Movie genres

Movie Genres: All 21 Genres by Size, Ratings & Box Office

Q: How many movie genres are there?

What's After the Movie groups films into 21 main genres, from Action to Western. Film Noir, Short and Kids are smaller genres with their own pages. Labels such as TV Movie, Reality-TV or Talk-Show are formats, not film genres, and are not counted.

Q: What is the most common movie genre?

Drama, with 94,061 films on the site, followed by comedy (63,327) and documentary (33,240).

Q: Which movie genre has the best ratings?

Documentary films have the highest average Echo Score, 73.5 across 2,167 rated films; its best-ranked film is You Can See Everything (2026). Echo Scores start with 2017 releases.

Q: Which movie genre makes the most money?

Action: its 5,652 films with reported grosses have earned $333.6B worldwide, with Avatar (2009) the biggest at $2.9B.

Q: Which genre wins the most awards?

Drama: its films hold 19,036 nominations and 4,270 wins across the Oscars, Golden Globes, BAFTAs, festivals and guild awards on the site. A film counts once for each of its genres.

Q: Which genres are most often combined?

Comedy and drama, with 17,118 films tagged with both, then drama and romance (14,965).

Q: How are movie genres assigned?

Each film keeps the genres its data sources list for it, so most films have two or three. Different spellings of one genre, such as Science Fiction and Sci-Fi or Sports and Sport, are merged, so every count on the site uses the same definition.

The site sorts 231,906 films into 21 main genres. Drama is the biggest with 94,061 films, ahead of comedy (63,327) and documentary (33,240). Documentary has the highest average Echo Score (73.5), and action films have earned the most at the box office ($333.6B).

main genres: 21
films on the site: 231,906
of films are drama, the biggest genre: 41%
average Echo Score of documentary, the top-rated genre: 73.5

By size

What Are the Most Common Movie Genres?

Drama alone is tagged on 41% of the 231,906 films on the site, comedy on 27%; musical is the smallest main genre with 536 films. Most films carry two or three genres, so the bars add up to more than the total.

Drama 94,061
41% of all films
Comedy 63,327
27% of all films
Documentary 33,240
14% of all films
Romance 25,468
11% of all films
Thriller 25,185
11% of all films
Horror 23,356
10% of all films
Action 20,616
8.9% of all films
Crime 17,661
7.6% of all films
Animation 16,199
7% of all films
Family 13,042
5.6% of all films
Adventure 11,877
5.1% of all films
Music 11,286
4.9% of all films
Sci-Fi 10,671
4.6% of all films
Fantasy 10,535
4.5% of all films
Mystery 10,469
4.5% of all films
History 6,614
2.9% of all films
War 4,536
2% of all films
Western 3,238
1.4% of all films
Biography 1,600
0.7% of all films
Sport 689
0.3% of all films
Musical 536
0.2% of all films

Ratings

Which Genres Are Rated Highest?

Documentary leads with an average Echo Score of 73.5 across 2,167 rated films, while horror trails at 54.7. Echo Scores cover films released from 2017 on; the best-ranked film per genre also counts older films by their critic and audience ratings.

