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Rotten Tomatoes’ “300 Best Movies of All Time” guide ranks The Godfather first, followed by Seven Samurai and Casablanca. The list is an editorial recommendation ranking—not a simple sort by critics’ scores—and its displayed top 20 span films released from 1936 to 2022.
Rotten Tomatoes’ top 20 highest-rated movies
The positions, release years and Tomatometer percentages below are those displayed in Rotten Tomatoes’ “300 Best Movies of All Time” guide, credited to Alex Vo and marked updated December 15, 2025. The order was verified October 8, 2026; scores and rankings can change, so consult the live guide for its current listing.
| Rank | Movie | Release year | Tomatometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Godfather | 1972 | 97% |
| 2 | Seven Samurai | 1954 | 100% |
| 3 | Casablanca | 1942 | 99% |
| 4 | Rear Window | 1954 | 99% |
| 5 | L.A. Confidential | 1997 | 99% |
| 6 | On the Waterfront | 1954 | 99% |
| 7 | Chinatown | 1974 | 98% |
| 8 | Modern Times | 1936 | 98% |
| 9 | The Battle of Algiers | 1966 | 99% |
| 10 | Schindler’s List | 1993 | 98% |
| 11 | 12 Angry Men | 1957 | 100% |
| 12 | All About Eve | 1950 | 99% |
| 13 | Parasite | 2019 | 99% |
| 14 | Singin’ in the Rain | 1952 | 100% |
| 15 | Stop Making Sense | 1984 | 100% |
| 16 | Sunset Boulevard | 1950 | 98% |
| 17 | Toy Story | 1995 | 100% |
| 18 | The Third Man | 1949 | 99% |
| 19 | Toy Story 2 | 1999 | 100% |
| 20 | Top Gun: Maverick | 2022 | 96% |
How are the movies ranked?
Rotten Tomatoes describes the guide as a recommendation list built from several inputs, not a ranking determined solely by the displayed Tomatometer. The publisher says every film included is Certified Fresh. Its formula uses critics’ Tomatometer scores alongside audience Popcornmeter votes, the number of critic reviews and audience votes, and release year; minimum thresholds apply, and an editorial pass fine-tunes the final order. Rotten Tomatoes explains the methodology on its guide.
That distinction explains why The Godfather is first at 97%, while Seven Samurai is second despite a displayed 100%. The percentage is the Tomatometer value shown for each film, not a full explanation of its position. The guide’s ranking extract does not provide individual Popcornmeter scores for these 20 films, so those audience scores cannot be inferred from the table.
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What the list shows
- The selection covers 86 years of releases, from Charlie Chaplin’s Modern Times (1936) to Top Gun: Maverick (2022).
- Five titles display a 100% Tomatometer: Seven Samurai, 12 Angry Men, Singin’ in the Rain, Stop Making Sense, Toy Story and Toy Story 2. (There are six.)
- The Godfather holds the guide’s top position even though several lower-ranked films show higher Tomatometer percentages.
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