The Dark Knight is the strongest all-around Batman movie, but “every Batman movie” depends on what counts. This ranking covers major full-length films in which Batman is the central character, across live action and animation. It leaves out the 1943 and 1949 theatrical serials, shorts, television episodes repackaged for home video, and films in which Batman is a supporting character. Because DC’s live-action and animated guides use different boundaries—and the animated catalog spans many continuities—this is a ranked guide to the major Batman-led features, not a claim to be a definitive catalog of every release.
How this Batman movie ranking works
The order weighs how clearly each film understands Batman, the strength of its storytelling and craft, its Gotham and villains, and how distinctly its choices hold together. These are editorial judgments, not scores from a review aggregator. Live-action and animated films are ranked together for readers looking for one watchlist, but the formats and continuities are not interchangeable: the animated movies do not form one continuous story.
That boundary matters. DC’s live-action guide includes appearances and films where Batman has a major role, while its animated guide focuses on full-length movies led by Batman and treats supporting appearances separately. TIME’s 2022 ranking covered 16 films, including the 2021 cut of Zack Snyder’s Justice League; GamesRadar+’s August 2025 list used a narrower live-action theatrical scope and excluded animated theatrical releases, director’s cuts, and films where Batman is not the main focus. Both placed The Dark Knight first, a useful point of agreement between two different lists—not an objective verdict.
Batman movies ranked, from best to worst
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The Dark Knight (2008)
Christopher Nolan’s crime-thriller approach gives Batman a moral crisis as gripping as the physical threat posed by the Joker. Its tightly wound escalation, memorable supporting performances, and Heath Ledger’s Joker make it the most complete blend of character study, spectacle, and Gotham story. TIME and GamesRadar+ also put it first in their respective rankings.
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Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993)
This animated feature gets unusually close to Bruce Wayne’s private cost: the life he might have had, the promise he made, and the mission that keeps him from leaving it behind. Its emotional story and noir atmosphere make it one of the clearest expressions of Batman’s character, not merely a strong animated spin-off.
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Batman Begins (2005)
Nolan’s origin story makes fear, discipline, and detective work central to Bruce Wayne’s transformation. The film gives Gotham a convincing texture and explains why Batman’s methods matter before turning the origin into a larger action spectacle.
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The Batman (2022)
Matt Reeves, who co-wrote the film with Peter Craig, builds a grim detective story around a young Batman still learning what his symbol means. Robert Pattinson’s performance, the rain-soaked Gotham setting, and the investigation give this version a distinct identity. It opened theatrically on March 4, 2022.
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Batman: Under the Red Hood (2010)
This animated story presses Batman’s no-kill rule against its most painful consequence: a former ally returns with a radically different answer to crime. The personal conflict gives the film momentum, while its action remains in service of a difficult choice rather than spectacle alone.
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Batman Returns (1992)
Tim Burton’s gothic sequel is stranger and more theatrical than its predecessor, with Gotham itself seeming to share the characters’ damage. Michelle Pfeiffer’s Catwoman and Danny DeVito’s Penguin make it an unusually rich ensemble, even when the film’s excesses threaten to overwhelm Batman’s own story.
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The Dark Knight Returns, Part 2 (2013)
The second half of the animated adaptation delivers the confrontation between an aging Batman, a city that has changed around him, and the adversaries who define his return. Its hard-edged tone and forceful climax land best after Part 1, which establishes the story’s stakes.
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The Dark Knight Returns, Part 1 (2012)
This animated feature makes age and physical decline part of the Batman story instead of treating them as obstacles to ignore. It is a deliberate setup rather than a complete arc on its own, but it gives Bruce’s return to the streets a compelling sense of consequence.
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The Lego Batman Movie (2017)
Under the jokes and rapid-fire references is a thoughtful story about Batman’s isolation and fear of relying on other people. The film’s playful tone is a feature, not a distraction: it lets the movie tease familiar Batman habits while still giving Bruce a meaningful emotional arc.
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Batman: The Movie (1966)
Adapted from the campier television version of Batman, this theatrical adventure embraces colorful absurdity rather than trying to be a definitive dramatic portrait. Its broad humor and knowingly silly gadgets make it one of the most distinctive entries—and a poor fit for viewers expecting a dark crime story.
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Batman (1989)
Burton’s film established a striking gothic look for the character on the big screen and gave Gotham a visual identity of its own. Jack Nicholson’s Joker is the dominant presence, though, and the film’s stylized approach to Batman is more compelling as atmosphere than as a deep exploration of Bruce Wayne.
