The 2017 awards season has been defined by activism from the women of Hollywood. From #MeToo to Time’s Up, the movement to end sexual harassment and inequality in the entertainment industry has become a specific, tangible effort.
As a result of these past few months, inequality in the movie industry will be in the crosshairs as the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences hands out its annual awards on Sunday. But the very makeup of the academy itself offers no better example of how much more progress is needed.
For the entirety of its 90 years, the organization has mirrored an industry that’s been dominated by men. In the past several years, though, the academy has made some specific membership moves to change the composition of the group to more accurately reflect both the industry and society as a whole. Most recently, the academy invited 774 people to join its ranks in 2017, and 39 percent were women; this combined with the membership drive of 2016 to make the organization go from 75 percent male in 2015 to 72 percent male in 2017. Change will be slow. But these kinds of efforts could have profound effects on the organization — and on whom it chooses to honor at the Oscars.
Exact data regarding gender composition over time isn’t available. In lieu of this information, I reached out to the academy library and asked for the next best thing. I wanted to look back at the board of governors of the academy, the people elected by the membership to lead each branch, to see how historically women were or were not able to rise to leadership positions in their field.
With the list from the Margaret Herrick Library in hand, I looked up the gender of each person who served either on the board or as an officer of the group for any period of time in each turn.25 The results were staggering — if not surprising.
Women made up well less than 20 percent of academy board members and officers for seven decades, including a 12-year stretch in the 1960s and ’70s with no women on the board. It wasn’t until the turn of the millennium that female representation in leadership reached even that modest 20 percent benchmark. On a month-by-month basis, academy leadership has been less than 20 percent women for 92 percent of the months it has existed, and half the time was less than 6 percent women. Only within the past five years did the academy’s board of governors and executives rise above a quarter women.
If the academy itself looked anything like its leadership — a safe assumption considering that we know it’s currently hovering around three-quarters male — then it’s fair to assume men have overwhelmingly controlled which films are nominated at the Oscars and which films eventually won. Has that male skew affected which films are nominated and/or win? That’s a complicated question to answer — we are looking into it.
Just to set a baseline, though: It’s certainly true that some movies elicit different reactions, on average, from men and women. There have been 546 movies nominated for best picture since the Academy Awards began, and IMDb has user ratings for 540 of them.26
Men and women rate movies differently
Difference between the weighted ratings of male and female IMDb users for Oscar-nominated films
| weighted user rating | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Film▲▼ |
Year▲▼ |
Men▲▼ |
Women▲▼ |
Diff.▲▼ |
| I Am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang | 1934 | 8.2 | 6.8 | +1.4 |
| Z | 1970 | 8.3 | 7.5 | +0.8 |
| Of Mice and Men | 1940 | 7.8 | 7.0 | +0.8 |
| Patton | 1971 | 8.0 | 7.3 | +0.7 |
