Want to know the best Peter Sellers movies? How about the worst Peter Sellers movies? Curious about Peter Sellers’s box office grosses or which Peter Sellers movie picked up the most Oscar® nominations? Need to know which Peter Sellers movie got the best reviews from critics and audiences? Well you have come to the right place….because we have all of that information.
Peter Sellers (1925-1980) was an English 3-time Oscar® nominated film actor, comedian and singer. Sellers was known throughout the world for his role as Inspector Jacques Clouseau in the Pink Panther movies. His IMDb page shows 90 acting credits from 1950 to 1982. This page will rank 48 Peter Sellers movies. Movies will be ranked from Best to Worst in six different sortable columns of information. Television shows, shorts, cameos and movies that were not released in theaters in North America were not included in the rankings.
Drivel part of the page: (1) This Peter Sellers page comes from a request by Brando90, Wayne S. & Flora. (2) I have great memories of seeing 1976’s The Pink Panther Strikes Back in theaters with my father….I remembering laughing so hard my stomach hurt. (3) Sadly while researching this page I saw that Burt Kwouk, who played Cato Fong in the Pink Panther movies, just passed away a few days ago (May 24th, 2016)….RIP Cato. (4) Since many of Peter Sellers’ movies were made in England and only received limited release in North America….we had to come up with his box office grosses in a different way in over half of his movies. Knowing that none of Sellers’ England movies hit the $1 million box office rental mark we knew the ceiling for his box office grosses. So using reverse engineering and international box office numbers from BoxOfficeStory.com we created an equation to come up with an estimated North American box office gross. So if you see “trivia” in the Box Office Rank By Year column in the following table please know that is our “best guess”. If you see an actually ranking, please know we feel very confident in our box office gross number.
Peter Sellers 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
1964
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
AA Best Picture Nom
AA Best Actor Nom
1962
Lolita (1962)
1964
A Shot in the Dark (1964)
1963
The Pink Panther (1963)
1976
The Pink Panther Strikes Again (1976)
1976
Murder by Death (1976)
1975
The Return of the Pink Panther (1975)
1978
Revenge of the Pink Panther (1978)
1979
Being There (1979)
AA Best Actor Nom
1965
What's New Pussycat (1965)
1959
The Mouse That Roared (1959)
1967
Casino Royale (1967)
1958
Tom Thumb (1958)
1968
The Party (1968)
1955
The Ladykillers (1955)
1964
The World of Henry Orient (1964)
1970
There's a Girl in My Soup (1970)
1966
After The Fox (1966)
1959
I'm All Right Jack (1959)
1960
Two Way Stretch (1960)
1970
Hoffman (1970)
1966
The Wrong Box (1966)
1973
The Optimists of Nine Elms (1973)
1962
Only Two Can Play (1962)
1963
Heavens Above! (1963)
1963
The Wrong Arm of the Law (1963)
1961
Mr. Topaze (1961)
1960
Never Let Go (1960)
1957
The Smallest Show on Earth (1957)
1957
Your Past Is Showing (1957)
1969
The Magic Christian (1969)
1962
Waltz of the Toreadors (1962)
1979
The Prisoner of Zenda (1979)
1962
Trial and Error (1962)
1972
Where Does It Hurt? (1972)
1968
I Love You, Alice B. Toklas! (1968)
1959
Carlton-Browne of the F.O. (1959)
1960
The Battle of the Sexes (1960)
1960
The Millionairess (1960)
1972
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1972)
1967
Woman Times Seven (1967)
1980
The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu (1980)
1973
The Blockhouse (1973)
1967
The Bobo (1967)
1982
Trail of the Pink Panther (1982)
1974
Soft Beds Hard Battles (1974)
1958
Up The Creek (1958)
1975
The Great McGonagall (1975)
1973
Ghost In The Noonday Sun (1973)
Peter Sellers 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 Sellers movies by co-stars of his movies
- Sort Peter Sellers movies by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost (in millions)
- Sort Peter Sellers movies by yearly domestic box office rank
- Sort Peter Sellers 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 Peter Sellers movie received.
