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Bill Paxton Movies

Want to know the best Bill Paxton movies?  How about the worst Bill Paxton movies?  Curious about Tom Hardy’s box office grosses or which Bill Paxton movie picked up the most Oscar® nominations? Need to know which Bill Paxton movie got the best reviews from critics and audiences and which ones got the worst reviews? Well you have come to the right place….because we have all of that information.

So this morning….we had just gotten home from our weekly grocery shopping trip….and as we were putting the final groceries away…WoC (Wife of Cogerson) says….”Bill Paxton?” as she was staring down at her i-Phone.  Well…since WoC does not generally say actors name out loud for no reason…I responded…”He didn’t die did he?”  Sadly that is what had happened.  My kids all said….”You should do an UMR page on Bill Paxton”. 

At first I was like….”nah….I also feel like an ambulance chasing lawyer when I do a page AFTER a movie star has passed”.  But then all of the Paxton roles started flying through my brain…..the mean older brother in Weird Science, the punk Arnold takes a jacket from in The Terminator, his astronaut in Apollo 13, the crazed garbage collector in The Dark Backward, his marine in Aliens, his Earp brother in Tombstone, his fake secret agent in True Lies, his tornado chasing scientist in Twister, his…..I think you get the point.  So in the end…we decided to do a Bill Paxton tribute page. Rest in Peace Mr. Paxton.  February 25th 2017.

His IMDb page shows 93 acting credits from 1975-2017. This page will rank Bill Paxton (1955-2017) movies from Best to Worst in six different sortable columns of information. Television shows, shorts, cameos and movies that were not released in North American theaters were not included in the rankings.

Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton in 1996’s Twister

Bill Paxton Movies Ranked In Chronological Order With Ultimate Movie Rankings Score (1 to 5 UMR Tickets) *Best combo of box office, reviews and awards.

Year Movie (Year) Rating S
Year Movie (Year) Rating S
1997 Titanic (1997)
AA Best Picture Win
1986 Aliens (1986)
1995 Apollo 13 (1995)
AA Best Picture Nom
1984 The Terminator (1984)
1981 Stripes (1981)
1994 True Lies (1994)
1993 Tombstone (1993)
2014 Edge of Tomorrow (2014)
1996 Twister (1996)
2000 U-571 (2000)
2002 Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams (2002)
2003 Spy Kids 3: Game Over (2003)
1985 Commando (1985)
2000 Vertical Limit (2000)
2014 Nightcrawler (2014)
2013 2 Guns (2013)
1998 A Simple Plan (1998)
2005 Magnificent Desolation (IMAX) (2005)
1998 Mighty Joe Young (1998)
1992 One False Move (1992)
1990 Predator 2 (1990)
2003 Ghosts of the Abyss (IMAX) (2003)
2014 Million Dollar Arm (2014)
2011 Haywire (2011)
1985 Weird Science (1985)
2001 Frailty (2001)
1993 Indian Summer (1993)
1987 Near Dark (1987)
1984 Streets of Fire (1984)
1992 Trespass (1992)
2005 The Greatest Game Ever Played (2005)
1983 The Lords of Discipline (1983)
1997 Traveller (1997)
2007 The Good Life (2007)
2013 Red Wing (2013)
1995 The Last Supper (1995)
1988 Pass the Ammo (1988)
1989 Next of Kin (1989)
1998 A Bright Shining Lie (1998)
HBO Movie
1994 Frank & Jesse (1994)
1990 Navy Seals (1990)
2012 Shanghai Calling (2012)
1990 Brain Dead (1990)
1992 The Vagrant (1992)
2017 The Circle (2017)
2004 Club Dread (2004)
1983 Mortuary (1983)
1996 The Evening Star (1996)
1984 Impulse (1984)
1990 The Last of the Finest (1990)
1989 Back To Back (1989)
1991 The Dark Backward (1991)
2013 The Colony (2013)
2004 Thunderbirds (2004)
1993 Boxing Helena (1993)
2005 Haven (2004)
2016 Term Life (2016)
1989 Slipstream (1989)

