Want to know the best Billy Crystal movies? How about the worst Billy Crystal movies? Curious about Billy Crystal box office grosses or which Billy Crystal movie picked up the most Oscar® nominations? Need to know which Billy Crystal movie got the best reviews from critics and audiences? Well you have come to the right place….because we have all of that information.
Billy Crystal (1948-) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, director, and television host. He gained prominence in the 1970s and 80s for television roles on Soap and as a cast member and frequent host of Saturday Night Live. He then became a Hollywood film star during the late 1980s and 1990s, appearing in many critical and box office successes. His IMDb page shows 72 acting credits since 19975. In the table below, Ultimate Movie Rankings ranks 28 of his movies in 6 different sortable columns. Television roles and movies not released in North American theaters were not included in the rankings on the table.
Billy Crystal Movies Ranked In Chronological Order With Ultimate Movie Rankings Score (1 to 5 UMR Tickets) *Best combo of box office, reviews and awards.
Billy Crystal 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 Billy Crystal movies by co-stars of his movies.
Sort Billy Crystal movies by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost
Sort Billy Crystal movies by domestic yearly box office rank or trivia
Sort Billy Crystal 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 Billy Crystal movie received.
Sort Billy Crystal 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.
Use the sort and search buttons to make this a very interactive table.
Possibly Interesting Facts About Billy Crystal
1. William Edward Crystal was born in Manhattan (New York City) and raised in The Bronx.
2. Billy Crystal earned a baseball scholarship at Marshall University. Sadly, he never got to play baseball because the program was suspended during his freshman year.
3. Billy Crystal left Marshall after one year. He enrolled and graduated from New York University with a film and television directing degree. One of his instructors was Martin Scorsese, while Oliver Stone and Christopher Guest were among his classmates.
4. Billy Crystal was cast as Rob Reiner’s best friend in the All in the Family (1971) episode, All in the Family: New Year’s Wedding (1976), and became his best friend in real life. They would later make the classic movies The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally…. and This Is Spinal Tap.
5. Billy Crystal was scheduled to appear on the first episode of NBC Saturday Night on October 11, 1975 (The show was later renamed Saturday Night Live on March 26, 1977), but his sketch was cut.
6. Billy Crystal is a partial owner of the Arizona Diamondbacks, and is a long time and huge fan of the New York Yankees. Crystal spent $400,00 on a game used Mickey Mantle baseball glove.
7. Billy Crystal has been married one time. He has been married to Janice Crystal since 1970. They have two children. Younger daughter, Lindsay Crystal, is a filmmaker.
8. Billy Crystal was Pixar’s first choice to provide the voice of Buzz Lightyear in the Toy Story movies. Crystal turned them down. He has said this was the worst career decision he has ever made. He did not make the same mistake when Pixar offered him a voice role in Monsters, Inc.
9. In 1986, Billy Crystal started hosting Comic Relief on HBO with Robin Williams and Whoopi Goldberg. Founded by Bob Zmuda, Comic Relief raises money for homeless people in the United States.
10. Check out Billy Crystal’s career compared to current and classic actors. Most 100 Million Dollar Movies of All-Time.
Academy Award® and Oscar® are the registered trademarks of the Academy of Motion Arts and Sciences.
I tend to think of Billy Crystal more as a stand-up comedian/Academy Award host (where he delivered some of the best jokes ever at these ceremonies), so it’s interesting to see he has a commendable body of work in the movies. I have seen 10 of the films on the list, with my favorites being The Princess Bride, This is Spinal Tap (though I only vaguely remember Billy in that one), Deconstructing Harry, When Harry Met Sally, and Throw Mama from the Train. Overall, he made a limited number of movies, but Billy Crystal a good addition to UMR, good work!
Hey PhilHoF17. I am right there with you on Billy Crystal. Growing up, that is how I knew him…as a stand-up comedian and as a character on Soap. I knew about Rabbit Test….but I never got to watch that one until I got older…it is a brutally bad movie. Of your favorites…I have seen them all except for Deconstructing Harry (I think…all the Woody Allen movies blend together) and did not really enjoy Throw Momma From The Train (not enough comedy in that one). Double digit Billy movies puts you near the 40% mark for him…not too bad. Good feedback as always.
