Want to know the best James Earl Jones movies? How about the worst James Earl Jones movies? Curious about James Earl Jones box office grosses or which James Earl Jones movie picked up the most Oscar® nominations? Need to know which James Earl Jones movie got the best reviews from critics and audiences and which got the worst reviews? Well you have come to the right place….because we have all of that information.
James Earl Jones (1931–2024) was an Oscar nominated American actor. Widely regarded as the one of greatest stage and screen actors both in his native USA and internationally. His IMDb page shows 190 acting credits from 1952 to 2024. This page will rank James Earl Jones movies from Best to Worst in six different sortable columns of information. Television shows, shorts, cameos and movies not released in North American theaters were not included in the page.
James Earl Jones 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
1977
Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)
AA Best Picture Nom
1980
Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
1994
The Lion King (1994)
Voice Only
1964
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
AA Best Picture Nom
1990
The Hunt for Red October (1990)
1983
Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983)
2016
Rogue One (2016)
2005
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005)
1994
Clear and Present Danger (1994)
1989
Field of Dreams (1989)
AA Best Picture Nom
1992
Patriot Games (1992)
2019
The Lion King (2019)
Voice Only
2005
Robots (2005)
Voice Only
1988
Coming to America (1988)
1992
Sneakers (1992)
2006
Click (2006)
1994
Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult (1994)
1982
Conan the Barbarian (1982)
1993
Sommersby (1993)
1976
Bingo Long's Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings (1976)
1989
Three Fugitives (1989)
2006
Scary Movie 4 (2006)
1993
The Sandlot (1993)
1974
Claudine (1974)
1977
Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977)
1970
The Great White Hope (1970)
AA Best Actor Nom
2006
The Benchwarmers (2006)
1977
A Piece of the Action (1977)
1977
The Last Remake of Beau Geste (1977)
1996
A Family Thing (1996)
1987
Matewan (1987)
1986
Soul Man (1986)
2014
Driving Miss Daisy (2014)
1995
Cry, the Beloved Country (1995)
2008
Welcome Home, Roscoe Jenkins (2008)
1976
Swashbuckler (1976)
1977
The Greatest (1977)
1987
Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night (1987)
1972
The Man (1972)
1996
Good Luck (1996)
1975
Deadly Hero (1975)
1967
The Comedians (1967)
1991
By Dawn's Early Light (1991)
HBO Movie
1997
Gang Related (1997)
1989
Best of the Best (1989)
2014
The Angriest Man in Brooklyn (2014)
1994
Clean Slate (1994)
2013
Gimme Shelter (2013)
1995
Judge Dredd (1995)
1976
The River Niger (1976)
1995
Jefferson in Paris (1995)
1987
Gardens of Stone (1987)
1990
The Ambulance (1990)
2021
Coming 2 America (2021)
Amazon
1993
Excessive Force (1993)
1981
The Bushido Blade (1981)
2010
Quantum Quest: A Cassini Space Odyssey (2010)
1991
Convicts (1991)
1986
Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold (1986)
1986
My Little Girl (1986)
1993
The Meteor Man (1993)
2009
Jack and the Beanstalk (2009)
1984
City Limits (1984)
James Earl Jones 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 James Earl Jones movies by his co-stats
- Sort James Earl Jones movies by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost.
- Sort James Earl Jones movies by co-stars of yearly box office rank or trivia if rank not available
- Sort James Earl Jones 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 James Earl Jones movie received.