| Sideways | 2005 | 7.6 | 7.0 | +0.6 |
| Raging Bull | 1981 | 8.3 | 7.8 | +0.5 |
| Unforgiven | 1993 | 8.3 | 7.8 | +0.5 |
| Barry Lyndon | 1976 | 8.1 | 7.6 | +0.5 |
| Goodbye, Mr. Chips | 1940 | 7.8 | 7.3 | +0.5 |
| Jaws | 1976 | 8.1 | 7.6 | +0.5 |
| La Grande Illusion | 1939 | 8.1 | 7.6 | +0.5 |
| Pulp Fiction | 1995 | 9.0 | 8.5 | +0.5 |
| Rocky | 1977 | 8.1 | 7.6 | +0.5 |
| Saving Private Ryan | 1999 | 8.6 | 8.1 | +0.5 |
| Shane | 1954 | 7.7 | 7.2 | +0.5 |
| Stagecoach | 1940 | 7.9 | 7.4 | +0.5 |
| No Country for Old Men | 2008 | 8.2 | 7.7 | +0.5 |
| Braveheart | 1996 | 8.4 | 8.0 | +0.4 |
| Dr. Strangelove* | 1965 | 8.5 | 8.1 | +0.4 |
| Lawrence of Arabia | 1963 | 8.4 | 8.0 | +0.4 |
| All Quiet on the Western Front | 1930 | 8.1 | 7.7 | +0.4 |
| The Ox-Bow Incident | 1944 | 8.1 | 7.7 | +0.4 |
| The Social Network | 2011 | 7.8 | 7.4 | +0.4 |
| The Tree of Life | 2012 | 6.8 | 6.4 | +0.4 |
| The Wolf of Wall Street | 2014 | 8.2 | 7.8 | +0.4 |
| There Will Be Blood | 2008 | 8.2 | 7.8 | +0.4 |
| Apocalypse Now | 1980 | 8.5 | 8.2 | +0.3 |
| L.A. Confidential | 1998 | 8.3 | 8.0 | +0.3 |
| Anthony Adverse | 1937 | 6.6 | 6.3 | +0.3 |
| Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) | 2015 | 7.8 | 7.5 | +0.3 |
| Boyhood | 2015 | 8.0 | 7.7 | +0.3 |
| District 9 | 2010 | 8.0 | 7.7 | +0.3 |
| Gangs of New York | 2003 | 7.6 | 7.3 | +0.3 |
| Gravity | 2014 | 7.8 | 7.5 | +0.3 |
| In Old Arizona | 1930 | 5.7 | 5.4 | +0.3 |
| In the Bedroom | 2002 | 7.5 | 7.2 | +0.3 |
| Lost in Translation | 2004 | 7.8 | 7.5 | +0.3 |
| Moneyball | 2012 | 7.6 | 7.3 | +0.3 |
| Phantom Thread | 2018 | 8.0 | 7.7 | +0.3 |
| Platoon | 1987 | 8.1 | 7.8 | +0.3 |
| The Exorcist | 1974 | 8.1 | 7.8 | +0.3 |
| The French Connection | 1972 | 7.8 | 7.5 | +0.3 |
| The Informer | 1936 | 7.5 | 7.2 | +0.3 |
| Up in the Air | 2010 | 7.5 | 7.2 | +0.3 |
| Cries & Whispers | 1974 | 8.2 | 7.9 | +0.3 |
| Goodfellas | 1991 | 8.7 | 8.4 | +0.3 |
| Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope | 1978 | 8.7 | 8.4 | +0.3 |
| The Godfather | 1973 | 9.2 | 8.9 | +0.3 |
| The Godfather: Part II | 1975 | 9.1 | 8.8 | +0.3 |
| A Clockwork Orange | 1972 | 8.4 | 8.2 | +0.2 |
| American Beauty | 2000 | 8.4 | 8.2 | +0.2 |
| Citizen Kane | 1942 | 8.4 | 8.2 | +0.2 |
| Double Indemnity | 1945 | 8.4 | 8.2 | +0.2 |
| Taxi Driver | 1977 | 8.3 | 8.1 | +0.2 |
| The Treasure of the Sierra Madre | 1949 | 8.3 | 8.1 | +0.2 |
| American Graffiti | 1974 | 7.5 | 7.3 | +0.2 |
| American Hustle | 2014 | 7.3 | 7.1 | +0.2 |
| Born on the Fourth of July | 1990 | 7.2 | 7.0 | +0.2 |
| Cimarron | 1931 | 6.0 | 5.8 | +0.2 |
| Deliverance | 1973 | 7.7 | 7.5 | +0.2 |
| Her | 2014 | 8.0 | 7.8 | +0.2 |
| Jerry Maguire | 1997 | 7.3 | 7.1 | +0.2 |
| JFK | 1992 | 8.0 | 7.8 | +0.2 |
| Manchester by the Sea | 2017 | 7.9 | 7.7 | +0.2 |
| Michael Clayton | 2008 | 7.3 | 7.1 | +0.2 |
| Nashville | 1976 | 7.8 | 7.6 | +0.2 |
| Sergeant York | 1942 | 7.8 | 7.6 | +0.2 |
| Sons and Lovers | 1961 | 7.3 | 7.1 | +0.2 |
| The Big Short | 2016 | 7.8 | 7.6 | +0.2 |
| The Conversation | 1975 | 7.9 | 7.7 | +0.2 |
| The Descendants | 2012 | 7.4 | 7.2 | +0.2 |
| The Fighter | 2011 | 7.9 | 7.7 | +0.2 |
| The Front Page | 1931 | 6.9 | 6.7 | +0.2 |
| The Insider | 2000 | 7.9 | 7.7 | +0.2 |
| The Life of Emile Zola | 1938 | 7.3 | 7.1 | +0.2 |
| The Thin Red Line | 1999 | 7.7 | 7.5 | +0.2 |
| Viva Villa! | 1935 | 6.5 | 6.3 | +0.2 |
| 12 Angry Men | 1958 | 9.0 | 8.8 | +0.2 |
| Annie Hall | 1978 | 8.1 | 7.9 | +0.2 |
| Ben-Hur | 1960 | 8.1 | 7.9 | +0.2 |
| Casablanca | 1944 | 8.6 | 8.4 | +0.2 |
