Want to know the best Best Special Effects Oscar Winning Movies? How about the worst Best Special Effects Oscar Winning Movies? Curious about Best Special Effects Oscar Winning Movies box office grosses or which Best Special Effects Oscar Winning Movies picked up the most Oscar® nominations? Need to know which Best Special Effects Oscar Winning Movies got the best reviews from critics and audiences and which one got the worst reviews? Well, you have come to the right place because we have all of that information.
Drivel Part: (That is what my wife calls this part of the page). Back in February 2011 as The King’s Speech was dueling The Social Network for the big awards we got a request (by Tyler) to rank the Big 6 Oscar® categories. Well, we quickly knocked out the Best Picture, Best Actor and Best Actress categories. Pages on the Best Director, Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress soon arrived….then we stopped…but now we are adding in some more categories…in this case Best Special Effects.
Since 1938, there have been over 80 Best Special Effects Oscar Winners. This page will rank all Best Speciial Effects Oscar Winning movies from Best to Worst in five different sortable columns of information. If you use the sort and search buttons the massive table becomes very interactive.
Best Special Effects Oscar Winning Movies Ranked In Chronological Order With Ultimate Movie Rankings Score (1 to 5 UMR Tickets) *Best combo of box office, reviews and awards.
Best Special Effects Winning Movies Can Be Ranked 5 Ways In The Table Below
The really cool thing about the table is that it is “user-sortable”. Rank the movies anyway you want.
- Sort by the stars of the Best Special Effects Oscar Winning movies.
- Sort Best Special Effects Oscar Winning Movies by actual domestic box office grosses (in millions)
- Sort Best Special Effects Oscar Winning Movies by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost (in millions)
- Sort Best Special Effects Oscar Winning Movies by critic reviews and audiences voting. 60% rating or higher should indicate a good movie.
- Sort by how many Oscar nominations and how many Oscar® wins each Best Special Effects Oscar Winning Movies received.
- Sort Best Special Effects Oscar Winning Movies by Ultimate Movie Ranking (UMR) Score. UMR puts box office, reviews and awards into a mathematical equation and gives each movie a score. The ceiling to earn points for box office is $200 million…once a movie passes that mark it stops earning points in that category.
| R | Movie (Year) | Oscar-Winning Song | Adj. B.O. Worldwide (mil) | Review | Oscar Nom / Win | UMR Score | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | Movie (Year) | Oscar-Winning Song | Actual B.O. Domestic (mil) | Adj. B.O. Domestic (mil) | Adj. B.O. Worldwide (mil) | B.O. Rank by Year | Review | Oscar Nom / Win | UMR Score | S |
| 1 | Ben-Hur (1959) AA Best Picture Win |
Charlton Heston & Stephen Boyd |
58.80 | 1,225.3 | 3,159.80 | 1 | 91 | 12 / 11 | 100.0 | |
| 2 | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) AA Best Picture Win |
Cate Blanchett & Directed by Peter Jackson |
371.00 | 769.1 | 2,307.40 | 2 | 91 | 11 / 11 | 100.0 | |
