IMDb Staff Ranks the Top 25 Movies Since 1990
by IMDbSteveR | created - 29 Sep 2015 | updated - 21 Oct 2015 | PublicTo celebrate IMDb's 25th anniversary, our staff took a collective look back at our favorite movies from 1990 to today. We created a list by ranking IMDb staff votes according to an algorithm similar to the one we use to determine IMDb's Top 250 lists. In order to qualify for this list, titles needed a minimum of 10 staff votes. Read on to find out if your picks matched ours.
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1. Pulp Fiction (1994)
R | 154 min | Crime, Drama
The lives of two mob hitmen, a boxer, a gangster and his wife, and a pair of diner bandits intertwine in four tales of violence and redemption.
Director: Quentin Tarantino | Stars: John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis
Votes: 2,221,013 | Gross: $107.93M
IMDb Top 250 Movie Rank: No. 7 IMDb Rating: 8.9 IMDb Staff Rating: 8.6
2. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
R | 142 min | Drama
Over the course of several years, two convicts form a friendship, seeking consolation and, eventually, redemption through basic compassion.
Director: Frank Darabont | Stars: Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman, Bob Gunton, William Sadler
Votes: 2,889,720 | Gross: $28.34M
IMDb Top 250 Movie Rank: No. 1 IMDb Rating: 9.3 IMDb Staff Rating: 8.6
3. The Matrix (1999)
R | 136 min | Action, Sci-Fi
When a beautiful stranger leads computer hacker Neo to a forbidding underworld, he discovers the shocking truth--the life he knows is the elaborate deception of an evil cyber-intelligence.
Directors: Lana Wachowski, Lilly Wachowski | Stars: Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving
Votes: 2,053,907 | Gross: $171.48M
IMDb Top 250 Movie Rank: No. 18 IMDb Rating: 8.7 IMDb Staff Rating: 8.5
4. Spirited Away (2001)
PG | 125 min | Animation, Adventure, Family
During her family's move to the suburbs, a sullen 10-year-old girl wanders into a world ruled by gods, witches and spirits, and where humans are changed into beasts.
Director: Hayao Miyazaki | Stars: Daveigh Chase, Suzanne Pleshette, Miyu Irino, Rumi Hiiragi
Votes: 849,793 | Gross: $10.06M
IMDb Top 250 Movie Rank: No. 31 IMDb Rating: 8.6 IMDb Staff Rating: 8.7
5. Goodfellas (1990)
R | 145 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
The story of Henry Hill and his life in the mafia, covering his relationship with his wife Karen and his mob partners Jimmy Conway and Tommy DeVito.
Director: Martin Scorsese | Stars: Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci, Lorraine Bracco
Votes: 1,257,743 | Gross: $46.84M
IMDb Top 250 Movie Rank: No. 17 IMDb Rating: 8.7 IMDb Staff Rating: 8.5
6. The Usual Suspects (1995)
R | 106 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
The sole survivor of a pier shoot-out tells the story of how a notorious criminal influenced the events that began with five criminals meeting in a seemingly random police lineup.
Director: Bryan Singer | Stars: Kevin Spacey, Gabriel Byrne, Chazz Palminteri, Stephen Baldwin
Votes: 1,145,707 | Gross: $23.34M
IMDb Top 250 Movie Rank: No. 24 IMDb Rating: 8.6 IMDb Staff Rating: 8.5
7. Schindler's List (1993)
R | 195 min | Biography, Drama, History
In German-occupied Poland during World War II, industrialist Oskar Schindler gradually becomes concerned for his Jewish workforce after witnessing their persecution by the Nazis.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Ben Kingsley, Caroline Goodall
Votes: 1,451,234 | Gross: $96.90M
IMDb Top 250 Movie Rank: No. 6 IMDb Rating: 8.9 IMDb Staff Rating: 8.5
8. Fight Club (1999)
R | 139 min | Drama
An insomniac office worker and a devil-may-care soap maker form an underground fight club that evolves into much more.
