Want to know the best William Shatner movies? How about the worst William Shatner movies? Curious about William Shatner box office grosses or which William Shatner movie picked up the most Oscar® nominations? Need to know which William Shatner 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.
William Shatner (1931-) is a Canadian actor, director, writer and producer. Shatner became a cultural icon for his portrayal of Captain James T. Kirk of the USS Enterprise in the Star Trek franchise. He has been appearing in movies for over 60 years. Shatner’s IMDb page shows over 240 acting credits since 1951. This page will rank William Shatner 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 and a handful of his movies that we could not find box office on, were not included in the rankings.
Drivel part of page…Cogerson folklore: UMR Hall of Famer Bern1960 also known as MoC (Mom of Cogerson) has always suspected that she and William Shatner went on a few dates. They were both young and both lived in the Notre-Dame-de-Grace (NDG) section of Montreal, Quebec. Shatner was known as “Billy” back then and went to the same high school as her brother (the late Ken Peladeau). Bern1960 told me that she had just written a letter to Shatner and mentioned this website in the letter. I realized that I should probably do a page on Billy….just in case he checked out the website after reading her letter.
William Shatner Movies Ranked In Chronological Order With Ultimate Movie Rankings Score (1 to 5 UMR Tickets) *Best combo of box office, reviews and awards.
William Shatner 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 William Shatner movies by his co-stars
- Sort William Shatner movies by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost.
- Sort William Shatner movies by yearly domestic box office rank
- Sort William Shatner 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 William Shatner movie received.
- Sort William Shatner 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.
Best IMDb Trivia on William Shatner
1. Shortly after the original Star Trek (1966) series was canceled, his wife Gloria Rand left him and took a lot of money with her. With very little money and his acting prospects low, he lived in a pick-up truck camper until continually acting in bit parts led into higher-paying roles.
2. His clipped, dramatic delivery of his lines, peppered with dramatic pauses, is often referred to as “Shatnerian”.
3. According to Debra Hill, a Halloween mask in Shatner’s likeness was painted white and used as the mask of Michael Myers in the original Halloween (1978).
4. His favorite Star Trek (1966) episode is Star Trek: The Devil in the Dark (1967).
Happy 90th birthday!
Happy 89th birthday, William Shatner!
Happy Birthday Captain Kirk.
HI BRUCE: Thanks for the feedback.I think that like for example (1) Brando because he has been at least PERCEIVED to have changed American acting and because he was in real life a rather weird character who therefore attracted a lot of publicity (2) Monroe because she became a ‘sex goddess’ (3) The Duke who, rightly or wrongly many saw as epitomizing what an American SHOULD be (4) Dean maybe because he died tragically and prematurely Bill Shatner has transcended the normal confides of entertainment stardom.
In Shatner’s case I believe that is so because 1/millions of Trekkies turned him into a cult figure and thus he and Captain Kirk have been immortalized 2/Bill is a larger than life character on and off screen whose often eccentric actions are deliciously entertaining.
For example he made a recording of the Beatles’ song Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds and it was so bad that disc jockeys still can’t make up their minds if he was sending up the song and listeners or whether he was genuine but was some guy who wrongly thought he could sing. [Rudolph Valentino was under that delusion and made a recording of the classical Kashmiri Song, a personal favourite of Rudy’s, which he sang so badly it has to be heard to be believed.]
Personally I have always suspected that Canuck William often enjoyed pulling our leg and for two of his riveting tongue-in-cheek performances watch, if you ever get the chance, his two episodes in the Columbo TV series: Butterflies in Shades of Grey and Fade in to Murder. Great entertainment value! Also he guest-compered a TV quiz show over here and was exceptionally witty and hilarious. He brought the house down as the saying goes.
Hey Bob…..good additional thoughts on William Shatner. I agree…..I think enjoys pulling our leg with some of his performances. For years he was a spokesman for Priceline. Those spots back up your thinking on him. I will have to check some of his guest performances on Columbo. I have heard his version of Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds…it least it is interesting.
Completely off subject…..but I think interesting. Peter Wolf, a rock and roll singer of the J. Giels Band) was married to Faye Dunaway. I always knew that…but never did any extra research on that….I figured they were married in the late 60s before she became big. To my surprise I realize they were married from 1974 – 1978 (probably the pinnacle of her career). Any way…I watched her You Tube Oscar Win…and saw there was Peter Wolf in sunglasses sitting beside her when they called her name. Anyway…I thought it was interesting. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePkEsHmwCZE
Hey Bob…some of the Shatner Priceline commercials…three feature Leonard Nimoy..all about 30 seconds long
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JE4tWeK4m-c
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKzNNOU5lLw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Yig8HJzZLM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJ3TPgJ6T3I
HI BRUCE
Thanks for the further feedback including the Priceline information and the multi-links.
