Want to know the best Best True Story Movies? Curious which True Story Movie earned the most at the box office? Want to know which True Story Movie picked up the most Oscar® nominations? Need to know which True Story Movies got the best reviews from critics and audiences and which one got the worst reviews? Well you have come to the right place …. because we have all of that information.
A few months ago, Wife of Cogerson (that’s what she likes to be called) was talking about Ultimate Movie Rankings with one of her co-workers, Anne C. Anne’s favorite type of movie are ones that are based on a true story. Since I did not have a “True Story Movies” page they requested that I do one. Normally when I get a request, I go straight to IMDb, find out how many movies that performer made, and start researching the stats of each individual movie. In this case, I quickly realized that there were thousands of movies based on true stories. So after a few months of research, I had nothing to show for my work. About two weeks ago, I stumbled across a book….Based On A True Story by Jonathan Vankin and John Whalen. So using that book as a jumping spot…I finally figured out a way to write this movie page.
With the massive amount of movies to research…I decided to try and find the Top True Story Movies based on my Ultimate Movie Rankings (UMR) Score equation. So using Vankin and Whalen’s book, the Internet, personal favorites, Wife of Cogerson’s suggestion, Anne’s suggestions, and the Ultimate Movie Rankings database, I scored over 300 movies. This page looks at the Top 50 True Story Movies.
Top 50 True Story Movies Can Be Ranked 5 Ways In The Table Below
The really cool thing about ther table is that it is “user-sortable”. Rank the movies anyway you want.
- Sort True Story Movies by subject matter
- Sort True Story Movies by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost
- Sort True Story Movies by critic reviews and audiences voting. 60% rating or higher should indicate a good movie.
- Sort by how many Oscar® nominations and how many Oscar® wins each True Story Movie received.
- Sort True Story 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. The ceiling to earn points for box office is $200 million…once a movie passes that mark it stops earning points in that category.
| 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 |
Peter O'Toole & Anthony Quinn |
41.50 | 595.9 | 595.90 | 1 | 94 | 10 / 07 | 100.0 | |
| 2 | Schindler's List (1993) AA Best Picture Win |
Liam Neeson & Ralph Fiennes |
96.10 | 250.1 | 836.60 | 9 | 94 | 12 / 07 | 100.0 | |
| 3 | Patton (1970) AA Best Picture Win |
George C. Scott | 61.70 | 429.5 | 429.50 | 4 | 90 | 10 / 07 | 100.0 | |
| 4 | The King's Speech (2010) AA Best Picture Win |
Colin Firth & Geoffrey Rush |
138.80 | 189.6 | 565.90 | 18 | 93 | 12 / 04 | 99.9 | |
| 5 | The French Connection (1971) AA Best Picture Win |
Gene Hackman & Roy Scheider |
51.70 | 337.8 | 337.80 | 4 | 84 | 08 / 05 | 99.9 | |
| 5 | The Sound of Music (1965) AA Best Picture Win |
Julie Andrews & Christopher Plummer |
145.50 | 1,537.8 | 2,837.70 | 1 | 82 | 10 / 05 | 99.9 | |
| 7 | Gandhi (1982) AA Best Picture Win |
Ben Kingsley & Martin Sheen |
52.80 | 193.5 | 468.50 | 11 | 85 | 11 / 08 | 99.9 | |
| 8 | Argo (2012) AA Best Picture Win |
Ben Affleck & John Goodman |
136.00 | 184.2 | 314.60 | 22 | 90 | 07 / 03 | 99.8 | |
| 9 | Mutiny on the Bounty (1935) AA Best Picture Win |
Clark Gable & Charles Laughton |
8.20 | 366.3 | 649.90 | 1 | 86 | 08 / 01 | 99.8 | |
| 10 | Titanic (1997) AA Best Picture Win |
Leonardo DiCaprio & Kate Winslet |
621.80 | 1,460.3 | 4,763.40 | 1 | 78 | 14 / 11 | 99.8 | |
