16 Wes Anderson Movies, Including The Phoenician Scheme, Ranked by Tomatometer

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar is the highest-rated title in Rotten Tomatoes’ current Wes Anderson ranking, with a 95% Tomatometer score. Moonrise Kingdom and Fantastic Mr. Fox follow at 93%, while The Phoenician Scheme sits at number nine with 77%.

This is a ranking of 16 Anderson movies, but it needs one qualification: Rotten Tomatoes’ list combines 13 feature films with three 2023 short-film adaptations of Roald Dahl stories. The scores therefore reflect aggregated critical reception within the guide’s scope—not an objective or universal verdict on Anderson’s best work. Scores and review counts can change.

#1 Best Overall

Sale

The Grand Budapest Hotel (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray]

• Grand Budapest Hotel

$32.28

Buy on Amazon

Wes Anderson movies ranked by Tomatometer

1. The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (2023) — 95%
2. Moonrise Kingdom (2012) — 93%
3. Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009) — 93%
4. The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) — 92%
5. Isle of Dogs (2018) — 90%
6. Rushmore (1998) — 90%
7. Bottle Rocket (1996) — 86%
8. The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) — 81%
9. The Phoenician Scheme (2025) — 77%
10. Asteroid City (2023) — 76%
11. The French Dispatch (2021) — 75%
12. The Rat Catcher (2023) — 100%
13. The Swan (2023) — 95%
14. Poison (2023) — 94%
15. The Darjeeling Limited (2007) — 69%
16. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004) — 57%

1. The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (2023) — 95%

Anderson’s adaptation of Roald Dahl’s story leads the ranking. Its compact running time and theatrical storytelling give Anderson an especially natural fit for the material: a fable-like plot, nested performances, carefully controlled sets, and a narrator-driven structure. It is one of the three 2023 Dahl adaptations in the list, but unlike the other two short films, it occupies the top feature-film position.

2. Moonrise Kingdom (2012) — 93%

This warm, whimsical coming-of-age story follows two young outsiders who run away together on a New England island. Its precise visual design is balanced by a surprisingly tender treatment of loneliness, first love, family, and adult responsibility. The 93% score places it level with Fantastic Mr. Fox, but the films appeal through very different kinds of Andersonian storytelling.

3. Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009) — 93%

Anderson’s first stop-motion feature adapts Dahl’s animal fable into a fast, funny, and unusually tactile family film. The handmade animation, dry dialogue, and story about a fox trying to reconcile domestic responsibility with his old instincts give it broad multigenerational appeal. Its high Tomatometer score also shows that the ranking’s top tier is not limited to live-action Anderson films.

4. The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) — 92%

This ornate European caper combines elaborate miniature-like production design with a melancholy story about friendship, loyalty, political violence, and a disappearing world. The concierge Gustave H. and lobby boy Zero provide the emotional center beneath the precision choreography. It is among Anderson’s most accessible films, but its bright surfaces conceal a darker historical undercurrent.

5. Isle of Dogs (2018) — 90%

Another stop-motion feature, Isle of Dogs is set in the fictional Japanese city of Megasaki, where dogs are exiled to a garbage island. The film’s constructed environments and deadpan ensemble comedy are recognizably Andersonian, while its premise allows for a more overt political and dystopian dimension. Its 90% score places it alongside Rushmore.

Rank #2

Sale

The Royal Tenenbaums (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray]

• Factory sealed DVD

$27.99

Buy on Amazon

6. Rushmore (1998) — 90%

Rushmore is the cult coming-of-age comedy that helped establish Anderson’s feature-film identity. Jason Schwartzman plays the intensely ambitious student Max Fischer, with Bill Murray as a wealthy, emotionally adrift adult drawn into Max’s orbit. The film’s comic antagonism gradually becomes a story about humility, friendship, and learning to participate in ordinary life.

