Best 1997 movies

Written by:
August 29, 2025
OMDb

Best 1997 movies

Stacker compiled a list of the best 1997 movies of all time based on our own Stacker score, a weighted index split evenly between IMDb user rating and Metascore. The top movie on this list has a Stacker score of 100; the remaining movies are ranked relative to it. To qualify, the film had at least 10,000 IMDb user votes and a Metascore. Any ties were broken by number of IMDb votes.

 

1 / 20
OMDb

#20. The Ice Storm

- Stacker score: 83.8
- IMDb user rating: 7.3 (votes: 63,000)
- Metascore: 72
- Director: Ang Lee
- Actors: Kevin Kline, Joan Allen, William Cain
- Runtime: 1 hour 52 minutes
- Rating: R
- Box office: $8,038,061

2 / 20
OMDb

#19. Wag the Dog

- Stacker score: 83.8
- IMDb user rating: 7.1 (votes: 92,000)
- Metascore: 74
- Director: Barry Levinson
- Actors: Dustin Hoffman, Robert De Niro, Anne Heche
- Runtime: 1 hour 37 minutes
- Rating: R
- Box office: $43,061,945

3 / 20
OMDb

#18. Men in Black

- Stacker score: 83.8
- IMDb user rating: 7.3 (votes: 647,000)
- Metascore: 72
- Director: Barry Sonnenfeld
- Actors: Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith, Linda Fiorentino
- Runtime: 1 hour 38 minutes
- Rating: PG-13
- Box office: $250,690,539

4 / 20
OMDb

#17. Happy Together

- Stacker score: 85.0
- IMDb user rating: 7.7 (votes: 37,000)
- Metascore: 70
- Director: Wong Kar-Wai
- Actors: Leslie Cheung, Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Chang Chen
- Runtime: 1 hour 36 minutes
- Rating: Not Rated
- Box office: $320,319

5 / 20
OMDb

#16. Perfect Blue

- Stacker score: 85.0
- IMDb user rating: 8.0 (votes: 111,000)
- Metascore: 67
- Director: Satoshi Kon
- Actors: Junko Iwao, Rica Matsumoto, Shinpachi Tsuji
- Runtime: 1 hour 21 minutes
- Rating: Not Rated
- Box office: $558,598

6 / 20
OMDb

#15. The Full Monty

- Stacker score: 85.0
- IMDb user rating: 7.2 (votes: 118,000)
- Metascore: 75
- Director: Peter Cattaneo
- Actors: Robert Carlyle, Tom Wilkinson, Mark Addy
- Runtime: 1 hour 31 minutes
- Rating: R
- Box office: $45,950,122

7 / 20
OMDb

#14. Hercules

- Stacker score: 85.0
- IMDb user rating: 7.3 (votes: 271,000)
- Metascore: 74
- Director: Ron Clements, John Musker
- Actors: Tate Donovan, Susan Egan, James Woods
- Runtime: 1 hour 33 minutes
- Rating: G
- Box office: $99,112,101

8 / 20
OMDb

#13. Affliction

- Stacker score: 85.5
- IMDb user rating: 6.9 (votes: 21,000)
- Metascore: 79
- Director: Paul Schrader
- Actors: Nick Nolte, Sissy Spacek, James Coburn
- Runtime: 1 hour 54 minutes
- Rating: R
- Box office: $6,330,054

9 / 20
OMDb

#12. Nil by Mouth

- Stacker score: 86.1
- IMDb user rating: 7.3 (votes: 11,000)
- Metascore: 76
- Director: Gary Oldman
- Actors: Ray Winstone, Kathy Burke, Charlie Creed-Miles
- Runtime: 2 hours 8 minutes
- Rating: R
- Box office: $266,130

10 / 20
OMDb

#11. Grosse Pointe Blank

- Stacker score: 86.1
- IMDb user rating: 7.3 (votes: 103,000)
- Metascore: 76
- Director: George Armitage
- Actors: John Cusack, Minnie Driver, Dan Aykroyd
- Runtime: 1 hour 47 minutes
- Rating: R
- Box office: $28,084,357

11 / 20
OMDb

#10. Eve's Bayou

- Stacker score: 86.7
- IMDb user rating: 7.2 (votes: 12,000)
- Metascore: 78
- Director: Kasi Lemmons
- Actors: Samuel L. Jackson, Jurnee Smollett, Meagan Good
- Runtime: 1 hour 48 minutes
- Rating: R
- Box office: $14,842,388

12 / 20
OMDb

#9. In the Company of Men

- Stacker score: 87.3
- IMDb user rating: 7.1 (votes: 15,000)
- Metascore: 80
- Director: Neil LaBute
- Actors: Aaron Eckhart, Matt Malloy, Stacy Edwards
- Runtime: 1 hour 37 minutes
- Rating: R
- Box office: $2,804,473

13 / 20
OMDb

#8. Donnie Brasco

- Stacker score: 89.0
- IMDb user rating: 7.7 (votes: 348,000)
- Metascore: 77
- Director: Mike Newell
- Actors: Al Pacino, Johnny Depp, Michael Madsen
- Runtime: 2 hours 7 minutes
- Rating: R
- Box office: $41,909,762

14 / 20
OMDb

#7. Good Will Hunting

- Stacker score: 89.0
- IMDb user rating: 8.3 (votes: 1.2 million)
- Metascore: 71
- Director: Gus Van Sant
- Actors: Robin Williams, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck
- Runtime: 2 hours 6 minutes
- Rating: R
- Box office: $138,433,435

15 / 20
OMDb

#6. Titanic

- Stacker score: 89.0
- IMDb user rating: 7.9 (votes: 1.4 million)
- Metascore: 75
- Director: James Cameron
- Actors: Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Billy Zane
- Runtime: 3 hours 14 minutes
- Rating: PG-13
- Box office: $674,354,882

16 / 20
OMDb

#5. The Apostle

- Stacker score: 89.6
- IMDb user rating: 7.2 (votes: 15,000)
- Metascore: 83
- Director: Robert Duvall
- Actors: Robert Duvall, Todd Allen, Paul Bagget
- Runtime: 2 hours 14 minutes
- Rating: PG-13
- Box office: $19,868,354

17 / 20
OMDb

#4. Face/Off

- Stacker score: 89.6
- IMDb user rating: 7.3 (votes: 418,000)
- Metascore: 82
- Director: John Woo
- Actors: John Travolta, Nicolas Cage, Joan Allen
- Runtime: 2 hours 18 minutes
- Rating: R
- Box office: $112,276,146

18 / 20
OMDb

#3. The Sweet Hereafter

- Stacker score: 95.4
- IMDb user rating: 7.4 (votes: 38,000)
- Metascore: 91
- Director: Atom Egoyan
- Actors: Ian Holm, Sarah Polley, Caerthan Banks
- Runtime: 1 hour 52 minutes
- Rating: R
- Box office: $3,263,585

19 / 20
OMDb

#2. Boogie Nights

- Stacker score: 95.4
- IMDb user rating: 7.9 (votes: 294,000)
- Metascore: 86
- Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
- Actors: Mark Wahlberg, Julianne Moore, Burt Reynolds
- Runtime: 2 hours 35 minutes
- Rating: R
- Box office: $26,416,349

20 / 20
OMDb

#1. L.A. Confidential

- Stacker score: 100.0
- IMDb user rating: 8.2 (votes: 647,000)
- Metascore: 91
- Director: Curtis Hanson
- Actors: Kevin Spacey, Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce
- Runtime: 2 hours 18 minutes
- Rating: R
- Box office: $64,616,940

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