| Chinatown | 1975 | 8.2 | 8.0 | +0.2 |
| Fargo | 1997 | 8.2 | 8.0 | +0.2 |
| Gladiator | 2001 | 8.5 | 8.3 | +0.2 |
| Hell or High Water | 2017 | 7.6 | 7.4 | +0.2 |
| Lenny | 1975 | 7.6 | 7.4 | +0.2 |
| Mad Max: Fury Road | 2016 | 8.1 | 7.9 | +0.2 |
| Munich | 2006 | 7.6 | 7.4 | +0.2 |
| Network | 1977 | 8.1 | 7.9 | +0.2 |
| Raiders of the Lost Ark | 1982 | 8.5 | 8.3 | +0.2 |
| The Bridge on the River Kwai | 1958 | 8.2 | 8.0 | +0.2 |
| The Emigrants | 1973 | 8.1 | 7.9 | +0.2 |
| Forrest Gump | 1995 | 8.8 | 8.7 | +0.1 |
| Good Will Hunting | 1998 | 8.3 | 8.2 | +0.1 |
| Inception | 2011 | 8.8 | 8.7 | +0.1 |
| The Apartment | 1961 | 8.3 | 8.2 | +0.1 |
| The Red Shoes | 1949 | 8.3 | 8.2 | +0.1 |
| The Shawshank Redemption | 1995 | 9.3 | 9.2 | +0.1 |
| A Few Good Men | 1993 | 7.7 | 7.6 | +0.1 |
| Arrowsmith | 1932 | 6.2 | 6.1 | +0.1 |
| Avatar | 2010 | 7.9 | 7.8 | +0.1 |
| Fences | 2017 | 7.2 | 7.1 | +0.1 |
| Letters From Iwo Jima | 2007 | 7.9 | 7.8 | +0.1 |
| Lincoln | 2013 | 7.4 | 7.3 | +0.1 |
| Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World | 2004 | 7.4 | 7.3 | +0.1 |
| Midnight in Paris | 2012 | 7.7 | 7.6 | +0.1 |
| Mister Roberts | 1956 | 7.7 | 7.6 | +0.1 |
| Mutiny on the Bounty | 1936 | 7.6 | 7.5 | +0.1 |
| Room at the Top | 1960 | 7.7 | 7.6 | +0.1 |
| The Alamo | 1961 | 6.9 | 6.8 | +0.1 |
| The Right Stuff | 1984 | 7.9 | 7.8 | +0.1 |
| The Sand Pebbles | 1967 | 7.7 | 7.6 | +0.1 |
| True Grit | 2011 | 7.7 | 7.6 | +0.1 |
| Zero Dark Thirty | 2013 | 7.4 | 7.3 | +0.1 |
| A Place in the Sun | 1952 | 7.8 | 7.7 | +0.1 |
| A Serious Man | 2010 | 7.0 | 6.9 | +0.1 |
| All the King’s Men | 1950 | 7.6 | 7.5 | +0.1 |
| As Good as It Gets | 1998 | 7.8 | 7.7 | +0.1 |
| Dances With Wolves | 1991 | 8.0 | 7.9 | +0.1 |
| Field of Dreams | 1990 | 7.5 | 7.4 | +0.1 |
| Five Easy Pieces | 1971 | 7.5 | 7.4 | +0.1 |
| Gandhi | 1983 | 8.1 | 8.0 | +0.1 |
| Hannah and Her Sisters | 1987 | 8.0 | 7.9 | +0.1 |
| High Noon | 1953 | 8.0 | 7.9 | +0.1 |
| In the Heat of the Night | 1968 | 8.0 | 7.9 | +0.1 |
| Ivanhoe | 1953 | 6.8 | 6.7 | +0.1 |
| La La Land | 2017 | 8.1 | 8.0 | +0.1 |
| Lady Bird | 2018 | 7.8 | 7.7 | +0.1 |
| Million Dollar Baby | 2005 | 8.1 | 8.0 | +0.1 |
| Mystic River | 2004 | 8.0 | 7.9 | +0.1 |
| On the Waterfront | 1955 | 8.2 | 8.1 | +0.1 |
| One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest | 1976 | 8.7 | 8.6 | +0.1 |
| Prizzi’s Honor | 1986 | 6.8 | 6.7 | +0.1 |
| Silver Linings Playbook | 2013 | 7.8 | 7.7 | +0.1 |
| The Aviator | 2005 | 7.5 | 7.4 | +0.1 |
| The Deer Hunter | 1979 | 8.2 | 8.1 | +0.1 |
| The Departed | 2007 | 8.5 | 8.4 | +0.1 |
| The Fugitive | 1994 | 7.8 | 7.7 | +0.1 |
| The Graduate | 1968 | 8.0 | 7.9 | +0.1 |
| The Grapes of Wrath | 1941 | 8.1 | 8.0 | +0.1 |
| The House of Rothschild | 1935 | 6.8 | 6.7 | +0.1 |
| The Hurt Locker | 2010 | 7.6 | 7.5 | +0.1 |
| The Hustler | 1962 | 8.0 | 7.9 | +0.1 |
| The Kids Are All Right | 2011 | 7.1 | 7.0 | +0.1 |
| The Last Picture Show | 1972 | 8.1 | 8.0 | +0.1 |
| The Long Voyage Home | 1941 | 7.1 | 7.0 | +0.1 |
| The Longest Day | 1963 | 7.8 | 7.7 | +0.1 |
| The Maltese Falcon | 1942 | 8.1 | 8.0 | +0.1 |
| The Revenant | 2016 | 8.0 | 7.9 | +0.1 |
| The Verdict | 1983 | 7.8 | 7.7 | +0.1 |
| Traffic | 2001 | 7.6 | 7.5 | +0.1 |
| Whiplash | 2015 | 8.5 | 8.4 | +0.1 |
| 12 Years a Slave | 2014 | 8.1 | 8.1 | +0.0 |
| 127 Hours | 2011 | 7.6 | 7.6 | +0.0 |
| A Man for All Seasons | 1967 | 7.9 | 7.9 | +0.0 |
| A Tale of Two Cities | 1937 | 7.8 | 7.8 | +0.0 |
| Alfie | 1967 | 7.1 | 7.1 | +0.0 |
| Alibi | 1930 | 6.0 | 6.0 | +0.0 |
| All That Jazz | 1980 | 7.8 | 7.8 | +0.0 |
