Want to know the best Richard Donner movies? How about the worst Richard Donner movies? Curious about Richard Donner box office grosses or which Richard Donner movie picked up the most Oscar® nominations? Need to know which Richard Donner 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.
Richard Donner (1930-2021) was an American director. Born Richard Donald Schwartzberg, he wanted to be an actor but Martin Ritt convinced him to be a director instead. His IMDB page shows 82 directing credits from 1960 to 2006. This page will rank Richard Donner movies from Best to Worst in six different sortable columns of information. Television shows, shorts, cameos, uncredited roles, and movies that were not released in North American were not included in the rankings.
Richard Donner 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 | Superman II (1980) |  |
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| 1978 | Superman (1978) | |
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| 1987 | Lethal Weapon (1987) |  |
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| 1976 | The Omen (1976) | |
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| 1989 | Lethal Weapon 2 (1989) | |
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| 1985 | The Goonies (1985) | |
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| 1994 | Maverick (1994) | |
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| 1997 | Conspiracy Theory (1997) | |
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| 1988 | Scrooged (1988) |  |
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| 1992 | Lethal Weapon 3 (1992) | |
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| 1998 | Lethal Weapon 4 (1998) | |
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| 1982 | The Toy (1982) | |
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| 1985 | Ladyhawke (1985) |  |
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| 2006 | 16 Blocks (2006) | |
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| 1980 | Inside Moves (1980) |  |
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| 1992 | Radio Flyer (1992) | |
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| 1968 | Salt and Pepper (1968) |  |
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| 1995 | Assassins (1995) |  |
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| 1970 | London Affair/Twinky (1970) |  |
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| 1961 | X-15 (1961) | |
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| 2003 | Timeline (2003) |  |
Richard Donner 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 any way you want.
- Sort Richard Donner movies by his co-stars
- Sort Richard Donner movies by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost (in millions)
- Sort Richard Donner movies by yearly domestic box office rank
- Sort Richard Donner 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 Richard Donner movie received.
- Sort Richard Donner movies by Ultimate Movie Rankings (UMR) Score. UMR 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 |
| 2 | Superman II (1980) | Gene Hackman & Christopher Reeve |
111.20 | 534.6 | 1,119.00 | 3 | 86 | 00 / 00 | 98.3 | |
| 1 | Superman (1978) | Marlon Brando & Christopher Reeve |
134.30 | 717.4 | 1,604.20 | 3 | 83 | 03 / 00 | 98.3 | |
| 6 | Lethal Weapon (1987) | Mel Gibson & Danny Glover |
65.20 | 208.5 | 384.30 | 10 | 78 | 01 / 00 | 97.0 | |
| 3 | The Omen (1976) | Gregory Peck & Lee Remick |
86.50 | 507.6 | 507.60 | 5 | 76 | 02 / 01 | 96.9 | |
| 4 | Lethal Weapon 2 (1989) | Mel Gibson & Danny Glover |
147.30 | 463.6 | 717.40 | 4 | 76 | 01 / 00 | 96.6 | |
| 7 | The Goonies (1985) | Sean Astin & Josh Brolin |
61.40 | 216.2 | 218.70 | 9 | 75 | 00 / 00 | 95.9 | |
| 5 | Maverick (1994) | Mel Gibson & Jodie Foster |
101.60 | 311.4 | 560.80 | 12 | 71 | 01 / 00 | 95.2 | |
| 10 | Conspiracy Theory (1997) | Mel Gibson & Julia Roberts |
76.00 | 206.9 | 373.00 | 18 | 57 | 00 / 00 | 90.2 | |
| 11 | Scrooged (1988) | Bill Murray & Karen Allen |
60.30 | 183.5 | 183.50 | 13 | 59 | 01 / 00 | 89.3 | |
| 8 | Lethal Weapon 3 (1992) | Mel Gibson & Danny Glover |
144.70 | 435.9 | 969.10 | 4 | 54 | 00 / 00 | 89.0 | |
| 9 | Lethal Weapon 4 (1998) | Mel Gibson & Danny Glover |
130.40 | 347.7 | 760.80 | 10 | 53 | 00 / 00 | 88.6 | |
| 12 | The Toy (1982) | Richard Pryor & Jackie Gleason |
47.10 | 200.3 | 200.30 | 13 | 49 | 00 / 00 | 87.1 | |
| 13 | Ladyhawke (1985) | Matthew Broderick & Rutger Hauer |
18.40 | 64.9 | 64.90 | 49 | 70 | 02 / 00 | 77.6 | |
| 14 | 16 Blocks (2006) | Bruce Willis & Yasiin Bey |
36.90 | 70.1 | 124.70 | 83 | 64 | 00 / 00 | 73.2 | |
| 15 | Inside Moves (1980) | John Savage & David Morse |
2.30 | 11.2 | 11.20 | 131 | 77 | 01 / 00 | 67.7 | |
| 16 | Radio Flyer (1992) | Ben Johnson & Tom Hanks |
4.70 | 14.0 | 14.00 | 126 | 69 | 00 / 00 | 55.9 | |
| 17 | Salt and Pepper (1968) | Sammy Davis, Jr. & Peter Lawford |
5.00 | 47.7 | 47.70 | 64 | 51 | 00 / 00 | 42.2 | |
| 18 | Assassins (1995) | Sylvester Stallone & Antonio Banderas |
30.30 | 87.1 | 239.40 | 60 | 34 | 00 / 00 | 33.1 | |
| 19 | London Affair/Twinky (1970) | Charles Bronson | 1.30 | 10.3 | 10.30 | 136 | 51 | 00 / 00 | 19.2 | |
| 20 | X-15 (1961) | David McLean & Charles Bronson |
2.00 | 33.8 | 33.80 | 96 | 43 | 00 / 00 | 18.4 | |
| 21 | Timeline (2003) | Paul Walker & Gerard Butler |
19.50 | 40.4 | 91.10 | 110 | 33 | 00 / 00 | 8.1 |
Check out Richard Donner’s career compared to current and classic actors. Most 100 Million Dollar Movies of All-Time.
