1
The Shawshank Redemption
1994· 2h 22m· Drama, Crime· en
8.731.1K
Best American Movies of All Time
This collection ranks 124,055 american movies. The list is ranked using a weighted combination of audience ratings, vote volume and popularity data, so movies with only a handful of votes never outrank widely acclaimed films. At the top of the list is The Shawshank Redemption.
124,055 qualifying moviesRanked using a weighted combination of ratings, vote volume and popularity data
- 2
The Godfather
1972· 2h 55m· Drama, Crime· en
8.723.4K - 3
The Dark Knight
2008· 2h 32m· Action, Crime, Thriller· en
8.536.5K - 4
The Godfather Part II
1974· 3h 22m· Drama, Crime· en
8.614.2K - 5
Schindler's List
1993· 3h 15m· Drama, History, War· en
8.617.8K - 6
12 Angry Men
1957· 1h 37m· Drama· en
8.610.3K - 7
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
2003· 3h 21m· Adventure, Fantasy, Action· en
8.527.2K - 8
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
2001· 2h 59m· Adventure, Fantasy, Action· en
8.428.2K - 9
Pulp Fiction
1994· 2h 34m· Thriller, Crime, Comedy· en
8.530.7K - 10
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
1966· 2h 41m· Western· it
8.59.9K - 11
Forrest Gump
1994· 2h 22m· Comedy, Drama, Romance· en
8.530.3K - 12
Fight Club
1999· 2h 19m· Drama, Thriller· en
8.432.7K - 13
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
2002· 2h 59m· Adventure, Fantasy, Action· en
8.424.4K - 14
Interstellar
2014· 2h 49m· Adventure, Drama, Science Fiction· en
8.540.9K - 15
GoodFellas
1990· 2h 25m· Drama, Crime· en
8.414.7K - 16
Inception
2010· 2h 28m· Action, Science Fiction, Adventure· en
8.440.0K - 17
The Green Mile
1999· 3h 9m· Fantasy, Drama, Crime· en
8.519.7K - 18
The Empire Strikes Back
1980· 2h 4m· Adventure, Action, Science Fiction· en
8.418.7K - 19
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
1975· 2h 15m· Drama· en
8.411.7K - 20
Se7en
1995· 2h 7m· Crime, Mystery, Thriller· en
8.423.6K - 21
Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender
2026· 1h 39m· Animation, Action, Adventure· en
9.2976 - 22
Project Hail Mary
2026· 2h 37m· Science Fiction, Adventure· en
8.67.4K - 23
Psycho
1960· 1h 49m· Horror, Thriller, Mystery· en
8.411.2K - 24
The Matrix
1999· 2h 16m· Action, Science Fiction· en
8.328.6K - 25
Whiplash
2014· 1h 47m· Drama, Music, Thriller· en
8.417.0K - 26
Back to the Future
1985· 1h 56m· Adventure, Comedy, Science Fiction· en
8.322.3K - 27
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
2018· 1h 57m· Animation, Action, Adventure· en
8.417.7K - 28
It's a Wonderful Life
1946· 2h 11m· Drama, Family, Fantasy· en
8.35.0K - 29
Saving Private Ryan
1998· 2h 49m· War, Drama, History· en
8.217.7K - 30
American History X
1998· 1h 59m· Drama· en
8.312.8K - 31
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
2023· 2h 20m· Animation, Action, Adventure· en
8.39.1K - 32
Star Wars
1977· 2h 1m· Adventure, Action, Science Fiction· en
8.222.7K - 33
The Lion King
1994· 1h 29m· Animation, Family, Drama· en
8.320.0K - 34
Once Upon a Time in the West
1968· 2h 46m· Drama, Western· it
8.35.0K - 35
Terminator 2: Judgment Day
1991· 2h 17m· Action, Thriller, Science Fiction· en
8.214.7K - 36
Once Upon a Time in America
1984· 2h 19m· Drama, Crime· en
8.46.2K - 37
The Prestige
2006· 2h 10m· Drama, Mystery, Science Fiction· en
8.218.0K - 38
Gladiator
2000· 2h 35m· Action, Drama, Adventure· en
8.221.4K - 39
Django Unchained
2012· 2h 45m· Drama, Western· en
8.228.5K - 40
Apocalypse Now
1979· 2h 27m· Drama, War· en
8.39.3K - 41
Avengers: Infinity War
2018· 2h 29m· Adventure, Action, Science Fiction· en
8.232.7K - 42
Avengers: Endgame
2019· 3h 1m· Adventure, Science Fiction, Action· en
8.228.5K - 43
The Usual Suspects
1995· 1h 46m· Drama, Crime, Thriller· en
8.211.7K - 44
The Departed
2006· 2h 31m· Drama, Thriller, Crime· en
8.216.5K - 45
Inglourious Basterds
2009· 2h 33m· Drama, Thriller, War· en
8.224.6K - 46
The Shining
1980· 2h 24m· Horror, Thriller· en
8.219.3K - 47
Good Will Hunting
1997· 2h 7m· Drama· en
8.214.2K - 48
Coco
2017· 1h 45m· Family, Animation, Music· en
8.221.3K - 49
Memento
2000· 1h 53m· Mystery, Thriller· en
8.216.6K - 50
Alien
1979· 1h 57m· Horror, Science Fiction· en
8.216.7K
Related collections
- Best American Drama Movies — Ranked
- Best American Comedy Movies — Ranked
- Best American Action Movies — Ranked
- Best American Thriller Movies — Ranked
- Best American Romance Movies — Ranked
- Best American Horror Movies — Ranked
- Best American Documentary Movies — Ranked
- Best American Crime Movies — Ranked
- Best American Movies of 2026 — Ranked by Real Data
- Best American Movies of 2025 — Ranked by Real Data
- Best American Movies of 2024 — Ranked by Real Data
- Best American Movies of 2023 — Ranked by Real Data
Frequently asked questions
How many qualifyingmovies are in this list?
124,055 movies with real rating data match this collection.
How are these movies ranked?
By a weighted score combining audience ratings, vote volume and popularity. Movies with very few votes are statistically shrunk toward the global average, so they cannot dominate the top of the list.
Which movie is ranked #1?
The Shawshank Redemption currently holds the top position in this collection.
How often is this list updated?
Rankings are recalculated whenever the underlying movie data changes.