Pretend I’m the owner of a polling company that surveys political races. I prominently advertise my results: According to a Walt Hickey Polling Inc. survey of 600 likely voters, John Doe is beating Jane Doe 58 percent to 40 percent — John Doe will likely win the election. (Let’s say it’s a race for the U.S. Senate.)
But then you keep reading and you notice that the sample on which my poll is based consists of 400 men and 200 women. You can’t really tell whether I’m adjusting the numbers, and if so, how. Would you trust that number? Unless there’s some state I don’t know about where men outnumber women 2-to-1, you shouldn’t.
So why aren’t we more skeptical of movie ratings that do the same thing?
It’s a worthwhile question, and lately it’s made it pretty hard for us to take the ratings provided on IMDb, the largest and most popular movie site on the internet, at face value. The Academy Awards rightly get criticized for reflecting the preferences of a small, unrepresentative sample of the population, but online ratings have the same problem. Even the vaunted IMDb Top 250 — nominally the best-liked films ever — is worth taking with 250 grains of salt. Women accounted for 52 percent of moviegoers in the U.S. and Canada in 2016, according to the most recent annual study by the Motion Picture Association of America. But on the internet, and on ratings sites, they’re a much smaller percentage.
“If you see any number that is a rating number or a number with a percentage sign, it may be compelling or meaningful and it may not be,” said Gary Langer, the president of Langer Research Associates, the polling firm that has long conducted surveys for ABC News. “And what we need to do rather than be seduced by the number is to subject it to meaningful inquiry as to how it was obtained.”
OK, but how skeptical should we be? To figure that out, I wanted to see how strong the male skew of raters is on IMDb and how big an effect that skew has on movies’ scores.
We’ll start with every film that’s eligible for IMDb’s Top 250 list. A film needs 25,000 ratings from regular IMDb voters to qualify for the list. As of Feb. 14, that was 4,377 titles. Of those movies, only 97 had more ratings from women than men. The other 4,280 films were mostly rated by men, and it wasn’t even close for all but a few films. In 3,942 cases (90 percent of all eligible films), the men outnumbered the women by at least 2-to-1. In 2,212 cases (51 percent), men outnumbered women more than 5-to-1. And in 513 cases (12 percent), the men outnumbered the women by at least 10-to-1.
Looking strictly at IMDb’s weighted average — IMDb adjusts the raw ratings it gets “in order to eliminate and reduce attempts at vote stuffing,” but it does not disclose how — the male skew of raters has a pretty significant effect. In 17 percent of cases, the weighted average of the male and female voters was equal, and in another 26 percent of cases, the votes of the men and women were within 0.1 points of one another. But when there was bigger disagreement — i.e. men and women rated a movie differently by 0.2 points or more, on average — the overall score overwhelmingly broke closer to the men’s rating than the women’s rating. The score was closer to the men’s rating more than 48 percent of the time and closer to the women’s rating less than 9 percent of the time, meaning that when there was disagreement, the male preference won out about 85 percent of the time.
That male skew of raters is also apparent in the 250 movies that make IMDb’s top list, which we pulled on Feb. 16:
So, what’s the issue here? If IMDb is content with its ratings being intended almost solely for men, then there isn’t one. (We reached out to IMDb for comment and for more information on how the site adjusts its ratings, but we received no response. So we don’t know, for example, if IMDb is already doing something to the data that accounts for the gender disparity in raters.) But if IMDb seeks to reflect the opinions of the actual movie-going population, the situation is grave.
Can we fix that? Langer is skeptical. Mainly, besides how simple it is for a dedicated individual or group to “manufacture” results, online data from a self-selected group of people is so inherently dubious that any reweighting of that data is also inherently dubious. You can’t just adjust troublesome data to make it reflect the world, he said.
“The notion that you can take bad data and weight it to be OK is … hazardous to your health,” Langer cautioned.
That said, since the scores of the most popular movie site on the internet are already being calculated based on an entirely self-selected sample, would it destroy the IMDb Top 250 to try to mimic actual movie audiences more? I don’t really think so. As a thought experiment, I used everything we know about IMDb’s rating adjustments — which is far from the full picture — and ran them on the ratings of the 4,377 eligible films after I adjusted the raw ratings to weight men’s and women’s views equally.
We can’t do an adjustment that allows us to perfectly replicate the top 250 — again, we don’t know what’s in the black box, so we can’t re-create it — but to approximate it, I excluded any film that didn’t either a) make the IMDb top 1,000 movies list or b) have a rating from the site’s top 1,000 users within 0.87 points27 of the rating from its users overall. This allows us to sidestep films that would have made the top 250 through vote-stuffing.
My main point is that overall, the naive reweighting didn’t destroy the general look of the 250, and if anything, it elevated films that may have been overlooked because one gender is vastly outnumbered.28
What if IMDb adjusted ratings toward gender parity?
