Want to know the best Peter O’Toole movies? How about the worst Peter O’Toole movies? Curious about Peter O’Toole’s box office grosses or which Peter O’Toole movie picked up the most Oscar® nominations? Need to know which Peter O’Toole 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.
Peter O’Toole (1932-2013) was a British-Irish stage and film actor. During his long career he received 8 Best Actor Oscar® nominations….sadly he lost every single time. One of my father’s favorite movies was 1962’s Lawrence of Arabia which is now synonymous with O’Toole. Pretty sure that is one of the main reasons why I liked Mr. O’Toole so much. I guess the big question is why I wanted so long to do a movie ranking page on his career. I do not really have an answer for that….but….when I saw that Lyle and LucronFan had requested a Peter O’Toole page…. figured it was time to finally take a deeper look at the movie career of Sir Peter O’Toole.
His IMDb page shows 96 acting credits from 1956-2015. This page ranks Peter O’Toole movies from Best to Worst in six different sortable columns of information. Television shows, shorts, cameos and movies not released in North America were not included in the rankings.
Peter O’Toole 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
1962
Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
AA Best Picture Win
AA Best Actor Nom
1968
The Lion in Winter (1968)
AA Best Picture Nom
AA Best Actor Nom
1987
The Last Emperor (1987)
AA Best Picture Win
2007
Ratatouille (2007)
1964
Becket (1964)
AA Best Picture Nom
AA Best Actor Nom
2004
Troy (2004)
1966
The Bible: In the Beginning... (1966)
1966
How To Steal a Million (1966)
1965
What's New Pussycat (1965)
1967
Casino Royale (1967)
1982
My Favorite Year (1982)
AA Best Actor Nom
1965
Lord Jim (1965)
2007
Stardust (2007)
1967
The Night of The Generals (1967)
1980
The Stunt Man (1980)
AA Best Actor Nom
1972
The Ruling Class (1972)
AA Best Actor Nom
1969
Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1969)
AA Best Actor Nom
2006
Venus (2006)
AA Best Actor Nom
1972
Man of La Mancha (1972)
1960
The Savage Innocents (1960)
1979
Caligula (1979)
1960
Kidnapped (1960)
2005
Lassie (2005)
1997
FairyTale: A True Story (1997)
1971
Murphy's War (1971)
1975
Man Friday (1975)
2008
My Talks With Dean Spanley (2008)
1990
The Nutcracker Prince (1990)
1991
King Ralph (1991)
2003
Bright Young Things (2003)
2008
Thomas Kinkade's Christmas Cottage (2008)
1990
Wings of Fame (1990)
1960
The Day They Robbed the Bank of England (1960)
1985
Creator (1985)
2012
For Greater Glory (2012)
1983
Pygmalion (1983)
Showtime Movies
1979
Zulu Dawn (1979)
1999
Molokai: The Story of Father Damien (1999)
2006
One Night with the King (2006)
1971
Under Milk Wood (1971)
1988
High Spirits (1988)
1970
Brotherly Love/Country Dance (1970)
1976
The Far Side of Paradise/Foxtrot (1976)
1978
Power Play (1978)
1990
The Rainbow Thief (1990)
1968
Great Catherine (1968)
2010
Eager To Die (2010)
1975
Rosebud (1975)
1984
Supergirl (1984)
1993
The Seventh Coin (1993)
2014
Decline of an Empire (2014)
1986
Club Paradise (1986)
1998
Phantoms (1998)
2015
Diamond Cartel (2015)
Peter O’Toole 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 Peter O’Toole movies by co-stars of his movies.
- Sort Peter O’Toole movies by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost (in millions)
- Sort Peter O’Toole movies by domestic box office rank
- Sort Peter O’Toole movies how they were received by critics and audiences. 60% rating or higher should indicate a good movie.
- Sort by how many Oscar® nominations each Peter O’Toole movie received and how many Oscar® wins each Peter O’Toole movie won.
- Sort Peter O’Toole 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 search and sort button to make this page very interactive.
