Every Steven Spielberg Film Ranked from Best to Worst

Largely considered the pioneer of the modern blockbuster, Steven Spielberg is one of the most successful film directors in cinema history – boasting three Academy Awards and a reign as the highest-grossing director of all time (though Christopher Nolan is closing the gap).

While Spielberg’s technical mastery is unquestioned, his films endure because of his deep exploration of family, resilience, childhood, and the unknown. Whether steering a gritty historical war epic or an intimate alien encounter, his ability to balance grand spectacle with human heart remains unmatched.

Spanning over five decades and 36 feature films – starting with 1971’s Duel – here is every Steven Spielberg movie, ranked from worst to best.

Every Steven Spielberg Movie, Ranked

36. 1941

Total	IMDb	Tomatometer	Popcornmeter	Letterboxd
48.5	5.7	37%	48%	2.6

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• Release Date: 13 December, 1979
• Cast: Dan Akroyd, Ned Beatty, John Belushi, John Candy, Christopher Lee

A Spielbergian war film with a decidedly different tone, 1941 is a comedy that follows an escalating series of events as the US Army Air Forces attempt to deal with increasing attacks on US soil by the Japanese Imperial Army. Strangely enough, when compared against Spielberg’s other work, the main thing letting 1941 down is its lack of its characters’ humanity.

35. The Lost World: Jurassic Park

Total	IMDb	Tomatometer	Popcornmeter	Letterboxd
59.75	6.6	57%	52%	3.2

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• Release Date: 19 May, 1997
• Cast: Jeff Goldblum, Julianne Moore, Pete Postlethwaite, Arliss Howard

A film that largely failed to live up to the standard set by its blockbuster younger brother, The Lost World is loosely based on a follow-up book that author Michael Crichton didn’t originally want to write – but public pressure for more dinosaurs, and some brainstorming with Spielberg, changed his mind. While the book and film aren’t exactly alike, they do share the message of ‘stop messing with the dinosaurs’, which as of last years’ Jurassic World: Rebirth still hasn’t been heeded.

34. Twilight Zone: The Movie

Total	IMDb	Tomatometer	Popcornmeter	Letterboxd
60	6.4	57%	55%	3.2

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• Release Date: 24 June, 1983
• Cast: Dan Akroyd, Albert Brooks, Scatman Crothers, John Lithgow, Vic Morrow, Kathleen Quinlan

Less a film Spielberg directed and more an anthology containing a segment created by the master filmmaker, Twilight Zone: The Movie was critically panned and largely failed to live up to the reputation of the 1960s-era science fiction classic it was based on. To be fair, Spielberg’s segment is one of the better ones.

33. Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Total	IMDb	Tomatometer	Popcornmeter	Letterboxd
62	6.2	77%	53%	2.8

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• Release Date: 18 May, 2008
• Cast: Harrison Ford, Cate Blanchett, Karen Allen, Ray Winstone, Shia LaBeouf, John Hurt, Jim Broadbent

The first Indiana Jones legacy sequel, The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull makes an effort to pass the baton from a world-weary Indy to a young greaser named Mutt who happens to be his son, while also integrating a story about the Soviet Union’s quest to find the remains of ancient aliens. As one can expect, it’s a bit of a mess.

32. The BFG

Total	IMDb	Tomatometer	Popcornmeter	Letterboxd
62.5	6.3	74%	57%	2.8

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• Release Date: 14 May, 2016
• Cast: Mark Rylance, Ruby Barnhill, Penelope Wilton, Jermaine Clement, Rebecca Hall, Rafe Spall, Bill Hader

One of only two animated films Spielberg has directed, The BFG retells the story of Roald Dahl’s 1982 children’s book of the same name, and focuses on a Big Friendly Giant and his friendship with a young girl. 

31. Hook

Total	IMDb	Tomatometer	Popcornmeter	Letterboxd
62.75	6.8	37%	76%	3.5

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• Release Date: 11 December, 1991
• Cast: Robin Williams, Dustin Hoffman, Julia Roberts, Bob Hoskins, Maggie Smith, Charlie Korsmo

A cult-classic film that played a key role in many millennials’ childhood, Hook explores what would happen if the boy-who-never-grows-up, Peter Pan, did indeed grow up. When an old enemy resurfaces, Peter must dive back into his childhood to regain his former glory, or lose his children forever. 

