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Top 100 Best Drama Movies Of All Time

What are the best Drama movies? In the early days of cinema, during the silent movies era, Dramatic films were considered very tough. This was because in Drama films you have to do an in-depth research on the character and the plot and have to keep the theme as realistic as possible. As speech is one of the most descriptive way to express emotions of a person, therefore in silent era, actors have to do very hard training to express their emotions without speaking. This was really a tough challenge. As the talkies came in limelight in the mid 1920s the whole scenario changed. However for the next 25 years or so the focus changed from drama movies to comedy and musical movies. Though drama was blended in them too yet pure drama movies were hardly produced until world war II.

On a big scale almost all movies are drama movies as they have dramatic scenes involved at one extent or other. But pure drama films are those which take character and plot to a broader level and have more in depth research on the moralities of characters. Pure drama deals with sensitive topics such as Alcholism, r@cism, terrorism, religious sentiments and corruption. Crime Drama films, Courtroom drama films and romance tragedy films are very popular subgenre of drama.

The 1950s was the decade which reinvented the drama genre. James Dean and Marlon brando favored the genre with their method acting. Teenage drama films and rebellious youth drama films were very popular in that era. The 1960s decade focused more on Political drama films and Courtroom drama movies. The decade of 70s developed the popular crime drama films and war drama films. The decade of 80s focused on high school drama movies and college drama movies. The decade of 90s was full of sad drama films. 00s focused more on biography drama films also called as docudramas.

Here is a list of 100 Most Popular Drama films ranging from Old Classic drama films to latest most recent drama movies:

Contents

101. Closer

Director – Mike Nicholls
Cast – Jude Law, Julia Roberts, Clive Owen, Natalie Portman
IMDB Rating – 7.2
Rotten Tomatoes – 68%
Release Date – 3 December 2004
Box Office – $115 million
Genre – Drama, Romance
Awards – None
Plot –

100. Up In the Air

Director – Jason Reitman
Cast – Anna Kendrick, Danny McBride, George Clooney, Vera Farmiga
IMDB Rating – 7.4
Rotten Tomatoes – 91%
Release Date – 4 December 2009
Box Office – $166.8 million
Genre – Comedy, Drama, Romance
Awards – None
Plot –

99. Pride & Prejudice

Director – Joe Wright
Cast – Brenda Blethyn, Tom Hollander, Keira Knightley, Donald Sutherland, Matthew Macfadyen
IMDB Rating – 7.8
Rotten Tomatoes – 86%
Release Date – 25 July 2005
Box Office – $121.1 million
Genre – Drama, Romance
Awards – None
Plot –

98. Dazed and Confused

Director – Richard Linklater
Cast – Joey Lauren Adams, Rory Cochrane, Jason London, Shawn Andrews, Milla Jovovich
IMDB Rating – 7.6
Rotten Tomatoes – 91%
Release Date – 24 September 1993
Box Office – $8.0 million
Genre – Comedy
Awards – None
Plot –

97. Winter’s Bone

Director – Debra Granik
Cast – Kevin Breznahan, John Hawkes, Sheryl Lee, Jennifer Lawrence, Dale Dickey
IMDB Rating – 7.2
Rotten Tomatoes – 94%
Release Date – 11 June 2010
Box Office – $16.1 million
Genre – Drama, Mystery
Awards – None
Plot –

96. The hours

Director – Stephen Daldry
Cast – Nicole Kidman, Toni Collette, Meryl Streep, Jeff Daniels, Julianne Moore, Ed Harris
IMDB Rating – 7.5
Rotten Tomatoes – 80%
Release Date – 18 December 2002
Box Office – $108.8 million
Genre – Drama, Romance
Awards – Won 1 Oscar
Plot –

95. The Ides of March

Director – George Clooney
Cast – Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ryan Gosling, Paul Giamatti, George Clooney, Evan Rachel Wood
IMDB Rating – 7.1
Rotten Tomatoes – 84%
Release Date – October 7, 2011
Box Office – $76 million
Genre – Drama, Thriller
Awards – None
Plot –

94. The Great Gatsby

Director – Baz Luhrmann
Cast – Tobey Maguire, Carey Mulligan, Elizabeth Debicki, Leonardo DiCaprio, Joel Edgerton, Isla Fisher
IMDB Rating – 7.3
Rotten Tomatoes – 48%
Release Date – May 10, 2013
Box Office – $353.6 million
Genre – Drama, Romance
Awards – Won 2 Oscars
Plot –

93. Flight

Director – Robert Zemeckis
Cast – Kelly Reilly, Denzel Washington, John Goodman, Don Cheadle
IMDB Rating – 7,3
Rotten Tomatoes – 77%
Release Date – 2 November 2012
Box Office – $161.8 million
Genre – Drama, Thriller
Awards – None
Plot –