Estimated highest-ranking films on IMDb if the men’s and women’s ratings were weighted toward 50-50 vs. IMDb’s actual rank as of Feb. 16, 2018
Rankings | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year▲▼ |
Film▲▼ |
Actual▲▼ |
Women only▲▼ |
Men only▲▼ |
Gender- weighted▲▼ |
1994 | The Shawshank Redemption | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
1972 | The Godfather | 2 | 10 | 2 | 2 |
2008 | The Dark Knight | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
2003 | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King | 8 | 2 | 4 | 4 |
1993 | Schindler’s List | 6 | 6 | 11 | 5 |
1999 | Fight Club | 10 | 5 | 8 | 6 |
2001 | The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring | 11 | 7 | 10 | 7 |
1957 | 12 Angry Men | 5 | 27 | 7 | 8 |
1974 | The Godfather: Part II | 3 | 22 | 5 | 9 |
2010 | Inception | 14 | 8 | 6 | 10 |
1994 | Forrest Gump | 12 | 9 | 13 | 11 |
2002 | The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers | 15 | 11 | 14 | 12 |
1994 | The Lion King | 47 | 4 | 29 | 13 |
1994 | Pulp Fiction | 7 | 15 | 9 | 14 |
2014 | Interstellar | 30 | 25 | 15 | 15 |
1999 | The Green Mile | 32 | 12 | 28 | 16 |
1975 | One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest | 16 | 24 | 19 | 17 |
1966 | The Good, the Bad and the Ugly | 9 | 115 | 12 | 18 |
2006 | The Prestige | 48 | 26 | 16 | 19 |
1998 | American History X | 31 | 17 | 27 | 20 |
2012 | The Dark Knight Rises | 65 | 23 | 22 | 21 |
1997 | Life Is Beautiful | 25 | 16 | 41 | 22 |
1980 | Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back | 13 | 41 | 17 | 23 |
1994 | Leon: The Professional | 27 | 21 | 37 | 24 |
2002 | City of God | 21 | 64 | 20 | 25 |
1995 | Se7en | 22 | 28 | 23 | 26 |
2001 | Spirited Away | 28 | 13 | 56 | 27 |
1991 | The Silence of the Lambs | 23 | 20 | 33 | 28 |
2006 | The Departed | 40 | 35 | 26 | 29 |
1990 | Goodfellas | 17 | 71 | 18 | 30 |
2011 | The Intouchables | 37 | 19 | 52 | 31 |
2014 | Whiplash | 45 | 54 | 30 | 32 |
2000 | Gladiator | 46 | 44 | 24 | 33 |
2012 | Django Unchained | 60 | 29 | 31 | 34 |
2002 | The Pianist | 39 | 31 | 53 | 35 |
1946 | It’s a Wonderful Life | 24 | 56 | 51 | 36 |
1960 | Psycho | 34 | 55 | 40 | 37 |
1977 | Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope | 20 | 48 | 32 | 38 |
2009 | Inglourious Basterds | 97 | 32 | 43 | 39 |
1998 | Saving Private Ryan | 29 | 70 | 25 | 40 |
1995 | The Usual Suspects | 26 | 58 | 36 | 41 |
1999 | The Matrix | 18 | 62 | 21 | 42 |
2000 | Memento | 49 | 57 | 34 | 43 |
1942 | Casablanca | 36 | 73 | 42 | 44 |
1999 | American Beauty | 63 | 51 | 35 | 45 |
1985 | Back to the Future | 44 | 49 | 46 | 46 |
2001 | A Beautiful Mind | 144 | 34 | 68 | 47 |
1954 | Rear Window | 43 | 80 | 60 | 48 |
2000 | Requiem for a Dream | 80 | 50 | 49 | 49 |
2011 | Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 | 218 | 14 | 126 | 50 |
2006 | The Lives of Others | 58 | 86 | 78 | 51 |
2010 | Shutter Island | 177 | 39 | 59 | 52 |
2008 | WALL-E | 62 | 42 | 62 | 53 |
2004 | Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind | 87 | 38 | 66 | 54 |
1980 | The Shining | 61 | 61 | 47 | 55 |
1997 | Good Will Hunting | 102 | 60 | 48 | 56 |
1971 | A Clockwork Orange | 84 | 79 | 50 | 57 |
2001 | Amelie | 82 | 30 | 90 | 58 |
1954 | Seven Samurai | 19 | 336 | 39 | 59 |
1983 | Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi | 76 | 87 | 63 | 60 |
1992 | Reservoir Dogs | 77 | 94 | 64 | 61 |
2017 | Coco | 51 | 209 | 166 | 62 |
1988 | Cinema Paradiso | 54 | 165 | 97 | 63 |
1979 | Apocalypse Now | 50 | 219 | 38 | 64 |
1940 | The Great Dictator | 53 | 262 | 101 | 65 |
1950 | Sunset Boulevard | 55 | 190 | 108 | 66 |
1931 | City Lights | 35 | 294 | 92 | 67 |
1997 | Princess Mononoke | 64 | 118 | 100 | 68 |
2015 | Room | 143 | 82 | 139 | 69 |