Hey Bruce, Thanks for your response. I think you would liked Billy Crystal in Deconstructing Harry, especially when he appears as the devil in Harry/Woody’s dream…quite hilarious. And as far as later Woody Allen movies go, Deconstructing Harry is a pretty good one.
To be honest, while I enjoyed Throw Mama from the Train, I know it has its weaknesses and I included it more in honor of my mom who passed away a year ago and really liked that film and its humorous take of Hitchcock’s Strangers on a Train. My mom was a big Hitchcock fan. And she liked Billy Crystal as well!
My favorite Billy Crystal movie is not one he appeared in but rather one he directed for television, that would be *61 . That was an HBO film about Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris chasing Babe Ruth’s then record of 60 homers in a season.
Billy Crystal is not on the Oracle of Bacon Top 1000 Center of the Hollywood Universe list (he was a long time ago). These are the actors on the current list he has worked with.
2 HARVEY KEITEL THE COMEDIAN (2017)
6 ROBERT DE NIRO Analyze That (2002)
6 ROBERT DE NIRO Analyze This (1999)
6 ROBERT DE NIRO The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle (2000)
6 ROBERT DE NIRO THE COMEDIAN (2017)
18 JOHN GIELGUD Hamlet (1996)
27 FRANK WELKER Cars (2006)
27 FRANK WELKER Monsters, Inc. (2001)
34 ALFRED MOLINA MONSTERS UNIVERSITY (2013)
35 HARRY DEAN STANTON Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project (2007)
37 GERARD DEPARDIEU Hamlet (1996)
43 CHRISTOPHER WALKEN America’s Sweethearts (2001)
54 JACK NICHOLSON I’m Still Here (2010/I)
58 HELEN MIRREN MONSTERS UNIVERSITY (2013)
61 JACK PALANCE City Slickers (1991)
61 JACK PALANCE City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly’s Gold (1994)
66 BRUCE WILLIS I’m Still Here (2010/I)
69 ALAN ARKIN America’s Sweethearts (2001)
71 RICHARD ATTENBOROUGH Hamlet (1996)
91 JOSS ACKLAND My Giant (1998)
92 CHARLTON HESTON Hamlet (1996)
94 PAUL NEWMAN Cars (2006)
95 JAMES EARL JONES Muhammad Ali: Through the Eyes of the World (2001)
96 CARY ELWES The Princess Bride (1987)
98 JOHN GOODMAN Cars (2006)
98 JOHN GOODMAN Monsters University (2013)
98 JOHN GOODMAN Monsters, Inc. (2001)
98 JOHN GOODMAN The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle (2000)
110 RODDY MCDOWELL Rabbit Test (1978)
113 JULIA ROBERTS America’s Sweethearts (2001)
118 STEVE BUSCEMI MONSTERS UNIVERSITY (2013)
118 STEVE BUSCEMI Monsters, Inc. (2001)
120 JOHN MILLS Hamlet (1996)
140 LAUREN BACALL HOWL’S MOVING CASTLE (2004)
148 WHOOPI GOLDBERG The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle (2000)
160 DANNY GLOVER I’m Still Here (2010/I)
169 CLINT HOWARD Forget Paris (1995)
173 TOM HANKS Cars (2006)
174 ANJELICA HUSTON This Is Spinal Tap (1984)
181 JAMES COBURN Monsters, Inc. (2001)
185 JOHN CUSACK America’s Sweethearts (2001)
187 JULIE CHRISTIE Hamlet (1996)
196 JUDI DENCH Hamlet (1996)
205 PETER FALK The Princess Bride (1987)
206 STANLEY TUCCI America’s Sweethearts (2001)
206 STANLEY TUCCI Deconstructing Harry (1997)
213 DANNY DEVITO I’m Still Here (2010/I)
213 DANNY DEVITO THE COMEDIAN (2017)
213 DANNY DEVITO Throw Momma from the Train (1987)
219 OWEN WILSON Cars (2006)
225 BOB BALABAN City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly’s Gold (1994)
225 BOB BALABAN Deconstructing Harry (1997)
238 TONY SHALHOUB CARS (2006)
244 RANDY QUAID The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle (2000)
248 WOODY ALLEN Deconstructing Harry (1997)
258 DEREK JACOBI Hamlet (1996)
262 WALLACE SHAWN Monsters, Inc. (2001)
262 WALLACE SHAWN The Princess Bride (1987)
267 ROBIN WILLIAMS Deconstructing Harry (1997)
267 ROBIN WILLIAMS Fathers’ Day (1997)
267 ROBIN WILLIAMS Hamlet (1996)