| 3 | Forrest Gump (1994) AA Best Picture Win |
Tom Hanks & Sally Field |
320.70 | 982.5 | 2,047.80 | 2 | 83 | 13 / 06 | 99.9 | |
| 4 | Gladiator (2000) AA Best Picture Win |
Russell Crowe & Joaquin Phoenix |
187.70 | 435.3 | 1,061.30 | 4 | 80 | 12 / 05 | 99.8 | |
| 5 | Titanic (1997) AA Best Picture Win |
Leonardo DiCaprio & Kate Winslet |
621.80 | 1,693.3 | 5,523.50 | 1 | 78 | 14 / 11 | 99.8 | |
| 6 | Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977) AA Best Picture Nom |
Mark Hamill & Harrison Ford |
398.00 | 2,230.9 | 3,993.30 | 1 | 94 | 10 / 06 | 99.8 | |
| 7 | The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) AA Best Picture Nom |
Orlando Bloom & Cate Blanchett |
308.40 | 682.2 | 1,912.30 | 2 | 92 | 13 / 04 | 99.7 | |
| 8 | Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) AA Best Picture Nom |
Karen Allen & Directed by Steven Spielberg |
246.20 | 1,106.8 | 1,744.30 | 1 | 92 | 08 / 04 | 99.7 | |
| 9 | Gravity (2013) AA Best Picture Nom |
Sandra Bullock & George Clooney |
274.10 | 421.4 | 1,111.90 | 6 | 87 | 10 / 07 | 99.7 | |
| 10 | The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) AA Best Picture Nom |
Ian McKellen & Cate Blanchett |
334.00 | 719.8 | 1,977.30 | 2 | 92 | 06 / 02 | 99.7 | |
| 11 | E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) AA Best Picture Nom |
Drew Barrymore & Directed by Steven Spielberg |
416.70 | 1,771.7 | 3,293.00 | 1 | 87 | 09 / 04 | 99.7 | |
| 12 | Inception (2010) AA Best Picture Nom |
Leonardo DiCaprio & Michael Caine |
292.60 | 463.5 | 1,307.90 | 6 | 86 | 08 / 04 | 99.6 | |
| 18 | Life of Pi (2012) AA Best Picture Nom |
Directed by Ang Lee | 124.90 | 196.1 | 956.20 | 27 | 86 | 11 / 04 | 99.6 | |
| 14 | Avatar (2009) AA Best Picture Nom |
Sigourney Weaver & Zoe Saldana |
748.80 | 1,247.9 | 4,627.00 | 1 | 85 | 09 / 03 | 99.6 | |
| 13 | Aliens (1986) | Sigourney Weaver & Michael Biehn |
141.00 | 475.0 | 475.00 | 3 | 94 | 07 / 02 | 99.6 | |
| 15 | Mary Poppins (1964) AA Best Picture Nom |
Julie Andrews & Dick Van Dyke |
75.60 | 1,004.9 | 2,106.80 | 1 | 81 | 13 / 05 | 99.5 | |
| 16 | 1917 (2019) AA Best Picture Nom |
Benedict Cumberbatch & Colin Firth |
159.20 | 217.3 | 490.20 | 17 | 84 | 10 / 02 | 99.5 | |
| 17 | Dune: Part Two (2024) AA Best Picture Nom |
Timothée Chalamet & Zendaya |
282.10 | 282.1 | 711.80 | 7 | 87 | 05 / 02 | 99.5 | |
| 19 | Terminator 2 (1991) | Arnold Schwarzenegger & Directed by James Cameron |
204.80 | 608.2 | 1,543.50 | 2 | 89 | 06 / 04 | 99.4 | |
| 20 | The Ten Commandments (1956) AA Best Picture Nom |
Charlton Heston & Yul Brynner |
72.00 | 1,637.3 | 3,969.20 | 1 | 85 | 07 / 01 | 99.3 | |
| 21 | Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980) | Harrison Ford & Carrie Fisher |
255.30 | 1,227.3 | 2,419.10 | 1 | 92 | 03 / 02 | 99.3 | |
| 22 | The Guns of Navarone (1961) AA Best Picture Nom |
Gregory Peck & David Niven |
37.10 | 627.4 | 1,206.60 | 3 | 84 | 07 / 01 | 99.3 | |
| 23 | 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) | Keir Dullea & Directed by Stanley Kubrick |
56.90 | 543.1 | 543.10 | 1 | 92 | 04 / 01 | 99.3 | |
| 24 | Alien (1979) | Sigourney Weaver & John Hurt |
