Want to know the best Wilford Brimley movies? How about the worst Wilford Brimley movies? Curious about Wilford Brimley box office grosses or which Wilford Brimley movie picked up the most Oscar® nominations? Need to know which Wilford Brimley 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.
Wilford Brimley (1934-2020) was an American actor. After serving in the Marines and taking on a variety of odd jobs, he became an extra for Western films, he quickly established himself as a character actor in films such as The China Syndrome (1979), The Thing (1982), and The Natural (1984). He is most famous for his role in the science fiction classic Cocoon (1985). His IMDb page shows 77 acting credits from 1969 to 2020. This page will rank Wilford Brimley movies from Best to Worst in six different sortable columns of information. Television shows, shorts, cameos, uncredited roles, and movies that were not released in North American were not included in the rankings.
Wilford Brimley 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
1979
The China Syndrome (1979)
1985
Cocoon (1985)
1981
Absence of Malice (1981)
1993
The Firm (1993)
1980
Brubaker (1980)
1979
The Electric Horseman (1979)
1984
The Natural (1984)
1997
In & Out (1997)
1983
Tender Mercies (1983)
AA Best Picture Nom
1982
The Thing (1982)
1983
High Road to China (1983)
1985
Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins (1985)
1984
Country (1984)
1996
My Fellow Americans (1996)
1993
Hard Target (1993)
1995
Last of the Dogmen (1995)
1984
The Hotel New Hampshire (1984)
1984
The Stone Boy (1984)
2001
Brigham City (2001)
2000
Comanche (2000)
1998
Summer Of The Monkeys (1998)
1988
Cocoon: The Return (1988)
1983
Tough Enough (1983)
2009
The Path of the Wind (2009)
1986
Act of Vengeance (1986)
HBO Movie
1987
End of the Line (1987)
2003
Pitcher and the Pin-Up (2003)
2009
Did You Hear About the Morgans? (2009)
2017
I Believe (2017)
1980
Borderline (1980)
1994
Heaven Sent (1994)
2001
PC and the Web (2001)
1998
Progeny (1998)
1983
10 to Midnight (1983)
1984
Harry & Son (1984)
1995
Mutant Species (1995)
2002
The Round and Round (2002)
Wilford Brimley 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 any way you want.
- Sort Wilford Brimley movies by his co-stars
- Sort Wilford Brimley movies by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost (in millions)
- Sort Wilford Brimley movies by yearly domestic box office rank
- Sort Wilford Brimley 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 Wilford Brimley movie received.
- Sort Wilford Brimley movies by Ultimate Movie Rankings (UMR) Score. UMR 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 | The China Syndrome (1979) | Jack Lemmon & Michael Douglas |
51.70 | 222.1 | 222.10 | 15 | 77 | 04 / 00 | 97.5 | |
| 2 | Cocoon (1985) | Don Ameche & Directed by Ron Howard |
76.10 | 231.1 | 259.10 | 6 | 73 | 02 / 02 | 96.8 | |
| 4 | Absence of Malice (1981) | Paul Newman & Sally Field |
50.50 | 195.8 | 195.80 | 9 | 76 | 03 / 00 | 96.8 | |
| 3 | The Firm (1993) | Tom Cruise & Gen Hackman |
158.30 | 412.3 | 703.70 | 4 | 69 | 02 / 00 | 95.4 | |
| 6 | Brubaker (1980) | Robert Redford & Morgan Freeman |
44.90 | 186.1 | 186.10 | 17 | 71 | 01 / 00 | 94.4 | |