| All the President’s Men | 1977 | 8.0 | 8.0 | +0.0 |
| Amadeus | 1985 | 8.3 | 8.3 | +0.0 |
| Anatomy of a Murder | 1960 | 8.1 | 8.1 | +0.0 |
| Apollo 13 | 1996 | 7.6 | 7.6 | +0.0 |
| Atlantic City | 1982 | 7.4 | 7.4 | +0.0 |
| Babel | 2007 | 7.5 | 7.5 | +0.0 |
| Black Swan | 2011 | 8.0 | 8.0 | +0.0 |
| Bonnie and Clyde | 1968 | 7.9 | 7.9 | +0.0 |
| Bridge of Spies | 2016 | 7.6 | 7.6 | +0.0 |
| Broadcast News | 1988 | 7.2 | 7.2 | +0.0 |
| Bugsy | 1992 | 6.8 | 6.8 | +0.0 |
| Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid | 1970 | 8.1 | 8.1 | +0.0 |
| Captain Blood | 1936 | 7.8 | 7.8 | +0.0 |
| Captains Courageous | 1938 | 8.0 | 8.0 | +0.0 |
| Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon | 2001 | 7.9 | 7.9 | +0.0 |
| Decision Before Dawn | 1952 | 7.3 | 7.3 | +0.0 |
| Django Unchained | 2013 | 8.4 | 8.4 | +0.0 |
| Doctor Zhivago | 1966 | 8.0 | 8.0 | +0.0 |
| Elmer Gantry | 1961 | 7.9 | 7.9 | +0.0 |
| For Whom the Bell Tolls | 1944 | 7.0 | 7.0 | +0.0 |
| Foreign Correspondent | 1941 | 7.6 | 7.6 | +0.0 |
| Four Weddings and a Funeral | 1995 | 7.1 | 7.1 | +0.0 |
| From Here to Eternity | 1954 | 7.7 | 7.7 | +0.0 |
| Frost/Nixon | 2009 | 7.7 | 7.7 | +0.0 |
| Get Out | 2018 | 7.7 | 7.7 | +0.0 |
| Henry V | 1947 | 7.3 | 7.3 | +0.0 |
| Here Comes Mr. Jordan | 1942 | 7.7 | 7.7 | +0.0 |
| How Green Was My Valley | 1942 | 7.8 | 7.8 | +0.0 |
| In Which We Serve | 1944 | 7.3 | 7.3 | +0.0 |
| Inglourious Basterds | 2010 | 8.3 | 8.3 | +0.0 |
| It’s a Wonderful Life | 1947 | 8.6 | 8.6 | +0.0 |
| Julius Caesar | 1954 | 7.4 | 7.4 | +0.0 |
| Kramer vs. Kramer | 1980 | 7.8 | 7.8 | +0.0 |
| Les Miserables | 1936 | 7.6 | 7.6 | +0.0 |
| Libeled Lady | 1937 | 7.8 | 7.8 | +0.0 |
| Marty | 1956 | 7.7 | 7.7 | +0.0 |
| Midnight Cowboy | 1970 | 7.9 | 7.9 | +0.0 |
| Midnight Express | 1979 | 7.6 | 7.6 | +0.0 |
| Missing | 1983 | 7.8 | 7.8 | +0.0 |
| Mississippi Burning | 1989 | 7.8 | 7.8 | +0.0 |
| My Left Foot | 1990 | 7.9 | 7.9 | +0.0 |
| Nebraska | 2014 | 7.7 | 7.7 | +0.0 |
| Quiz Show | 1995 | 7.5 | 7.5 | +0.0 |
| Rain Man | 1989 | 8.0 | 8.0 | +0.0 |
| Scent of a Woman | 1993 | 8.0 | 8.0 | +0.0 |
| Secrets & Lies | 1997 | 8.0 | 8.0 | +0.0 |
| Shanghai Express | 1932 | 7.4 | 7.4 | +0.0 |
| Skippy | 1931 | 6.3 | 6.3 | +0.0 |
| Spotlight | 2016 | 8.1 | 8.1 | +0.0 |
| Sunset Boulevard | 1951 | 8.5 | 8.5 | +0.0 |
| Tess | 1981 | 7.3 | 7.3 | +0.0 |
| The Adventures of Robin Hood | 1939 | 8.0 | 8.0 | +0.0 |
| The Cider House Rules | 2000 | 7.4 | 7.4 | +0.0 |
| The Curious Case of Benjamin Button | 2009 | 7.8 | 7.8 | +0.0 |
| The Elephant Man | 1981 | 8.2 | 8.2 | +0.0 |
| The Godfather: Part III | 1991 | 7.6 | 7.6 | +0.0 |
| The Great Dictator | 1941 | 8.5 | 8.5 | +0.0 |
| The Guns of Navarone | 1962 | 7.6 | 7.6 | +0.0 |
| The Killing Fields | 1985 | 7.9 | 7.9 | +0.0 |
| The Last Emperor | 1988 | 7.8 | 7.8 | +0.0 |
| The Lives of a Bengal Lancer | 1936 | 7.3 | 7.3 | +0.0 |
| The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring | 2002 | 8.8 | 8.8 | +0.0 |
| The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King | 2004 | 8.9 | 8.9 | +0.0 |
| The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers | 2003 | 8.7 | 8.7 | +0.0 |
| The Magnificent Ambersons | 1943 | 7.9 | 7.9 | +0.0 |
| The Mission | 1987 | 7.5 | 7.5 | +0.0 |
| The Post | 2018 | 7.3 | 7.3 | +0.0 |
| The Pride of the Yankees | 1943 | 7.8 | 7.8 | +0.0 |
| The Remains of the Day | 1994 | 7.9 | 7.9 | +0.0 |
| The Shape of Water | 2018 | 7.8 | 7.8 | +0.0 |
| The Silence of the Lambs | 1992 | 8.6 | 8.6 | +0.0 |
| The Sting | 1974 | 8.3 | 8.3 | +0.0 |