2003 | Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl | > 250 | 36 | 113 | 70 |
2004 | Howl’s Moving Castle | 137 | 43 | 216 | 71 |
1962 | To Kill a Mockingbird | 89 | 102 | 135 | 72 |
2009 | Up | 115 | 37 | 117 | 73 |
2014 | Gone Girl | 179 | 81 | 70 | 74 |
2010 | Toy Story 3 | 98 | 66 | 82 | 75 |
1936 | Modern Times | 38 | 248 | 96 | 76 |
1988 | Grave of the Fireflies | 57 | 159 | 133 | 77 |
2006 | Pan’s Labyrinth | 130 | 74 | 91 | 78 |
2016 | Hacksaw Ridge | 175 | 161 | 124 | 79 |
1968 | 2001: A Space Odyssey | 91 | 195 | 54 | 80 |
2007 | Into the Wild | 181 | 84 | 95 | 81 |
1958 | Vertigo | 72 | 154 | 87 | 82 |
2015 | Inside Out | 140 | 78 | 107 | 83 |
2005 | Batman Begins | 116 | 106 | 58 | 84 |
1975 | Monty Python and the Holy Grail | 103 | 123 | 104 | 85 |
2009 | 3 Idiots | 93 | 203 | 93 | 86 |
2003 | Oldeuboi | 67 | 171 | 73 | 87 |
1964 | Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb | 56 | 236 | 57 | 88 |
1991 | Terminator 2 | 42 | 178 | 44 | 89 |
1959 | North by Northwest | 74 | 205 | 99 | 90 |
1968 | Once Upon a Time in the West | 33 | 447 | 55 | 91 |
1981 | Raiders of the Lost Ark | 41 | 131 | 65 | 92 |
1995 | Toy Story | 94 | 85 | 80 | 93 |
1952 | Singin’ in the Rain | 90 | 110 | 170 | 94 |
2016 | La La Land | 207 | 122 | 86 | 95 |
1979 | Alien | 52 | 151 | 67 | 96 |
1941 | Citizen Kane | 71 | 188 | 74 | 97 |
2002 | Catch Me if You Can | 219 | 97 | 81 | 98 |
1983 | Scarface | 105 | 181 | 69 | 99 |
1976 | Taxi Driver | 88 | 164 | 71 | 100 |
2014 | The Grand Budapest Hotel | 194 | 65 | 128 | 101 |
1987 | Full Metal Jacket | 92 | 177 | 83 | 102 |
2010 | How to Train Your Dragon | 176 | 47 | 165 | 103 |
1984 | Amadeus | 83 | 128 | 121 | 104 |
2007 | There Will Be Blood | 165 | 212 | 72 | 105 |
2012 | The Avengers | > 250 | 52 | 144 | 106 |
1984 | Once Upon a Time in America | 69 | 337 | 88 | 107 |
2013 | The Wolf of Wall Street | 150 | 158 | 45 | 108 |
2005 | V for Vendetta | 151 | 76 | 112 | 109 |
1939 | Gone With the Wind | 157 | 46 | 279 | 110 |
2003 | Kill Bill: Vol. 1 | 174 | 89 | 114 | 111 |
1995 | Braveheart | 75 | 141 | 61 | 112 |
2003 | Finding Nemo | 166 | 53 | 151 | 113 |
1999 | The Sixth Sense | 160 | 75 | 116 | 114 |
2011 | The Help | 241 | 33 | 245 | 115 |
2015 | Star Wars: The Force Awakens | > 250 | 92 | 154 | 116 |
2015 | Mad Max: Fury Road | 204 | 135 | 79 | 117 |
2000 | Snatch | 100 | 144 | 76 | 118 |
2016 | Dangal | 73 | 649 | 195 | 119 |
2016 | Zootopia | > 250 | 95 | 187 | 120 |
2001 | Donnie Darko | 226 | 91 | 122 | 121 |
2008 | Gran Torino | 158 | 121 | 120 | 122 |
1989 | Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade | 112 | 156 | 84 | 123 |
2012 | Jagten | 101 | 183 | 141 | 124 |
1988 | My Neighbor Totoro | 132 | 112 | 183 | 125 |
1996 | Trainspotting | 156 | 107 | 127 | 126 |
2013 | 12 Years a Slave | 201 | 100 | 131 | 127 |
1959 | Some Like It Hot | 118 | 124 | 186 | 128 |
1973 | The Sting | 95 | 284 | 143 | 129 |
2013 | Prisoners | 215 | 148 | 98 | 130 |
2017 | Logan | 202 | 193 | 103 | 131 |
2016 | Your Name | 79 | 399 | 190 | 132 |
2007 | Taare Zameen Par | 81 | 448 | 138 | 133 |
2011 | A Separation | 109 | 242 | 125 | 134 |
1997 | Titanic | > 250 | 45 | 188 | 135 |
2011 | Warrior | 154 | 213 | 134 | 136 |
2017 | Dunkirk | 236 | 192 | 145 | 137 |
2015 | Spotlight | 205 | 155 | 152 | 138 |
1986 | Stand by Me | 192 | 125 | 184 | 139 |
2014 | X-Men: Days of Future Past | > 250 | 113 | 159 | 140 |
2004 | Kill Bill: Vol. 2 | > 250 | 116 | 157 | 141 |
2014 | The Imitation Game | > 250 | 69 | 209 | 142 |
2010 | The King’s Speech | > 250 | 59 | 206 | 143 |
1986 | Aliens | 68 | 217 | 85 | 144 |
2004 | Downfall | 121 | 288 | 115 | 145 |
1998 | Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels | 142 | 199 | 130 | 146 |
1997 | L.A. Confidential | 106 | 225 | 94 | 147 |
2016 | Arrival | > 250 | 169 | 137 | 148 |