Interesting Peter Wolf story. It seems possible that their relationship was another ‘Gimme Mores’ one: Pete was Mr Faye Dunaway and kept to the background of their marriage.
And there IS a Dan like link to your story and our discussions about Shatner . Faye, like William, was the guest villain in a Columbo episode: 1993’s It’s All in the Game. She and Falk made good chemistry together and IMDB gives the episode a 79% rating.
Glad I’ve found somebody else who has heard Bill’s Lucy in the Sky. However if you ever hear Rudy’s Kashmiri Song you’ll think that by contrast Shatner had the singing genius of Caruso.
Hey Bob….loved his priceline commercials…especially the Nimoy ones. I like the Columbo trivia. Interesting about the Kashmiri Song. Good stuff.
William Shatner, the only person ever to appear in a film in the Esperanto language (a made up universal language), Incubus back in 1966. You can actually download a dictionary for it. It was pretty bad. Bill when he’s not price chopping is # 427 on the current Oracle of Bacon Top 1000 C enter of the Hollywood Universe list. Here’s the other actors on the list he has appeared with.
3 CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)
5 MICHAEL CAINE Miss Congeniality (2000)
11 SAMUEL L. JACKSON Loaded Weapon 1 (1993)
11 SAMUEL L. JACKSON Quantum Quest: A Cassini Space Odyssey (2010)
14 ERNEST BORGNINE The Devil’s Rain (1975)
25 MALCOLM MCDOWELL Star Trek: Generations (1994)
27 FRANK WELKER Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984)
46 KEITH DAVID RANGE 15 (2016)
66 BRUCE WILLIS Loaded Weapon 1 (1993)
66 BRUCE WILLIS Over the Hedge (2006)
68 CHRISTOPHER LLOYD Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984)
72 KIEFER SUTHERLAND The Wild (2006)
76 RON PERLMAN THE STEAM ENGINES OF OZ (2018)
77 CANDICE BERGEN Miss Congeniality (2000)
86 DANNY TREJO RANGE 15 (2016)
94 PAUL NEWMAN The Outrage (1964)
95 JAMES EARL JONES Quantum Quest: A Cassini Space Odyssey (2010)
102 RIP TORN Airplane II: The Sequel (1982)
102 RIP TORN Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (2004)
127 BURT LANCASTER Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)
128 DAVID WARNER Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989)
128 DAVID WARNER Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)
143 F. MURRAY ABRAHAM Loaded Weapon 1 (1993)
148 WHOOPI GOLDBERG Loaded Weapon 1 (1993)
148 WHOOPI GOLDBERG Star Trek: Generations (1994)
176 STEPHEN TOBOLOWSKY Miss Congeniality 2: Armed & Fabulous (2005)
195 NICK NOLTE Over the Hedge (2006)
199 BILL MURRAY Osmosis Jones (2001)
227 KEENAN WYNN The Devil’s Rain (1975)
231 TREAT WILLIAMS Miss Congeniality 2: Armed & Fabulous (2005)
242 AVA GARDNER The Kidnapping of the President (1980)
243 HAL HOLBROOK The Kidnapping of the President (1980)
250 JOHN VERNON Airplane II: The Sequel (1982)
271 CHRISTOPHER LAMBERT Loaded Weapon 1 (1993)
273 CLAIRE BLOOM The Brothers Karamazov (1958)
273 CLAIRE BLOOM The Outrage (1964)
293 ALLISON JANNEY OVER THE HEDGE (2006)
296 MAXIMILIAN SCHELL Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)
310 TOM KENNY Quantum Quest: A Cassini Space Odyssey (2010)
323 STEPHEN ROOT Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (2004)
333 CHRISTIAN SLATER Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)
342 EDDIE ALBERT The Devil’s Rain (1975)
372 BEAU BRIDGES The Explosive Generation (1961)