| 9 | A Beautiful Mind (2001) AA Best Picture Win |
Russell Crowe & Jennifer Connelly |
170.70 | 325.8 | 598.20 | 11 | 82 | 08 / 04 | 99.8 | |
| 13 | Braveheart (1995) AA Best Picture Win |
Mel Gibson & Patrick McGoohan |
75.60 | 187.4 | 521.40 | 18 | 81 | 10 / 05 | 99.8 | |
| 11 | Saving Private Ryan (1998) AA Best Picture Nom |
Tom Hanks & Matt Damon |
214.50 | 493.1 | 1,102.90 | 1 | 93 | 11 / 05 | 99.8 | |
| 14 | Out of Africa (1985) AA Best Picture Win |
Meryl Streep & Robert Redford |
87.10 | 264.4 | 808.30 | 5 | 66 | 11 / 07 | 99.7 | |
| 15 | Lincoln (2012) AA Best Picture Nom |
Daniel Day-Lewis & Sally Field |
182.20 | 246.8 | 372.80 | 13 | 89 | 12 / 02 | 99.6 | |
| 16 | Bonnie and Clyde (1967) AA Best Picture Nom |
Warren Beatty & Faye Dunaway |
57.00 | 507.8 | 507.80 | 3 | 87 | 10 / 02 | 99.6 | |
| 17 | The Exorcist (1973) AA Best Picture Nom |
Ellen Burstyn & Linda Blair |
195.80 | 1,192.5 | 2,459.30 | 1 | 86 | 10 / 02 | 99.6 | |
| 18 | Apollo 13 (1995) AA Best Picture Nom |
Tom Hanks & Bill Paxton |
173.10 | 428.9 | 878.40 | 3 | 86 | 09 / 02 | 99.6 | |
| 19 | Dog Day Afternoon (1975) AA Best Picture Nom |
Al Pacino & John Cazale |
68.20 | 358.5 | 358.50 | 4 | 89 | 06 / 01 | 99.5 | |
| 20 | All the President's Men (1976) AA Best Picture Nom |
Robert Redford & Dustin Hoffman |
90.90 | 460.1 | 460.10 | 4 | 83 | 08 / 04 | 99.5 | |
| 21 | Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942) AA Best Picture Nom |
James Cagney & Walter Huston |
13.50 | 501.3 | 702.20 | 3 | 84 | 08 / 03 | 99.5 | |
| 23 | The Last Emperor (1987) AA Best Picture Win |
Peter O'Toole & John Lone |
44.00 | 121.3 | 121.30 | 25 | 85 | 09 / 09 | 99.5 | |
| 22 | The Pride of the Yankees (1942) AA Best Picture Nom |
Gary Cooper & Teresa Wright |
10.50 | 389.9 | 389.90 | 9 | 84 | 11 / 01 | 99.5 | |
| 23 | Boys Town (1938) AA Best Picture Nom |
Spencer Tracy & Mickey Rooney |
11.30 | 451.6 | 648.10 | 2 | 86 | 05 / 02 | 99.4 | |
| 24 | Sergeant York (1941) AA Best Picture Nom |
Gary Cooper & Walter Brennan |
13.50 | 521.1 | 521.10 | 1 | 81 | 11 / 02 | 99.4 | |
| 25 | Funny Girl (1968) AA Best Picture Nom |
Barbra Streisand | 52.40 | 430.8 | 430.80 | 3 | 82 | 08 / 01 | 99.3 | |
| 26 | Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) AA Best Picture Nom |
Paul Newman & Robert Redford |
100.10 | 760.0 | 931.40 | 1 | 79 | 07 / 04 | 99.3 | |
| 30 | Born on the Fourth of July (1989) AA Best Picture Nom |
Tom Cruise | 70.00 | 190.1 | 437.20 | 17 | 82 | 08 / 02 | 99.1 | |
| 28 | Coal Miner's Daughter (1980) AA Best Picture Nom |
Sissy Spacek & Tommy Lee Jones |
81.50 | 337.8 | 337.80 | 6 | 80 | 07 / 01 | 99.1 | |
| 32 | Judgment at Nuremberg (1961) AA Best Picture Nom |
Spencer Tracy & Marlene Dietrich |
11.30 | 164.4 | 164.40 | 19 | 86 | 11 / 02 | 99.0 | |
| 31 | Erin Brockovich (2000) AA Best Picture Nom |
Julia Roberts & Albert Finney |
125.60 | 251.2 | 512.50 | 13 | 79 | 05 / 01 | 98.9 | |
| 34 | The Great Escape (1963) | Steve McQueen | 15.80 | 197.7 | 197.70 | 13 | 89 | 01 / 00 | 98.8 | |
| 35 | American Hustle (2013) AA Best Picture Nom |
Jennifer Lawrence & Christian Bale |
150.10 | 199.0 | 333.00 | 17 | 76 | 10 / 00 | 98.8 | |
| 32 | 12 Years a Slave (2013) AA Best Picture Win |
Chiwetel Ejiofor & Michael Fassbender |
56.70 | 75.1 | 248.90 | 62 | 91 | 09 / 03 | 98.7 | |
| 34 | Seabiscuit (2003) AA Best Picture Nom |
Tobey Maguire & Jeff Bridges |
120.30 | 215.0 | 265.20 | 17 | 77 | 07 / 00 | 98.6 | |
| 36 | Catch Me if You Can (2002) | Leonardo DiCaprio & Tom Hanks |
164.60 | 306.0 | 654.40 | 11 | 86 | 02 / 00 | 98.5 | |
| 36 | The Social Network (2010) AA Best Picture Nom |
