Want to know the best Jack Nicholson movies? How about the worst Jack Nicholson movies? Curious about Jack Nicholson’s box office grosses or which Jack Nicholson movie picked up the most Oscar® nominations? Need to know which Jack Nicholson movie got the best reviews from critics and audiences or which one got the worst reviews? Well you have come to the right place….because we have all of that information.
Jack Nicholson (1937-) is one of the most accomplished actors to ever appear in movies. He has been nominated twelve times for an Academy Award® for acting (winning three times). Nicholson has also picked up seventeen Golden Globe® nominations (winning five times). His big break was appearing in 1969’s Easy Rider. The part of George Hanson was actually written for another actor, Rip Torn, who dropped out of the film after a disagreement with director Dennis Hopper. Nicholson took over the role, received his first Oscar® nomination and has never looked back.
Since Easy Rider, Nicholson has appeared in one classic after another. In the 1970s, he appeared in the movies Five Easy Pieces, Carnal Knowledge, Chinatown, and One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest. The 1980s gave us Terms of Endearment, Reds, Prizzi’s Honor, Batman and Broadcast News. The 1990s gave us A Few Good Men and As Good As It Gets. In the 2000s he has made fewer movies, but still starred in The Departed and About Schmidt. His last starring role was in 2007’s The Bucket List and his last appearance on the screen was a supporting role in 2010’s How Do You Know. Currently he has no new projects listed on IMDb….I hope that does not mean that he has retired.
His IMDb page shows 75 acting credits from 1956-2010. This page will rank 48 Jack Nicholson movies from Best to Worst in six different sortable columns of information. Television shows, shorts, cameos and movies that were not released in theaters were not included in the rankings.
Jack Nicholson Movies Ranked In Chronological Order With Ultimate Movie Rankings Score (1 to 5 UMR Tickets) *Best combo of box office, reviews and awards.
Year
Movie (Year)
Rating
S
Year Movie (Year) Rating S
1975
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
AA Best Picture Win
AA Best Actor Win
2006
The Departed (2006)
AA Best Picture Win
1983
Terms of Endearment (1983)
AA Best Picture Win
AA Best Supp Actor Win
1974
Chinatown (1974)
AA Best Picture Nom
AA Best Actor Nom
1981
Reds (1981)
AA Best Picture Nom
AA Best Supp Actor Nom
1969
Easy Rider (1969)
AA Best Supp Actor Nom
1992
A Few Good Men (1992)
AA Best Picture Nom
AA Best Supp Actor Nom
1970
Five Easy Pieces (1970)
AA Best Picture Nom
AA Best Actor Nom
1997
As Good as It Gets (1997)
AA Best Actor Win
1971
Carnal Knowledge (1971)
1987
Broadcast News (1987)
AA Best Picture Nom
1980
The Shining (1980)
1989
Batman (1989)
2003
Something's Gotta Give (2003)
1975
Tommy (1975)
1987
The Witches of Eastwick (1987)
2002
About Schmidt (2002)
AA Best Actor Nom
1973
The Last Detail (1973)
AA Best Actor Nom
2003
Anger Management (2003)
1985
Prizzi's Honor (1985)
AA Best Picture Nom
AA Best Actor Nom
1994
Wolf (1994)
1970
On a Clear Day You Can See Forever (1970)
2007
The Bucket List (2007)
1975
The Passenger (1975)
1976
The Missouri Breaks (1976)
1963
The Raven (1963)
2001
The Pledge (2001)
1981
The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981)
1996
Mars Attacks! (1996)
1987
Ironweed (1987)
AA Best Actor Nom
1960
The Little Shop of Horrors (1960)
1982
The Border (1982)
1986
Heartburn (1986)
1978
Goin' South (1978)
1992
Hoffa (1992)
1968
Head (1968)
1972
The King of Marvin Gardens (1972)
1990
The Two Jakes (1990)
1964
Ensign Pulver (1964)
1971
Drive He Said (1971)
1995
The Crossing Guard (1995)
1975
The Fortune (1975)
1968
Psych-Out (1968)
1996
Blood and Wine (1996)
1976
The Last Tycoon (1976)
2010
How Do You Know (2010)
1967
Hells Angels on Wheels (1967)
1963
The Terror (1963)
1971
A Safe Place (1971)
1996
The Evening Star (1996)
1992
Man Trouble (1992)
Jack Nicholson 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 Jack Nicholson movies by co-stars of his movies
- Sort Jack Nicholson movies by actual domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost
- Sort Jack Nicholson movies by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost
- Sort Jack Nicholson 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 Jack Nicholson movie received.