Bill Paxton 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 by Bill Paxton movies by co-stars of his movies.
  • Sort Bill Paxton movies by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost (in millions)
  • Sort Bill Paxton movies by yearly domestic box office rank
  • Sort Bill Paxton movies how they were received by critics and audiences.  60% rating or higher should indicate a good movie.
  • Sort by how many Oscar® nominations and how many Oscar® wins each Bill Paxton movie received.
  • Sort Bill Paxton movies by Ultimate Movie Rankings (UMR) Score.  UMR Score puts box office, reviews and awards into a mathematical equation and gives each movie a score.
  • Use the search and sort buttons to make this page very interactive.
R Movie (Year) UMR Co-Star Links Adj. B.O. Worldwide (mil) Review Oscar Nom / Win UMR Score
R Movie (Year) UMR Co-Star Links 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 Titanic (1997)
AA Best Picture Win
Leonardo DiCaprio &
Kate Winslet
621.80 1,693.3 5,523.50 1 78 14 / 11 99.8
2 Aliens (1986) Sigourney Weaver &
Michael Biehn
141.00 475.0 475.00 3 94 07 / 02 99.6
3 Apollo 13 (1995)
AA Best Picture Nom
Tom Hanks &
Directed by Ron Howard
173.10 497.3 1,018.60 3 86 09 / 02 99.5
4 The Terminator (1984) Arnold Schwarzenegger &
Michael Biehn
53.10 197.6 346.40 13 91 00 / 00 98.8
5 Stripes (1981) Bill Murray &
Harold Ramis
85.30 383.5 383.50 5 78 00 / 00 96.6
6 True Lies (1994) Arnold Schwarzenegger &
Directed by James Cameron
146.30 448.2 1,160.80 3 71 01 / 00 95.1
7 Tombstone (1993) Kurt Russell &
Michael Biehn
56.50 170.6 221.00 20 80 00 / 00 94.6
9 Edge of Tomorrow (2014) Tom Cruise 100.20 153.3 566.90 34 84 00 / 00 94.3
8 Twister (1996) Helen Hunt &
Philip Seymour Hoffman
240.90 681.3 1,396.10 2 66 00 / 00 93.5
10 U-571 (2000) Matthew McConaughey 77.10 178.9 296.10 28 67 02 / 01 92.6
11 Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams (2002) Antonio Banderas 85.80 185.0 258.00 30 66 00 / 00 91.2
12 Spy Kids 3: Game Over (2003) Sylvester Stallone &
George Clooney
111.80 231.7 408.40 19 50 00 / 00 87.5
13 Commando (1985) Arnold Schwarzenegger 35.10 123.6 202.40 25 66 00 / 00 84.6
15 Vertical Limit (2000) Scott Glenn 69.20 160.6 160.60 35 54 00 / 00 84.3
14 Nightcrawler (2014) Jake Gyllenhaal 32.40 49.5 59.20 94 86 01 / 00 83.3
16 2 Guns (2013) Denzel Washington &
Mark Wahlberg
75.60 116.3 202.90 45 62 00 / 00 82.0
17 A Simple Plan (1998) Billy Bob Thornton 16.30 43.5 43.50 94 82 02 / 00 80.9
18 Magnificent Desolation (IMAX) (2005) Tom Hanks 34.10 66.5 66.50 81 76 00 / 00 80.6
19 Mighty Joe Young (1998) Charlize Theron 50.60 134.9 189.60 43 54 00 / 00 80.0
20 One False Move (1992) Billy Bob Thornton 1.50 4.6 4.60 159 84 00 / 00 71.9
22 Predator 2 (1990) Danny Glover 30.70 90.6 168.90 37 57 00 / 00 71.8
21 Ghosts of the Abyss (IMAX) (2003) Directed by James Cameron 17.00 35.3 59.50 113 74 00 / 00 71.6
24 Million Dollar Arm (2014) Jon Hamm 36.50 55.8 60.00 87 65 00 / 00 69.4
23 Haywire (2011) Michael Douglas &
Michael Fassbender
18.90 29.9 52.60 120 73 00 / 00 69.2
26 Weird Science (1985) Robert Downey Jr. 23.80 83.9 83.90 37 57 00 / 00 69.2
25 Frailty (2001) Bill Paxton &
Matthew McConaughey
13.10 29.0 29.00 124 73 00 / 00 68.0
27 Indian Summer (1993) Alan Arkin 14.90 45.0 45.00 87 64 00 / 00 63.9
28 Near Dark (1987) Lance Henriksen 3.40 10.8 10.80 122 74 00 / 00 62.2
29 Streets of Fire (1984) Willem Dafoe &
Diane Lane
8.10 30.1 30.10 89 67 00 / 00 61.6
30 Trespass (1992) Ice Cube &
William Sadler
13.20 39.9 39.90 86 63 00 / 00 59.9
31 The Greatest Game Ever Played (2005) Shia LaBeouf 15.30 30.0 30.70 135 65 00 / 00 58.6
32 The Lords of Discipline (1983) Michael Biehn 11.80 46.8 46.80 58 59 00 / 00 57.5
33 Traveller (1997) Mark Wahlberg 0.50 1.5 1.50 205 68 00 / 00 48.4
34 The Good Life (2007) Zooey Deschanel 0.00 0.1 0.10 371 68 00 / 00 46.3
35 Red Wing (2013) Glen Powell 0.10 0.1 0.10 316 67 00 / 00 44.4
36 The Last Supper (1995) Cameron Diaz 0.50 1.3 1.30 215 65 00 / 00 40.6
37 Pass the Ammo (1988) Tim Curry 0.20 0.5 0.50 243 64 00 / 00 38.8
38 Next of Kin (1989) Patrick Swayze &
Liam Neeson
15.90 50.2 50.20 62 48 00 / 00 38.1
39 A Bright Shining Lie (1998)
HBO Movie
Amy Madigan 0.00 0.1 0.10 372 61 00 / 00 31.2
39 Frank & Jesse (1994) Rob Lowe 0.10 0.2 0.20 255 59 00 / 00 28.2
42 Navy Seals (1990) Michael Biehn &
Charlie Sheen
25.10 74.1 74.10 48 35 00 / 00 26.4
40 Shanghai Calling (2012) Le Heng 0.10 0.1 0.10 368 58 00 / 00 24.9
41 Brain Dead (1990) Bill Pullman 1.60 4.8 4.80 159 56 00 / 00 24.1
43 The Vagrant (1992) Michael Ironside 0.10 0.2 0.20 219 56 00 / 00 22.6
44 The Circle (2017) Tom Hanks &
Emma Watson
20.50 28.6 28.60 100 45 00 / 00 18.6
45 Club Dread (2004) Jay Chandrasekhar 5.00 10.1 10.10 165 49 00 / 00 16.3
46 Mortuary (1983) Mary Beth McDonough 4.30 17.1 17.10 94 46 00 / 00 14.2
47 The Evening Star (1996) Shirley MacLaine &
Jack Nicholson
12.80 36.1 36.10 111 39 00 / 00 13.4
48 Impulse (1984) Tim Matheson 2.80 10.3 10.30 127 46 00 / 00 12.4
49 The Last of the Finest (1990) Brian Dennehy 1.50 4.5 4.50 163 48 00 / 00 12.0
50 Back To Back (1989) Ben Johnson 0.10 0.2 0.20 219 47 00 / 00 9.7
51 The Dark Backward (1991) Judd Nelson &
James Caan
0.00 0.1 0.10 256 46 00 / 00 8.9
52 The Colony (2013) Kevin Zegers &
Laurence Fishburne
0.00 0.1 0.10 356 45 00 / 00 7.7
53 Thunderbirds (2004) Ben Kingsley 6.90 13.9 56.90 148 39 00 / 00 6.4
54 Boxing Helena (1993) Julian Sands 1.80 5.4 5.40 167 37 00 / 00 3.3
55 Haven (2004) Orlando Bloom &
Zoe Saldana
0.10 0.3 0.40 281 37 00 / 00 2.8
56 Term Life (2016) Vince Vaughn 0.10 0.1 0.10 242 36 00 / 00 2.3
57 Slipstream (1989) Mark Hamill 0.00 0.2 0.20 228 34 00 / 00 1.6

