Top Movies of the 1960s

This page offers lists of the top movies of the decade as determined by two different metrics. The first list is based on box office and the second is based on critics’ picks.

Box Office: Top 25 of the 1960s These are the top 25 movies of the decade as determined by worldwide box office gross adjusted for inflation. The first number indicates dollars made in millions. See sources for box office figures here.

1) The Sound of Music (1965) 2) Doctor Zhivago (1965) 3) 101 Dalmatians (1961) 4) The Jungle Book (1967) 5) Mary Poppins (1964) 6) The Graduate (1967) 7) Thunderball (1965) 8) Goldfinger (1964) 9) Cleopatra (1963) 10) How the West Was Won (1962) 11) West Side Story (1961) 12) Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) 13) The Guns of Navarone (1961) 14) You Only Live Twice (1967) 15) From Russia with Love (1963) 16) My Fair Lady (1964) 17) Dr. No (1962) 18) 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) 19) The Dirty Dozen (1967) 20) Lawrence of Arabia (1962) 21) It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963) 22) Swiss Family Robinson (1960) 23) Tom Jones (1963) 24) Bonnie and Clyde (1967) 25) Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1967)

Critics’ Picks: Top 25 of the 1960s These are the top 25 movies of the decade as determined by a combination of the movies’ ratings points and awards points.

1) Lawrence of Arabia (1962) 2) West Side Story (1961) 3) The Sound of Music (1965) 4) Psycho (1960) 5) The Apartment (1960) 6) Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) 7) 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) 8) Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) 9) The Graduate (1967) 10) To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) 11) My Fair Lady (1964) 12) Bonnie and Clyde (1967) 13) The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966) 14) Midnight Cowboy (1969) 15) A Man for All Seasons (1966) 16) Mary Poppins (1964) 17) Doctor Zhivago (1965) 18) In the Heat of the Night (1967) 19) The Hustler (1961) 20) The Wild Bunch (1969) 21) 8 ½ (Otto e Mezzo) (1963) 22) Tom Jones (1963) 23) The Sweet Life (La Dolce Vita) (1960) 24) Once Upon a Time in the West (C’era Una Volta il West) (1968) 25) Persona (aka “Masks”) (1966)

Resources: Dave’s Movie Database: Eras Dave’s Movie Database: Movies of the Year Dave’s Movie Database: Box Office Dave’s Movie Database: Awards Page Dave’s Movie Database: Ratings Page Originally posted 3/8/2025.