1957 | Paths of Glory | 59 | 704 | 109 | 149 |
2017 | Blade Runner 2049 | 147 | 368 | 102 | 150 |
1991 | Beauty and the Beast | 247 | 40 | 379 | 151 |
2014 | Guardians of the Galaxy | > 250 | 111 | 147 | 152 |
1962 | Lawrence of Arabia | 85 | 396 | 105 | 153 |
1993 | Jurassic Park | 198 | 150 | 118 | 154 |
1927 | Metropolis | 108 | 331 | 182 | 155 |
2016 | Deadpool | > 250 | 126 | 155 | 156 |
2012 | The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey | > 250 | 90 | 192 | 157 |
2001 | Monsters, Inc. | 224 | 77 | 196 | 158 |
1988 | Die Hard | 122 | 220 | 77 | 159 |
1989 | Dead Poets Society | 238 | 103 | 239 | 160 |
2010 | Black Swan | > 250 | 98 | 161 | 161 |
2015 | The Martian | > 250 | 134 | 160 | 162 |
1957 | Witness for the Prosecution | 66 | 476 | 229 | 163 |
2004 | Hotel Rwanda | 190 | 176 | 181 | 164 |
2009 | Star Trek | > 250 | 117 | 199 | 165 |
2013 | The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug | > 250 | 109 | 205 | 166 |
2009 | Hachi: A Dog’s Tale | 212 | 127 | 288 | 167 |
2017 | Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri | 111 | 351 | 204 | 168 |
1981 | Das Boot | 70 | 603 | 111 | 169 |
1995 | Heat | 123 | 332 | 89 | 170 |
1978 | The Deer Hunter | 159 | 346 | 153 | 171 |
1980 | The Elephant Man | 148 | 261 | 177 | 172 |
1931 | M | 78 | 465 | 167 | 173 |
1950 | All About Eve | 114 | 227 | 302 | 174 |
1921 | The Kid | 99 | 459 | 249 | 175 |
1944 | Double Indemnity | 86 | 433 | 169 | 176 |
2013 | Her | > 250 | 194 | 106 | 177 |
2009 | Mary and Max | 178 | 175 | 274 | 178 |
2017 | Thor: Ragnarok | > 250 | 200 | 260 | 179 |
2013 | Dallas Buyers Club | > 250 | 146 | 175 | 180 |
1960 | The Apartment | 107 | 322 | 189 | 181 |
2008 | In Bruges | > 250 | 239 | 140 | 182 |
1998 | The Truman Show | 206 | 132 | 149 | 183 |
2010 | Incendies | 131 | 300 | 253 | 184 |
1939 | The Wizard of Oz | 232 | 119 | 241 | 185 |
2008 | Slumdog Millionaire | > 250 | 99 | 191 | 186 |
2007 | No Country for Old Men | 162 | 244 | 75 | 187 |
1999 | The Boondock Saints | > 250 | 254 | 250 | 188 |
2009 | The Secret in Their Eyes | 135 | 265 | 198 | 189 |
2016 | Lion | > 250 | 170 | 332 | 190 |
2017 | Baahubali 2: The Conclusion | > 250 | 1170 | 343 | 191 |
2015 | The Revenant | > 250 | 214 | 129 | 192 |
2004 | Million Dollar Baby | 203 | 163 | 162 | 193 |
2005 | Babam ve Oglum | 117 | 526 | 291 | 194 |
1963 | The Great Escape | 126 | 479 | 174 | 195 |
1948 | Bicycle Thieves | 96 | 458 | 202 | 196 |
2004 | Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban | > 250 | 72 | 339 | 197 |
2006 | Blood Diamond | > 250 | 172 | 212 | 198 |
1993 | The Nightmare Before Christmas | > 250 | 105 | 318 | 199 |
1974 | Chinatown | 129 | 360 | 158 | 200 |
2012 | The Perks of Being a Wallflower | > 250 | 108 | 232 | 201 |
1990 | Edward Scissorhands | > 250 | 67 | 357 | 202 |
1949 | The Third Man | 127 | 484 | 224 | 203 |
2003 | Big Fish | > 250 | 133 | 226 | 204 |
2013 | Rush | 193 | 252 | 172 | 205 |
1954 | Dial M for Murder | 155 | 352 | 233 | 206 |
1995 | Before Sunrise | 211 | 179 | 228 | 207 |
1940 | Rebecca | 173 | 250 | 350 | 208 |
1992 | Unforgiven | 120 | 543 | 110 | 209 |
1979 | Life of Brian | 183 | 266 | 179 | 210 |
1998 | The Big Lebowski | 167 | 256 | 123 | 211 |
1992 | Aladdin | > 250 | 120 | 308 | 212 |
2000 | Amores Perros | 209 | 260 | 225 | 213 |
2007 | The Bourne Ultimatum | 234 | 235 | 156 | 214 |
2007 | Ratatouille | > 250 | 138 | 211 | 215 |
1996 | Fargo | 161 | 230 | 164 | 216 |
1995 | Twelve Monkeys | 245 | 238 | 163 | 217 |
1965 | For a Few Dollars More | 104 | 792 | 142 | 218 |
1980 | Raging Bull | 124 | 599 | 119 | 219 |
2005 | Serenity | > 250 | 208 | 295 | 220 |
1967 | Cool Hand Luke | 172 | 539 | 215 | 221 |
1969 | Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid | 210 | 421 | 231 | 222 |