Director: David Fincher | Stars: Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, Meat Loaf, Zach Grenier
Votes: 2,324,867 | Gross: $37.03M
IMDb Top 250 Movie Rank: No. 10 IMDb Rating: 8.9 IMDb Staff Rating: 8.4
9. Whiplash (2014)
R | 106 min | Drama, Music
A promising young drummer enrolls at a cut-throat music conservatory where his dreams of greatness are mentored by an instructor who will stop at nothing to realize a student's potential.
Director: Damien Chazelle | Stars: Miles Teller, J.K. Simmons, Melissa Benoist, Paul Reiser
Votes: 989,950 | Gross: $13.09M
IMDb Top 250 Movie Rank: No. 42 IMDb Rating: 8.5 IMDb Staff Rating: 8.6
10. Heat (1995)
R | 170 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A group of high-end professional thieves start to feel the heat from the LAPD when they unknowingly leave a verbal clue at their latest heist.
Director: Michael Mann | Stars: Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Val Kilmer, Jon Voight
Votes: 719,631 | Gross: $67.44M
IMDb Top 250 Movie Rank: No. 123 IMDb Rating: 8.3 IMDb Staff Rating: 8.6
11. Toy Story (1995)
G | 81 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
A cowboy doll is profoundly threatened and jealous when a new spaceman action figure supplants him as top toy in a boy's bedroom.
Director: John Lasseter | Stars: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Don Rickles, Jim Varney
Votes: 1,068,874 | Gross: $191.80M
IMDb Top 250 Movie Rank: No. 98 IMDb Rating: 8.3 IMDb Staff Rating: 8.4
12. Inception (2010)
PG-13 | 148 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
A thief who steals corporate secrets through the use of dream-sharing technology is given the inverse task of planting an idea into the mind of a C.E.O., but his tragic past may doom the project and his team to disaster.
Director: Christopher Nolan | Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Elliot Page, Ken Watanabe
Votes: 2,551,688 | Gross: $292.58M
IMDb Top 250 Movie Rank: No. 14 IMDb Rating: 8.8 IMDb Staff Rating: 8.3
13. Inside Out (I) (2015)
PG | 95 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
After young Riley is uprooted from her Midwest life and moved to San Francisco, her emotions - Joy, Fear, Anger, Disgust and Sadness - conflict on how best to navigate a new city, house, and school.
Directors: Pete Docter, Ronnie Del Carmen | Stars: Amy Poehler, Bill Hader, Lewis Black, Mindy Kaling
Votes: 785,733 | Gross: $356.46M
IMDb Top 250 Movie Rank: No. 66 IMDb Rating: 8.5 IMDb Staff Rating: 8.6
14. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
R | 118 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A young F.B.I. cadet must receive the help of an incarcerated and manipulative cannibal killer to help catch another serial killer, a madman who skins his victims.
Director: Jonathan Demme | Stars: Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, Scott Glenn, Ted Levine
Votes: 1,548,667 | Gross: $130.74M
IMDb Top 250 Movie Rank: No. 23 IMDb Rating: 8.6 IMDb Staff Rating: 8.3
15. Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
R | 120 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
In a post-apocalyptic wasteland, a woman rebels against a tyrannical ruler in search for her homeland with the aid of a group of female prisoners, a psychotic worshiper and a drifter named Max.
Director: George Miller | Stars: Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult, Zoë Kravitz
Votes: 1,086,791 | Gross: $154.06M
IMDb Top 250 Movie Rank: No. 133 IMDb Rating: 8.2 IMDb Staff Rating: 8.4
16. The Big Lebowski (1998)
R | 117 min | Comedy, Crime
Jeff "The Dude" Lebowski, mistaken for a millionaire of the same name, seeks restitution for his ruined rug and enlists his bowling buddies to help get it.
Directors: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen | Stars: Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, Julianne Moore, Steve Buscemi
Votes: 860,585 | Gross: $17.50M
IMDb Top 250 Movie Rank: No. 147 IMDb Rating: 8.2 IMDb Staff Rating: 8.3
17. Memento (2000)
R | 113 min | Mystery, Thriller
A man with short-term memory loss attempts to track down his wife's murderer.
