What is the greatest year in movie history? – cleveland.com

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With movie theaters closed and the release of several big films postponed due to coronavirus, 2020 is shaping up to be one of the more unique movie years in history.

You don’t have to go far back to find box office history being made. Our list of the greatest years in movie history begins with a recent, record-setting 12-month period.

It’s just one example of the stars aligning for a full year of great filmmaking that changed the industry. This list counts down the absolute best overall years based on the number of memorable and influential films that came out.

It was such a hard list to put together, consider years like 1951 (“The African Queen,” “A Streetcar Named Named Desire”) and 1975 (“Jaws,” “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”) didn’t even make the list. Here’s what did.

Chuck Zlotnick

25. 2019

Top grossing film: “Avengers: Endgame”

Best Picture winner: “Parasite”

Other notable films:

• Once Upon a Time In Hollywood
• Marriage Story
• Toy Story 4
• Uncut Gems
• Joker
• Little Women
• Us
• 1917

The biggest year in movie history in terms of global box office with $42.5 billion. Much of that is owed to Disney, which delivered hit after hit in 2019. Moving beyond big hits like “Avengers: Endgame,” “Captain Marvel,” “The Lion King” and “Toy Story 4,” 2019 also delivered movies that will stand the test of time as true classics, from “Parasite” and “Once Upon a Time In Hollywood” to the “Little Women” remake and “Uncut Gems.”

AP

24. 2001

Top grossing film: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone

Best Picture winner: A Beautiful Mind

Other notable films:

• Shrek
• Godsford Park
• Ocean’s Eleven
• Donnie Darko
• The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
• Moulin Rouge!
• Mulholland Dr.
• Y Tu Mama Tambien
• A.I. Artificial Intelligence

“The Lord of the Rings” saga begins here. But top to bottom, 2001 has an impressive list of films, even if most of them weren’t blockbusters.

23. 1998

Top grossing film: Armageddon

Best Picture winner: Shakespeare in Love

Other notable films:

• Saving Private Ryan
• The Big Lebowski
• There’s Something About Mary
• The Thin Red Line
• American History X
• Life Is Beautiful
• Gods and Monsters
• Rushmore
• Ring

In terms of movies, 1998 is probably best remembered for its controversial Academy Awards ceremony that saw “Shakespeare in Love” upset “Saving Private Ryan” for Best Picture and Roberto Benigni upsetting Tom Hanks, Edward Norton and Ian McKellen for Best Actor. Still, the performances are undeniable and “Saving Private Ryan” stands as one of the best war movies of all time.

22. 1940

Top grossing film: Rebecca

Best Picture winner: Rebecca

Other notable films:

• The Grapes of Wrath
• The Philadelphia Story
• Pinocchio
• Fantasia
• The Shop Around the Corner
• The Mask of Zoro
• The Great Dictator
• His Girl Friday

“Rebecca” was both the highest grossing film and Best Picture winner for 1940. But it’s definitely not the most memorable film from that year, given the classic status of “Pinocchio,” “The Philadelphia Story” and “The Grapes of Wrath.”

21. 1957

Top grossing film: The Bridge on the River Kwai

Best Picture winner: The Bridge on the River Kwai

Other notable films:

• 12 Angry Men
• Paths of Glory
• Jailhouse Rock
• An Affair to Remember
• Witness for the Prosecution
• A Face in the Crowd
• Funny Face
• The Bachelor Party

“The Bridge on The River Kwai” is such an amazing film to have at the center of 1957. But there are several other influential movies that made their cultural impact that year, including “12 Angry Men” and “An Affair to Remember.” Elvis Presley’s “Jailhouse Rock” is considered by many to be the world’s first music video.

20. 1995

Top grossing film: Toy Story

Best Picture winner: Braveheart

Other notable films:

• Apollo 13
• The Usual Suspects
• Babe
• Clueless
• Heat
• Leaving Las Vegas
• Seven
• Casino
• 12 Monkeys

The 1995 Oscar race between Braveheart and Apollo 13 was a close one with the former pulling the upset. But neither of those films had the cultural impact of some of the other stellar movies released during the year, including Pixar’s groundbreaking “Toy Story,” the quote-generator “Clueless” and the crime caper “The Usual Suspects.”

19. 2013

Top grossing film: Frozen

Best Picture winner: 12 Years a Slave

Other notable films: 

• Gravity
• The Wolf of Wallstreet
• Before Midnight
• Captain Phillips
• Her
• Short Term 12
• Nebraska
• American Hustle
• Blue is the Warmest Color

You don’t have to go back to far to find a year of great films. 2013 was stellar. There were at least half a dozen films that could have one the Oscar for Best Picture. Then there was “Frozen,” the Disney juggernaut fans couldn’t get enough of.