Hey Bob and Flora….we have been much more lenient about cameos as time has passed….as for Glenn Ford in Superman 2…that one was the result of WoC and an update she did many months ago….not sure I agree with all the additions that update created…..but it was computers talking to computers and it lists any movie a thespian appeared in….so they have stayed. Good information as always from Bob.
HI FLORA:
“Book of Exodus 8:32 The Bible: And Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time also, neither would he let the people of Moses go.”
I have at times argued with The Work Horse until the cows come home about the sizes of roles that deserve to be given credit or part thereof for the grosses of movies in his tables but like Pharaoh in the Bible he has hardened his heart and is unmove by my arguments.
It seem though that W o C as the saying goes just has to command “Jump!” and Brucie quickly meekly asks “How high dear?”
Nice to hear from you again directly Flora and I am glad that you are continuing to let us have the benefit of your thoughtful and informative posts – and winning your fair share of the movies “Have Seen” competitions! Please keep safe.
Good job Scotty (SoC2)…..doing stuff like putting this page together might get you in the UMR Hall of Fame. Thanks for putting this together…you did an awesome job.
RIP Richard Donner, the director of some of my all time favorite movies.
I’ve seen 14 of the 21 films on the chart, favorites are – Superman the Movie, Superman II, The Lethal Weapon series, Ladyhawke and The Omen.
Good to see Superman topping the charts, still the best superhero movie of them all.
Nice work Bruce. Vote Up!
Hey Steve…thanks for checking out our Richard Donner tribute page. This page was published under the eye of my 2nd son….such a proud day. I have seen 17 of his movies…..missing his first three movies and Inside Moves (which I have seen bits and pieces). Seen all of your favorites. I will have to watch his Superman 2 in the near future….pretty sure that one has a commentary….it would be cool to hear his version of that situation. As a kid I always got Richard Donner and Richard Lester mixed. When Lester replaced Donner on Superman 2 it only made it worse. I will have to do a page Lester….he is alive but pushing 90. Superman is indeed one of the best superhero movies. Good stuff as always. Rest in Peace Mr. Donner.
Thank you Scot SoC 2 for making this memorial page on Richard Donner.
I am most familiar with Donner’s directing 6 episodes of the classic TV series The Twilight Zone, including the classic episode Nightmare At 20,000 Feet starring William Shatner.
I have seen 5 Richard Donner movies, although none of them are Superman. I will get to that eventually as Glenn Ford is in it.
Favourite Richard Donner Films:
Maverick
Scrooged
Lethal Weapon
Lethal Weapon 2
I have also seen The Omen because Gregory Peck was in it, but it is not my type of film.
Rest in peace
Hey Flora. Thanks for the headsup on his passing…and thanks for noticing that Scotty did the work in getting this page up and running. Tally count…17 for me, 14 for Steve and 5 for you. I actually 7 of his movies in theaters…including his most recent 16 Blocks….which is a Bruce Willis movie that I did not like, but WoC did. Not thinking that has happened too many times when we are talking about a Bruce Willis movie. I have seen all of your favorites. I think you might enjoy Superman….your Glenn Ford is pretty good in a supporting role…..and it is a Brando/Ford reunion. I would have guessed The Omen, even with Peck, would not make your favorites list. Good stuff. RIP Richard Donner.
FLORA:
Glenn also has a cameo in Superman 2 but initially that mean ole Brucie was not going to give him credit for it until W o C intervened and twisted his arm.
So you will see from Glenn’s own Cogerson page that Glenn now gets credit for a whopping extra $400 million or thereabouts in his grosses.
Hey, Bob. Thanks for that extra trivia. I will keep that in mind. Sometimes Bruce does give credit for cameos, but that is often for movies like Around the World in 80 Days which is but for four people made up entirely of cameos.