92. Thank You For Sm0king

Director – Jason Reitman
Cast – Cameron Bright, Adam Brody, Maria Bello, Katie Holmes, Aaron Eckhart
IMDB Rating – 7.6
Rotten Tomatoes – 86%
Release Date – 17 March 2006
Box Office – $39.3 million
Genre – Comedy, Drama
Awards – None
Plot –

91. Babel

Director – Alejandro González Iñárritu
Cast – Cate Blanchett, Adriana Barraza, Brad Pitt, Gael García Bernal, Kōji Yakusho
IMDB Rating – 7.4
Rotten Tomatoes – 69%
Release Date – 27 October 2006
Box Office – $135.3 million
Genre – Drama
Awards – Won 1 Oscar
Plot –

90. 50/50

Director – Jonathan Levine
Cast – Anna Kendrick, Seth Rogen, Bryce Dallas Howard, Joseph Gordon-Levitt
IMDB Rating – 7.7
Rotten Tomatoes – 93%
Release Date – 30 September 2011
Box Office – $41.1 million
Genre – Comedy, Drama, Romance
Awards – None
Plot –

89. 25th Hour

Director – Spike Lee
Cast – Philip Seymour Hoffman, Edward Norton, Rosario Dawson, Barry Pepper
IMDB Rating – 7.6
Rotten Tomatoes – 78%
Release Date – 16 December 2002
Box Office – $23.9 million
Genre – Drama
Awards – None
Plot –

88. Pi

Director – Darren Aronofsky
Cast – Mark Margolis, Samia Shoaib, Ajay Naidu, Sean Gullette, Pamela Hart, Ben Shenkman
IMDB Rating – 7.4
Rotten Tomatoes – 88%
Release Date – 10 July 1998
Box Office – $3,221,152
Genre – Drama, Horror, Mystery
Awards – None
Plot –

87. The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Director – Stephen Chbosky
Cast – Ezra Miller, Kate Walsh, Logan Lerman, Dylan McDermott, Emma Watson, Mae Whitman
IMDB Rating – 8
Rotten Tomatoes – 86%
Release Date – September 21, 2012
Box Office – $33.4 million
Genre – Drama
Awards – None
Plot –

86. The Royal Tenenbaums

Director – Wes Anderson
Cast – Gene Hackman, Bill Murray, Danny Glover, Gwyneth Paltrow, Anjelica Huston
IMDB Rating – 7.6
Rotten Tomatoes – 80%
Release Date – 6 December 2001
Box Office – $71.4 million
Genre – Comedy, Drama
Awards – None
Plot –

85. The Descendants

Director – Alexander Payne
Cast – Beau Bridges, Shailene Woodley, Robert Forster, George Clooney
IMDB Rating – 7.3
Rotten Tomatoes – 89%
Release Date – November 18, 2011
Box Office – $177.2 million
Genre – Comedy, Drama
Awards – Won 1 Oscar
Plot –

84. An Education

Director – Lone Scherfig
Cast – Peter Sarsgaard, Rosamund Pike, Olivia Williams, Carey Mulligan, Alfred Molina, Dominic Cooper
IMDB Rating – 7.3
Rotten Tomatoes – 94%
Release Date – 8 October 2009
Box Office – $26.1 million
Genre – Drama
Awards – None
Plot –

83. The Terminal

Director – Steven Spielberg
Cast – Catherine Zeta-Jones, Stanley Tucci, Tom Hanks, Chi McBride
IMDB Rating – 7.3
Rotten Tomatoes – 60%
Release Date – 9 June 2004
Box Office – $219.4 million
Genre – Comedy, Drama, Romance
Awards – None
Plot –

82. On the Waterfront

Director – Elia Kazan
Cast – Lee J. Cobb, Rod Steiger, Karl Malden, Marlon Brando
IMDB Rating – 8.2
Rotten Tomatoes – 98%
Release Date – 22 June 1954
Box Office – $9.6 million
Genre – Crime, Drama, Thriller
Awards – Won 8 Oscars
Plot –

81. The Machinist

Director – Brad Anderson
Cast – Aitana Sánchez-Gijón, Christian Bale, Michael Ironside, Jennifer Jason Leigh, John Sharian
IMDB Rating – 7.7
Rotten Tomatoes – 77%
Release Date – 18 January 2004
Box Office – $8.2 million
Genre – Drama, Thriller
Awards – None
Plot –

