Want to know the best Bill Paxton movies? How about the worst Bill Paxton movies? Curious about Tom Hardy’s box office grosses or which Bill Paxton movie picked up the most Oscar® nominations? Need to know which Bill Paxton movie got the best reviews from critics and audiences and which ones got the worst reviews? Well you have come to the right place….because we have all of that information.
So this morning….we had just gotten home from our weekly grocery shopping trip….and as we were putting the final groceries away…WoC (Wife of Cogerson) says….”Bill Paxton?” as she was staring down at her i-Phone. Well…since WoC does not generally say actors name out loud for no reason…I responded…”He didn’t die did he?” Sadly that is what had happened. My kids all said….”You should do an UMR page on Bill Paxton”.
At first I was like….”nah….I also feel like an ambulance chasing lawyer when I do a page AFTER a movie star has passed”. But then all of the Paxton roles started flying through my brain…..the mean older brother in Weird Science, the punk Arnold takes a jacket from in The Terminator, his astronaut in Apollo 13, the crazed garbage collector in The Dark Backward, his marine in Aliens, his Earp brother in Tombstone, his fake secret agent in True Lies, his tornado chasing scientist in Twister, his…..I think you get the point. So in the end…we decided to do a Bill Paxton tribute page. Rest in Peace Mr. Paxton. February 25th 2017.
His IMDb page shows 93 acting credits from 1975-2017. This page will rank Bill Paxton (1955-2017) movies from Best to Worst in six different sortable columns of information. Television shows, shorts, cameos and movies that were not released in North American theaters were not included in the rankings.
Bill Paxton Movies Ranked In Chronological Order With Ultimate Movie Rankings Score (1 to 5 UMR Tickets) *Best combo of box office, reviews and awards.
Year
Movie (Year)
Rating
S
Year Movie (Year) Rating S
1997
Titanic (1997)
AA Best Picture Win
1986
Aliens (1986)
1995
Apollo 13 (1995)
AA Best Picture Nom
1984
The Terminator (1984)
1981
Stripes (1981)
1994
True Lies (1994)
1996
Twister (1996)
1993
Tombstone (1993)
2014
Edge of Tomorrow (2014)
2000
U-571 (2000)
2002
Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams (2002)
2003
Spy Kids 3: Game Over (2003)
2014
Nightcrawler (2014)
1985
Commando (1985)
2000
Vertical Limit (2000)
1998
A Simple Plan (1998)
2013
2 Guns (2013)
2005
Magnificent Desolation (IMAX) (2005)
1998
Mighty Joe Young (1998)
1992
One False Move (1992)
2003
Ghosts of the Abyss (IMAX) (2003)
2011
Haywire (2011)
1990
Predator 2 (1990)
2014
Million Dollar Arm (2014)
2001
Frailty (2001)
1985
Weird Science (1985)
1987
Near Dark (1987)
1993
Indian Summer (1993)
1984
Streets of Fire (1984)
1992
Trespass (1992)
2005
The Greatest Game Ever Played (2005)
1983
The Lords of Discipline (1983)
1997
Traveller (1997)
2007
The Good Life (2007)
2013
Red Wing (2013)
1995
The Last Supper (1995)
1988
Pass the Ammo (1988)
1989
Next of Kin (1989)
1994
Frank & Jesse (1994)
2012
Shanghai Calling (2012)
1990
Brain Dead (1990)
1992
The Vagrant (1992)
1990
Navy Seals (1990)
2017
The Circle (2017)
2004
Club Dread (2004)
1983
Mortuary (1983)
1984
Impulse (1984)
1996
The Evening Star (1996)
1990
The Last of the Finest (1990)
1989
Back To Back (1989)
1991
The Dark Backward (1991)
2013
The Colony (2013)
2004
Thunderbirds (2004)
1993
Boxing Helena (1993)
2005
Haven (2004)
2016
Term Life (2016)
1989
Slipstream (1989)
Bill Paxton Movies Can Be Ranked 6 Ways In This Table
The really cool thing about this table is that it is “user-sortable”. Rank the movies anyway you want.
- Sort by Bill Paxton movies by co-stars of his movies.
- Sort Bill Paxton movies by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost (in millions)
- Sort Bill Paxton movies by yearly domestic box office rank
- Sort Bill Paxton movies how they were received by critics and audiences. 60% rating or higher should indicate a good movie.
- Sort by how many Oscar® nominations and how many Oscar® wins each Bill Paxton movie received.
- Sort Bill Paxton movies by Ultimate Movie Rankings (UMR) Score. UMR Score puts box office, reviews and awards into a mathematical equation and gives each movie a score.