29. War of the Worlds

Total	IMDb	Tomatometer	Popcornmeter	Letterboxd
63	6.6	76%	42%	3.4

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• Release Date: 23 June, 2005
• Cast: Tom Cruise, Dakota Fanning, Justin Chatwin, Miranda Otto, Tim Robbins

Spielberg’s take on H.G. Well’s infamous 1898 novel, War of the Worlds follows an American dock worker as he attempts to find his lost family in an alien-invaded Earth. While most of Spielberg’s aliens are friendly, the creatures in this story are anything but – utilising giant mechanical tripods to eradicate most of humanity.

28. Always

Total	IMDb	Tomatometer	Popcornmeter	Letterboxd
63	6.4	72%	58%	2.9

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• Release Date: 22 December, 1989
• Cast: Richard Dreyfuss, Holly Hunter, John Goodman, Brad Johnson, Audrey Hepburn

Quite an odd film, Always follows the spirit of a deceased emergency pilot who plays cupid with his widowed girlfriend and her new beau – who also happens to be a pilot. It’s a story about love, moving on, and letting go, but is also a bit overly sentimental.

28. Disclosure Day

Total	IMDb	Tomatometer	Popcornmeter	Letterboxd
65	6.4	79%	57%	3.0

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• Release Date: 2 June, 2026
• Cast: Emily Blunt, Josh O’Connor, Colin Firth, Eve Hewson, Colman Domingo

Something of a spiritual sequel to 1977’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Disclosure Day is quite a bit less interesting or exciting than the original, though the new ideas it does have are executed with Spielberg’s typical level of skill. 

27. The Terminal

Total	IMDb	Tomatometer	Popcornmeter	Letterboxd
70.5	7.4	61%	73%	3.7

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• Release Date: 18 June, 2004
• Cast: Tom Hanks, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Stanley Tucci, Chi McBride, Diego Luna 

A film created to make the audience “laugh and cry and feel good about the world”, according to Spielberg, The Terminal tells the story of a European man left stranded in John F. Kennedy Airport after travel to his home country was barred following a military coup. It’s based on the true story of a man who spent almost 20 years in France’s Charles de Gaulle Airport, which is one hell of a layover.

26. A.I.: Artificial Intelligence

Total	IMDb	Tomatometer	Popcornmeter	Letterboxd
71.5	7.2	76%	64%	3.7

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• Release Date: 29 June, 2001
• Cast: Haley Joel Osment, Jude Law, Frances O’Conner

Perhaps an uncomfortable look into the not-too-distant future, Artificial Intelligence stars a first-of-its-kind android child (played by Haley Joel Osment) which has been programmed with the unique ability to love, and explores the difficult ethical questions involved in granting sentience to an artificial being.

25. War Horse

Total	IMDb	Tomatometer	Popcornmeter	Letterboxd
72	7.2	74%	74%	3.4

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• Release Date: 5 December, 2011
• Cast: Emily Watson, David Thewlis, Peter Mullan, Niels Arestrup, Jeremy Irvine

Another World War-adjacent film, though told through a whole new perspective for Spielberg. Instead of following a soldier or a battalion, War Horse follows a bay Irish Hunter (that’s a horse, in case the title of the film didn’t give it away) that is sold into the war effort as the First World War kicks off, as well as the family that auctioned it off.

23. Ready Player One

Total	IMDb	Tomatometer	Popcornmeter	Letterboxd
72.5	7.4	7%	77%	3.4

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• Release Date: 11 March, 2018 
• Cast: Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke, Ben Mendelsohn, T.J. Miller, Simon Pegg, Mark Rylance

Another Spielberg film based on an influential book, Ready Player One thrusts the viewer into a dystopia where people escape from the horrors of their world through plugging into an addictive virtual reality game. Our hero Wade Watts, also known as Parzival (Tye Sheridan), seeks a mythical ‘easter egg’ which will grant its finder with the keys to the entire system, but he isn’t the only one searching.

22. The Sugarland Express

Total	IMDb	Tomatometer	Popcornmeter	Letterboxd
72.5	6.7	87%	66%	3.5

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• Release Date: 29 March, 1974
• Cast: Goldie Hawn, Ben Johnson, Michael Sacks, William Atherton

The first collaboration between Spielberg and legendary composer John Williams, who has gone on to score all but five of the director’s films, The Sugarland Express is a crime drama centered on a husband-and-wife duo who take a police officer hostage in an effort to retrieve their child from the foster care system. 

22. The Adventures of Tintin

Total	IMDb	Tomatometer	Popcornmeter	Letterboxd
74	7.3	75%	74%	3.7

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• Release Date: 22 October, 2011
• Cast: Jamie Bell, Andy Serkis, Daniel Craig

A rare animated Spielberg film, The Adventures of Tintin is based on the classic 1930s comic strip of the same name, and follows the adventurous youth Tintin, his faithful dog Snowy, and his partner-in-crime Captain Haddock, as they search for a missing ship rumoured to be filled with treasure.