- Sort James Earl Jones 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 | Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977) AA Best Picture Nom |
Harrison Ford & Directed by George Lucas |
398.00 | 1,924.0 | 3,443.80 | 1 | 94 | 10 / 06 | 99.8 | |
2 | Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980) | Harrison Ford & Carrie Fisher |
255.30 | 1,058.4 | 2,086.20 | 1 | 92 | 03 / 02 | 99.4 | |
3 | The Lion King (1994) Voice Only |
Jeremy Irons & Whoopi Goldberg |
363.90 | 961.4 | 2,187.60 | 1 | 88 | 04 / 02 | 99.1 | |
4 | Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) AA Best Picture Nom |
Peter Sellers & Directed by Stanley Kubrick |
14.30 | 163.8 | 163.80 | 11 | 94 | 04 / 00 | 99.0 | |
5 | The Hunt for Red October (1990) | Sean Connery & Alec Baldwin & Sam N |
122.00 | 310.9 | 511.00 | 6 | 79 | 03 / 01 | 97.9 | |
6 | Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983) | Carrie Fisher & Mark Hamill |
296.30 | 1,014.0 | 1,581.40 | 1 | 78 | 04 / 00 | 97.7 | |
7 | Rogue One (2016) | Felecity Jones & Forest Whitaker |
522.20 | 650.8 | 1,303.60 | 1 | 78 | 02 / 00 | 97.4 | |
8 | Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005) | Natalie Portman & Ewan McGregor |
380.30 | 640.5 | 1,429.60 | 1 | 77 | 01 / 00 | 97.1 | |
9 | Clear and Present Danger (1994) | Harrison Ford & Willem Dafoe |
122.20 | 322.8 | 570.40 | 7 | 76 | 02 / 00 | 97.0 | |
10 | Field of Dreams (1989) AA Best Picture Nom |
Burt Lancaster & Kevin Costner |
64.40 | 175.0 | 229.30 | 19 | 76 | 03 / 00 | 96.8 | |
11 | Patriot Games (1992) | Harrison Ford & Samuel L. Jackson |
83.40 | 216.5 | 462.50 | 14 | 72 | 00 / 00 | 95.7 | |
12 | The Lion King (2019) Voice Only |
Seth Rogen & Chiwetel Ejiofor |
543.60 | 639.8 | 1,949.50 | 2 | 70 | 01 / 00 | 95.3 | |
13 | Robots (2005) Voice Only |
Robin Williams & Mel Brooks |
128.20 | 215.9 | 439.10 | 15 | 66 | 00 / 00 | 94.2 | |
14 | Coming to America (1988) | Eddie Murphy & Samuel L. Jackson |
128.20 | 336.1 | 757.40 | 3 | 62 | 02 / 00 | 93.4 | |
15 | Sneakers (1992) | Robert Redford & Dan Aykroyd |
51.40 | 133.6 | 133.60 | 30 | 75 | 00 / 00 | 90.7 | |
16 | Click (2006) | Adam Sandler | 137.40 | 225.0 | 389.40 | 14 | 50 | 01 / 00 | 89.2 | |
17 | Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult (1994) | Leslie Nielsen & Priscilla Presley |
51.10 | 135.1 | 135.10 | 23 | 68 | 00 / 00 | 88.2 | |
18 | Conan the Barbarian (1982) | Arnold Schwarzenegger & Oliver Stone |
39.60 | 145.1 | 252.50 | 16 | 64 | 00 / 00 | 88.0 | |
19 | Sommersby (1993) | Jodie Foster & Richard Gere |
50.10 | 130.4 | 364.80 | 25 | 62 | 00 / 00 | 85.0 | |
20 | Bingo Long's Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings (1976) | Baseball Movies & Richard Pryor |
16.20 | 81.9 | 81.90 | 41 | 76 | 00 / 00 | 84.4 | |
21 | Three Fugitives (1989) | Nick Nolte | 40.60 | 110.2 | 110.20 | 31 | 60 | 00 / 00 | 81.0 | |
23 | Scary Movie 4 (2006) | Anna Faris & Regina Hall |
90.70 | 148.6 | 292.00 | 21 | 48 | 00 / 00 | 80.8 | |
22 | The Sandlot (1993) | Tom Guiry & Mike Vitar |
32.40 | 84.5 | 84.50 | 49 | 68 | 00 / 00 | 80.6 | |
24 | Claudine (1974) | Diahann Carroll & James Earl Jones |
9.10 | 52.4 | 52.40 | 48 | 74 | 01 / 00 | 78.8 | |
25 | Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977) | Richard Burton & Paul Henreid |
37.60 | 181.6 | 181.60 | 20 | 32 | 00 / 00 | 77.1 | |
26 | The Great White Hope (1970) AA Best Actor Nom |
Jane Alexander | 8.50 | 59.0 | 59.00 | 38 | 66 | 02 / 00 | 74.6 | |
26 | The Benchwarmers (2006) | Dan Patrick & David Spade |
59.80 | 98.0 | 106.40 | 52 | 55 | 00 / 00 | 73.9 | |
27 | A Piece of the Action (1977) | Sidney Poitier & Bill Cosby |
14.60 | 70.6 | 70.60 | 49 | 62 | 00 / 00 | 72.6 | |
28 | The Last Remake of Beau Geste (1977) | Ann-Margret & Peter Ustinov |
17.10 | 82.8 | 82.80 | 43 | 57 | 00 / 00 | 70.8 | |
