The Best Treasure Hunting Films
by jwoehr | created - 22 Jun 2011 | updated - 29 Dec 2015 | PublicI improved the list since yeah I did have some bad ones lol.
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1. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
PG | 115 min | Action, Adventure
In 1936, archaeologist and adventurer Indiana Jones is hired by the U.S. government to find the Ark of the Covenant before the Nazis can obtain its awesome powers.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Paul Freeman, John Rhys-Davies
Votes: 1,036,643 | Gross: $248.16M
2. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
PG-13 | 127 min | Action, Adventure
In 1938, after his father goes missing while pursuing the Holy Grail, Indiana Jones finds himself up against the Nazis again to stop them from obtaining its powers.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Harrison Ford, Sean Connery, Alison Doody, Denholm Elliott
Votes: 810,743 | Gross: $197.17M
3. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)
Approved | 178 min | Adventure, Western
A bounty hunting scam joins two men in an uneasy alliance against a third in a race to find a fortune in gold buried in a remote cemetery.
Director: Sergio Leone | Stars: Clint Eastwood, Eli Wallach, Lee Van Cleef, Aldo Giuffrè
Votes: 810,912 | Gross: $6.10M
4. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
PG-13 | 143 min | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Blacksmith Will Turner teams up with eccentric pirate "Captain" Jack Sparrow to save his love, the governor's daughter, from Jack's former pirate allies, who are now undead.
Director: Gore Verbinski | Stars: Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley
Votes: 1,210,003 | Gross: $305.41M
5. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
Passed | 126 min | Adventure, Drama, Western
Two down-on-their-luck Americans searching for work in 1920s Mexico convince an old prospector to help them mine for gold in the Sierra Madre Mountains.
Director: John Huston | Stars: Humphrey Bogart, Walter Huston, Tim Holt, Bruce Bennett
Votes: 132,398 | Gross: $5.01M
6. Romancing the Stone (1984)
PG | 106 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
A mousy romance novelist sets off for Colombia to ransom her kidnapped sister, and soon finds herself in the middle of a dangerous adventure hunting for treasure with a mercenary rogue.
Director: Robert Zemeckis | Stars: Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner, Danny DeVito, Zack Norman
Votes: 103,266 | Gross: $76.57M
7. Three Kings (1999)
R | 114 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
In the aftermath of the Persian Gulf War, four soldiers set out to steal gold that was stolen from Kuwait, but they discover people who desperately need their help.
Director: David O. Russell | Stars: George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, Ice Cube, Spike Jonze
Votes: 180,423 | Gross: $60.65M
8. The Deep (1977)
PG | 123 min | Adventure, Mystery, Thriller
In Bermuda, two amateur treasure-hunting divers have a run-in with local criminals when they inadvertently discover the secret cargo of a World War II shipwreck.
Director: Peter Yates | Stars: Jacqueline Bisset, Nick Nolte, Dick Anthony Williams, Robert Shaw
Votes: 13,757 | Gross: $6.84M
9. The Goonies (1985)
PG | 114 min | Adventure, Comedy, Family
A group of young misfits called The Goonies discover an ancient map and set out on an adventure to find a legendary pirate's long-lost treasure.
Director: Richard Donner | Stars: Sean Astin, Josh Brolin, Jeff Cohen, Corey Feldman
Votes: 298,253 | Gross: $61.50M
10. The Da Vinci Code (2006)
PG-13 | 149 min | Mystery, Thriller
A murder inside the Louvre, and clues in Da Vinci paintings, lead to the discovery of a religious mystery protected by a secret society for two thousand years, which could shake the foundations of Christianity.
Director: Ron Howard | Stars: Tom Hanks, Audrey Tautou, Jean Reno, Ian McKellen
Votes: 458,708 | Gross: $217.54M
Sure it takes itself way too seriously but other than that it's really not awful. It's interesting, actually.
11. National Treasure (2004)
PG | 131 min | Action, Adventure, Mystery
A historian races to find the legendary Templar Treasure before a team of mercenaries.
Director: Jon Turteltaub | Stars: Nicolas Cage, Diane Kruger, Justin Bartha, Sean Bean
Votes: 355,071 | Gross: $173.01M
12. Trespass (1992)
R | 101 min | Action, Thriller
Two firemen in a burning building get a treasure map - stolen gold church items are hidden in a closed down factory in St. Louis. Once there, they're trapped in by a black gang considering it their territory.
Director: Walter Hill | Stars: Bill Paxton, Ice-T, William Sadler, Ice Cube
Votes: 13,943 | Gross: $13.75M
13. Treasure Island (1950)
PG | 96 min | Adventure, Family
The treasure seeking adventures of young Jim Hawkins and pirate captain Long John Silver.
Director: Byron Haskin | Stars: Bobby Driscoll, Robert Newton, Basil Sydney, Walter Fitzgerald
Votes: 9,462
14. The Jewel of the Nile (1985)
PG | 106 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
When Joan Wilder is abducted while on a trip along the Nile, her boyfriend, Jack Colton, and pal Ralph rush to rescue her and retrieve a fabled jewel.
Director: Lewis Teague | Stars: Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner, Danny DeVito, Spyros Fokas
Votes: 62,479 | Gross: $75.97M
15. The Librarian: Quest for the Spear (2004 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 92 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
A bookworm becomes the librarian. Same night a magical spear gets stolen and he's off to get some real life experience around the globe on his quest for the spear - starting with being thrown off a plane over Amazonas by his cute helper.