20th Century Fox

18. 1988

Top grossing film: Rain Man

Best Picture winner: Rain Man

Other notable films:

• Big
• Dangerous Liasons
• A Fish Called Wanda
• Who Framed Roger Rabbit
• Die Hard
• Coming to America
• Cinema Paradiso
• Bull Durham
• Working Girl

“Rain Man” was huge. But over time, 1988 produced some of the best films of particular genres. “Cinema Paradiso” is an art house classic, “Roger Rabbit” gave new life to animation and “Die Hard” stands as one of the best action movies ever made.

17. 1960

Top grossing film: Spartacus

Best Picture winner: The Apartment

Other notable films:

• Psycho
• Wild River
• La Dolce Vida
• Breathless
• Inherit the Wind
• The Magnificent Seven
• Ocean’s 11

It might not be as deep as other years, but 1960 has a collection of films at its top that are considered flawless masterpieces. Any list that includes “Psycho,” “The Apartment” and “Spartacus” is hard to argue against.

16. 1969

Top grossing film: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

Best Picture winner: Midnight Cowboy

Other notable films:

• Easy Rider
• True Grit
• The Italian Job
• They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?
• The Wild Bunch
• Anne of the Thousand Days

It was a renaissance period for the film industry in 1969, a direct reflection of the counter-culture that rose to prominence in the 1960s. The films were great and also performed well at the box office.

15. 2012

Top grossing film: The Avengers

Best Picture winner: Argo

Other notable films:

• The Hunger Games
• Beasts of the Southern Wild
• Lincoln
• Django Unchained
• Les Miserables
• Life of Pi
• The Master
• Zero Dark Thirty
• Silver Linings Playbook

Big and beautiful films took the box office by storm in 2012. It was also a very strong year for women. Still, the Best Picture race was won by an underdog with Ben Affleck’s “Argo.”

14. 1962

Top grossing film: Lawrence of Arabia

Best Picture winner: Lawrence of Arabia

Other notable films:

• To Kill a Mocking Bird
• Dr. No
• The Manchurian Candidate
• Lolita
• The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
• The Music Man
• What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
• Long Day’s Journey Into Night

At the top of this 1962 are certified classics. “Lawrence of Arabia,” “To Kill a Mocking Bird” and “The Manchurian Candidate” were all listed on AFI’s original list of the 100 greatest films of all time.

13. 2007

Top grossing film: Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End

Best Picture winner: No Country for Old Men

Other notable films:

• Zodiac
• There Will Be Blood
• Juno
• Michael Clayton
• Ratatouille
• Atonement
• The Bourne Ultimatum
• Sweeney Todd
• Knocked Up

One of the most well-rounded years in film history, 2007 gave us serious dramas that contended for Best Picture, while also releasing big comedies like “Juno,” “Knocked Up” and “Superbad” the same year.

Cleveland Museum of Art

12. 1941

Top grossing film: Sergeant York

Best Picture winner: How Green Was My Valley

Other notable films:

• Citizen Cane
• Dumbo
• The Maltese Falcon
• Sullivan’s Travels
• The Lady Eve
• Suspicion
• Meet John Doe
• High Sierra

It’s the year “Citizen Kane” was release, which is enough to put it on this list. But 1941 has some serious classics backing it up, including “The Maltese Falcon” and “The Lady Eve.”

11. 1967

Top grossing film: The Graduate

Best Picture winner: In the Heat of the Night

Other notable films:

• Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner
• Cool Hand Luke
• Bonnie and Clyde
• The Jungle Book
• The Dirty Dozen
• Belle de jour
• The Producers
• Point Blank
• In Cold Blood

1967 was full of landmark films like “The Graduate” and “Bonnie and Clyde.” But the year really made its mark by breaking down racial barriers with two Sidney Poitier led films with “In the Heat of the Night” and “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner.”

10. 1973

Top grossing film: The Sting

Best Picture winner: The Sting

Other notable films:

• The Exorcist
• American Graffiti
• Mean Streets
• Serpico
• Bandlands
• Paper Moon
• Enter the Dragon
• The Long Goodbye

It’s not as deep as other years on this list, but 1973 has gems in different genres that have stood the test of time. That includes Al Pacino’s tour de force in “Serpico,” Scorsese’s breakthrough with “Mean Streets” and the greatest horror film of all time in “The Exorcist.”

9. 1980

Top grossing film: The Empire Strikes Back

Best Picture winner: Ordinary People

Other notable films:

• Raging Bull
• The Shining
• Airplane!
• Friday the 13th
• American Gigolo
• Atlantic City
• The Elephant Man
• Coal Miner’s Daughter

1980 gave us the best film in the “Star Wars” franchise and two of the great horror movies of all time. Some consider “Ordinary People” a cinematic masterpiece, while most think it robbed “Raging Bull,” maybe the best movie of the 1980s, at the Oscars.