Bill Paxton Adjusted World Wide Box Office Grosses
Movie (Year) UMR Co-Star Links World-Wide Box Office Adjusted (mil) S
Movie (Year) UMR Co-Star Links World-Wide Box Office Adjusted (mil) S
Titanic (1997)
AA Best Picture Win
Leonardo DiCaprio &
Kate Winslet
5,523.50
Twister (1996) Helen Hunt &
Philip Seymour Hoffman
1,396.10
True Lies (1994) Arnold Schwarzenegger &
Directed by James Cameron
1,160.80
Apollo 13 (1995)
AA Best Picture Nom
Tom Hanks &
Directed by Ron Howard
1,018.60
Edge of Tomorrow (2014) Tom Cruise 566.90
Spy Kids 3: Game Over (2003) Sylvester Stallone &
George Clooney
408.40
The Terminator (1984) Arnold Schwarzenegger &
Michael Biehn
346.40
U-571 (2000) Matthew McConaughey 296.10
Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams (2002) Antonio Banderas 258.00
Tombstone (1993) Kurt Russell &
Michael Biehn
221.00
2 Guns (2013) Denzel Washington &
Mark Wahlberg
202.90
Commando (1985) Arnold Schwarzenegger 202.40
Mighty Joe Young (1998) Charlize Theron 189.60
Predator 2 (1990) Danny Glover 168.90
Million Dollar Arm (2014) Jon Hamm 60.00
Ghosts of the Abyss (IMAX) (2003) Directed by James Cameron 59.50
Nightcrawler (2014) Jake Gyllenhaal 59.20
Thunderbirds (2004) Ben Kingsley 56.90
Haywire (2011) Michael Douglas &
Michael Fassbender
52.60
The Greatest Game Ever Played (2005) Shia LaBeouf 30.70
Haven (2004) Orlando Bloom &
Zoe Saldana
0.40