- Sort Peter Sellers 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 | Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) AA Best Picture Nom AA Best Actor Nom |
George C. Scott & Directed by Stanley Kubrick |
14.30 | 163.8 | 163.80 | 11 | 94 | 04 / 00 | 99.0 | |
| 2 | Lolita (1962) | James Mason & Directed by Stanley Kubrick |
12.90 | 184.8 | 184.80 | 14 | 87 | 01 / 00 | 98.0 | |
| 2 | A Shot in the Dark (1964) | Elke Somner & George Sanders |
19.30 | 221.1 | 221.10 | 5 | 80 | 00 / 00 | 97.5 | |
| 4 | The Pink Panther (1963) | David Niven & Robert Wagner |
16.80 | 210.4 | 210.40 | 12 | 76 | 01 / 00 | 96.7 | |
| 3 | The Pink Panther Strikes Again (1976) | Lesley-Anne Down & Directed by Blake Edwards |
60.30 | 304.9 | 304.90 | 8 | 75 | 01 / 00 | 96.6 | |
| 4 | Murder by Death (1976) | Alec Guinness & David Niven |
57.90 | 292.9 | 292.90 | 9 | 75 | 00 / 00 | 96.4 | |
| 5 | The Return of the Pink Panther (1975) | Christopher Plummer | 41.80 | 220.0 | 220.00 | 13 | 75 | 00 / 00 | 96.4 | |
| 7 | Revenge of the Pink Panther (1978) | Herbert Lom & Burt Kwouk |
56.50 | 260.1 | 260.10 | 8 | 70 | 00 / 00 | 95.1 | |
| 9 | Being There (1979) AA Best Actor Nom |
Shirley MacLaine & Melvyn Douglas |
29.00 | 124.5 | 124.50 | 32 | 88 | 02 / 01 | 94.3 | |
| 10 | What's New Pussycat (1965) | Peter O'Toole & Woody Allen |
22.80 | 241.4 | 241.40 | 8 | 46 | 01 / 00 | 87.9 | |
| 12 | The Mouse That Roared (1959) | Jean Seberg | 5.70 | 102.7 | 102.70 | 43 | 74 | 00 / 00 | 86.5 | |
| 13 | Casino Royale (1967) | Woody Allen & David Niven |
22.40 | 199.9 | 369.20 | 13 | 42 | 01 / 00 | 86.3 | |
| 12 | Tom Thumb (1958) | Russ Tamblyn & Terry-Thomas |
5.70 | 102.7 | 102.70 | 45 | 70 | 01 / 01 | 85.8 | |
| 14 | The Party (1968) | Claudine Longet | 8.30 | 68.2 | 68.20 | 47 | 79 | 00 / 00 | 83.8 | |
| 15 | The Ladykillers (1955) | Alec Guinness & Herbert Lom |
2.20 | 45.9 | 45.90 | 129 | 83 | 01 / 00 | 82.7 | |
| 16 | The World of Henry Orient (1964) | Directed by George Roy Hill | 5.30 | 60.6 | 60.60 | 54 | 71 | 00 / 00 | 78.0 | |
| 18 | There's a Girl in My Soup (1970) | Goldie Hawn | 15.50 | 107.5 | 107.50 | 26 | 53 | 00 / 00 | 74.9 | |
| 19 | After The Fox (1966) | Britt Ekland & Blake Edwards |
5.70 | 56.3 | 56.30 | 50 | 66 | 00 / 00 | 72.1 | |
| 17 | I'm All Right Jack (1959) | Terry-Thomas & Richard Attenborough |
1.00 | 18.1 | 18.10 | 145 | 78 | 00 / 00 | 72.0 | |
| 20 | Two Way Stretch (1960) | David Lodge & Lionel Jeffries |
1.50 | 24.0 | 24.00 | 113 | 71 | 00 / 00 | 64.9 | |
| 21 | Hoffman (1970) | Sinéad Cusack | 1.90 | 13.2 | 13.20 | 109 | 73 | 00 / 00 | 63.1 | |
| 22 | The Wrong Box (1966) | Michael Caine | 0.90 | 8.7 | 8.70 | 127 | 74 | 00 / 00 | 62.4 | |
