1996 Movies, Best to Worst
by J_Frank_Parnell | created - 27 Mar 2023 | updated - 2 days ago | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. 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
10/10*
2. Trainspotting (1996)
R | 93 min | Drama
Renton, deeply immersed in the Edinburgh drug scene, tries to clean up and get out despite the allure of drugs and the influence of friends.
Director: Danny Boyle | Stars: Ewan McGregor, Ewen Bremner, Jonny Lee Miller, Kevin McKidd
Votes: 725,827 | Gross: $16.50M
10/10*
3. Crash (1996)
NC-17 | 100 min | Drama
After getting into a serious car accident, a TV director discovers an underground sub-culture of scarred, omnisexual car-crash victims who use car accidents and the raw sexual energy they produce to try to rejuvenate his sex life with his wife.
Director: David Cronenberg | Stars: James Spader, Holly Hunter, Elias Koteas, Deborah Kara Unger
Votes: 66,393 | Gross: $2.04M
10/10
4. Independence Day (1996)
PG-13 | 145 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
The aliens are coming and their goal is to invade and destroy Earth. Fighting superior technology, mankind's best weapon is the will to survive.
Director: Roland Emmerich | Stars: Will Smith, Bill Pullman, Jeff Goldblum, Mary McDonnell
Votes: 605,827 | Gross: $306.17M
10/10
5. 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: 243,587 | Gross: $37.77M
10/10*
6. Sling Blade (1996)
R | 135 min | Drama
Karl Childers, a simple man hospitalized since his childhood murder of his mother and her lover, is released to start a new life in a small town.
Director: Billy Bob Thornton | Stars: Billy Bob Thornton, Dwight Yoakam, J.T. Walsh, John Ritter
Votes: 98,819 | Gross: $24.48M
10/10*
7. Sleepers (1996)
R | 147 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
After a prank goes disastrously wrong, a group of boys are sent to a detention center where they are brutalized. Thirteen years later, an unexpected random encounter with a former guard gives them a chance for revenge.
Director: Barry Levinson | Stars: Robert De Niro, Kevin Bacon, Brad Pitt, Jason Patric
Votes: 237,609 | Gross: $49.10M
9/10*
8. From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)
R | 108 min | Action, Crime, Horror
Two criminals and their hostages unknowingly seek temporary refuge in a truck stop populated by vampires, with chaotic results.
Director: Robert Rodriguez | Stars: Harvey Keitel, George Clooney, Juliette Lewis, Quentin Tarantino
Votes: 340,751 | Gross: $25.75M
8/10
9. When We Were Kings (1996)
PG | 88 min | Documentary, Sport
Boxing documentary on the 1974 world heavyweight championship bout between defending champion, George Foreman, and the underdog challenger, Muhammad Ali.
Director: Leon Gast | Stars: Muhammad Ali, George Foreman, Don King, James Brown
Votes: 19,136 | Gross: $2.79M
10. Apocalypse Zero (1996– )
Not Rated | 80 min | Animation, Action, Horror
Kakugo and Harara are siblings trained to fight the monsters roaming in post-apocalyptic Tokyo. 21st century. To aid them, Kakugo and Harara were entrusted with "Fortified Armor Shells", ... See full summary »
Stars: Lex Lang, Mona Marshall, Sherry Lynn, Dave Mallow
Votes: 247
11. The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996)
R | 130 min | Biography, Drama
The story of controversial pornography publisher Larry Flynt, and how he became a defender of free speech.
Director: Milos Forman | Stars: Woody Harrelson, Courtney Love, Edward Norton, Brett Harrelson
Votes: 100,750 | Gross: $20.19M
8/10
12. A Time to Kill (1996)
R | 149 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
In Canton, Mississippi, a fearless young lawyer and his assistant defend a black man accused of murdering two white men who raped his ten-year-old daughter, inciting violent retribution and revenge from the Ku Klux Klan.
Director: Joel Schumacher | Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Sandra Bullock, Samuel L. Jackson, Kevin Spacey
Votes: 181,709 | Gross: $108.77M
8/10
13. Primal Fear (1996)
R | 129 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
An altar boy is accused of murdering a priest, and the truth is buried several layers deep.
Director: Gregory Hoblit | Stars: Richard Gere, Laura Linney, Edward Norton, John Mahoney
Votes: 247,172 | Gross: $56.12M
8/10*
14. Matilda (1996)
PG | 102 min | Comedy, Family, Fantasy
A girl gifted with a keen intellect and psychic powers uses both to get even with her callous family and free her kindly schoolteacher from the tyrannical grip of a sadistic headmistress.
