Neil Simon (1927-2018) was a 4-time Oscar®-nominated American playwright, screenwriter and author. He wrote more than 30 plays and nearly the same number of movie screenplays, mostly adaptations of his plays. He received more combined Oscar® and Tony® nominations than any other writer. His IMDb page shows 101 writing credits from 1948 to 1997. This page ranks 30 of his movies. His many televison credits were not included in the rankings. Sadly this page was done after learning of his passing. Rest in peace Neil Simon.
Neil Simon Movies Ranked By Combination of Box Office, Reviews and Awards (UMR Score) *Classic UMR Table (the one with all the stats is the second table)
Neil Simon 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 Neil Simon movies by co-stars of his movies.
- Sort Neil Simon movies by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost (in millions)
- Sort Neil Simon movies by yearly domestic box office rank
- Sort Neil Simon movies how they were received by critics and audiences. 60% rating or higher should indicate a good movie.
- Sort by how many Oscar® nominations eachNeil Simon movie received and how many Oscar® wins each Neil Simon movie won.
- Sort Neil Simon 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 button 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 | The Goodbye Girl (1977) AA Best Picture Nom |
Richard Dreyfuss & Marsha Mason |
91.00 | 510.1 | 510.10 | 4 | 80 | 05 / 01 | 98.9 | |
| 2 | The Odd Couple (1968) | Jack Lemmon & Walter Matthau |
44.50 | 424.9 | 424.90 | 6 | 81 | 02 / 00 | 97.6 | |
| 4 | Barefoot in the Park (1967) | Robert Redford & Jane Fonda |
22.50 | 232.4 | 232.40 | 12 | 77 | 01 / 00 | 96.6 | |
| 3 | Murder by Death (1976) | Peter Sellers & Peter Falk |
57.90 | 339.7 | 339.70 | 9 | 75 | 00 / 00 | 96.1 | |
| 5 | Come Blow Your Horn (1963) | Frank Sinatra | 17.10 | 249.2 | 249.20 | 10 | 72 | 01 / 00 | 95.5 | |
| 6 | Seems Like Old Times (1980) | Chevy Chase & Goldie Hawn |
44.00 | 211.5 | 211.50 | 19 | 67 | 00 / 00 | 93.6 | |
| 7 | The Cheap Detective (1978) | Ann-Margret & Peter Falk |
43.30 | 231.5 | 231.50 | 12 | 61 | 00 / 00 | 91.7 | |
| 8 | The Sunshine Boys (1975) | Walter Matthau & George Burns |
21.80 | 133.0 | 133.00 | 31 | 76 | 04 / 01 | 91.0 | |
| 9 | California Suite (1978) | Michael Caine & Richard Pryor |
42.90 | 229.2 | 229.20 | 13 | 55 | 03 / 01 | 90.8 | |
| 10 | The Out of Towners (1970) | Jack Lemmon | 21.90 | 176.7 | 176.70 | 16 | 62 | 00 / 00 | 89.2 | |
| 13 | Chapter Two (1979) | James Caan & Marsha Mason |
40.10 | 199.9 | 199.90 | 21 | 49 | 01 / 00 | 87.4 | |
| 11 | Biloxi Blues (1988) | Matthew Broderick & Christopher Walken |
43.20 | 131.3 | 157.20 | 23 | 68 | 00 / 00 | 86.6 | |
| 12 | The Heartbreak Kid (1972) | Charles Grodin & Eddie Albert |
16.80 | 123.2 | 123.20 | 25 | 69 | 00 / 00 | 85.4 | |
| 14 | Only When I Laugh (1981) | Marsha Mason & Kevin Bacon |
25.50 | 114.8 | 114.80 | 34 | 65 | 03 / 00 | 83.7 | |
| 15 | Plaza Suite (1971) | Walter Matthau & Barbara Harris |
12.10 | 91.8 | 91.80 | 29 | 62 | 00 / 00 | 76.9 | |
| 16 | Max Dugan Returns (1983) | Donald Sutherland & Matthew Broderick |
17.60 | 69.9 | 69.90 | 40 | 68 | 00 / 00 | 75.8 | |
| 17 | After The Fox (1966) | Peter Sellers & Victor Mature |
5.70 | 65.3 | 65.30 | 50 | 66 | 00 / 00 | 73.2 | |
| 19 | Brighton Beach Memoirs (1986) | Blythe Danner | 12.00 | 40.3 | 40.30 | 65 | 69 | 00 / 00 | 67.4 | |
| 18 | Sweet Charity (1969) | Shirley MacLaine & Ricardo Montalban |
3.10 | 27.7 | 27.70 | 69 | 69 | 03 / 00 | 66.4 | |
| 20 | The Prisoner of Second Avenue (1975) | Jack Lemmon & Anne Bancroft |
7.30 | 44.3 | 44.30 | 54 | 66 | 00 / 00 | 65.3 | |
| 21 | Lost in Yonkers (1993) | Richard Dreyfuss | 9.30 | 28.0 | 28.00 | 114 | 69 | 00 / 00 | 62.7 | |
| 22 | The Heartbreak Kid (2007) | Ben Stiller & Michelle Monaghan |
36.80 | 66.8 | 232.10 | 73 | 51 | 00 / 00 | 54.7 | |
| 22 | I Ought to Be in Pictures (1982) | Walter Matthau & Ann-Margret |
7.00 | 29.6 | 29.60 | 74 | 61 | 00 / 00 | 50.4 | |
| 24 | The Odd Couple II (1998) | Jack Lemmon & Walter Matthau |
18.90 | 50.4 | 50.40 | 86 | 53 | 00 / 00 | 47.7 | |