80. Moonrise Kingdom

Director – Wes Anderson
Cast – Edward Norton, Tilda Swinton, Bruce Willis, Bill Murray, Jason Schwartzman, Frances McDormand
IMDB Rating – 7.8
Rotten Tomatoes – 93%
Release Date – May 25, 2012
Box Office – $68.3 million
Genre – Adventure, Comedy, Drama
Awards – None
Plot –

79. What’s Eating Gilbert Grape

Director – Lasse Hallström
Cast – Mary Steenburgen, Johnny Depp, Leonardo DiCaprio, Juliette Lewis
IMDB Rating – 7.8
Rotten Tomatoes – 90%
Release Date – 17 December 1993
Box Office – $10 million
Genre – Drama
Awards – None
Plot –

78. I am Sam

Director – Jessie Nelson
Cast – Richard Schiff, Dianne Wiest, Loretta Devine, Sean Penn, Dakota Fanning, Michelle Pfeiffer
IMDB Rating – 7.6
Rotten Tomatoes – 35%
Release Date – 3 December 2001
Box Office – $97,818,139
Genre – Drama
Awards – None
Plot –

77. The Wrestler

Director – Darren Aronofsky
Cast – Evan Rachel Wood, Mickey Rourke, Marisa Tomei
IMDB Rating – 7.9
Rotten Tomatoes – 98%
Release Date – 8 December 2008
Box Office – $44.7 million
Genre – Drama, Sport
Awards – None
Plot –

76. 127 Hours

Director – Danny Boyle
Cast – Amber Tamblyn, Kate Mara, James Franco
IMDB Rating – 7.6
Rotten Tomatoes – 93%
Release Date – 5 November 2010
Box Office – $60.7 million
Genre – Biography, Drama
Awards – None
Plot –

75. Shame

Director – Steve McQueen
Cast – James Badge Dale, Michael Fassbender, Nicole Beharie, Carey Mulligan
IMDB Rating – 7.2
Rotten Tomatoes – 79%
Release Date – 2 December 2011
Box Office – $20.4 million
Genre – Drama
Awards – None
Plot –

74. Goodfellas

Director – Martin Scorsese
Cast – Joe Pesci, Robert De Niro, Lorraine Bracco, Ray Liotta
IMDB Rating – 8.7
Rotten Tomatoes – 96%
Release Date – 12 September 1990
Box Office – $46.8 million
Genre – Biography, Crime, Drama
Awards – Won 1 Oscar
Plot –

73. Into the Wild

Director – Sean Penn
Cast – Jena Malone, Emile Hirsch, Catherine Keener, Marcia Gay Harden, William Hurt
IMDB Rating – 8.1
Rotten Tomatoes – 83%
Release Date – 21 September 2007
Box Office – $56,822,960
Genre – Adventure, Biography, Drama
Awards – None
Plot –

72. (500) Days of Summer

Director – Marc Webb
Cast – Zooey Deschanel, Joseph Gordon-Levitt
IMDB Rating – 7.7
Rotten Tomatoes – 85%
Release Date – 17 July 2009
Box Office – $60.7 million
Genre – Comedy, Drama, Romance
Awards – None
Plot –

71. Misery

Director – Rob Reiner
Cast – Kathy Bates, James Caan, Richard Farnsworth, Frances Sternhagen
IMDB Rating – 7.8
Rotten Tomatoes – 90%
Release Date – 29 November 1990
Box Office – $61.3 million
Genre – Drama, Thriller
Awards – Won 1 Oscar
Plot –

70. The Man From Earth

Director – Richard Schenkman
Cast – John Billingsley, Tony Todd, David Lee Smith
IMDB Rating – 7.9
Rotten Tomatoes – 85%
Release Date – 10 June 2007
Box Office – $ 1 million
Genre – Drama, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
Awards – None
Plot –

69. Dogville

Director – Lars von Trier
Cast – Paul Bettany, Nicole Kidman, Stellan Skarsgård, Lauren Bacall, Chloë Sevigny
IMDB Rating – 8
Rotten Tomatoes – 70%
Release Date – 21 May 2003
Box Office – $16.7 million
Genre – Crime, Drama
Awards – None
Plot –

68. Moon

Director – Duncan Jones
Cast – Sam Rockwell
IMDB Rating – 7.9
Rotten Tomatoes – 90%
Release Date – 12 June 2009
Box Office – $9.8 million
Genre – Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Awards – None
Plot –

67. The Lives of Others

Director – Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
Cast – Martina Gedeck, Sebastian Koch, Ulrich Mühe, Ulrich Tukur
IMDB Rating – 8.4
Rotten Tomatoes – 93%
Release Date – 9 May 2008
Box Office – $77.3 million
Genre – Drama, Thriller
Awards – Won 1 Oscar
Plot –

