Top Movies of the 1970s

This page offers lists of the top 25 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 1970s These are the top 25 movies of the decade as determined by worldwide box office gross. The first number indicates dollars made in millions. See sources for box office figures here.

1) 3753.70: Star Wars – Episode IV: A New Hope (1977) 2) 2712.00: Jaws (1975) 3) 2680.60: The Exorcist (1973) 4) 1938.60: Grease (1978) 5) 1851.00: The Sting (1973) 6) 1820.00: Enter the Dragon (1973) 7) 1730.00: The Godfather (1972) 8) 1560.10: Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) 9) 1507.90: Superman: The Movie (1978) 10) 1240.10: Rocky (1976) 11) 1132.89: Airport (1970) 12) 1060.28: Blazing Saddles (1974) 13) 1012.40: American Graffiti (1973) 14) 984.50: Moonraker (1979) 15) 977.10: The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) 16) 937.10: Rocky II (1979) 17) 823.55: Robin Hood (1973) 18) 640.52: Love Story (1970) 19) 561.49: The Towering Inferno (1974) 20) 547.90: National Lampoon’s Animal House (1978) 21) 519.93: Smokey and the Bandit (1977) 22) 514.37: Saturday Night Fever (1977) 23) 503.80: The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) 24) 502.26: The Poseidon Adventure (1972) 25) 491.26: One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)

Critics’ Picks: Top 25 of the 1970s These are the top 25 movies of the decade as determined by a combination of the movies’ ratings points and awards points.

1) The Godfather (1972) 2) One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975) 3) The Godfather Part II (1974) 4) Star Wars – Episode IV: A New Hope (1977) 5) Apocalypse Now (1979) 6) The Deer Hunter (1978) 7) Annie Hall (1977) 8) Chinatown (1974) 9) Patton (1970) 10) Taxi Driver (1976) 11) Rocky (1976) 12) Jaws (1975) 13) The Sting (1973) 14) The French Connection (1971) 15) The Exorcist (1973) 16) Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) 17) Nashville (1975) 18) All the President’s Men (1976) 19) Network (1976) 20) Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) 21) American Graffiti (1973) 22) A Clockwork Orange (1971) 23) M*A*S*H (1970) 24) Alien (1979) 25) Dog Day Afternoon (1975)

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.