- Sort Jack Nicholson 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.
| R | Movie (Year) | UMR Co-Star Links | Adj. B.O. Worldwide (mil) | Review | Oscar Nom / Win | UMR Score | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | Movie (Year) | UMR Co-Star Links | Actual B.O. Domestic (mil) | Adj. B.O. Domestic (mil) | Adj. B.O. Worldwide (mil) | B.O. Rank by Year | Review | Oscar Nom / Win | UMR Score | S |
| 1 | One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) AA Best Picture Win AA Best Actor Win |
Danny DeVito & Louise Fletcher |
109.00 | 573.1 | 858.60 | 3 | 90 | 09 / 05 | 100.0 | |
| 2 | The Departed (2006) AA Best Picture Win |
Leonardo DiCaprio & Matt Damon |
132.40 | 216.9 | 474.90 | 16 | 90 | 05 / 04 | 99.9 | |
| 3 | Terms of Endearment (1983) AA Best Picture Win AA Best Supp Actor Win |
Shirley MacLaine & Danny DeVito |
108.40 | 371.0 | 371.00 | 2 | 83 | 11 / 05 | 99.9 | |
| 4 | Chinatown (1974) AA Best Picture Nom AA Best Actor Nom |
Faye Dunaway & John Huston |
29.20 | 168.3 | 168.30 | 17 | 94 | 11 / 01 | 99.5 | |
| 5 | Reds (1981) AA Best Picture Nom AA Best Supp Actor Nom |
Warren Beatty & Diane Keaton |
40.40 | 156.6 | 156.60 | 13 | 84 | 12 / 03 | 98.7 | |
| 6 | Easy Rider (1969) AA Best Supp Actor Nom |
Peter Fonda & Dennis Hopper |
54.60 | 414.3 | 414.30 | 3 | 86 | 02 / 00 | 98.6 | |
| 7 | A Few Good Men (1992) AA Best Picture Nom AA Best Supp Actor Nom |
Tom Cruise & Directed by Rob Reiner |
141.30 | 367.1 | 631.80 | 5 | 76 | 04 / 00 | 98.3 | |
| 8 | Five Easy Pieces (1970) AA Best Picture Nom AA Best Actor Nom |
Karen Black | 27.00 | 187.6 | 187.60 | 13 | 80 | 04 / 00 | 98.3 | |
| 9 | As Good as It Gets (1997) AA Best Actor Win |
Helen Hunt & Greg Kinnear |
148.50 | 348.7 | 737.90 | 6 | 73 | 07 / 02 | 97.5 | |
| 10 | Carnal Knowledge (1971) | Ann-Margret & Candice Bergen |
37.40 | 244.5 | 244.50 | 9 | 78 | 01 / 00 | 97.3 | |
| 12 | Broadcast News (1987) AA Best Picture Nom |
William Hurt & Holly Hunter |
51.20 | 141.3 | 185.60 | 18 | 85 | 07 / 00 | 97.0 | |
| 13 | The Shining (1980) | Directed by Stanley Kubrick | 44.00 | 182.5 | 182.50 | 18 | 83 | 00 / 00 | 96.9 | |
| 11 | Batman (1989) | Michael Keaton & Kim Basinger |
249.90 | 678.5 | 1,113.40 | 1 | 75 | 01 / 01 | 96.8 | |
| 14 | Something's Gotta Give (2003) | Diane Keaton & Keanu Reeves |
124.70 | 223.0 | 476.80 | 16 | 71 | 01 / 00 | 95.6 | |
| 15 | Tommy (1975) | Ann-Margret & Oliver Reed |
47.80 | 251.6 | 251.60 | 9 | 65 | 02 / 00 | 94.3 | |
| 16 | The Witches of Eastwick (1987) | Michelle Pfeiffer & Susan Sarandon |
63.80 | 175.8 | 175.80 | 11 | 71 | 02 / 00 | 93.6 | |
| 17 | About Schmidt (2002) AA Best Actor Nom |
Kathy Bates | 65.00 | 120.8 | 199.00 | 41 | 85 | 02 / 00 | 92.5 | |
| 18 | The Last Detail (1973) AA Best Actor Nom |
Randy Quaid | 14.40 | 87.6 | 87.60 | 25 | 89 | 03 / 00 | 91.1 | |
| 19 | Anger Management (2003) | Adam Sandler | 135.60 | 242.5 | 349.90 | 12 | 54 | 00 / 00 | 90.4 | |
| 20 | Prizzi's Honor (1985) AA Best Picture Nom AA Best Actor Nom |
Angelica Huston & Directed by John Huston |
26.70 | 80.9 | 80.90 | 32 | 78 | 08 / 01 | 90.2 | |
| 21 | Wolf (1994) | Michelle Pfeiffer | 65.00 | 171.7 | 346.10 | 19 | 60 | 00 / 00 | 89.5 | |
| 22 | On a Clear Day You Can See Forever (1970) | Barbra Streisand | 16.20 | 112.8 | 112.80 | 22 | 74 | 00 / 00 | 87.8 | |
| 23 | The Bucket List (2007) | Morgan Freeman & Directed by Rob Reiner |
93.50 | 146.4 | 274.80 | 30 | 54 | 00 / 00 | 84.1 | |
| 24 | The Passenger (1975) | Maria Schneider | 5.50 | 28.7 | 28.70 | 66 | 89 | 00 / 00 | 82.8 | |
| 25 | The Missouri Breaks (1976) | Marlon Brando | 15.40 | 77.9 | 77.90 | 43 | 69 | 00 / 00 | 80.0 | |
| 26 | The Raven (1963) | Peter Lorre & Boris Karloff |
3.90 | 48.3 | 48.30 | 62 | 78 | 00 / 00 | 79.7 | |