29 | A Family Thing (1996) | Robert Duvall | 10.10 | 24.7 | 24.70 | 124 | 73 | 00 / 00 | 68.9 | |
30 | Matewan (1987) | Chris Cooper & James Earl Jones |
1.70 | 4.6 | 4.60 | 148 | 79 | 01 / 00 | 68.4 | |
31 | Soul Man (1986) | C. Thomas Howell & Rae Dawn Chong |
27.80 | 80.8 | 80.80 | 35 | 51 | 00 / 00 | 62.6 | |
32 | Driving Miss Daisy (2014) | Angela Lansbury | 0.00 | 0.1 | 0.10 | 398 | 76 | 00 / 00 | 61.0 | |
33 | Cry, the Beloved Country (1995) | Richard Harris | 0.70 | 1.7 | 1.70 | 202 | 73 | 00 / 00 | 57.1 | |
34 | Welcome Home, Roscoe Jenkins (2008) | Martin Lawrence & Louis C.K. |
42.40 | 63.7 | 65.50 | 67 | 53 | 00 / 00 | 56.4 | |
35 | Swashbuckler (1976) | Robert Shaw & Peter Boyle |
8.30 | 42.2 | 42.20 | 65 | 59 | 00 / 00 | 56.0 | |
36 | The Greatest (1977) | Robert Duvall & Ernest Borgnine |
10.30 | 49.6 | 49.60 | 59 | 57 | 00 / 00 | 55.4 | |
38 | Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night (1987) | Don Knotts & Liza Minnelli |
3.30 | 9.0 | 9.00 | 124 | 68 | 00 / 00 | 52.1 | |
39 | The Man (1972) | Burgess Meredith | 0.10 | 0.7 | 0.70 | 176 | 68 | 00 / 00 | 46.7 | |
40 | Good Luck (1996) | Vincent D'Onofrio | 0.00 | 0.1 | 0.10 | 284 | 66 | 00 / 00 | 42.3 | |
41 | Deadly Hero (1975) | Danny DeVito | 1.30 | 6.8 | 6.80 | 131 | 63 | 00 / 00 | 41.5 | |
44 | The Comedians (1967) | Richard Burton & Elizabeth Taylor |
7.00 | 62.4 | 62.40 | 41 | 45 | 00 / 00 | 40.8 | |
42 | By Dawn's Early Light (1991) HBO Movie |
Rebecca De Mornay | 0.00 | 0.1 | 0.10 | 230 | 65 | 00 / 00 | 40.1 | |
43 | Gang Related (1997) | Dennis Quaid | 5.90 | 13.9 | 13.90 | 138 | 60 | 00 / 00 | 39.5 | |
45 | Best of the Best (1989) | Eric Roberts | 1.70 | 4.6 | 4.60 | 148 | 63 | 00 / 00 | 38.6 | |
46 | The Angriest Man in Brooklyn (2014) | Robin Williams & Peter Dinklage |
0.10 | 0.1 | 0.20 | 295 | 62 | 00 / 00 | 33.0 | |
47 | Clean Slate (1994) | Bryan Cranston | 7.40 | 19.4 | 19.40 | 128 | 54 | 00 / 00 | 30.1 | |
48 | Gimme Shelter (2013) | Rosario Dawson | 1.40 | 1.8 | 1.80 | 174 | 59 | 00 / 00 | 29.3 | |
49 | Judge Dredd (1995) | Sylvester Stallone & Rob Schneider |
34.70 | 86.0 | 281.30 | 52 | 32 | 00 / 00 | 27.6 | |
50 | The River Niger (1976) | Louis Gossett Jr. & Cicely Tyson |
0.20 | 0.8 | 0.80 | 160 | 57 | 00 / 00 | 23.9 | |
51 | Jefferson in Paris (1995) | Nick Nolte | 2.50 | 6.1 | 6.10 | 171 | 55 | 00 / 00 | 23.7 | |
53 | Gardens of Stone (1987) | James Caan & Anjelica Huston |
5.30 | 14.5 | 14.50 | 103 | 51 | 00 / 00 | 21.5 | |
52 | The Ambulance (1990) | Red Buttons | 0.10 | 0.1 | 0.10 | 241 | 56 | 00 / 00 | 21.2 | |
54 | Coming 2 America (2021) Amazon |
Eddie Murphy | 0.10 | 0.1 | 0.10 | 185 | 53 | 01 / 00 | 18.6 | |
55 | Excessive Force (1993) | Thomas Ian Griffith | 1.20 | 3.0 | 3.00 | 182 | 52 | 00 / 00 | 16.3 | |
56 | The Bushido Blade (1981) | Richard Boone | 0.40 | 1.5 | 1.50 | 158 | 50 | 00 / 00 | 13.4 | |
57 | Quantum Quest: A Cassini Space Odyssey (2010) | Chris Pine | 0.00 | 0.1 | 0.10 | 356 | 48 | 00 / 00 | 10.9 | |
58 | Convicts (1991) | Robert Duvall | 0.00 | 0.0 | 0.00 | 265 | 48 | 00 / 00 | 10.3 | |
59 | Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold (1986) | Sharon Stone | 4.50 | 13.1 | 13.10 | 116 | 43 | 00 / 00 | 9.7 | |
60 | My Little Girl (1986) | Geraldine Page | 0.00 | 0.1 | 0.10 | 254 | 47 | 00 / 00 | 9.3 | |
61 | The Meteor Man (1993) | Robert Townsend & Marla Gibbs |
8.00 | 20.9 | 20.90 | 118 | 39 | 00 / 00 | 8.5 | |
62 | Jack and the Beanstalk (2009) | Chloë Grace Moretz | 0.10 | 0.1 | 0.10 | 334 | 43 | 00 / 00 | 5.8 | |
63 | City Limits (1984) | John Stockwell | 0.10 | 0.4 | 0.40 | 189 | 19 | 00 / 00 | 0.0 |
James Earl Jones Adjusted World Wide Box Office Grosses
Steve’s James Earl Jones You Tube Video
Academy Award® and Oscar® are the registered trademarks of the Academy of Motion Arts and Sciences.