| 23 | The Optimists of Nine Elms (1973) | Donna Mullane | 1.50 | 8.9 | 8.90 | 140 | 72 | 00 / 00 | 59.3 | |
| 24 | Only Two Can Play (1962) | Richard Attenborough | 1.10 | 15.9 | 15.90 | 118 | 68 | 00 / 00 | 56.0 | |
| 25 | Heavens Above! (1963) | Cecil Parker | 0.60 | 8.1 | 8.10 | 124 | 69 | 00 / 00 | 54.6 | |
| 27 | The Wrong Arm of the Law (1963) | Lionel Jeffries | 1.40 | 17.2 | 17.20 | 113 | 66 | 00 / 00 | 53.1 | |
| 26 | Mr. Topaze (1961) | Nadia Gray & Herbert Lom |
0.90 | 13.3 | 13.30 | 123 | 67 | 00 / 00 | 52.8 | |
| 29 | Never Let Go (1960) | Richard Todd | 1.80 | 27.5 | 27.50 | 107 | 62 | 00 / 00 | 52.7 | |
| 28 | The Smallest Show on Earth (1957) | Margaret Rutherford | 0.40 | 8.6 | 8.60 | 191 | 67 | 00 / 00 | 50.9 | |
| 30 | Your Past Is Showing (1957) | Terry-Thomas | 0.70 | 12.7 | 12.70 | 181 | 66 | 00 / 00 | 50.1 | |
| 31 | The Magic Christian (1969) | Ringo Starr | 2.00 | 15.2 | 15.20 | 98 | 63 | 00 / 00 | 46.9 | |
| 32 | Waltz of the Toreadors (1962) | Cyril Cusack | 1.80 | 25.9 | 25.90 | 104 | 57 | 00 / 00 | 41.7 | |
| 33 | The Prisoner of Zenda (1979) | Elke Somner & Lionel Jeffries |
12.90 | 55.3 | 55.30 | 58 | 48 | 00 / 00 | 41.1 | |
| 33 | Trial and Error (1962) | Richard Attenborough | 1.00 | 14.0 | 14.00 | 123 | 60 | 00 / 00 | 38.5 | |
| 34 | Where Does It Hurt? (1972) | Jo Ann Pflug | 1.40 | 8.6 | 8.60 | 130 | 61 | 00 / 00 | 37.0 | |
| 37 | I Love You, Alice B. Toklas! (1968) | Leigh Taylor-Young & Jo Van Fleet |
3.10 | 25.9 | 25.90 | 89 | 55 | 00 / 00 | 36.9 | |
| 35 | Carlton-Browne of the F.O. (1959) | Terry-Thomas | 0.40 | 6.9 | 6.90 | 167 | 61 | 00 / 00 | 36.8 | |
| 38 | The Battle of the Sexes (1960) | Robert Morley & Donald Pleasance |
0.70 | 10.9 | 10.90 | 136 | 59 | 00 / 00 | 33.8 | |
| 41 | The Millionairess (1960) | Sophia Loren | 2.90 | 44.6 | 44.60 | 81 | 47 | 00 / 00 | 32.2 | |
| 39 | Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1972) | Ralph Richardson | 1.90 | 11.8 | 11.80 | 124 | 57 | 00 / 00 | 31.5 | |
| 40 | Woman Times Seven (1967) | Shirley MacLaine & Michael Caine |
2.20 | 20.0 | 20.00 | 91 | 54 | 00 / 00 | 30.4 | |
| 44 | The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu (1980) | Helen Mirren | 11.60 | 48.2 | 48.20 | 66 | 44 | 00 / 00 | 27.8 | |
| 42 | The Blockhouse (1973) | Charles Aznavour | 1.50 | 8.8 | 8.80 | 141 | 56 | 00 / 00 | 27.8 | |
| 43 | The Bobo (1967) | Britt Ekland | 1.50 | 13.6 | 13.60 | 117 | 54 | 00 / 00 | 26.8 | |
| 45 | Trail of the Pink Panther (1982) | David Niven | 9.10 | 33.2 | 33.20 | 65 | 45 | 00 / 00 | 22.0 | |
| 46 | Soft Beds Hard Battles (1974) | Curd Jürgens & Lila Kedrova |
1.30 | 7.3 | 7.30 | 128 | 47 | 00 / 00 | 11.8 | |
| 47 | Up The Creek (1958) | David Tomlinson & Lionel Jeffries |