- Use the search and sort buttons to make this page very interactive.
| R | Movie (Year) | UMR Co-Star Links | Adj. B.O. Worldwide (mil) | Review | Oscar Nom / Win | UMR Score | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | Movie (Year) | UMR Co-Star Links | Actual B.O. Domestic (mil) | Adj. B.O. Domestic (mil) | Adj. B.O. Worldwide (mil) | B.O. Rank by Year | Review | Oscar Nom / Win | UMR Score | S |
| 1 | Titanic (1997) AA Best Picture Win |
Leonardo DiCaprio & Kate Winslet |
621.80 | 1,460.3 | 4,763.40 | 1 | 78 | 14 / 11 | 99.8 | |
| 3 | Aliens (1986) | Sigourney Weaver & Michael Biehn |
141.00 | 409.6 | 409.60 | 3 | 94 | 07 / 02 | 99.6 | |
| 2 | Apollo 13 (1995) AA Best Picture Nom |
Tom Hanks & Directed by Ron Howard |
173.10 | 428.9 | 878.40 | 3 | 86 | 09 / 02 | 99.6 | |
| 5 | The Terminator (1984) | Arnold Schwarzenegger & Michael Biehn |
53.10 | 170.4 | 298.80 | 13 | 91 | 00 / 00 | 97.9 | |
| 4 | Stripes (1981) | Bill Murray & Harold Ramis |
85.30 | 330.8 | 330.80 | 5 | 78 | 00 / 00 | 97.0 | |
| 6 | True Lies (1994) | Arnold Schwarzenegger & Directed by James Cameron |
146.30 | 386.5 | 1,001.10 | 3 | 71 | 01 / 00 | 95.6 | |
| 7 | Twister (1996) | Helen Hunt & Philip Seymour Hoffman |
240.90 | 587.6 | 1,204.00 | 2 | 66 | 00 / 00 | 94.2 | |
| 9 | Tombstone (1993) | Kurt Russell & Michael Biehn |
56.50 | 147.1 | 190.60 | 20 | 80 | 00 / 00 | 93.1 | |
| 8 | Edge of Tomorrow (2014) | Tom Cruise | 100.20 | 132.2 | 488.90 | 34 | 84 | 00 / 00 | 93.1 | |
| 10 | U-571 (2000) | Matthew McConaughey | 77.10 | 154.2 | 255.30 | 28 | 67 | 02 / 01 | 91.2 | |
| 11 | Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams (2002) | Antonio Banderas | 85.80 | 159.6 | 222.50 | 30 | 66 | 00 / 00 | 89.7 | |
| 12 | Spy Kids 3: Game Over (2003) | Sylvester Stallone & George Clooney |
111.80 | 199.8 | 352.20 | 19 | 50 | 00 / 00 | 88.9 | |
| 13 | Nightcrawler (2014) | Jake Gyllenhaal | 32.40 | 42.7 | 51.10 | 94 | 86 | 01 / 00 | 84.0 | |
| 14 | Commando (1985) | Arnold Schwarzenegger | 35.10 | 106.6 | 174.60 | 25 | 66 | 00 / 00 | 83.9 | |
| 16 | Vertical Limit (2000) | Scott Glenn | 69.20 | 138.5 | 138.50 | 35 | 54 | 00 / 00 | 82.4 | |
| 15 | A Simple Plan (1998) | Billy Bob Thornton | 16.30 | 37.5 | 37.50 | 94 | 82 | 02 / 00 | 81.5 | |
| 18 | 2 Guns (2013) | Denzel Washington & Mark Wahlberg |
75.60 | 100.3 | 174.90 | 45 | 62 | 00 / 00 | 81.1 | |
| 17 | Magnificent Desolation (IMAX) (2005) | Tom Hanks | 34.10 | 57.4 | 57.40 | 81 | 76 | 00 / 00 | 80.6 | |
| 19 | Mighty Joe Young (1998) | Charlize Theron | 50.60 | 116.4 | 163.50 | 43 | 54 | 00 / 00 | 78.1 | |
| 20 | One False Move (1992) | Billy Bob Thornton | 1.50 | 4.0 | 4.00 | 159 | 84 | 00 / 00 | 73.4 | |
| 21 | Ghosts of the Abyss (IMAX) (2003) | Directed by James Cameron | 17.00 | 30.5 | 51.30 | 113 | 74 | 00 / 00 | 71.7 | |
