best movies List of Black Movies, Ranked Best to Worst  

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List Rules Movies must feature African-American and African culture and/or mostly above the line black casts.

The best black movies are favorites that explore African-American culture and themes. This list is ranked by film fans, many of whom grew up waiting for and watching goods, realistic representations of what life was like for black people in America. The top African American movies often dominate the box office when released and this is a list of the best black films. What are the best black people movies of all time? Some of these films appear on other lists that you may find interesting, such as: best comedies of all time, best drama movies, and best actions movies on Netflix. You can sort by actor and director, or press "rerank" below to make your own list of the greatest African American themed movies.

This list of top black films features classic African American comedies like Friday and Coming to America, sports films like Love & Basketball, and biographical movies about black celebrities and leaders, from Ray and Ali to Malcolm X. This list also includes great movies about slavery (both Roots and Django Unchained, for example) and films about black life in the American South throughout history, from Glory and A Time to Kill to The Help. These and other highly acclaimed black movies in cinema focus on African-Americans, and most have surpassed the test of time among black audiences.

This includes everything to watch from '90s black comedy movies - comedies with a mostly black cast and perspective - to black crime movies, famous gang films, and action flicks. For other interesting movie lists check out Ranker's lists of well-made movies about slavery and films about racism. Also check out these lists of the best black sitcoms and the best cities for African Americans.

list ordered by

1
9,673 1,602
Boyz n the Hood is listed (or ranked) 1 on the list List of Black Movies, Ranked Best to Worst
Boyz n the Hood Ice Cube, Angela Bassett, Cuba Gooding Jr. Boyz n the Hood is a 1991 American hood drama written and directed by John Singleton in his directorial debut, and starring Ice Cube, Cuba Gooding Jr., Morris Chestnut, Laurence Fishburne, Nia ...more

2
8,659 1,866
Coming to America is listed (or ranked) 2 on the list List of Black Movies, Ranked Best to Worst
Coming to America Eddie Murphy, Samuel L. Jackson, James Earl Jones Coming to America is a 1988 American comedy film directed by John Landis, and based on a story originally created by Eddie Murphy, who also starred in the lead role. The film also co-stars ...more

3
9,848 1,083
Friday is listed (or ranked) 3 on the list List of Black Movies, Ranked Best to Worst
Friday Ice Cube, Meagan Good, Nia Long Friday is a 1995 American stoner buddy comedy film directed by F. Gary Gray in his directorial debut, and starring Ice Cube, Chris Tucker, Nia Long, Bernie Mac, Tiny 'Zeus' Lister Jr, and John ...more

4
5,570 1,006
Malcolm X is listed (or ranked) 4 on the list List of Black Movies, Ranked Best to Worst
Malcolm X Denzel Washington, Al Sharpton, Nelson Mandela Malcolm X is a 1992 American biographical drama film about the African-American activist Malcolm X. Directed and co-written by Spike Lee, the film stars Denzel Washington in the title role, as ...more

5
5,561 1,283
Training Day is listed (or ranked) 5 on the list List of Black Movies, Ranked Best to Worst
Training Day Eva Mendes, Snoop Dogg, Denzel Washington Training Day is a 2001 American crime thriller film directed by Antoine Fuqua, written by David Ayer, and starring Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke. The story follows two LAPD narcotics ...more

6
6,543 1,009
The Color Purple is listed (or ranked) 6 on the list List of Black Movies, Ranked Best to Worst
The Color Purple Oprah Winfrey, Whoopi Goldberg, Laurence Fishburne See The Best The Color Purple Movie Quotes
The Color Purple is a 1985 American period drama film directed by Steven Spielberg, based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name by Alice Walker. It was Spielberg's eighth film as ...more

7
4,848 857
Ray is listed (or ranked) 7 on the list List of Black Movies, Ranked Best to Worst
Ray Kerry Washington, Jamie Foxx, Terrence Howard Ray is a biographical film focusing on 30 years in the life of rhythm and blues musician Ray Charles. The independently produced film was written, produced and directed by Taylor Hackford, and ...more