21. Amistad

Total	IMDb	Tomatometer	Popcornmeter	Letterboxd
75	7.3	78%	79%	3.5

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• Release Date: 10 December, 1997
• Cast: Morgan Freeman, Nigel Hawthorne, Anthony Hopkins, Dijmon Hounsou, Matthew McConaughey, Stellen Skarsgard

Based on the true story of a Spanish ship which was captured by the slaves it was transporting, which was then captured in US waters, Amistad tells the tale of the slaves’ fight for freedom within the US legal system – which is increasingly under pressure by the Spanish government.

20. The Post

Total	IMDb	Tomatometer	Popcornmeter	Letterboxd
76	7.2	88%	74%	3.5

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• Release Date: 14 December, 2017
• Cast: Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks, Sarah Paulson, Bob Odenkirk, Tracy Letts, Bradley Whitford, Bruce Greenwood, Matthew Rhys

Depicting The Washington Post’s 1971 quest to publish a series of classified documents which prove a decades of international interference by the United States Government, which came to be known as the ‘Pentagon Papers’, The Post is a fantastic look into the realities of breaking-news journalism. Pair it with the classic All the President’s Men for maximum fun.

19. Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom

Total	IMDb	Tomatometer	Popcornmeter	Letterboxd
77	7.5	77%	82%	3.7

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• Release Date: 23 April, 1984
• Cast: Harrison Ford, Kate Capshaw, Amrish Puri, Roshan Seth, Philip Stone, Ke Huy Quan

A prequel to the original Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Temple of Doom follows Indiana Jones as he attempts to disrupt an occult organisation’s acts of child slavery and human sacrifice in honor of its deity, Kali. Naturally, Kali is a major goddess in the Hindu religion, and the film received backslash due to her portrayal as a demon and its poor representation of India as a whole – as well as for its darker plot and stronger violence when compared with the pulp tone of Indy’s debut.

18. Munich

Total	IMDb	Tomatometer	Popcornmeter	Letterboxd
78.25	7.5	79%	83%	3.8

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• Release Date: 23 December, 2005
• Cast: Eric Bana, Daniel Craig, Ciaran Hinds, Matthieu Kassovitz, Hanns Zischler, Geoffrey Rush

A topical film detailing an Israeli covert operation to assassinate members of a Palestinian militant group which carried out a terrorist attack, killing eleven members of the Israeli Olympic Team in 1972. The film explores the complex morality involved in the two nations’ history, as well as that of the assassins involved.

17. Lincoln

Total	IMDb	Tomatometer	Popcornmeter	Letterboxd
78.75	7.3	90%	80%	3.6

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• Release Date: 8 October, 2012
• Cast: Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field, David Strathairn, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, James Spader, Tommy Lee Jones

Covering the final four months of the former U S President Abraham Lincoln’s life, Lincoln details the man’s efforts to abolish slavery across the United States following the end of the American Civil War. 

16. West Side Story

Total	IMDb	Tomatometer	Popcornmeter	Letterboxd
79.5	7.1	91%	84%	3.6

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• Release Date: 29 November, 2021 
• Cast: Ansel Elgort, Rachel Zegler, Ariana DeBose, David Alvarez

A feature-length adaptation of the classic musical, West Side Story was a hit with critics that ultimately bombed at the box office. Despite the dismal start, the film has gone on to be judged one of the best musicals of the modern era.

15. Empire of the Sun

Total	IMDb	Tomatometer	Popcornmeter	Letterboxd
80	7.7	75%	90%	3.9

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• Release Date: 11 December, 1987
• Cast: Christian Bale, John Malkovich, Miranda Richardson, Nigel Havers

Considered by Spielberg to be his most profound work on the “loss of innocence”, Empire of the Sun tells the story of a young boy who ends up as a prisoner of war in a Japanese internment camp during World War II. 

14. Minority Report

Total	IMDb	Tomatometer	Popcornmeter	Letterboxd
80.25	7.6	89%	80%	3.8

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• Release Date: 17 June, 2002
• Cast: Tom Cruise, Colin Farrel, Samantha Morton, Max von Sydow

A surprisingly prescient film in its representation of an all-encompassing data-led society, Minority Report has been lauded as one of the best science-fiction films in modern cinema. Based on Phillip K. Dick’s classic novella, the film raises questions around determinism, the right to privacy, and involuntary commitment, yet still manages to be a solid action movie thanks to an incredible performance by a top-of-his-game Tom Cruise.

