Want to know the best John Candy movies? How about the worst John Candy movies? Curious about John Candy’s box office grosses or which John Candy movie picked up the most Oscar® nominations? Need to know which John Candy movie got the best reviews from critics and audiences and which ones got the worst reviews? Well you have come to the right place….because we have all of that information.
John Candy (1950-1994) was one of Canada’s greatest and funniest character actors. While most of his roles fall in the supporting category…he did manage to be the lead actor in some quality movies too…can you say Only The Lonely and Planes, Trains & Automobiles? His IMDb page shows 69 acting credits from 1971 to 1995. This page will rank 34 John Candy movies from Best to Worst in six different sortable columns of information. Television shows, shorts, cameos and movies that were not released in North American theaters were not included in the rankings.
Drivel Part: (That is what my wife calls this part of the page). It has been a shocking 28 years since John Candy passed away. I am old enough that I saw 9 of the movies in the following table in movie theaters. In my house, John Candy has become synonymous with Thanksgiving. Every year without exception, we watch Candy’s best movie, Planes, Trains & Automobiles. So, with Thanksgiving right around the corner, I felt it was the perfect time (actually the wife said do it now or wait until next Thanksgiving) to take a good look at the movie career of John Candy. He might be gone…..but he lives on with the many excellent movies he left behind.
John Candy Movies Ranked In Chronological Order With Ultimate Movie Rankings Score (1 to 5 UMR Tickets) *Best combo of box office, reviews and awards.
John Candy 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.
- Column is the name of the John Candy movie and a link to that movie’s trailer
- Sort by John Candy movies by co-stars of his movies.
- Sort John Candy movies by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost (in millions)
- Sort John Candy movies by yearly domestic box office rank
- Sort John Candy 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 John Candy movie received.
- Sort John Candy 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 | JFK (1991) AA Best Picture Nom |
Kevin Costner | 70.40 | 180.3 | 526.00 | 17 | 81 | 08 / 02 | 98.9 | |
| 4 | Splash (1984) | Tom Hanks | 69.80 | 224.0 | 224.00 | 10 | 78 | 01 / 00 | 97.2 | |
| 5 | National Lampoon's Vacation (1983) | Chevy Chase & Directed by Harold Ramis |
61.40 | 210.1 | 210.10 | 12 | 79 | 00 / 00 | 97.2 | |
| 2 | Stripes (1981) | Bill Murray & Harold Ramis |
85.30 | 330.8 | 330.80 | 5 | 78 | 00 / 00 | 97.0 | |
| 3 | The Blues Brothers (1980) | John Belushi & Dan Aykroyd |
57.20 | 237.3 | 237.30 | 11 | 77 | 00 / 00 | 96.8 | |
| 6 | Home Alone (1990) | Macaulay Culkin | 285.80 | 728.3 | 1,360.30 | 1 | 66 | 00 / 00 | 94.2 | |
| 7 | Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987) | Steve Martin | 49.50 | 136.6 | 136.60 | 22 | 85 | 00 / 00 | 93.6 | |
| 8 | Cool Runnings (1993) | Doug E. Doug | 68.90 | 179.3 | 403.20 | 15 | 69 | 00 / 00 | 93.1 | |
