From Peter Provost.
The rules:
Italicize the ones you’ve seen and Bold the ones you actually liked.
Titanic (1997) – $600,779,824 Star Wars (1977) – $460,935,665 E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) – $434,949,459 Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999) – $431,065,444 Spider-Man (2002) – $403,706,375 Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, The (2003) – $377,019,252 Passion of the Christ, The (2004) – $370,025,697 Jurassic Park (1993) – $356,784,000 Shrek 2 (2004) – $356,211,000 Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, The (2002) – $340,478,898 Finding Nemo (2003) – $339,714,367 Forrest Gump (1994) – $329,691,196 Lion King, The (1994) – $328,423,001 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001) – $317,557,891 Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The (2001) – $313,837,577 Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002) – $310,675,583 Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (1983) – $309,125,409 Independence Day (1996) – $306,124,059 Pirates of the Caribbean (2003) – $305,411,224 Sixth Sense, The (1999) – $293,501,675 Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980) – $290,158,751 Home Alone (1990) – $285,761,243 Matrix Reloaded, The (2003) – $281,492,479 Shrek (2001) – $267,652,016 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002) – $261,970,615 How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000) – $260,031,035 Jaws (1975) – $260,000,000 Monsters, Inc. (2001) – $255,870,172 Batman (1989) – $251,188,924 Men in Black (1997) – $250,147,615 Toy Story 2 (1999) – $245,823,397 Bruce Almighty (2003) – $242,589,580 Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) – $242,374,454 Twister (1996) – $241,700,000 My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002) – $241,437,427 Ghost Busters (1984) – $238,600,000 Beverly Hills Cop (1984) – $234,760,500 Cast Away (2000) – $233,630,478 Lost World: Jurassic Park, The (1997) – $229,074,524 Signs (2002) – $227,965,690 Rush Hour 2 (2001) – $226,138,454 Mrs. Doubtfire (1993) – $219,200,000 Ghost (1990) – $217,631,306 Aladdin (1992) – $217,350,219 Saving Private Ryan (1998) – $216,119,491 Mission: Impossible II (2000) – $215,397,30 X2 (2003) – $214,948,780 Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002) – $213,079,163 Back to the Future (1985) – $210,609,762 Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999) – $205,399,422 Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) – $204,843,350 Exorcist, The (1973) – $204,565,000 Mummy Returns, The (2001) – $202,007,640 Armageddon (1998) – $201,573,391 Gone with the Wind (1939) – $198,655,278 Pearl Harbor (2001) – $198,539,855 Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) – $197,171,806 Toy Story (1995) – $191,800,000 Men in Black II (2002) – $190,418,803 Gladiator (2000) – $187,670,866 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) – $184,925,485 Dances with Wolves (1990) – $184,208,848 Batman Forever (1995) – $184,031,112 Fugitive, The (1993) – $183,875,760 Ocean’s Eleven (2001) – $183,405,771 What Women Want (2000) – $182,805,123 Perfect Storm, The (2000) – $182,618,434 Liar Liar (1997) – $181,395,380 Grease (1978) – $181,360,000 Jurassic Park III (2001) – $181,166,115 Mission: Impossible (1996) – $180,965,237 Planet of the Apes (2001) – $180,011,740 Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) – $179,870,271 Pretty Woman (1990) – $178,406,268 Tootsie (1982) – $177,200,000 Top Gun (1986) – $176,781,728 There’s Something About Mary (1998) – $176,483,808 Ice Age (2002) – $176,387,405 Crocodile Dundee (1986) – $174,635,000 Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992) – $173,585,516 Elf (2003) – $173,381,405 Air Force One (1997) – $172,888,056 Rain Man (1988) – $172,825,435 Apollo 13 (1995) – $172,071,312 Matrix, The (1999) – $171,383,253 Beauty and the Beast (1991) – $171,301,428 Tarzan (1999) – $171,085,177 Beautiful Mind, A (2001) – $170,708,996 Chicago (2002) – $170,684,505 Three Men and a Baby (1987) – $167,780,960 Meet the Parents (2000) – $166,225,040 Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991) – $165,500,000 Hannibal (2001) – $165,091,464 Catch Me If You Can (2002) – $164,435,221 Big Daddy (1999) – $163,479,795 Sound of Music, The (1965) – $163,214,286 Batman Returns (1992) – $162,831,698 Bug’s Life, A (1998) – $162,792,677 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) – $161,963,000 Waterboy, The (1998) – $161,487,252
I thought I’d do this just to see how it turned out, and you can easily draw a couple of conclusions:
I’ve seen a lot of films (this list barely scratches the surface) I’m not particularly choosy about the films I like
The trouble with this list is that theres no granularity – you either like it or you don’t. The other problem is that the films that I liked, I liked when I watched them,. If I were to sit down and watch some of the films on this list for the first time today, I would probably hate them. I could have been more ruthless in my ratings, but on recalling how I felt when I first watched them I generally enjoyed them at the time.
A much more telling exercise would be to:
Only list the top 10 (or 20) films from the past year Include a couple of levels of ‘liking’ – i.e. I enjoyed Revenge of the Sith, but I wouldn’t put it in my top movies of 2005
Maybe if I remember (not likely) I’ll do such a list at the end of the year…