268 CAROL KANE The Princess Bride (1987)
275 PAUL GIAMATTI Deconstructing Harry (1997)
281 CLORIS LEACHMAN THE COMEDIAN (2017)
289 MEL GIBSON Fathers’ Day (1997)
292 CHEECH MARIN Cars (2006)
301 JOE PANTOLIANO Running Scared (1986)
307 DAN HEDAYA Running Scared (1986)
343 JON POLITO The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle (2000)
345 BRUCE GREENWOOD Fathers’ Day (1997)
346 MICHAEL MCKEAN This Is Spinal Tap (1984)
369 RON RIFKIN RABBIT TEST (1978)
382 ROBERT DOWNEY JR. A Century of Cinema (1994)
383 JOHN RATZENBERGER Cars (2006)
383 JOHN RATZENBERGER MONSTERS UNIVERSITY (2013)
383 JOHN RATZENBERGER Monsters, Inc. (2001)
412 DAVID PAYMER City Slickers (1991)
412 DAVID PAYMER City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly’s Gold (1994)
412 DAVID PAYMER Mr. Saturday Night (1992)
418 JEFFREY TAMBOR City Slickers (1991)
425 EMILY MORTIMER HOWL’S MOVING CASTLE (2004)
448 DEMI MOORE Deconstructing Harry (1997)
457 DAVID ALAN GRIER The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle (2000)
460 SEAN PENN I’m Still Here (2010/I)
464 BEN STILLER I’m Still Here (2010/I)
466 CHRISTIAN BALE Howl’s Moving Castle (2004)
477 TRACEY WALTER City Slickers (1991)
499 NATALIE PORTMAN I’m Still Here (2010/i)
502 JACK LEMMON Hamlet (1996)
515 JOE MANTEGNA Forget Paris (1995)
528 TIMOTHY SPALL HAMLET (1996)
550 JAMES REBHORN The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle (2000)
557 JEREMY PIVEN Cars (2006)
560 TARA STRONG MONSTERS UNIVERSITY (2013)
565 TIM CURRY Get Bruce (1999)
579 ALEX ROCCO Rabbit Test (1978)
584 JENNIFER TILLY Monsters, Inc. (2001)
596 JON LOVITZ CITY SLICKERS II: THE LEGEND OF CURLY’S GOLD (1994)
599 NASTASSJA KINSKI Fathers’ Day (1997)
609 MARTIN SCORSESE Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project (2007)
620 HANK AZARIA AMERICA’S SWEETHEARTS (2001)
622 BLYTHE DANNER Howl’s Moving Castle (2004)
628 JASON ALEXANDER THE ADVENTURES OF ROCKY & BULLWINKLE (2000)
679 RICHARD MASUR Forget Paris (1995)
679 RICHARD MASUR Who Needs Sleep? (2006)
681 ED BEGLEY JR. This Is Spinal Tap (1984)
706 RICHARD PORTNOW My Giant (1998)
710 SETH GREEN America’s Sweethearts (2001)
719 WALTON GOGGINS MR. SATURDAY NIGHT (1992)
738 JARED HARRIS Fathers’ Day (1997)
745 HARRY SHEARER Animalympics (1980)
745 HARRY SHEARER Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project (2007)
745 HARRY SHEARER This Is Spinal Tap (1984)
755 PAUL DOOLEY Cars (2006)
773 PRUITT TAYLOR VANCE City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly’s Gold (1994)
798 LOIS SMITH THE COMEDIAN (2017)
814 PATRICK MACNEE This Is Spinal Tap (1984)
845 FRED WILLARD THIS IS SPINAL TAP (1984)
850 KATE WINSLET Hamlet (1996)
879 JAY LENO Cars (2006)
879 JAY LENO Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project (2007)
885 JULIE ANDREWS Tooth Fairy (2010/I)
927 ANNETTE BENING Who Needs Sleep? (2006)
930 DANIEL STERN City Slickers (1991)
930 DANIEL STERN City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly’s Gold (1994)
932 MICHAEL KEATON Cars (2006)
949 DORIS ROBERTS MY GIANT (1998)
949 DORIS ROBERTS RABBIT TEST (1978)
963 CARLOS ALAZRAQI HOWL’S MOVING CASTLE (2004)
963 CARLOS ALAZRAQI MONSTERS UNIVERSITY (2013)
963 CARLOS ALAZRAQI PARTY CENTRAL (2014)
965 KATHLEEN QUINLAN My Giant (1998)
979 CHRIS ROCK Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project (2007)
982 JON GRIES RUNNING SCARED (1986)
995 RICHARD KIND Cars (2006)
995 RICHARD KIND Mr. Saturday Night (1992)
997 NATHAN LANE I’M STILL HERE (2010/I)
1000 MANDY PATINKIN The Princess Bride (1987)
HM (793) RICHARD BRIERS HAMLET (1996)
HM (824) BRIAN BLESSED HAMLET (1996)
Billy has appeared with 31 Oscar winners in films (and I’m sure with a lot more when he hosted the Oscars).