Jesse Eisenberg & Justin Timberlake |
96.70 | 132.1 | 306.90 | 32 | 91 | 08 / 03 | 98.5 | |
| 39 | Black Hawk Down (2001) | Orlando Bloom & Directed by Ridley Scott |
108.60 | 207.3 | 330.10 | 18 | 79 | 04 / 02 | 98.3 | |
| 39 | The Help (2011) AA Best Picture Nom |
Jessica Chastain & Octavia Spencer |
169.70 | 230.7 | 294.40 | 13 | 74 | 04 / 01 | 98.1 | |
| 40 | Escape from Alcatraz (1979) | Clint Eastwood | 47.30 | 203.1 | 203.10 | 17 | 83 | 00 / 00 | 98.0 | |
| 43 | Captain Phillips (2013) AA Best Picture Nom |
Tom Hanks & Barkhad Abdi |
107.10 | 142.0 | 290.10 | 32 | 90 | 06 / 00 | 97.8 | |
| 41 | Goodfellas (1990) AA Best Picture Nom |
Robert DeNiro & Joe Pesci |
46.80 | 119.4 | 119.40 | 26 | 95 | 06 / 01 | 97.7 | |
| 43 | Zero Dark Thirty (2012) AA Best Picture Nom |
Jessica Chastain & Chris Pratt |
95.70 | 129.6 | 179.90 | 32 | 90 | 05 / 01 | 97.4 | |
| 44 | The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) AA Best Picture Nom |
Leonardo DiCaprio & Matthew McConaughey |
116.90 | 155.0 | 519.80 | 28 | 83 | 05 / 00 | 96.9 | |
| 45 | Raging Bull (1980) AA Best Picture Nom |
Robert DeNiro & Joe Pesci |
23.50 | 97.5 | 97.50 | 33 | 94 | 08 / 02 | 96.7 | |
| 45 | The Alamo (1960) AA Best Picture Nom |
John Wayne & Richard Widmark |
22.60 | 353.1 | 708.40 | 5 | 63 | 07 / 01 | 96.7 | |
| 47 | A League of Their Own (1992) | Tom Hanks & Madonna |
107.50 | 279.3 | 344.00 | 10 | 76 | 00 / 00 | 96.5 | |
| 48 | The Blind Side (2009) AA Best Picture Nom |
Sandra Bullock & Tim McGraw |
256.00 | 367.9 | 444.40 | 8 | 67 | 02 / 01 | 96.5 | |
| 51 | The Elephant Man (1980) AA Best Picture Nom |
John Hurt & Anthony Hopkins |
27.90 | 115.8 | 115.80 | 28 | 88 | 08 / 00 | 96.1 | |
| 50 | The Longest Day (1962) AA Best Picture Nom |
John Wayne & Robert Mitchum |
31.30 | 449.7 | 449.70 | 3 | 60 | 05 / 02 | 95.8 | |
| 52 | Gangs of New York (2002) AA Best Picture Nom |
Leonardo DiCaprio & Daniel Day-Lewis |
77.80 | 144.6 | 360.10 | 34 | 77 | 10 / 00 | 95.7 | |
| 50 | A Bridge Too Far (1977) | Michael Caine & Sean Connery |
56.80 | 274.4 | 274.40 | 9 | 70 | 00 / 00 | 95.1 | |
| 55 | Norma Rae (1979) AA Best Picture Nom |
Sally Field | 30.00 | 129.0 | 129.00 | 30 | 76 | 04 / 02 | 94.1 | |
| 53 | The Right Stuff (1983) AA Best Picture Nom |
Sam Shepard & Dennis Quaid |
21.20 | 72.5 | 72.50 | 33 | 88 | 08 / 04 | 93.7 | |
| 56 | The Perfect Storm (2000) | George Clooney & Mark Wahlberg |
182.60 | 365.2 | 657.40 | 6 | 58 | 02 / 00 | 92.4 | |
| 55 | Quiz Show (1994) AA Best Picture Nom |
Paul Scofield | 24.80 | 65.6 | 65.60 | 56 | 90 | 04 / 00 | 91.3 | |
| 58 | Miracle (2004) | Kurt Russell & Patricia Clarkson |
64.40 | 111.8 | 111.90 | 47 | 77 | 00 / 00 | 88.5 | |
| 59 | Saving Mr. Banks (2013) | Tom Hanks & Emma Thompso |
83.30 | 110.5 | 156.30 | 43 | 77 | 00 / 00 | 88.3 | |
| 57 | 127 Hours (2010) AA Best Picture Nom |
James Franco | 18.30 | 25.1 | 83.00 | 119 | 87 | 06 / 00 | 86.6 | |
| 60 | Zulu (1964) | Michael Caine & Richard Burton |
4.00 | 46.2 | 46.20 | 71 | 86 | 00 / 00 | 84.2 | |
| 62 | Rudy (1993) | Vince Vaughn | 22.80 | 59.2 | 59.20 | 68 | 77 | 00 / 00 | 81.4 | |
| 63 | Secretariat (2010) | Diane Lane | 59.70 | 81.6 | 81.60 | 58 | 68 | 00 / 00 | 80.1 | |
| 61 | Ed Wood (1994) | Johnny Depp & Martin Landau |
5.90 | 15.6 | 15.60 | 139 | 84 | 02 / 02 | 79.6 | |
| 65 | Men of Honor (2000) | Charlize Theron & Robert DeNiro |
48.80 | 97.6 | 164.70 | 51 | 58 | 00 / 00 | 76.2 | |
| 64 | Brian's Song (1971) | James Caan | 1.00 | 6.4 | 6.40 | 158 | 84 | 00 / 00 | 74.3 | |
| 67 | Glory Road (2006) | Jon Voight | 42.60 | 69.9 | 69.90 | 69 | 64 | 00 / 00 | 74.0 | |
| 66 | Eight Men Out (1988) | Charlie Sheen & John Cusack |