Movie genres by average Echo Score, with the number of rated films and the best-ranked film
#	Genre	Avg. Echo	With Echo Score	Best-ranked film
1	Documentary 2,167 Echo-rated · Best: You Can See Everything	73.5	2,167	You Can See Everything (2026) 95 Echo
2	Music 568 Echo-rated · Best: David Byrne’s American Utopia	72.6	568	David Byrne’s American Utopia (2020) 92 Echo
3	Biography 585 Echo-rated · Best: You Can See Everything	69.1	585	You Can See Everything (2026) 95 Echo
4	History 670 Echo-rated · Best: The Passion of Joan of Arc	68.5	670	The Passion of Joan of Arc (1929) 98 Metascore
5	Animation 682 Echo-rated · Best: Grave of the Fireflies (1988)	68.2	682	Grave of the Fireflies (1988) 94 Metascore
6	Musical 165 Echo-rated · Best: David Byrne’s American Utopia	67.7	165	David Byrne’s American Utopia (2020) 92 Echo
7	Sport 199 Echo-rated · Best: Giannis: The Marvelous Journey	67.5	199	Giannis: The Marvelous Journey (2024) 94 Echo
8	Drama 7,021 Echo-rated · Best: The Godfather	67.2	7,021	The Godfather (1972) 100 Metascore
9	Family 919 Echo-rated · Best: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse	64.4	919	Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) 92 Echo
10	War 341 Echo-rated · Best: Casablanca	64.3	341	Casablanca (1943) 100 Metascore
11	Romance 2,164 Echo-rated · Best: Casablanca	63.4	2,164	Casablanca (1943) 100 Metascore
12	Comedy 4,073 Echo-rated · Best: Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb	63.2	4,073	Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) 97 Metascore
13	Fantasy 985 Echo-rated · Best: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring	63.1	985	The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) 92 Metascore
14	Crime 1,555 Echo-rated · Best: The Godfather	62.6	1,555	The Godfather (1972) 100 Metascore
15	Adventure 1,192 Echo-rated · Best: North by Northwest	61.2	1,192	North by Northwest (1959) 98 Metascore
16	Mystery 1,204 Echo-rated · Best: Rear Window	61.0	1,204	Rear Window (1954) 100 Metascore
17	Western 143 Echo-rated · Best: The Treasure of the Sierra Madre	59.3	143	The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948) 98 Metascore
18	Thriller 3,832 Echo-rated · Best: The Godfather	58.0	3,832	The Godfather (1972) 100 Metascore
19	Sci-Fi 1,145 Echo-rated · Best: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse	57.3	1,145	Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) 92 Echo
20	Action 2,361 Echo-rated · Best: Seven Samurai	56.4	2,361	Seven Samurai (1956) 98 Metascore
21	Horror 2,527 Echo-rated · Best: Psycho	54.7	2,527	Psycho (1960) 97 Metascore

Box office

Which Movie Genres Earn the Most at the Box Office?

Action films have earned $333.6B worldwide, led by Avatar (2009) at $2.9B; adventure ($323.2B) and drama ($298.3B) follow. A film counts for each of its genres, and grosses judged to be data errors are left out.

Box office by genre

1 Action $333.6B

5,652 films with reported grosses

#1 action hit Avatar (2009) $2.9B worldwide
2 Adventure $323.2B

3,339 films with reported grosses

#1 adventure hit Avatar (2009) $2.9B worldwide
3 Drama $298.3B

21,188 films with reported grosses

#1 drama hit Ne Zha 2 (2025) $2.3B worldwide
4 Comedy $293.8B

13,128 films with reported grosses

#1 comedy hit Zootopia 2 (2025) $1.9B worldwide
5 Thriller $249B

7,664 films with reported grosses

#1 thriller hit Avatar: The Way of Water (2022) $2.3B worldwide
6 Fantasy $195.4B

2,408 films with reported grosses

#1 fantasy hit Avatar (2009) $2.9B worldwide
7 Sci-Fi $175.8B

2,055 films with reported grosses

#1 sci-fi hit Avatar (2009) $2.9B worldwide
8 Family $149.7B

2,830 films with reported grosses

#1 family hit Inside Out 2 (2024) $1.7B worldwide
9 Romance $125.7B

6,767 films with reported grosses

#1 romance hit Titanic (1997) $2.3B worldwide
10 Crime $109.7B

4,308 films with reported grosses

#1 crime hit Zootopia 2 (2025) $1.9B worldwide
11 Animation $107.4B

1,940 films with reported grosses

#1 animation hit Ne Zha 2 (2025) $2.3B worldwide
12 Mystery $75.6B

2,459 films with reported grosses

#1 mystery hit Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011) $1.3B worldwide

Awards

Which Genres Win the Most Awards?

Drama films hold the most award nominations (19,036) and 4,270 wins across every award body on the site, ahead of comedy (6,692) and romance (5,879). Musical turns the largest share of its nominations into wins (28%).

Awards & festivals

Drama 4,270 wins · 19,036 nominations · 22%
Comedy 1,400 wins · 6,692 nominations · 21%
Romance 1,371 wins · 5,879 nominations · 23%
Thriller 1,147 wins · 5,637 nominations · 20%
Adventure 953 wins · 4,338 nominations · 22%
Crime 802 wins · 3,737 nominations · 21%
Action 814 wins · 3,614 nominations · 23%
Biography 792 wins · 3,463 nominations · 23%
Fantasy 601 wins · 2,789 nominations · 22%
History 594 wins · 2,524 nominations · 24%
Sci-Fi 518 wins · 2,318 nominations · 22%
Mystery 412 wins · 2,223 nominations · 19%

Decades

How Genres Rose and Fell by Decade

In the 2020s, drama is tagged on 39% of all new films. Documentary grew the most since the 1980s (8.4% to 19%), while action shrank the most (14% to 6.6%).