Director: Danny DeVito | Stars: Danny DeVito, Rhea Perlman, Mara Wilson, Embeth Davidtz
Votes: 174,663 | Gross: $33.08M
8/10*
15. Last Man Standing (1996)
R | 101 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A drifting gunslinger-for-hire finds himself in the middle of an ongoing war between the Irish and Italian mafia in a Prohibition era ghost town.
Director: Walter Hill | Stars: Bruce Willis, Bruce Dern, William Sanderson, Christopher Walken
Votes: 61,010 | Gross: $17.60M
8/10*
16. Lone Star (1996)
R | 135 min | Drama, Mystery, Western
When the skeleton of his murdered predecessor is found, Sheriff Sam Deeds unearths many other long-buried secrets in his Texas border town.
Director: John Sayles | Stars: Chris Cooper, Elizabeth Peña, Stephen Mendillo, Stephen J. Lang
Votes: 32,348 | Gross: $13.27M
8/10
17. The Frighteners (1996)
R | 110 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Horror
After a tragic car accident that kills his wife, a man discovers he can communicate with the dead, and he uses that gift to con people. However, when a demonic spirit appears, he may be the only one who can stop it from killing the living and the dead.
Director: Peter Jackson | Stars: Michael J. Fox, Trini Alvarado, Peter Dobson, John Astin
Votes: 95,516 | Gross: $16.76M
7/10
18. Bottle Rocket (1996)
R | 91 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
Three friends plan to pull off a simple robbery and go on the run.
Director: Wes Anderson | Stars: Luke Wilson, Owen Wilson, Ned Dowd, Shea Fowler
Votes: 83,535 | Gross: $0.56M
7/10
19. Microcosmos (1996)
Not Rated | 80 min | Documentary
A documentary on insect life in meadows and ponds.
Directors: Claude Nuridsany, Marie Pérennou | Stars: Kristin Scott Thomas, Jacques Perrin
Votes: 11,652 | Gross: $1.57M
7/10
20. Twister (I) (1996)
PG-13 | 113 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
Two storm chasers on the brink of divorce must work together to create an advanced weather alert system by putting themselves in the cross-hairs of extremely violent tornadoes.
Director: Jan de Bont | Stars: Helen Hunt, Bill Paxton, Cary Elwes, Jami Gertz
Votes: 213,700 | Gross: $241.72M
7/10*
21. Black Jack: The Movie (1996)
Not Rated | 90 min | Animation, Drama, Thriller
The adventures of the unlicensed but genius doctor Black Jack, who encounters extraordinary people and phenomena as he attends to unusual medical cases.
Director: Osamu Dezaki | Stars: Hiroshi Fujioka, Kirk Thornton, Akio Ôtsuka, Julie Maddalena
Votes: 1,098
7/10
22. Happy Gilmore (1996)
PG-13 | 92 min | Comedy, Sport
After his grandmothers house is repossessed by the IRS, bad tempered hockey player takes his talents to golf to earn the big bucks and get his grandmothers house back.
Director: Dennis Dugan | Stars: Adam Sandler, Christopher McDonald, Julie Bowen, Frances Bay
Votes: 248,669 | Gross: $38.62M
6/10
23. Star Trek: First Contact (1996)
PG-13 | 111 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
The Borg travel back in time intent on preventing Earth's first contact with an alien species. Captain Picard and his crew pursue them to ensure that Zefram Cochrane makes his maiden flight reaching warp speed.
Director: Jonathan Frakes | Stars: Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner, LeVar Burton
Votes: 132,084 | Gross: $92.00M
6/10
24. Lupin III: Dead or Alive (1996)
95 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
When Lupin heads to the kingdom of Zufu to pilfer its treasure, he incurs the wrath of its psychotic ruler General Headhunter, who places a dead-or-alive bounty on his head.
Directors: Monkey Punch, Jun Kawagoe | Stars: Kan'ichi Kurita, Kiyoshi Kobayashi, Makio Inoue, Eiko Masuyama
Votes: 693
6/10
25. Hard Eight (1996)
R | 101 min | Crime, Drama
Professional gambler Sydney teaches John the tricks of the trade. John does well until he falls for cocktail waitress Clementine.
