Want to know the best William Hurt movies? How about the worst William Hurt movies? Curious about William Hurt box office grosses or which William Hurt movie picked up the most Oscar® nominations? Need to know which William Hurt movie got the best reviews from critics and audiences? Well you have come to the right place….because we have all of that information.
William Hurt (1950-2022) was an Oscar®-winning actor. His IMDb page shows 106 acting credits from 1977 to 2022. This page will rank William Hurt movies from Best to Worst in six different sortable columns of information. Television shows, shorts, cameos and movies that were not released in theaters were not included in the rankings. Drivel part. I decided to do this page after reading Phil’s comment on our 1980s decade that said “the only major movie star from the 1980s that does not have a UMR page is William Hurt”…..well….no more. As we now have a William Hurt page.
William Hurt 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
2019
Avengers: Endgame (2019)
2018
Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
2016
Captain America: Civil War (2016)
1983
The Big Chill (1983)
AA Best Picture Nom
1987
Broadcast News (1987)
AA Best Picture Nom
AA Best Actor Nom
2021
Black Widow (2021)
2008
The Incredible Hulk (2008)
2001
A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)
2004
The Village (2004)
1986
Children of a Lesser God (1986)
AA Best Picture Nom
AA Best Actor Nom
1981
Body Heat (1981)
2002
Changing Lanes (2002)
1985
Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985)
AA Best Picture Nom
AA Best Actor Win
1980
Altered States (1980)
1996
Michael (1996)
1988
The Accidental Tourist (1988)
AA Best Picture Nom
2005
Syriana (2005)
1991
The Doctor (1991)
2010
Robin Hood (2010)
2005
A History of Violence (2005)
AA Best Supp Actor Nom
1998
Lost in Space (1998)
2006
The Good Shepherd (2006)
1998
One True Thing (1998)
2007
Into the Wild (2007)
1983
Gorky Park (1983)
1995
Smoke (1995)
1998
Dark City (1998)
2008
Vantage Point (2008)
1999
Sunshine (1999)
2002
Tuck Everlasting (2002)
1990
Alice (1990)
1981
Eyewitness (1981)
1994
Second Best (1994)
2011
Too Big To Fail (2011)
HBO Movie
2007
Mr. Brooks (2007)
2016
Race (2016)
1996
Jane Eyre (1996)
1991
Until the End of the World (1991)
2020
The Last Full Measure (2020)
1990
I Love You to Death (1990)
2005
Neverwas (2005)
2008
The Yellow Handkerchief (2008)
2001
Rare Birds (2001)
2018
The Miracle Season (2018)
2005
The King (2005)
2014
The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby (2013)
2006
Beautiful Ohio (2006)
Film Festival Circuit Only
2004
The Blue Butterfly (2004)
2007
Noise (2007)
1993
Mr. Wonderful (1993)
2009
Endgame (2009)
2010
The River Why (2010)
Film Festival Circuit Only
2001
The Simian Line (2001)
1999
The 4th Floor (1999)
Video On Demand 
2022
The King's Daughter (2022)
1996
A Couch In New York (1996)
1998
The Proposition (1998)
1994
Trial by Jury (1994)
1997
Loved (1997)
1988
A Time of Destiny (1988)
2013
The Host (2013)
2011
Hellgate (2011)
2014
Days and Nights (2014)
2014
Winter's Tale (2014)
William Hurt 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 by William Hurt movies his co-stars
- Sort William Hurt movies by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost (in millions)
- Sort William Hurt movies by yearly domestic box office rank
- Sort William Hurt 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 William Hurt movie received.