Lucasfilm

8. 1977

Top grossing film: Star Wars

Best Picture winner: Annie Hall

Other notable films:

• Close Encounters of the Third Kind
• Saturday Night Fever
• Eraserhead
• The Spy Who Loved Me
• The Goodbye Girl
• The Hills Have Eyes
• Julia

“Star Wars” ruled over pop culture in 1977 and never really let up. But even if the groundbreaking film wasn’t released that year, 1977 would still be a stellar time for movies with Woody Allen’s best film, the musical wonderland that was “Saturday Night Fever” and Davin Lynch’s first feature film “Eraserhead.”

7. 1974

Top grossing film: Blazing Saddles

Best Picture winner: The Godfather Part II

Other notable films:

• Chinatown
• The Conversation
• The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
• Young Frankenstein
• Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore
• A Woman Under the Influence
• The Parallax View
• Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia

Comedic gold, one of the greatest performances by an actress ever, horror camp and two stellar masterpieces in “The Conversation” and “Chinatown.” Plus, you have the greatest sequel ever made in “The Godfather Part II.”

6. 1984

Top grossing film: Beverly Hills Cop

Best Picture winner: Amadeus

Other notable film:

• Ghostbusters
• A Nightmare on Elm Street
• The Terminator
• Stranger Than Paradise
• Once Upon a Time in America
• The Natural
• Purple Rain
• This Is Spinal Tap
• Blood Simple

A year of major blockbusters and some of the most beloved films of all time. We didn’t even mention “Karate Kid.” Horror was in play as well. As was sports and James Cameron’s groundbreaking “The Terminator.”

5. 1976

Top grossing film: Rocky

Best Picture winner: Rocky

Other notable films: 

• Taxi Driver
• Network
• All the President’s Men
• The Omen
• The Shootest
• Bound for Glory
• Carrie
• The Outlaw Josey Whales
• Assault on Precinct 13

There was no stopping “Rocky” in 1976. But maybe there should have been. It’s a magical film, no doubt. But Stallone’s classic came out in the same year as three of the other greatest films of all time “Taxi Driver,” “Network” and “All the President’s Men.”

4. 1999

Top grossing film: Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace

Best Picture winner: American Beauty

Other notable films:

• The Matrix
• Fight Club
• The Sixth Sense
• Being John Malkovich
• Magnolia
• The Blair Witch Project
• Eyes Wide Shut
• The Insider
• Three Kings
• Office Space
• Toy Story 2
• Boys Don’t Cry

The return of “Star Wars” and the magical awards run of “American Beauty.” That’s just the tip of the iceberg. Simply put, 1999 was a groundbreaking year for cinema heading into the 21st Century that would change the way people made movies.

3. 1994

Top grossing film: The Lion King

Best Picture winner: Forrest Gump

Other notable films:

• Pulp Fiction
• The Shawshank Redemption
• Clerks.
• Natural Born Killers
• Speed
• Hoop Dreams
• Four Weddings and a Funeral
• Crumb
• Quiz Show
• Ed Wood

1994 had it all. It was huge year for independent cinema with “Pulp Fiction” and “Clerks.” Everyone fell in love with “Forrest Gump.” “The Lion King” became Disney’s grandest spectacle of all time. “Natural Born Killers” consumed the media. And a little seen movie named “The Shawshank Redemption” would arrive with little fanfare, but become the people’s choice as the greatest movie ever made.

2. 1982

Top grossing film: E.T. the Extra -Terrestrial

Best Picture winner: Gandhi

Other notable films:

• Blade Runner
• The King of Comedy
• Diner
• The Thing
• Tootsie
• Poltergeist
• 48 Hrs.
• The Verdict
• Sophie’s Choice
• Fast Times at Ridgemont High
• Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

The greatest year in science fiction movie history also served up landmark performances from Meryl Streep, Dustin Hoffman and Ben Kingsley.

1. 1939

Top grossing film: Gone with the Wind

Best Picture winner: Gone with the Wind

Other notable films:

• The Wizard of Oz
• Stagecoach
• Wuthering Heights
• Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
• Goodbye Mr. Chips
• The Women
• Ninotchka
• The Rules of the Game
• Gunga Din
• Young Mr. Lincoln
• Of Mice and Men

Just the fact “The Wizard of Oz” and “Gone With the Wind” were released in the same year is rather astonishing. They’re two of the 10 (maybe five) greatest films ever made. It’s enough to earn the year a place in the top-five all by itself. Then take into account that a total of five movies from 1939 were included at one point in time on the American Film Institute’s list of the 100 greatest movies ever made. What an incredible year for cinema. And to think it happened so long ago.

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