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Paul Bartel, actor & director
Actor & Director · Best movies

The Best Paul Bartel Movies, Ranked

66 credits from 1967 to 2025, ranked by the Movie Echo Score — a blend of critic reviews, audience ratings and lasting impact. The biggest box office hit is National Lampoon's European Vacation (1985) with $49.4M worldwide. Below: the best films by genre and by decade, the most awarded and the newest releases.

Full Paul Bartel profile & filmography

Worldwide gross

Biggest Paul Bartel Box Office Hits

Paul Bartel's films have made $113M worldwide in total. National Lampoon's European Vacation (1985) is the biggest hit at $49.4M, ahead of Follow That Bird (1985) ($14M). Lifetime grosses, with each film's domestic share.

All-time box office
  1. 1 National Lampoon's European Vacation (1985) movie poster National Lampoon's European Vacation 1985 · Adventure $49.4M $49.4M dom.
  2. 2 Follow That Bird (1985) movie poster Follow That Bird 1985 · Adventure $14M $14M dom.
  3. 3 Caddyshack II (1988) movie poster Caddyshack II 1988 · Sport $11.8M $11.8M dom.
  4. 4 Shakedown (1988) movie poster Shakedown 1988 · Thriller $10.1M $10.1M dom.
  5. 5 Into the Night (1985) movie poster Into the Night 1985 · Comedy $7.56M $7.56M dom.
  6. 6 The Jerky Boys (1995) movie poster The Jerky Boys 1995 · Comedy $7.56M $7.56M dom.
  7. 7 Scenes from the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills (1989) movie poster Scenes from the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills 1989 · Comedy $2.16M $2.16M dom.
  8. 8 Heartbeeps (1981) movie poster Heartbeeps 1981 · Family $2.15M $2.15M dom.
  9. 9 Billy’s Hollywood Screen Kiss (1998) movie poster Billy’s Hollywood Screen Kiss 1998 · Comedy $2.07M $2.07M dom.
  10. 10 Flo (2023) movie poster Flo 2023 · History $2.05M
One pick per genre

The Best Paul Bartel Movie in Every Genre

The best-rated film in each genre Paul Bartel has worked in, the genres with the most films first. Comedy leads with 27 films, and Into the Night (1985) is the pick of them.

One pick per decade

The Best Paul Bartel Movie of Each Decade

One pick per decade of Paul Bartel's career, newest decade first: the best-rated film of each ten years, from 1980s to 2020s.

Newest first

The Latest Paul Bartel Movies

The most recent films Paul Bartel is credited on, newest first — starting with Ride Above (2025). Open any of them for the cast, ratings, box office and where to watch.

New movie releases
FAQ

The Best Paul Bartel Movies: Questions & Answers

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

What is the highest-grossing Paul Bartel movie?

National Lampoon's European Vacation (1985) made the most at the box office, with $49.4M worldwide, followed by Follow That Bird (1985) with $14M. Together, Paul Bartel's films with box office figures have made $113M.

What is the best Paul Bartel comedy movie?

Into the Night (1985) is the best-rated of Paul Bartel's comedy films. In other genres: Harkis (drama), Shakedown (thriller) and National Lampoon's European Vacation (adventure).

What is the newest Paul Bartel movie?

The newest film on Paul Bartel's filmography is Ride Above (2025), with Paul Bartel as Barillot.

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