Want to know the best Tarzan movies? How about the worst Tarzan movies? Curious about Tarzan’s box office grosses or which Tarzan movie picked up the most Oscar® nominations? Need to know which Tarzan 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.
Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Tarzan was born in 1912. Tarzan went from a magazine publication in 1912, to a novel in 1914, to movies in 1918. Since then Tarzan has become one of the most recognizable fictional characters of all-time.
This Tarzan Movie Ranking page comes from a request by Tim, Sarah, Kelly67 & Dan (we think). Overall we ranked 34 Tarzan movies. Huge Tarzan fans will notice some missing Tarzan projects. Tarzan serials, Tarzan movies that were made for television and movies that did not get released in theaters in North America were not included.
Tarzan Movies Ranked In Chronological Order With Ultimate Movie Rankings Score (1 to 5 UMR Tickets) *Best combo of box office, reviews and awards.
Tarzan 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 Tarzan movies by who played Tarzan.
- Sort Tarzan movies by who played Jane…..if she was in the movie.
- Sort Tarzan movies by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost (in millions)
- Sort Tarzan 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 Tarzan movie received and how many Oscar® wins each Tarzan movie won.
- Sort Tarzan 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.
Possibly Interesting Facts About Tarzan
1. The Tarzan stories have been translated into more than 56 languages, and reportedly more than 25 million copies of the Tarzan books have been sold worldwide.
2. The first actor to play Tarzan was Elmo Lincoln in 1918’s Tarzan of the Apes
3. Johnny Weissmuller played Tarzan the most times: 12 movies from 1932 to 1948. To see a list of other Tarzans….check out this page from HubPages’ Glory Miller. Actors Who Played Tarzan.
4. Maureen O’Sullivan and Brenda Joyce played Jane the most times. O’Sullivan played Jane 6 times while Joyce played Jane five times.
5. Brenda Joyce is the only actress to appear opposite a different Tarzan. She starred opposite Johnny Weissmuller four times. However, her last performance as Jane, in 1949’s Tarzan’s Magic Fountain, was with Lex Barker as Tarzan
6. Lex Barker played Tarzan 5 times from 1949 to 1953. Each time a different actress played Jane.
7. Mike Henry played Tarzan 3 times. Henry experienced so many traumas (chimp bites, infections, and that the chimp almost tore off his jaw) that he quit the Tarzan series. Henry would file two law suits against the Tarzan producers.
8. The Legend of Tarzan starring Samuel L, Jackson (not as Tarzan) was the first Tarzan movie in 17 years.
9. The art work for the Tarzan movie poster is very impressive. An excellent movie blog to check out is Tarzan Movie Posters by Steve Lensman.
10. Check out Tarzan‘s career compared to current and classic actors. Most 100 Million Dollar Movies of All-Time.
But Wait….We Have More Tarzan Movie Stats….Worldwide Adjusted Box Office Grosses
- Tarzan (1999) $747.00 million in adjusted worldwide gross
- The Legend of Tarzan (2016) $356.60 million in adjusted worldwide gross
- Tarzan’s Secret Treasure (1941) $315.40 million in adjusted worldwide gross
- Tarzan The Ape Man (1932) $302.40 million in adjusted worldwide gross
- Tarzan’s New York Adventure (1942) $280.00 million in adjusted worldwide gross
- Tarzan Finds a Son (1939) $251.10 million in adjusted worldwide gross
- Tarzan Escapes (1936) $241.50 million in adjusted worldwide gross
- Tarzan Triumphs (1943) $240.60 million in adjusted worldwide gross
- Tarzan And His Mate (1934) $233.90 million in adjusted worldwide gross
- Tarzan’s Desert Mystery (1943) $191.00 million in adjusted worldwide gross
- Tarzan and the Amazons (1945) $182.90 million in adjusted worldwide gross
- Tarzan and the Leopard Woman (1946) $174.20 million in adjusted worldwide gross
- Tarzan and the Huntress (1947) $159.30 million in adjusted worldwide gross
- Tarzan and the Mermaids (1948) $114.80 million in adjusted worldwide gross
- Tarzan’s Magic Fountain (1949) $103.30 million in adjusted worldwide gross
- Tarzan and the Slave Girl (1950) $89.20 million in adjusted worldwide gross
- Tarzan and the Lost Safari (1957) $85.80 million in adjusted worldwide gross
- Tarzan’s Peril (1951) $83.10 million in adjusted worldwide gross
- Tarzan’s Fight for Life (1958) $70.20 million in adjusted worldwide gross
- Tarzan Goes To India (1962) $65.60 million in adjusted worldwide gross
- Tarzan the Ape Man (1959) $58.50 million in adjusted worldwide gross
- Tarzan’s Three Challenges (1963) $52.40 million in adjusted worldwide gross
- Tarzan’s Hidden Jungle (1955) $43.90 million in adjusted worldwide gross
- Tarzan’s Savage Fury (1952) $38.20 million in adjusted worldwide gross
- Tarzan and the She-Devil (1953) $26.10 million in adjusted worldwide gross
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Hi
I loved the old Tarzan movies with Johnny Weismuller, yodeling and swinging through the vines. I think the MGM productions all seemed to be of high quality, whereas the RKO seemed to be more B movie material. Johnny had a fantastic run as Tarzan. One of the movies where Jane and her friends are caught by the natives, and they’re going to be lowered into a pit with a gorilla and of course Tarzan comes to the rescue. But as a kid that gorilla was really scary. Maureen O’Sullivan was a brilliant Jane, she was a great contract player for MGM. I remember her in David Copperfield but her career seemed to fizzle out by the early 40s.
