Want to know the best David Lynch movies? How about the worst David Lynch movies? Curious about David Lynch box office grosses or which David Lynch movie picked up the most Oscar® nominations? Need to know which David Lynch movie got the best reviews from critics and audiences and which got the worst reviews? Well you have come to the right place….because we have all of that information.
David Lynch (1946-2025) was a 4-time Oscar®-nominated American producer, director and writer. Lynch has established himself as one of the most innovative and influential filmmakers in American cinema. His IMDb page only shows over 98 directing credits from 1966 to 2024. This page will rank David Lynch movies from Best to Worst in six different sortable columns of information.
David Lynch 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 |
| 1980 | The Elephant Man (1980) AA Best Picture Nom AA Best Director Nom |
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| 1984 | Dune (1984) Director |
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| 1999 | The Straight Story (1999) |  |
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| 2001 | Mulholland Drive (2001) AA Best Director Nom |
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| 1977 | Eraserhead (1977) | |
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| 1986 | Blue Velvet (1986) AA Best Director Nom |
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| 1990 | Wild at Heart (1990) |  |
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| 2006 | Inland Empire (2006) Director |
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| 2018 | Lucky (2018) Director |
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| 2014 | Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces (2014) | |
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| 1997 | Lost Highway (1997) Director |
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| 1992 | Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992) |  |
David Lynch 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 David Lynch movies by the stars of his movies
- Sort David Lynch movies by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost (in millions)
- Sort David Lynch movies by yearly domestic box office rank
- Sort David Lynch 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 David Lynch movie received.
- Sort David Lynch 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.
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
The Elephant Man (1980)
AA Best Picture Nom
AA Best Director NomJohn Hurt &
Anthony Hopkins27.90
134.3
134.30
28
88
08 / 00
97.1
3
Dune (1984)
DirectorKyle MacLachlan &
Virginia Madsen30.90
115.1
115.10
30
63
01 / 00
82.2
2
The Straight Story (1999)
Richard Farnsworth &
Sissy Spacek6.20
15.3
15.30
141
89
01 / 00
78.9
4
Mulholland Drive (2001)
AA Best Director NomNaomi Watts
7.20
16.0
44.50
139
87
00 / 00
77.2
6
Eraserhead (1977)
Jack Nance
7.00
39.2
39.20
75
79
00 / 00
76.8
5
Blue Velvet (1986)
AA Best Director NomDennis Hopper
8.60
28.8
28.80
72
81
01 / 00
76.6
7
Wild at Heart (1990)
Nicolas Cage &
Laura Dern14.60
43.0
43.00
85
65
01 / 00
64.3
8
Inland Empire (2006)
DirectorJeremy Irons &
Laura Dern0.90
1.6
1.60
236
75
00 / 00
59.5
9
Lucky (2018)
DirectorHarry Dean Stanton
0.10
0.1
0.10
373
74
00 / 00
57.1
10
Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces (2014)
David Bowie
0.10
0.1
0.10
299
73
00 / 00
56.1
11
Lost Highway (1997)
DirectorBill Pullman &
Patricia Arquette3.70
10.0
10.10
149
69
00 / 00
55.1
12
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992)
Sheryl Lee &
Ray Wise4.20
12.5
12.50
128
51
00 / 00
20.3
David Lynch’s 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 |
| Mulholland Drive (2001) AA Best Director Nom |
Naomi Watts | 44.50 | |
| Lost Highway (1997) Director |
Bill Pullman & Patricia Arquette |
10.10 |
Check out David Lynch’s career compared to current and classic actors. Most 100 Million Dollar Movies of All-Time
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I expected more films from David Lynch, not exactly prolific was he?
I’ve seen 6 of the 12 films on the chart. My top favorite is Dune (1984), which probably has the biggest fan base of his films and ironically the only film of his that he doesn’t want to talk about.
When I was young I was strangely addicted to Eraserhead, arguably the weirdest film ever made. I watched it many times in the early 80s. I also liked The Elephant Man which has topped the box office chart for Lynch. I’ve also seen Mulholland Drive, Wild at heart and Blue Velvet.
Good stuff Bruce. Vote Up!
Great UMR Page