- Sort William Hurt 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 |
| 2 | Avengers: Endgame (2019) | Robert Downey Jr. & Chris Evans |
858.40 | 1,010.2 | 3,290.80 | 1 | 89 | 01 / 00 | 98.8 | |
| 4 | Avengers: Infinity War (2018) | Robert Downey Jr. & Chris Evans |
678.80 | 803.3 | 2,421.60 | 2 | 87 | 01 / 00 | 98.6 | |
| 5 | Captain America: Civil War (2016) | Robert Downey Jr. & Chris Evans |
405.10 | 504.8 | 1,433.60 | 3 | 85 | 00 / 00 | 98.2 | |
| 6 | The Big Chill (1983) AA Best Picture Nom |
Glenn Close & Kevin Kline |
56.30 | 192.8 | 192.80 | 14 | 72 | 03 / 00 | 97.0 | |
| 5 | Broadcast News (1987) AA Best Picture Nom AA Best Actor Nom |
Holly Hunter & Jack Nicholson |
51.20 | 141.3 | 185.60 | 18 | 85 | 07 / 00 | 97.0 | |
| 6 | Black Widow (2021) | Scarlett Johansson | 183.70 | 194.7 | 399.60 | 4 | 75 | 00 / 00 | 96.0 | |
| 9 | The Incredible Hulk (2008) | Edward Norton | 134.80 | 202.4 | 395.50 | 18 | 68 | 00 / 00 | 94.8 | |
| 8 | A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001) | Directed by Steven Spielberg | 78.60 | 150.0 | 450.10 | 28 | 72 | 02 / 00 | 91.9 | |
| 11 | The Village (2004) | Sigourney Weaver | 114.20 | 198.2 | 445.60 | 20 | 52 | 01 / 00 | 89.9 | |
| 10 | Children of a Lesser God (1986) AA Best Picture Nom AA Best Actor Nom |
Marlee Matlin | 31.90 | 92.6 | 92.60 | 32 | 76 | 05 / 01 | 89.9 | |
| 12 | Body Heat (1981) | Kathleen Turner | 24.10 | 93.3 | 93.30 | 36 | 86 | 00 / 00 | 89.6 | |
| 13 | Changing Lanes (2002) | Samuel L. Jackson & Ben Affleck |
66.80 | 124.2 | 176.40 | 40 | 73 | 00 / 00 | 88.9 | |
| 11 | Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985) AA Best Picture Nom AA Best Actor Win |
Raul Julia | 17.00 | 51.6 | 51.60 | 53 | 84 | 04 / 01 | 88.2 | |
| 16 | Altered States (1980) | Drew Barrymore | 29.10 | 120.6 | 120.60 | 27 | 70 | 02 / 00 | 87.9 | |
| 14 | Michael (1996) | John Travolta | 95.30 | 232.5 | 292.00 | 16 | 44 | 00 / 00 | 86.9 | |
| 16 | The Accidental Tourist (1988) AA Best Picture Nom |
Geena Davis & Kathleen Turner |
32.60 | 85.6 | 85.60 | 34 | 69 | 04 / 01 | 86.5 | |
| 17 | Syriana (2005) | George Clooney & Matt Damon |
50.80 | 85.6 | 158.30 | 56 | 76 | 02 / 01 | 86.4 | |
| 18 | The Doctor (1991) | Christine Lahti & Elizabeth Perkins |
38.10 | 97.6 | 97.60 | 32 | 72 | 00 / 00 | 85.0 | |
| 20 | Robin Hood (2010) | Russell Crowe | 105.30 | 143.8 | 439.50 | 26 | 57 | 00 / 00 | 84.8 | |
| 19 | A History of Violence (2005) AA Best Supp Actor Nom |
Viggo Mortensen | 31.50 | 53.1 | 102.30 | 92 | 82 | 02 / 00 | 83.8 | |
| 21 | Lost in Space (1998) | Gary Oldman | 69.10 | 158.9 | 158.90 | 29 | 46 | 00 / 00 | 81.5 | |
| 23 | The Good Shepherd (2006) | Matt Damon & Robert DeNiro |
60.00 | 98.2 | 163.00 | 50 | 64 | 01 / 00 | 81.1 | |
| 21 | One True Thing (1998) | Meryl Streep | 23.20 | 53.4 | 53.40 | 74 | 76 | 01 / 00 | 80.7 | |
| 22 | Into the Wild (2007) | Vince Vaughn & Directed by Sean Penn |
18.40 | 28.8 | 88.10 | 111 | 82 | 02 / 00 | 79.4 | |
| 25 | Gorky Park (1983) | Lee Marvin | 15.90 | 54.3 | 54.30 | 46 | 73 | 00 / 00 | 77.7 | |
| 26 | Smoke (1995) | Ashley Judd | 8.40 | 20.7 | 34.40 | 119 | 80 | 00 / 00 | 74.7 | |
| 27 | Dark City (1998) | Rufus Sewell & Keifer Sutherland |
14.40 | 33.0 | 33.00 | 99 | 75 | 00 / 00 | 73.6 | |
| 29 | Vantage Point (2008) | Dennis Quaid | 72.30 | 108.5 | 227.00 | 44 | 48 | 00 / 00 | 71.7 | |
| 28 | Sunshine (1999) | Ralph Fiennes | 5.10 | 10.9 | 10.90 | 145 | 77 | 00 / 00 | 67.8 | |