385 LAURENCE FISHBURNE Osmosis Jones (2001)
387 LIN SHAYE Loaded Weapon 1 (1993)
391 LLOYD BRIDGES Airplane II: The Sequel (1982)
399 JOHN TRAVOLTA The Devil’s Rain (1975)
400 KIM CATTRALL Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)
405 ERNIE HUDSON Miss Congeniality (2000)
405 ERNIE HUDSON Miss Congeniality 2: Armed & Fabulous (2005)
410 WOODY STRODE Kingdom of the Spiders (1977)
412 DAVID PAYMER Airplane II: The Sequel (1982)
413 RANCE HOWARD Land of the Free (1998)
420 PATRICK STEWART Star Trek: Generations (1994)
428 RICHARD WIDMARK Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)
449 CHARLES NAPIER Loaded Weapon 1 (1993)
463 TOM SKERRITT Big Bad Mama (1974)
463 TOM SKERRITT The Devil’s Rain (1975)
464 BEN STILLER DODGEBALL: A TRUE UNDERDOG STORY (2004)
467 PAUL FIX The Outrage (1964)
471 PETER GRAVES Airplane II: The Sequel (1982)
476 YUL BRYNNER The Brothers Karamazov (1958)
486 MARK HAMILL Quantum Quest: A Cassini Space Odyssey (2010)
489 DICK MILLER Big Bad Mama (1974)
490 DALE DYE RANGE 15 (2016)
497 CHARLIE SHEEN Loaded Weapon 1 (1993)
498 MAURY CHAYKIN The Kidnapping of the President (1980)
521 ROYAL DANO Big Bad Mama (1974)
543 ANGIE DICKINSON Big Bad Mama (1974)
565 TIM CURRY Loaded Weapon 1 (1993)
570 CLIFF ROBERTSON Falcon Down (2000)
583 GEORGE TAKEI STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN (1982)
583 GEORGE TAKEI STAR TREK III: THE SEARCH FOR SPOCK (1984)
583 GEORGE TAKEI STAR TREK IV: THE VOYAGE HOME (1986)
583 GEORGE TAKEI STAR TREK V: THE FINAL FRONTIER (1989)
583 GEORGE TAKEI STAR TREK VI: THE UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY (1991)
583 GEORGE TAKEI STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE (1979)
596 JON LOVITZ LOADED WEAPON 1 (1993)
620 HANK AZARIA DODGEBALL: A TRUE UNDERDOG STORY (2004)
637 VINCE VAUGHN Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (2004)
670 J.T. WALSH Loaded Weapon 1 (1993)
708 JOHN DEHNER Airplane II: The Sequel (1982)
772 SALLY KIRKLAND Big Bad Mama (1974)
778 SANDRA BULLOCK Miss Congeniality (2000)
778 SANDRA BULLOCK Miss Congeniality 2: Armed & Fabulous (2005)
782 EDWARD G. ROBINSON The Outrage (1964)
790 WILLIAM MORGAN SHEPPARD Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)
800 KEVIN MICHAEL RICHARDSON THE WILD (2006)
808 RICHARD JAECKEL Airplane II: The Sequel (1982)
816 PAUL WINFIELD Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
821 LAURENCE HARVEY The Outrage (1964)
823 DENISE RICHARDS LOADED WEAPON 1 (1993)
848 DONALD MOFFAT Land of No Return (1978)
871 MICHAEL IRONSIDE Visiting Hours (1982)
883 MARIA SCHELL The Brothers Karamazov (1958)
891 RENE AUBERJONOIS Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)
906 DENIS LEARY LOADED WEAPON 1 (1993)
952 SANDRA OH Quantum Quest: A Cassini Space Odyssey (2010)
963 CARLOS ALAZRAQI OSMOSIS JONES (2001)
966 JIM BACKUS Operation Bikini (1963)
975 LEE GRANT Visiting Hours (1982)
979 CHRIS ROCK Osmosis Jones (2001)
992 VITO SCOTTI Loaded Weapon 1 (1993)
992 VITO SCOTTI The Explosive Generation (1961)
995 RICHARD KIND The Wild (2006)
HM (1000) GLENN MORSHOWER Star Trek: Generations (1994)
HM (974) KURTWOOD SMITH Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)
Bill was also on 2 episodes of the Boris Karloff anthology series Thriller and one of them is the best episode I saw in that series (up there with the Gremlins on Twilight Zone).
Bill appeared with 16 Oscar winners in films.
