To make this list a movie had to be made in 1988. Obviously many movies made in 1987 earned box office dollars in 1988. On the other side many movies made in 1988 made money in 1989 and later. This page will looks at over 240 movies made in 1988. The movies are listed in two massive tables that lets you rank the movies from Best to Worst in six different sortable columns of information.
Our UMR Top 50 of 1988
1988 Movies Can Be Ranked 6 Ways In This Table
The really cool thing about this table is that it is “user-sortable”. Rank the movies anyway you want.
- Sort 1988 Movies by movie titles and movie trailers
- Sort 1988 Movies by the stars or in some cases the director of the movie.
- Sort 1988 Movies by domestic adjusted box office grosses using current movie ticket cost (in millions)
- Sort 1988 Movies how they were received by critics and audiences. 60% rating or higher should indicate a good movie.
- Sort by how many Oscar® nominations each 1988 Movies received and how many Oscar® wins each 1988 Movies received.
- Sort 1988 Movies by Ultimate Movie Ranking Score (UMR). Our UMR score puts box office, reviews and awards into a mathematical equation and gives each movie a score.
41 The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988)
the 4 nominations for this movie were for the 62nd Academy Awards held in 1990.
Not sure how this might impact your data but just an FYI.
Hey Sidney…..The Adventures of Baron Munchausen has an IMDb date of 1988…..it got released in the United States in March of 1989 (I actually saw it in theaters….one of the few….lol). In those cases I leave the movie in the year IMDb lists…versus trying to line it up with it’s Oscar year. Good eye as always.
I wonder which 2 oscar’s you think
35 The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) David Bowie &
Willem Dafoe 8.4 18.7 83 02 / 00 77.2
was nominated for?
Best Director – check
2nd nomination?
Hey Sidney…you are correct….The Last Temptation of Christ only got Marty a nomination…..it got shut out in all of the other categories. Good catch….keep finding these mistakes…..they only make the website better and better. Thanks again.
What a great page. The year of my birth as well. As I went through the list I started to realize how many great movies were made during that year. Pretty cool. Data below….
Seen: 31/268 or 12%, a little low I know but its most of the classics and i did see 7 of the top 10.
Favorite Top 10: Tough choice as all are connected to a part of my life. That said have to go with….Die Hard. An annual watch at a minimum…and it is a Christmas movie.
UMR Snub (Too High/Low): Lots of options but is hard to decide who…maybe Bloodsport.
Guilty Pleasure: Similar to the Snub…there are lots to choose from…Bloodsport, Earth Girls are Easy, Earnest Saves Christmas..
Thanks for the page on the year of my birth.
Hey BryRog57…thanks for checking out your birthyear page. There are indeed lots of great movies on this list. 31 for an almost 31 year old is still impressive. Did you include Colors in your tally? You saw it in theaters…but as new born you slept (thankfully) through the whole movie. Good to know Die Hard is your favorite. Sorry Bloodsport might be one of your favorites….but it got mixed reviews, made little impact at the box office, and was naturally ignored by the Oscar people….it’s ranking seems pretty good to me. If you just look at JCVD’s page….you will see Bloodsport is highly ranked there. Earth Girls Are Easy is fun movie to watch….Ernest was and still is, a brutal movie to watch. Good feedback on our 1988 page.
I saw 54, including 23 of top 24.10s and favorites: die hard, big, bull durham, rain man. 9 and favorite: a fish called wanda, stand and deliver, Mississippi burning. : dirty rotten scoundrels, accidental tourist.. 9s not favorites dangerous liaisons, gorillas in the mist. hidden gems: tequila sunrise, moon over parador, crossing delancy, milagro beanfield war, red heat, the presidio.
this chocolat is not the fabulous binoche/depp/dench chocolat of 2000.
Hey bob cox….thanks for the tally and the comment. Glad to see Die Hard getting a 10. Stand and Deliver is one of the best teaching movies ever made. Even better seeing you mention Tequila Sunrise as a 9. That is an underrated movie in my mind….but rarely do I find many people that agree with me. Kurt Russell has often said….of all the movies he starred in…..he most wants to re-visit his character in Tequila. You are right this Chocolat is not the famous one made 12 years later….another one The Chocolate War is one of my hidden gems…..though it has been years since I saw that one…..not sure it has aged well at all.
Okaaay… I’ve seen 96 of the 260 films on the chart, I think that’s my highest tally so far for a single year. Looking at my files I have 74 films from 1988 in my movie collection.
My favorites are –
Above the Law
Action Jackson
Alien Nation
Bad Taste
Bat 21
Beetlejuice
Big
Blob ,The
Child’s Play
Colors
Coming to America
Deadly Pursuit
Die Hard
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Earth Girls Are Easy
Fish Called Wanda ,A
Hellraiser II – Hellbound
Midnight Run
Mississippi Burning
My Stepmother is an Alien
Naked Gun ,The
Nightmare on Elm St. IV-Dream Master
Rambo III
Red Heat
Serpent and the Rainbow ,The
Switching Channels
They Live
Twins
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Willow
zz-China – Police Story 2
zz-Japan Anime – Akira
zz-Japan Anime – My Neighbour Totoro
Die Hard tops the critics chart, lovely, I mean how often does an action movie get to top a yearly chart? Die Hard is worthy. Midnight Run is another much loved 80s movie which did well here.
‘Akira’ is my favorite Japanese anime and it’s good to see it get a good rating on the 1988 chart.
Another epic movie year page Bruce, are they getting bigger or is it my imagination?
Vote Up!
Btw Bruce you have ‘The Lair of the White Worm’ and ‘The Liar of the White Worm’ on the two big charts.
‘Lair’ is the correkt speeling.
Hey Steve…thanks for the catch….that damn liar has been removed…..liar, lair, laire, it is just so confusing….lol.
Hey Steve….thanks for the tally count, visit and comment. This now gives us 61 years of yearly reviews….1928 to 1988……I had no idea when I did a 1946 yearly page back in the HubPages days that I would end up trying to do ALL the years.
96 movies seen….almost triple digits….that does not happen too often. I saw 10 of your favorites in theaters. Die Hard and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels are among my all-time favorites. Scoundrels is being remade…..or at least Bedtime Story is being remade again…..not thinking this Anne Hathaway/Rebel Wilson version will be as good as the Caine/Martin one. https://www.ultimatemovierankings.com/the-hustle-2019/
Bruce and Die Hard…..loved the original….and still do….one of the best action movies ever made….has aged nicely. Part 5 was horrible and almost a franchise killer….though Part 6 will be coming. In a lot of ways it is following the path of Stallone’s Rocky……I hope it has a rebound like Rocky did with the Creed movies. I got it…..the 7th Die Hard will be called….wait for it….Gruber. In that one…Han’s son is a cop……trying to erase the negative legacy of his dad…..when thinks get bad….he goes to McClane for help. It sounds so bad it will probably happen….lol.
Good stuff as always.