5.70 | 14.9 | 14.90 | 120 | 79 | 00 / 00 | 72.0 | |
| 68 | We Are Marshall (2006) | Matthew McConaughey | 43.50 | 71.3 | 71.30 | 68 | 59 | 00 / 00 | 69.1 | |
| 69 | The Greatest Game Ever Played (2005) | Shia LaBeouf & Bill Paxton |
15.30 | 25.8 | 26.50 | 135 | 65 | 00 / 00 | 57.5 | |
| 70 | Chaplin (1992) | Robert Downey Jr. & Milla Jovovich |
9.50 | 24.7 | 24.70 | 97 | 62 | 03 / 00 | 55.3 | |
| 71 | The Bear (1984) | Football Movies & Gary Busey |
2.70 | 8.6 | 8.60 | 128 | 58 | 00 / 00 | 31.5 |
I am pretty sure that I have not included many films that could crack the Top 50…I will continue to research Based on a True Story movies and update when I find one.
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Hi, Bruce.
I hadn’t commented on this page before. I’ve seen 28 of these movies, including some that I’ve seen on the big screen (eg. The King’s Speech, A Beautiful Mind and Catch Me if You Can).
The highest rated movie I have seen is Lawrence of Arabia at #1.
The highest rated movie I have not seen is Patton at #4.
The lowest rated movie I have seen is the last one at #50 A Bridge Too Far.
Among the titles I haven’t seen are a lot of blockbuster titles, freaky movies and subjects that bore me (Social Network). These include Titanic (yes, seriously, I hated that song enough to avoid seeing it and turn off the radio when it played), The Exorcist, and Raging Bull.
My favourite five films are:
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
The Sound of Music
Lawrence of Arabia
Mutiny on the Bounty
The King’s Speech
Cheers, Flora
Hey Flora.
1. Thanks for checking out my True Story movie page.
2. Looking at some of the comments…I think I must have gotten rid of some movies to get it down to 50. Seems there might have been 71 movies when Steve and I did a tally count.
3. I am at a perfect 50 here….though there are some one and done movies here for me….Zero Dark Thirty, Born on the 4th of July. come to mind.
4. I thought Titanic was ok…..if you ever watch it….try and watch it in 3D….Cameron did an excellent job of turning a non 3d movie into a 3d movie. The depth is amazing.
5. Your Top 5 is a group of pretty good movies. Butch and Lawrence are all time favorites of mine.
As always….thanks for stopping by.
Interesting page. Although I see many of my favorites are not included. Remember the Titans, Phar Lap, and Pursuit of Happiness.
Hey KT….you named three quality movies….they just did not earn enough points to crack my Top 50….Phar Lap was not one I had in my database…so thanks for pointing that one out.
YEAH – I FORGOT ABOUT THE AL JOLSON STORY. I STILL WATCH THE TWO DVD’S AND ENJOY THEM EACH TIME.
Hey BERN1960…..I looked at The Jolson Story but it did not rank high enough to crack the Top 50….it was close…sorry it did not make the Top 50 list.
Nice list. I always thought Out of Africa was overrated. Plus it is a collection of many of her books rather than one.
Hey Jesse….I am not a big fan of Out of Africa either but it did earn some Oscar love as well as doing pretty well at the box office. Thanks for the visit.
2 of my favorite movies are Brian’s Song and Shattered Glass. Where’s Glass and Song is not ranked very high.
Hey Henry. I agree Shattered Glass is a great movie….and probably one of the most accurate ones out there but it did not make much money at the box office…thus its score is not very high.
As Brian’s Song….it was actually a tv movie that got released to theaters…but other than in Chicago people were not willing to pay for something that they had just seen for free on tv…..but it is a great movie as well. Thanks for the visit.