ALLISON JANNEY OVER THE HEDGE (2006)
BURT LANCASTER Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)
CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)
CLIFF ROBERTSON Falcon Down (2000)
ERNEST BORGNINE The Devil’s Rain (1975)
F. MURRAY ABRAHAM Loaded Weapon 1 (1993)
LEE GRANT Visiting Hours (1982)
MAXIMILIAN SCHELL Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)
MICHAEL CAINE Miss Congeniality (2000)
OCTAVIA SPENCER Miss Congeniality 2: Armed & Fabulous (2005)
PAUL NEWMAN The Outrage (1964)
REGINA KING MISS CONGENIALITY 2: ARMED & FABULOUS (2005)
SANDRA BULLOCK Miss Congeniality (2000)
SPENCER TRACY Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)
WHOOPI GOLDBERG Loaded Weapon 1 (1993)
WHOOPI GOLDBERG Star Trek: Generations (1994)
YUL BRYNNER The Brothers Karamazov (1958)
Hey Dan. Good trivia list on William Shatner. I can only imagine how large the list would be if you were to include all of his television credits. It would probably be 5 to 6 times longer than these massive list. Good to know William is in the top 600 when looking at the Oracle list.
The trailer for Incubus looks pretty wild. That takes some courage…..make a movie in a language that is made up. Then again it probably helped him when trying to understand Klingon later in life….lol. I will have to check that Karloff epidode. He has one of the most famous Twilight Zone tv episodes too.
16 Oscar winning co-stars, and a quarter of them being from one movie…Judgement at Nuremberg. Looks like that is easily his most prestigious movie role. Good stuff as always.
HI BRUCE William Shatner may be best known to many people as a television performer via T J Hooker [1982-86] Boston Legal [2004-2008] and of course the Star Trek series [1966-69]. In his role as the now legendary Captain Kirk, Shatner famously kissed actress Nichelle Nichols (Lt. Uhura) in the November 22, 1968, Star Trek episode, “Plato’s Stepchildren”. The episode is popularly cited as the first example of a kiss between a white man and a black woman on scripted television in the United States.
Shatner is in fact one of my own very fave TV performers along with Dick Van Dyke, Peter Falk David Suchet and of course the ‘other Brucie’ [Forsyth] about whom I wrote to you recently. I was able to enjoy Falk and Shatner working together in 2 episodes of Peter’s TV series Columbo: Fade in to Murder [1976] and Butterflies in Shade of Grey [1994]. Absolutely delicious!
However whilst I knew William had a movie career outside the Star Trek big screen franchise, I did not realize that it extended to the 35 movies that you have listed, my faves among which are Judgement at Nuremberg, Brother Karamazov and Showtime. Possibly other viewers will be surprised to find that he had any non Star Trek big screen career at all.
Shatner has been reported by some sources as having a net worth of $600 million. He vehemently denies that and complains since such rumours started circulating “Relatives have been coming out of the woodwork!” The debate about the matter apparently still seems to rage on, but Celebrity Net Worth puts the figure at a much more modest $100 million. He is credited by IMDB with 26 acting awards and 42 noms which include Golden Globes for supporting performances in Boston Legal: a win in 2005 and a nom in 2008. Also between 2005 and 2009 he won multi Prime Time Emmy “love” for that series – one win and 4 noms.
I was surprised to find that William is a Canuck, but then I suppose that I should be used by now to new revelations via Cogerson – bottom line probably a couple per week! Also these Canucks seem to pop up everywhere nowadays [though yet another surprise is that it can be used as a derogatory term in the US – darn it I’ll not be able to stop myself using it!] Anyway it will be no surprise from what I have said above that I give Bill Shatner’s new page a big “Vote Up!” Most welcome
Hey Bob. Great comment on Mr. Shatner. Without a doubt he is have a greater television career than a movie career. If there was a Hall of Fame for television performers he would be in there, maybe even first ballot. Using a baseball metaphor, he will be a quality player but far from being a star player when looking at his baseball career.
Another show he was pretty well known for here in the states was Rescue Me. Other than his Star Trek movies, he has not had a lead role in a movie for a very long time. At least one that was released in movie theaters. He’s 1960 leading roles we’re very low budget and barely seen. He Star Trek movies made him a household mean though, and he’s become a very dependable supporting actor in comedies.
Wow he is really were 600 million that is pretty impressive. I can see why he would want to deny that…..lol. So you did not know he was Canadian? That is not my case, as I have been hearing about his possibly dating my mother for decades. It would be awesome if he would either confirm or deny this family Cogerson legend….good stuff as always.