106.10 | 528.2 | 528.20 | 2 | 92 | 02 / 01 | 99.1 | |
| 25 | The Matrix (1999) | Keanu Reeves & Laurence Fishburne |
171.50 | 423.6 | 1,145.10 | 5 | 85 | 04 / 04 | 99.0 | |
| 26 | Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) | Bob Hoskins & Directed by Robert Zemeckis |
156.50 | 475.8 | 1,003.10 | 2 | 85 | 06 / 03 | 99.0 | |
| 27 | The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) AA Best Picture Nom |
Brad Pitt & Directed by David Fincher |
127.50 | 222.0 | 581.40 | 21 | 76 | 13 / 03 | 99.0 | |
| 28 | Spider-Man 2 (2004) | Tobey Maguire & Kirsten Dunst |
373.60 | 752.0 | 1,577.60 | 2 | 88 | 03 / 01 | 98.9 | |
| 34 | Babe (1995) AA Best Picture Nom |
James Cromwell & Christine Cavanaugh |
63.70 | 182.9 | 730.30 | 28 | 81 | 07 / 01 | 98.7 | |
| 29 | Jurassic Park (1993) | Jeff Goldblum & Directed by Steven Spielberg |
381.10 | 1,150.6 | 3,042.80 | 1 | 81 | 03 / 03 | 98.4 | |
| 30 | 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954) | Kirk Douglas & James Mason |
22.90 | 621.1 | 621.10 | 3 | 82 | 03 / 02 | 98.4 | |
| 31 | Wonder Man (1945) | Danny Kaye & Virginia Mayo |
9.10 | 333.9 | 502.50 | 23 | 82 | 04 / 01 | 98.4 | |
| 32 | The Jungle Book (2016) | Bill Murray & Christopher Walken |
360.00 | 520.2 | 1,391.00 | 6 | 86 | 01 / 00 | 98.4 | |
| 33 | Superman (1978) | Marlon Brando & Gene Hackman |
134.30 | 717.4 | 1,604.20 | 3 | 83 | 03 / 00 | 98.3 | |
| 35 | Interstellar (2014) | Matthew McConaughey & Michael Caine |
188.00 | 287.7 | 1,032.90 | 16 | 81 | 05 / 01 | 98.2 | |
| 36 | King Kong (2005) | Naomi Watts & Jack Black |
218.10 | 425.9 | 1,075.20 | 5 | 78 | 04 / 03 | 98.2 | |
| 37 | Avatar:The Way Of Water (2022) AA Best Picture Nom |
Zoe Saldana & Directed by James Cameron |
684.10 | 763.3 | 2,588.80 | 2 | 72 | 04 / 01 | 97.8 | |
| 38 | The Poseidon Adventure (1972) | Gene Hackman & Ernest Borgnine |
92.70 | 681.8 | 681.80 | 2 | 75 | 08 / 01 | 97.7 | |
| 42 | Hugo (2011) AA Best Picture Nom |
Ben Kingsley & Directed by Martin Scorsese |
73.90 | 116.4 | 292.80 | 49 | 89 | 11 / 05 | 97.6 | |
| 39 | Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983) | Harrison Ford & Carrie Fisher |
296.30 | 1,175.8 | 1,833.80 | 1 | 78 | 04 / 00 | 97.5 | |
| 40 | Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944) | Spencer Tracy & Robert Mitchum |
13.90 | 541.5 | 787.20 | 3 | 78 | 02 / 01 | 97.4 | |
| 41 | Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970) | Joseph Cotten & Jason Robards |
44.00 | 355.1 | 355.10 | 8 | 75 | 05 / 01 | 97.2 | |
| 43 | Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) | Harrison Ford & Sean Connery |
179.90 | 669.2 | 1,239.20 | 3 | 76 | 02 / 01 | 96.9 | |
| 44 | Cocoon (1985) | Don Ameche & Directed by Ron Howard |
76.10 | 268.0 | 300.40 | 6 | 73 | 02 / 02 | 96.5 | |
| 45 | Thunderball (1965) | Sean Connery & James Bond Movies |
76.60 | 938.7 | 1,852.90 | 3 | 75 | 01 / 01 | 96.4 | |
| 46 | The Bridges at Toko-Ri (1954) | William Holden & Grace Kelly |
14.30 | 388.2 | 388.20 | 11 | 73 | 02 / 01 | 96.1 | |
| 48 | Dune (2021) AA Best Picture Nom |
Josh Brolin | 106.20 | 122.7 | 450.50 | 13 | 78 | 10 / 06 | 95.9 | |
| 47 | Total Recall (1990) | Arnold Schwarzenegger & Sharon Stone |
