Top 40 Danny Elfman Scored Films
by brusty1 | created - 16 Dec 2016 | updated - 3 months ago | PublicI've seen 66 of his scored films in all. The ratings are for the films as a whole, not just the scores. These are my 40 favorite, in order.
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1. Edward Scissorhands (1990)
PG-13 | 105 min | Drama, Fantasy, Romance
The solitary life of an artificial man - who was incompletely constructed and has scissors for hands - is upended when he is taken in by a suburban family.
Director: Tim Burton | Stars: Johnny Depp, Winona Ryder, Dianne Wiest, Anthony Michael Hall
Votes: 524,216 | Gross: $56.36M
2. Good Will Hunting (1997)
R | 126 min | Drama, Romance
Will Hunting, a janitor at M.I.T., has a gift for mathematics, but needs help from a psychologist to find direction in his life.
Director: Gus Van Sant | Stars: Robin Williams, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Stellan Skarsgård
Votes: 1,069,440 | Gross: $138.43M
3. Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985)
PG | 91 min | Adventure, Comedy, Family
When eccentric man-child Pee-wee Herman gets his beloved bike stolen in broad daylight, he sets out across the U.S. on the adventure of his life.
Director: Tim Burton | Stars: Paul Reubens, Elizabeth Daily, Mark Holton, Diane Salinger
Votes: 59,131 | Gross: $40.90M
4. Scrooged (1988)
PG-13 | 101 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
A selfish, cynical television executive is haunted by three spirits bearing lessons on Christmas Eve.
Director: Richard Donner | Stars: Bill Murray, Karen Allen, John Forsythe, John Glover
Votes: 116,469 | Gross: $60.33M
5. Beetlejuice (1988)
PG | 92 min | Comedy, Fantasy
The spirits of a deceased couple are harassed by an unbearable family that has moved into their home, and hire a malicious spirit to drive them out.
Director: Tim Burton | Stars: Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis, Michael Keaton, Annie McEnroe
Votes: 340,452 | Gross: $73.71M
6. Milk (I) (2008)
R | 128 min | Biography, Drama, History
The story of American gay activist Harvey Milk, who fought for gay rights and was elected as California's first openly gay official.
Director: Gus Van Sant | Stars: Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, Emile Hirsch, Diego Luna
Votes: 179,892 | Gross: $31.84M
7. Midnight Run (1988)
R | 126 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
A bounty hunter pursues a former Mafia accountant who is also being chased by a rival bounty hunter, the F.B.I., and his old mob boss after jumping bail.
Director: Martin Brest | Stars: Robert De Niro, Charles Grodin, Yaphet Kotto, John Ashton
Votes: 94,301 | Gross: $38.41M
8. Big Fish (2003)
PG-13 | 125 min | Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
A frustrated son tries to determine the fact from fiction in his dying father's life.
Director: Tim Burton | Stars: Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney, Billy Crudup, Jessica Lange
Votes: 459,094 | Gross: $66.26M
9. American Hustle (2013)
R | 138 min | Crime, Drama
A con man, Irving Rosenfeld, along with his seductive partner Sydney Prosser, is forced to work for a wild F.B.I. Agent, Richie DiMaso, who pushes them into a world of Jersey powerbrokers and the Mafia.
Director: David O. Russell | Stars: Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence
Votes: 500,495 | Gross: $150.12M
10. To Die For (1995)
R | 106 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
A beautiful but naïve aspiring television personality films a documentary on teenagers with a darker ulterior motive.
Director: Gus Van Sant | Stars: Nicole Kidman, Matt Dillon, Joaquin Phoenix, Casey Affleck
Votes: 53,071 | Gross: $21.28M
11. White Noise (I) (2022)
R | 136 min | Comedy, Drama, Horror
Dramatizes a contemporary American family's attempts to deal with the mundane conflicts of everyday life while grappling with the universal mysteries of love, death, and the possibility of happiness in an uncertain world.
Director: Noah Baumbach | Stars: Adam Driver, Greta Gerwig, Don Cheadle, Madison Gaughan
Votes: 44,585
12. Batman (1989)
PG-13 | 126 min | Action, Adventure
The Dark Knight of Gotham City begins his war on crime with his first major enemy being Jack Napier, a criminal who becomes the clownishly homicidal Joker.
Director: Tim Burton | Stars: Michael Keaton, Jack Nicholson, Kim Basinger, Robert Wuhl
Votes: 404,522 | Gross: $251.19M
13. Big Eyes (I) (2014)
PG-13 | 106 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
A drama about the awakening of painter Margaret Keane, her phenomenal success in the 1950s, and the subsequent legal difficulties she had with her husband, who claimed credit for her works in the 1960s.
Director: Tim Burton | Stars: Amy Adams, Christoph Waltz, Danny Huston, Krysten Ritter
Votes: 99,152 | Gross: $14.48M
14. A Simple Plan (1998)
R | 121 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Three blue-collar acquaintances come across millions of dollars in lost cash and make a plan to keep their find from the authorities, but it isn't long before complications and mistrust weave their way into the plan.