Share of each decade's films per genre
Genre	1950s	1960s	1970s	1980s	1990s	2000s	2010s	2020s
Drama	42%	42%	44%	41%	40%	40%	39%	39%
Comedy	31%	27%	25%	27%	28%	28%	26%	24%
Documentary	5.3%	8.3%	8.7%	8.4%	11%	16%	18%	19%
Romance	15%	11%	8.6%	10%	13%	13%	11%	9.6%
Thriller	7.6%	7.4%	11%	11%	13%	12%	12%	13%
Horror	4%	6.6%	11%	12%	9.4%	11%	11%	12%
Action	4.6%	7.9%	14%	14%	15%	11%	8.5%	6.6%
Crime	13%	10%	11%	9.2%	10%	7.5%	5.5%	5.3%
Animation	11%	5.4%	4.6%	7.2%	7%	6.3%	5.7%	5.4%
Family	5.1%	5.1%	5.6%	6.7%	7.6%	7.2%	5.8%	4.5%
Adventure	8.4%	8.7%	7.1%	7.3%	5.8%	5.5%	4.6%	3.6%
Music	6%	5.7%	4.3%	5.4%	4.9%	6%	4.4%	4.3%
Sci-Fi	3.9%	4.3%	4.2%	7%	6.1%	4.6%	5%	4.6%
Fantasy	3%	3.9%	4.1%	6.4%	5.9%	4.7%	4.5%	4.7%
Mystery	3.9%	3.6%	4.8%	4.1%	3.8%	4.3%	4.1%	4.2%
History	3.6%	3.8%	3.3%	2.6%	2.6%	2.6%	3.1%	2.7%
War	5.4%	4.8%	2.8%	2.5%	1.6%	1.7%	1.4%	1%
Western	8.1%	5.4%	3.3%	0.8%	0.8%	0.4%	0.4%	0.4%
Biography	0.1%	0.1%	0.2%	0.3%	0.5%	0.8%	1.1%	0.9%
Sport	<0.1%	<0.1%	0.2%	0.3%	0.3%	0.6%	0.3%	0.4%
Musical	0.4%	0.3%	0.2%	0.2%	0.1%	0.3%	0.2%	0.3%

Each cell: the genre's share of that decade's films. Shading runs along each row, from the genre's weakest decade to its strongest.

Pairings

Which Genres Go Together?

Comedy and drama share the most films (17,118), followed by drama and romance (14,965) and comedy and romance (10,894). The closest bond: 69% of war films are also tagged drama.

1 Comedy & Drama 17,118 films 27% of comedy films are also tagged drama
2 Drama & Romance 14,965 films 59% of romance films are also tagged drama
3 Comedy & Romance 10,894 films 43% of romance films are also tagged comedy
4 Drama & Thriller 10,207 films 41% of thriller films are also tagged drama
5 Crime & Drama 9,241 films 52% of crime films are also tagged drama
6 Horror & Thriller 6,794 films 29% of horror films are also tagged thriller
7 Action & Drama 6,483 films 31% of action films are also tagged drama
8 Crime & Thriller 6,417 films 36% of crime films are also tagged thriller
9 Animation & Comedy 6,019 films 37% of animation films are also tagged comedy
10 Action & Thriller 5,604 films 27% of action films are also tagged thriller
11 Comedy & Family 5,391 films 41% of family films are also tagged comedy
12 Drama & Mystery 4,601 films 44% of mystery films are also tagged drama

A to Z

All Movie Genres From A to Z

All 21 main genres from A to Z with their film count and best-ranked film, then the 100 best films of each as ranked lists. Film Noir (49), Short (39) and Kids (6) are smaller genres with too few films to compare, listed last.

Smaller Movie Genres: Film Noir, Short and Kids

FAQ

Movie Genres: Questions & Answers

Quick answers from the numbers on this page: drama is the most common genre, documentary the best-rated, action the top earner and drama the most nominated.

How many movie genres are there?

What's After the Movie groups films into 21 main genres, from Action to Western. Film Noir, Short and Kids are smaller genres with their own pages. Labels such as TV Movie, Reality-TV or Talk-Show are formats, not film genres, and are not counted.

What is the most common movie genre?

Drama, with 94,061 films on the site, followed by comedy (63,327) and documentary (33,240).

Drama movies

Which movie genre has the best ratings?