13. The Color Purple

Total	IMDb	Tomatometer	Popcornmeter	Letterboxd
80.5	7.7	73%	94%	3.9

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• Release Date: 18 December, 1985
• Cast:  Whoopi Goldberg, Danny Glover, Adolph Caesar, Margaret Avery, Rae Dawn Shong, Oprah Winfrey, Laurence Fishburne

A brutal coming-of-age story, The Color Purple details the life of Celie (Whoopi Goldberg), an African-American girl born to abusive parents and married to an abusive man in Georgia. It’s definitely not an easy watch, but provides a clear window into the historic abuses often suffered by women of colour throughout the US’s history.

12. The Fabelmans

Total	IMDb	Tomatometer	Popcornmeter	Letterboxd
81.25	7.5	92%	78%	4.0

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• Release Date: 10 September, 2022
• Cast: Gabriel LaBelle, Michelle Williams, Paul Dano, Seth Rogan, Judd Hirsch, David Lynch

A semi-autobiographical film detailing the early years of an aspiring filmmaker, The Fabelmans is largely based on Spielberg’s own life, and is dedicated to his parents. While perhaps not as bombastic as the films he typically makes, The Fabelmans is instead an introspective look at what makes Spielberg tick, as well as a powerful coming-of-age story of a young man following his dreams of becoming a director.

11. Bridge of Spies

Total	IMDb	Tomatometer	Popcornmeter	Letterboxd
81.5	7.6	91%	87%	3.6

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• Release Date: 4 October, 2015
• Cast: Tom Hanks, Mark Rylance, Amy Ryan, Allan Alda

A tense historical drama detailing one man’s efforts to organise the exchange of two political prisoners between the United States and Soviet Union during the 1960s, Bridge of Spies is a sober look back at the rampant tension that embodied the Cold War. 

10. Duel

Total	IMDb	Tomatometer	Popcornmeter	Letterboxd
81.5	7.6	90%	84%	3.8

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• Release Date: 13 November, 1971
• Cast: Dennis Weaver, Tim Herbert, Charles Seel

A certified cult classic, Duel is based on a short story of the same name and follows a road trip gone wrong, with a driver terrorised by a dangerous tanker truck across the Mojave Desert. While certainly not as thematically rich as some of his other films, Duel showcases Spielberg’s impressive penchant for action set pieces and turns a simple idea into something thrilling – a staple from some of his greatest works.

9. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

Total	IMDb	Tomatometer	Popcornmeter	Letterboxd
81.5	7.9	99%	72%	3.8

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• Release Date: 26 May, 1982 
• Cast: Henry Thomas, Dee Wallace, Robert MacNaughton, Drew Barrymore, Peter Coyote

Perhaps the best example of Spielberg’s fascination with the concept of communicating with a mysterious extraterrestrial being, E.T. goes to great effort to humanise the titular alien as something akin to a lost child. After being accidentally left on Earth, E.T. ends up befriending a human child, Ellliot, who takes it upon himself to protect the creature from encroaching government forces in a bid to help the being get home. It’s one of Spielberg’s most touching and heartfelt films, turning something alien and scary into a new friend in need of a helping hand.

8. Close Encounters of the Third Kind

Total	IMDb	Tomatometer	Popcornmeter	Letterboxd
82	7.6	91%	85%	3.8

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• Release Date: 16 November, 1977
• Cast: Richard Dreyfuss, Teri Garr, Melinda Dillon, Francois Truffaut

The first film on this list to reflect Spielberg’s fascination with ‘the third kind’, Close Encounters details a man’s quest for understanding after unexpectedly witnessing an unidentified flying object, as well as the slow ramping-up of what appears to be a full-scale alien invasion – though, as is often the case with Spielberg’s meditations on first contact, the extraterrestrial creatures are actually more interested in understanding and enlightening humankind than dominating us. It’s a welcome change.

7. Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade

Total	IMDb	Tomatometer	Popcornmeter	Letterboxd
85.5	8.2	84%	94%	4.1

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• Release Date: 24 May, 1989
• Cast: Harrison Ford, Sean Connery, Denholm Elliot, Alison Doody, John Rhys-Davies, Julian Glover

Originally intended to complete an Indiana Jones trilogy, The Last Crusade dives a bit deeper into the character of Jones and his relationship with his father (Sean Connery), while exploring the meaning of life and power through a quest for the Holy Grail. Despite the heady concepts, The Last Crusade was purposefully a lighter film than its forebearer Temple of Doom, and was far more successful for it.