8
4,747 640
Lean on Me is listed (or ranked) 8 on the list List of Black Movies, Ranked Best to Worst
Lean on Me Morgan Freeman, Tony Todd, Regina Taylor Lean on Me is a 1989 dramatized biographical film written by Michael Schiffer, directed by John G. Avildsen and starring Morgan Freeman. Lean on Me is loosely based on the story of Joe Louis ...more

9
3,315 925
Do the Right Thing is listed (or ranked) 9 on the list List of Black Movies, Ranked Best to Worst
Do the Right Thing Samuel L. Jackson, Martin Lawrence, Spike Lee Do the Right Thing is a 1989 American comedy-drama hood film produced, written, and directed by Spike Lee, who also played the part of Mookie in the film. Other members of the cast include Danny ...more

10
6,565 964
Set It Off is listed (or ranked) 10 on the list List of Black Movies, Ranked Best to Worst
Set It Off Queen Latifah, Dr. Dre, Jada Pinkett Smith Set It Off is a 1996 American crime action film directed by F. Gary Gray, and written by Kate Lanier and Takashi Bufford. The film stars Jada Pinkett Smith, Queen Latifah, Vivica A. Fox and ...more

11
4,531 1,647
Django Unchained is listed (or ranked) 11 on the list List of Black Movies, Ranked Best to Worst
Django Unchained Leonardo DiCaprio, Kerry Washington, Samuel L. Jackson Django Unchained is a 2012 American revisionist Western film directed by Quentin Tarantino. With the help of a German bounty hunter (Christoph Waltz), a freed slave (Jamie Foxx) sets out to ...more

12
4,153 846
Remember the Titans is listed (or ranked) 12 on the list List of Black Movies, Ranked Best to Worst
Remember the Titans Hayden Panettiere, Ryan Gosling, Denzel Washington Remember the Titans is a 2000 American sports drama film produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and directed by Boaz Yakin. The screenplay, written by Gregory Allen Howard, is based on the true story of ...more

The Funniest Black TV Characters of All Time, Ranked

13
4,519 914
The Pursuit of Happyness is listed (or ranked) 13 on the list List of Black Movies, Ranked Best to Worst
The Pursuit of Happyness Will Smith, Thandie Newton, Jaden Smith The Pursuit of Happyness is a 2006 American biographical drama film based on Chris Gardner's nearly one-year struggle with homelessness. Directed by Gabriele Muccino, the film features Will ...more

14
5,013 779
Bad Boys is listed (or ranked) 14 on the list List of Black Movies, Ranked Best to Worst
Bad Boys Will Smith, Téa Leoni, Martin Lawrence Bad Boys is a 1995 American action comedy film produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer, producers of Top Gun and Beverly Hills Cop, and directed by Michael Bay in his directorial debut. It ...more

15
8,079 990
Love & Basketball is listed (or ranked) 15 on the list List of Black Movies, Ranked Best to Worst
Love & Basketball Tyra Banks, Gabrielle Union, Sanaa Lathan Love & Basketball is a 2000 American romantic drama film starring Omar Epps and Sanaa Lathan. The film tells the story of Quincy McCall and Monica Wright, two next-door neighbors in Los ...more

16
2,506 696
Glory is listed (or ranked) 16 on the list List of Black Movies, Ranked Best to Worst
Glory Morgan Freeman, Denzel Washington, Matthew Broderick Glory is a 1989 American drama war film directed by Edward Zwick and starring Matthew Broderick, Denzel Washington, Cary Elwes and Morgan Freeman. The screenplay was written by Kevin Jarre, ...more

17
4,659 606
Menace II Society is listed (or ranked) 17 on the list List of Black Movies, Ranked Best to Worst
Menace II Society Samuel L. Jackson, Jada Pinkett Smith, Charles S. Dutton Menace II Society is a 1993 drama/hood film and the directorial debut of twin brothers Allen and Albert Hughes. Set in South Central Los Angeles, the film follows the life of a hoodlum named ...more

The Most Anticipated Movies for 2015

18
3,882 621
New Jack City is listed (or ranked) 18 on the list List of Black Movies, Ranked Best to Worst
New Jack City Chris Rock, Ice-T, Judd Nelson New Jack City is a 1991 American crime thriller action film film directed by Mario Van Peebles in his directorial debut, who also co-stars in the film. The film stars Wesley Snipes, Ice-T, Allen ...more