| The Story of Louis Pasteur | 1937 | 7.4 | 7.4 | +0.0 |
| The Talk of the Town | 1943 | 7.6 | 7.6 | +0.0 |
| Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri | 2018 | 8.3 | 8.3 | +0.0 |
| Toy Story 3 | 2011 | 8.3 | 8.3 | +0.0 |
| Wake Island | 1943 | 6.9 | 6.9 | +0.0 |
| West Side Story | 1962 | 7.6 | 7.6 | +0.0 |
| Winter’s Bone | 2011 | 7.2 | 7.2 | +0.0 |
| Heaven Can Wait | 1944 | 7.2 | 7.3 | +0.0 |
| 49th Parallel | 1943 | 7.4 | 7.5 | -0.1 |
| A Passage to India | 1985 | 7.4 | 7.5 | -0.1 |
| Alexander’s Ragtime Band | 1939 | 7.0 | 7.1 | -0.1 |
| Alice Adams | 1936 | 7.0 | 7.1 | -0.1 |
| Argo | 2013 | 7.7 | 7.8 | -0.1 |
| Arrival | 2017 | 7.9 | 8.0 | -0.1 |
| Battleground | 1950 | 7.5 | 7.6 | -0.1 |
| Bound for Glory | 1977 | 7.4 | 7.5 | -0.1 |
| Breaking Away | 1980 | 7.7 | 7.8 | -0.1 |
| Capote | 2006 | 7.4 | 7.5 | -0.1 |
| Cavalcade | 1934 | 6.0 | 6.1 | -0.1 |
| Crossfire | 1948 | 7.4 | 7.5 | -0.1 |
| Darkest Hour | 2018 | 7.4 | 7.5 | -0.1 |
| Dead End | 1938 | 7.4 | 7.5 | -0.1 |
| Disraeli | 1930 | 6.4 | 6.5 | -0.1 |
| Dog Day Afternoon | 1976 | 8.0 | 8.1 | -0.1 |
| Driving Miss Daisy | 1990 | 7.4 | 7.5 | -0.1 |
| Dunkirk | 2018 | 8.0 | 8.1 | -0.1 |
| Fatal Attraction | 1988 | 6.9 | 7.0 | -0.1 |
| Father of the Bride | 1951 | 7.2 | 7.3 | -0.1 |
| Giant | 1957 | 7.7 | 7.8 | -0.1 |
| Good Night, and Good Luck | 2006 | 7.5 | 7.6 | -0.1 |
| Great Expectations | 1948 | 7.9 | 8.0 | -0.1 |
| Hold Back the Dawn | 1942 | 7.5 | 7.6 | -0.1 |
| Hugo | 2012 | 7.5 | 7.6 | -0.1 |
| Il Postino | 1996 | 7.7 | 7.8 | -0.1 |
| In the Name of the Father | 1994 | 8.1 | 8.2 | -0.1 |
| Judgment at Nuremberg | 1962 | 8.3 | 8.4 | -0.1 |
| Juno | 2008 | 7.5 | 7.6 | -0.1 |
| Life of Pi | 2013 | 7.9 | 8.0 | -0.1 |
| Picnic | 1956 | 7.2 | 7.3 | -0.1 |
| Quo Vadis | 1952 | 7.2 | 7.3 | -0.1 |
| Ray | 2005 | 7.7 | 7.8 | -0.1 |
| Ruggles of Red Gap | 1936 | 7.7 | 7.8 | -0.1 |
| Schindler’s List | 1994 | 8.9 | 9.0 | -0.1 |
| Separate Tables | 1959 | 7.5 | 7.6 | -0.1 |
| Shine | 1997 | 7.7 | 7.8 | -0.1 |
| Slumdog Millionaire | 2009 | 8.0 | 8.1 | -0.1 |
| Tender Mercies | 1984 | 7.4 | 7.5 | -0.1 |
| Test Pilot | 1939 | 6.9 | 7.0 | -0.1 |
| The Best Years of Our Lives | 1947 | 8.1 | 8.2 | -0.1 |
| The Citadel | 1939 | 7.2 | 7.3 | -0.1 |
| The Defiant Ones | 1959 | 7.7 | 7.8 | -0.1 |
| The Grand Budapest Hotel | 2015 | 8.1 | 8.2 | -0.1 |
| The Lost Weekend | 1946 | 8.0 | 8.1 | -0.1 |
| The Love Parade | 1930 | 7.2 | 7.3 | -0.1 |
| The Martian | 2016 | 8.0 | 8.1 | -0.1 |
| The Music Man | 1963 | 7.7 | 7.8 | -0.1 |
| The Pianist | 2003 | 8.5 | 8.6 | -0.1 |
| The Private Life of Henry VIII | 1934 | 7.2 | 7.3 | -0.1 |
| The Sixth Sense | 2000 | 8.1 | 8.2 | -0.1 |
| The Sundowners | 1961 | 7.2 | 7.3 | -0.1 |
| Tom Jones | 1964 | 6.7 | 6.8 | -0.1 |
| Trader Horn | 1931 | 6.4 | 6.5 | -0.1 |
| Twelve O’Clock High | 1950 | 7.7 | 7.8 | -0.1 |
| Witness for the Prosecution | 1958 | 8.4 | 8.5 | -0.1 |
| Wuthering Heights | 1940 | 7.7 | 7.8 | -0.1 |
| 7th Heaven | 1929 | 7.8 | 7.9 | -0.1 |
| Airport | 1971 | 6.6 | 6.7 | -0.1 |
| America America | 1964 | 7.8 | 7.9 | -0.1 |
| American Sniper | 2015 | 7.3 | 7.4 | -0.1 |
| Amour | 2013 | 7.8 | 7.9 | -0.1 |
| Around the World in 80 Days | 1957 | 6.8 | 6.9 | -0.1 |
| Babe | 1996 | 6.8 | 6.9 | -0.1 |
| Bad Girl | 1932 | 6.6 | 6.7 | -0.1 |
| Captain Phillips | 2014 | 7.8 | 7.9 | -0.1 |
| Coming Home | 1979 | 7.3 | 7.4 | -0.1 |
| Crash | 2006 | 7.8 | 7.9 | -0.1 |
| E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial | 1983 | 7.8 | 7.9 | -0.1 |
| Hamlet | 1949 | 7.8 | 7.9 | -0.1 |