| 30 | Tuck Everlasting (2002) | Ben Kingsley | 19.20 | 35.6 | 36.00 | 110 | 69 | 00 / 00 | 67.6 | |
| 31 | Alice (1990) | Directed by Woody Allen | 7.30 | 18.7 | 18.70 | 106 | 73 | 01 / 00 | 66.4 | |
| 34 | Eyewitness (1981) | Sigourney Weaver | 6.40 | 24.8 | 24.80 | 86 | 70 | 00 / 00 | 63.9 | |
| 32 | Second Best (1994) | Nathan Yapp | 0.10 | 0.2 | 0.20 | 227 | 77 | 00 / 00 | 63.6 | |
| 33 | Too Big To Fail (2011) HBO Movie |
James Woods & Paul Giamatti |
0.10 | 0.1 | 0.10 | 303 | 77 | 00 / 00 | 62.6 | |
| 37 | Mr. Brooks (2007) | Kevin Costner | 28.50 | 44.7 | 75.40 | 88 | 60 | 00 / 00 | 58.1 | |
| 35 | Race (2016) | Jason Sudeikis & Jeremy Irons |
19.20 | 23.9 | 31.20 | 115 | 66 | 00 / 00 | 57.7 | |
| 36 | Jane Eyre (1996) | Charlotte Gainsbourg | 5.20 | 12.7 | 12.70 | 148 | 69 | 00 / 00 | 56.0 | |
| 38 | Until the End of the World (1991) | Solveig Dommartin | 0.80 | 2.1 | 2.10 | 174 | 71 | 00 / 00 | 53.8 | |
| 39 | The Last Full Measure (2020) | Samuel L. Jackson & William Hurt |
2.90 | 3.5 | 3.50 | 46 | 70 | 00 / 00 | 53.5 | |
| 41 | I Love You to Death (1990) | River Phoenix & Keanu Reeves |
16.20 | 41.3 | 41.30 | 74 | 57 | 00 / 00 | 50.1 | |
| 41 | Neverwas (2005) | Nick Nolte | 0.00 | 0.1 | 0.10 | 373 | 68 | 00 / 00 | 47.5 | |
| 40 | The Yellow Handkerchief (2008) | Maria Bello | 0.30 | 0.5 | 0.50 | 246 | 68 | 00 / 00 | 46.6 | |
| 42 | Rare Birds (2001) | Andy Jones | 0.10 | 0.2 | 0.20 | 277 | 64 | 00 / 00 | 38.9 | |
| 43 | The Miracle Season (2018) | Helen Hunt | 10.20 | 12.1 | 12.10 | 126 | 60 | 00 / 00 | 38.2 | |
| 44 | The King (2005) | Gael García Bernal | 0.30 | 0.5 | 0.50 | 259 | 63 | 00 / 00 | 36.3 | |
| 45 | The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby (2013) | Jessica Chastain & James McAvoy |
0.60 | 0.8 | 1.30 | 192 | 63 | 00 / 00 | 36.2 | |
| 46 | Beautiful Ohio (2006) Film Festival Circuit Only |
Rita Wilson | 0.00 | 0.1 | 0.10 | 434 | 62 | 00 / 00 | 33.2 | |
| 46 | The Blue Butterfly (2004) | Marc Donato | 1.80 | 3.0 | 3.00 | 187 | 61 | 00 / 00 | 32.6 | |
| 47 | Noise (2007) | Tim Robbins | 0.00 | 0.1 | 0.10 | 367 | 61 | 00 / 00 | 31.9 | |
| 49 | Mr. Wonderful (1993) | Matt Dillon | 3.10 | 8.1 | 8.10 | 156 | 56 | 00 / 00 | 26.2 | |
| 51 | Endgame (2009) | Chiwetel Ejiofor | 0.00 | 0.1 | 0.10 | 368 | 58 | 00 / 00 | 26.1 | |
| 51 | The River Why (2010) Film Festival Circuit Only |
Amber Heard | 0.10 | 0.1 | 0.10 | 321 | 57 | 00 / 00 | 23.2 | |
| 53 | The Simian Line (2001) | Lynn Redgrave | 0.00 | 0.0 | 0.00 | 393 | 56 | 00 / 00 | 21.1 | |
| 54 | The 4th Floor (1999) Video On Demand |
Juliette Lewis & Shelley Duvall |
0.00 | 0.1 | 0.10 | 335 | 55 | 00 / 00 | 19.6 | |
| 55 | The King's Daughter (2022) | Pierce Brosnan | 1.50 | 1.5 | 1.50 | 114 | 54 | 00 / 00 | 19.4 | |
| 56 | A Couch In New York (1996) | Juliette Binoche | 0.00 | 0.1 | 0.10 | 321 | 54 | 00 / 00 | 18.8 | |
| 57 | The Proposition (1998) | Kenneth Branagh | 0.10 | 0.3 | 0.30 | 232 | 52 | 00 / 00 | 16.0 | |
| 58 | Trial by Jury (1994) | Joanne Whalley | 7.00 | 18.4 | 18.40 | 132 | 45 | 00 / 00 | 13.3 | |
| 59 | Loved (1997) | Sean Penn | 0.00 | 0.1 | 0.10 | 328 | 49 | 00 / 00 | 11.5 | |
| 60 | A Time of Destiny (1988) | Timothy Hutton | 1.20 | 3.2 | 3.20 | 179 | 47 | 00 / 00 | 10.2 | |
| 61 | The Host (2013) | Saoirse Ronan | 26.60 | 35.3 | 84.00 | 97 | 35 | 00 / 00 | 8.9 | |
| 62 | Hellgate (2011) | Cary Elwes | 0.10 | 0.1 | 0.10 | 242 | 45 | 00 / 00 | 7.4 | |