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 | Lawrence of Arabia (1962) AA Best Picture Win AA Best Actor Nom |
Alec Guinness & Omar Sharif |
41.50 | 595.9 | 595.90 | 1 | 94 | 10 / 07 | 100.0 | |
2 | The Lion in Winter (1968) AA Best Picture Nom AA Best Actor Nom |
Katharine Hepburn & Anthony Hopkins |
28.60 | 235.2 | 235.20 | 10 | 88 | 07 / 03 | 99.6 | |
3 | The Last Emperor (1987) AA Best Picture Win |
John Lone & Joan Chen |
44.00 | 121.3 | 121.30 | 25 | 85 | 09 / 09 | 99.5 | |
4 | Ratatouille (2007) | Patton Oswalt | 206.40 | 323.5 | 977.30 | 10 | 92 | 05 / 01 | 99.3 | |
5 | Becket (1964) AA Best Picture Nom AA Best Actor Nom |
Richard Burton & John Gielgud |
14.30 | 163.8 | 163.80 | 12 | 79 | 12 / 01 | 98.0 | |
6 | Troy (2004) | Brad Pitt & Orlando Bloom |
133.40 | 231.5 | 863.50 | 13 | 63 | 01 / 00 | 93.4 | |
7 | The Bible: In the Beginning... (1966) | George C. Scott & Directed by John Huston |
37.50 | 367.5 | 367.50 | 2 | 61 | 01 / 00 | 92.8 | |
8 | How To Steal a Million (1966) | Audrey Hepburn | 11.00 | 107.8 | 107.80 | 26 | 84 | 00 / 00 | 90.8 | |
9 | What's New Pussycat (1965) | Woody Allen | 22.80 | 241.4 | 241.40 | 8 | 46 | 01 / 00 | 87.9 | |
11 | Casino Royale (1967) | David Niven & Peter Sellers |
22.40 | 199.9 | 369.20 | 13 | 42 | 01 / 00 | 86.3 | |
10 | My Favorite Year (1982) AA Best Actor Nom |
Mark Linn-Baker | 20.10 | 73.8 | 73.80 | 36 | 80 | 01 / 00 | 85.7 | |
13 | Lord Jim (1965) | James Mason | 10.50 | 111.4 | 111.40 | 21 | 61 | 00 / 00 | 81.6 | |
12 | Stardust (2007) | Robert DeNiro & Michelle Pfeiffer |
38.60 | 60.5 | 212.40 | 71 | 76 | 00 / 00 | 81.0 | |
15 | The Night of The Generals (1967) | Omar Sharif | 6.00 | 53.5 | 53.50 | 45 | 73 | 00 / 00 | 77.4 | |
14 | The Stunt Man (1980) AA Best Actor Nom |
Steve Railsback & Barbara Hershey |
7.10 | 29.3 | 29.30 | 88 | 76 | 03 / 00 | 75.4 | |
16 | The Ruling Class (1972) AA Best Actor Nom |
Alastair Sim | 2.70 | 17.3 | 17.30 | 101 | 79 | 01 / 00 | 73.1 | |
17 | Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1969) AA Best Actor Nom |
Siân Phillips | 2.90 | 21.7 | 21.70 | 76 | 76 | 02 / 00 | 72.2 | |
18 | Venus (2006) AA Best Actor Nom |
Vanessa Redgrave | 3.30 | 5.5 | 12.80 | 196 | 80 | 01 / 00 | 70.8 | |
20 | Man of La Mancha (1972) | Sophia Loren | 11.50 | 73.0 | 73.00 | 34 | 58 | 01 / 00 | 69.3 | |
19 | The Savage Innocents (1960) | Anthony Quinn | 1.20 | 19.0 | 19.00 | 121 | 75 | 00 / 00 | 68.2 | |
23 | Caligula (1979) | Helen Mirren & John Gielgud |
25.70 | 110.2 | 110.20 | 39 | 45 | 00 / 00 | 67.2 | |
22 | Kidnapped (1960) | Peter Finch | 2.90 | 44.6 | 44.60 | 78 | 64 | 00 / 00 | 64.4 | |
21 | Lassie (2005) | Samantha Morton | 0.70 | 1.1 | 1.10 | 232 | 77 | 00 / 00 | 64.3 | |
24 | FairyTale: A True Story (1997) | Florence Hoath | 14.10 | 33.0 | 33.00 | 99 | 63 | 00 / 00 | 56.9 | |
25 | Murphy's War (1971) | Siân Phillips | 3.00 | 19.8 | 19.80 | 87 | 66 | 00 / 00 | 55.7 | |