19
4,409 927
Barbershop is listed (or ranked) 19 on the list List of Black Movies, Ranked Best to Worst
Barbershop Ice Cube, Eve, Janina Gavankar Barbershop is a 2002 American comedy film directed by Tim Story, produced by State Street Pictures and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer on September 13, 2002. Starring Ice Cube, Cedric the ...more

20
2,798 721
Hotel Rwanda is listed (or ranked) 20 on the list List of Black Movies, Ranked Best to Worst
Hotel Rwanda Nick Nolte, Joaquin Phoenix, Don Cheadle Hotel Rwanda is a 2004 American historical drama film directed by Terry George. It was adapted from a screenplay written by both George and Keir Pearson. It stars Don Cheadle and Sophie Okonedo ...more

21
3,207 580
Roots is listed (or ranked) 21 on the list List of Black Movies, Ranked Best to Worst
Roots Louis Gossett, Jr., LeVar Burton This award-winning six-part historical epic was one of the first examples of the miniseries format and one of the highest-rated television programs in broadcasting history. Based on the ...more

22
4,695 654
The Best Man is listed (or ranked) 22 on the list List of Black Movies, Ranked Best to Worst
The Best Man Nia Long, Terrence Howard, Sanaa Lathan The Best Man is a 1999 American romantic comedy-drama film, written and directed by Malcolm D. Lee. It was produced by 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, with Lee's cousin, Spike Lee, serving as ...more

The Best African-American Characters in Film

23
3,595 638
Bad Boys II is listed (or ranked) 23 on the list List of Black Movies, Ranked Best to Worst
Bad Boys II Megan Fox, Will Smith, Dan Marino Bad Boys II is a 2003 American action-comedy film directed by Michael Bay, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and starring Martin Lawrence and Will Smith. The film is a sequel to the 1995 film Bad ...more

24
4,331 550
Juice is listed (or ranked) 24 on the list List of Black Movies, Ranked Best to Worst
Juice Tupac Shakur, Samuel L. Jackson, Queen Latifah Juice is a 1992 American crime drama thriller directed by Ernest R. Dickerson, written by Ernest R. Dickerson and Gerard Brown. It stars rapper Tupac Shakur and Omar Epps. Additional cast ...more

25
3,101 964
The Nutty Professor is listed (or ranked) 25 on the list List of Black Movies, Ranked Best to Worst
The Nutty Professor Eddie Murphy, Jada Pinkett Smith, Dave Chappelle The Nutty Professor is a 1996 American science fiction comedy film starring Eddie Murphy. It is a remake of the 1963 film of the same name, which starred Jerry Lewis, and was itself based on ...more

26
3,148 566
The Five Heartbeats is listed (or ranked) 26 on the list List of Black Movies, Ranked Best to Worst
The Five Heartbeats Diahann Carroll, Harry Lennix, Robert Townsend The Five Heartbeats is a 1991 musical drama film directed by Robert Townsend, who co-wrote the script with Keenan Ivory Wayans. Distributed by 20th Century Fox, the film's main cast includes ...more

27
2,536 646
Ali is listed (or ranked) 27 on the list List of Black Movies, Ranked Best to Worst
Ali Will Smith, Jamie Foxx, Jada Pinkett Smith Ali is a 2001 American biographical film directed by Michael Mann. The film tells the story of the boxer Muhammad Ali, played by Will Smith, from 1964-74 featuring his capture of the heavyweight ...more

The Most Entertaining Awful Shark Horror Movies

28
3,011 772
Boomerang is listed (or ranked) 28 on the list List of Black Movies, Ranked Best to Worst
Boomerang Halle Berry, Eddie Murphy, Chris Rock Boomerang is a 1992 American romantic comedy film directed by Reginald Hudlin. The film stars Eddie Murphy as Marcus Graham, a hotshot advertising executive who also happens to be an insatiable ...more

29
4,790 556
Poetic Justice is listed (or ranked) 29 on the list List of Black Movies, Ranked Best to Worst
Poetic Justice Janet Jackson, Keanu Reeves, Tupac Shakur Poetic Justice is a 1993 drama/romance film starring Janet Jackson and Tupac Shakur with Regina King and Joe Torry. It was written and directed by John Singleton. The main character, Justice, ...more