| Jezebel | 1939 | 7.6 | 7.7 | -0.1 |
| MASH | 1971 | 7.6 | 7.7 | -0.1 |
| Mrs. Miniver | 1943 | 7.6 | 7.7 | -0.1 |
| One Hour With You | 1932 | 7.3 | 7.4 | -0.1 |
| One Hundred Men and a Girl | 1938 | 6.8 | 6.9 | -0.1 |
| Ordinary People | 1981 | 7.8 | 7.9 | -0.1 |
| Philomena | 2014 | 7.6 | 7.7 | -0.1 |
| Places in the Heart | 1985 | 7.3 | 7.4 | -0.1 |
| San Francisco | 1937 | 7.3 | 7.4 | -0.1 |
| Seabiscuit | 2004 | 7.3 | 7.4 | -0.1 |
| The Country Girl | 1955 | 7.3 | 7.4 | -0.1 |
| The Queen | 2007 | 7.3 | 7.4 | -0.1 |
| The Quiet Man | 1953 | 7.8 | 7.9 | -0.1 |
| The Song of Bernadette | 1944 | 7.6 | 7.7 | -0.1 |
| The Yearling | 1947 | 7.3 | 7.4 | -0.1 |
| A Beautiful Mind | 2002 | 8.2 | 8.3 | -0.1 |
| Mr. Smith Goes to Washington | 1940 | 8.2 | 8.3 | -0.1 |
| A Streetcar Named Desire | 1952 | 8.0 | 8.2 | -0.2 |
| Brooklyn | 2016 | 7.4 | 7.6 | -0.2 |
| Dallas Buyers Club | 2014 | 7.9 | 8.1 | -0.2 |
| Howards End | 1993 | 7.4 | 7.6 | -0.2 |
| Love Story | 1971 | 6.9 | 7.1 | -0.2 |
| Mildred Pierce | 1946 | 8.0 | 8.2 | -0.2 |
| Moonlight | 2017 | 7.4 | 7.6 | -0.2 |
| Mr. Deeds Goes to Town | 1937 | 8.0 | 8.2 | -0.2 |
| Ninotchka | 1940 | 7.9 | 8.1 | -0.2 |
| Oliver! | 1969 | 7.4 | 7.6 | -0.2 |
| Roman Holiday | 1954 | 8.0 | 8.2 | -0.2 |
| Selma | 2015 | 7.4 | 7.6 | -0.2 |
| She Done Him Wrong | 1934 | 6.4 | 6.6 | -0.2 |
| Suspicion | 1942 | 7.4 | 7.6 | -0.2 |
| Terms of Endearment | 1984 | 7.4 | 7.6 | -0.2 |
| The Artist | 2012 | 7.9 | 8.1 | -0.2 |
| The Diary of Anne Frank | 1960 | 7.4 | 7.6 | -0.2 |
| The Green Mile | 2000 | 8.5 | 8.7 | -0.2 |
| The Towering Inferno | 1975 | 6.9 | 7.1 | -0.2 |
| The Wizard of Oz | 1940 | 8.0 | 8.2 | -0.2 |
| To Kill a Mockingbird | 1963 | 8.3 | 8.5 | -0.2 |
| Tootsie | 1983 | 7.4 | 7.6 | -0.2 |
| Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? | 1967 | 8.0 | 8.2 | -0.2 |
| Witness | 1986 | 7.4 | 7.6 | -0.2 |
| A Farewell to Arms | 1934 | 6.5 | 6.7 | -0.2 |
| A Touch of Class | 1974 | 6.5 | 6.7 | -0.2 |
| An American in Paris | 1952 | 7.2 | 7.4 | -0.2 |
| An Education | 2010 | 7.2 | 7.4 | -0.2 |
| Awakenings | 1991 | 7.8 | 8.0 | -0.2 |
| Boys Town | 1939 | 7.3 | 7.5 | -0.2 |
| Cabaret | 1973 | 7.8 | 8.0 | -0.2 |
| Chariots of Fire | 1982 | 7.2 | 7.4 | -0.2 |
| Dangerous Liaisons | 1989 | 7.6 | 7.8 | -0.2 |
| David Copperfield | 1936 | 7.5 | 7.7 | -0.2 |
| Finding Neverland | 2005 | 7.7 | 7.9 | -0.2 |
| Ghost | 1991 | 7.0 | 7.2 | -0.2 |
| Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner | 1968 | 7.8 | 8.0 | -0.2 |
| Hope and Glory | 1988 | 7.3 | 7.5 | -0.2 |
| How the West Was Won | 1964 | 7.1 | 7.3 | -0.2 |
| In Old Chicago | 1938 | 6.8 | 7.0 | -0.2 |
| Johnny Belinda | 1949 | 7.8 | 8.0 | -0.2 |
| Lady for a Day | 1934 | 7.5 | 7.7 | -0.2 |
| Little Miss Sunshine | 2007 | 7.8 | 8.0 | -0.2 |
| Little Women | 1934 | 7.3 | 7.5 | -0.2 |
| Lost Horizon | 1938 | 7.8 | 8.0 | -0.2 |
| Miracle on 34th Street | 1948 | 7.8 | 8.0 | -0.2 |
| Moulin Rouge | 1953 | 7.1 | 7.3 | -0.2 |
| My Fair Lady | 1965 | 7.8 | 8.0 | -0.2 |
| Nicholas and Alexandra | 1972 | 7.2 | 7.4 | -0.2 |
| Peyton Place | 1958 | 7.2 | 7.4 | -0.2 |
| Precious | 2010 | 7.3 | 7.5 | -0.2 |
| Pygmalion | 1939 | 7.8 | 8.0 | -0.2 |
| Shakespeare in Love | 1999 | 7.1 | 7.3 | -0.2 |
| Sounder | 1973 | 7.6 | 7.8 | -0.2 |
| Spellbound | 1946 | 7.6 | 7.8 | -0.2 |
| The Big House | 1930 | 7.1 | 7.3 | -0.2 |
| The Caine Mutiny | 1955 | 7.8 | 8.0 | -0.2 |
| The Champ | 1932 | 7.3 | 7.5 | -0.2 |
| The Great Ziegfeld | 1937 | 6.8 | 7.0 | -0.2 |
| The Letter | 1941 | 7.6 | 7.8 | -0.2 |
| The Pied Piper | 1943 | 7.1 | 7.3 | -0.2 |