26 | Man Friday (1975) | Richard Roundtree | 2.70 | 14.3 | 14.30 | 95 | 67 | 00 / 00 | 53.4 | |
27 | My Talks With Dean Spanley (2008) | Sam Neill | 0.10 | 0.1 | 2.30 | 330 | 70 | 00 / 00 | 51.3 | |
28 | The Nutcracker Prince (1990) | Kiefer Sutherland | 1.80 | 4.5 | 4.50 | 155 | 69 | 00 / 00 | 51.2 | |
30 | King Ralph (1991) | John Goodman & John Hurt |
34.00 | 87.1 | 134.40 | 39 | 41 | 00 / 00 | 48.2 | |
29 | Bright Young Things (2003) | Emily Mortimer & Dan Aykroyd |
0.90 | 1.7 | 4.80 | 188 | 68 | 00 / 00 | 47.2 | |
30 | Thomas Kinkade's Christmas Cottage (2008) | Marcia Gay Harden | 0.10 | 0.1 | 0.20 | 327 | 68 | 00 / 00 | 46.1 | |
30 | Wings of Fame (1990) | Colin Firth | 0.10 | 0.1 | 0.10 | 231 | 67 | 00 / 00 | 45.3 | |
32 | The Day They Robbed the Bank of England (1960) | Elizabeth Sellers | 0.50 | 8.0 | 35.90 | 141 | 64 | 00 / 00 | 43.6 | |
34 | Creator (1985) | Mariel Hemingway | 5.30 | 16.2 | 16.20 | 112 | 61 | 00 / 00 | 42.6 | |
36 | For Greater Glory (2012) | Andy Garcia | 5.70 | 7.7 | 13.60 | 146 | 62 | 00 / 00 | 38.6 | |
35 | Pygmalion (1983) Showtime Movies |
Margot Kidder | 0.10 | 0.2 | 0.20 | 172 | 64 | 00 / 00 | 37.9 | |
37 | Zulu Dawn (1979) | Burt Lancaster | 2.30 | 10.1 | 10.10 | 112 | 60 | 00 / 00 | 36.7 | |
38 | Molokai: The Story of Father Damien (1999) | David Wenham & Kris Kristofferson |
0.10 | 0.1 | 0.10 | 285 | 63 | 00 / 00 | 35.4 | |
39 | One Night with the King (2006) | Omar Sharif & Tiffany Dupont |
13.40 | 21.9 | 22.50 | 140 | 54 | 00 / 00 | 32.1 | |
40 | Under Milk Wood (1971) | Richard Burton & Elizabeth Taylor |
1.80 | 11.9 | 11.90 | 128 | 57 | 00 / 00 | 31.6 | |
42 | High Spirits (1988) | Liam Neeson | 8.60 | 22.5 | 22.50 | 98 | 53 | 00 / 00 | 30.3 | |
41 | Brotherly Love/Country Dance (1970) | Susannah York | 0.80 | 5.3 | 5.30 | 151 | 59 | 00 / 00 | 30.2 | |
43 | The Far Side of Paradise/Foxtrot (1976) | Max Von Sydow | 1.90 | 9.5 | 9.50 | 125 | 55 | 00 / 00 | 25.7 | |
44 | Power Play (1978) | Donald Pleasence | 0.10 | 0.5 | 0.50 | 156 | 57 | 00 / 00 | 23.9 | |
45 | The Rainbow Thief (1990) | Omar Sharif | 0.10 | 0.1 | 0.10 | 229 | 56 | 00 / 00 | 21.3 | |
46 | Great Catherine (1968) | Zero Mostel | 0.90 | 7.1 | 7.10 | 152 | 52 | 00 / 00 | 18.5 | |
47 | Eager To Die (2010) | Tony Devon | 0.10 | 0.1 | 0.10 | 301 | 52 | 00 / 00 | 15.0 | |
48 | Rosebud (1975) | Richard Attenborough & Directed by Otto Preminger |
1.90 | 9.8 | 9.80 | 119 | 46 | 00 / 00 | 12.1 | |
49 | Supergirl (1984) | Faye Dunaway | 14.30 | 45.9 | 84.90 | 64 | 32 | 00 / 00 | 9.6 | |
50 | The Seventh Coin (1993) | Alexandra Powers | 0.00 | 0.1 | 0.10 | 267 | 43 | 00 / 00 | 5.6 | |
51 | Decline of an Empire (2014) | Joss Ackland | 0.10 | 0.1 | 0.10 | 279 | 39 | 00 / 00 | 3.5 | |
52 | Club Paradise (1986) | Robin Williams | 12.30 | 35.8 | 35.80 | 63 | 26 | 00 / 00 | 2.6 | |
53 | Phantoms (1998) | Ben Affleck | 5.60 | 12.9 | 12.90 | 142 | 32 | 00 / 00 | 2.2 | |
54 | Diamond Cartel (2015) | Armand Assante | 0.10 | 0.1 | 0.10 | 300 | 32 | 00 / 00 | 1.1 |
