The 25 Highest-Rated Movies Of The Past 25 Years

Looking for something to watch this weekend? Well, look no further than this list of the 25 highest-rated movies that have come out in the past 25 years.

This list includes multiple animated films, blockbuster action movies, and foreign films. The rankings are based on official IMDB ratings and the date range is set from 2001-2026. Including the year 2000 just to have round numbers felt wrong. We will see the highest-rated movies in reverse order, starting with #25 and counting down to #1, with a clip or trailer from each film included.

25 Highest-Rated Movies Of The Past Quarter Century

Just missing out on the top 25, in the 26th spot, is Avengers: Endgame. But we kick it off with an animated Pixar film parents, kids, and movie aficionados alike have all fallen in love with: Coco.

25. Coco (2017)

• IMDB rating: 8.4 (691K ratings)
• Runtime: 1h45m
• Rating: PG

Every song in Coco was a banger. I don’t care what anyone says. Even people who dislike musicals found themselves singing along to the songs in Coco thanks to the Pixar magic.

It is the 25th highest-rated film of the past 25 years on IMDB and the 73rd highest-rated all-time. Coco holds the distinction of spending more days #1 at the box office than any other animated film has so far in the 21st century. Not to shabby!

24. The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

• IMDB rating: 8.4 (2M ratings)
• Runtime: 2h44m
• Rating: PG-13

2012’s The Dark Knight Rises might be the single-hand reason I have huge traps and work them out constantly. Tom Hardy’s Bane is the classic example of a physique that everyone thinks is enormously jacked when in reality he just has huge traps. That’s pretty much it. Big traps make people think you’re jacked. But I digress…

The 72nd highest-rated movie of all-time on IMDB and the 24th highest rated movie of the past 25 years, The Dark Knight Rises was the final film in Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy and it was epic from start to finish.

23. 12th Fail (2023)

• IMDB rating: 8.7 (166K ratings)
• Runtime: 2h27m
• Rating: PG

The only Hindi movie to crack the top 25 highest-rated movies of the past 25 years is 12 Fail (2023). It has an 8.7 rating with 166K total ratings, which according to the IMDB database knocks it above a considerable amount of movies with lower scores.

22. Inglorious Basterds (2009)

• IMDB rating: 8.4 (1.9M ratings)
• Runtime: 2h33m
• Rating: R

For a while I thought my favorite Quentin Tarantino films were Kill Bill related but upon further reflection is has to be this one for me. The final theater scene with Davie Bowie blasting in the background as WWII ends in flames is epic.

Christopher Waltz won the 2010 Academy Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role for his portrayal of Colonel Hans Landa. In total, it was nominated for 8 Academy Awards in 2010.

21. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)

• IMDB rating: 8.4 (771K ratings)
• Runtime: 1h57m
• Rating: PG

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse hit 2018 like a Mac truck. This movie seemingly came out of nowhere in a ‘Super Hero’ movie world that had been dominated by the MCU for years and immediately transformed into a cult classic.

It is the 21st highest rated movie of the past 25 years and the 62nd all time. In true Marvel fashion, Stan Lee still makes an appearance despite this being an animated film. He can be seen on nearly every train in the movie as a passenger.

20. The Lives of Others (2006)

• IMDB rating: 8.4 (440K ratings)
• Runtime: 2h17m
• Rating: R

2006’s The Lives of Others won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film of the Year. If you are a fan of German cinema then this is a masterpiece. If not, well, maybe it’s not for you.

After the actors all agreed to work for just 20% of their normal salaries, the entire budget for this film came out to around $2 million. Suffice it to say the producers saw a huge return on their investment.

19. Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

• IMDB rating: 8.4 (1.3M ratings)
• Runtime: 2h29m
• Rating: PG-13

The Battle of Wakanda at the end of Infinity War is one of the best scenes in Marvel history. Going into this movie I was blissfully unaware that there was going to be a second Avengers film with Thanos so when he ‘snapped’ his fingers and Peter Parker turned to dust I walked out of that theater as a broken man.

During filming, Tom Holland (Spider-Man) was not allowed to read the full script as he’d previously revealed too many spoilers and the Russo Brothers said ‘nope, not for you.’

18. Dune: Part Two (2024)

• IMDB rating: 8.4 (709K ratings)
• Runtime: 2h46m
• Rating: PG-13

It is pretty wild to have a film from a year and a half ago on this list but Dune: Part Two is currently the 18th highest-rated movie of the past 25 years on IMDB and the 58th all-time. ‘Part 3’ is scheduled to hit theaters late this year.

Firstly, I loved this film from start to finish. My problem with it though is the sound mixing. I have a projector and theater set up at home, surround sound, stadium seating, and still the sound is all off. Regardless of whether it is streaming, on TV, or Blu-Ray, the sound constantly jumps from ‘so quiet you are unable to hear it’ to ‘so loud it makes your heart vibrate at the speed of light.’ Hopefully they fix this for part 3.