1957 | The Bridge on the River Kwai | 138 | 581 | 180 | 223 |
1988 | Rain Man | > 250 | 182 | 217 | 224 |
1965 | The Sound of Music | > 250 | 101 | 516 | 225 |
1957 | The Seventh Seal | 141 | 462 | 223 | 226 |
1993 | In the Name of the Father | 188 | 408 | 268 | 227 |
2014 | Wild Tales | 185 | 323 | 282 | 228 |
1939 | Mr. Smith Goes to Washington | 145 | 466 | 297 | 229 |
2006 | The Pursuit of Happyness | > 250 | 185 | 220 | 230 |
1995 | Casino | 146 | 419 | 136 | 231 |
1987 | The Princess Bride | 214 | 136 | 298 | 232 |
1950 | Rashomon | 110 | 626 | 185 | 233 |
2008 | Iron Man | > 250 | 140 | 244 | 234 |
1975 | Dog Day Afternoon | > 250 | 417 | 252 | 235 |
2014 | PK | > 250 | 646 | 246 | 236 |
2005 | Sin City | > 250 | 231 | 148 | 237 |
1954 | On the Waterfront | 139 | 546 | 237 | 238 |
1982 | Gandhi | 227 | 370 | 221 | 239 |
2017 | Call Me by Your Name | 186 | 347 | 528 | 240 |
2011 | X: First Class | > 250 | 157 | 248 | 241 |
1948 | The Treasure of the Sierra Madre | 119 | 786 | 230 | 242 |
2014 | Kingsman: The Secret Service | > 250 | 174 | 259 | 243 |
2012 | Life of Pi | > 250 | 152 | 257 | 244 |
2016 | Captain America: Civil War | > 250 | 215 | 265 | 245 |
2005 | Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire | > 250 | 96 | 431 | 246 |
2004 | The Notebook | > 250 | 63 | 452 | 247 |
1976 | Rocky | 220 | 442 | 132 | 248 |
2013 | About Time | > 250 | 189 | 269 | 249 |
1977 | Annie Hall | 233 | 289 | 218 | 250 |
2003 | Mystic River | > 250 | 245 | 219 | 251 |
2011 | The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo | > 250 | 216 | 222 | 252 |
1992 | Scent of a Woman | > 250 | 276 | 255 | 253 |
2007 | Atonement | > 250 | 139 | 366 | 254 |
2011 | The Artist | > 250 | 197 | 325 | 255 |
2014 | Big Hero 6 | > 250 | 129 | 462 | 256 |
1986 | Platoon | 187 | 490 | 176 | 257 |
1984 | Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind | 213 | 378 | 301 | 258 |
1973 | The Exorcist | > 250 | 309 | 178 | 259 |
1925 | The Gold Rush | 136 | 684 | 306 | 260 |
1953 | Roman Holiday | > 250 | 206 | 426 | 261 |
1982 | The Thing | 163 | 528 | 146 | 262 |
1984 | The Terminator | 229 | 318 | 150 | 263 |
1985 | The Breakfast Club | > 250 | 137 | 391 | 264 |
2007 | Persepolis | > 250 | 291 | 477 | 265 |
2004 | Before Sunset | > 250 | 263 | 240 | 266 |
1959 | Ben-Hur | 195 | 481 | 227 | 267 |
1961 | Judgment at Nuremberg | 134 | 752 | 375 | 268 |
2013 | The Hunger Games: Catching Fire | > 250 | 83 | 525 | 269 |
2004 | The Incredibles | > 250 | 222 | 208 | 270 |
2000 | Remember the Titans | > 250 | 312 | 346 | 271 |
2001 | Shrek | > 250 | 143 | 323 | 272 |
1934 | It Happened One Night | 184 | 366 | 424 | 273 |
2001 | Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone | > 250 | 88 | 530 | 274 |
2006 | Casino Royale | > 250 | 282 | 200 | 275 |
2014 | Edge of Tomorrow | > 250 | 293 | 203 | 276 |
2014 | How to Train Your Dragon 2 | > 250 | 186 | 395 | 277 |
1941 | The Maltese Falcon | 216 | 541 | 271 | 278 |
2014 | Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) | > 250 | 299 | 168 | 279 |
1974 | Young Frankenstein | > 250 | 443 | 334 | 280 |
1957 | Wild Strawberries | 152 | 609 | 329 | 281 |
2001 | Ocean’s Eleven | > 250 | 221 | 262 | 282 |
2004 | Shaun of the Dead | > 250 | 233 | 261 | 283 |
1967 | The Graduate | > 250 | 285 | 254 | 284 |
2006 | The Fall | > 250 | 223 | 594 | 285 |
1995 | La Haine | 231 | 561 | 276 | 286 |
2006 | Little Miss Sunshine | > 250 | 149 | 349 | 287 |
2003 | Dogville | > 250 | 328 | 365 | 288 |
2015 | The Hateful Eight | > 250 | 411 | 171 | 289 |
2005 | Pride & Prejudice | > 250 | 68 | 754 | 290 |
2014 | Nightcrawler | > 250 | 380 | 173 | 291 |
1990 | Dances With Wolves | > 250 | 375 | 264 | 292 |
1986 | Castle in the Sky | 250 | 379 | 310 | 293 |
2010 | Tangled | > 250 | 93 | 599 | 294 |