66. Little miss Sunshine

Director – Valerie Faris, Jonathan Dayton
Cast – Toni Collette, Paul Dano, Greg Kinnear, Steve Carell
IMDB Rating – 7.8
Rotten Tomatoes – 91%
Release Date – 26 July 2006
Box Office – $100.5 million
Genre – Comedy, Drama
Awards – Won 2 Oscars
Plot –

65. Let the Right One In

Director – Tomas Alfredson
Cast – Lina Leandersson, Ika Nord, Peter Carlberg, Kåre Hedebrant, Per Ragnar
IMDB Rating – 7.9
Rotten Tomatoes – 98%
Release Date – 24 October 2008
Box Office – $11.2 million
Genre – Drama, Horror, Romance
Awards – None
Plot –

64. Forrest Gump

Director – Robert Zemeckis
Cast – Gary Sinise, Mykelti Williamson, Tom Hanks, Robin Wright
IMDB Rating – 8.8
Rotten Tomatoes – 72%
Release Date – 23 June 1994
Box Office – $678.1 million
Genre – Drama, Romance
Awards – Won 6 Oscars
Plot –

63. Titanic

Director – James Cameron
Cast – Frances Fisher, Leonardo DiCaprio, Billy Zane, Bernard Hill, Kathy Bates, Kate Winslet
IMDB Rating – 7.8
Rotten Tomatoes – 98%
Release Date – 18 November 1997
Box Office – $2.187 billion
Genre – Drama, Romance
Awards – Won 11 Oscars
Plot –

62. The Sixth Sense

Director – M. Night Shyamalan
Cast – Olivia Williams, Haley Joel Osment, Bruce Willis, Toni Collette
IMDB Rating – 8.1
Rotten Tomatoes – 86%
Release Date – 2 August 1999
Box Office – $672.8 million
Genre – Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Awards – None
Plot –

61. The Breakfast Club

Director – John Hughes
Cast – Anthony Michael Hall, Emilio Estevez, Molly Ringwald, Paul Gleason, Judd Nelson
IMDB Rating – 7.9
Rotten Tomatoes – 89%
Release Date – February 15, 1985
Box Office – $51.5 million
Genre – Comedy, Drama
Awards – None
Plot –

60. The Help

Director – Tate Taylor
Cast – Bryce Dallas Howard, Octavia Spencer, Jessica Chastain, Allison Janney, Viola Davis
IMDB Rating – 8.1
Rotten Tomatoes – 76%
Release Date – August 10, 2011
Box Office – $216.6 million
Genre – Drama
Awards – Won 1 Oscar
Plot –

59. Am0res Perr0s

Director – Alejandro González Iñárritu
Cast – Álvaro Guerrero, Emilio Echevarría, Vanessa Bauche, Gael García Bernal, Goya Toledo
IMDB Rating – 8.1
Rotten Tomatoes – 92%
Release Date – 16 June 2000
Box Office – $20.9 million
Genre – Drama, Thriller
Awards – None
Plot –

58. Donnie Darko

Director – Richard Kelly
Cast – Drew Barrymore, Jake Gyllenhaal, Katharine Ross, Jena Malone, Mary McDonnell, James Duval
IMDB Rating – 8
Rotten Tomatoes – 87%
Release Date – 19 January 2001
Box Office – $7.5 million
Genre – Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Awards – None
Plot –

57. Black Swan

Director – Darren Aronofsky
Cast – Mila Kunis, Natalie Portman, Barbara Hershey, Vincent Cassel
IMDB Rating – 8
Rotten Tomatoes – 85%
Release Date – December 3, 2010
Box Office – $329.4 million
Genre – Drama, Thriller
Awards – Won 1 Oscar
Plot –

56. A Clockwork Orange

Director – Stanley Kubrick
Cast – Adrienne Corri, Malcolm McDowell, Miriam Karlin, Patrick Magee
IMDB Rating – 8.3
Rotten Tomatoes – 90%
Release Date – 19 December 1971
Box Office – $26.6 million
Genre – Crime, Drama, Sci-Fi
Awards – None
Plot –

55. Philadelphia

Director – Jonathan Demme
Cast – Mary Steenburgen, Tom Hanks, Jason Robards, Denzel Washington
IMDB Rating – 7.7
Rotten Tomatoes – 80%
Release Date – 22 December 1993
Box Office – $206.7 million
Genre – Drama
Awards – Won 2 Oscars
Plot –

54. Dog Day Afternoon

Director – Sidney Lumet
Cast – Charles Durning, James Broderick, John Cazale, Al Pacino
IMDB Rating – 8
Rotten Tomatoes – 95%
Release Date – 21 September 1975
Box Office – $50 million
Genre – Biography, Crime, Drama
Awards – Won 1 Oscar
Plot –

