Emma Thompson (1959-) is an Oscar®-wining British actress, screenwriter, activist and author. One of the most acclaimed actresses working today, she is known for her portrayals of enigmatic women, often in period dramas and literary adaptations. Her IMDb page shows 83 acting credits since 1983. This page will rank 43 Emma Thompson movies from Best to Worst in six different sortable columns of information. Television roles and movies not released in North American theaters were not included in the rankings. This UMR page comes from a request by bob cox.
Emma Thompson Movies Ranked In Chronological Order With Ultimate Movie Rankings Score (0 to 5 stars) *Best combo of box office, reviews and awards.
Emma Thompson 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 Emma Thompson movies by co-stars of her movies
- Sort Emma Thompson movies by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost (in millions)
- Sort Emma Thompson movies by yearly domestic box office rank
- Sort Emma Thompson movies by 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 Emma Thompson movie received.
- Sort Emma Thompson 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.
I saw 22 including 17 of top 19. tens not favorites: Howards end, remains of the day, in the name of the father, henry the fifth, sense and sensibility, much ado about nothing. 10 and favorite : saving mr banks. hidden gems: primary colors, pirate radio, stranger than fiction all 8s. several nines. she is one of the greats. 5 best picture nominations, 3 best actress nominations with 1 win, one best supporting actress nom. thanks cogerson. yea UMR, Yea cogerson, yea Emma.
Hey bob cox
1. Glad you found and commented on your requested Emma Thompson page.
2. Tally counts: Cogerson 31,bob cox 22,Steve 12, PhilHoF17 10 and Flora 6. So currently you have the silver medal.
3. 17 of the Top 19 is a very impressive 89% rate.
4. I like the favorites you listed…but they are not my favorites.
5. I did enjoy Saving Mr. Banks (WoC got me to the theater for that one), Pirate Radio and Stranger Than Fiction (one of Ferrell’s better roles).
6. No Love Actually for you? Or did you not like that one?
Good feedback as always.
cogerson, my UMR comments are not comprehensive. I have about 500 movies I have liked on letterboxd , these are my favorites. I have about 400 movies I ranked as 10s I consider these great movies whether favorites or not. I have about 500 I have ranked as 9s , these are nearly great , very good. I have about 600 I rank as 8s, I consider good movies well worth watching. I consider a seven to be okay to watch if no 8,9,10s available on a rainy day. : ^ ) . when I comment I am not comprehensive, I don’t share my ranking of each movie.
I enjoyed love actually. I cried all 3 times I watched it. I first ranked it a 9. on rewatch it went to an 8. on third viewing ,3 weeks ago, it went to a 7. I thought the martin freeman section was unnecessary and mostly in the movie for the nudity. I would not recommend except to adults who could enjoy that. 30% of love actually is a 10, 20% a 9, 30% an 8 , 20% a 2. overall a 7.6 and i rounded down.
my UMR comments don’t tell my whole story, just 10s , favorites, hidden gems that are movies usually with poor box office or low UMR score that I found worth recommending. often I downgrade a film due to something I object to or a morality I cannot recommend even if I enjoyed it 20 or 40 years ago. for my ratings i believe in censorship. now that i am over 40 i must be a conservative (LOL) as winston Churchill observed . “if you are not a liberal at 20 you have no heart. if you are not a conservative at 40 you have no brain.”
I agree Emma Thompson is a highly worthy addition to UMR and a page on her career was probably overdue. I remember that in the early 90s, after she made her international breakthrough with Howards End, Thompson seemed to be one the most talented leading actresses around. She became somewhat less active in the 2000s, taking on smaller roles, apparently in order to focus on being a mother. While this was unfortunate for movie audiences, it’s comforting to see a movie star putting family above fame and glamour 🙂
Anyway, I have seen 10 of the movies listed, and my favorites are In the Name of the Father, Remains of the Day, Sense and Sensibility and Pirate Radio (Aka The Boat that Rocked). Also enjoyed Much Ado About Nothing, Primary Colors. I like the Harry Potters, but never been a great fan though not surprisingly my kids love them.
By the way Bruce, I finally got a hold of your book and enjoyed reading it. Congrats! I wanted to leave you some comments on it, but I can’t find the UMR page where the book was being commented on. Is it still somewhere?
Hey PhilHoF17
1. Thanks for the stopping by and checking out our Emma Thompson Page.
2. With us being right in the middle of Oscar time…..we have been trying to do pages on previous Oscar winners…especially the Best Actor and Best Actress Winners.
3. With Emma Thompson being done….we are down to 17….though it is actually 16 as Glenda Jackson represents to of those 17.
4. The curse of 39 got Emma too…..as you are right after her epic period pieces The Remains of Howard’s End & Sensibility…she was probably one of the biggest stars working.
5. My favorite Emma Thompson movie is Love Actually…..there is a scene in that movie….that is about 2 minutes long….it is just her in a room by herself….no dialogue…..just non verbal acting….it always blows me away when I see that movie and “her” scene.
6. Tally count of 10…..mmmmm….I have seen 31 of her movies….did not know I was such a huge fan of hers.
7. Of your favorites….I also enjoyed Pirate Radio and Primary Colors. I am in the same boat as you on Harry Potter….I have seen them….they are good movies….but I hardly love them like my daughters do….my oldest is a huge HP fan….and still (she is 24) dresses up as Hermione Granger for Halloween every year.
8. Thanks for buying the book…..at the time we finished it….we were real happy with it….now as time has passed…..not so pleased about it….but thank you for buying it…..it is greatly appreciated. FYI….working on an actually book version of it….it should be way better.
