Want to know the best Mike Nichols movies? How about the worst Mike Nichols movies? Curious about Mike Nichols box office grosses or which Mike Nichols movie picked up the most Oscar® nominations? Need to know which Mike Nichols 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.
Mike Nichols (1931-2014) was an American film and theater director, producer, actor, and comedian. Nichols earned four Best Director Oscar® nominations. He won the Best Director Oscar® for 1967’s The Graduate. His IMDb page shows 22 directing credits from 1966-2007. This page will rank 18 Mike Nichols movies from Best to Worst in five different sortable columns of information.
Mike Nichols 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 |
| 1966 | Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966) AA Best Picture Nom AA Best Director Nom |
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| 1967 | The Graduate (1967) AA Best Picture Nom AA Best Director Win |
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| 1971 | Carnal Knowledge (1971) |  |
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| 1970 | Catch-22 (1970) | |
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| 1988 | Working Girl (1988) AA Best Picture Nom AA Best Director Nom |
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| 1996 | The Birdcage (1996) | |
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| 1983 | Silkwood (1983) AA Best Director Nom |
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| 1994 | Wolf (1994) |  |
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| 1990 | Postcards from the Edge (1990) | |
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| 2007 | Charlie Wilson's War (2007) | |
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| 1988 | Biloxi Blues (1988) | |
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| 1998 | Primary Colors (1998) | |
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| 2004 | Closer (2004) |  |
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| 1991 | Regarding Henry (1991) | |
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| 1986 | Heartburn (1986) | |
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| 1975 | The Fortune (1975) |  |
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| 1973 | The Day of the Dolphin (1973) | |
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| 2000 | What Planet Are You From? (2000) |  |
Mike Nichols Movies Can Be Ranked 5 Ways In This Table
The really cool thing about this table is that it is “user-sortable”. Rank the movies anyway you want.
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- Sort by Mike Nichols’ stars of his movies.
- Sort Mike Nichols movies by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost (in millions).
- Sort Mike Nichols movies by their yearly box office rank
- Sort Mike Nichols 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 Mike Nichols movie received.
- Sort Mike Nichols 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.Sort by
| 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 | Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966) AA Best Picture Nom AA Best Director Nom |
Elizabeth Taylor & Richard Burton |
28.00 | 274.4 | 274.40 | 5 | 84 | 13 / 05 | 99.7 | |
| 2 | The Graduate (1967) AA Best Picture Nom AA Best Director Win |
Dustin Hoffman & Anne Bancroft |
103.50 | 921.9 | 1,723.70 | 1 | 85 | 07 / 01 | 99.4 | |
| 5 | Carnal Knowledge (1971) | Jack Nicholson & Ann-Margret |
37.40 | 244.5 | 244.50 | 9 | 78 | 01 / 00 | 97.3 | |
| 6 | Catch-22 (1970) | Orson Welles & Martin Sheen |
37.90 | 263.4 | 263.40 | 10 | 79 | 00 / 00 | 97.2 | |
| 6 | Working Girl (1988) AA Best Picture Nom AA Best Director Nom |
Harrison Ford & Sigourney Weaver |
63.80 | 167.3 | 270.00 | 11 | 77 | 06 / 01 | 97.1 | |
| 4 | The Birdcage (1996) | Robin Williams & Gene Hackman |
124.10 | 302.6 | 451.80 | 9 | 75 | 01 / 00 | 96.5 | |
| 7 | Silkwood (1983) AA Best Director Nom |
Meryl Streep & Kurt Russell |
35.60 | 121.9 | 121.90 | 19 | 74 | 05 / 00 | 90.4 | |
| 10 | Wolf (1994) | Jack Nicholson & Michelle Pfeiffer |
65.00 | 171.7 | 346.10 | 19 | 60 | 00 / 00 | 89.5 | |
| 9 | Postcards from the Edge (1990) | Shirley MacLaine & Dennis Quaid |
39.10 | 99.6 | 99.60 | 33 | 78 | 02 / 00 | 88.8 | |
| 8 | Charlie Wilson's War (2007) | Tom Hanks & julia Roberts |
66.70 | 104.4 | 186.50 | 40 | 77 | 01 / 00 | 88.0 | |
| 11 | Biloxi Blues (1988) | Matthew Broderick & Christopher Walken |
43.20 | 113.3 | 135.60 | 23 | 68 | 00 / 00 | 86.0 | |
| 12 | Primary Colors (1998) | John Travolta & Emma Thompson |
39.00 | 89.6 | 119.70 | 52 | 75 | 00 / 00 | 85.5 | |
| 13 | Closer (2004) | Julia Roberts & Natalie Portman |
34.00 | 59.0 | 200.50 | 82 | 71 | 02 / 00 | 78.3 | |
| 14 | Regarding Henry (1991) | Harrison Ford & Annette Bening |
43.00 | 110.1 | 110.10 | 29 | 55 | 00 / 00 | 76.9 | |
| 15 | Heartburn (1986) | Jack Nicholson & Meryl Streep |
25.30 | 73.6 | 73.60 | 38 | 59 | 00 / 00 | 70.6 | |
| 16 | The Fortune (1975) | Jack Nicholson & Warren Beatty |
9.10 | 47.8 | 47.80 | 51 | 48 | 00 / 00 | 36.8 | |
| 17 | The Day of the Dolphin (1973) | George C. Scott | 2.30 | 14.0 | 14.00 | 116 | 54 | 02 / 00 | 30.0 | |
| 18 | What Planet Are You From? (2000) | Annette Bening & Ben Kingsley |
6.30 | 12.6 | 28.30 | 137 | 47 | 00 / 00 | 14.6 |
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I’ve seen 9 of the 18 films on the chart. Only 2 favorites – The Graduate and Wolf.