7. Bottle Rocket (1996) — 86%

Anderson’s first feature, co-created with Owen and Luke Wilson, is a low-key crime comedy about friends whose plans for a life of crime exceed their abilities. It is less formally elaborate than the later films, but the essential ingredients are already visible: eccentric friendships, carefully timed deadpan humor, romantic idealism, and characters who mistake their private fantasies for a workable plan.

8. The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) — 81%

This adult family comedy centers on the estranged Tenenbaum family and its self-involved patriarch, Royal. The ensemble includes several damaged former prodigies, and the film’s comedy is repeatedly interrupted by grief, regret, and the possibility of reconciliation. Rotten Tomatoes’ editorial notes particularly praise Gene Hackman’s performance. At 81%, it ranks above The Phoenician Scheme, though the 4-point difference should not be mistaken for a precise measurement of artistic quality.

9. The Phoenician Scheme (2025) — 77%

The Phoenician Scheme is the newest feature in the ranking and the film this list uses as its reference point. Its 77% Tomatometer score places it just below The Royal Tenenbaums and just above Asteroid City at 76%. Rotten Tomatoes’ individual film page reports that score from 303 critic reviews, alongside a 70% Popcornmeter audience score from more than 1,000 verified ratings. Those figures are current snapshots and may change as the page updates.

Anderson directed the film and wrote it with the story co-written by Roman Coppola. The plot follows Anatole “Zsa-zsa” Korda, a ruthless and unscrupulous European businessman who survives another assassination attempt while pursuing a major business project. He appoints his estranged daughter, Liesl—a nun—as his successor, then sets off with Liesl and his tutor Bjorn on a globe-trotting mission.

Rank #3

Sale

The Darjeeling Limited (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray]

$25.34

Buy on Amazon

Benicio del Toro plays Korda, with Mia Threapleton as Liesl and Michael Cera as Bjorn. The supporting cast includes Tom Hanks, Bryan Cranston, Riz Ahmed, Mathieu Amalric, Jeffrey Wright, Scarlett Johansson, Richard Ayoade, Rupert Friend, Hope Davis, and Benedict Cumberbatch. Rotten Tomatoes classifies the film as comedy, drama, mystery and thriller, action, and crime. It is rated PG-13 for violent content, bloody images, some sexual material, nude images, and smoking throughout.

Focus Features announced a U.S. limited release beginning May 30, 2025, followed by a wide expansion on June 6. Universal Pictures Home Entertainment later announced digital rental and ownership availability beginning July 8, 2025, through participating retailers, including Apple TV, Fandango at Home, Comcast Xfinity, Cox, Microsoft Movies & TV, and Movies Anywhere. The 4K UHD, Blu-ray, and DVD editions were announced for July 29, 2025.

If you want a physical copy, The Phoenician Scheme 4K UHD is the premium option, while Blu-ray and DVD are alternatives for different equipment and budgets. Universal’s home-video announcement lists a 1.47:1 aspect ratio, a 1-hour, 56-minute runtime for the physical editions, and bonus material including behind-the-scenes coverage, “The Airplane,” “Marseille Bob’s,” and “Zsa-zsa’s World.” Check the retailer listing before buying: prices, stock, bonus-feature packaging, and availability vary by territory and can change.

For digital viewing, Rotten Tomatoes identifies Fandango as a rental or purchase option, while Universal lists the participating retailers above. Search your local retailer for where to watch The Phoenician Scheme because availability is geography- and date-dependent.

10. Asteroid City (2023) — 76%

Asteroid City is a formally arranged science-fiction story set around a junior stargazer convention. Its layered theatrical presentation, shifting levels of performance, and deliberately artificial desert setting make it one of Anderson’s most self-conscious films. At 76%, it trails The Phoenician Scheme by only one percentage point—too narrow a gap to support a strong claim that one is definitively better received in every respect.

11. The French Dispatch (2021) — 75%

This anthology-style film is an ode to journalism in a fictional French city. Rather than following one continuous plot, it moves through several stories connected by a magazine and its staff. The result is dense, episodic, and visually inventive, with each segment using a different comic or dramatic register. Its 75% score places it immediately below Asteroid City and The Phoenician Scheme.