| 61 | Days and Nights (2014) | Katie Holmes | 0.10 | 0.1 | 0.10 | 264 | 44 | 00 / 00 | 6.7 | |
| 64 | Winter's Tale (2014) | Colin Farrell & Russell Crowe |
12.60 | 16.6 | 41.10 | 134 | 36 | 00 / 00 | 4.6 |
William Hurt Adjusted World Wide Box Office Grosses
Possibly Interesting Facts About William Hurt
1. William McChord Hurt was born in Washington, D.C. in 1950.
2. William Hurt studied acting at the Juilliard School from 1972 to 1976. You might have heard of two of his classmates: Christopher Reeve and Robin Williams.
3. After only three television appearances, William Hurt, was the lead actor in his very first movie…1980’s Altered States.
4. William Hurt has been nominated for 4 Oscars®. He received a Best Actor nomination three years in a row (1985-1987)…winning the Oscar® for 1985’s Kiss Of The Spider Woman. His 4th and final Oscar® nomination was a Best Supporting Actor Oscar® nomination for 2005’s A History of Violence.
5. Five William Hurt movies in the 1980s were nominated for a Best Picture Oscar®: 1983’s The Big Chill, 1985’s Kiss of the Spider Woman, 1986’s Children of a Lesser God, 1987’s Broadcast News and 1988’s The Accidental Tourist.
6. William Hurt has been married two times. He has 4 children.
7. William Hurt turned down the role played by Sam Neill in 1993’s Jurassic Park.
8. William Hurt’s Lost in Space is the movie that bumped Titanic out of the number one box office spot after spending 15 weeks of being the number one movie in America.
9. William Hurt was the first recipient of the Spencer Tracy Award in 1988 for outstanding screen performances.
10. Check out William Hurt‘s career compared to current and classic actors. Most 100 Million Dollar Movies of All-Time.
Check out Steve Lensman’s William Hurt You Tube Video
If you do a comment….please ignore the email address and website section.
1 When I reflect on William Hurt’s career it is with a mixture of mystification and sadness. He was the critics’ darling of the 1980s and when he won 3 consecutive Oscar nominations it was widely believed that he was a newcomer who was well on the way to equaling Marlon Brando’s 4 such nominations when Brando first came on the scene. Hence journalists and movie insiders predicted that Hurt was “the next big star” if not as a box office champion then at least as a prestige actor in the way Paul Muni had been and Day Lewis has been in modern times.
2 Alas! It was not to be as William never achieved lasting lead stardom and from the 1990s onward he dropped largely into supporting roles and/ or commercially unsuccessful ones in movies and also performed television parts although he has remained highly respected and has earned further awards as is demonstrated in Bruce’s profile of him above. My last recollection of Hurt in a stand–alone movie of at least moderate success was The Doctor in 1991, a movie that I have often watched and still cherish among my DVD collection. “A modest box office success that earned positive reviews.” [Wikipedia]. I see that it has a respectable adjusted gross of almost $77 million and a 72% rating on this page.
3 I loved William Hurt’s almost dreamy persona when he was in his heyday and am sorry that we could not have seen him in more prestige leading roles. That can’t be now of course but at least there is some satisfaction in knowing that there is a comprehensive profile of his career on this site.