I haven’t seen Postcards, Birdcage or Silkwood.
The Graduate was a massive hit, $767m North America adjusted. The songs by Simon & Garfunkel must have been a contributing factor.
I must be one of the few people that actually liked Wolf, an offbeat werewolf story with some big Hollywood stars. I even liked Ennio Morricone’s creepy music score.
Nice work Bruce. Vote Up.
Hey Steve….only 9?……I figured your tally would be higher….as many of his movies were “event” movies. The man had a great start to his career….what a one two punch Va Woolf (though I do not really like that one) and The Graduate. Though I guess you could say it was all downhill after that. As for Wolf…..it was a decent movie….just not my favorite….though the Jack and James Spader scenes were fun to watch. As always.thanks for sharing your movie thoughts.
I’ve seen them all. I liked The Birdcage and Working Girl the most and What Planet Are You From was a sleeper for me. It may not have done well at the box office but I liked it. Closer I couldn’t stand and I’m not a particular fan of Regarding Henry and Wolf.,
Hey Dan….well….you have me topped by one….damn….I knew I should have seen The Day of the Dolphin….lol. Glad to see we both liked What Planet Are You From? I saw Closer in theaters with WoC….I think it is the only Julia Roberts movie that she strongly disliked. Working Girl is a fun movie…love Ford in that one. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on Mr. Nichols.
saw 15, missed wolf, the fortune and what planet are you from. 2 favorites (top 130): the graduate and who’s afraid of Virginia wolf. they are only 2 in my top 500. a special note for who’s afraid of Virginia wolf, I have a category called weird. great movies too weird to ever recommend . this is one. it had 4 of the greatest performances ever, wonderful directing but so horrific only a few could enjoy it. other weirds: a clockwork orange, se7en, natural born killers, pulp fiction. I love them as only twisted souls like myself can. glad I am not alone. LOL ; ^ )
how can a movie win 5 Oscars and miss out on best picture and best director, be too weird.
Oops ,the birdcage is a favourite but did not make the top 500. too funny not to love.
Glad you like The Birdcage….I thought it was ok……but I have not seen it in a very long time.
Hey bob cox….The Fortune is not a good movie at all…so you are not mixing anything….Wolf is interesting….but I liked What Planet Are You From? was a fun movie….Garry Shandling is very funny in the lead role. I like your “great movies too weird to ever recommend”. I think Sin City could be on that list….loved the movie….but it was so strange it was hard to recommend.
As for Whose Afraid of Va Woolf?….is hard to get through the entire movie….so much yelling…..if it was a real gathering…..most people would have made some excuse to leave the bickering hateful Burton and Taylor. Good stuff.
I have seen 7 Mike Nichols movies.
The highest rated film I have seen is Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? only once. I have no intention of seeing it again.
The highest rated film I have not seen is Carnal Knowledge.
The lowest rated film I have seen is Regarding Henry.
I have only two favourites of this director: The Graduate and The Birdcage.
These are the other Nichols titles I have seen:
Working Girl
Postcards From the Edge
Biloxi Blues
Hey Flora……7 is pretty good especially since so many of his movies were made after 1976. I am right there with you about Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf. Carnal Knowledge is pretty mean spirited as the two male characters are really hard to root for…even with Jack Nicholson playing one of those characters. The Graduate is an all-time classic. Good feedback as always.
I have seen 17 of these movies….only missing out on The Day of the Dolphin. Actually saw 4 of them in theaters….(1) Biloxi Blues (2) What Planet Are You From ? (3) Working Girl and (4) Closer. Never really liked Who’s Afraid of Va Woolf?…but really liked The Graduate, Working Girl and Silkwood. Thought What Planets Are You From? was an underrated movie.