| 9 | Uncle Buck (1989) | Macaulay Culkin | 66.80 | 181.3 | 181.30 | 18 | 63 | 00 / 00 | 91.6 | |
| 9 | Little Shop of Horrors (1986) | Bill Murray & Steve Martin |
38.70 | 112.6 | 112.60 | 26 | 83 | 02 / 00 | 91.2 | |
| 11 | Spaceballs (1987) | Mel Brooks & Bill Pullman |
38.10 | 105.1 | 105.10 | 31 | 70 | 00 / 00 | 85.3 | |
| 12 | Heavy Metal (1981) | Harold Ramis | 26.50 | 102.7 | 102.70 | 29 | 62 | 00 / 00 | 80.7 | |
| 13 | Follow That Bird (1985) | Chevy Chase | 14.00 | 42.4 | 42.40 | 64 | 78 | 00 / 00 | 78.9 | |
| 16 | Rookie of the Year (1993) | Gary Busey | 53.60 | 139.6 | 139.60 | 22 | 46 | 00 / 00 | 78.1 | |
| 15 | Brewster's Millions (1985) | Richard Pryor | 40.80 | 124.0 | 124.00 | 20 | 51 | 00 / 00 | 77.7 | |
| 14 | The Rescuers Down Under (1990) | Bob Newhart & George C. Scott |
27.90 | 71.2 | 71.20 | 41 | 66 | 00 / 00 | 76.2 | |
| 18 | 1941 (1979) | Dan Aykroyd & John Belushi |
31.80 | 136.4 | 397.10 | 27 | 43 | 03 / 00 | 75.7 | |
| 17 | The Great Outdoors (1988) | Dan Aykroyd & Annette Bening |
41.50 | 108.7 | 108.70 | 25 | 53 | 00 / 00 | 74.8 | |
| 19 | The Silent Partner (1978) | Elliott Gould & Christopher Plummer |
0.90 | 4.4 | 4.40 | 131 | 78 | 00 / 00 | 66.6 | |
| 20 | Only the Lonely (1991) | Maureen O'Hara | 21.80 | 55.9 | 55.90 | 60 | 61 | 00 / 00 | 65.4 | |
| 21 | Volunteers (1985) | Tom Hanks | 19.90 | 60.4 | 60.40 | 45 | 50 | 00 / 00 | 49.4 | |
| 22 | Tunnel Vision (1976) | Chevy Chase | 13.20 | 66.7 | 66.70 | 51 | 47 | 00 / 00 | 47.7 | |
| 23 | Summer Rental (1985) | Joey Lawrence | 24.70 | 75.0 | 75.00 | 35 | 40 | 00 / 00 | 36.9 | |
| 24 | It Came From Hollywood (1982) | Dan Aykroyd | 2.60 | 9.4 | 9.40 | 111 | 57 | 00 / 00 | 30.0 | |
| 25 | Lost and Found (1979) | George Segal & Glenda Jackson |
3.20 | 13.8 | 13.80 | 92 | 53 | 00 / 00 | 24.2 | |
| 27 | Who's Harry Crumb? (1989) | Annie Potts | 11.00 | 29.8 | 29.80 | 77 | 46 | 00 / 00 | 20.3 | |
| 26 | Delirious (1991) | Mariel Hemingway | 5.50 | 14.2 | 14.20 | 119 | 50 | 00 / 00 | 19.2 | |
| 28 | Going Berserk (1983) | Eugene Levy | 0.40 | 1.2 | 1.20 | 145 | 53 | 00 / 00 | 17.2 | |
| 29 | Armed and Dangerous (1986) | Meg Ryan & Eugene Levy |
20.00 | 58.1 | 58.10 | 44 | 33 | 00 / 00 | 14.6 | |
| 30 | Cannonball Fever (1989) | Peter Boyle | 3.10 | 8.4 | 8.40 | 130 | 45 | 00 / 00 | 10.6 | |
| 31 | Once Upon a Crime (1992) | James Belushi | 8.70 | 22.5 | 22.50 | 100 | 39 | 00 / 00 | 8.9 | |
| 32 | Double Negative (1980) | Anthony Perkins | 0.00 | 0.1 | 0.10 | 200 | 44 | 00 / 00 | 6.6 | |
| 33 | Find The Lady (1976) | Mickey Rooney | 0.50 | 2.3 | 2.30 | 153 | 42 | 00 / 00 | 5.9 | |
| 34 | Hot to Trot (1988) | Bobcat Goldthwait | 6.40 | 16.9 | 16.90 | 113 | 37 | 00 / 00 | 5.2 | |
| 35 | Wagons East (1994) | Richard Lewis | 4.40 | 11.7 | 11.70 | 143 | 37 | 00 / 00 | 4.2 | |
| 36 | The Clown Murders (1976) | Stephen Young | 0.30 | 1.5 | 1.50 | 156 | 37 | 00 / 00 | 2.7 | |
| 37 | Canadian Bacon (1995) | Directed by Michael Moore | 0.20 | 0.4 | 0.40 | 233 | 36 | 00 / 00 | 2.3 | |
| 38 | Nothing But Trouble (1991) | Chevy Chase & Dan Aykroyd |
8.50 | 21.7 | 21.70 | 105 | 28 | 00 / 00 | 1.9 | |
| 39 | It Seemed Like A Good Idea At The Time (1975) | Yvonne De Carlo | 0.20 | 0.8 | 0.80 | 154 | 34 | 00 / 00 | 1.6 |