17. WALL-E (2008)

• IMDB rating: 8.4 (1.3M ratings)
• Runtime: 1h38m
• Rating: G

The highest-rated Pixar film of the past 25 years, WALL-E, tells the story of a dystopian future where earth is uninhabitable due to climate change. Yet despite this movie being inherently political, I have yet to encounter a person who does not enjoy WALL-E. If such a person exists, show yourselves in the comments!

WALL-E won the 2009 Academy Award for ‘Best Animated Feature Film of the Year’ and was nominated for 5 other categories. Fun fact, the voice of Eve came from Elissa Knight who isn’t an actress but was simply a Pixar employee.

16. Django Unchained (2012)

• IMDB rating: 8.5 (691K ratings)
• Runtime: 2h45m
• Rating: R

Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained is the director’s highest-rated movie according to the IMDB database. It is the 16th highest-rated movie of the past 25 years and the 51st all-time.

In the scene where Leonardo DiCaprio smashes his hand down on the table crushing a small glass he actually slashed his hand up but stayed in character and it made it into the final cut of the film. This film is not for anyone who has trouble with brash language, but then again none of Quentin Tarantino’s films are.

15. The Intouchables (2011)

• IMDB rating: 8.5 (1M ratings)
• Runtime: 1h52m
• Rating: R

From directors Olivier Nakache and Éric Toledano, 2011’s The Intouchables is the 47th highest-rated movie in IMDB history and the 15th highest of the past 25 years. It follows the story of a wealthy aristocrat who became a paraplegic after an accident hiring a young man as his caregiver.

Without giving the rest away, it isn’t exactly the most enthralling plot on paper but there are plenty of reasons it is one of the highest rated films on IMDB. It can be streamed now for free on TUBI.

14. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023)

• IMDB rating: 8.5 (503K ratings)
• Runtime: 2h20m
• Rating: PG

2023’s Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is the highest-rated movie of the past three years, the 14th highest of the past 25 years, and the 44th highest-rated movie of all-time according to the IMDB database. The animation in this movie was incredible and unlike any experience I could remember since maybe Waking Life, a mostly forgotten 2001 movie that became a cult classic.

If you peer your eyes, you might notice that animator Spencer Wan used spam emails that he would receive as background texture throughout the film’s animation. And at the time of its release, this became the longest-running animated film in Hollywood history.

13. The Prestige (2006)

• IMDB rating: 8.5 (1.6M ratings)
• Runtime: 2h10m
• Rating: PG-13

Christopher Nolan‘s The Prestige is a story of two magicians becoming bitter enemies, played by Christian Bale who would later work with Nolan on the Dark Knight trilogy and Hugh Jackman. David Bowie played Nikola Tesla in the film which for me was enough to get into the theater.

The movie’s name, The Prestige, is a nod to the Latin etymology of the word ‘prestige’ (praestigium) which means ‘illusion.’ This is the 13th highest-rated movie of the past 25 years on IMDB, the 41st all-time, and it was nominated for two Academy Awards.

12. Whiplash (2014)

• IMDB rating: 8.5 (1.1M ratings)
• Runtime: 1h46m
• Rating: R

2014’s Whiplash from director Damien Chazelle stars J.K. Simmons and Miles Teller. It is the 40th highest-rated movie in IMDB history and the 12th of the past 24 years.

Director Damien Chazelle was initially unable to secure funding for them film but knew in his heart that it had to be made so he filmed it as a short film, submitted it to the Sundance Film Festival in 2013, and won the Short Film Jury Award which quickly led to the infusion of cash he needed to make the movie.

It was nominated for the 2015 ‘Best Motion Picture of the Year’ Academy Award and won the Oscars for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role (J.K. Simmons), Best Achievement in Film Editing, and Best Achievement in Sound Mixing.

11. The Departed (2006)

• IMDB rating: 8.5 (1.5M ratings)
• Runtime: 2h31m
• Rating: R

2006’s The Departed from director Martin Scorcese became an instant classic. The cast was stacked, the story line was amazing with twists and turns through, and it had all of the makings of a great Hollywood film.

Originally, Martin Scorcese wanted to land Al Pacino for the role of Costello instead of Jack Nicholson because the two had not worked together prior to this film. Pacino would later star in Scorcese’s The Irishman (2019), a film that pales in comparison to this one.

The Departed won the 2007 Oscar for ‘Best Motion Picture of the Year’ and Scorcese took home the award for Best Director along with 2 other Academy Awards for the film. It is the 11th highest-rated film of the past 25 years and the 39th all-time.

10. Parasite (2019)

• IMDB rating: 8.5 (1.1M ratings)
• Runtime: 2h12m
• Rating: R

The second-highest rated foreign language movie of the past 24 years, Bong Joon Ho’s Parasite, became the first-ever Korean film to win the coveted Palme d’Or Award at the Cannes Film Festival back in 2019. It would later win 4 Academy Awards, including Best Motion Picture of the Year and Best Original Screenplay.

