Trends and technologies change and movies keep deft pace, responding to the times and occasionally informing them. As a result, history’s most popular films offer figurative windows into their respective eras of creation. That’s not to say each movie is contextually defined by its setting, but rather that any given work will invariably reflect the cultural landscape from which it was spawned.
To determine the most popular movie released every year since 1960, 24/7 Tempo created an index based on the combined user ratings on IMDb, an online movie and TV database owned by Amazon, and Rotten Tomatoes, an online movie and TV review aggregator, as well as domestic box office gross for each film. For films whose domestic box office gross was unavailable, we chose the movie with the highest number of votes. Box office data is not adjusted for inflation. (These are the 20 biggest box office hits of the 1960s.)
The most popular movie released each year can often tell us something about that year, even if the story it depicts takes place decades prior. Consider a popular title such as 1971’s “The Godfather,” which dealt with violence and moral ambiguity. While set in the 1940s, it was released at a time when the country was itself in turmoil, being torn apart by anti-war protests and the damning revelations of the Pentagon Papers.
Popular movies also denote the viewing habits of audiences at large. While earlier in the 20th century, films with serious themes – like “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” (1975) and “Schindler’s List” (1993) – were among the most popular releases, by the dawn of this millennium, our preferences had obviously shifted to the sheer entertainment of films featuring Batman, Spider-Man, and Harry Potter. (These are all the Batman actors ranked from worst to best.)
Click here to see the most popular movie released every year since 1960
And thus far in 2022, the most popular movie has been the latest installment of “Scream” – the slasher franchise created by Wes Craven – which suggests that our need for cinematic escapism (even the gory variety) remains strong.
1960
> Most popular movie: Psycho
> Most all-time votes on IMDb or RT: 652,338 on IMDB
> Director: Alfred Hitchcock
> Starring: Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, Vera Miles, John Gavin
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1961
> Most popular movie: One Hundred and One Dalmatians
> Most all-time votes on IMDb or RT: 709,452 on RT
> Directors: Clyde Geronimi, Hamilton Luske, Wolfgang Reitherman
> Starring: Rod Taylor, Betty Lou Gerson, J. Pat O’Malley, Martha Wentworth
1962
> Most popular movie: To Kill a Mockingbird
> Most all-time votes on IMDb or RT: 311,494 on IMDB
> Director: Robert Mulligan
> Starring: Gregory Peck, John Megna, Frank Overton, Rosemary Murphy
1963
> Most popular movie: The Great Escape
> Most all-time votes on IMDb or RT: 240,505 on IMDB
> Director: John Sturges
> Starring: Steve McQueen, James Garner, Richard Attenborough, Charles Bronson
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1964
> Most popular movie: Mary Poppins
> Most all-time votes on IMDb or RT: 682,626 on RT
> Director: Robert Stevenson
> Starring: Julie Andrews, Van Dyke, David Tomlinson, Glynis Johns
1965
> Most popular movie: The Sound of Music
> Most all-time votes on IMDb or RT: 606,565 on RT
> Director: Robert Wise
> Starring: Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer, Eleanor Parker, Richard Haydn
1966
> Most popular movie: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
> Most all-time votes on IMDb or RT: 741,521 on IMDB
> Director: Sergio Leone
> Starring: Clint Eastwood, Eli Wallach, Lee Van Cleef, Aldo Giuffrè
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1967
> Most popular movie: The Jungle Book
> Most all-time votes on IMDb or RT: 715,172 on RT
> Director: Wolfgang Reitherman
> Starring: Phil Harris, Sebastian Cabot, Louis Prima, Bruce Reitherman
1968
> Most popular movie: 2001: A Space Odyssey
> Most all-time votes on IMDb or RT: 650,842 on IMDB
> Director: Stanley Kubrick
> Starring: Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood, William Sylvester, Daniel Richter
1969
> Most popular movie: A Boy Named Charlie Brown
> Most all-time votes on IMDb or RT: 327,698 on RT
> Director: Bill Melendez
> Starring: Peter Robbins, Pamelyn Ferdin, Glenn Gilger, Andy Pforsich
1970
> Most popular movie: The Aristocats
> Most all-time votes on IMDb or RT: 273,599 on RT
> Director: Wolfgang Reitherman
> Starring: Phil Harris, Eva Gabor, Sterling Holloway, Scatman Crothers
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1971
> Most popular movie: Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
> Most all-time votes on IMDb or RT: 878,152 on RT
> Director: Mel Stuart
> Starring: Gene Wilder, Jack Albertson, Peter Ostrum, Roy Kinnear
1972
> Most popular movie: The Godfather
> Most all-time votes on IMDb or RT: 1,777,758 on IMDB
> Director: Francis Ford Coppola
> Starring: Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Diane Keaton
1973
> Most popular movie: The Exorcist
> Most all-time votes on IMDb or RT: 420,696 on RT
> Director: William Friedkin
> Starring: Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Linda Blair, Lee J. Cobb
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1974
> Most popular movie: The Godfather: Part II
> Most all-time votes on IMDb or RT: 1,228,786 on IMDB
> Director: Francis Ford Coppola