Possibly Interesting Facts About John Candy
1. John Candy was born in 1950 in Newmarket, Ontario.
2. John Candy first gained notoriety as a cast member of Toronto-based comedy-variety show Second City Television (SCTV).
3. John Candy appeared in more John Hughes movies than any other actor, starring or doing cameos in seven of them: National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983), Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987), The Great Outdoors (1988), Uncle Buck (1989), Home Alone (1990) and appears in a cameos in She’s Having a Baby (1988) and Career Opportunities (1991).
4. John Candy was married one time. He was married to Rosemary Margaret Hobor from 1979 to his death in 1994. They had two children…..actress Jennifer Candy and actor Chris Candy.
5. John Candy was a co-owner of the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League.
6. John Candy sat in the front row for Super Bowl XXIII. According to legend, right before the 49ers game-winning drive, quarterback Joe Montana pointed toward the stands and said to tackle Harris Barton, “Hey look over there. Isn’t that John Candy?”.
7. John Candy was entombed in the mausoleum at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California. His crypt lies just above fellow actor Fred MacMurray.
8. John Candy, my older boys and Nothing But Trouble (1991). Although Nothing But Trouble might be John Candy’s worst movie (he got a Razzie nomination for Worst Supporting Actor)…my sons loved Nothing But Trouble. They literally wore out the VHS tape that we owned and we had to replace it with a new VHS tape. Even today when I mention Nothing But Trouble…..the movie generates a smile from my boys.
9. John Candy turned down the Rick Moranis’ role in Ghostbusters (1984). Candy on that….”I should have been in Ghostbusters”.
10. Check out John Candy‘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.
Happy Thanksgiving to Bruce, WoC and the rest of the Cogerson clan. Canada has our Thanksgiving in October. My favourite John Candy movies are The Blues Brothers, Planes, Trains and Automobiles, and 1941.
Hey Flora …..thanks for the holiday good wishes….we are ready for tomorrow. We eat around noon and then usually go to the movies Thursday evening. Wreck It Ralph 2, has the girls all fired up….and they are begging to be taken.
John Candy is at the top of the page, it must be Thanksgiving! 🙂
The only two John Candy films I watch on a semi-regular basis is The Blues Brothers and 1941, not exactly the best showcases for that talented comedian. I might add Home Alone to my Xmas line up, again not really a John Candy film.
The two best ‘John Candy’ movies are Planes, Trains and Uncle Buck. I have them both on DVD, I should try and get into the mood to watch them again.
Happy Thanksgiving Bruce and the Cogerson clan!!
I’ll be eating my turkey in late December. 🙂
Hey Steve…yep….John Candy is in the “prime UMR space” and he is the Top Trending page….it has to be the day before Thanksgiving. Pretty sure this is the 4th straight year that you have been nice enough to comment on John Candy in November. I think I remember you saying you watch 1941 every Christmas. I almost re-watched that movie the other day. I watched The Blues Brothers a lot when I used to watch HBO all the time in the 1980s. Since then I have only seen it a couple more times. Today would be a perfect night to watch Planes, Trains and Automobiles…because the movie covers roughly a 24 hour time frame….starting with the Wednesday evening before Turkey Day. Thanks for the good wishes…..we will save some food for you. Good stuff.