| 5 | The Electric Horseman (1979) | Robert Redford & Jane Fonda |
81.90 | 351.7 | 351.70 | 7 | 64 | 01 / 00 | 93.7 | |
| 7 | The Natural (1984) | Robert Redford & Robert Duvall |
48.00 | 153.8 | 153.80 | 15 | 74 | 04 / 00 | 93.4 | |
| 9 | In & Out (1997) | Kevin Kline & Debbie Reynolds |
63.90 | 150.0 | 195.50 | 23 | 67 | 01 / 00 | 89.8 | |
| 7 | Tender Mercies (1983) AA Best Picture Nom |
Robert Duvall & BestPictureNoms |
8.40 | 28.9 | 28.90 | 70 | 79 | 05 / 02 | 84.2 | |
| 10 | The Thing (1982) | Kurt Russell & Directed by John Carpenter |
19.60 | 72.0 | 100.60 | 37 | 79 | 00 / 00 | 84.2 | |
| 11 | High Road to China (1983) | Tom Selleck & Bess Armstrong |
28.40 | 97.3 | 97.30 | 26 | 60 | 00 / 00 | 78.4 | |
| 12 | Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins (1985) | Fred Ward & Joel Grey |
14.40 | 43.7 | 43.70 | 60 | 64 | 01 / 00 | 65.1 | |
| 13 | Country (1984) | Jessica Lange & Sam Shepard |
9.60 | 30.9 | 30.90 | 80 | 66 | 01 / 00 | 61.9 | |
| 14 | My Fellow Americans (1996) | Jack Lemmon & James Garner |
22.30 | 54.4 | 54.40 | 70 | 59 | 00 / 00 | 61.3 | |
| 16 | Hard Target (1993) | Jean-Claude Van Damme | 32.60 | 84.9 | 193.20 | 48 | 48 | 00 / 00 | 59.2 | |
| 15 | Last of the Dogmen (1995) | Tom Berenger & Barbara Hershey |
7.00 | 17.4 | 17.40 | 131 | 69 | 00 / 00 | 58.6 | |
| 17 | The Hotel New Hampshire (1984) | Jodie Foster & Nastassja Kinski |
5.10 | 16.5 | 16.50 | 107 | 68 | 00 / 00 | 57.4 | |
| 16 | The Stone Boy (1984) | Robert Duvall & Glenn Close |
0.30 | 0.8 | 0.80 | 178 | 73 | 00 / 00 | 57.4 | |
| 18 | Brigham City (2001) | Richard Dutcher | 0.90 | 1.6 | 1.60 | 203 | 71 | 00 / 00 | 54.2 | |
| 19 | Comanche (2000) | Kris Kristofferson | 0.10 | 0.1 | 0.10 | 281 | 69 | 00 / 00 | 48.5 | |
| 20 | Summer Of The Monkeys (1998) | Michael Ontkean | 0.00 | 0.1 | 0.10 | 347 | 65 | 00 / 00 | 39.8 | |
| 23 | Cocoon: The Return (1988) | Don Ameche | 18.90 | 49.6 | 49.60 | 53 | 47 | 00 / 00 | 36.0 | |
| 22 | Tough Enough (1983) | Dennis Quaid & Warren Oates |
2.40 | 8.3 | 8.30 | 109 | 60 | 00 / 00 | 34.5 | |
| 23 | The Path of the Wind (2009) | Joe Rowley | 0.00 | 0.1 | 0.10 | 411 | 58 | 00 / 00 | 25.2 | |
| 25 | Act of Vengeance (1986) HBO Movie |
Charles Bronson & Keanu Reeves |
0.00 | 0.1 | 0.10 | 247 | 57 | 00 / 00 | 24.6 | |
| 25 | End of the Line (1987) | Kevin Bacon & Holly Hunter |
0.00 | 0.1 | 0.10 | 279 | 57 | 00 / 00 | 23.4 | |
| 25 | Pitcher and the Pin-Up (2003) | Drew Johnson | 0.00 | 0.1 | 0.10 | 347 | 53 | 00 / 00 | 16.7 | |
| 27 | Did You Hear About the Morgans? (2009) | Hugh Grant & Sarah Jessica Parker |
29.60 | 42.5 | 42.50 | 90 | 39 | 00 / 00 | 16.3 | |
| 27 | I Believe (2017) | Rowan Smyth | 0.10 | 0.1 | 0.10 | 352 | 51 | 00 / 00 | 13.6 | |
| 30 | Borderline (1980) | Charles Bronson & Ed Harris |
5.30 | 22.2 | 22.20 | 101 | 43 | 00 / 00 | 13.1 | |
| 31 | Heaven Sent (1994) | David Bowe | 0.00 | 0.1 | 0.10 | 262 | 49 | 00 / 00 | 12.1 | |
| 30 | PC and the Web (2001) | Kwesi Ameyaw | 0.00 | 0.1 | 0.10 | 341 | 48 | 00 / 00 | 10.4 | |
| 31 | Progeny (1998) | Lindsay Crouse | 0.00 | 0.1 | 0.10 | 309 | 47 | 00 / 00 | 9.0 | |
| 33 | 10 to Midnight (1983) | Charles Bronson & Andrew Stevens |
7.20 | 24.6 | 24.60 | 72 | 38 | 00 / 00 | 8.7 | |
| 34 | Harry & Son (1984) | Paul Newman & Robby Benson |
