1,960 films on the site were released in 1998, and 153 have enough critic or audience ratings to be ranked. Saving Private Ryan tops the list, ahead of The Truman Show and The Celebration. The biggest hit was Armageddon with $553.7M worldwide, and Shakespeare in Love won Best Picture at the 1999 Oscars.
Saving Private Ryan is the best-rated film of 1998, with a rank value of 90/100 from critics and audiences, ahead of The Truman Show (86/100). Ranked by a blend of Metascore and IMDb/Letterboxd user ratings (Echo Scores start with 2017 releases).
#1 of 153 Best-rated film of 1998
1998 Action Drama War 2h 49m English
91 Metascore $482.4M worldwide
Directed by Steven Spielberg
Saving Private Ryan earned $482.4M worldwide; the year's biggest hit, Armageddon, earned $553.7M.
About Saving Private RyanThe Truman Show and The Celebration follow Saving Private Ryan. Drama is the most common genre in the top 25 (20 films). Ranked by a blend of Metascore and IMDb/Letterboxd user ratings (Echo Scores start with 2017 releases).
1998 · Drama · 1h 43m
Dir. Peter Weir No Echo Score: ranked 86/100 on critics & audiences
1998 · Drama · 1h 45m
Dir. Thomas Vinterberg No Echo Score: ranked 82/100 on critics & audiences
1998 · Drama, Thriller · 1h 43m
No Echo Score: ranked 82/100 on critics & audiences
1998 · Documentary · 1h 38m
Dir. S.R. Bindler No Echo Score: ranked 82/100 on critics & audiences
1998 · Drama · 1h 53m
Dir. Walter Salles No Echo Score: ranked 82/100 on critics & audiences
1998 · Drama, Comedy · 1h 33m
Dir. Wes Anderson No Echo Score: ranked 82/100 on critics & audiences
1998 · Drama · 1h 57m
Dir. Shohei Imamura No Echo Score: ranked 81/100 on critics & audiences
1998 · Drama, Thriller · 2h 1m
Dir. Sam Raimi No Echo Score: ranked 80/100 on critics & audiences
1998 · Drama, Comedy · 1h 34m
Dir. Richard Kwietniowski No Echo Score: ranked 80/100 on critics & audiences
1998 · Drama · 1h 35m
Dir. Abbas Kiarostami No Echo Score: ranked 79/100 on critics & audiences
1998 · Drama, Comedy · 2h 14m
Dir. Todd Solondz No Echo Score: ranked 78/100 on critics & audiences
1998 · Comedy, Crime · 1h 57m
Dir. Ethan Coen No Echo Score: ranked 78/100 on critics & audiences
1998 · War, Documentary · 1h 27m
Dir. James Moll No Echo Score: ranked 78/100 on critics & audiences
1998 · Drama, Comedy · 2h 3m
Dir. John Madden No Echo Score: ranked 77/100 on critics & audiences
1998 · Drama · 2h 8m
No Echo Score: ranked 76/100 on critics & audiences
1998 · Thriller, Comedy · 2h 3m
Dir. Steven Soderbergh No Echo Score: ranked 76/100 on critics & audiences
1998 · Biography, Drama · 2h 1m
Dir. Anand Tucker No Echo Score: ranked 76/100 on critics & audiences
1998 · Drama, Crime · 1h 59m
Dir. Tony Kaye No Echo Score: ranked 75/100 on critics & audiences
1998 · Biography, Drama · 2h 4m
Dir. Shekhar Kapur No Echo Score: ranked 75/100 on critics & audiences
1998 · Drama, Comedy · 1h 30m
Dir. Kar Wai Wong No Echo Score: ranked 75/100 on critics & audiences
1998 · Biography, Drama · 2h 4m
Dir. John Boorman No Echo Score: ranked 74/100 on critics & audiences
1998 · Drama, Thriller · 1h 33m
Dir. Gaspar Noé No Echo Score: ranked 74/100 on critics & audiences
1998 · Drama · 2h 5m
Dir. Hsiao-hsien Hou No Echo Score: ranked 74/100 on critics & audiences
1998 · Comedy, Romance · 2h 4m
Dir. Manuel Poirier No Echo Score: ranked 74/100 on critics & audiences
Armageddon earned $553.7M worldwide, ahead of Saving Private Ryan ($482.4M). The top 10 took $3.7B together; 311 films released in 1998 have a box office record here. Grosses that look like data errors are left out.
#1 $553.7M worldwide Armageddon $201.6M domestic · Action #2 $482.4M worldwide Saving Private Ryan $217M domestic · Action 
#3 $379M worldwide Godzilla $136.3M domestic · Action 
#4 $369.9M worldwide There's Something About Mary $176.5M domestic · Comedy 
#5 $363.3M worldwide A Bug's Life $162.8M domestic · Adventure 
#6 $349.5M worldwide Deep Impact $140.5M domestic · Action 
#7 $304.3M worldwide Mulan $120.6M domestic · Family 
#8 $294.5M worldwide Dr. Dolittle $144.2M domestic · Comedy #9 $289.3M worldwide Shakespeare in Love $100.3M domestic · Drama 
#10 $285.4M worldwide Lethal Weapon 4 $130.4M domestic · Action Shakespeare in Love leads with 16 wins from 40 nominations, then Saving Private Ryan with 15 wins. Shakespeare in Love won Best Picture at the 1999 Oscars. In all, 71 films released in 1998 have award nominations on the site, with 96 wins between them.
The highest-ranked 1998 film of 12 genres, from Action (Saving Private Ryan) to Adventure (A Bug's Life). Each film appears once, under its first genre that is still free.
Saving Private Ryan 91 Metascore The Truman Show 90 Metascore Fireworks 83 Metascore Hands on a Hardbody: The Documentary 82 Metascore Rushmore 87 Metascore A Simple Plan 81 Metascore The Last Days 85 Metascore Shakespeare in Love 87 Metascore Hilary and Jackie 78 Metascore Elizabeth 75 Metascore 
Funny Games 69 Metascore A Bug's Life 78 Metascore September was the busiest month of 1998 with 187 releases; its best-rated film is I Stand Alone. January shows 371 because films whose exact release day is unknown are stored on January 1.
59% of 1998's films with a known language are in English (1,148). Japanese comes next with 102 films, out of 54 languages in all.
A best-of page for each of 55 years, from 1900 to 2026 (so far). Before 1980 there is one page per decade, for its first year (1900, 1910, 1920, 1930, 1940, 1950, 1960, 1970); from 1980 every year has its own.
Quick answers about 1998's best-rated films, biggest hits and awards, from the lists above.
Saving Private Ryan is the best-rated film of 1998 on What's After the Movie, with a rank value of 90/100 from critics and audiences. The Truman Show is second and The Celebration third. Ranked by a blend of Metascore and IMDb/Letterboxd user ratings (Echo Scores start with 2017 releases).
About Saving Private RyanArmageddon earned $553.7M worldwide, the most of any 1998 release on the site. Saving Private Ryan follows with $482.4M.
1998 box officeShakespeare in Love (1998) won Best Picture at the 1999 Academy Awards.
Shakespeare in LoveShakespeare in Love has the best award record of the 1998 releases on the site: 16 wins from 40 nominations.
1999 awards seasonThe site lists 1,960 films released in 1998. 153 of them are ranked, and September had the most releases with a known day (187).
Ranked by a blend of Metascore and IMDb/Letterboxd user ratings (Echo Scores start with 2017 releases). Only feature films count (60 minutes or longer, no concert recordings), and a film needs enough ratings, box office or award attention to be ranked.
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