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Batman: The Return of the Joker (2000)
This animated feature uses a future setting to explore how Batman’s legacy affects the next generation. The clash with the Joker gives the story a strong hook, while its focus on a successor adds a different angle to the familiar Batman-Joker rivalry.
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Batman: Year One (2011)
A grounded animated origin that shares its attention between Bruce Wayne’s early days as Batman and James Gordon’s arrival in Gotham. Its restrained style suits the story, though the dual focus leaves less room for the kind of expansive, singular Batman portrait found higher in this ranking.
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Batman: The Long Halloween, Part Two (2021)
The second installment pays off the investigation and shifting alliances built in the first, keeping Batman’s detective role at the center of a crowded crime story. It is best watched as a two-part film, since the division interrupts a mystery designed to unfold across both parts.
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Batman: The Long Halloween, Part One (2021)
This opening chapter sets up a year-spanning murder investigation and the criminal power struggle around Gotham. The mystery and period-noir mood are engaging, but it is intentionally incomplete until the second part.
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Batman: Soul of the Dragon (2021)
A martial-arts adventure that takes Batman into a more stylized, retro action mode. Its unusual setting and genre shift help it stand apart, even if the story’s supporting characters and action rhythms do more of the work than a deep examination of Bruce Wayne.
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Batman Ninja (2018)
Moving Batman and his allies into a feudal-Japan setting gives the film a bold visual premise and a fresh kind of spectacle. Its heightened style is memorable, but the story’s escalating excess can make it less satisfying for viewers who want a tightly grounded Batman mystery.
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Batman Forever (1995)
Joel Schumacher’s first Batman film is bright, fast, and deliberately more comic-book theatrical than Burton’s movies. Val Kilmer offers a thoughtful Bruce Wayne, but the crowded villain plot and glossy tone often pull attention away from him.
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Batman: Bad Blood (2016)
This animated ensemble expands the circle of Gotham heroes and asks what happens when Batman disappears. The wider cast makes for a lively team story, though it leaves less room for Batman himself than the strongest solo-focused features.
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Batman & Robin (1997)
The film commits fully to a bright, toy-box version of Gotham, with broad performances and an avalanche of visual jokes. That deliberate camp has its fans, but the crowded plot and thin character work make it one of the least cohesive Batman-led features.
Major Batman appearances outside the solo ranking
These theatrical films give Batman a substantial role, but he shares the story with other heroes, so they are not ranked alongside Batman-led features.
- Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016): Batman is central to the conflict, but the film is built around a clash between two heroes and a larger shared-universe setup.
- Justice League (2017): Batman is a major member of an ensemble rather than the sole lead.
- Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021): A separate, longer cut of the ensemble story; it was included in TIME’s 2022 ranking, but it is not a Batman solo feature.
Animated crossover films and ensemble features in which Batman is a supporting player also sit outside the main order. DC’s animated film guide lists these separately from its Batman-led feature group. The animated films belong to different story worlds—including the DCAU, DCAMU, Tomorrowverse, LEGO continuities, Ninjaverse, and the Adam West animated pair—so release order should not be mistaken for one continuous Batman chronology.
Why the serials and TV compilations are not ranked here
The 1943 and 1949 theatrical serials tell their stories in chapters, a different format from feature films. Shorts are not full-length features, and an episode compilation released on home video was not necessarily conceived as a standalone movie. DC’s animated guide explicitly distinguishes full-length animated movies from shorts, serials, and television episodes repackaged as movies. A list that includes every such release would need to catalogue those formats separately rather than quietly mixing them into a feature-film ranking.
Choosing a Batman movie by mood
- For a crime thriller: Start with The Dark Knight or The Batman.
- For Bruce Wayne’s origin: Choose Batman Begins.
- For a character-focused animated story: Watch Mask of the Phantasm or Under the Red Hood.
- For gothic fantasy: Try Batman Returns.
- For comedy and family-friendly adventure: Choose The Lego Batman Movie.
- For deliberate camp: Go with Batman: The Movie (1966), or Batman & Robin if you want the most extravagant version.
A four-film home-video collection is a convenient starting set, not a complete Batman filmography. Warner Bros. catalogs DVD, Blu-ray, and 4K UHD releases, including a Batman/Batman Returns two-disc pack; Target has listed a Batman Collection: 4 Film Favorites and an 18-film collection. Editions and availability vary by retailer and region, so check the included titles for the specific release.
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