The franchise with the most films in the IMDb Top 250

IMDb has a top 250 list this is constantly evolving. You can rate any film listed on IMDb from one to ten. The Top 250 is a collection of the highest rated movies across the site. This is different from Rotten Tomatoes, which includes both critic and audience ratings; IMDb’s list is based solely on regular ratings. The more people see and enjoy the film and the higher they rate it, the higher it ranks in the top 250.

The lowest rated film on the list, “Cool Hand Luke,” has a rating of 8.0, while the highest rated film, “The Shawshank Redemption,” has a rating of 9.3. In the good old days, when IMDb was more of a community and had message boards, the top 250 was a hotly debated topic. There were constant discussions about what deserved to be on the list, what didn’t, and what should take the coveted top spot.

There are many film franchises, but it is difficult to ensure that a franchise maintains its high quality and respectability, let alone that everyone agrees that sequels, spin-offs or other additions also deserve a high rating. Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings films may be magical masterpieces, but His “Hobbit” trilogy is a huge mess and Kenji Kamiyamas animated The Lord of the Rings prequel War of the Rohirrim received lukewarm reviews from critics before it flopped at the box office. Elsewhere, “Alien” and “Aliens” are both in the IMDb Top 250, although the franchise suffered from the release of Ridley Scott’s polarizing, brooding standouts “Prometheus” and “Alien: Covenant.” However, the most recent “Alien: Romulus” also brought some financial life back into the property Many critics said Fede Álvarez’s Alien sequel relied too much on nostalgia.

So which franchise has the most entries in the IMDB Top 250? The answer is a collection of superhero films and comic book adaptations, which isn’t surprising considering both have dominated cinema over the past two decades.

Although several “Spider-Man” films (“Into the Spider-Verse,” “Across the Spider-Verse,” “No Way Home”) and “Avengers” films (“Infinity War” and “Endgame”) made it Having IMDb’s top 250 at the time of writing, this particular round of Marvel vs. DC goes to the latter. Specifically, DC’s “Batman” franchise currently has the most films in the top 250. In particular, Christopher Nolan’s thrilling “The Dark Knight” is at number three in the top 250. Anyone who was on the IMDb forum when the film came out in 2008 knows perhaps that there was even a campaign to get him to number one in the top 250. The thing about user-generated reviews is that they are easy to manipulate. Many IMDb users would give a film a 10 or an A to catapult it into the top 250 or knock it out.

It seemed almost impossible to do The Dark Knight justice, but 2012’s The Dark Knight Rises was an ambitious finale to Nolan’s Batman trilogy. and is now ranked No. 73 on the IMDb Top 250. Nolan’s 2005 trilogy starter Batman Begins is also on the list at No. 130, but arguably deserves a lower ranking as it doesn’t have the same action-packed grandiosity as its sequels (that and his antagonist, Ra’s al Ghul, is perhaps a less interesting villain than those who came after him). As the title suggests, Batman Begins focuses more on Bruce Wayne’s backstory, slowly building up to his rise as the Caped Crusader.

Joining Christopher Nolan’s Batman films is Todd Phillips’ 2019 film Joker, which currently sits at number 85 on the IMDb Top 250 clear reference to Phillips’ dirty, provocative and annoying “Joker” film is the appearance of Joaquin Phoenix. After Heath Ledger’s iconic, Oscar-winning role as the Joker in The Dark Knight, it was hard to imagine anyone else taking on the role. Whatever the case, Phoenix ended up winning an Oscar himself for a portrayal of a desperate, crying and mentally ill man that, while unpleasant, is still fascinating to watch. Phillips’ 2024 sequel, Joker: Folie à Deux, then took a bold swing with its musical sequences, but it angered many viewers and the film’s actual story was painfully dull.

Other “Batman” film adaptations, such as: Joel Schumacher’s campy “Batman Forever” and “Batman & Robin” Tim Burton’s gothic fantasies “Batman” and “Batman Returns” as well as Zack Snyder’s darker take on the character with “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” are not in the IMDb Top 250. It appears to be the more realistic and darker portrayal of the character Nolan and Phillips’ Batman universe resonates most with audiences. Although Matt Reeves’ The Batman features a similar aesthetic and was a critical and box office hit, it failed to surpass a 7.9 rating on IMDb. It will be interesting to see what happens to the Batman franchise in the future, as Nolan in particular has left a huge mark that will be hard to top.