0.60 | 10.3 | 10.30 | 161 | 45 | 00 / 00 | 11.1 | |
| 48 | The Great McGonagall (1975) | Spike Milligan | 1.00 | 5.0 | 5.00 | 138 | 46 | 00 / 00 | 10.6 | |
| 49 | Ghost In The Noonday Sun (1973) | Peter Boyle | 0.00 | 0.1 | 0.10 | 193 | 42 | 00 / 00 | 5.4 |
Stats and Possibly Interesting Things From The Above Peter Sellers Table
- Ten Peter Sellers movie crossed the magical $100 million domestic gross mark. That is a percentage of 20.83% of his movies listed. The Pink Panther Strikes Again (1976) was his biggest box office hit.
- An average Peter Sellers movie grosses $57.50 million in adjusted box office gross.
- Using RottenTomatoes.com’s 60% fresh meter. 31 of Peter Sellers’s movies are rated as good movies…or 64.58% of his movies. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) is his highest rated movie while Casino Royale (1966) is his lowest rated movie.
- Eight Peter Sellers movies received at least one Oscar® nomination in any category…..or 16.66% of his movies.
- One Peter Sellers movies won at least one Oscar® in any category…..or 2.08% of his movies.
- An good Ultimate Movie Ranking (UMR) Score is 40.00. 16 Peter Sellers movie scored higher that average….or 33.33% of his movies. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) got the the highest UMR Score while The Great McGonagall (1975) got the lowest UMR Score.
Possibly Interesting Facts About Peter Sellers
- Richard Henry Sellers was born in England in 1925. His parents called him Peter after his elder stillborn brother.
2. Peter Sellers was best known for his portrayal of the hapless, accident-prone Inspector Clouseau from the Pink Panther movies. His Pink Panther movies grossed almost $1 billion in adjusted North American dollars.
3. Peter Sellers has two performances in Premiere Magazine’s 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time: 67th is his role as Clousaeau in the Pink Panther movies and 75th is his role as Dr. Stranglove in 1964’s Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.
4. Peter Sellers was nominated for 3 Oscars®. He was nominated for Best Actor for 1964’s Dr. Strangelove and 1979’s Being There. His 3rd Oscar nomination was for Best Short Subject, Live Action Shorts for 1959’s The Running Jumping & Standing Still Film.
5. Peter Sellers was nominated for 5 Golden Globes®: 1962’s Lolita, 1963’s The Pink Panther, 1975’s The Return of the Pink Panther, 1976’s The Pink Panther Strikes Back and 1979’s Being There. He won the Golden Globe® for Being There.
6. Peter Sellers was the first male to appear on the cover of Playboy Magazine, in April 1964
7. Peter Sellers starred in 6 Blake Edwards movies and co-starred with Herbert Lom (Chief Inspector Dreyfuss) in 6 movies.