ALAN ARKIN America’s Sweethearts (2001)
ANJELICA HUSTON This Is Spinal Tap (1984)
CASEY AFFLECK I’M STILL HERE (2010/I)
CATHERINE ZETA-JONES America’s Sweethearts (2001)
CHARLTON HESTON Hamlet (1996)
CHRISTIAN BALE Howl’s Moving Castle (2004)
CHRISTOPHER WALKEN America’s Sweethearts (2001)
CLORIS LEACHMAN THE COMEDIAN (2017)
GEORGE BURNS A Century of Cinema (1994)
HELEN HUNT MR. SATURDAY NIGHT (1992)
HELEN MIRREN MONSTERS UNIVERSITY (2013)
JACK LEMMON Hamlet (1996)
JACK NICHOLSON I’m Still Here (2010/I)
JACK PALANCE City Slickers (1991)
JACK PALANCE City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly’s Gold (1994)
JAMES COBURN Monsters, Inc. (2001)
JAMIE FOXX I’m Still Here (2010/I)
JESSICA TANDY A Century of Cinema (1994)
JOHN MILLS Hamlet (1996)
JUDI DENCH Hamlet (1996)
JULIA ROBERTS America’s Sweethearts (2001)
JULIE ANDREWS Tooth Fairy (2010/I)
JULIE CHRISTIE Hamlet (1996)
KATE WINSLET Hamlet (1996)
LIZA MINNELLI A Century of Cinema (1994)
NATALIE PORTMAN I’m Still Here (2010/i)
PAUL NEWMAN Cars (2006)
ROBERT DE NIRO Analyze That (2002)
ROBERT DE NIRO Analyze This (1999)
ROBERT DE NIRO The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle (2000)
ROBERT DE NIRO THE COMEDIAN (2017)
ROBIN WILLIAMS Deconstructing Harry (1997)
ROBIN WILLIAMS Fathers’ Day (1997)
ROBIN WILLIAMS Hamlet (1996)
SEAN PENN I’m Still Here (2010/I)
TOM HANKS Cars (2006)
WHOOPI GOLDBERG The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle (2000)
Hey Dan. I agree with you on the “61”. That was a great movie. I think it would have done well in movie theaters as well. Crystal’s love for the Yankees and that time frame really come through that movie. Two things really surprise me on your comment. (1) Crystal was in the Top 1000 at a point in time…..with so few movies that seems very unusual. (2) 31 Oscar winning co-stars? For a thespian with less than 30 movies…..and a thespian that specializes in comedy….that is a shocking amount of Oscar winners. John Goodman and Robert DeNiro lead the way with 4 movies with Crystal. When Crystal appeared in The Comedian I got the connection with DeNiro….however…I did not do the deeper connection with Crystal’s co-star in Throw Momma From The Train. Good lists. Thanks for sharing them.
Way back in 2000 he was # 957. I don’t rank them, that’s the way the site’s computers spit them out.
He also has 7 Oscar winners in Hamlet, 4 in America’s Sweethearts.
5 in I’m Still Here.
HI BRUCE
I agree with you about Princess Bride.
I used to watch it a lot with my son when he was growing up as he was then heavily into American wrestling [no wonder Laddie wasn’t big enough for him!] and Andre the Giant who plays Fezzik in Princess Bride was one of the wrestlers on the show back then. Apparently the real-life Andre was 6 ft 3 when he was just 12 years old and ended up as 7ft 5 – move over Arnie and Duke Wayne!
