The Best Ian McKellen Movies, Ranked
102 credits from 1969 to 2026, ranked by the Movie Echo Score — a blend of critic reviews, audience ratings and lasting impact. The Christophers (2026) comes out on top with a score of 80. The biggest box office hit is The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012) with $1.02B worldwide. Below: the best films by genre and by decade, the most awarded and the newest releases.
Top Rated Ian McKellen Movies
The 8 highest-rated films Ian McKellen is credited on. The Christophers (2026) leads with 80, followed by On Broadway (2021) at 80. 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 80 The Christophers 2026 · Comedy -
#2 Movie Echo Score: Score 80 On Broadway 2021 · History -
#3 Movie Echo Score: Score 69 The Critic 2024 · Crime -
#4 Movie Echo Score: Score 67 All Is True 2018 · Biography -
#5 Movie Echo Score: Score 66 Animal Crackers 2020 · Adventure -
#6 Movie Echo Score: Score 59 The Good Liar 2019 · Drama -
#7 Movie Echo Score: Score 42 Infinitum: Subject Unknown 2021 · Sci-Fi -
#8 Movie Echo Score: Score 22 Cats 2019 · Drama
Biggest Ian McKellen Box Office Hits
Ian McKellen's films have made $5.27B worldwide in total. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012) is the biggest hit at $1.02B, ahead of The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014) ($962M). Lifetime grosses, with each film's domestic share.
- 1
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey 2012 · Adventure $1.02B $303M dom. - 2
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies 2014 · Adventure $962M $255M dom. - 3
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug 2013 · Adventure $959M $258M dom. - 4
X-Men: Days of Future Past 2014 · Action $746M $234M dom. - 5
X-Men: The Last Stand 2006 · Action $460M $234M dom. - 6
X2: X-Men United 2003 · Action $408M $215M dom. - 7
X-Men 2000 · Action $296M $157M dom. - 8
Flushed Away 2006 · Adventure $178M $64.7M dom. - 9 Cats 2019 · Drama $75.6M $27.2M dom.
- 10 The Good Liar 2019 · Drama $33.9M $17.2M dom.
The Best Ian McKellen Movie in Every Genre
The best-rated film in each genre Ian McKellen has worked in, the genres with the most films first. Drama leads with 31 films, and The Good Liar (2019) is the pick of them.
- Drama 31 films The Good Liar 2019 · as Roy Courtnay Movie Echo Score: 59
- Adventure 5 films Animal Crackers 2020 · as Horatio P. Huntington Movie Echo Score: 66
- Action 5 films X-Men: Days of Future Past 2014
- History 3 films On Broadway 2021 Movie Echo Score: 80
- Biography 3 films All Is True 2018 · as Earl of Southampton Movie Echo Score: 67
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Romance 3 films Scandal 1989 · as John Profumo - Sci-Fi 2 films Infinitum: Subject Unknown 2021 · as Dr. Charles Marland-White Movie Echo Score: 42
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Thriller 2 films Asylum 2005 - Comedy 1 film The Christophers 2026 · as Julian Sklar Movie Echo Score: 80
The Best Ian McKellen Movie of Each Decade
One pick per decade of Ian McKellen's career, newest decade first: the best-rated film of each ten years, from 1980s to 2020s.
Most Awarded Ian McKellen Movies
Ian McKellen's films with wins at the Oscars, Golden Globes, BAFTA and the other ceremonies in the awards database, the most decorated first. Gods and Monsters (1998) leads with 5 wins from 13 nominations.
The Latest Ian McKellen Movies
The most recent films Ian McKellen is credited on, newest first — starting with The Christophers (2026). Open any of them for the cast, ratings, box office and where to watch.
- The Christophers 2026 · Julian Sklar
- The Critic 2024 · Jimmy Erskine
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Hamlet 2024 · Hamlet - On Broadway 2021 · History
- Infinitum: Subject Unknown 2021 · Dr. Charles Marland-White
- Animal Crackers 2020 · Horatio P. Huntington
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Ian McKellen on Stage: With Tolkien, Shakespeare, Others and YOU 2020 · Drama - Cats 2019 · Drama
- The Good Liar 2019 · Roy Courtnay
- All Is True 2018 · Earl of Southampton
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National Theatre Live: King Lear 2018 · King Lear -
Animal Crackers 2017 · Horatio P. Huntington (voice)
The Best Ian McKellen Movies: Questions & Answers
The best-rated, highest-grossing, most awarded and newest Ian McKellen films, answered from the rankings on this page.
What is the best Ian McKellen movie?
The Christophers (2026) is the best-rated Ian McKellen film, with a Movie Echo Score of 80, ahead of On Broadway (2021) (80) and The Critic (2024) (69). The Movie Echo Score blends critic reviews, audience ratings and how well a film has lasted.
The Christophers: cast, ratings & box office What is the highest-grossing Ian McKellen movie?
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012) made the most at the box office, with $1.02B worldwide, followed by The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014) with $962M. Together, Ian McKellen's films with box office figures have made $5.27B.
Which Ian McKellen movie won the most awards?
Gods and Monsters (1998) is the most decorated Ian McKellen film, with 5 wins from 13 nominations across the Oscars, Golden Globes, BAFTA and the other ceremonies in the awards database.
What is the best Ian McKellen drama movie?
The Good Liar (2019) is the best-rated of Ian McKellen's drama films, with a score of 59. In other genres: Animal Crackers (adventure), X-Men: Days of Future Past (action) and On Broadway (history).
What is the newest Ian McKellen movie?
The newest film on Ian McKellen's filmography is The Christophers (2026), with Ian McKellen as Julian Sklar.
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