In my perception John Candy [possibly like Lou Costello and Oliver Hardy] turned the normal disadvantage of obesity into a star-making asset which helped create the necessary persona for highly successful roles such as the covert loner Del Griffith In Planes Trains and Automobiles and “kid’s hero ” the authoritative, forceful Uncle Buck. Those are my two favourite Candy movies and certainly I would rather have taken on Stallone or Statham [or even Joel!] than have confronted Uncle Buck!
Although John’s death was highly premature at 43 his career was reasonably lengthy, Wiki crediting him with overall a quarter of a century before the TV and movie cameras. He has 12 Cogerson 100 million crashers in the table above and although as you intimate he wasn’t the star of most of them he certainly made his presence felt in the majority of them not just because of his great talent but because too “Size does count!” as the posters for one King Kong movie screamed out at us!
John’s net worth at his death was said to be $15 million [about $25 million in today’s dollars], not as great as that of many other stars of his stature but for this Candy page I have always had a warm affection which reflects the warm feelings that John brought to me when I watched him on screen in the likes of Only the Lonely “Planes” and Buck.
Anyway I hope the Cogerson clan have a fine Thanksgiving Day [which I understand is tomorrow.] and that you personally enjoy giving thanks for the Big 5 – Archie, Joel, Mr Moore, Sir Maurice and Myrna –and I just hope that Steve doesn’t rain on your parade by telling you that John didn’t deserve this page. Mr Posters gets strange notions like that at times but then an English shrink recently opined that frustrations over Brexit were driving half mad many of the English as well as us other citizens of the UK with a stake in it. Take care
Hey Bob…..well….the benefit of having this same website for many years now….is we are to actually have some traditions…..John Candy at Thanksgiving….is one of those traditions. Reading the drivel part of the page….and I see it has been 3 years now…..as Candy’s passing has gone from 21 years to now 24 years.
I like the comparison of Candy to Hardy and Costello. You are right Uncle Buck would not be somebody to mess with…..but I think I would stay away from Statham…lol. Candy’s stand alone movies are not quite as good as his supporting ones. But Candy was excellent in those supporting roles.
Thanks for the holiday wishes….we are staying home….and not going to even leave our city…as we continue to recover from that long trip we just took. Thanks for the feedback.
HI BRUCE
Glad we agree about John Candy.
As for Stahtham, he would be someone who could be brought out to “frighten small boys in the darkness.” as Paul Scofield said in A Man for All Seasons.
Conversely in Hell on Frisco Bay Eddie Robinson told one of his henchmen who asked gang lord Eddie if good guy Laddie should be taken down to which Robinson replied “Go ahead – but put me in your will before you try it!”
I think I’ve mentioned before in a recent movie magazine competition a quiz was organised to see whom viewers would “least like to meet in a foul mood in an alleyway on a dark night” The winning answers included the “Usual Suspects” of Frankenstein, Dracula, Freddie , Michael Myers, Hannibal Lecter, Norman Bates – and Russell Crowe!
Nice John Candy page. Always glad to see my fellow Canadians getting some respect. I love Planes, Trains and Automobiles though I would put Uncle Buck on an even note, if not a notch higher. I have always felt his greatest moments were not on the big screen but on the telly. Some of his scenes on SCTV are must see.
Hey Jay Carter….thanks for checking out our John Candy page. I think Planes, Trains and Automobiles, Uncle Buck, Stripes and Splash are his best movies….so your thinking that Uncle Buck is his best movie is hard to argue with….but P, T & A is my favorite Candy movie.
Every Thanksgiving I do the same thing…..Thanksgiving dinner is at our house….we generally see a new movie in theaters…Wreck It Ralph 2 here we come…..every year I watch Planes, Trains and Automobiles….every time I watch that classic comedy….I get sentimental about the late great John Candy…and for the last four years….we have made Mr. Candy our featured page of the holiday…well 2018 is no different. Ranking 36 John Candy Movies Best To Worst. Hope everybody has a wonderful holiday.