1999 | The Iron Giant | > 250 | 418 | 312 | 295 |
2000 | In the Mood for Love | 240 | 358 | 423 | 296 |
2016 | Hidden Figures | > 250 | 180 | 651 | 297 |
2008 | Yip Man | > 250 | 744 | 214 | 298 |
1951 | Strangers on a Train | > 250 | 478 | 371 | 299 |
1948 | Rope | > 250 | 503 | 369 | 300 |
2009 | Moon | > 250 | 350 | 284 | 301 |
2016 | Manchester by the Sea | > 250 | 427 | 243 | 302 |
1951 | A Streetcar Named Desire | > 250 | 348 | 448 | 303 |
1986 | Ferris Bueller’s Day Off | > 250 | 255 | 303 | 304 |
2001 | Mulholland Drive | > 250 | 349 | 242 | 305 |
2014 | Captain America: The Winter Soldier | > 250 | 204 | 316 | 306 |
2009 | District 9 | > 250 | 324 | 193 | 307 |
1982 | Blade Runner | 149 | 341 | 197 | 308 |
1999 | Magnolia | > 250 | 444 | 194 | 309 |
1985 | Brazil | > 250 | 554 | 287 | 310 |
2002 | The Bourne Identity | > 250 | 298 | 256 | 311 |
2002 | Hero | > 250 | 492 | 355 | 312 |
2005 | Cinderella Man | > 250 | 495 | 286 | 313 |
2000 | Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon | > 250 | 354 | 313 | 314 |
1999 | Toy Story 2 | > 250 | 249 | 266 | 315 |
2013 | Star Trek: Into Darkness | > 250 | 191 | 417 | 316 |
1968 | Rosemary’s Baby | > 250 | 343 | 304 | 317 |
1946 | Notorious | > 250 | 500 | 450 | 318 |
1976 | Network | 191 | 720 | 273 | 319 |
2016 | Rogue One | > 250 | 283 | 337 | 320 |
1997 | Children of Heaven | 128 | 678 | 519 | 321 |
2007 | Hot Fuzz | > 250 | 259 | 331 | 322 |
1983 | A Christmas Story | > 250 | 415 | 377 | 323 |
2004 | Crash | > 250 | 226 | 336 | 324 |
2010 | Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 | > 250 | 104 | 696 | 325 |
1995 | Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge | > 250 | 902 | 437 | 326 |
2013 | Captain Phillips | > 250 | 270 | 340 | 327 |
2005 | Walk the Line | > 250 | 224 | 418 | 328 |
2017 | Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 | > 250 | 241 | 446 | 329 |
2007 | Elite Squad | > 250 | 974 | 307 | 330 |
1982 | E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial | > 250 | 246 | 370 | 331 |
2000 | Dancer in the Dark | > 250 | 400 | 447 | 332 |
1966 | Persona | 196 | 548 | 400 | 333 |
2009 | The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo | > 250 | 269 | 412 | 334 |
2008 | Let the Right One In | > 250 | 384 | 270 | 335 |
2014 | Boyhood | > 250 | 335 | 238 | 336 |
2012 | Barfi! | > 250 | 877 | 440 | 337 |
2009 | Mr. Nobody | > 250 | 253 | 434 | 338 |
1993 | True Romance | > 250 | 557 | 280 | 339 |
2010 | My Name Is Khan | > 250 | 535 | 517 | 340 |
2009 | The Hangover | > 250 | 258 | 247 | 341 |
1926 | The General | 153 | 891 | 381 | 342 |
2012 | Moonrise Kingdom | > 250 | 232 | 386 | 343 |
2012 | Les Miserables | > 250 | 168 | 499 | 344 |
1979 | Stalker | 197 | 767 | 347 | 345 |
2017 | Baby Driver | > 250 | 389 | 305 | 346 |
2012 | Silver Linings Playbook | > 250 | 237 | 251 | 347 |
2016 | Contratiempo | > 250 | 589 | 561 | 348 |
2004 | The Sea Inside | > 250 | 428 | 507 | 349 |
2006 | Apocalypto | > 250 | 364 | 373 | 350 |
1959 | The 400 Blows | 200 | 637 | 374 | 351 |
2017 | Get Out | > 250 | 344 | 314 | 352 |
1988 | Akira | > 250 | 882 | 267 | 353 |
1964 | Fistful of Dollars | > 250 | 950 | 278 | 354 |
2009 | The Blind Side | > 250 | 198 | 488 | 355 |
2008 | Taken | > 250 | 257 | 315 | 356 |
2008 | The Curious Case of Benjamin Button | > 250 | 211 | 320 | 357 |
2007 | The Diving Bell and the Butterfly | > 250 | 432 | 397 | 358 |
2011 | Drive | > 250 | 361 | 207 | 359 |
2003 | Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter… and Spring | > 250 | 572 | 416 | 360 |
1987 | The Untouchables | > 250 | 604 | 300 | 361 |
1944 | Arsenic and Old Lace | > 250 | 464 | 617 | 362 |
1996 | Sling Blade | > 250 | 715 | 464 | 363 |
2008 | The Boy in the Striped Pajamas | > 250 | 207 | 601 | 364 |
