Nicolas Cage is one of the most talented and eccentric actors of his generation. Cage, who shares motion-picture DNA with his uncle Francis Ford Coppola; his aunt, Talia Shire; and his cousin Sofia Coppola, among other relatives, has been nominated for two Academy Awards and won a Best Actor statue for “Leaving Las Vegas.” (Cage is obviously part of one of Hollywood’s most famous dynasties.)
Cage has more than 80 acting credits and 10 of his films have received a Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer critics’ score of 90% or above. Ten of his films have also grossed more than $100 million at the box office.
To determine the best Nicolas Cage movies, 24/7 Tempo developed an index using average ratings on IMDb, an online movie database owned by Amazon, and a combination of audience scores and Tomatometer scores on Rotten Tomatoes, an online movie and TV review aggregator, as of September 2022, weighting all ratings equally. Only movies where Nicolas Cage was credited as one of the leading four actors on IMDb were considered. Directorial credits are from IMDb.
After getting notice for quirky and intense characters in his earlier films, Cage broke through as Cher’s love interest in “Moonstruck” in 1987. He followed that up with the well-received “Raising Arizona” (1987), the hit “Vampire’s Kiss” (1989), and his Oscar-winning “Leaving Las Vegas.” Cage has appeared in five films with a Las Vegas theme: “Honeymoon in Vegas” (1992), “Leaving Las Vegas” (1995), “Con Air” (1997), “Next” (2007) and “The Trust” (2016).
Cage established himself as an actor who invests himself in his roles. In the film, “Birdy,” he had some teeth pulled to make his performance more authentic, and he ate a real cockroach for the movie “Vampire’s Kiss.”
Click here to see the best Nicholas Cage movies
Onscreen, Cage has played quirky and flamboyant characters. Off-camera, his life has been just as colorful. His off-screen life could be its own movie. Cage, whose personal worth had been as much as $150 million, has purchased a haunted mansion in New Orleans, castles in Europe, and a private island in the Bahamas. His other curious acquisitions included a pet octopus; a $450,000 Lamborghini once owned by Prince Ali-Reza Pahlavi, the former prince of Iran; and a dinosaur skull.
His freewheeling spending led to his nearly going bankrupt, forcing him to take roles in movies that were panned and tainted his career. (His was one of the biggest celebrity IRS audits.)
Source: Courtesy of Buena Vista Pictures
25. Con Air (1997)
> Combined index score: 2.010
> IMDb user rating: 6.9/10 (285,500 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 75% (417,395 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 56% (66 reviews)
> Directed by: Simon West
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Source: Courtesy of TriStar Pictures
24. Peggy Sue Got Married (1986)
> Combined index score: 2.047
> IMDb user rating: 6.4/10 (35,856 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 55% (34,823 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 86% (29 reviews)
> Directed by: Francis Ford Coppola
Source: Courtesy of Warner Bros.
23. City of Angels (1998)
> Combined index score: 2.075
> IMDb user rating: 6.7/10 (116,982 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 82% (345,621 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 58% (60 reviews)
> Directed by: Brad Silberling
Source: Courtesy of First Look Pictures
22. Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (2009)
> Combined index score: 2.092
> IMDb user rating: 6.6/10 (75,781 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 57% (53,855 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 86% (154 reviews)
> Directed by: Werner Herzog
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Source: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures
21. Bringing Out the Dead (1999)
> Combined index score: 2.108
> IMDb user rating: 6.8/10 (66,537 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 70% (38,833 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 72% (109 reviews)
> Directed by: Martin Scorsese
Source: Courtesy of Atlantic Releasing
20. Valley Girl (1983)
> Combined index score: 2.188
> IMDb user rating: 6.4/10 (14,435 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 72% (13,749 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 83% (30 reviews)
> Directed by: Martha Coolidge
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Source: Courtesy of XYZ Films
19. Mandy (2018)
> Combined index score: 2.210
> IMDb user rating: 6.5/10 (70,690 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 66% (4,498 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 90% (248 reviews)
> Directed by: Panos Cosmatos
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Source: Courtesy of The Samuel Goldwyn Company
18. Wild at Heart (1990)
> Combined index score: 2.218
> IMDb user rating: 7.2/10 (88,907 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 81% (43,501 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 67% (52 reviews)
> Directed by: David Lynch
Source: Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox
17. The Croods (2013)
