Skip to content
What's After the Movie?

Jump to
What's After the Movie?
James Brown, actor
Actor · Best movies

The Best James Brown Movies, Ranked

80 credits from 1942 to 2025, ranked by the Movie Echo Score — a blend of critic reviews, audience ratings and lasting impact. The biggest box office hit is The Blues Brothers (1980) with $115M worldwide. Below: the best films by genre and by decade, the most awarded and the newest releases.

Full James Brown profile & filmography

Worldwide gross

Biggest James Brown Box Office Hits

James Brown's films have made $134M worldwide in total. The Blues Brothers (1980) is the biggest hit at $115M, ahead of Blues Brothers 2000 (1998) ($14.1M). Lifetime grosses, with each film's domestic share.

All-time box office
  1. 1 The Blues Brothers (1980) movie poster The Blues Brothers 1980 · Action $115M $57.2M dom.
  2. 2 Blues Brothers 2000 (1998) movie poster Blues Brothers 2000 1998 · Comedy $14.1M $14.1M dom.
  3. 3 A Star Is Born (1954) movie poster A Star Is Born 1954 · Drama $4.35M $4.34M dom.
  4. 4 Soul Power (2009) movie poster Soul Power 2009 · Music $255K $207K dom.
  5. 5 Glastonbury (2007) movie poster Glastonbury 2007 · Music $202K $8.42K dom.
  6. 6 Going My Way (1944) movie poster Going My Way 1944 · Drama $2.22K
One pick per genre

The Best James Brown Movie in Every Genre

The best-rated film in each genre James Brown has worked in, the genres with the most films first. Drama leads with 11 films, and A Star Is Born (1954) is the pick of them.

One pick per decade

The Best James Brown Movie of Each Decade

One pick per decade of James Brown's career, newest decade first: the best-rated film of each ten years, from 1940s to 2000s.

Newest first

The Latest James Brown Movies

The most recent films James Brown is credited on, newest first — starting with Exit to Hell (2013). Open any of them for the cast, ratings, box office and where to watch.

New movie releases
FAQ

The Best James Brown Movies: Questions & Answers

The best-rated, highest-grossing, most awarded and newest James Brown films, answered from the rankings on this page.

What is the highest-grossing James Brown movie?

The Blues Brothers (1980) made the most at the box office, with $115M worldwide, followed by Blues Brothers 2000 (1998) with $14.1M. Together, James Brown's films with box office figures have made $134M.

Which James Brown movie won the most awards?

Going My Way (1944) is the most decorated James Brown film, with 10 wins from 13 nominations across the Oscars, Golden Globes, BAFTA and the other ceremonies in the awards database.

What is the best James Brown drama movie?

A Star Is Born (1954) is the best-rated of James Brown's drama films. In other genres: The Blues Brothers (action), Soul Power (music) and Blues Brothers 2000 (comedy).

What is the newest James Brown movie?

The newest film on James Brown's filmography is The AGFA Mystery Mixtape Vault (2025), with James Brown as Self.

Keep browsing

More Movie Rankings & Collections

Best-of lists by year, decade and genre, all-time box office records and the films on the trending list.

All collections

Best-Rated Movie Rankings

Best-rated, biggest and most-awarded

New Movies & Top Genres

New releases, popular films and the best of every genre