Hey Bob
1. I imagine that when William Hurt reached the end of the 1980s he was thinking that the 1990s were going to be even bigger for him. Sadly we now know that was the peak of his career. It has been a slow descent down the mountain…..but he has been going down in star status ever since.
2. Not thinking Hurt gets mentioned with Brando, Muni and DDL very much anymore….heck it took him to have an outstanding showing on our 1980s decade page to get a UMR page.
3. I actually have not seen The Doctor,,,,,though I have seen parts of it.
4. Dreamy persona was also called bland and vanilla by somebody else here. Not thinking my little girls who love Captain America he noticed him at all in Civil War.
Good feedback as usual.
I like him just fine; but I find almost all of his performances bland or vanilla. He is certainly far away from being a wild and crazy guy. Still interesting to see all of his movies ranked.
I respectfully disagree with you Paul. He is well deserving of his acclaim.
Hey Anonymous….I agree with you 100%.
Hey Paul. I like him a lot more than you do. He fascinated me in the 1980s and I still get happy when he shows up in a supporting role. Glad you liked our rankings. Thanks for finding us.
William Hurt. Good actor.
51 films, more than I expected. I’ve seen 21 from the list. Favorites include – Altered States (watched this many times on video during the 80s), A History of Violence, Dark City, Vantage Point, Incredible Hulk and Captain America Civil War.
Good to see the Cap take the top spot on the charts, not as good as Winter Soldier but it still had plenty of good reviews.
Body Heat (1981) was a rehash of Double Indemnity and Postman Always Rings Twice, which was remade the same year with Jack Nicholson.
Noteworthy Hurt movies I’ve missed – Children of a Lesser God, Kiss of the Spider Woman and The Big Chill.
Good work Bruce. Vote Up!
Hey Steve
1. Tally count….Cogerson 36, Steve 21 and Phil 15
2. Of your favorites….I liked them all.
3. Dark City is an underrated movie….one of Roger Ebert’s favorite movies as well….Ebert actually did a DVD commentary on the movie…..I think I should listen to that…..have not heard Ebert’s voice in awhile. I miss my favorite movie critic.
4. I actually did not like Captain America Civil War topping the rankings….since it was a supporting role….but statistically it is his best movie…..and I am sure General Ross will be making another one or two appearances in the Marvel Universe.
5. Speaking of which…Hurt is a huge fan of the Hulk…so he was very glad to appear in the Norton Hulk movie.
6. As for the ones you missed….I did not like Kiss of the Spider Woman…..only watched it because of Hurt’s Oscar win…..The Big Chill was a good movie in the 1980s…..has not aged well….WoC and I tried to watch it a few years ago….and she got bored and we turned it off. I liked Children of a Lesser God……but it was a one and done movie for me.
Good feedback. 🙂
Hey Bruce, well given the number of William Hurt movies you have seen, it was indeed time to give him his page, so I’m glad (and honored) my comment on the 80s page motivated you to do it!
I’m afraid I don’t actually come anywhere as close to you in terms of films I’ve seen: only 15 and 9 of them in the theater, mostly from the early 80s to early 90s when he was a major star and seemed to be consistently starring in interesting films and giving strong performances. I remember in the late 90s asking myself: what happened to William Hurt? But with this page, I see that while his films during that period were generally successful, there were only a few really big hits. Still, an excellent actor both in leading and supporting roles. If I’m to name one role I remember most fondly, it was in The Big Chill. As you have seen many more than me, I’d be grateful for any other recommendations! I suspect Rare Birds may be rare to find but will look for it. Thanks!
Hey Phil
1. Glad you read the drivel part of the page….and thanks for the subliminal message to do a William Hurt page.
2. Tally count….Cogerson 36, Steve 21 and you 15…..but you have me beat when talking about seeing movies in theaters..15 to 9.
3. Good point about his movies in the 1980s….lots of great movies…..but not a single blockbuster that put him on the map for the general public.
4. I think when watching some of his recent supporting role….younger audiences would be shocked to realize he was such a strong leading man in the 1980s…..is that the power of his acting or that his new roles are not very impressive?
5. I have the same memory of Hurt in The Big Chill….which was another R rated movie that I got into when I was not supposed to.
Good comment.
I will start the ball rolling. I have seen 36 of these movies or 70.58%. I have seen 6 of them in theaters or 11.76%. Favorites would include Body Heat, Broadcast News, Rare Birds, Michael and Vantage Point.
I know you are thinking…Rare Birds? Yep a low budget movie that nobody has even heard of…and those that have seen are not too impressed…..but I like it! It has a wonderful performance by Andy Jones. A small little gem for sure.