Director: Sam Raimi | Stars: Bill Paxton, Billy Bob Thornton, Bridget Fonda, Brent Briscoe
Votes: 76,195 | Gross: $16.31M
15. Sommersby (1993)
PG-13 | 114 min | Drama, Mystery, Romance
A farmer returns home from the Civil War, but his wife begins to suspect that the man is an impostor.
Director: Jon Amiel | Stars: Richard Gere, Jodie Foster, Lanny Flaherty, Wendell Wellman
Votes: 23,225 | Gross: $50.08M
16. Back to School (1986)
PG-13 | 96 min | Comedy, Romance, Sport
To help his discouraged son get through college, a funloving and obnoxious rich businessman decides to enter the school as a student himself.
Director: Alan Metter | Stars: Rodney Dangerfield, Sally Kellerman, Burt Young, Keith Gordon
Votes: 36,236 | Gross: $91.26M
17. Promised Land (2012)
R | 106 min | Drama
A salesman for a natural gas company experiences life-changing events after arriving in a small town, where his corporation wants to tap into the available resources.
Director: Gus Van Sant | Stars: Matt Damon, Frances McDormand, John Krasinski, Hal Holbrook
Votes: 39,923 | Gross: $7.60M
18. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
PG | 76 min | Animation, Family, Fantasy
Jack Skellington, king of Halloween Town, discovers Christmas Town, but his attempts to bring Christmas to his home causes confusion.
Director: Henry Selick | Stars: Danny Elfman, Chris Sarandon, Catherine O'Hara, William Hickey
Votes: 375,357 | Gross: $75.08M
19. Spider-Man 2 (2004)
PG-13 | 127 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Peter Parker is beset with troubles in his failing personal life as he battles a former brilliant scientist named Otto Octavius.
Director: Sam Raimi | Stars: Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, Alfred Molina, James Franco
Votes: 709,452 | Gross: $373.59M
20. Alice in Wonderland (I) (2010)
PG | 108 min | Adventure, Family, Fantasy
Nineteen-year-old Alice returns to the magical world from her childhood adventure, where she reunites with her old friends and learns of her true destiny: to end the Red Queen's reign of terror.
Director: Tim Burton | Stars: Mia Wasikowska, Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Anne Hathaway
Votes: 441,307 | Gross: $334.19M
21. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)
PG-13 | 126 min | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Doctor Strange teams up with a mysterious teenage girl who can travel across multiverses, to battle other-universe versions of himself which threaten to wipe out the multiverse. They seek help from the Scarlet Witch, Wong and others.
Director: Sam Raimi | Stars: Benedict Cumberbatch, Elizabeth Olsen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Benedict Wong
Votes: 478,964 | Gross: $411.33M
22. Wisdom (1986)
R | 109 min | Crime, Drama
Unable to find work after a past felony, graduate John Wisdom and his girlfriend embark on a cross-country bank-robbing spree in order to aid American farmers.
Director: Emilio Estevez | Stars: Emilio Estevez, Demi Moore, Tom Skerritt, Veronica Cartwright
Votes: 3,606 | Gross: $5.72M
23. Sleepy Hollow (1999)
R | 105 min | Fantasy, Horror, Mystery
Ichabod Crane is sent to Sleepy Hollow to investigate the decapitations of three people; the culprit is legendary apparition The Headless Horseman.
Director: Tim Burton | Stars: Johnny Depp, Christina Ricci, Miranda Richardson, Michael Gambon
Votes: 384,115 | Gross: $101.07M
24. Batman Returns (1992)
PG-13 | 126 min | Action, Crime, Fantasy
While Batman deals with a deformed man calling himself the Penguin wreaking havoc across Gotham with the help of a cruel businessman, a female employee of the latter becomes the Catwoman with her own vendetta.
Director: Tim Burton | Stars: Michael Keaton, Danny DeVito, Michelle Pfeiffer, Christopher Walken
Votes: 327,706 | Gross: $162.83M
25. Corpse Bride (2005)
PG | 77 min | Animation, Drama, Family
When a shy groom practices his wedding vows in the inadvertent presence of a deceased young woman, she rises from the grave assuming he has married her.
Directors: Tim Burton, Mike Johnson | Stars: Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Emily Watson, Tracey Ullman
Votes: 299,028 | Gross: $53.36M
26. Oz the Great and Powerful (2013)
PG | 130 min | Adventure, Family, Fantasy
A small-time magician is swept away to an enchanted land and is forced into a power struggle between three witches.
Director: Sam Raimi | Stars: James Franco, Michelle Williams, Rachel Weisz, Mila Kunis
Votes: 214,332 | Gross: $234.91M
27. Nightbreed (1990)
R | 102 min | Action, Fantasy, Horror
A troubled young man is drawn to a mythical place called Midian where a variety of friendly monsters are hiding from humanity. Meanwhile, a sadistic serial killer is looking for a patsy.
