The Best Bill Paterson Movies, Ranked
59 credits from 1978 to 2026, ranked by the Movie Echo Score — a blend of critic reviews, audience ratings and lasting impact. The Colour Room (2021) comes out on top with a score of 69. The biggest box office hit is The Witches (1990) with $10.4M worldwide. Below: the best films by genre and by decade, the most awarded and the newest releases.
Top Rated Bill Paterson Movies
The 7 highest-rated films Bill Paterson is credited on. The Colour Room (2021) leads with 69, followed by The Man Who Invented Christmas (2017) at 68. The Movie Echo Score blends critic reviews, audience ratings, cultural impact and how well a film holds up.
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#1 Movie Echo Score: Score 69 The Colour Room 2021 · Drama -
#2 Movie Echo Score: Score 68 The Man Who Invented Christmas 2017 · Biography -
#3 Movie Echo Score: Score 68 Rebecca 2020 · Drama -
#4 Movie Echo Score: Score 58 Happy New Year, Colin Burstead 2018 · Comedy -
#5 Movie Echo Score: Score 58 Marionette 2021 · Mystery -
#6 Movie Echo Score: Score 44 Ladies First 2026 · Comedy -
#7 Movie Echo Score: Score 40 Arthur’s Whisky 2024 · Comedy
Biggest Bill Paterson Box Office Hits
Bill Paterson's films have made $28.7M worldwide in total. The Witches (1990) is the biggest hit at $10.4M, ahead of The Man Who Invented Christmas (2017) ($8.13M). Lifetime grosses, with each film's domestic share.
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The Witches 1990 · Adventure $10.4M $10.4M dom. - 2 The Man Who Invented Christmas 2017 · Biography $8.13M $5.68M dom.
- 3
The Object of Beauty 1991 · Drama $5.14M $5.14M dom. - 4
A Private Function 1984 · Comedy $2.53M $2.53M dom. - 5
Comfort and Joy 1984 · Comedy $1.06M $1.06M dom. - 6
Defence of the Realm 1985 · Action $750K $750K dom. - 7
The Rachel Papers 1989 · Drama $201K $201K dom. - 8
The Match 1999 · Comedy $175K - 9
Lie with Me 2004 · Drama $172K - 10 Arthur’s Whisky 2024 · Comedy $49.3K
The Best Bill Paterson Movie in Every Genre
The best-rated film in each genre Bill Paterson has worked in, the genres with the most films first. Drama leads with 24 films, and The Colour Room (2021) is the pick of them.
- Drama 24 films The Colour Room 2021 · as Gordon Forsythe Movie Echo Score: 69
- Comedy 12 films Happy New Year, Colin Burstead 2018 · as Gordon Burstead Movie Echo Score: 58
- Mystery 2 films Marionette 2021 · as Dr. Mandelbaum Movie Echo Score: 58
- Biography 1 film The Man Who Invented Christmas 2017 Movie Echo Score: 68
- Adventure 1 film The Witches 1990
- Action 1 film Defence of the Realm 1985 · as Jack Macleod
The Best Bill Paterson Movie of Each Decade
One pick per decade of Bill Paterson's career, newest decade first: the best-rated film of each ten years, from 1980s to 2020s.
The Latest Bill Paterson Movies
The most recent films Bill Paterson is credited on, newest first — starting with Ladies First (2026). Open any of them for the cast, ratings, box office and where to watch.
- Ladies First 2026 · Comedy
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The House Was Not Hungry Then 2025 · Father - Arthur’s Whisky 2024 · Henry
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A Bear Named Wojtek 2023 · Zoo Director (voice) - The Colour Room 2021 · Gordon Forsythe
- Marionette 2021 · Dr. Mandelbaum
- Rebecca 2020 · Drama
- Happy New Year, Colin Burstead 2018 · Gordon Burstead
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Wonderdate 2018 · Kolodon -
Zanzibar 2018 · Mr Green - The Man Who Invented Christmas 2017 · Biography
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Churchill’s Secret 2016 · Lord Moran
The Best Bill Paterson Movies: Questions & Answers
The best-rated, highest-grossing, most awarded and newest Bill Paterson films, answered from the rankings on this page.
What is the best Bill Paterson movie?
The Colour Room (2021) is the best-rated Bill Paterson film, with a Movie Echo Score of 69, ahead of The Man Who Invented Christmas (2017) (68) and Rebecca (2020) (68). The Movie Echo Score blends critic reviews, audience ratings and how well a film has lasted.
The Colour Room: cast, ratings & box office What is the highest-grossing Bill Paterson movie?
The Witches (1990) made the most at the box office, with $10.4M worldwide, followed by The Man Who Invented Christmas (2017) with $8.13M. Together, Bill Paterson's films with box office figures have made $28.7M.
What is the best Bill Paterson drama movie?
The Colour Room (2021) is the best-rated of Bill Paterson's drama films, with a score of 69. In other genres: Happy New Year, Colin Burstead (comedy), Marionette (mystery) and The Man Who Invented Christmas (biography).
What is the newest Bill Paterson movie?
The newest film on Bill Paterson's filmography is Ladies First (2026).
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