Top Movies of the 1950s

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 20 of the 1950s These are the top 20 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) 3731.10: The Ten Commandments (1956) 2) 2970.20: Ben-Hur (1959) 3) 1575.00: Cinderella (1950) 4) 1326.00: The Robe (1953) 5) 1278.20: Quo Vadis? (1951) 6) 664.86: Sleeping Beauty (1959) 7) 591.12: Around the World in 80 Days (1956) 8) 548.90: The Greatest Show on Earth (1952) 9) 519.40: From Here to Eternity (1953) 10) 509.88: Lady and the Tramp (1955) 11) 497.67: The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) 12) 481.70: Giant (1956) 13) 462.28: House of Wax (1953) 14) 460.66: Rear Window (1954) 15) 417.38: Peter Pan (1953) 16) 406.07: The Caine Mutiny (1954) 17) 293.90: Gigi (1958) 18) 231.20: A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) 19) 219.90 :On the Waterfront (1954) 20) 202.90: An American in Paris (1951)

Critics’ Picks: Top 25 of the 1950s These are the top 25 movies of the decade as determined by a combination of the movies’ ratings points and awards points.

1) All About Eve (1950) 2) The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) 3) On the Waterfront (1954) 4) Ben-Hur (1959) 5) Singin’ in the Rain (1952) 6) Sunset Boulevard (1950) 7) 12 Angry Men (1957) 8) From Here to Eternity (1953) 9) Rear Window (1954) 10) Some Like It Hot (1959) 11) A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) 12) Vertigo (1958) 13) The Seven Samurai (Schichinin no Samurai) (1954) 14) North by Northwest (1959) 15) Touch of Evil (1958) 16) Rashômon (1950) 17) An American in Paris (1951) 18) Tokyo Story (Tôkyô Monogatari) (1953) 19) High Noon (1952) 20) The Searchers (1956) 21) Paths of Glory (1957) 22) Gigi (1958) 23) The Ten Commandments (1956) 24) The Night of the Hunter (1955) 25) Marty (1955)

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.

 