Director: Peter Winther | Stars: Noah Wyle, Sonya Walger, Bob Newhart, Kyle MacLachlan
Votes: 21,836
16. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)
PG | 118 min | Action, Adventure
In 1935, Indiana Jones is tasked by Indian villagers with reclaiming a rock stolen from them by a secret cult beneath the catacombs of an ancient palace.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Harrison Ford, Kate Capshaw, Ke Huy Quan, Amrish Puri
Votes: 535,131 | Gross: $179.87M
17. Sahara (2005)
PG-13 | 124 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
Master explorer Dirk Pitt goes on the adventure of a lifetime of seeking out a lost Civil War battleship known as the "Ship of Death" in the deserts of West Africa while helping a WHO doctor being hounded by a ruthless dictator.
Director: Breck Eisner | Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Penélope Cruz, Steve Zahn, Mark Aspinall
Votes: 103,611 | Gross: $68.67M
18. Aladdin (1992)
G | 90 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
A kind-hearted street urchin and a power-hungry Grand Vizier vie for a magic lamp that has the power to make their deepest wishes come true.
Directors: Ron Clements, John Musker | Stars: Scott Weinger, Robin Williams, Linda Larkin, Jonathan Freeman
Votes: 466,648 | Gross: $217.35M
19.
DuckTales (1987–1990)
Episode:
The Treasure of the Golden Suns
(1987)
TV-G | 96 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
When Donald Duck's nephews are sent to live with their Uncle Scrooge, they discover a model ship that contains a map to a treasure.
Directors: Steve Clark, Terence Harrison, Alan Zaslove | Stars: Tony Anselmo, Peter Cullen, Jim Cummings, Joan Gerber
Votes: 689
20. DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp (1990)
G | 74 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
Scrooge McDuck takes Huey, Dewey, and Louie to Egypt to find a pyramid and magic lamp.
Director: Bob Hathcock | Stars: Alan Young, Christopher Lloyd, Terence McGovern, Russi Taylor
Votes: 28,672 | Gross: $18.12M
21. The Rundown (2003)
PG-13 | 104 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
A tough aspiring chef is hired to bring home a mobster's son from the Amazon but becomes involved in the fight against an oppressive town operator and the search for a legendary treasure.
Director: Peter Berg | Stars: Dwayne Johnson, Seann William Scott, Christopher Walken, Rosario Dawson
Votes: 143,016 | Gross: $47.73M
22. Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas (2003)
PG | 86 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
The sailor of legend is framed by the goddess Eris for the theft of the Book of Peace and must travel to her realm at the end of the world to retrieve it and save the life of his childhood friend Prince Proteus.
Directors: Patrick Gilmore, Tim Johnson | Stars: Brad Pitt, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Joseph Fiennes, Michelle Pfeiffer
Votes: 59,442 | Gross: $26.48M
23. The Mummy (1999)
PG-13 | 124 min | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
At an archaeological dig in the ancient city of Hamunaptra, an American serving in the French Foreign Legion accidentally awakens a mummy who begins to wreak havoc as he searches for the reincarnation of his long-lost love.
Director: Stephen Sommers | Stars: Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, John Hannah, Arnold Vosloo
Votes: 460,654 | Gross: $155.25M
24. The Jungle Book (1994)
PG | 111 min | Adventure, Family, Romance
Rudyard Kipling's classic tale of Mowgli, the orphaned jungle boy raised by wild animals, and how he becomes king of the jungle.
Director: Stephen Sommers | Stars: Jason Scott Lee, Cary Elwes, Lena Headey, Sam Neill
Votes: 18,942 | Gross: $44.34M
25. The Adventures of Tintin (2011)
PG | 107 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
Intrepid reporter Tintin and Captain Haddock set off on a treasure hunt for a sunken ship commanded by Haddock's ancestor.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Jamie Bell, Andy Serkis, Daniel Craig, Simon Pegg
Votes: 243,172 | Gross: $77.59M
26. Cutthroat Island (1995)
PG-13 | 124 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
A female pirate and her companion race against their rivals to find a hidden island that contains a fabulous treasure.
Director: Renny Harlin | Stars: Geena Davis, Matthew Modine, Frank Langella, Maury Chaykin
Votes: 30,531 | Gross: $10.02M
27. National Treasure: Book of Secrets (2007)
PG | 124 min | Action, Adventure, Mystery
Benjamin Gates must follow a clue left in John Wilkes Booth's diary to prove his ancestor's innocence in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.
Director: Jon Turteltaub | Stars: Nicolas Cage, Diane Kruger, Justin Bartha, Jon Voight
Votes: 253,523 | Gross: $219.96M
28. Time Bandits (1981)
PG | 110 min | Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy
A young boy accidentally joins a band of time travelling dwarves, as they jump from era to era looking for treasure to steal.
Director: Terry Gilliam | Stars: Sean Connery, Shelley Duvall, John Cleese, Katherine Helmond
Votes: 68,326 | Gross: $42.37M
29. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011)
PG-13 | 136 min | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Jack Sparrow and Barbossa embark on a quest to find the elusive fountain of youth, only to discover that Blackbeard and his daughter are after it too.
Director: Rob Marshall | Stars: Johnny Depp, Penélope Cruz, Ian McShane, Geoffrey Rush
Votes: 563,949 | Gross: $241.06M
30. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013)
PG-13 | 161 min | Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
The dwarves, along with Bilbo Baggins and Gandalf the Grey, continue their quest to reclaim Erebor, their homeland, from Smaug. Bilbo Baggins is in possession of a mysterious and magical ring.
Director: Peter Jackson | Stars: Ian McKellen, Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, Ken Stott
Votes: 705,054 | Gross: $258.37M
I think trying to find a jewel that means a lot to dwarves; guarded by a giant Dragon counts as a treasure hunting film.
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