2002 | Talk to Her | > 250 | 394 | 430 | 365 |
1979 | Manhattan | > 250 | 508 | 359 | 366 |
2013 | Short Term 12 | > 250 | 474 | 529 | 367 |
2015 | Straight Outta Compton | > 250 | 513 | 459 | 368 |
2010 | Despicable Me | > 250 | 145 | 543 | 369 |
2000 | Almost Famous | > 250 | 320 | 322 | 370 |
1982 | Pink Floyd: The Wall | > 250 | 656 | 510 | 371 |
2006 | Children of Men | > 250 | 355 | 263 | 372 |
2014 | Ex Machina | > 250 | 362 | 272 | 373 |
1997 | Boogie Nights | > 250 | 660 | 213 | 374 |
2013 | Queen | > 250 | 1005 | 484 | 375 |
1973 | Papillon | > 250 | 831 | 354 | 376 |
2010 | Elite Squad: The Enemy Within | > 250 | 1116 | 352 | 377 |
2014 | The Theory of Everything | > 250 | 173 | 591 | 378 |
1940 | The Philadelphia Story | > 250 | 393 | 766 | 379 |
1940 | The Grapes of Wrath | 221 | 728 | 403 | 380 |
1971 | Harold and Maude | > 250 | 436 | 685 | 381 |
2016 | Captain Fantastic | > 250 | 363 | 505 | 382 |
1993 | What’s Eating Gilbert Grape | > 250 | 202 | 574 | 383 |
2003 | Memories of Murder | 199 | 916 | 330 | 384 |
2009 | Avatar | > 250 | 228 | 296 | 385 |
2002 | Infernal Affairs | 243 | 875 | 292 | 386 |
1994 | Three Colors: Red | > 250 | 644 | 415 | 387 |
1976 | All the President’s Men | > 250 | 755 | 420 | 388 |
2016 | The Handmaiden | 246 | 595 | 549 | 389 |
1955 | The Night of the Hunter | > 250 | 737 | 471 | 390 |
1995 | Underground | > 250 | 751 | 541 | 391 |
1990 | The Godfather: Part III | > 250 | 440 | 358 | 392 |
1984 | Paris, Texas | 244 | 736 | 455 | 393 |
2010 | The Fighter | > 250 | 452 | 283 | 394 |
1966 | Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? | > 250 | 537 | 565 | 395 |
2014 | The Fault in Our Stars | > 250 | 187 | 513 | 396 |
2005 | Brokeback Mountain | > 250 | 162 | 611 | 397 |
2007 | Chak de! India | > 250 | 1278 | 317 | 398 |
2006 | Lucky Number Slevin | > 250 | 416 | 363 | 399 |
1991 | JFK | > 250 | 847 | 324 | 400 |
1998 | The Legend of 1900 | 242 | 608 | 607 | 401 |
2017 | The Greatest Showman | > 250 | 272 | 972 | 402 |
2000 | O Brother, Where Art Thou? | > 250 | 401 | 387 | 403 |
2010 | The Social Network | > 250 | 414 | 201 | 404 |
1997 | Gattaca | > 250 | 356 | 390 | 405 |
2012 | Argo | > 250 | 243 | 409 | 406 |
1993 | Groundhog Day | 230 | 457 | 210 | 407 |
1962 | The Manchurian Candidate | > 250 | 849 | 506 | 408 |
1984 | This Is Spinal Tap | > 250 | 762 | 348 | 409 |
2013 | Frozen | > 250 | 130 | 692 | 410 |
1990 | Misery | > 250 | 402 | 466 | 411 |
2007 | The Man From Earth | > 250 | 764 | 290 | 412 |
1968 | Planet of the Apes | > 250 | 789 | 294 | 413 |
2000 | Cast Away | > 250 | 314 | 328 | 414 |
1998 | Black Cat, White Cat | > 250 | 676 | 605 | 415 |
1971 | Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory | > 250 | 333 | 496 | 416 |
1985 | Ran | 133 | 1207 | 234 | 417 |
2008 | Changeling | > 250 | 296 | 405 | 418 |
2006 | Rang De Basanti | 180 | 1218 | 236 | 419 |
1989 | Glory | > 250 | 768 | 427 | 420 |
1989 | Back to the Future Part II | > 250 | 374 | 338 | 421 |
2004 | The Bourne Supremacy | > 250 | 413 | 333 | 422 |
2006 | Letters From Iwo Jima | > 250 | 791 | 364 | 423 |
1952 | High Noon | > 250 | 890 | 407 | 424 |
1997 | The Fifth Element | > 250 | 247 | 546 | 425 |
2017 | Wonder Woman | > 250 | 196 | 706 | 426 |
1995 | Ghost in the Shell | > 250 | 917 | 361 | 427 |
1961 | Yojimbo | 113 | 1281 | 235 | 428 |
2015 | Bahubali: The Beginning | > 250 | 1491 | 393 | 429 |
2007 | Zodiac | > 250 | 435 | 275 | 430 |
1990 | Awakenings | > 250 | 467 | 559 | 431 |
1993 | Three Colors: Blue | > 250 | 552 | 603 | 432 |
1950 | Harvey | > 250 | 645 | 680 | 433 |
2014 | Fury | > 250 | 449 | 341 | 434 |
1993 | Philadelphia | > 250 | 277 | 644 | 435 |
1998 | The Celebration | > 250 | 785 | 404 | 436 |
1946 | The Big Sleep | > 250 | 750 | 489 | 437 |