Worldwide Box Office, Adjusted for Inflation: Top 100

These are the top films of all-time based on worldwide box office after being adjusted for inflation. The number right before the movie title indicates the adjusted worldwide box office numbers in millions. See the bottom of the page for resources used to compile this list. 1) 5192.10: Titanic (1997) 2) 4349.40: Avatar (2009) 3) 4341.00: Gone with the Wind (1939) 4) 3753.70: Star Wars – Episode IV: A New Hope (1977) 5) 3731.10: The Ten Commandments (1956) 6) 3589.90: Avengers: Endgame (2019) 7) 3095.40: E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) 8) 3093.10: The Sound of Music (1965) 9) 2980.22: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) 10) 2970.22: Ben-Hur (1959) 11) 2860.20: Jurassic Park (1993) 12) 2846.50: Star Wars – Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015) 13) 2712.00: Jaws (1975) 14) 2680.60: The Exorcist (1973) 15) 2634.30: Doctor Zhivago (1965) 16) 2625.10: Avengers: Infinity War (2018) 17) 2588.80: Avatar: The Way of Water (2022) 18) 2384.50: The Lion King (1994) 19) 2349.50: Jurassic World (2015) 20) 2344.40: Star Wars – Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999) 21) 1736.00: Star Wars – Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980) 22) 2231.60: The Avengers (2012) 23) 2179.40: Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) 24) 2173.00: Independence Day (1996) 25) 2169.00: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) 26) 2140.00: 101 Dalmatians (1961) 27) 2124.90: The Lion King (2019) 28) 2103.40: Furious 7 (The Fast and the Furious 7) (2015) 29) 2025.10: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (aka “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone”) (2001) 30) 2020.00: The Jungle Book (1967) 31) 1999.00: Ne Zha 2 (2025) 32) 1987.70: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part II (2011) 33) 1980.40: Mary Poppins (1964) 34) 1947.70: Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) 35) 1938.60: Grease (1978) 36) 1924.90: Forrest Gump (1994) 37) 1904.10: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (2006) 38) 1878.80: The Graduate (1967) 39) 1860.00: Frozen II (2019) 40) 1858.70: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) 41) 1851.00: The Sting (1973) 42) 1840.60: Frozen (2013) 43) 1820.00: Enter the Dragon (1973) 44) 1797.50: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) 45) 1778.30: Finding Nemo (2003) 46) 1776.60: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002) 47) 1745.70: Star Wars – Episode VIII: The Last Jedi (2017) 48) 1741.70: Thunderball (1965) 49) 1741.10: Goldfinger (1964) 50) 1740.40: Shrek 2 (2004) 51) 1736.70: Iron Man 3 (2013) 52) 1730.00: The Godfather (1972) 53) 1730.00: Bambi (1942) 54) 1727.50: Black Panther (2018) 55) 1723.70: Star Wars – Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983) 56) 1696.20: Inside Out 2 (2024) 57) 1673.70: Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018) 58) 1666.50: Top Gun: Maverick (2022) 59) 1664.70: Spider-Man (2002) 60) 1663.70: Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011) 61) 1661.70: Beauty and the Beast (2017) 62) 1645.40: Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (2007) 63) 1644.80: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) 64) 1641.50: The Dark Knight (2008) 65) 1639.60: Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) 66) 1636.40: Skyfall (2012) 67) 1621.60: Minions (2015) 68) 1618.80: The Fate of the Furious (Fast and the Furious 8) (2017) 69) 1615.50: The Dark Knight Rises (2012) 70) 1592.50: The Incredibles 2 (2018) 71) 1590.80: Toy Story 3 (2010) 72) 1587.80: Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014) 73) 1583.70: Jurassic Park: The Lost World (1997) 74) 1575.00: Cinderella (1950) 75) 1565.10: Barbie (2023) 76) 1562.60: Captain America: Civil War (2016) 77) 1560.10: Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) 78) 1558.30: Star Wars – Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005) 79) 1557.70: The Sixth Sense (1999) 80) 1549.40: Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011) 81) 1522.70: Alice in Wonderland (2010) 82) 1521.50: Spider-Man 3 (2007) 83) 1508.80: Men in Black (1997) 84) 1507.90: Superman: The Movie (1978) 85) 1507.40: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) 86) 1501.20: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012) 87) 1483.00: Spider-Man 2 (2004) 88) 1483.00: The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023) 89) 1471.50: Aquaman (2018) 90) 1463.90: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009) 91) 1450.90: Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) 92) 1447.30: Captain Marvel (2019) 93) 1446.10: The Matrix Reloaded (2003) 94) 1430.10: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 (2010) 95) 1427.10: Aladdin (1992) 96) 1420.90: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) 97) 1420.40: Despicable Me 2 (2013) 98) 1404.70: Ghost (1990) 99) 1400.40: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) 100) 1397.20: Finding Dory (2016) Resources: Dave’s Movie Database: Box Office Lists Box Office Mojo (7/18/2019). “All Time Worldwide Grosses” Games Radar (1/6/2023). “The 30 highest-grossing movies of all time, adjusted for inflation” Internet Movie Database (2025). “Highest Grossing Blockbusters of All Time, Adjusted for Inflation” Reddit (2017). “The Highest Grossing Movies of All Time Adjusted for Inflation” Rotten Tomatoes (12/12/2023). “The 50 Highest-Grossing Movies of All Time: Your Top Box Office Earners Ever Worldwide” TheStreet.com (6/24/2019). “Top 30 Highest-Grossing Movies of All Time Adjusted for Inflation” UltimateMovingRankings.com (2024). “All Time Top Worldwide Box Office Grossing Movies…” Wikipedia (2023). “Highest-Grossing Films Worldwide” Wikipedia (2023). “Highest-Grossing Films Worldwide, adjusted for inflation” Originally posted 7/19/2019; last updated 3/7/2025.

