These Are the Best ‘Best Pictures’ of All Time, Research Reveals 

• he best movie to win the Academy Award for Best Picture 
• The second-best film is James Cameron’s Titanic

Gone with the Wind is the best movie of all time to have won the Oscar for ‘Best Picture’, new research has revealed. 

The study, commissioned by shopping experts Coupon Ninja, looked at every film to win the ‘Academy Award for Best Picture’, from William A. Wellman’s Wings at the first Oscars in 1929, right up until the 2021 winner Nomadland, directed by Chloé Zhao.  

Four factors were analysed – the worldwide box office takings adjusted for inflation, which accounted for 40% of the overall score, the Tomatometer percentage and the Audience Score on Rotten Tomatoes, and the IMDb rating for each movie – each weighted at 20% of the total score. 

The best movie to win the Academy Award for Best Picture is Gone with the Wind, directed by Victor Fleming. The 1939 film, based on the novel by Margaret Mitchell, follows Vivien Leigh’s headstrong character Scarlett O’Hara as she fights her way through heartbreak, financial hardship, and the American Civil War. Despite being 83 years since its release, Gone with the Wind sits far above its competitors, earning more than $400 million at the box office – an enormous $8 billion when adjusted for inflation to the current year. This, combined with impressive ratings across IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes, gives the top score of 94.6 out of 100 – 53% higher than the average score for the top 20 films. 

James Cameron’s ground-breaking tragic romance Titanic ranks in the second position with a score of 68.01. Titanic won 11 Oscars in total – an achievement yet to be surpassed. The film became the highest-grossing film of all time, earning more than $2.2 billion at the box office in 1997, which would equal approximately $3.8 billion in 2022. 

In third place is The Godfather, directed by Francis Ford Coppola. Although the organised-crime masterpiece recently celebrated its 50th Anniversary, it is still considered to be one of the greatest and most influential films of all time. The film has the highest IMDb score and Rotten Tomatoes Audience score out of every ‘Best Picture’ winner, contributing to its overall score of 67.62. The Godfather Part II also made it into the top ten list with a score of 59.90 due to its high ratings and reviews. 

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, which sees each beloved character fulfil their destiny after more than nine hours of footage, is the fourth ‘best Best Picture’ with a score of 64.33. The anticipation for the concluding film of The Lord of the Rings trilogy was shown in the box office takings of more than $1 billion ($1.75 billion 2022 equivalent), and an average of 90% across the three ratings considered in the study. 

The fifth ‘best Best Picture’ is Schindler’s List, directed by Steven Spielberg. The powerful film is based on the true story of Oskar Schindler, a German factory owner who saved more than 1,100 Jews from the Nazi. The movie explores Schindler’s act of humanity during one of the darkest times of inhumanity the world has ever experienced. Schindler’s List is widely considered Spielberg’s best work, won seven Oscars, and has been named the saddest film of all time. 

Top 10 Best Picture Winners 

Rank	Best Picture Winner	Oscars	Gross Worldwide Box Office  (2022 Equivalent)	IMDb Score	Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer	Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score	Overall Score  (Out Of 100)
1	Gone with the Wind	1940	$8,138,773,295	82%	90%	92%	94.60
2	Titanic	1998	$3,856,627,570	79%	89%	69%	68.01
3	The Godfather	1973	$1,672,642,083	92%	97%	98%	67.62
4	The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King	2004	$1,751,729,612	90%	93%	86%	64.33
5	Schindler’s List	1994	$626,816,538	90%	98%	97%	62.04
6	The Sting	1974	$987,817,297	83%	93%	95%	60.89
7	One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest	1976	$570,212,130	87%	94%	96%	60.11
8	The Silence of the Lambs	1992	$563,003,870	86%	96%	95%	60.05
9	The Godfather Part II	1975	$273,364,757	90%	96%	97%	59.90
10	The Sound of Music	1966	$1,422,950,979	81%	83%	91%	59.77

 A spokesperson for Coupon Ninja commented on the study: 

“It can be difficult to rank so many exceptional movies, as there are many factors to consider. This study takes some of the most widely recognised success factors into account, such as box office takings and audience reviews, to give a fair analysis. 

According to the data, four of the top ten films were released in the 1970s, three from the 90s and only one from during this millennium. The most recent Best Picture winner Nomadland ranks in 73rd place. A large part of the reason for this could be the change in the way people consume movies, with online streaming services widely accessible and a decrease in the number of people who visit the cinema, especially after the pandemic. 

The 2022 Oscars are fast approaching, meaning there will soon be another great film to add to the study.” 

The analysis was conducted by Coupon Ninja, which aims to provide exclusive coupons on major brands for online shoppers. 

Further information can be found at https://couponninja.com/ .