8. Peter Sellers was married four times. He had three children. He married his second wife, actress Britt Ekland, after only knowing her for 10 days. His third wife, Miranda Quarry, is know The Countess of Stockton
9. Peter Sellers and music legends: Became friends with the group The Beatles, and visited them at Abbey Road Studios. Was given a tape of rough mixes from the “White Album”. He was one of the favorite actors of Elvis Presley who always had Sellers’ Pink Panther films with him on the airplane while he was on tour.
10. Check out Peter Sellers‘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.
interesting theory on your new calculation. Not sure I buy it 100 % though. He was a huge star in the 1960s and I would think anything with him in it would generate more box office success than the number you came up with. He was great as Chance should have won the Oscar. Fine addition to your website.
I see I made some errors in my comment. A edit button would be helpful.
Yes, but on the other hand, Bruce/Cogerson is able to edit your comment if you tell him what to change.
Hey Stein….we have tried a few different “comment” boxes….but this app….actually does the best job of keeping SPAM away. Sorry about that…but we will continue to find a better “comment” app.
Hey Stein….hey I had to do something to include all of Seller’s British films..I really wish I had worldwide box office numbers for this page….that way some of these great British films would not have scored so low. I agree with you about him winning an Oscar for playing Chance the gardener. Thanks for the kind words.
Hello Bruce.
Thanks for doing a page on Peter Sellers. I only had approximately 40 % of this box office information. I don’t know where you got it all but I appreciates it. I’ve always liked Sellers and I’ve seen more than half of these titles. What’s New, Pussycat? (1965) is missing. I recently saw this film and I found it very funny. When I saw it as a teenager I didn’t think it was funny at all. 1964 was Sellers’ big steller year what with Dr. Strangelove, The Pink Panther, A Shot in the Dark and The World of Henry Orient all release in the US in 1964. That’s also the year Seller’s had his first near fatal Heart Attack. My favorite Sellers’ films are “Being There”, “Dr. Strangelove, The Pink Panther, I Love You Alice B. Toklas, A Shot in the Dark and the very odd “Hoffman”. Thanks again Bruce.
Yes, I noticed What’s New Pussycat wasn’t listed anywhere. Fun film, but when I hear that title I automatically think of Tom Jones singing the title song.
It is hard to not think of What’s New Pussycat the movie without What’s New Pussycat the song. What’s New Pussycat is now on the page.
Hey Lyle…..as I wrote in the page….under the “drivel part” many of the England produced Peter Sellers movies are educated guesses using the BoxOfficeStory.com Sellers page….was able to create a math equation to come up with many of the above box office……I feel they are close…but no why to know how close they really are…..I feel those numbers might be lost forever.
You are 100% correct….somehow I left off What’s New Pussycat….well no more….it is on the page….that caused a ripple effect that required more than 10 other changes on a few different pages. I even made a mental note to fix Peter O’Toole when I got the movie to the table. For some reason O’Toole’s ” ‘ ” causes problems and always requires we to fix after publishing. For some reason I always associate Casino Royale and Pussycat together…..many of the same actors…and the tone is the exact same…..so when I saw Casino Royale on the page I must have assumed Pussycat was there too. Got that one wrong…thanks for the catch.
I recently re-watched Pussycat….it was better on a second viewing….but I am still not there with you about liking it. Allen has some funny lines…O’Toole is good in the lead role…..but I do not think it is Sellers’ greatest day as an actor. 1964 was a very good year for O’Toole…3 movies in the Top 14…that does not get done to often.
I like all of your favorites with the exception of I Love You Alice B. Tokias,,,,,and I had never even heard of Hoffman until doing this page. As always….thanks for the comment and the heads up to my mistake.
Without a doubt the man was a comic genius. Hard to believe he has been gone 36 years now. So many Sellers movies that I am not aware of and I thought I was a decent Sellers fan.
I agree with you Rachel K. I am right there with you….he has so many England made movies…it almost seems there is an entire Peter Sellers movie world that I have yet to explore….thanks for stopping by and commenting.
Thanks for doing my requested page on Peter Sellers despite the difficulties with North American box office.