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson | Stars: Philip Baker Hall, John C. Reilly, Gwyneth Paltrow, Samuel L. Jackson
Votes: 54,901 | Gross: $0.22M
6/10*
26. I Shot Andy Warhol (1996)
R | 103 min | Biography, Drama
The story of Valerie Solanas, a '60s radical who preached misandry in her "Scum" manifesto. She wrote a screenplay for a film that she wanted Andy Warhol to produce, but after he repeatedly ignored her, she shot him.
Director: Mary Harron | Stars: Lili Taylor, Jared Harris, Martha Plimpton, Lothaire Bluteau
Votes: 7,120 | Gross: $1.81M
6/10
27. Beavis and Butt-Head Do America (1996)
PG-13 | 81 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
Our intrepid adolescent heroes wake up to find their beloved television stolen, and embark on an epic journey across America to recover it, and, who knows, maybe even score.
Directors: Mike Judge, Mike de Seve, Brian Mulroney, Yvette Kaplan | Stars: Mike Judge, Bruce Willis, Demi Moore, Cloris Leachman
Votes: 60,479 | Gross: $63.12M
5/10
28. The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996)
R | 121 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Samantha Caine lives in a small town with her daughter. Eight years ago she emerged, two months pregnant, from a nearby river with no memory of her past or who she is. However, she's getting closer to finding out about her past.
Director: Renny Harlin | Stars: Geena Davis, Samuel L. Jackson, Yvonne Zima, Craig Bierko
Votes: 85,683 | Gross: $33.33M
5/10
29. The Ghost and the Darkness (1996)
R | 110 min | Adventure, Drama, Thriller
A bridge engineer and an experienced old hunter begin a hunt for two lions after they start attacking local construction workers.
Director: Stephen Hopkins | Stars: Michael Douglas, Val Kilmer, Tom Wilkinson, John Kani
Votes: 65,980 | Gross: $38.62M
5/10
30. Set It Off (1996)
R | 123 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Desperation drives four inner-city women to bank robbery in Los Angeles, then they start mistrusting each other.
Director: F. Gary Gray | Stars: Jada Pinkett Smith, Queen Latifah, Vivica A. Fox, Kimberly Elise
Votes: 18,466 | Gross: $36.05M
5/10
31. The Rock (1996)
R | 136 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
A mild-mannered chemist and an ex-con must lead the counterstrike when a rogue group of military men, led by a renegade general, threaten a nerve gas attack from Alcatraz against San Francisco.
Director: Michael Bay | Stars: Sean Connery, Nicolas Cage, Ed Harris, John Spencer
Votes: 358,230 | Gross: $134.07M
4/10
32. Scream (1996)
R | 111 min | Horror, Mystery
A year after the murder of her mother, a teenage girl is terrorized by a masked killer who targets her and her friends by using scary movies as part of a deadly game.
Director: Wes Craven | Stars: Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, David Arquette, Skeet Ulrich
Votes: 388,555 | Gross: $103.05M
4/10
33. The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996)
G | 91 min | Animation, Drama, Family
A deformed bell-ringer must assert his independence from a vicious government minister in order to help his friend, a gypsy dancer.
Directors: Gary Trousdale, Kirk Wise | Stars: Demi Moore, Jason Alexander, Mary Kay Bergman, Corey Burton
Votes: 171,728 | Gross: $100.14M
4/10
34. Swingers (1996)
R | 96 min | Comedy, Drama
A wannabe actor has a hard time moving on from a break-up, but he is lucky to have supportive friends.
Director: Doug Liman | Stars: Vince Vaughn, Heather Graham, Jon Favreau, Ron Livingston
Votes: 88,157 | Gross: $4.51M
4/10*
35. Broken Arrow (1996)
R | 108 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
Terrorists steal nuclear warheads from the U.S. military but don't count on a pilot and park ranger spoiling their plans.
Director: John Woo | Stars: John Travolta, Christian Slater, Samantha Mathis, Delroy Lindo
Votes: 105,250 | Gross: $70.77M
4/10
36. Eraser (1996)
R | 115 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
A Witness Protection specialist becomes suspicious of his co-workers when dealing with a case involving high-tech weapons.
Director: Chuck Russell | Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Vanessa Williams, James Caan, James Coburn
Votes: 118,403 | Gross: $101.30M
4/10*
37. Project Grizzly (1996)
72 min | Documentary
A documentary follows a Canadian fellow working on his dream: building a suit of armor so he can observe grizzly bears from a close distance.
Director: Peter Lynch | Stars: Troy Hurtubise, Peter Gzowski
Votes: 665
38. Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood (1996)
R | 89 min | Comedy, Crime
A parody of several U.S. films about being in the 'Hood', for instance Boyz n the Hood (1991), South Central (1992), Menace II Society (1993), Higher Learning (1995) and Juice (1992).