9. Here is the link….https://www.ultimatemovierankings.com/top-50-movie-stars-our-first-umr-book/
10. Good feedback as always.
Bruce,
Thanks for the feedback and providing the link to the book page – I just posted my comment there a few minutes ago.
I’m aware my tally counts are nothing to write home about, but hey, I do what I can 🙂
Still have not seen Love Actually, though I’ve actually heard many good things about it, so will do so soon.
Highly recommend Love Actually…..it tells….counting…..at least 9 different stories….most are lots of fun…..with the Hugh Grant, Colin Firth, Liam Neeson, Keira Knightly, Bill Nighy and Emma Thompson ones being the best. You could fast forward through the Martin Freeman, Laura Linney and Kris Marshall stories. Marshall is about the only actor in the movie that I am not too aware of. Added bonus…..you get Rowan Atkinson as a guardian angel (at least that is what he was in the original script). Can you tell, I am really a fan of that movie?
I have seen 6 Emma Thompson movies.
HIGHEST rated film I have seen: Sense and Sensibility
Highest rated film I have NOT seen: Harry Potter
LOWEST rated film I have seen: A Walk in the Woods
Favourite Emma Thompson Movies:
Sense and Sensibility
The Remains of the Day
Love Actually
Howard’s End
A Walk In The Woods
Only Emma Thompson Film Not A Favourite:
Much Ado About Nothing
Hey Flora. Thanks for stopping by. Tally count: Cogerson 31, Steve 12, PhilHoF17 10 and you 6. Your totals are not too far off Steve and Phil’s. So you have successfully avoided the Harry Potter movies…..that did not happen in our house. I think I saw 6 of the 8 in theaters…including 3 or 4 at midnight showings. DoC1 loved and loves those movies. They lasted so long….that Katie started watching the movies with me….but by the time the last two came out…she was driving…and seeing the movies with friends and leaving me behind…sniff, sniff.
As for your favorites…I like them all. With Love Actually (all-time favorite) and A Walk In The Woods being my favorites too. I am right there with you on Much Ado About Nothing….Shakespeare and Williams, two famous authors who do nothing for me when their work reaches the big screen.
Good feedback!
Let’s see I’ve seen 12 of the 43 films on the chart. Favorites are – the Harry Potter movies, Brave, Treasure Planet and Men in Black 3.
Weird, I still haven’t seen Beauty and the Beast and I bought it in 2017.
Thomspon was wasted in the Harry Potter movies, her role and those stupid glasses didn’t amount to much.
It’s ages since I last watched Dead Again, Henry V and Much Ado About Nothing.
A good UMR subject Bruce. I should do a video on Thompson some time this year, along with the other Emma – Watson.
Hey Steve
1. Tally counts: Cogerson 31, Steve 12, PhilHoF17 10 and Flora 6. Wow…I did a Flora…as my tally is bigger than the combined total of the three of you. Proud proud day.
2. Treasure Planet is a fun movie….and looks awesome. DoC3 loves that movie.
3. Beauty and the Beast was fine….but I do not think you are missing much by not seeing it yet. We own it too….yet the kids have never (that I know of) watched it again. It is just collecting dust on the DVD shelf.
4. Henry V is a pretty good movie….it even has a young Christian Bale hanging around in that one.
5. I look forward to your upcoming Emma You Tube Videos.
Good stuff.
BRUCE When I first heard of Emma Thompson many years ago she seemed to be best known as the 1989 – 1995 the wife of Sir Kenneth Branagh whom she supported in a number of movies, but nowadays it is possible that she would be the more familiar one to moviegoers.
Certainly her recognition as a performer in quantity measurements by far outstrips those of Sir Kenneth and she has also accumulated more wealth [marginally] than he. The relevant stats are-
BRANAGH: 31 acting awards and 63 noms. Net worth $60 million.
THOMPSON: 62 awards and 107 nominations. Net worth $64 million.
Also Emma has now received “Cogerson love” whereas Sir Kenneth has not to date been so lucky. Another measure of the prestige which Dame Emma has is that Box Office & Acting Giant Tom Hanks accepted 2nd billing to her in Saving Mr Banks. Anyway this Great Brit actress well deserves her Cogerson page so a “Vote Up” from me.
I see STEVE that another Great Brit, Olivia Colman, has just won a Golden Globe for “The Favourite” and is 2nd favourite at least with Brit bookies for an Oscar for that movie after Glenn Close. I saw it on Monday night at the local Arthouse and although there was so much bad language in it that you’d have thought the entire cast had spent too much time in John McClane’s company I was fascinated by the movie & think Olivia deserves her Globe and her Oscar nomination.
After all English actresses are nowadays not all the “blousing English roses” that they once were in movies. Going back to Dame Emma for example I saw a recent extract from one of her movies in which she jumped out on some startled guy and beseeched him “Fill me full of babies!” Anyway are a “Dame” Olivia and “Cogerson/Lensman love” also now on the cards?
Hey Bob…..good thoughts on Emma Thompson. I think we have the same memories of first getting to know Emma Thompson. She and Sir Kenny were a popular power couple for a little bit. I am sure some of his wealth went to her when he supposedly had a wandering eye and divorce became a major part of their vocabulary.
Sir Kenny…might get an UMR in the near future….though I have a grudge against him for making such a horrible remake of Sleuth. Thanks for the vote up. Interesting about The Favourtie and the profanity…I had not heard that before. I agree it seems to be between Colman and Close for the Oscar…though I still think Lady Gaga might get it at the end.
I think the next Dame to get a page will be one that has 7 Oscar nominations and 1 Oscar win…and has played a one letter character in one of the biggest movie franchises ever.
Good feedback as always.
HI BRUCE
Thanks for your feedback to my Emma Thompson and other recent posts. I look forward to your next “Dame with 7 Oscar nominations/1 win.” Take care