If you do a comment….please ignore the email address and website section.
James Earl Jones, the man, the voice! A worthy UMR subject! (“they’re all worthy” Bruce moans)
I’ve seen 30 of the 56 films on the chart, that’s better than I did on my video of Jones.
Favorites include – The Star Wars saga, Conan the Barbarian, Coming to America, The Lion King, Robots, Judge Dredd, Dr. Strangelove and The Hunt for Red October.
I’m glad he’s reprising his role as the voice of Mufasa in the Lion King remake, who could possibly top that? Orson Welles? Vin Diesel? Chris Tucker? But it’s a crying shame they couldn’t get Jeremy Irons to voice Scar. Oh well we’ll always have the original….
Dr. Strangelove tops the critics chart and Star Wars (1977) tops the UMR chart, nice.
Good work Bruce, and thanks for the link! Vote Up!
Hey Steve…we are tied with 30 movies each in our tally counts. Just a little more than half of the movies listed here. I am right there with you and all of your favorite JEJ movies. I am also glad he is returning to The Lion King. Though I can not say I am happy seeing all of these Disney reboots coming out in such rapid fire order. Irons’ Scar is one of the best voice roles ever…..so yes it is a shame that he is not returning. Glad you like the top ranked movies. I feel your JEJ video adds lots of value to the page. Good stuff.
I did not realize that James Earl Jones had been in any silent movies.
I have seen 5 James Earl Jones movies.
Favourite James Earl Jones Movies:
Dr. Strangelove
Field of Dreams
The Hunt for Red October
Other James Earl Jones Movies I Have Seen:
Naked Gun 33 1/3
Claudine
Hey Flora..thanks for the visit, comment and tally. I have seen 4 of the 5 you have seen. Claudine is the one I missed. Not sure what you mean by “silent movies”. He looks so young in Dr. Strangelove….granted he was in his early 30s when that movie came out. Good feedback as always.
At the top of the page in the second paragraph you have the comment “Television shows, shorts, cameos and many of his silent movies were not included…”
My comment was ironic as I knew that this was likely a mistake.
Hey Flora…..now I understand. I have since fixed that error. Thanks for catching that error. Makes me wonder how many times I copied and pasted that error. I always go straight to the tables when I am looking at one of these pages…so errors like that…I easily miss. Thanks again.
Somehow I forget to include Bingo Long. It is on the page now, but not in the right ranking spot. Ran out of time and did not get the chance to run the final update on this page. So it’s spot at the top will go away when I get home from work.
Bingo Long is now in it’s correct ranking spot.
If I was in your class I would probably be summoned up to the front and told to hold my hand out for a caning because in my previous post I forgot to add the Words of Wisdom that are available in the 1983 Book of Terror [and indeed I am surprised you didn’t get there first!].
“With his resonant voice and commanding presence James Earl Jones is probably most at home in the theatre. However for generations to come it is probably as the disembodied bass voice of Darth Vader in the Star Wars trilogy that Jones will be best remembered.”
NOTE Some movie historians have argued that Olivier too though effective on the screen was actually more suited to the stage.
Hey Bob….I was thinking James had a spot in Joel’s book…just had not had the chance to verify it. So thank you for sharing the wisdom of Joel. I will add in James top Joel movies tomorrow. Thanks for the return visit and the shard information. Good stuff.