If you somehow still haven’t seen Parasite, you can stream it now on Netflix.

9. The Pianist (2002)

• IMDB rating: 8.5 (1M ratings)
• Runtime: 2h30m
• Rating: R

Set during World War II, Roman Polanski’s The Pianist is a story about Polish musician Wladyslaw who is hiding in Warsaw in order to survive. Adrian Brody won the Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his portrayal of Wladyslaw Szpilman (the youngest winner to date) and director Roman Polanski took home the Oscar for Best Director. This film also won the Academy Award for Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay).

The Pianist is the 9th highest-rated film in the past 24 years and the 32nd highest-rated of all-time on IMDB. While filming in Warsaw, director Roman Polanski actually met a man who had helped Polanski’s family survive German persecution in World War II.

8. Spirited Away (2001)

• IMDB rating: 8.6 (951K ratings)
• Runtime: 2h4m
• Rating: PG

The highest-rated animated movie of the past 25 years, Spirited Away is considered a masterpiece by many. It is the 31st highest-rated film of all time and the 8th in the past 25 years.

This film almost never came to exist. Director Hayao Miyazaki had planned to retire after finishing Princess Mononoke (1997) but was compelled to make Spirited Away after seeing the sadness in a friend’s 10-year-old daughter. He would then go on to win the 2002 Academy Award for Best Animated Feature for this masterpiece.

7. City of God (2002)

• IMDB rating: 8.6 (862K ratings)
• Runtime: 2h10m
• Rating: R

I picked up a City of God DVD from the sale bin at Blockbuster way back in the day and must’ve watched this movie 10x right after buying it but then I haven’t seen it since the year it came out on DVD… Where did the time go?

The highest-rated foreign language movie on this list, City of God is the 7th highest-rated film of the past 25 years and the 26th highest-rated of all-time. Set in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, it follows two kids raised in the slums on divergent paths.

6. Interstellar (2014)

• IMDB rating: 8.7 (2.5M ratings)
• Runtime: 2h49m
• Rating: PG-13

Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar hit theaters in 2014 but somehow I only watched it for my first time three years ago. I must’ve missed the boat early on, I really can’t recall. But this movie goes hard.

Interstellar is the 18th highest-rated movie of all-time on IMDB and the 6th highest-rated of the past 24 years with over 2.5 million ratings. Is this Matthew McConaughey’s finest work? According to the IMDB ratings, it is. But it just feels so hard to say ‘yup, this is the one.’

5. Inception (2010)

• IMDB rating: 8.8 (2.8M ratings)
• Runtime: 2h28m
• Rating: PG-13

The highest-rated film Leonardo DiCaprio has starred in over the past 25 years, Inception, is a movie that I think holds up? If it’s on TV I will still throw it on every time. Do I fully understand it? Probably not. But that’s neither here nor there. It is the 5th highest rated film of the past 25 years and the 14th highest-rated film of all time.

4. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)

• IMDB rating: 8.8 (1.9M ratings)
• Runtime: 2h59m
• Rating: PG-13

The Two Towers is arguably the weakest of the three films from Peter Jackson but it bears reminding that is is still the 4th highest-rated movie of the past 25 years and the 11th highest-rated movie of all time.

Need a reminder of how great The Two Towers was? Go watch the Battle of Helms Deep scene above.

3. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

• IMDB rating: 8.9 (2.2M ratings)
• Runtime: 2h58m
• Rating: PG-13

This is where it all began for the trilogy. Peter Jackson blew audiences away with The Fellowship of the Ring and kept them hooked through The Two Towers and The Return of the King.

After filming was wrapped up, Peter Jackson actually gave one of the rings to Elijah Wood and Andy Serkis (Gollum) for their parts in his epic story telling.

2. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)

• IMDB rating: 9.0 (2.1M ratings)
• Runtime: 3h21m
• Rating: PG-13

The Return of the King was the culmination of Peter Jackson’s trilogy take on the work of J.R.R. Tolkien. This was a time when Hollywood still did things right… Releasing all three films in three years so fans wouldn’t have endless fatigue (I’m looking at you, MCU).

The Ride of the Rohirrim might be the best battle scene of the past 25 years. If not, it is in the top 3 for sure and firmly in the discussion of the greatest. But these movie oozed catharsis throughout and put a bow on an incredible story, even if it could have probably been 2 hours and 45 minutes instead of a marathon 3 hours and 21 minutes in the theaters.

1. The Dark Knight (2008)

• IMDB rating: 9.1 (3.1M ratings)
• Runtime: 2h32m
• Rating: PG-13

Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight is not only the highest-rated movie in the past 25 years it is the third-highest rated movie of all time according to IMDB. And with over 3.1 million user ratings it is hard to argue with those numbers.

This is the first movie opening on a full curved IMAX screen in NYC and the opening scene above was life-changing. After that heated sequence of events you knew that you were locked in for something truly special.