| 25 | Last of the Red Hot Lovers (1972) | Alan Arkin | 2.60 | 18.9 | 18.90 | 106 | 59 | 00 / 00 | 39.8 | |
| 26 | Star Spangled Girl (1971) | Sandy Duncan | 3.90 | 29.8 | 29.80 | 72 | 53 | 00 / 00 | 33.6 | |
| 27 | The Lonely Guy (1984) | Steve Martin & Charles Grodin |
5.70 | 21.3 | 21.30 | 104 | 54 | 00 / 00 | 31.5 | |
| 28 | The Out-of-Towners (1999) | Steve Martin & Goldie Hawn |
28.50 | 70.5 | 70.50 | 71 | 38 | 00 / 00 | 30.2 | |
| 29 | The Marrying Man (1991) | Alec Baldwin & Kim Basinger |
12.50 | 37.0 | 37.00 | 86 | 46 | 00 / 00 | 25.7 | |
| 30 | The Slugger's Wife (1985) | Baseball Movies & Michael O'Keefe |
1.90 | 6.6 | 6.60 | 145 | 26 | 00 / 00 | 0.6 |
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HI BRUCE
Neil Simon has brought much joy into our lives as other posts about his sad passing illustrate. Though happily at 91 he had a good innings. Good still of yours that has Neil with the 2 stars who probably most heightened his fame, Walt and Jack. I’d love to have been a fly on the wall when those 3 got together. The fun must have been teriffic. I thought that in your still Neil looked a bit like William Hurt.
Obviously most people will immediately think of his out- and out comedies such as naturally The Odd Couple but some of his lesser attended vehicles were OK as well and combined comedy with astute social commentary such as The Prisoner of 2nd Avenue which I saw recently, which the table above shows didn’t do well at the box office, but which you have given a reasonable rating of 66% [68% on IMDB].
Some of the lines from his movies/plays will always remain in the memory of the film buff such as when in The Odd Couple Matthau gets tired of being tied down to Lemmon and says to Jack “Do you think that just for tonight we could get into the company of a couple of people whose voices have a higher register than our own?”
Nowadays when The Sunshine Boys is mentioned I think of you and Joel for some reason!
As you know normally I don’t have a lot of interest in listing the films that I have seen relating to a particular artist, but out of respect for the dead I’ll make an exception in Neil’s case and here are the 11 of his that I’ve seen.
Come Blow your Horn
Odd Couple
Odd Couple 2
Barefoot in Park
The Out of Towners – Lemmon version
The Goodbye Girl
The Hirschhorn Boys
Plaza Suite
Prisoner of 2nd Avenue
Murder by Death
California Suite
Hey Bob….wow…a tally count….be still my beating heart. Thank you for giving us that tally. Happy to say that I almost double your total….as I have seen 21 to your 11. Actually…yesterday I was at a thrift store buying some kids books for my classroom….when I of course had to check out their DVD collection….and there was Last Of The Red Hot Lovers sitting on the shelf….if I would have bought it…I could have gotten to 22….but in the end….I put it back.
I agree it would have been fun to be a fly on a wall…..especially when they made The Odd Couple 2…..I bet at that late stages of their lives they held little back. Of topic…..there is a wonderful chapter on Lemmon and Matthau in Kevin Pollock’s book…Sleeping My Way To The Middle (or something close to that)…..in that book he talks about how Jack and Walter shared a house while filming one of the Grumpy Old Men movies….and everybody would go to that house after filming was done each day…and that they would “hold court”. Worth checking out.
I well take being a Sunshine Boy with Joel…..sounds like Joel is starting to melt that frost between you two. I agree with your breakdown of his movies. As always…good feedback…thanks for sharing these movie thoughts.
HI BRUCE
Thanks for feedback to my Neil Simon post. As usual you give me some interesting extra information -this time about Jack and Walt maybe my all time fave comedy duo – well after Bill Powell and Little Asta!
I mentioned how Jack was being interviewed on TV and they brought Walt in by link and it was hilarious . The playful insults between the two flew fast and thick so that it reminded me of Steve and myself though disappointingly neither cracked a joke about the English!