I’m a big fan of Peter. It is my intention to see every movie that Mr. Sellers made. There are plenty of films I have seen that fail except for Peter.
The one exception of this for me is Lolita. I love this movie except for Peter Sellers. Whether he was miscast in the film or played the part too well, or that Jams Mason was excellent in the film, all my sympathy in the film goes to mason and I can’t stand Peter’s character.
As to rankings versus viewings:
The highest rated movie I have seen is number 1: Dr. Strangelove.
The lowest ranking movie I have seen is the last one: Casino Royale: worst Bond film ever. It totally sucks.
The highest ranking film I have not seen is 5: The ladykillers – I have not yet had access to it.
Therefore, I have seen:
4 of the top 5
8 of the top 10
11 of the top 15
14 of the top 20
15 of the top 30
17 of the top 40
20 movies overall.
Steve Lensman beats me! No gold medal for Canada. LOL!
My favourite movies are: note: not including Lolita here, although I love it
The Pink Panther
Dr. Strangelove
The Wrong Box – I agree Steve- Peter lives with dozens of cats in this one
The Mouse that Roared
A Shot in the Dark
Being There
The World of Henry Orient
Murder By Death
The Party
Revenge of the Pink Panther
Thanks again, Bruce!
Hey Flora.
1. Since you commented What’s New Pussycat has been added to the page….pretty sure you, me and Steve have seen it….so the new tally count is
2. Flora & Steve at 21….and me at 21…..so a tie…you and Steve will have to fight for space a top of the medal podium….lol.
3. Interesting that you did not enjoy Sellers role in Lolita….then again his character in that one is not too nice of a guy.
4. Ladykillers is an interesting movie to watch….it is fun to see Lom and Sellers together years before the Pink Panther movies….Ladykillers is the only England produced movies that I have seen.
5. Your %….80%, 80%, 73%, 70%, 50% (big drop), 42% and 42% (does not include Pussycat)….I have seen 9 of the Top 12….but only 2 of the bottom 36 (Pussycat & Royale).
6. I have seen and enjoyed 7 of your Top 10….did not enjoy The World of Henry Orient….and want to see The Wrong Box and The Party.
Glad you liked your requested page…..in the end I am happy with estimated grosses on his England produced movies. Thanks for another great comment.
Peter Sellers, a comedy legend. A nice tribute Bruce!
I don’t think you’ve missed any major movies, they all seem to be here, finding all that info must have been a chore, I salute you.
I’ve seen 20 of the 47 films listed here, probably more I can’t remember all the titles. Favorites include all the Inspector Clouseau movies of course, Dr. Strangelove, The Party, Murder by Death and Being There.
Movies I can’t remember seeing include – The World of Henry Orient, There’s a Girl in my Soup and The Millionairess.
Dr, Strangelove tops the charts, as it should. I’ve seen all the UMR toppers right up to The Ladykillers, an Ealing studios classic.
I’ll recommend The Wrong Box for anyone who hasn’t seen it, a black comedy starring Michael Caine and packed with great British comedy actors.
Looking at the trivia Sellers was Oscar nominated Best Actor twice, nice. It was a sad day here in the UK when we heard he died, aged just 55.
Great work Bruce, Sellers would have been proud. Top marks amigo.
Hey Steve.
1. Thanks for editing my Sellers page….I can see how he was even more of a legend in England than in North America.
2. Tally count….you 20….me….counting 10…somehow I have not seen either Michael Caine movie on this list.
3. I will have to check out The Wrong Box….and add it to my Michael Caine page…..granted it is not an easy movie to find…or I would have watched it already.
4. Glad to see you like the UMR chart toppers…..I made the default setting reviews….since so many of his movies barely saw the light of day in North America.
5. It was sad to see that Cato passed away just a few days ago….somehow I missed that news….but probably only kids of the 1970s even remember his Pink Panther movies.
Thanks for the kind words….it is greatly appreciated.