> Starring: Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton
1975
> Most popular movie: One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
> Most all-time votes on IMDb or RT: 982,101 on IMDB
> Director: Milos Forman
> Starring: Jack Nicholson, Louise Fletcher, Michael Berryman, Peter Brocco
1976
> Most popular movie: Rocky
> Most all-time votes on IMDb or RT: 33,403,994 on RT
> Director: John G. Avildsen
> Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers
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1977
> Most popular movie: Star Wars
> Most all-time votes on IMDb or RT: 1,320,039 on IMDB
> Director: George Lucas
> Starring: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Alec Guinness
1978
> Most popular movie: Grease
> Most all-time votes on IMDb or RT: 1,161,517 on RT
> Director: Randal Kleiser
> Starring: John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Stockard Channing, Jeff Conaway
1979
> Most popular movie: Alien
> Most all-time votes on IMDb or RT: 852,578 on IMDB
> Director: Ridley Scott
> Starring: Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, John Hurt, Veronica Cartwright
1980
> Most popular movie: Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back
> Most all-time votes on IMDb or RT: 1,248,496 on IMDB
> Director: Irvin Kershner
> Starring: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams
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1981
> Most popular movie: Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
> Most all-time votes on IMDb or RT: 942,516 on IMDB
> Director: Steven Spielberg
> Starring: Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Paul Freeman, John Rhys-Davies
1982
> Most popular movie: E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
> Most all-time votes on IMDb or RT: 32,314,349 on RT
> Director: Steven Spielberg
> Starring: Henry Thomas, Drew Barrymore, Peter Coyote, Dee Wallace
1983
> Most popular movie: Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi
> Most all-time votes on IMDb or RT: 1,020,029 on IMDB
> Director: Richard Marquand
> Starring: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams
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1984
> Most popular movie: Ghostbusters
> Most all-time votes on IMDb or RT: 1,040,658 on RT
> Director: Ivan Reitman
> Starring: Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Harold Ramis
1985
> Most popular movie: Back to the Future
> Most all-time votes on IMDb or RT: 1,158,792 on IMDB
> Director: Robert Zemeckis
> Starring: Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover
1986
> Most popular movie: Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
> Most all-time votes on IMDb or RT: 729,098 on RT
> Director: John Hughes
> Starring: Matthew Broderick, Alan Ruck, Mia Sara, Jeffrey Jones
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1987
> Most popular movie: Dirty Dancing
> Most all-time votes on IMDb or RT: 1,055,494 on RT
> Director: Emile Ardolino
> Starring: Patrick Swayze, Jennifer Grey, Jerry Orbach, Cynthia Rhodes
1988
> Most popular movie: Beetlejuice
> Most all-time votes on IMDb or RT: 917,435 on RT
> Director: Tim Burton
> Starring: Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis, Michael Keaton, Annie McEnroe
1989
> Most popular movie: Batman
> Most all-time votes on IMDb or RT: 911,715 on RT
> Director: Tim Burton
> Starring: Michael Keaton, Jack Nicholson, Kim Basinger, Robert Wuhl
1990
> Most popular movie: Pretty Woman
> Most all-time votes on IMDb or RT: 32,709,375 on RT
> Director: Garry Marshall
> Starring: Richard Gere, Julia Roberts, Jason Alexander, Laura San Giacomo
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1991
> Most popular movie: The Silence of the Lambs
> Most all-time votes on IMDb or RT: 1,383,263 on IMDB
> Director: Jonathan Demme
> Starring: Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, Lawrence A. Bonney, Kasi Lemmons
1992
> Most popular movie: Reservoir Dogs
> Most all-time votes on IMDb or RT: 989,340 on IMDB
> Director: Quentin Tarantino
> Starring: Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Chris Penn
1993
> Most popular movie: Schindler’s List
> Most all-time votes on IMDb or RT: 1,314,496 on IMDB
> Director: Steven Spielberg
> Starring: Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Ben Kingsley, Caroline Goodall
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1994
> Most popular movie: Ace Ventura: Pet Detective
> Most all-time votes on IMDb or RT: 33,204,120 on RT
> Director: Tom Shadyac
> Starring: Jim Carrey, Courteney Cox, Sean Young, Tone Loc
1995
> Most popular movie: Braveheart
> Most all-time votes on IMDb or RT: 32,708,456 on RT
> Director: Mel Gibson
> Starring: Mel Gibson, Sophie Marceau, Patrick McGoohan, Angus Macfadyen
1996
> Most popular movie: Happy Gilmore
> Most all-time votes on IMDb or RT: 990,945 on RT
> Director: Dennis Dugan
> Starring: Adam Sandler, Christopher McDonald, Julie Bowen, Frances Bay
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1997
> Most popular movie: Titanic
> Most all-time votes on IMDb or RT: 35,797,635 on RT
> Director: James Cameron
> Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Billy Zane, Kathy Bates
1998
> Most popular movie: There’s Something About Mary
> Most all-time votes on IMDb or RT: 33,121,539 on RT
> Director: Bobby Farrelly, Peter Farrelly
> Starring: Cameron Diaz, Matt Dillon, Ben Stiller, Lee Evans
1999
> Most popular movie: American Pie
> Most all-time votes on IMDb or RT: 33,781,574 on RT