119.40 | 352.8 | 772.20 | 7 | 73 | 02 / 00 | 95.8 | |
| 49 | Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971) | Angela Lansbury & Roddy McDowall |
34.60 | 262.3 | 262.30 | 10 | 68 | 05 / 01 | 95.6 | |
| 52 | Blade Runner 2049 (2017) | Harrison Ford & Ryan Gosling |
92.10 | 128.3 | 361.30 | 34 | 90 | 05 / 02 | 95.6 | |
| 50 | The Longest Day (1962) AA Best Picture Nom |
John Wayne & Robert Ryan |
31.30 | 521.4 | 521.40 | 3 | 60 | 05 / 02 | 95.4 | |
| 55 | The Abyss (1989) | Ed Harris & Directed by James Cameron |
54.20 | 170.7 | 282.60 | 24 | 78 | 04 / 01 | 95.2 | |
| 51 | Green Dolphin Street (1947) | Lana Turner & Van Heflin |
11.60 | 393.0 | 654.90 | 8 | 67 | 04 / 01 | 95.0 | |
| 53 | Cleopatra (1963) AA Best Picture Nom |
Elizabeth Taylor & Richard Burton |
57.80 | 839.8 | 1,462.70 | 1 | 52 | 09 / 04 | 94.8 | |
| 54 | The Rains Came (1939) | Myrna Loy & Tyrone Power |
9.40 | 419.6 | 419.60 | 5 | 63 | 06 / 01 | 94.4 | |
| 56 | Independence Day (1996) | Will Smith & Jeff Goldblum |
306.20 | 865.9 | 2,311.70 | 1 | 64 | 02 / 01 | 93.8 | |
| 57 | Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006) | Johnny Depp & Orlando Bloom |
423.40 | 804.4 | 2,025.60 | 1 | 62 | 04 / 01 | 93.5 | |
| 58 | The Thief of Bagdad (1940) | Directed by Michael Powell | 2.90 | 127.6 | 127.60 | 53 | 81 | 04 / 03 | 93.0 | |
| 59 | Fantastic Voyage (1966) | Raquel Welch & Edmond O'Brien |
13.80 | 156.2 | 156.20 | 22 | 72 | 05 / 02 | 92.9 | |
| 60 | Crash Dive (1943) | Tyrone Power & Dana Andrews |
8.30 | 345.2 | 345.20 | 16 | 59 | 01 / 01 | 91.5 | |
| 61 | Logan's Run (1976) | Michael York & Peter Ustinov |
28.80 | 168.9 | 168.90 | 22 | 68 | 02 / 00 | 90.9 | |
| 64 | The War of the Worlds (1953) | Gene Barry & Ann Robinson |
6.10 | 126.3 | 126.30 | 49 | 78 | 03 / 01 | 90.5 | |
| 65 | Mighty Joe Young (1949) | Ray Harryhausen | 5.30 | 155.4 | 256.40 | 51 | 71 | 01 / 00 | 90.4 | |
| 62 | The Hindenburg (1975) | George C. Scott & Anne Bancroft |
45.80 | 279.0 | 279.00 | 11 | 54 | 03 / 00 | 89.8 | |
| 63 | Reap the Wild Wind (1942) | John Wayne & Ray Milland |
11.40 | 492.6 | 492.60 | 6 | 52 | 03 / 01 | 89.8 | |
| 66 | King Kong (1976) | Jeff Bridges & Jessica Lange |
108.60 | 637.6 | 637.60 | 3 | 52 | 02 / 00 | 88.8 | |
| 68 | Spawn of the North (1938) | Henry Fonda & John Barrymore |
3.40 | 156.5 | 156.50 | 55 | 64 | 00 / 00 | 87.7 | |
| 69 | Death Becomes Her (1992) | Bruce Willis & Meryl Streep |
58.40 | 176.0 | 448.90 | 24 | 55 | 01 / 01 | 87.5 | |
| 67 | Earthquake (1974) | Charlton Heston & Ava Gardner |
78.60 | 525.6 | 525.60 | 4 | 45 | 04 / 01 | 87.5 | |
| 71 | Tom Thumb (1958) | Peter Sellers | 5.70 | 119.0 | 119.00 | 44 | 70 | 01 / 01 | 86.3 | |
| 70 | Portrait of Jennie (1948) | Jennifer Jones & Joseph Cotton |
2.60 | 80.7 | 80.70 | 119 | 81 | 02 / 01 | 86.2 | |
| 72 | When Worlds Collide (1951) | Richard Derr & Barbara Rush |
4.60 | 114.3 | 114.30 | 72 | 67 | 02 / 01 | 84.9 | |
| 74 | What Dreams May Come (1998) | Robin Williams & Cuba Gooding Jr. |
55.40 | 147.6 | 190.30 | 39 | 57 | 02 / 01 | 84.9 | |
| 73 | Tenet (2020) | Michael Caine | 57.90 | 78.9 | 492.90 | 8 | 77 | 02 / 01 | 84.5 | |
| 76 | I Wanted Wings (1941) | William Holden & Ray Milland |