1987 | Wings of Desire | > 250 | 622 | 638 | 438 |
2016 | Hunt for the Wilderpeople | > 250 | 605 | 701 | 439 |
1994 | Chungking Express | > 250 | 712 | 600 | 440 |
2012 | Kahaani | > 250 | 1212 | 478 | 441 |
1958 | Touch of Evil | 228 | 1008 | 356 | 442 |
2004 | Finding Neverland | > 250 | 240 | 570 | 443 |
2004 | The Machinist | > 250 | 330 | 438 | 444 |
1987 | Empire of the Sun | > 250 | 530 | 668 | 445 |
2012 | Wreck-It Ralph | > 250 | 281 | 458 | 446 |
1968 | Night of the Living Dead | > 250 | 837 | 385 | 447 |
1993 | Carlito’s Way | > 250 | 876 | 326 | 448 |
1996 | The Bandit | 171 | 1181 | 362 | 449 |
1997 | The Game | > 250 | 441 | 367 | 450 |
1946 | The Best Years of Our Lives | 239 | 772 | 604 | 451 |
2004 | Man on Fire | > 250 | 406 | 444 | 452 |
2014 | The Lego Movie | > 250 | 397 | 380 | 453 |
1964 | Mary Poppins | > 250 | 234 | 806 | 454 |
1959 | Anatomy of a Murder | > 250 | 864 | 515 | 455 |
1999 | Being John Malkovich | > 250 | 392 | 383 | 456 |
2015 | The Big Short | > 250 | 515 | 299 | 457 |
2008 | The Wrestler | > 250 | 621 | 289 | 458 |
1954 | La Strada | > 250 | 748 | 623 | 459 |
1999 | All About My Mother | > 250 | 405 | 712 | 460 |
2007 | 3:10 to Yuma | > 250 | 511 | 456 | 461 |
1975 | Barry Lyndon | 225 | 991 | 281 | 462 |
2009 | Fantastic Mr. Fox | > 250 | 423 | 445 | 463 |
1922 | Nosferatu | > 250 | 716 | 468 | 464 |
2017 | Wonder | > 250 | 577 | 862 | 465 |
2006 | The Last King of Scotland | > 250 | 455 | 535 | 466 |
1980 | The Blues Brothers | > 250 | 687 | 372 | 467 |
2012 | Skyfall | > 250 | 295 | 401 | 468 |
1997 | As Good as It Gets | > 250 | 367 | 396 | 469 |
1955 | Diabolique | 223 | 910 | 534 | 470 |
2016 | Kubo and the Two Strings | > 250 | 600 | 616 | 471 |
1972 | Solaris | > 250 | 996 | 429 | 472 |
2013 | Before Midnight | > 250 | 453 | 449 | 473 |
1989 | Kiki’s Delivery Service | > 250 | 357 | 674 | 474 |
1994 | Ed Wood | > 250 | 545 | 384 | 475 |
1960 | La Dolce Vita | > 250 | 793 | 512 | 476 |
1993 | The Fugitive | > 250 | 569 | 392 | 477 |
1967 | Bonnie and Clyde | > 250 | 648 | 501 | 478 |
1996 | Primal Fear | > 250 | 426 | 578 | 479 |
2002 | Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets | > 250 | 142 | 831 | 480 |
1999 | The Insider | > 250 | 863 | 378 | 481 |
2004 | 3-Iron | > 250 | 651 | 719 | 482 |
1965 | Doctor Zhivago | > 250 | 714 | 577 | 483 |
1927 | Sunrise | 164 | 995 | 633 | 484 |
2009 | Zombieland | > 250 | 329 | 414 | 485 |
2001 | Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India | 249 | 1190 | 293 | 486 |
1993 | Tombstone | > 250 | 794 | 526 | 487 |
2008 | Departures | > 250 | 731 | 613 | 488 |
2009 | (500) Days of Summer | > 250 | 310 | 345 | 489 |
1969 | Midnight Cowboy | > 250 | 818 | 502 | 490 |
1961 | Breakfast at Tiffany’s | > 250 | 210 | 802 | 491 |
2007 | Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix | > 250 | 147 | 837 | 492 |
2004 | The Butterfly Effect | > 250 | 303 | 428 | 493 |
2003 | 21 Grams | > 250 | 410 | 500 | 494 |
2016 | Doctor Strange | > 250 | 287 | 556 | 495 |
2009 | Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince | > 250 | 160 | 846 | 496 |
1953 | Stalag 17 | > 250 | 1059 | 642 | 497 |
1962 | What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? | > 250 | 585 | 793 | 498 |
2007 | Once | > 250 | 463 | 487 | 499 |
2013 | Mandariinid | > 250 | 666 | 865 | 500 |
The top 100 largely includes films from the original list of 250, and the additions to the list — there are a lot of best picture winners among the newbies — appear mainly in the back half of the 250.
Attempting to reflect a target population is a common practice in many fields that use surveys. It’s not clear to me why movie rating sites don’t do it — or, at the least, why they don’t indicate that their scores are almost all based mostly on the opinions of male users.