> Director: Paul Weitz, Chris Weitz
> Starring: Jason Biggs, Chris Klein, Thomas Ian Nicholas, Jennifer Coolidge
2000
> Most popular movie: Gladiator
> Most all-time votes on IMDb or RT: 34,128,168 on RT
> Director: Ridley Scott
> Starring: Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Oliver Reed
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2001
> Most popular movie: Ocean’s Eleven
> Most all-time votes on IMDb or RT: 32,601,771 on RT
> Director: Steven Soderbergh
> Starring: George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, Matt Damon
2002
> Most popular movie: Spider-Man
> Most all-time votes on IMDb or RT: 34,297,354 on RT
> Director: Sam Raimi
> Starring: Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, Willem Dafoe, James Franco
2003
> Most popular movie: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
> Most all-time votes on IMDb or RT: 34,679,773 on RT
> Director: Peter Jackson
> Starring: Elijah Wood, Viggo Mortensen, Ian McKellen, Orlando Bloom
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2004
> Most popular movie: Shrek 2
> Most all-time votes on IMDb or RT: 34,232,524 on RT
> Director: Andrew Adamson, Kelly Asbury, Conrad Vernon
> Starring: Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, Julie Andrews
2005
> Most popular movie: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
> Most all-time votes on IMDb or RT: 34,153,607 on RT
> Director: Mike Newell
> Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Eric Sykes
2006
> Most popular movie: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest
> Most all-time votes on IMDb or RT: 1,847,651 on RT
> Director: Gore Verbinski
> Starring: Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, Jack Davenport
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2007
> Most popular movie: Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End
> Most all-time votes on IMDb or RT: 2,738,491 on RT
> Director: Gore Verbinski
> Starring: Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, Geoffrey Rush
2008
> Most popular movie: The Dark Knight
> Most all-time votes on IMDb or RT: 2,551,550 on IMDB
> Director: Christopher Nolan
> Starring: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Michael Caine
2009
> Most popular movie: Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
> Most all-time votes on IMDb or RT: 4,081,606 on RT
> Director: Michael Bay
> Starring: Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson
2010
> Most popular movie: Shutter Island
> Most all-time votes on IMDb or RT: 2,374,847 on RT
> Director: Martin Scorsese
> Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Emily Mortimer, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley
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2011
> Most popular movie: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
> Most all-time votes on IMDb or RT: 844,466 on IMDB
> Director: David Yates
> Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Michael Gambon
2012
> Most popular movie: The Dark Knight Rises
> Most all-time votes on IMDb or RT: 1,650,145 on IMDB
> Director: Christopher Nolan
> Starring: Christian Bale, Tom Hardy, Anne Hathaway, Gary Oldman
2013
> Most popular movie: The Wolf of Wall Street
> Most all-time votes on IMDb or RT: 1,338,525 on IMDB
> Director: Martin Scorsese
> Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, Margot Robbie, Matthew McConaughey
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2014
> Most popular movie: Interstellar
> Most all-time votes on IMDb or RT: 1,725,953 on IMDB
> Director: Christopher Nolan
> Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Mackenzie Foy
2015
> Most popular movie: Mad Max: Fury Road
> Most all-time votes on IMDb or RT: 967,634 on IMDB
> Director: George Miller
> Starring: Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult, Zoë Kravitz
2016
> Most popular movie: Deadpool
> Most all-time votes on IMDb or RT: 994,771 on IMDB
> Director: Tim Miller
> Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin, T.J. Miller, Ed Skrein
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2017
> Most popular movie: Logan
> Most all-time votes on IMDb or RT: 727,372 on IMDB
> Director: James Mangold
> Starring: Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Dafne Keen, Boyd Holbrook
2018
> Most popular movie: Avengers: Infinity War
> Most all-time votes on IMDb or RT: 1,009,496 on IMDB
> Directors: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo
2019
> Most popular movie: Joker
> Most all-time votes on IMDb or RT: 1,187,190 on IMDB
> Director: Todd Phillips
> Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz, Frances Conroy
2020
> Most popular movie: Tenet
> Most all-time votes on IMDb or RT: 466,234 on IMDB
> Director: Christopher Nolan
> Starring: John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki, Juhan Ulfsak
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2021
> Most popular movie: Spider-Man: No Way Home
> Most all-time votes on IMDb or RT: 614,405 on IMDB
> Director: Jon Watts
> Starring: Tom Holland, Zendaya, Benedict Cumberbatch, Jacob Batalon
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2022
> Most popular movie: Scream
> Most all-time votes on IMDb or RT: 86,445 on IMDB
> Directors: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett
> Starring: Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, David Arquette, Melissa Barrera
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