Director: Clive Barker | Stars: Craig Sheffer, David Cronenberg, Anne Bobby, Charles Haid
Votes: 26,441 | Gross: $8.86M
28. The Family Man (2000)
PG-13 | 125 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
A fast-lane investment broker, offered the opportunity to see how the other half lives, wakes up to find that his sports car and girlfriend have become a mini-van and wife.
Director: Brett Ratner | Stars: Nicolas Cage, Téa Leoni, Don Cheadle, Jeremy Piven
Votes: 119,439 | Gross: $75.79M
29. Wanted (2008)
R | 110 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
A frustrated office worker discovers that he is the son of a professional assassin, and that he shares his father's superhuman killing abilities.
Director: Timur Bekmambetov | Stars: Angelina Jolie, James McAvoy, Morgan Freeman, Terence Stamp
Votes: 408,761 | Gross: $134.51M
30. Red Dragon (2002)
R | 124 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A retired FBI agent with psychological gifts is assigned to help track down "The Tooth Fairy", a mysterious serial killer. Aiding him is imprisoned forensic psychiatrist Dr. Hannibal "The Cannibal" Lecter.
Director: Brett Ratner | Stars: Anthony Hopkins, Edward Norton, Ralph Fiennes, Harvey Keitel
Votes: 291,053 | Gross: $93.15M
31. Mars Attacks! (1996)
PG-13 | 106 min | Comedy, Sci-Fi
Earth is invaded by Martians with unbeatable weapons and a cruel sense of humor.
Director: Tim Burton | Stars: Jack Nicholson, Pierce Brosnan, Sarah Jessica Parker, Annette Bening
Votes: 243,692 | Gross: $37.77M
32. Men in Black (1997)
PG-13 | 98 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
James, an NYC cop, is hired by Agent K of a secret government agency that monitors extraterrestrial life on Earth. Together, they must recover an item that has been stolen by an intergalactic villain.
Director: Barry Sonnenfeld | Stars: Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith, Linda Fiorentino, Vincent D'Onofrio
Votes: 613,382 | Gross: $250.69M
33. Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008)
PG-13 | 120 min | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
A prince of the mythical world starts a rebellion against humanity in order to rule the Earth. Hellboy and his team must fight to stop him from locating the all-powerful Golden Army.
Director: Guillermo del Toro | Stars: Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Doug Jones, John Alexander
Votes: 286,110 | Gross: $75.75M
34. Dolores Claiborne (1995)
R | 132 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A big city reporter travels to a small town where her mother has been arrested for the murder of an elderly woman for whom she worked as a housekeeper.
Director: Taylor Hackford | Stars: Kathy Bates, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Christopher Plummer, Judy Parfitt
Votes: 48,435 | Gross: $24.36M
35. Mission: Impossible (1996)
PG-13 | 110 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
An American agent, under false suspicion of disloyalty, must discover and expose the real spy without the help of his organization.
Director: Brian De Palma | Stars: Tom Cruise, Jon Voight, Emmanuelle Béart, Henry Czerny
Votes: 470,628 | Gross: $180.98M
36. Spider-Man (2002)
PG-13 | 121 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
After being bitten by a genetically-modified spider, a shy teenager gains spider-like abilities that he uses to fight injustice as a masked superhero and face a vengeful enemy.
Director: Sam Raimi | Stars: Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, Willem Dafoe, James Franco
Votes: 880,582 | Gross: $403.71M
37. Silver Linings Playbook (2012)
R | 122 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
After a stint in a mental institution, former teacher Pat Solitano moves back in with his parents and tries to reconcile with his ex-wife. Things get more challenging when Pat meets Tiffany, a mysterious girl with problems of her own.
Director: David O. Russell | Stars: Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro, Jacki Weaver
Votes: 743,142 | Gross: $132.09M
38. Men in Black³ (2012)
PG-13 | 106 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
Agent J travels in time to M.I.B.'s early days in 1969 to stop an alien from assassinating his friend Agent K and changing history.
Director: Barry Sonnenfeld | Stars: Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones, Josh Brolin, Jemaine Clement
Votes: 387,299 | Gross: $179.02M
39. Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
PG-13 | 141 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
When Tony Stark and Bruce Banner try to jump-start a dormant peacekeeping program called Ultron, things go horribly wrong and it's up to Earth's mightiest heroes to stop the villainous Ultron from enacting his terrible plan.
Director: Joss Whedon | Stars: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth
Votes: 922,515 | Gross: $459.01M
40. Nacho Libre (2006)
PG | 92 min | Comedy, Family, Sport
Berated all his life by those around him, a monk follows his dream and dons a mask to moonlight as a Luchador (Mexican wrestler).
Director: Jared Hess | Stars: Jack Black, Ana de la Reguera, Héctor Jiménez, Darius Rose
Votes: 94,119 | Gross: $80.20M
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