Rank #4

Sale

Rushmore (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray]

• Factory sealed DVD

$25.34

Buy on Amazon

12. The Rat Catcher (2023) — 100%

The Rat Catcher is one of Anderson’s 2023 short adaptations of Roald Dahl. Its perfect Tomatometer percentage looks impressive, but Rotten Tomatoes notes that no critics consensus is available. It is therefore not directly comparable with a feature supported by a larger and potentially different review sample. Its placement at number 12 demonstrates why the list should be read as an editorial ranking with mixed formats, not a simple score-sorted list of equivalent releases.

13. The Swan (2023) — 95%

Also adapted from Dahl, The Swan is a short film rather than a feature-length release. Rotten Tomatoes lists it at 95% and, like The Rat Catcher, notes that no critics consensus is available. Its numerical score is higher than those of several features ranked above it, but the difference in format and review context makes a direct comparison misleading.

14. Poison (2023) — 94%

The third Dahl short in the ranking, Poison has a 94% Tomatometer score and no available critics consensus according to Rotten Tomatoes’ editorial notes. It appears below The Swan and The Rat Catcher in the guide despite its high percentage, reinforcing that the published order is not simply a descending list of raw Tomatometer numbers.

15. The Darjeeling Limited (2007) — 69%

The Darjeeling Limited follows three estranged brothers traveling by train through India. The journey becomes an attempt to repair a family relationship while each brother carries his own grief and resentment. Its 69% score is lower than the other narrative features in this ranking except The Life Aquatic, but viewers drawn to Anderson’s travelogue structure and sibling dramas may find it a particularly useful companion to The Royal Tenenbaums.

16. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004) — 57%

The lowest-ranked feature is a maritime adventure about oceanographer Steve Zissou, who pursues the shark that killed a crew member. Its comic expedition framework, melancholy hero, and meticulously designed crew and vessel have become distinctive parts of Anderson’s filmography. The 57% score indicates a more divided critical reception than the other features on this list, not that the film lacks a committed audience or recognizable Andersonian personality.

Best Value

Sale

Bottle Rocket (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray]

• Shrink-wrapped

$32.28

Buy on Amazon

What this ranking actually tells us

The top of the list favors films that combine Anderson’s formal control with an emotionally legible central story: Dahl’s fable in Henry Sugar, young love in Moonrise Kingdom, family and instinct in Fantastic Mr. Fox, and friendship amid historical upheaval in The Grand Budapest Hotel. The lower half includes more divisive or structurally demanding features, as well as the three shorts that distort a straightforward comparison.

The most important close comparison is the middle of the table. The Phoenician Scheme at 77%, Asteroid City at 76%, and The French Dispatch at 75% are effectively a cluster rather than three widely separated tiers. Tomatometer percentages summarize the proportion of positive reviews; they do not measure the size of each critic’s praise, the film’s influence, audience fit, ambition, or lasting reputation.

For a first Anderson watch, the safest entry points from this ranking are The Grand Budapest Hotel, Moonrise Kingdom, Fantastic Mr. Fox, and Rushmore. Choose The Phoenician Scheme if you want the newest feature and a globe-trotting family-business caper. Choose The French Dispatch or Asteroid City if you prefer fragmented, highly theatrical structures. For a shorter introduction, the 2023 Dahl films are concise options—but they should be treated as shorts, not substitutes for the feature films in the ranking.

How to explore the catalog at home

For the newest film, digital rental and purchase options and physical editions may differ by country and retailer. For Anderson’s earlier work, the Criterion Collection’s official catalog includes individual physical releases and The Wes Anderson Archive: Ten Films, Twenty-Five Years Collector’s Set. That collector’s set should not be described as including The Phoenician Scheme; it covers earlier work listed by Criterion. Verify the included titles, format, region, and current availability before purchasing.