> Combined index score: 2.228
> IMDb user rating: 7.2/10 (202,281 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 77% (193,874 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 72% (144 reviews)
> Directed by: Kirk DeMicco & Chris Sanders
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Source: Courtesy of Lions Gate Films
16. Lord of War (2005)
> Combined index score: 2.238
> IMDb user rating: 7.6/10 (302,906 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 84% (390,145 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 61% (147 reviews)
> Directed by: Andrew Niccol
Source: Courtesy of Lionsgate
15. Joe (2013)
> Combined index score: 2.240
> IMDb user rating: 6.9/10 (47,150 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 68% (19,007 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 86% (135 reviews)
> Directed by: David Gordon Green
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Source: Courtesy of Buena Vista Pictures
14. The Rock (1996)
> Combined index score: 2.293
> IMDb user rating: 7.4/10 (323,201 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 85% (305,314 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 68% (68 reviews)
> Directed by: Michael Bay
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Source: Courtesy of RLJE Films
13. Color Out of Space (2019)
> Combined index score: 2.293
> IMDb user rating: 6.2/10 (41,021 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 82% (94 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 86% (208 reviews)
> Directed by: Richard Stanley
Source: Courtesy of Warner Bros.
12. Matchstick Men (2003)
> Combined index score: 2.310
> IMDb user rating: 7.3/10 (127,290 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 74% (229,695 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 82% (187 reviews)
> Directed by: Ridley Scott
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Source: Courtesy of TriStar Pictures
10. Birdy (1984)
> Combined index score: 2.410
> IMDb user rating: 7.3/10 (22,438 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 83% (8,291 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 83% (29 reviews)
> Directed by: Alan Parker
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Source: Courtesy of Roxie Releasing
9. Red Rock West (1993)
> Combined index score: 2.412
> IMDb user rating: 7.0/10 (21,333 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 75% (8,229 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 95% (37 reviews)
> Directed by: John Dahl
Source: Courtesy of Universal Pictures
8. The Croods: A New Age (2020)
> Combined index score: 2.423
> IMDb user rating: 7.0/10 (33,058 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 94% (2,196 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 77% (150 reviews)
> Directed by: Joel Crawford
Source: Courtesy of Lionsgate
7. The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (2022)
> Combined index score: 2.443
> IMDb user rating: 7.0/10 (75,181 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 87% (1,000 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 86% (302 reviews)
> Directed by: Tom Gormican
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Source: Courtesy of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
6. Moonstruck (1987)
> Combined index score: 2.475
> IMDb user rating: 7.1/10 (55,331 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 81% (44,875 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 94% (65 reviews)
> Directed by: Norman Jewison
Source: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures
5. Face/Off (1997)
> Combined index score: 2.478
> IMDb user rating: 7.2/10 (360,443 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 82% (450,429 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 92% (87 reviews)
> Directed by: John Woo
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Source: Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox
4. Raising Arizona (1987)
> Combined index score: 2.510
> IMDb user rating: 7.3/10 (132,298 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 85% (89,264 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 91% (58 reviews)
> Directed by: Joel & Ethan Coen
Source: Courtesy of Neon
3. Pig (2021)
> Combined index score: 2.510
> IMDb user rating: 6.9/10 (72,667 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 84% (250 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 97% (264 reviews)
> Directed by: Michael Sarnoski
Source: Courtesy of MGM/UA Distribution Company
2. Leaving Las Vegas (1995)
> Combined index score: 2.535
> IMDb user rating: 7.5/10 (119,047 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 85% (56,598 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 91% (53 reviews)
> Directed by: Mike Figgis
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Source: Courtesy of Columbia Pictures
1. Adaptation. (2002)
> Combined index score: 2.560
> IMDb user rating: 7.7/10 (186,123 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 85% (188,786 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 91% (211 reviews)
> Directed by: Spike Jonze
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