53. City of God

Director – Fernando Meirelles, Kátia Lund
Cast – Douglas Silva, Alexandre Rodrigues, Alice Braga, Leandro Firmino da Hora, Phellipe Haagensen
IMDB Rating – 8.6
Rotten Tomatoes – 91%
Release Date – 18 May 2002
Box Office – $30.6 million
Genre – Crime, Drama
Awards – None
Plot –

52. Almost Famous

Director – Cameron Crowe
Cast – Patrick Fugit, Frances McDormand, Anna Paquin, Billy Crudup, Jason Lee, Kate Hudson
IMDB Rating – 7.9
Rotten Tomatoes – 89%
Release Date – 13 September 2000
Box Office – $47.4 million
Genre – Adventure, Comedy, Drama
Awards – Won 1 Oscar
Plot –

51. Cast Away

Director – Robert Zemeckis
Cast – Helen Hunt, Tom Hanks, Nick Searcy
IMDB Rating – 7.8
Rotten Tomatoes – 88%
Release Date – 7 December 2000
Box Office – $429.6 million
Genre – Adventure, Drama, Romance
Awards – None
Plot –

50. Edward Scissorhands

Director – Tim Burton
Cast – Dianne Wiest, Johnny Depp, Kathy Baker, Winona Ryder, Anthony Michael Hall
IMDB Rating – 7.9
Rotten Tomatoes – 90%
Release Date – 6 December 1990
Box Office – $86 million
Genre – Drama, Fantasy, Romance
Awards – None
Plot –

49. B00gie Nights

Director – Paul Thomas Anderson
Cast – Don Cheadle, Mark Wahlberg, William H. Macy, Julianne Moore, John C. Reilly, Burt Reynolds
IMDB Rating – 7.9
Rotten Tomatoes – 93%
Release Date – 10 October 1997
Box Office – $43.1 million
Genre – Drama
Awards – None
Plot –

48. Seven Pounds

Director – Gabriele Muccino
Cast – Rosario Dawson, Will Smith, Barry Pepper, Michael Ealy
IMDB Rating – 7.6
Rotten Tomatoes – 26%
Release Date – 19 December 2008
Box Office – $168 million
Genre – Drama, Romance
Awards – None
Plot –

47. Scent of a Woman

Director – Martin Brest
Cast – Chris O’Donnell, Al Pacino
IMDB Rating – 8
Rotten Tomatoes – 88%
Release Date – 23 December 1992
Box Office – $134.1 million
Genre – Drama
Awards – Won 1 Oscar
Plot –

46. Rocky

Director – John G. Avildsen
Cast – Carl Weathers, Talia Shire, Sylvester Stallone, Burt Young
IMDB Rating – 8.1
Rotten Tomatoes – 93%
Release Date – 21 November 1976
Box Office – $225 million
Genre – Drama, Sport
Awards – Won 3 Oscars
Plot –

45. The Pursuit of Happyness

Director – Gabriele Muccino
Cast – Thandie Newton, Jaden Smith, Will Smith
IMDB Rating – 8
Rotten Tomatoes – 67%
Release Date – December 15, 2006
Box Office – $307.1 million
Genre – Biography, Drama
Awards – None
Plot –

44. Casablanca

Director – Michael Curtiz
Cast – Paul Henreid, Conrad Veidt, Humphrey Bogart, Claude Rains, Ingrid Bergman
IMDB Rating – 8.5
Rotten Tomatoes – 98%
Release Date – 26 November 1942
Box Office – $3.7 million
Genre – Drama, Romance, War
Awards – Won 3 Oscars
Plot –

43. Cool Hand Luke

Director – Stuart Rosenberg
Cast – Robert Drivas, Paul Newman, Lou Antonio, George Kennedy, J. D. Cannon
IMDB Rating – 8.1
Rotten Tomatoes – 100%
Release Date – 1 November 1967
Box Office – $16.2 million
Genre – Crime, Drama
Awards – Won 1 Oscar
Plot –

42. All About Eve

Director – Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Cast – George Sanders, Bette Davis, Celeste Holm, Anne Baxter
IMDB Rating – 8.2
Rotten Tomatoes – 100%
Release Date – 13 October 1950
Box Office – $8.4 million
Genre – Drama
Awards – Won 6 Oscars
Plot –

41. The Deer Hunter

Director – Michael Cimino
Cast – John Savage, Robert De Niro, Meryl Streep, John Cazale
IMDB Rating – 8.1
Rotten Tomatoes – 94%
Release Date – 22 February 1979
Box Office – $49 million
Genre – Drama, War
Awards – Won 5 Oscars
Plot –