| 27 | The Pledge (2001) | Directed by Sean Penn | 19.70 | 37.7 | 56.10 | 101 | 76 | 00 / 00 | 75.4 | |
| 28 | The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981) | Jessica Lange | 15.60 | 60.4 | 60.40 | 55 | 68 | 00 / 00 | 74.8 | |
| 30 | Mars Attacks! (1996) | Annette Benning & Michael J. Fox |
37.80 | 92.1 | 247.20 | 39 | 57 | 00 / 00 | 74.8 | |
| 29 | Ironweed (1987) AA Best Actor Nom |
Meryl Streep | 7.40 | 20.4 | 20.40 | 92 | 78 | 02 / 00 | 74.5 | |
| 31 | The Little Shop of Horrors (1960) | Directed by Roger Corman | 1.40 | 22.3 | 22.30 | 115 | 77 | 00 / 00 | 71.7 | |
| 32 | The Border (1982) | Harvey Keitel | 6.10 | 22.4 | 22.40 | 81 | 76 | 00 / 00 | 71.1 | |
| 33 | Heartburn (1986) | Meryl Streep | 25.30 | 73.6 | 73.60 | 38 | 59 | 00 / 00 | 70.6 | |
| 34 | Goin' South (1978) | John Belushi | 7.40 | 34.3 | 34.30 | 68 | 70 | 00 / 00 | 68.2 | |
| 35 | Hoffa (1992) | Danny DeVito | 24.30 | 63.1 | 76.10 | 52 | 59 | 02 / 00 | 67.1 | |
| 36 | Head (1968) | The Monkeys | 2.10 | 17.6 | 17.60 | 114 | 69 | 00 / 00 | 59.8 | |
| 37 | The King of Marvin Gardens (1972) | Bruce Dern | 2.90 | 18.3 | 18.30 | 95 | 65 | 00 / 00 | 53.0 | |
| 38 | The Two Jakes (1990) | Harvey Keitel | 10.00 | 25.5 | 25.50 | 98 | 62 | 00 / 00 | 51.0 | |
| 39 | Ensign Pulver (1964) | Walter Matthau | 3.90 | 44.5 | 60.90 | 73 | 52 | 00 / 00 | 43.3 | |
| 40 | Drive He Said (1971) | Bruce Dern & Karen Black |
2.60 | 16.8 | 16.80 | 100 | 61 | 00 / 00 | 42.9 | |
| 41 | The Crossing Guard (1995) | Directed by Sean Penn | 0.90 | 2.2 | 2.20 | 197 | 63 | 00 / 00 | 37.1 | |
| 42 | The Fortune (1975) | Warren Beatty | 9.10 | 47.8 | 47.80 | 51 | 48 | 00 / 00 | 36.8 | |
| 43 | Psych-Out (1968) | Dean Stockwell | 1.50 | 12.7 | 12.70 | 139 | 58 | 00 / 00 | 34.3 | |
| 44 | Blood and Wine (1996) | Michael Caine | 1.10 | 2.7 | 2.70 | 197 | 61 | 00 / 00 | 32.6 | |
| 45 | The Last Tycoon (1976) | Robert DeNiro & Robert Mitchum |
3.50 | 17.7 | 17.70 | 95 | 53 | 01 / 00 | 28.6 | |
| 46 | How Do You Know (2010) | Owen Wilson & Paul Rudd |
30.20 | 41.3 | 66.50 | 96 | 45 | 00 / 00 | 24.8 | |
| 47 | Hells Angels on Wheels (1967) | Adam Roarke | 6.50 | 57.9 | 57.90 | 43 | 39 | 00 / 00 | 24.0 | |
| 48 | The Terror (1963) | Boris Karloff | 1.80 | 22.4 | 22.40 | 97 | 46 | 00 / 00 | 17.6 | |
| 49 | A Safe Place (1971) | Orson Welles | 2.40 | 15.8 | 15.80 | 107 | 46 | 00 / 00 | 13.4 | |
| 50 | The Evening Star (1996) | Shirley MacLaine | 12.80 | 31.1 | 31.10 | 111 | 39 | 00 / 00 | 11.8 | |
| 51 | Man Trouble (1992) | Ellen Barkin | 4.10 | 10.6 | 10.60 | 129 | 32 | 00 / 00 | 1.9 |
Jack Nicholson Has 12 Oscar® and 17 Golden Globe® Nominations
1. 1969’s Easy Rider….nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar®
2. 1970’s Five Easy Pieces….nominated for a Best Actor Oscar®
3. 1971’s Carnal Knowledge….nominated for a Best Actor Golden Globe®
4. 1973’s The Last Detail….nominated for a Best Actor Oscar®
5. 1974’s Chinatown….nominated for a Best Actor Oscar®…won Golden Globe®
6. 1975’s One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest…..won Best Actor Oscar® and Golden Globe®
7. 1981’s Reds….nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar®
8. 1983’s Terms of Endearment….won Best Supporting Actor Oscar® and Golden Globe®
9. 1985’s Prizzi’s Honor….nominated for a Best Actor Oscar®….won Golden Globe®
10. 1987’s Ironweed….nominated for a Best Actor Oscar®
11. 1989’s Batman…..nominated for a Best Actor Golden Globe®
12. 1992’s A Few Good Men….nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar®
13. 1992’s Hoffa…..nominated for a Best Actor Golden Globe®
14. 1997’s As Good As It Gets….won Best Actor Oscar®
15. 2002’s About Schmidt….nominated for a Best Actor Oscar®…won Golden Globe®