30
2,815 550
Antwone Fisher is listed (or ranked) 30 on the list List of Black Movies, Ranked Best to Worst
Antwone Fisher Denzel Washington, Viola Davis, Salli Richardson Antwone Fisher is a 2002 American biographical drama film directed by Denzel Washington, marking his directorial debut. He also stars in the film as the psychiatrist Jerome Davenport, alongside ...more

31
3,636 568
House Party is listed (or ranked) 31 on the list List of Black Movies, Ranked Best to Worst
House Party Martin Lawrence, George Clinton, Paul O'Grady House Party is a 1990 American comedy film released by New Line Cinema. It stars Kid and Play of the popular hip hop duo Kid 'n Play, and also stars Paul Anthony, Bow-Legged Lou, and B-Fine from ...more

32
2,212 561
A Time to Kill is listed (or ranked) 32 on the list List of Black Movies, Ranked Best to Worst
A Time to Kill Sandra Bullock, Matthew McConaughey, Kevin Spacey A Time to Kill is a 1996 drama film adaptation of John Grisham's 1989 novel of the same name, directed by Joel Schumacher. Matthew McConaughey, Sandra Bullock, Samuel L. Jackson, and Kevin ...more

Actors of The Fresh Prince of Bel Air: Where Are They Now?

33
3,987 563
Soul Food is listed (or ranked) 33 on the list List of Black Movies, Ranked Best to Worst
Soul Food Vivica A. Fox, Nia Long, Vanessa L. Williams Soul Food is a 1997 American comedy-drama film, produced by Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, Tracey Edmonds, and Robert Teitel, and released by Fox 2000 Pictures. Featuring an ensemble ...more

34
3,434 529
Life is listed (or ranked) 34 on the list List of Black Movies, Ranked Best to Worst
Life Eddie Murphy, Poppy Montgomery, Martin Lawrence Life is a 1999 American comedy-drama film written by Robert Ramsey & Matthew Stone and directed by Ted Demme. The film stars Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence. The supporting cast includes ...more

35
3,513 542
Waiting to Exhale is listed (or ranked) 35 on the list List of Black Movies, Ranked Best to Worst
Waiting to Exhale Whitney Houston, Angela Bassett, Kelly Preston Waiting to Exhale is a 1995 American romantic drama film directed by Forest Whitaker and starring Whitney Houston and Angela Bassett. The film was adapted from the 1992 novel of the same name by ...more

36
3,629 403
What's Love Got to Do with It is listed (or ranked) 36 on the list List of Black Movies, Ranked Best to Worst
What's Love Got to Do with It Angela Bassett, Laurence Fishburne, Khandi Alexander What's Love Got to Do with It is a 1993 American biographical film directed by Brian Gibson, loosely based on the life of Tina Turner. It stars Angela Bassett as Tina Turner and Laurence ...more

37
3,921 534
The Wood is listed (or ranked) 37 on the list List of Black Movies, Ranked Best to Worst
The Wood Christina Milian, Sanaa Lathan, Taye Diggs The Wood is a 1999 romantic comedy, written by Rick Famuyiwa and Todd Boyd. Famuyiwa also directed the film, which stars Omar Epps, Richard T. Jones, and Taye Diggs.

The Greatest Action Movies of All Time

38
3,433 705
Brown Sugar is listed (or ranked) 38 on the list List of Black Movies, Ranked Best to Worst
Brown Sugar Queen Latifah, Mos Def, Method Man Brown Sugar is a 2002 American romantic comedy film written by Michael Elliott and Rick Famuyiwa, directed by Famuyiwa, and starring Taye Diggs and Sanaa Lathan. The film is a story of a ...more

39
2,417 517
Dead Presidents is listed (or ranked) 39 on the list List of Black Movies, Ranked Best to Worst
Dead Presidents Martin Sheen, Terrence Howard, Chris Tucker Dead Presidents is a 1995 American crime film written by Michael Henry Brown, also written, produced and directed by the Hughes brothers, starring Larenz Tate, Keith David, Chris Tucker, Freddy ...more