40. The Notebook

Director – Nick Cassavetes
Cast – Rachel McAdams, Gena Rowlands, Ryan Gosling, James Garner
IMDB Rating – 7.8
Rotten Tomatoes – 53%
Release Date – 25 June 2004
Box Office – $115.6 million
Genre – Drama, Romance
Awards – None
Plot –

39. Stand By Me

Director – Rob Reiner
Cast – Corey Feldman, Jerry O’Connell, Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix
IMDB Rating – 8.1
Rotten Tomatoes – 91%
Release Date – 8 August 1986
Box Office – $52.3 million
Genre – Adventure, Drama
Awards – None
Plot –

38. The Aviator

Director – Martin Scorsese
Cast – Alec Baldwin, Kate Beckinsale, Leonardo DiCaprio, Cate Blanchett, John C. Reilly, Alan Alda
IMDB Rating – 7.5
Rotten Tomatoes – 86%
Release Date – December 14, 2004
Box Office – $213.7 million
Genre – Biography, Drama
Awards – Won 5 Oscars
Plot –

37. Amadeus

Director – Miloš Forman
Cast – Simon Callow, F. Murray Abraham, Elizabeth Berridge, Tom Hulce
IMDB Rating – 8.3
Rotten Tomatoes – 93%
Release Date – 6 September 1984
Box Office – $52 million
Genre – Biography, Drama, History
Awards – Won 8 Oscars
Plot –

36. Dead Poets Society

Director – Peter Weir
Cast – Robert Sean Leonard, Ethan Hawke, Robin Williams, Kurtwood Smith
IMDB Rating – 8.1
Rotten Tomatoes – 84%
Release Date – 2 June 1989
Box Office – $235.9 million
Genre – Comedy, Drama
Awards – Won 1 Oscar
Plot –

35. Warrior

Director – Gavin O’Connor
Cast – Joel Edgerton, Nick Nolte, Tom Hardy, Jennifer Morrison
IMDB Rating – 8.2
Rotten Tomatoes – 83%
Release Date – 9 September 2011
Box Office – $23.1 million
Genre – Drama, Sport
Awards – None
Plot –

34. Full metal Jacket

Director – Stanley Kubrick
Cast – Adam Baldwin, Lee Ermey, Arliss Howard, Matthew Modine, Vincent D’Onofrio, Dorian Harewood
IMDB Rating – 8.3
Rotten Tomatoes – 91%
Release Date – 17 June 1987
Box Office – $120 million
Genre – Drama, War
Awards – None
Plot –

33. Drive

Director – Nicolas Winding Refn
Cast – Christina Hendricks, Ryan Gosling, Bryan Cranston, Carey Mulligan
IMDB Rating – 7.8
Rotten Tomatoes – 92%
Release Date – May 20, 2011
Box Office – $81.4 million
Genre – Crime, Drama
Awards – None
Plot –

32. Million Dollar Baby

Director – Clint Eastwood
Cast – Hilary Swank, Clint Eastwood, Morgan Freeman
IMDB Rating – 8.1
Rotten Tomatoes – 91%
Release Date – December 15, 2004
Box Office – $216.8 million
Genre – Drama, Sport
Awards – Won 4 Oscars
Plot –

30. Apocalypse Now

Director – Francis Ford Coppola
Cast – Frederic Forrest, Marlon Brando, Martin Sheen, Albert Hall, Robert Duvall
IMDB Rating – 8.4
Rotten Tomatoes – 97%
Release Date – 15 August 1979
Box Office – $150 million
Genre – Drama, War
Awards – Won 2 Oscars
Plot –

29. Once Upon a Time in America

Director – Sergio Leone
Cast – James Woods, Joe Pesci, Tuesday Weld, Robert De Niro, Elizabeth McGovern, Burt Young
IMDB Rating – 8.4
Rotten Tomatoes – 86%
Release Date – 17 February 1984
Box Office – $5.3 million
Genre – Crime, Drama
Awards – None
Plot –

28. To Kill a Mockingbird

Director – Robert Mulligan
Cast – John Megna, Gregory Peck, Ruth White, Phillip Alford, Mary Badham
IMDB Rating – 8.3
Rotten Tomatoes – 91%
Release Date – 25 December 1962
Box Office – $13.1 million
Genre – Crime, Drama
Awards – Won 3 Oscars
Plot –

27. Trainspotting

Director – Danny Boyle
Cast – Ewen Bremner, Ewan McGregor, Kevin McKidd, Jonny Lee Miller
IMDB Rating – 8.1
Rotten Tomatoes – 90%
Release Date – 23 February 1996
Box Office – $72 million
Genre – Drama
Awards – None
Plot –

