For a first pick, start with Working Girl for Weaver’s coolly funny edge, Aliens for her defining action performance, or The Ice Storm for an ensemble drama. This ranking weighs each film’s quality, the distinctiveness of Weaver’s performance, and the role’s importance to her career. It is a critic’s selection, not a consensus list; viewers drawn to comedy or drama may prefer a different order.
How this ranking is organized
Sigourney Weaver is best known to many viewers as Ellen Ripley, but her screen work ranges from horror and action to comedy, biographical drama, ensemble films, and voice acting. The list balances the strength of each film with Weaver’s contribution and its place in her career. For a different critical perspective, Peter Bradshaw’s Guardian retrospective, published in 2021 and updated in 2023, ranks 20 films and places Working Girl first. It is one critic’s assessment, not an audience poll.
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
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| 1 |
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Alien | $7.99 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
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Legal Eagles [DVD] | $7.46 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
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Saw: 8-Film Collection - DVD | $25.00 | Buy on Amazon |
| 4 |
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Call Jane | Elizabeth Banks, Sigourney Weaver | $14.90 | Buy on Amazon |
| 5 |
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Aliens: Special Edition | $3.99 | Buy on Amazon |
The 15 best Sigourney Weaver movies
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Working Girl (1988)
Weaver makes Katharine Parker’s poise and ambition a comic force in this workplace story. The role shows how much tension she can create without raising her voice, and how deftly she can turn a polished public image into part of the joke. Peter Bradshaw also places the film at the top of his Guardian ranking. The Golden Globes record lists Weaver’s 1989 win for the film in the supporting-actress category.
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Aliens (1986)
James Cameron shifts the first film’s claustrophobic horror toward action, but Weaver keeps Ripley’s fear, resolve, and protective instincts at the center. Her performance makes the scale of the action matter emotionally. Weaver received an Academy Award nomination and a Golden Globe nomination for the role.
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Alien (1979)
Weaver’s motion-picture debut introduced Ripley, a crew member who becomes the story’s indispensable survivor. The film’s patient suspense gives her performance room to register intelligence and alarm before the danger becomes unavoidable. She returned to Ripley in three sequels, making this the starting point for one of the defining roles of her career.
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Alien 3 (1992)
In David Fincher’s bleak continuation, Ripley arrives at a prison colony with little hope of rescue. Weaver’s performance turns the character’s isolation and sacrifice into the film’s emotional core. She also received a co-producer credit, marking a role in shaping the project beyond acting.
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Alien: Resurrection (1997)
The fourth Ripley film takes the character into stranger, more stylized territory. Weaver plays a version of Ripley changed by the events that precede the story, giving this chapter a different texture from the original’s survival horror and Aliens’ action. Together, the four films show how the same character could anchor very different kinds of science fiction.
Rank #2
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The Ice Storm (1997)
Ang Lee’s ensemble drama examines two suburban families during the 1970s. As Janey Carver, Weaver contributes to a portrait of adults whose composure conceals loneliness and discontent. The Television Academy records a BAFTA win and award nominations for her performance, making this an especially strong dramatic counterpoint to Ripley.
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Gorillas in the Mist (1988)
Weaver portrays primatologist Dian Fossey in this biographical drama based on Fossey’s life. The performance demands a different kind of intensity from her science-fiction roles: its force comes from Fossey’s commitment to her work and the costs that commitment brings. Weaver won a 1989 Golden Globe for the film in the drama-actress category and received an Academy Award nomination.
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Galaxy Quest (1999)
As Gwen DeMarco, Weaver sends up the familiar conventions of science-fiction television while still giving the character warmth and agency. The joke works especially well because Weaver herself is so closely associated with serious science-fiction roles. It is a witty choice for viewers who want her comic side without leaving the genre.
Rank #3
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Heartbreakers (2001)
This caper comedy pairs Weaver’s polished screen presence with a mother-daughter con-artist setup. She leans into the pleasure of performance and deception, making the role a lively change of pace from the dramatic parts that often define her reputation.
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A Map of the World (1999)
Weaver plays Alice Goodwin, a woman whose life is upended by a crisis in her community. The drama depends on the pressure of judgment and uncertainty rather than spectacle, and Weaver anchors it with a restrained, vulnerable performance. The Television Academy notes critical praise for her work and a Golden Globe nomination.
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Baby Mama (2008)
In this comedy, Weaver has a sharp supporting turn as the executive of a surrogacy agency. She makes the smaller role memorable through precise comic timing, offering a compact example of how effectively she can shift from commanding lead to scene-stealing supporting player.
Rank #4
Call Jane | Elizabeth Banks, Sigourney Weaver- DVD Movies, DVD TV Shows
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Ghostbusters (1984)
As Dana Barrett, Weaver brings dry humor and a supernatural predicament to a broad ensemble comedy. The performance is a useful reminder that her screen persona is not limited to stern authority or high-stakes drama: she can be playful while still grounding an absurd situation.
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WALL-E (2008)
Weaver voices the ship’s computer in Pixar’s largely wordless animated film. It is a compact performance, but a pleasing echo of her science-fiction legacy: once again, her voice helps give a machine a distinct presence without making it human in the ordinary sense.
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Avatar (2009)
Weaver plays scientist Grace Augustine in James Cameron’s science-fiction epic. The part connects her long history in the genre to a new franchise, while giving her a pragmatic, intellectually driven character distinct from Ripley.
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The Year of Living Dangerously (1982)
In Peter Weir’s political romance, Weaver plays Jill Bryant, an early dramatic role that predates the action-icon years. It rounds out the list with a different kind of screen presence: less about combat or comedy than the personal choices made amid political upheaval.
Where to begin
Choose by mood and performance type: Alien for tense horror, Aliens for action, Working Girl or Galaxy Quest for comedy, and The Ice Storm or A Map of the World for drama. To follow Weaver’s career in order, begin with Alien, then watch the other three Ripley films before moving into her later comedies and dramas.
Quick Recap
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