I know how busy you are so I was actually more concerned that you didn’t give a priority to answering Flora’s post. I think that longevity should count for something and to me Flora to this site is like Rita Hayworth was to Columbia Pictures as Frank Sinatra proclaimed when he ceded top billing to Rita in Pal Joel – sorry Joey.
In the 1956’sThe Last Hunt Robert Taylor playing the bad guy for once froze to death in the snow at the end and this caused one critic to angrily proclaim “Shame on MGM for letting it’s longest remaining contract star die in such humiliating circumstances in the fade-outs!”
And that was just in a make believe movie – Flora is for real!
Thanks for the compliment, Bob! I love being compared to Rita Hayworth, even though I am a brunette. I remember well Frank Sinatra insisting that she be billed above him in Pal Joey, one of my favourite musicals.
Hey Flora…….Joan Crawford was a brunette…..so you can be like Crawford to MGM. She was a big part of their success in the 1930s.
Hey Bob…..I might take a few days to respond…but generally I get to most comments eventually…my rule of responding to ever comment might come to an end one day….but we are not currently at that point. I give Flora more credit than Hayworth to Columbia…..more like Joan to MGM in the early 1930s. Good stuff.
91 years old! We should be so lucky.
Looking at the chart I’ve seen 5 of the 30 films listed, more than I thought.
The Odd Couple
Murder By Death
Biloxi Blues
Barefoot in the Park
California Suite (and only because Richard Pryor was in it)
I was a bit of a Richard Pryor fan back in the late 70s early 80s. Have you done a page on Pryor yet chief? [Bruce snarls]
Murder By Death is my favorite of that little lot and it’s been a while since I last watched it. I don’t think I’ve seen The Cheap Detective, might go well on a double bill with Murder By Death.
The Goodbye Girl was Neil Simon’s most successful movie in the Americas in adjusted dollars, knocking The Odd Couple to the no.2 spot. 1977 was Richard Dreyfuss’s peak year, the hugely successful Close Encounters was also out that year and he won an Oscar, Globe and BAFTA for Goodbye Girl.
A nice tribute to Neil Simon Bruce. Vote Up!
Hey Steve. I agree…we should all be so lucky. Growing up Neil Simon was a big name in my circles…seems like every Simon movie was a massive hit and starred people that I really liked…Michael Caine, James Caan, Walter Matthau, Jack Lemmon, Richard Dreyfuss and Chevy Chase…just to name a few.
I remember the ads for California Suite….and “your” Richard Pryor was really featured in those ads. Pryor was at his peak when California Suite got released….but that is far from the best showcase of his incredible talents.
I have seen 21 of his movies, Flora is at 12. Your 5 is currently in last……I am actually surprised your tally is that low.
Of ones you missed that are actually pretty good? The first The Heartbreak Kid has some very funny moments…way better than the Stiller remake. The Goodbye Girl has Dreyfuss’ Oscar winning role….but it has been years since I saw it so it might have aged badly. Seems Like Old Times actually has a good Chevy Chase performance….he has all the best lines in the movie. And Max Dugan Returns is a pretty fun movie to watch.
Thanks for the feedback.
My first time on stage was a small part in a Neil Simon play. I only three lines but will forever remember the laughter me and those lines got. Thank you Neil Simon
Hey Pauly…..thanks for sharing this awesome memory of you being in a Neil Simon play. Glad it went so well and glad you cherish that memory. Rest in peace Neil Simon.
Simon provided decades of laughter for the stage, movies and television. He will be missed.
Hey Lawrence….good thoughts on Neil Simon….I agree with you 100%. RIP Mr. Neil Simon.
Thanks for doing this UMR tribute page on Neil Simon.
I have seen 12 Neil Simon movies. That includes 9 of the top 10. The movie I have watched the most often is The Odd Couple
The highest rated movie I have seen is The Goodbye Girl at number 1.
The highest rated film I have NOT seen is Seems Like Old Times at number 6.
The lowest rated film I have seen is The Prisoner of Second Avenue.
Favourite Neil Simon movies are:
The Odd Couple
The Cheap Detective
Murder By Death
Barefoot in the Park
Sweet Charity
Come Blow Your Horn
Hey Flora…..I was able to generate this page pretty quickly…as every single one of these movies was in the database already. I have seen 21 of his movies. I have seen 13 of his Top 15 movies…only missing The Cheap Detective and Only When I Laugh. Seems Like Old Times, which re-unites Goldie Hawn and Chevy Chase has actually aged better than their more well known Foul Play. I do not think you are missing much by missing The Prisoner of Second Avenue. One of the few non-likeable Jack Lemmon characters….it least in my eyes. Thanks again for the headsup on Mr. Simon. Kind words to his family, friends and fans. RIP.
I think you misread my comment. I HAVE seen The Prisoner of Second Avenue. It was the lowest rated Simon film I have seen. I agree Lemmon’s character is unlikable in that one.