26. A Beautiful Mind

Director – Ron Howard
Cast – Jennifer Connelly, Adam Goldberg, Russell Crowe, Ed Harris, Paul Bettany, Josh Lucas
IMDB Rating – 8.2
Rotten Tomatoes – 74%
Release Date – 13 December 2001
Box Office – $313 million
Genre – Biography, Drama
Awards – Won 4 Oscars
Plot –

25. Scarface

Director – Brian De Palma
Cast – Al Pacino
IMDB Rating – 8.3
Rotten Tomatoes – 81%
Release Date – 1 December 1983
Box Office – $65.9 million
Genre – Crime, Drama
Awards – None
Plot –

24. Taxi Driver

Director – Martin Scorsese
Cast – Harvey Keitel, Robert De Niro, Peter Boyle, Jodie Foster, Albert Brooks
IMDB Rating – 8.3
Rotten Tomatoes – 98%
Release Date – 8 February 1976
Box Office – $28.3 million
Genre – Crime, Drama
Awards – None
Plot –

23. Magnolia

Director – Paul Thomas Anderson
Cast – Philip Baker Hall, Jeremy Blackman, Ricky Jay, Tom Cruise, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Melinda Dillon
IMDB Rating – 8
Rotten Tomatoes – 83%
Release Date – 8 December 1999
Box Office – $48.5 million
Genre – Drama
Awards – None
Plot –

22. Lost in Translation

Director – Sofia Coppola
Cast – Giovanni Ribisi, Bill Murray, Anna Faris, Scarlett Johansson
IMDB Rating – 7,7
Rotten Tomatoes – 95%
Release Date – 9 September 2003
Box Office – $119.7 million
Genre – Drama
Awards – Won 1 Oscar
Plot –

21. Seven Smaurai

Director – Akira Kurosawa
Cast – Seiji Miyaguchi, Keiko Tsushima, Toshiro Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Kokuten Kōdō, Yoshio Inaba, Isao Kimura
IMDB Rating – 8.7
Rotten Tomatoes – 100%
Release Date – 26 April 1954
Box Office – $2.3 million
Genre – Adventure, Drama
Awards – None
Plot –

20. The Truman Show

Director – Peter Weir
Cast – Laura Linney, Noah Emmerich, Jim Carrey, Natascha McElhone
IMDB Rating – 8.1
Rotten Tomatoes – 94%
Release Date – 1 June 1998
Box Office – $264.1 million
Genre – Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi
Awards – None
Plot –

19. Gran Torino

Director – Clint Eastwood
Cast – Clint Eastwood
IMDB Rating – 8.1
Rotten Tomatoes – 81%
Release Date – December 12, 2008
Box Office – $270 million
Genre – Drama
Awards – None
Plot –

18. Cinema Paradiso

Director – Giuseppe Tornatore
Cast – Antonella Attili, Philippe Noiret, Jacques Perrin, Pupella Maggio
IMDB Rating – 8.5
Rotten Tomatoes – 90%
Release Date -17 November 1988
Box Office – $12,397,210
Genre – Drama
Awards – Won 1 Oscar
Plot –

17. A Separation

Director – Asghar Farhadi
Cast – Babak Karimi, Leila Hatami, Shahab Hosseini, Peyman Moaadi
IMDB Rating – 8.3
Rotten Tomatoes – 99%
Release Date – 15 February 2011
Box Office – $24.4 million
Genre – Drama, Thriller
Awards – Won 1 Oscar
Plot –

16. Before Sunrise Series

Director – Richard Linklater
Cast – Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke
IMDB Rating – 8.1
Rotten Tomatoes – 100%
Release Date – 27 January 1995
Box Office – $5.5 million
Genre – Drama, Romance
Awards – None
Plot –

15. Requiem for a Dream

Director – Darren Aronofsky
Cast – Jared Leto, Jennifer Connelly, Ellen Burstyn, Marlon Wayans
IMDB Rating – 8.3
Rotten Tomatoes – 79%
Release Date – 6 October 2000
Box Office – $7.4 million
Genre – Drama
Awards – None
Plot –

14. There Will Be Blood

Director – Paul Thomas Anderson
Cast – Kevin J. O’Connor, Daniel Day-Lewis, Ciarán Hinds, Paul Dano
IMDB Rating – 8.1
Rotten Tomatoes – 91%
Release Date – 10 December 2007
Box Office – $76.2 million
Genre – Drama
Awards – Won 2 Oscars
Plot –