16. 2003’s Somethings Gotta Give…..nominated for a Best Actor Golden Globe®
17. 2006’s The Departed……nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe®
Check out Jack Nicholson‘s career compared to current and classic actors. Most 100 Million Dollar Movies of All-Time.
If you do a comment….please ignore the email address and website section.
Cogerson….Jack is the KING, in my book. So much so, I can see his movies over and over again, with as much interest and enjoyment each time. Yes, there are my favorites, like Cuckoo’s Nest and Good as it gets…but he never made a bad movie….OR…used his magic to make a bad movie, Great! Thanks for the stats!!!
Hey fpherj48….King Jack sounds like a great title for him…thanks for stopping by and checking out this page that is filled with great movies.
I was talking about Postman Always Rings Twice today and I had to make sure I gave it a shout-out in this page…I did 3 months ago…I need to find that movie on VHS.
The nice part of these pages….they will always being waiting for you when you come across or see one of the stars movies…Postman…did not fare very well on the charts….#32…..I remember people talking about the movie ….but I guess not many went to the theater to see it…thanks for checking out the page again.
The kitchen scene is enough to make fans come back for an encore presentation. Just saying.
True…I think that is what everybody was talking about back then….thanks Sunshine625….did you notice I forget to use your name again in the return comment…please accept my apologizes.
Love it. First time I saw Cuckoo’s Nest it wowed me, especially Jack’s performance there. His agility to play a role like that in Good as it Gets and Shining shows the Versatility of a true star. Quality hubs, man. Thanks!
ps – oddly, Reds is my favorite jack performance, despite the movie being mostly Keaton and Beatty. he’s a very understated jack/
Thanks for the comments mattd….Jack is awesome in all the movies you mention….and I know what you mean about Reds….in a movie that is 9 hours long(lol) could Beatty not have given Jack more scenes/lines….he is by far the best part of that movie. Thanks for checking out my Jack movie page
…well who dosen’t have a favorite Jack movie – lol – I always loved Antonio’s The Passenger – and The Last Detail (filmed in Canada where I live) – and of course that classic film as directed by his buddy Sean Penn, The Pledge – in his career there is a young Jack, a middle-aged Jack and now the older Jack who prefers to kick back and watch his beloved Lakers courtside – and oh yeah one more favorite and perhaps the definitve Jack performance – Five Easy Pieces. Love your hubs – you really do such a great job ……
Hey epigramman…..thanks for the compliment…..good points on the stages of Jack…..I would say early Jack….my favorite would be Cuckoo’s Nest…..middle-aged Jack…would be Witches of Eastwick…..and older Jack would be As Good As It Gets……I just say The Passenger and it was pretty good…although left lots of things unexplained….Last Detail is very good as well….Randy Quaid steals the show in that one….I watched How Do You Know recently…and I found watching him he was difficult…as age and the weight gain made me think of Brando more than classic Jack…thanks for stopping by
Great job! I love The Shining! It’s one of those that I watch again and again!
Thanks for reading my Jack page….I agree 100% with you about The Shining, I have seen the movie a dozen times and it still can give the creeps….Nicholson is awesome in the movie…..the thing I was think about when watching the movie….is maybe this time Scatman Crothers can save the day….in the book his character is the final hero….in the movie he arrives and dies….maybe one day he will be the hero….lol