3.10 | 136.8 | 136.80 | 82 | 62 | 00 / 00 | 84.5 | |
| 75 | The Time Machine (1960) | Rod Taylor & Yvette Mimieux |
4.60 | 83.3 | 135.10 | 57 | 76 | 01 / 01 | 84.3 | |
| 78 | Innerspace (1987) | Dennis Quaid & Meg Ryan |
25.90 | 82.8 | 82.80 | 45 | 73 | 01 / 01 | 82.5 | |
| 77 | Ex Machina (2014) | Alicia Vikander & Domhnall Gleeson |
25.40 | 38.9 | 56.40 | 105 | 86 | 02 / 01 | 82.3 | |
| 79 | First Man (2018) | Ryan Gosling | 44.90 | 61.3 | 137.10 | 66 | 74 | 04 / 01 | 81.1 | |
| 80 | The Golden Compass (2007) | Nicole Kidman & Daniel Craig |
70.10 | 127.4 | 676.30 | 39 | 54 | 02 / 01 | 80.5 | |
| 81 | Destination Moon (1950) | Science Fiction Movies | 3.70 | 96.7 | 96.70 | 88 | 63 | 02 / 01 | 80.1 | |
| 82 | Godzilla: Minus One (2023) | Godzilla Movies | 56.40 | 61.5 | 113.70 | 45 | 71 | 01 / 01 | 78.5 | |
| 85 | Marooned (1969) | Gregory Peck & Gene Hackman |
12.40 | 109.4 | 109.40 | 25 | 54 | 03 / 01 | 77.9 | |
| 84 | Doctor Dolittle (1967) | Rex Harrison & Samantha Eggar |
8.80 | 90.4 | 90.40 | 34 | 54 | 09 / 02 | 77.8 | |
| 83 | The Enemy Below (1957) | Robert Mitchum | 2.10 | 47.9 | 47.90 | 110 | 75 | 01 / 01 | 77.7 | |
| 87 | Plymouth Adventure (1952) | Spencer Tracy & Gene Tierney |
5.30 | 120.5 | 191.00 | 59 | 41 | 01 / 01 | 66.8 | |
| 86 | Blithe Spirit (1945) | Rex Harrison | 0.50 | 17.9 | 17.90 | 163 | 73 | 01 / 01 | 66.4 |
(Visited 1 times)
I have seen 29 of these movies. That is likely my lowest of all these behind the scenes pages of Oscar winners. I see that my favourite movie of all time made the winner’s circle – The Guns of Navarone.
Hey Flora….thanks for sharing your thoughts on this page. Tally count….Steve with 79. 74 for me and 29 for you. Guns of Navarone was one of my dad’s favorites as well. Not sure I realized that it was your favorite all-time movie. Good stuff as always.
Great UMR Page
Thank you Mike.
A nice new page Bruce. I’ve always been interested in special effects in movies, ever since watching King Kong as a kid and being a Ray Harryhausen fanboy.
I’ve seen 79 of the 82 films on the chart. Too many favorites to list and I own most of them on DVD or Blu-ray. The three I haven’t seen are – Plymouth Adventure, I Wanted Wings and Spawn of the North.
Aliens sitting at no.1 on the critics chart is an eyeopener considering the top calibre films listed below it. But I’m a big fan of Aliens so I shouldn’t complain.
Ben-Hur no.1 on the UMR chart, that’s more like it. 😉
Star Wars, another huge favorite of mine tops the box office.
Good work Bruce. Vote Up!
Hey Steve….thanks for the comment, visit and tally count. I made sure to include Ray Harryhausen in the above table. I went with the UMR co-star link because almost every winning movie had 4 to 6 people winning….so I could not fit all the winners in that box. Tally count: Steve 79, me 74 and Flora 29. I have not seen any of the three you missed either. Heck…I am not even sure I was really aware of the first winner, Spawn of the North. Glad some of your favorites got the top spots in the different categories. Good stuff as always. Sorry I have been absent in the comment area…..things are crazy crazy busy for me these days.