Greystoke was superb, especially Ralph Richardson. I’m looking forward to the new Tarzan, I suppose if they get the right person it could really be a hit. I wonder what Michael Phelps is doing!
I could be wrong but did Bo Derek play Jane in a Tarzan movie in the early 80s? The fact I can’t remember says it all.
Hey Chris.
1. I am just starting to watch the Johnny W. movies….I have seen 5 in the last couple of months.
2. I agree with you about MGM and RKO. The first MGM Tarzan movies (1932-1936) spent some money on the budgets. They however started to cut some corners by the time the 1940s came along.
3. All the RKO movies came from a different producer….and it is easy to tell that production costs were much smaller.
4. The movie with the gorilla is the very first Weissmuller one….Tarzan the Ape Man in 1932. I can see that the movie would have an impact on kids.
5. Maureen O’Sullivan’s career really went downhill after she finally got her wish to be done with Tarzan movies….maybe she should have stuck with the franchise.
6. I have not seen Greystroke in years….it is time for a re-vist.
7. The new Tarzan looks pretty good. Might be one of the movies I take the family to see this summer.
8. The Bo Derek Tarzan movie made the list. In my ranking system it came in 11th place. It was the 5th biggest box office hit of all the Tarzan movies…..BUT the worst reviewed Tarzan movie ever made….even the Caspar Van Dien Tarzan movie got better reviews.
Thanks for your Tarzan thoughts.
HI I enjoyed this site so much – it brought back memories of watching the different Tarzan movies. I remember The Legend of Tarzan – that was different from the other ones. If I am remembering right – he went back to the jungle at the end of the movie. I thought it was sad!!!
Another good site once again. THANKS FOR THE LINK!
Hey BERN1960….thanks for checking out my Tarzan page. Glad it brought back memories for you. Tons of movies with tons of Tarzans. I think it is safe to say Tarzan was the James Bond of movies in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. Thanks for the compliment.
Hi, Bruce.
I have seen several Johnny Weissmuller Tarzan movies. However, I can’t remember which ones I have seen and which ones I have not seen. It has ben so long ago. I know I have not seen them all.
Re: black and white movies:
I just love black and white movies. Some of them have been colourized in the belief that young people would be more likely to watch old movies that way. Usually this is badly done and the colour bleeds and I can’t watch it. If it is skillfully done like the 1951 version of A Christmas Carol that airs on regular networks before Christmas every year in Canada I can just turn the colour off of my TV and watch it in black and white. But usually this process doesn’t work.
But I am digressing.
I’m not sure how many non-JW Tarzan movies I have seen either.
Thus, my regular comment style is abandoned for this page. No doubt I come in 3rd, though….
Flora
Hey Flora…..Steve will easily take the tally count this time. His 22 is 4 times my current total of 5….and two of those movies I watched on Monday and Tuesday. I can already tell that in time I will be confused as to which Tarzan movie I have seen and which ones have I not seen. Although Tarzan in New York should be an easy one to remember.
The color versions of classic black and white movies are horrible….so I agree with you 100%. Sorry your turning the color off trick does not work….but I give you an “A” for effort.
Thanks for your Tarzan thoughts….they are greatly appreciated.
Nice tribute to Tarzan. Lots of great memories of watching those old black and white movies.
Thank you Marie. I have the same memories of watching black and white movies on the UHF channels….young people have no idea the joy of watching a movie in black and white on a screen that has more “snow” than picture.
Nice work Bruce. It can’t have been easy finding all those box office figures. I’ve seen a lot of Tarzan films over the decades and looking at your list there are about 22 that I know for certain I’ve watched. I must have seen more of the Lex Barker / Gordon Scott Tarzans when I was young, just can’t remember them.
My favorite Tarzan has to be the original and best, Johnny Weismuller. I own all his Tarzan films on two DVD box sets. My favorite is Tarzan and his Mate, happy to see it topping the critics chart.
Disney’s Tarzan tops the UMR chart and it is one of my favorite Disney animations of the 90’s.
Greystoke is another favorite, watched it a bunch of times on video back in the 80’s. It’s the only distinguished, well acted Tarzan movie to date and I think the only live action one to get any Oscar nominations.
Missing from your list is a recent CG animated motion picture released a couple of years ago, I have it on Blu-ray 3D. Not sure if it was released in theaters.
And there’s another Tarzan film out this year (2016), some good actors in it. Let’s see how well it does.
Oh and thanks for the link Bruce. Voted Up.
Hey Steve.
1. Thanks for the compliment. Luckily the MGM and RKO ledgers were very helpful when researching these movies. It was not until the mid 1960s that information became hard to find.
2. Tarzan and His Mate….is one of Danny Peary’s cult movies….and one of the few Tarzan movies that I have seen.
3. I have seen a grand total of 5. 4 of them have been in the last few months…I do have two more to watch as I have Tarzan’s Secret Treasure and Tarzan’s New York Adventure in the que of movies to watch that are sitting by my DVD….so my tally will soon be 7…..still way behind you.
4. I agree with you that Greystroke is the only one so far with serious acting going on. It’s 3 Oscar nominations make up 75% of the entire Tarzan franchise Oscar nominations.
5. Kellan Lutz’s Tarzan (2013) did not get released in North America….so it was not included.
6. The Legend of Tarzan (2016) actually looks like it could be good…..I wonder what Johnny Weissmuller would think of the special effects in the new Tarzan movie.
7. Hope your poster page gets some traffic.
Thanks for your Tarzan thoughts.