Director: Paris Barclay | Stars: Shawn Wayans, Marlon Wayans, Keenen Ivory Wayans, Tracey Cherelle Jones
Votes: 61,530 | Gross: $20.11M
4/10
39. X (1996)
R | 100 min | Animation, Action, Fantasy
In 1999, a battle takes place between two factions of divine warriors for the fate of the world.
Director: Rintarô | Stars: Tomokazu Seki, Junko Iwao, Ken Narita, Tôru Furusawa
Votes: 2,818 | Gross: $0.14M
4/10
40. Debutante Detective Corps (1996 Video)
30 min | Animation, Short, Comedy
5 female detective friends are on the run for their lives when a dangerous conspiracy rises in this Charlie's Angels-esque adventure from Japan.
Director: Akiyuki Shinbô | Stars: Joseph Anthony, Takeshi Aono, Missy Atwood, Dara Aylor
Votes: 33
4/10
41. The Arrival (1996)
PG-13 | 115 min | Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Zane, an astronomer, discovers intelligent alien life. But the aliens are keeping a deadly secret, and will do anything to stop Zane from learning it.
Director: David Twohy | Stars: Charlie Sheen, Lindsay Crouse, Richard Schiff, Shane
Votes: 38,190 | Gross: $14.05M
3/10
42. The Craft (1996)
R | 101 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
A newcomer to a Catholic prep high school falls in with a trio of outcast teenage girls who practice witchcraft, and they all soon conjure up various spells and curses against those who anger them.
Director: Andrew Fleming | Stars: Robin Tunney, Fairuza Balk, Neve Campbell, Rachel True
Votes: 107,750 | Gross: $24.88M
3/10*
43. Space Jam (1996)
PG | 88 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
In a desperate attempt to win a basketball match and earn their freedom, the Looney Tunes seek the aid of retired basketball champion, Michael Jordan.
Director: Joe Pytka | Stars: Michael Jordan, Wayne Knight, Theresa Randle, Manner Washington
Votes: 213,543 | Gross: $90.46M
3/10
44. 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: 470,417 | Gross: $180.98M
3/10
45. Slayers Return (1996)
Not Rated | 61 min | Animation, Comedy, Fantasy
Outrageous enemies such as secret organizations aiming to dominate the world and mysterious strongest fighting forces attack Lina and Naga one after another for legendary "treasure" lying ... See full summary »
Directors: Hiroshi Watanabe, Kunihiko Yuyama | Stars: Megumi Hayashibara, Maria Kawamura, Akiko Hiramatsu, Akio Ôtsuka
Votes: 503
46. Armitage III: Poly-Matrix (1996 Video)
TV-MA | 90 min | Animation, Action, Drama
Armitage is a brash cybernetic cop with a racy wardrobe who patrols a Mars metropolis. She and her stoic partner, Sylibus, risk everything to track a killer who is revealing his female victims' identities as highly-advanced androids.
Directors: Hiroyuki Ochi, Yukio Okamoto, Satoshi Saga, Takuya Satô | Stars: Elizabeth Berkley, Kiefer Sutherland, Dan Woren, Wanda Nowicki
Votes: 1,921
3/10
47. Freeway (1996)
R | 102 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A twisted take on "Little Red Riding Hood", with a teenage juvenile delinquent on the run from a social worker travelling to her grandmother's house and being hounded by a charming, but sadistic, serial killer and pedophile.
Director: Matthew Bright | Stars: Reese Witherspoon, Kiefer Sutherland, Bokeem Woodbine, Paul Perri
Votes: 31,769 | Gross: $0.30M
2/10
48. Original Gangstas (1996)
R | 99 min | Action, Crime, Drama
When a gang shoots his father, Bookman (Fred Williamson) returns to his hometown, rounds up some of his own people and begins an all-out war to restore the neighborhood to its rightful sense of justice.
Directors: Larry Cohen, Fred Williamson | Stars: Fred Williamson, Jim Brown, Pam Grier, Paul Winfield
Votes: 2,012 | Gross: $3.01M
2/10
49. Escape from L.A. (1996)
R | 101 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Snake Plissken is once again called in by the United States government to recover a potential doomsday device from Los Angeles, now an autonomous island where undesirables are deported.
Director: John Carpenter | Stars: Kurt Russell, Steve Buscemi, Stacy Keach, A.J. Langer
Votes: 80,574 | Gross: $25.48M
1/10
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