6. Jurassic Park

Total	IMDb	Tomatometer	Popcornmeter	Letterboxd
86.5	8.2	91%	91%	4.1

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• Release Date: 9 June, 1993
• Cast: Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Richard Attenborough, Samuel L. Jackson, Wayne Knight

Created using a mix of life-sized animatronic dinosaurs, and cutting-edge (for the time) computer-generated imagery, Jurassic Park treads the perfect line between showcasing the majesty and awe of its returned-to-life prehistoric dinosaurs and making them scary enough to haunt every kids’ dreams for years to come. Despite being three decades old, Jurassic Park’s dinosaurs hold up remarkably well thanks to this combination, and the original film stands tall against its more recent sequels by showcasing quite a bit of restraint.

5. Jaws

Total	IMDb	Tomatometer	Popcornmeter	Letterboxd
86.75	8.1	97%	91%	3.9

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• Release Date: 20 June, 1975
• Cast: Roy Schneider, Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss, Lorraine Gary, Murray Hamilton

Generally regarded as the birth of the ‘blockbuster’, Jaws delivers everything its concept promises. A deadly shark is circling the waters of tourist town Amity Beach right as the summer season is set to kick into gear, with the town’s sheriff teaming up with a marine biologist and local shark hunter to track and end the menace before it can claim any more lives. Despite being a movie about a man-eating shark, most of the film is spent suggesting Jaws’ presence rather than showing it, making the moments where the beast bares its teeth all the more impactful.

4. Catch Me If You Can

Total	IMDb	Tomatometer	Popcornmeter	Letterboxd
87	8.1	96%	89%	4.1

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• Release Date: 18 December, 2002
• Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hanks, Christopher Walken, Martin Sheen, Nathalie Baye

Catch Me If You Can tells the semi-true story of renowned con-man Frank Abagnale Jr. (played by Leonardo DiCaprio), who alleges that, before his 19th birthday, he had earned millions of dollars by posing as a pilot, a doctor, a prosecutor, and whatever else he could. While the reality of this story is disputed, Abagnale Jr.’s tale makes for a fantastic movie, with DiCaprio and Tom Hanks perfectly embodying the cat-and-mouse game between a quick-thinking conman and the eager FBI agent always a step behind.

3. Raiders of the Lost Ark

Total	IMDb	Tomatometer	Popcornmeter	Letterboxd
89.5	8.4	94%	96%	4.2

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• Release Date: 12 June, 1981
• Cast: Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Paul Freeman, Ronald Lacey, John Rhys-Davies, Denholm Elliot

It’s hard to remember a time before Indiana Jones was a cultural icon, but back in 1981 Raiders of the Lost Ark was anything but a sure-fire hit, with pre-release polling showing little interest in what would become one of Harrison Ford’s signature roles. Audiences flocked to the cinema once it launched, of course, largely due to Ford’s incredible performance as the adventurous archeologist and the perfectly balanced mix of mystery, action, and humour. While subsequent Indiana Jones films didn’t quite hit the high of the original, Raiders of the Lost Ark is a perfect pulp-action flick. 

2. Saving Private Ryan

Total	IMDb	Tomatometer	Popcornmeter	Letterboxd
90.25	8.6	94%	95%	4.3

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• Release Date: 24 July, 1998
• Cast: Tom Hanks, Edward Burns, Matt Damon, Tom Sizemore

Another film considered among the best ever made, Saving Private Ryan is a sometimes-agonisingly realistic portrayal of the events of World War II through the eyes of a group of soldiers, led by Captain John Miller (Tom Hanks), on a mission to track down and recover the missing Private James Ryan (Matt Damon). The film effectively set the modern standard for war films, with almost every war-related film since its release having drawn inspiration from Spielberg’s inspired direction. 

1. Schindler’s List

Total	IMDb	Tomatometer	Popcornmeter	Letterboxd
93.75	9.0	98%	97%	4.5

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• Release Date: 30 November, 1993
• Cast: Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley, Ralph Fiennes, Caroline Goodall, Jonathan Sagall, Embeth Davidtz

Not only Spielberg’s best film, but one of the greatest films ever made, Schindler’s List was immortalised by the U.S. Library of Congress as a historically significant piece of art, and is now preserved in the U.S. National Film Registry for future generations. The film itself, though, isn’t an easy watch: telling the story of a German industrialist, Oskar Schindler (Liam Neeson), who risks his life by employing and hiding more than a thousand Polish-Jewish refugees during the Holocaust. Despite the heavy subject matter, Schindler’s List more than earns its immortalisation through powerful performances, deft storytelling, and some incredible cinematography.