Best IMDb Trivia On Peter O’Toole
1. Peter Seamus O’Toole was born in Leeds, England in 1932.
2. Peter Toole attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) from 1952 to 1954. Two of his classmates were Albert Finney and Alan Bates.
3. Peter O’Toole is one of six performers to be nominated for an Oscar® twice for playing the same role in two separate films. He was nominated as Henry II in Becket (1964) and The Lion in Winter (1968). The other five are Bing Crosby as Father O’Malley in Going My Way (1944) and The Bells of St. Mary’s (1945), Al Pacino as Michael Corleone in The Godfather (1972) and The Godfather: Part II (1974), Paul Newman as Fast Eddie Felson in The Hustler (1961) and The Color of Money (1986), Cate Blanchett as Elizabeth I in Elizabeth (1998) and Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007), and Sylvester Stallone as Rocky Balboa in Rocky (1976) and Creed (2015).
4. Peter O’Toole won his career-making part in Lawrence of Arabia (1962) after it was turned down by superstar Marlon Brando and a then-unknown Albert Finney. Both director David Lean and producer Sam Spiegel (who produced On the Waterfront (1954), the movie for which Brando and Spiegel won their first Oscars®) wanted Brando, but he turned the role down (allegedly saying he didn’t want to spend two years of his life riding on a camel). Finney was put through extensive screen-tests costing 100,000 pounds, but refused to sign a seven year contract demanded by Spiegel. O’Toole signed the seven-year contract and got the part.
5. Peter O’Toole was friends with fellow Irish actor Richard Harris. After Harris died, his family hoped that O’Toole would replace him as Professor Albus Dumbledore in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004), but the role went to Michael Gambon instead.
Check out Peter O’Toole’s career compared to current and classic actors. Most 100 Million Dollar Movies of All-Time.
Steve Lensman’s Peter O’Toole YouTube Video
Academy Award® and Oscar® are the registered trademarks of the Academy of Motion Arts and Sciences. Golden Globes® is the registered trademark of the Hollywood Foreign Press.
There was only one other British actor in the same class. Sir Lawrence Oliver. Would you not agree?
Hey g.c. rutland….I do agree. O’Toole’s 1960s was simply incredible. He was one of my dad’s favorites (mainly because of Lawrence of Arabia) and one of mine as well. Thanks for checking out our O’Toole page.
Hi, Bruce.
I started to list Peter O’Toole’s films I have seen by rankings overall, but realized it is pointless as I have seen only 11 movies overall. Half of these films – 5 exactly, to be sure- are in the top 10.
So I will just say that I have seen 11. I have been unable to find a good copy of The Lion in Winter which is high on my to-see list.
The most recently made movie I saw was his version of Lassie. Otherwise, the most recently made film I have seen is My Favourite Year.