13. Rain Man

Director – Barry Levinson
Cast – Valeria Golino, Tom Cruise, Dustin Hoffman
IMDB Rating – 8
Rotten Tomatoes – 89%
Release Date – 12 December 1988
Box Office – $354.8 million
Genre – Drama
Awards – Won 4 Oscars
Plot –

12. Crash

Director – Paul Haggis
Cast – Brendan Fraser, Sandra Bullock, Terrence Howard, Matt Dillon, Don Cheadle, Jennifer Esposito
IMDB Rating – 7.8
Rotten Tomatoes – 74%
Release Date – 26 April 2005
Box Office – $98.4 million
Genre – Crime, Drama, Thriller
Awards – Won 3 Oscars
Plot –

11. Good Will Hunting

Director – Gus Van Sant
Cast – Ben Affleck, Robin Williams, Stellan Skarsgård, Matt Damon
IMDB Rating – 8.3
Rotten Tomatoes – 97%
Release Date – 2 December 1997
Box Office – $225.9 million
Genre – Drama, Romance
Awards – Won 2 Oscars
Plot –

10. Gone with the Wind

Director – Victor Fleming
Cast – Vivien Leigh, Leslie Howard, Olivia de Havilland, Clark Gable
IMDB Rating – 8.2
Rotten Tomatoes – 92%
Release Date – 15 December 1939
Box Office – $390 million
Genre – Drama, History, Romance
Awards – Won 8 Oscars
Plot –

9. One Flew Over Cuckoo’s Nest

Director – Miloš Forman
Cast – Louise Fletcher, William Redfield, Jack Nicholson
IMDB Rating – 8.7
Rotten Tomatoes – 94%
Release Date – 19 November 1975
Box Office – $109 million
Genre – Drama
Awards – Won 5 Oscars
Plot –

8. American History X

Director – Tony Kaye
Cast – Edward Furlong, Stacy Keach, Edward Norton, Fairuza Balk
IMDB Rating – 8.5
Rotten Tomatoes – 83%
Release Date – 30 October 1998
Box Office – $23.9 million
Genre – Drama
Awards – None
Plot –

7. American Beauty

Director – Sam Mendes
Cast – Allison Janney, Kevin Spacey, Mena Suvari, Thora Birch, Annette Bening
IMDB Rating – 8.3
Rotten Tomatoes – 88%
Release Date – 8 September 1999
Box Office – $356.3 million
Genre – Drama
Awards – Won 5 Oscars
Plot –

6. Fight Club

Director – David Fincher
Cast – Edward Norton, Brad Pitt, Meat Loaf Aday, Helena Bonham Carter
IMDB Rating – 8.8
Rotten Tomatoes – 79%
Release Date – 10 September 1999
Box Office – $100.9 million
Genre – Drama
Awards – None
Plot –

5. The Shawshank Redemption

Director – Frank Darabont
Cast – Bob Gunton, Morgan Freeman, Tim Robbins, Clancy Brown, William Sadler
IMDB Rating – 9.3
Rotten Tomatoes – 91%
Release Date – 22 September 1994
Box Office – $58.3 million
Genre – Drama
Awards – None
Plot –

4. Sunset Blvd.

Director – Billy Wilder
Cast – Erich von Stroheim, William Holden, Fred Clark, Gloria Swanson, Nancy Olson
IMDB Rating – 8.4
Rotten Tomatoes – 98%
Release Date – 10 August 1950
Box Office – $5 million
Genre – Drama, Film-Noir
Awards – Won 3 Oscars
Plot –

3. 12 Angry Men

Director – Sidney Lumet
Cast – Lee J. Cobb, Henry Fonda, E. G. Marshall, Ed Begley
IMDB Rating – 8.9
Rotten Tomatoes – 100%
Release Date – April 10, 1957
Box Office – $2,000,000
Genre – Drama
Awards – None
Plot –

2. Citizen Kane

Director – Orson Welles
Cast – Ray Collins, Orson Welles, Agnes Moorehead, Joseph Cotten, Everett Sloane, Dorothy Comingore
IMDB Rating – 8.3
Rotten Tomatoes – 100%
Release Date – 1 May 1941
Box Office – $1.6 million
Genre – Drama, Mystery
Awards – Won 1 Oscar
Plot –

1. The Godfather Trilogy

Director – Francis Ford Coppola
Cast – James Caan, Robert Duvall, Marlon Brando, Sterling Hayden, Al Pacino, Richard Castellano, John Marley
IMDB Rating – 9.2
Rotten Tomatoes – 98%
Release Date – 14 March 1972
Box Office – $245–286 million
Genre – Crime, Drama
Awards – Won 3 Oscars
Plot –

This was our list of 100 Great Drama Films. Which film do you think would have made to your list and which film you would have skipped in your list of good drama movies. Share your views below.