 
Bill Paxton in 1997’s Titanic

Possibly Interesting Facts About Bill Paxton

1. William Paxton was born in Fort Worth, Texas in 1955.
2. Bill Paxton was in the crowd when President John F. Kennedy emerged from the Hotel Texas on the morning of his assassination on November 22, 1963. Photographs of an eight-year-old Paxton being lifted above the crowd are on display at the Sixth Floor Museum in Dallas, Texas
3. Bill Paxton’s nicknames were Wild Bill and Knuckles.
4. Bill Paxton was married two times….and had two children.
5. Bill Paxton appeared in 5 movies with Michael Biehn: 1983’s The Lords of Discipline , 1984’s The Terminator, 1986’s Aliens, 1990’s Navy Seals  and 1993’s Tombstone.
6. Bill Paxton and Lance Henriksen are the only actors to have been killed by a terminator, an alien, and a predator on screen.
7. Bill Paxton utters the very first line of dialog in 1984’s The Terminator. 8. Check out Bill Paxton’s career compared to current and classic actors.  Most 100 Million Dollar Movies of All-Time. “That’s it, man. Game over, man. Game over!” – Private Hudson….1986’s Aliens…..it was playing the game with you Mr. Paxton….Rest in Peace.
 
Academy Award® and Oscar® are the registered trademarks of the Academy of Motion Arts and Sciences. Golden Globes® are the registered trademark and service mark of the Hollywood Foreign Press.

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22 thoughts on “Bill Paxton Movies”

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  1. SteinHoF16 says:
    February 26, 2017 at 4:54 pm

    Rest In Peace. Sad sad sad day. What a shock. Heck I just watched him on his new show a couple of weeks ago. Stripes? He was in that? I will have to keep an eye open for him the next time I watch that one? Nice tribute.

    Reply
    1. Cogerson says:
      February 27, 2017 at 1:16 pm

      Hey SteinHOF…yeah I debated on including Stripes or not…but in the end…I went ahead and included it. I figured it gives people something extra to look for when they watch or re-watch Stripes. A truly sad and shocking day. RIP Bill Paxton.

      Reply
  2. Kelly says:
    February 26, 2017 at 3:46 pm

    Perhaps you should consider it a tribute more than ambulance chasing.

    Reply
    1. Cogerson says:
      February 27, 2017 at 1:14 pm

      Hey Kelly…you might be right…..but it seems really sad to do these pages after they pass. Thanks for not thinking of me as a ambulance chaser. RIP Mr. Paxton.

      Reply
  3. Gerald says:
    February 26, 2017 at 2:44 pm

    Heartbroken hearing of his passing. One of the best of Texas has passed. Also thought he should have directed more movies. Rest in peace. Thoughts and prayers to his family and friends.

    Reply
    1. Cogerson says:
      February 27, 2017 at 1:12 pm

      Hey Gerald…yep he made Texas proud for sure. A good movie and television career. I agree he should have directed more movies. I thought he did an awesome job with The Greatest Game Ever Played. I want to see Frality….thanks for the visit and thoughts to his family.

      Reply
  4. Kelly says:
    February 26, 2017 at 2:38 pm

    So incredibly saddened by this news. He left behind so many great movie characters RIP. Thoughts and prayers to his family.

    Reply
    1. Cogerson says:
      February 27, 2017 at 1:09 pm

      Hey Kelly….so many great movies indeed. The more I thought about his career the more impressed I got. Thanks for checking out our Paxton tribute.

      Reply
  5. Peter says:
    February 26, 2017 at 2:30 pm

    Shocking news. In the last week I have watched two of his movies. Nightcrawler and Frality. One of the good ones leaves us.

    Reply
    1. Cogerson says:
      February 27, 2017 at 1:07 pm

      Hey Peter….I agree 100%…very shocking and very sad. I want to see Frality(one of the movies he directed)…Nightcrawler is creepy good. RIP Mr. Paxton

      Reply

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