Epic Movies: Top 25

image from Gone with the Wind

Top 25 Epic Movies Wikipedia defines an epic film as “a style of filmmaking with large scale, sweeping scope, and spectacle…It is often focused on a heroic character…[They may] take a historical or a mythical event and add an extravagant setting and lavish costumes, accompanied by an expansive musical score with an ensemble cast, which would make them among the most expensive of films to produce.” This list of the top 25 epic films of all-time has been assembled by aggregating the resources at the bottom of this page along with overall ranking in Dave’s Movie Database. Movies with sequels that also rated in the top 50 have been consolidated into one entry. 1. Gone with the Wind (1939) 2. Lawrence of Arabia (1962) 3. Ben-Hur (1959) 4. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) The Two Towers (2002) The Return of the King (2003) 5. Titanic (1997) 6. Spartacus (1960) 7. Gladiator (2000) 8. Schindler’s List (1993) 9. The Ten Commandments (1956) 10. Braveheart (1995) 11. Saving Private Ryan (1998) 12. Dances with Wolves (1990) 13. Doctor Zhivago (1965) 14. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) 15. The Seven Samurai (Schichinin no Samurai) (1954) 16. The Godfather (1972) / The Godfather Part II (1974) 17. Forrest Gump (1994): 18. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957): 19. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966) 20. Apocalypse Now (1979) 21. Reds (1981) 22. Gandhi (1982) 23. Cleopatra (1963) 24. Patton (1970) 25. Glory (1989) Resources: Dave’s Movie Database: Genre Lists American Film Institute (2016). “Top 10 Epic FIlms” AwardsCircuit.com (8/16/2016). “Top 10: Favorite Epic Movies of All-Time” CommonSenseMedia.org “Best Epic Movies” FilmSchoolWTF.com “Top 100 Best Epic Movies” The Flick Pick (3/20/2014). “Top 10 Most Epic Movies” Internet Movie Database (3/16/2011). “The 51 Top Epic Movies of All Time” ListChallenges.com “All-Time Best Epic Movies” LiveAbout.com (3/25/2019). “8 Classical Historical Epic Movies” Newsweek (10/15/2018). “Ranked: The Greatest Historical Epics Ever Told” Ranker.com “The Greatest Epic Movies Ever Made” TasteOfCinema.com (1/27/2015). “The 15 Best Epic Movies of All Time” Tuko.co.ke (2018). “10 Best Epic Movies of All Time” Vulture.com (5/10/2019). “The 33 Best Movies Over 3 Hours Long” WTOP.com (7/31/2018). “Best epic movies of all time” Originally posted 8/31/2019; last updated 5/25/2023.

Ben-Hur released 50 years ago

Ben-Hur Released: November 18, 1959 Studio: MGM Genre: war epic Box Office (numbers in millions): Domestic: 74.0 Worldwide: ? Adjusted for Inflation: Domestic: 961.94 Worldwide: 2578.10

Directing: William Wyler Screenwriting: Karl Tunberg Starring: Charlton Heston, Hugh Griffith, Stephen Boyd, Jack Hawkins, Martha Scott, Cathy O’Donnell Review: This remake of the 1927 silent film with Ramon Novarro, itself an adaption of the 1880 novel by Lew Wallace, is “one of the cinema’s greatest epics.” FS It is a “character-driven, action-filled, star-studded extravaganza” FS and “compelling human story of revenge, bitterness, redemption and forgiveness.” FS Heston is Judah Ben Hur, the Prince of Judea. His boyhood friend, Messala (Boyd), has become “a tyrannical Roman Governor.” VD Messala banishes and enslaves Ben Hur and his family (Scott and O’Donnell). Ben Hur “saves the life of Roman nobleman/admiral Quintus Arrius (Hawkins), is adopted and becomes a respected citizen and a famed chariot racer under the tutelage of an Arabian horse racer (Griffith).” FS Years later, Ben Hur seeks revenge against Messala in the Roman Chariot Race, “often regarded as one of the most exciting action sequences ever filmed.” FS Along the way, Ben Hur has “an inspirational encounter with Jesus.” FS When Ben Hur returns to Judea, “rescues his suffering, leprous family and witnesses the crucifixion of Jesus.” FS Heston finds “forgiveness and redemption when he tries to help Jesus Christ, the man who once saved him” A7 “and is inspired to convert to Christianity.” FS Sources: A7 American Film Institute (2007). “AFI’s 100 Years…100 Movies – 10th Anniversary Edition” FS Filmsite.org “100 Greatest Films” VD Video Detective (1997). “Top 100 Films of All Time”

Awards/Honors/Lists: Dave’s Movie Database Lists: Dave’s Movie Database Genre Lists: Box Office: Oscars: Wins: 11, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (Charlton Heston), Best Supporting Actor (Hugh Griffith), Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing, Best Original Music Score, Best Production Design, Best Sound Mixing, Best Visual Effects Nominations: 12, included Best Adapted Screenplay Other Awards: Other Lists/Honors: First posted 9/13/2019; last updated 5/29/2023.