With his rich deep booming vocal delivery James was ideal for Vader’s voice but as you know unlike you and Steve I am not a true fan of the to me seemingly endless, overblown franchises of the modern cinema, nor do I particularly admire voice role acting, so I currently most remember James for-
1/His role of the reclusive radical author Terence Mann in the 1989 Field of Dreams. Who can forget his retort to Kevin Costner’s Ray Kinsella when the latter tracks Mann down to his ‘lair’? – “Oh my God, you’re from the 60s!”
2/His portrayal of author Alex Haley in the 1979 mini-series Roots 2 [Next Generations] and particularly [me being me!] Episode VII in which he interviews the American neo-Nazi George Lincoln Rockwell played by the Great Mumbler, who won a Primetime Emmy as “outstanding supporting actor” for that performance. If you wish to look in on their scene together please Google “U Tube Marlon Brando and James Earl Jones in Roots Next Generations.”
Indeed 1979 seemed to be “Golden Oldies” year at the Emmys because as well as the King of Method’s award Hollywood female Legend Bette Davis won the best actress Emmy for ‘Strangers: Story of a Mother and Daughter’. Indeed one newspaper headline at the time rang out “Hollywood Old Guard honored at Emmys!”
James himself is overall credited by IMDB with 24 acting awards and 26 nominations and that haul includes 3 awards and I nom for his voice roles in the Star Wars franchise. He is reputed to have a net worth of $45 million. Anyway I personally warmly welcome this new page for this wonderfully-gifted African American actor – “Voted Up!”
Hey Bob. Thanks for checking out our JEJ new page. I think Steve and mine generation were pretty much kids when Star Wars blew us away. When the second batch of movies came out, I was older and did not love them as much. Heck by the time Return of the Jedi came out. I had gone from the age of 10 for Star Wars to 16 for the end of the trilogy. I remember being disappointed with the finale. The issue with getting older…I guess.
Good mentions of some of us better roles like Roots and Field of Dreams. He had those awards and a Honorary Oscar as well. Hard to believe he is almost 90. Good feedback as always.
HI BRUCE “When I became a man I put away childish things.” I guess that leaves Steve on his own. You and I should take heart from that other quote that I have mentioned before from Aunt Rosemary Clooney and Uncle Jose Ferrer’s iconic nephew- “I want to be remembered for more than just one summer’s blockbuster.”
Of course George Lucas has now achieved that goal – as the man who helped Martin Scorsese restore One Eyed Jacks! Though I am sure that George will also continue to take pride in his view that as he said about him and his contemporaries “We have out-grossed Old Hollywood.”
Indeed your excellent massively comprehensive All Time Worldwide Grosses page shows that Star Wars 1977 and Gone with the Wind have now all but reached the stage where their global revenues in adjusted figures are as the political election analysts would say “too close to call”.
Also of course that 1st Star Wars [I refuse to call it A New Hope] is just part of a massive franchise, responsible for numerous spin-off [or rip off!] productions and products and all of which have generated their huge revenues in the highly competitive age of television etc.
In fact too the adjusted global revenues of your chart-topper Titanic alone, at over $4.2 billion, have virtually equalled the entire all-time DOMESTIC overall career gross of my Doris for whose total of 39 movies you credit with an adjusted $4.5 billion roughly. Breath-taking really! – though it is only your site with its comprehensive classic as well as modern era coverage tha enables us to be aware of such comparisons.
Hey Bob. Good quote. With the massive success and cult status….Steve will never be standing alone when it comes to Star Wars. With the exception of Solo I have seen every live action Star Wars movies in theaters. I will probably see The Rise of Skywalker later this year as well. I actually enjoyed The Last Jedi….I loved that the movie went somewhere new. That pissed off so many Star Wars fanatics….but for the first time in almost 35 years I could not predict where a new Star Wars movie was going.
I am right there with you…..I also refuse to call Star Wars…Star Wars IV: A New Hope. No matter how old I get, I will know which Star Wars movie was first and which one created all of this massive franchise.
Good comparison of Day’s career to Titanic’s global grosses. I looked at the 22 Day movies that I have worldwide grosses on….and that total comes in around 3.5 billion. That is an average of $159.09 million per movie. Thanks for the kind word and for the feedback…all….Good Stuff.
HI BRUCE
That’s another very interesting stat which means that in inflation adjusted terms even the total global grosses of 22 of my Doris’ films didn’t match the worldwide gross of Titanic.
That’s mind-boggling when one considers how Doris virtually owned the Quigley popularity polls in her heyday.