Regarding Steve’s comment, Goodbye Mr. Chips is okay, but does not hold a candle to Robert Donat’s Oscar winning original version.
I am happy that I was able to see Lawrence of Arabia before he died. Although I love this film very much, of the movies of his I have seen I am drawn otherwise to his comedies like My Favourite \year, How To Steal a Million, What’s New Pussycat etc.
I have seen some other epic type films he made like Becket.But besides LoA I have seen them only once.
Cheers,
Flora
Hey Flora.
1. Tally Count….me and Steve at 22….you at 11. Seems we got the edge with the recent O’Toole movies….of my 22….9 of them were made after 1985.
2. Kind of shocked that you have not seen A Lion In Winter. I thought it was ok….but not my favorite at all….though O’Toole is very good in the movie. Seeing a young Timothy Dalton and Anthony Hopkins is interesting too.
3. Donat got an Oscar win….while O’Toole got an Oscar nomination….that must be a good role for an actor to play.
4. It is impossible for me to separate Lawrence of Arabia from my dad. He loved that movie. It will always be a connection to him for me no matter how old I get. Even better is the fact that everybody loves the movie….so it gets mentioned all the time.
5. I like his comedies as well….though getting through What’s New Pussycat is a chore for me….it is just too silly for me. Though I will say it looks like the cast is having fun in the movie.
Thanks for stopping by and commenting on my Sir Peter O’Toole page….it is as always greatly appreciated.
One of my favorite British actors Bruce, an excellent addition to your movie site. My favorite film and role of his has to be Lawrence of Arabia, which is in my top 5 movie list. I think I also wrote a hub on Lawrence a few years ago.
Of the 35 films you’ve listed I’ve seen 22. Good to see Lion in Winter up there with Lawrence on the moviescore chart. Becket is another favorite. Of his later films I remember watching My Favorite Year and The Stunt Man a number of times on video back in the 80’s but it’s been a while since I last watched those two films.
The Night of the Generals was an interesting film, a murder mystery set during WWII. Goodbye Mr Chips is a film I’ve wanted to see for a while now, The Ruling Class too. Voted Up.
Hey Steve….Sir O’Toole was one of my favorites too. I remember your Lawrence hub….if it still exists I will be sure to include when I finish this page. You, me and my late dad all agree about Lawrence being his best movie. Another tie….as I am at 22 as well. Though I must admit I barely remember his role in Caligula. My Favorite Year and The Stunt Man brought O’Toole back into the spot light….he was playing Errol Flynn in My Favorite Year and David Lean in The Stunt Man. I have seen bits and pieces of The Night of the Generals….but never seen the movie from beginning to end. As always…I appreciate your thoughts and comments.
Hello Bruce, thanks for all these tables (Laughton, Grable, O’Toole and Brennan). With you, it’s really Christmas.
Hey Logan….you are welcome….recently I decided to publish more of these unfinished pages…just to get the information out there…..so reading your comment…makes me think it was a good decision.
Hello Bruce. Thanks for doing a page on Peter O’Toole, my favorite Irish actor. I’m very happy to see you found box office information on The Ruling Class, Murphy’s War and Goodbye Mr. Chips. My favorite O’Toole films are Lawrence of Arabia, The Lion in Winter, The Ruling Class, The Stunt Man and Becket in that order. I also like What’s New, Pussycat?, My Favorite Year and How to Steal a Million. Thanks again, Bruce
Hey Lyle…glad you like your requested Peter O’Toole page. Sadly some of his movies barely made a dent in the box office. Of your favorite ones….Ruling Class, Murphy’s War and Goodbye Mr. Chips all fall into that category. My Top 5 would also include Lawrence and The Stunt Man. The rest of my Top 5 would be My Favorite Year, The Stunt Man and Troy. Troy was not very good….but O’Toole was in that movie. His scene with Brad Pitt after Eric Bana died I thought and hoped would have been shown when they announced Best Supporting Actor Oscar nominees….but the Oscar people ignored him that year. I love O’Toole as David Lean in The Stunt Man….especially when he comes from the sky in the crane like a god…..good stuff there!