Director: Christopher Nolan | Stars: Guy Pearce, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano, Mark Boone Junior
Votes: 1,323,256 | Gross: $25.54M
IMDb Top 250 Movie Rank: No. 44 IMDb Rating: 8.5 IMDb Staff Rating: 8.3
18. Amélie (2001)
R | 122 min | Comedy, Romance
Despite being caught in her imaginative world, Amelie, a young waitress, decides to help people find happiness. Her quest to spread joy leads her on a journey where she finds true love.
Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet | Stars: Audrey Tautou, Mathieu Kassovitz, Rufus, Lorella Cravotta
Votes: 794,374 | Gross: $33.23M
IMDb Top 250 Movie Rank: No. 75 IMDb Rating: 8.4 IMDb Staff Rating: 8.3
19. Office Space (1999)
R | 89 min | Comedy
Three company workers who hate their jobs decide to rebel against their greedy boss.
Director: Mike Judge | Stars: Ron Livingston, Jennifer Aniston, David Herman, Ajay Naidu
Votes: 287,675 | Gross: $10.82M
IMDb Rating: 7.8 IMDb Staff Rating: 8.4
20. Let the Right One In (2008)
R | 114 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
Oskar, an overlooked and bullied boy, finds love and revenge through Eli, a beautiful but peculiar girl.
Director: Tomas Alfredson | Stars: Kåre Hedebrant, Lina Leandersson, Per Ragnar, Henrik Dahl
Votes: 226,812 | Gross: $2.12M
IMDb Rating: 8.0 IMDb Staff Rating: 8.4
21. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
R | 137 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
A cyborg, identical to the one who failed to kill Sarah Connor, must now protect her ten year old son John from an even more advanced and powerful cyborg.
Director: James Cameron | Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Edward Furlong, Robert Patrick
Votes: 1,174,453 | Gross: $204.84M
IMDb Top 250 Movie Rank: No. 41 IMDb Rating: 8.5 IMDb Staff Rating: 8.2
22. American History X (1998)
R | 119 min | Crime, Drama
Living a life marked by violence, neo-Nazi Derek finally goes to prison after killing two black youths. Upon his release, Derek vows to change; he hopes to prevent his brother, Danny, who idolizes Derek, from following in his footsteps.
Director: Tony Kaye | Stars: Edward Norton, Edward Furlong, Beverly D'Angelo, Jennifer Lien
Votes: 1,186,572 | Gross: $6.72M
IMDb Top 250 Movie Rank: No. 32 IMDb Rating: 8.6 IMDb Staff Rating: 8.2
23. Fargo (1996)
R | 98 min | Crime, Thriller
Minnesota car salesman Jerry Lundegaard's inept crime falls apart due to his and his henchmen's bungling and the persistent police work of the quite pregnant Marge Gunderson.
Directors: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen | Stars: William H. Macy, Frances McDormand, Steve Buscemi, Peter Stormare
Votes: 726,894 | Gross: $24.61M
IMDb Top 250 Movie Rank: No. 155 IMDb Rating: 8.2 IMDb Staff Rating: 8.2
24. Inglourious Basterds (2009)
R | 153 min | Adventure, Drama, War
In Nazi-occupied France during World War II, a plan to assassinate Nazi leaders by a group of Jewish U.S. soldiers coincides with a theatre owner's vengeful plans for the same.
Director: Quentin Tarantino | Stars: Brad Pitt, Diane Kruger, Eli Roth, Mélanie Laurent
Votes: 1,584,786 | Gross: $120.54M
IMDb Top 250 Movie Rank: No.100 IMDb Rating: 8.3 IMDb Staff Rating: 8.2
25. WALL·E (2008)
G | 98 min | Animation, Adventure, Family
In the distant future, a small waste-collecting robot inadvertently embarks on a space journey that will ultimately decide the fate of mankind.
Director: Andrew Stanton | Stars: Ben Burtt, Elissa Knight, Jeff Garlin, Fred Willard
Votes: 1,200,793 | Gross: $223.81M
IMDb Top 250 Movie Rank: No. 61 IMDb Rating: 8.4 IMDb Staff Rating: 8.2
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