| The Ten Commandments | 1957 | 7.8 | 8.0 | -0.2 |
| Top Hat | 1936 | 7.8 | 8.0 | -0.2 |
| Yankee Doodle Dandy | 1943 | 7.7 | 7.9 | -0.2 |
| Zorba the Greek | 1965 | 7.7 | 7.9 | -0.2 |
| Hacksaw Ridge | 2017 | 8.1 | 8.3 | -0.2 |
| It Happened One Night | 1935 | 8.1 | 8.3 | -0.2 |
| Life Is Beautiful | 1999 | 8.6 | 8.8 | -0.2 |
| Up | 2010 | 8.2 | 8.4 | -0.2 |
| Becket | 1965 | 7.9 | 8.2 | -0.3 |
| Fiddler on the Roof | 1972 | 7.9 | 8.2 | -0.3 |
| A Letter to Three Wives | 1950 | 7.8 | 8.1 | -0.3 |
| Atonement | 2008 | 7.7 | 8.0 | -0.3 |
| Beasts of the Southern Wild | 2013 | 7.2 | 7.5 | -0.3 |
| Coal Miner’s Daughter | 1981 | 7.4 | 7.7 | -0.3 |
| Elizabeth | 1999 | 7.4 | 7.7 | -0.3 |
| Erin Brockovich | 2001 | 7.2 | 7.5 | -0.3 |
| Gaslight | 1945 | 7.8 | 8.1 | -0.3 |
| Gosford Park | 2002 | 7.2 | 7.5 | -0.3 |
| Grand Hotel | 1932 | 7.5 | 7.8 | -0.3 |
| King Solomon’s Mines | 1951 | 6.8 | 7.1 | -0.3 |
| Madame Curie | 1944 | 7.2 | 7.5 | -0.3 |
| Milk | 2009 | 7.5 | 7.8 | -0.3 |
| Norma Rae | 1980 | 7.3 | 7.6 | -0.3 |
| Our Town | 1941 | 6.7 | 7.0 | -0.3 |
| Reds | 1982 | 7.4 | 7.7 | -0.3 |
| Since You Went Away | 1945 | 7.5 | 7.8 | -0.3 |
| Stage Door | 1938 | 7.7 | 8.0 | -0.3 |
| State Fair | 1934 | 6.8 | 7.1 | -0.3 |
| The Accidental Tourist | 1989 | 6.8 | 7.1 | -0.3 |
| The Awful Truth | 1938 | 7.8 | 8.1 | -0.3 |
| The Bells of St. Mary’s | 1946 | 7.4 | 7.7 | -0.3 |
| The Bishop’s Wife | 1948 | 7.5 | 7.8 | -0.3 |
| The Divorcee | 1930 | 6.8 | 7.1 | -0.3 |
| The Gay Divorcee | 1935 | 7.5 | 7.8 | -0.3 |
| The Nun’s Story | 1960 | 7.5 | 7.8 | -0.3 |
| The Razor’s Edge | 1947 | 7.4 | 7.7 | -0.3 |
| The Reader | 2009 | 7.5 | 7.8 | -0.3 |
| Working Girl | 1989 | 6.7 | 7.0 | -0.3 |
| 42nd Street | 1934 | 7.6 | 7.9 | -0.3 |
| All About Eve | 1951 | 8.2 | 8.5 | -0.3 |
| Call Me by Your Name | 2018 | 8.1 | 8.4 | -0.3 |
| Cat on a Hot Tin Roof | 1959 | 8.0 | 8.3 | -0.3 |
| Children of a Lesser God | 1987 | 7.1 | 7.4 | -0.3 |
| Cleopatra | 1935 | 6.9 | 7.2 | -0.3 |
| Dead Poets Society | 1990 | 8.0 | 8.3 | -0.3 |
| Going My Way | 1945 | 7.1 | 7.4 | -0.3 |
| Kings Row | 1943 | 7.6 | 7.9 | -0.3 |
| Lilies of the Field | 1964 | 7.6 | 7.9 | -0.3 |
| Lion | 2017 | 8.0 | 8.3 | -0.3 |
| On Golden Pond | 1982 | 7.6 | 7.9 | -0.3 |
| Rebecca | 1941 | 8.1 | 8.4 | -0.3 |
| Room | 2016 | 8.1 | 8.4 | -0.3 |
| Ship of Fools | 1966 | 7.1 | 7.4 | -0.3 |
| The Big Chill | 1984 | 7.1 | 7.4 | -0.3 |
| The Heiress | 1950 | 8.2 | 8.5 | -0.3 |
| The Imitation Game | 2015 | 8.0 | 8.3 | -0.3 |
| The King’s Speech | 2011 | 8.0 | 8.3 | -0.3 |
| The Little Foxes | 1942 | 8.1 | 8.4 | -0.3 |
| The Prince of Tides | 1992 | 6.6 | 6.9 | -0.3 |
| The Snake Pit | 1949 | 7.6 | 7.9 | -0.3 |
| Romeo and Juliet | 1937 | 7.1 | 7.4 | -0.4 |
| A Midsummer Night’s Dream | 1936 | 6.9 | 7.3 | -0.4 |
| A Room With a View | 1987 | 7.2 | 7.6 | -0.4 |
| A Soldier’s Story | 1985 | 7.2 | 7.6 | -0.4 |
| Anne of the Thousand Days | 1970 | 7.4 | 7.8 | -0.4 |
| Broadway Melody of 1936 | 1936 | 6.7 | 7.1 | -0.4 |
| Five Star Final | 1932 | 7.2 | 7.6 | -0.4 |
| Flirtation Walk | 1935 | 5.7 | 6.1 | -0.4 |
| Friendly Persuasion | 1957 | 7.4 | 7.8 | -0.4 |
| Kiss of the Spider Woman | 1986 | 7.4 | 7.8 | -0.4 |
| The Crying Game | 1993 | 7.2 | 7.6 | -0.4 |
| The Good Earth | 1938 | 7.7 | 8.1 | -0.4 |
| The Hours | 2003 | 7.4 | 7.8 | -0.4 |
| The Robe | 1954 | 6.7 | 7.1 | -0.4 |
| War Horse | 2012 | 7.2 | 7.6 | -0.4 |
| Wings | 1929 | 7.7 | 8.1 | -0.4 |
| A Thousand Clowns | 1966 | 7.5 | 7.9 | -0.4 |
| An Unmarried Woman | 1979 | 7.1 | 7.5 | -0.4 |
| Born Yesterday | 1951 | 7.5 | 7.9 | -0.4 |