I agree with you too about ‘When Brucie Met Myrna’ being a wonderful movie!
Hey Bob…wow….we have been agreeing a lot in April…..sad that it only has two days left in the month. I did the same think with my son and The Princess Bride. Andre The Giant is one of my favorite characters in that movie….Rob Reiner got a great performance out of the “non actor”. WoC and I almost revisited Harry and Sally the other day…..but we picked a different movie to watch…..but that is a comedy classic for sure. Good feedback.
BRUCE
Yes -and indeed I think that if The Master left us alone and to our own devices you and I would probably agree on most things!
Hey Bob….sorry to say (for you) Joel was here when the foundation of this website was being poured….so he is in the fabric of the entire site….lol.
HI BRUCE
Your loyalty to the Master is overwhelming. Were he still with us I’m sure that he would be touched by your dedication-
” Perhaps the strongest friendship in Shakespeare was Caesar and Marc Antony. ‘There’s not a nobler friend in all Rome than Antony.’ ” Julius Caesar Act 3 Scene 2.
Via a morbid train of thought-association though it does strike me though that had Hirsch taken to crime writing instead of writing about the movies and had he written about a Capone or Dillinger of his day what he said about The Duke and poor ole Mumbles, foundations somewhere might well literally have become acquainted with Joel!
Nevertheless with or without The Master your foundations are in great shape and it also occurred to me this morning when I was doing another of my private movie statistical exercises how lucky I now am to have, via you, so much comprehensive reference material at my fingertips.
The information is currently so readily available that it heightens the pleasure of doing such exercises. I am sure many other followers of your site have similar thoughts at times. Anyway let me again thank you on my own behalf.
I have seen 7 of the Billy Crystal films on the above tables. However I will always remember Billy mostly for-
1/Forget Paris. It gets just a 57% rating from The Work Horse but it appealed to me because I visited France a lot in the 90s when it was made and I occasionally travelled to Paris during my holidays in that country.
2/His funny and endearing double acts with Robin Williams, apparently sometimes even ‘scratch’, largely improvised, arrangements – what a heart-warming team! At the August 2014 Emmy Awards Billy delivered a special tribute to his great friend the late Robin, who had tragically committed suicide earlier that month. See also para 9 of Possibly Interesting Facts above.
Billy is credited by IMDB with 31 acting awards overall and 50 nominations. He is said to have a net worth of $45 million. I warmly welcome with a “Vote Up!” this new page on one actor who comes across to me as a very nice guy in real life – the ‘antidote’ to the likes of Russell Crowe and Johnny Depp today and Spencer Tracy and W C Fields of yesteryear!
Hey Bob….7 is 25% of Billy Crystal’s movie total. It is even better if I had been more stingy on the cameo roles. I figured with so few movies I should include both of his DeNiro cameos (Rocky and Bullwinkle and The Comedian). Forget Paris has some pretty funny moments. I always get it mixed up with the Kevin Kline/Meg Ryan comedy French Kiss.
I saw the Robin Williams tribute. You could tell how much Williams death was so surprising to him. It was a wonderful tribute. I like the antidote. Good feedback.
HI BRUCE
Thank for the feed backs.
I too like French Kiss – I mean the movie of course! – because of the ‘French Connections’ that I’ve told you about.
I actually used to mix up When Harry Met Sally [aka Harry, This is Sally] with When a Man Loves a Woman. They are two completely different types of film but my confusion arose from the opening “When” combined with Meg Ryan appearing in both. Sadly Andy Garcia, like Meg, is a “Light of Former Days.”
I have only seen 3 Billy Crystal movies. They are all favourites:
When Harry Met Sally
City Slickers
This is Spinal Tap
Hey Flora. Thanks for checking out our Billy Crystal page. I have seen 22 of the 28 movies. I have seen 7 of them in theaters….or 25% of his movies. I like all of the three you have seen. I would highly highly recommend The Princess Bride. It is a fun good movie. Cary Elwes comes across as a young Errol Flynn. Wonderful family movie. When Harry Met Sally…..is one of the greatest rom-coms of all-time. The first City Slickers is the one to watch….the sequel is pretty bad. Good feedback as always.