188 ↑7
217 Spotlight 2015 Tom McCarthy IMDb 218 216 213 229 225 224 210 205 193 ↑1
218 Maharaja 2024 Nithilan Saminathan IMDb 200 ↓18
219 The Third Man 1949 Carol Reed IMDb 212 199 186 169 180 168 132 125 122 112 104 89 72 39 ↓7
220 La haine 1995 Mathieu Kassovitz IMDb 224 226 230 222 228 234 229 234 238 224 224 224 230 ↑4
221 Jai Bhim 2021 T. J. Gnanavel IMDb 225 221 233 140 ↑4
222 The Terminator 1984 James Cameron IMDb 220 219 214 243 226 229 232 210 213 196 171 202 ↓2
223 The Big Lebowski 1998 Joel Coen IMDb 216 211 205 209 197 183 170 165 161 148 142 133 131 222 ↓7
224 The Sound of Music 1965 Robert Wise IMDb 235 239 241 ↑11
225 A Silent Voice: The Movie 2016 Taichi Ishidate & Naoko Yamada IMDb 249 225 ↑24
226 Chainsaw Man - The Movie: Reze Arc 2025 Tatsuya Yoshihara IMDb →
227 The Best Years of Our Lives 1946 William Wyler IMDb 227 223 225 243 237 241 203 194 171 106 =
228 The Seventh Seal 1957 Ingmar Bergman IMDb 217 208 199 163 159 155 146 141 140 133 129 124 117 95 ↓11
229 Room 2015 Lenny Abrahamson IMDb 219 210 200 202 179 160 150 142 133 ↓10
230 Hotel Rwanda 2004 Terry George IMDb 221 214 209 234 227 221 198 189 186 172 164 155 146 ↓9
231 Before Sunset 2004 Richard Linklater IMDb 226 220 223 242 239 238 238 244 249 ↓5
232 Platoon 1986 Oliver Stone IMDb 222 217 212 228 217 207 191 187 187 174 172 162 144 147 ↓10
233 The Incredibles 2004 Brad Bird IMDb 231 230 228 ↓2
234 The Exorcist 1973 William Friedkin IMDb 229 225 226 243 205 197 ↓5
235 Hachi: A Dog's Tale 2009 Lasse Hallström IMDb 236 232 231 224 216 211 209 211 210 195 192 213 ↑1
236 Rush 2013 Ron Howard IMDb 232 222 218 236 221 212 201 194 185 168 156 142 ↓4
237 The Wizard of Oz 1939 Sean Penn IMDb 230 229 222 231 233 231 201 191 173 149 62 ↓7
238 Stand by Me 1986 Rob Reiner IMDb 234 227 215 219 212 204 190 193 194 180 183 184 175 196 ↓4
239 The Iron Giant 1999 Brad Bird IMDb 241 243 246 ↑2
240 The Passion of Joan of Arc 1928 Carl Theodor Dreyer IMDb 228 218 207 204 226 209 202 181 157 205 ↓12
241 My Father and My Son 2005 Çagan Irmak IMDb 237 235 232 184 155 148 130 117 87 ↓4
242 The Battle of Algiers 1966 Gillo Pontecorvo IMDb 242 236 229 246 248 247 247 217 218 =
243 The Handmaiden 2016 Chan-wook Park IMDb 238 234 240 217 218 229 240 248 ↓5
244 Network 1976 Sidney Lumet IMDb 233 224 219 220 210 203 193 190 190 177 176 172 170 217 ↓11
245 Gangs of Wasseypur 2012 Anurag Kashyap IMDb 250 227 232 236 196 →
246 Drishyam 2015 Nishikant Kamat IMDb 247 204 →
247 Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - Mugen Train 2020 Haruo Sotozaki IMDb →
248 The Grapes of Wrath 1940 John Ford IMDb 244 237 235 222 222 215 193 189 167 159 136 ↓4
249 To Be or Not to Be 1942 Ernst Lubitsch IMDb 239 233 227 208 198 179 ↓10
250 Andhadhun 2018 Siriram Raghavan IMDb 205 194 173 →


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 '25 '24 '23 '22 '21 '20 '19 '18 '17 '16 '15 '14 '13 '04 Change
153 The Chaos Class Failed the Class 1975 Ertem Egilmez IMDb →
161 The Best of Youth 2003 Marco Tullio Giordana IMDb →
164 Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - Infinity Castle 2025 Hikaru Kondô IMDb →
226 Chainsaw Man - The Movie: Reze Arc 2025 Tatsuya Yoshihara IMDb →
245 Gangs of Wasseypur 2012 Anurag Kashyap IMDb 250 227 232 236 196 →
246 Drishyam 2015 Nishikant Kamat IMDb 247 204 →
247 Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - Mugen Train 2020 Haruo Sotozaki IMDb →
250 Andhadhun 2018 Siriram Raghavan IMDb 205 194 173 →


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 '25 '24 '23 '22 '21 '20 '19 '18 '17 '16 '15 '14 '13 '04 Change
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - Tsuzumi Mansion Arc 2021 Haruo Sotozaki IMDb 181 ←
A Man Escaped 1956 Robert Bresson IMDb 240 ←
Into the Wild 2007 Sean Penn IMDb 243 231 221 237 220 201 183 182 177 161 158 161 161 ←
Groundhog Day 1993 Harold Ramis IMDb 245 238 224 230 231 234 212 216 201 178 204 ←
Amores Perros 2000 Alejandro González Iñárritu IMDb 246 240 236 239 230 222 212 208 207 188 186 180 181 139 ←
The Help 2011 Tate Taylor IMDb 247 244 248 245 239 235 242 248 235 234 248 ←
Rebecca 1940 Alfred Hitchcock IMDb 248 241 237 231 236 226 174 172 173 150 144 129 123 105 ←
Cool Hand Luke 1967 Stuart Rosenberg IMDb 250 242 238 223 215 199 173 170 172 154 150 138 135 121 ←



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Last update: 1st January, 2026