| Brokeback Mountain | 2006 | 7.6 | 8.0 | -0.4 |
| Dark Victory | 1940 | 7.5 | 7.9 | -0.4 |
| Four Daughters | 1939 | 7.0 | 7.4 | -0.4 |
| Here Comes the Navy | 1935 | 6.3 | 6.7 | -0.4 |
| Imitation of Life | 1935 | 7.5 | 7.9 | -0.4 |
| Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing | 1956 | 6.5 | 6.9 | -0.4 |
| Moonstruck | 1988 | 7.0 | 7.4 | -0.4 |
| Random Harvest | 1943 | 7.9 | 8.3 | -0.4 |
| Sayonara | 1958 | 7.1 | 7.5 | -0.4 |
| The Blind Side | 2010 | 7.6 | 8.0 | -0.4 |
| The Dresser | 1984 | 7.6 | 8.0 | -0.4 |
| The English Patient | 1997 | 7.3 | 7.7 | -0.4 |
| The Full Monty | 1998 | 7.1 | 7.5 | -0.4 |
| The Goodbye Girl | 1978 | 7.3 | 7.7 | -0.4 |
| The Greatest Show on Earth | 1953 | 6.6 | 7.0 | -0.4 |
| The King and I | 1957 | 7.3 | 7.7 | -0.4 |
| The Piano | 1994 | 7.5 | 7.9 | -0.4 |
| The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming | 1967 | 7.0 | 7.4 | -0.4 |
| The Theory of Everything | 2015 | 7.6 | 8.0 | -0.4 |
| You Can’t Take It With You | 1939 | 7.9 | 8.3 | -0.4 |
| The Smiling Lieutenant | 1932 | 7.7 | 8.2 | -0.5 |
| A Star Is Born | 1938 | 7.5 | 8.0 | -0.5 |
| All This, and Heaven Too | 1941 | 7.5 | 8.0 | -0.5 |
| Anchors Aweigh | 1946 | 7.0 | 7.5 | -0.5 |
| Chicago | 2003 | 7.0 | 7.5 | -0.5 |
| Chocolat | 2001 | 7.1 | 7.6 | -0.5 |
| Darling | 1966 | 7.1 | 7.6 | -0.5 |
| Dodsworth | 1937 | 8.0 | 8.5 | -0.5 |
| Fanny | 1962 | 6.9 | 7.4 | -0.5 |
| Gentleman’s Agreement | 1948 | 7.3 | 7.8 | -0.5 |
| Kitty Foyle | 1941 | 6.9 | 7.4 | -0.5 |
| Love Affair | 1940 | 7.2 | 7.7 | -0.5 |
| Mary Poppins | 1965 | 7.6 | 8.1 | -0.5 |
| One Foot in Heaven | 1942 | 6.9 | 7.4 | -0.5 |
| One Night of Love | 1935 | 5.8 | 6.3 | -0.5 |
| Sense and Sensibility | 1996 | 7.4 | 7.9 | -0.5 |
| The Barretts of Wimpole Street | 1935 | 6.9 | 7.4 | -0.5 |
| The Help | 2012 | 7.9 | 8.4 | -0.5 |
| The Human Comedy | 1944 | 7.0 | 7.5 | -0.5 |
| The Lion in Winter | 1969 | 8.0 | 8.5 | -0.5 |
| The Philadelphia Story | 1941 | 7.9 | 8.4 | -0.5 |
| The Rose Tattoo | 1956 | 7.1 | 7.6 | -0.5 |
| The Thin Man | 1935 | 8.0 | 8.5 | -0.5 |
| The White Parade | 1935 | 6.8 | 7.3 | -0.5 |
| Three Coins in the Fountain | 1955 | 6.2 | 6.7 | -0.5 |
| Three Smart Girls | 1937 | 6.7 | 7.2 | -0.5 |
| Titanic | 1998 | 7.6 | 8.1 | -0.5 |
| Watch on the Rhine | 1944 | 7.3 | 7.8 | -0.5 |
| Auntie Mame | 1959 | 7.8 | 8.3 | -0.5 |
| Gone With the Wind | 1940 | 8.0 | 8.6 | -0.6 |
| Julia | 1978 | 7.2 | 7.8 | -0.6 |
| Moulin Rouge! | 2002 | 7.4 | 8.0 | -0.6 |
| The Color Purple | 1986 | 7.6 | 8.2 | -0.6 |
| Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close | 2012 | 6.8 | 7.4 | -0.6 |
| Funny Girl | 1969 | 7.3 | 7.9 | -0.6 |
| Hidden Figures | 2017 | 7.7 | 8.3 | -0.6 |
| The More the Merrier | 1944 | 7.7 | 8.3 | -0.6 |
| The Sound of Music | 1966 | 7.8 | 8.4 | -0.6 |
| The Turning Point | 1978 | 6.8 | 7.4 | -0.6 |
| Beauty and the Beast | 1992 | 7.8 | 8.5 | -0.7 |
| Blossoms in the Dust | 1942 | 6.8 | 7.5 | -0.7 |
| Doctor Dolittle | 1968 | 6.1 | 6.8 | -0.7 |
| East Lynne | 1931 | 7.0 | 7.7 | -0.7 |
| Gigi | 1959 | 6.6 | 7.3 | -0.7 |
| Hello, Dolly! | 1970 | 7.0 | 7.7 | -0.7 |
| Out of Africa | 1986 | 7.0 | 7.7 | -0.7 |
| Rachel, Rachel | 1969 | 7.3 | 8.0 | -0.7 |
| Seven Brides for Seven Brothers | 1955 | 7.2 | 7.9 | -0.7 |
| The Racket | 1929 | 6.8 | 7.5 | -0.7 |
| Smilin’ Through | 1934 | 6.7 | 7.5 | -0.8 |
| Wilson | 1945 | 6.7 | 7.5 | -0.8 |
| Naughty Marietta | 1936 | 6.7 | 7.6 | -0.9 |
| The Hollywood Revue of 1929 | 1930 | 7.2 | 8.1 | -0.9 |
| The Broadway Melody | 1930 | 6.0 | 7.3 | -1.3 |