The Best Black Movies Ever Made, Ranked

Originally by Ranker Community

Updated January 28, 2021 580.3k votes 57.0k voters 6.3m views661 items

List RulesMovies 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 good, 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 popular 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, the best Black love movies, and the best cities for African Americans.

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Friday
Ice Cube, Meagan Good
Released: 1995
Directed by: F. Gary Gray
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2
6,555
906
Menace II Society
Samuel L. Jackson, Jada Pinkett Smith
Released: 1993
Directed by: Albert Hughes, Allen Hughes
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#513 of 675 The Best Movies Roger Ebert Gave Four Stars#11 of 36 30+ Great Movies About Juvenile Delinquents
3
6,423
881
Poetic Justice
Janet Jackson, Keanu Reeves
Released: 1993
Directed by: John Singleton
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4
8,413
1,368
Set It Off
Queen Latifah, Dr. Dre
Released: 1996
Directed by: F. Gary Gray
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#225 of 315 Movies with the Best Soundtracks#33 of 82 The Best Gangster Movies of the 1990s
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10,075
1,307
Love & Basketball
Tyra Banks, Gabrielle Union
Released: 2000
Directed by: Gina Prince-Bythewood
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#122 of 150 The Most Inspirational Sports Movies#5 of 130 The 25+ Best Movies for Black Women
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8,286
1,446
The Color Purple
Oprah Winfrey, Whoopi Goldberg
Released: 1985
Directed by: Steven Spielberg
See The Best The Color Purple Movie Quotes
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#49 of 369 The Best Movies Based On Books#6 of 170 The Most Utterly Depressing Movies Ever Made
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4,954
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Soul Food
Vivica A. Fox, Nia Long
Released: 1997
Directed by: George Tillman, Jr.
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#23 of 77 The Best Food Movies of All Time#48 of 60 The Best '90s Hood Movies
8
12,426
2,369
Boyz n the Hood
Ice Cube, Angela Bassett
Released: 1991
Directed by: John Singleton
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9
5,201
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New Jack City
Chris Rock, Ice-T
Released: 1991
Directed by: Mario Van Peebles
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#56 of 204 The Best Drug Movies of All Time#29 of 45 20+ Great Drama Movies About Drugs and Addiction
10
6,165
897
Lean on Me
Morgan Freeman, Tony Todd
Released: 1989
Directed by: John G. Avildsen
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5,920
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Juice
Tupac Shakur, Samuel L. Jackson
Released: 1992
Directed by: Ernest R. Dickerson
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What's Love Got to Do with It
Angela Bassett, Laurence Fishburne
Released: 1993
Directed by: Brian Gibson
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13
5,556
880
The Best Man
Nia Long, Terrence Howard
Released: 1999
Directed by: Malcolm D. Lee
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6,435
1,103
Bad Boys
Will Smith, Téa Leoni
Released: 1995
Directed by: Michael Bay
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15
4,653
779
House Party
Martin Lawrence, George Clinton
Released: 1990
Directed by: Reginald Hudlin
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#107 of 252 The Funniest '90s Movies#11 of 144 The Funniest Black Movies Ever Made
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4,718
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Life
Eddie Murphy, Poppy Montgomery
Released: 1999
Directed by: Ted Demme
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#3 of 24 The Funniest Movies About Jail#22 of 114 The Best Prison Movies
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5,026
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The Wood
Christina Milian, Sanaa Lathan
Released: 1999
Directed by: Rick Famuyiwa
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7,419
1,561
Malcolm X
Denzel Washington, Al Sharpton
Released: 1992
Directed by: Spike Lee
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#145 of 275 The Best Movies Based On True Stories#284 of 372 'Old' Movies Every Young Person Needs To Watch In Their Lifetime
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3,354
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Coach Carter
Samuel L. Jackson, Channing Tatum
Released: 2005
Directed by: Thomas Carter
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#55 of 204 The Best Sports Movies Ever Made#6 of 55 The 30+ Greatest Sports Drama Movies of All Time
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11,034
2,459
Coming to America
Eddie Murphy, Samuel L. Jackson
Released: 1988
Directed by: John Landis
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Ray
Kerry Washington, Jamie Foxx
Released: 2004
Directed by: Taylor Hackford
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22
4,288
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Waiting to Exhale
Whitney Houston, Angela Bassett
Released: 1995
Directed by: Forest Whitaker
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#283 of 782 The Greatest Chick Flicks Ever Made#55 of 101 The Best Black Romance Movies, Ranked
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5,460
1,218
Remember the Titans
Hayden Panettiere, Ryan Gosling
Released: 2000
Directed by: Boaz Yakin
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4,162
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Baby Boy
Snoop Dogg, Taraji P. Henson
Released: 2001
Directed by: John Singleton
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#17 of 159 The Best Hood Movies#10 of 147 The Very Best Movies About Life in the Ghetto
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A Thin Line Between Love and Hate
Martin Lawrence, Tracy Morgan
Released: 1996
Directed by: Martin Lawrence
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