4.90 | 15.6 | 15.60 | 111 | 39 | 00 / 00 | 7.1 | |
| 34 | Mutant Species (1995) | Powers Boothe | 0.00 | 0.1 | 0.10 | 278 | 37 | 00 / 00 | 2.5 | |
| 35 | The Round and Round (2002) | Robert Knott | 0.00 | 0.1 | 0.10 | 358 | 18 | 00 / 00 | 0.0 |
Possibly Interesting Facts About Wilford Brimley
1. Anthony Wilford Brimley was born in Salt Lake City, Utah in 1934.
2. Wilford Brimley dropped out of high school to join the Marines, serving in the Aleutian Islands for three years.
3. Wilford Brimley was a bodyguard for billionaire businessman Howard Hughes.
4. Robert Duvall convinced Wilford Brimley to try acting. Brimley began acting in the 1960s as a riding extra and stunt man in Westerns.
5. Wilford Brimley’s first IMDb credit is an uncredited role in 1969’s True Grit.
6. Wilford Brimley was a talented jazz singer who has recorded several albums and played successful club engagements.
7. Wilford Brimley was only 49 when he was cast as a senior citizen for Cocoon (1985), and turned 50 during filming. He was at least 20 years younger than any of the actors playing the other elderly characters.
8. Wilford Brimley was the long-time face of television advertisements for the Quaker Oats Company.
9. After portraying the father of Kevin Kline in In & Out (1997), Wilford Brimley retreated from Hollywood in favor of involvement in more independent productions.
10. Check out Wilford Brimley’s career compared to current and classic actors. Most 100 Million Dollar Movies of All-Time.
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I have seen Wilfred in 12 movies:
True Grit -uncredited.
Lawman – uncredited
Electric Horseman
Brubaker
Absence of Malice
The Thing
Tender Mercies
10 to Midnight
The Natural
The Firm
My Fellow Americans
Bandolero – Wilfrid was an uncredited stuntman in this 1968 Jimmy Stewart western and that was in fact his first connection of any kind with movies though of course I wouldn’t have recognized Brimley in it. Will you let me count this one though Flora?
MUSICAL TALENTS Brimley has been described as “a fine singer with a warm, rich voice.” In 1993, Brimley sang with the Cal State Northridge Jazz Band for a concert benefiting the college’s Jazz Endowment Scholarship Fund; in 2004, he released This Time, The Dream’s On Me, an album of jazz standards named after the Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer-penned title track. He was also an accomplished harmonica player; during his 2011 appearance on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, Brimley performed a lively rendition of “Oh! Susanna” much to the delight, and surprise, of Ferguson and the studio audience.
Great UMR Page
I have seen 6 Wilfred Brimley movies, all in the top 10.
The HIGHEST rated movie is The China Syndrome.
The highest rated movie I have NOT seen is The Firm.
The LOWEST rated movie I have seen is In & Out.
Favourite Wilfred Brimley Movies:
Cocoon
The Natural
Other Wilfred Brimley Movies:
The China Syndrome
Absence of Malice
Brubaker
In & Out
Rest in peace
Sad news. Rest in peace Wilford.
Nice look at his movie career. Something about him that always fascinated me, he never talked about his time with Howard Hughes. Thoughts and prayers to his family.