40
2,580 618
How Stella Got Her Groove Back is listed (or ranked) 40 on the list List of Black Movies, Ranked Best to Worst
How Stella Got Her Groove Back Whoopi Goldberg, Angela Bassett, Danny Glover How Stella Got Her Groove Back is a 1998 romantic comedy film directed by Kevin Rodney Sullivan, adapted from Terry McMillan's bestselling novel of the same title. The film stars Angela Bassett, ...more

41
2,004 626
School Daze is listed (or ranked) 41 on the list List of Black Movies, Ranked Best to Worst
School Daze Samuel L. Jackson, Laurence Fishburne, Spike Lee School Daze is a 1988 American musical-drama film, written and directed by Spike Lee, and starring Larry Fishburne, Giancarlo Esposito, and Tisha Campbell-Martin. Based in part on Spike Lee's ...more

42
2,505 539
Dreamgirls is listed (or ranked) 42 on the list List of Black Movies, Ranked Best to Worst
Dreamgirls Beyoncé Knowles, Eddie Murphy, Jamie Foxx Dreamgirls is a 2006 American musical drama film, directed by Bill Condon and jointly produced and released by DreamWorks Pictures and Paramount Pictures. The film debuted in three special road ...more

The Best African American Actors in Film

43
3,136 664
The Players Club is listed (or ranked) 43 on the list List of Black Movies, Ranked Best to Worst
The Players Club Jamie Foxx, Ice Cube, Terrence Howard The Players Club is a 1998 American comedy/drama film written and directed by Ice Cube, who made his directorial debut and also has a small role in the film. The film stars Bernie Mac, Jamie ...more

44
2,390 331
Coach Carter is listed (or ranked) 44 on the list List of Black Movies, Ranked Best to Worst
Coach Carter Channing Tatum, Samuel L. Jackson, Ashanti Coach Carter is a 2005 American biographical sports drama film directed by Thomas Carter. It is based on a true story of Richmond High School basketball coach Ken Carter portrayed by Samuel L. ...more

45
1,465 424
Enemy of the State is listed (or ranked) 45 on the list List of Black Movies, Ranked Best to Worst
Enemy of the State Will Smith, Jack Black, Gene Hackman Enemy of the State is a 1998 American spy-thriller about a group of rogue U.S. National Security Agency agents conspiring to kill a U.S. Congressman and try to cover up the murder. It was ...more

46
2,747 858
Big Momma's House is listed (or ranked) 46 on the list List of Black Movies, Ranked Best to Worst
Big Momma's House Paul Giamatti, Martin Lawrence, Nia Long Big Momma's House is a 2000 American comedy film directed by Raja Gosnell, written by Darryl Quarles and Don Rhymer, and starring Martin Lawrence as FBI agent Malcolm Turner. The majority of the ...more

47
2,009 416
The Original Kings of Comedy is listed (or ranked) 47 on the list List of Black Movies, Ranked Best to Worst
The Original Kings of Comedy Steve Harvey, Cedric the Entertainer, D. L. Hughley The Original Kings of Comedy is a 2000 stand-up comedy film, directed by Spike Lee, and featuring the comedy routines of Steve Harvey, D.L. Hughley, Cedric the Entertainer, and Bernie Mac. ...more

48
3,190 485
Baby Boy is listed (or ranked) 48 on the list List of Black Movies, Ranked Best to Worst
Baby Boy Snoop Dogg, Taraji P. Henson, Tyrese Gibson Baby Boy Production NotesIn 1991, 23-year-old director John Singleton guided viewers through South Central Los Angeles, taking for the first time an unflinching look at the devastating impact of ...more

49
1,925 270
American Gangster is listed (or ranked) 49 on the list List of Black Movies, Ranked Best to Worst
American Gangster Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe, Idris Elba American Gangster is a 2007 American biographical crime film directed and produced by Ridley Scott and written by Steven Zaillian. The film is based on the criminal career of Frank Lucas, a ...more

50
3,038 616
Love Jones is listed (or ranked) 50 on the list List of Black Movies, Ranked Best to Worst
Love Jones Nia Long, Isaiah Washington, Lisa Nicole Carson Love Jones is a 1997 American romantic drama film written and directed by Theodore Witcher, in his feature film debut. It stars Larenz Tate, Nia Long, Isaiah Washington, Bill Bellamy, and Lisa ...more