| 22 | Haywire (2011) | Michael Douglas & Michael Fassbender |
18.90 | 25.8 | 45.40 | 120 | 73 | 00 / 00 | 69.3 | |
| 25 | Predator 2 (1990) | Danny Glover | 30.70 | 78.2 | 145.70 | 37 | 57 | 00 / 00 | 69.0 | |
| 24 | Million Dollar Arm (2014) | Jon Hamm | 36.50 | 48.1 | 51.80 | 87 | 65 | 00 / 00 | 68.1 | |
| 23 | Frailty (2001) | Bill Paxton & Matthew McConaughey |
13.10 | 25.0 | 25.00 | 124 | 73 | 00 / 00 | 68.0 | |
| 26 | Weird Science (1985) | Robert Downey Jr. | 23.80 | 72.4 | 72.40 | 37 | 57 | 00 / 00 | 66.1 | |
| 26 | Near Dark (1987) | Lance Henriksen | 3.40 | 9.3 | 9.30 | 122 | 74 | 00 / 00 | 62.7 | |
| 29 | Indian Summer (1993) | Alan Arkin | 14.90 | 38.8 | 38.80 | 87 | 64 | 00 / 00 | 62.3 | |
| 30 | Streets of Fire (1984) | Willem Dafoe & Diane Lane |
8.10 | 26.0 | 26.00 | 89 | 67 | 00 / 00 | 60.8 | |
| 30 | Trespass (1992) | Ice Cube & William Sadler |
13.20 | 34.4 | 34.40 | 86 | 63 | 00 / 00 | 58.3 | |
| 31 | The Greatest Game Ever Played (2005) | Shia LaBeouf | 15.30 | 25.8 | 26.50 | 135 | 65 | 00 / 00 | 57.5 | |
| 32 | The Lords of Discipline (1983) | Michael Biehn | 11.80 | 40.3 | 40.30 | 58 | 59 | 00 / 00 | 55.0 | |
| 33 | Traveller (1997) | Mark Wahlberg | 0.50 | 1.3 | 1.30 | 205 | 68 | 00 / 00 | 48.9 | |
| 34 | The Good Life (2007) | Zooey Deschanel | 0.00 | 0.1 | 0.10 | 363 | 68 | 00 / 00 | 46.1 | |
| 35 | Red Wing (2013) | Glen Powell | 0.10 | 0.1 | 0.10 | 303 | 67 | 00 / 00 | 44.1 | |
| 35 | The Last Supper (1995) | Cameron Diaz | 0.50 | 1.1 | 1.10 | 215 | 65 | 00 / 00 | 40.8 | |
| 35 | Pass the Ammo (1988) | Tim Curry | 0.20 | 0.4 | 0.40 | 241 | 64 | 00 / 00 | 39.0 | |
| 37 | Next of Kin (1989) | Patrick Swayze & Liam Neeson |
15.90 | 43.3 | 43.30 | 62 | 48 | 00 / 00 | 33.5 | |
| 37 | Frank & Jesse (1994) | Rob Lowe | 0.10 | 0.1 | 0.10 | 254 | 59 | 00 / 00 | 28.2 | |
| 38 | Shanghai Calling (2012) | Le Heng | 0.10 | 0.1 | 0.10 | 357 | 58 | 00 / 00 | 25.2 | |
| 40 | Brain Dead (1990) | Bill Pullman | 1.60 | 4.1 | 4.10 | 159 | 56 | 00 / 00 | 24.0 | |
| 40 | The Vagrant (1992) | Michael Ironside | 0.10 | 0.2 | 0.20 | 218 | 56 | 00 / 00 | 22.7 | |
| 42 | Navy Seals (1990) | Michael Biehn & Charlie Sheen |
25.10 | 63.9 | 63.90 | 48 | 35 | 00 / 00 | 20.8 | |
| 44 | The Circle (2017) | Tom Hanks & Emma Watson |
20.50 | 24.6 | 24.60 | 100 | 45 | 00 / 00 | 16.4 | |
| 45 | Club Dread (2004) | Jay Chandrasekhar | 5.00 | 8.7 | 8.70 | 165 | 49 | 00 / 00 | 15.9 | |
| 44 | Mortuary (1983) | Mary Beth McDonough | 4.30 | 14.8 | 14.80 | 94 | 46 | 00 / 00 | 13.2 | |
| 47 | Impulse (1984) | Tim Matheson | 2.80 | 8.9 | 8.90 | 127 | 46 | 00 / 00 | 11.8 | |
| 48 | The Evening Star (1996) | Shirley MacLaine & Jack Nicholson |
12.80 | 31.1 | 31.10 | 111 | 39 | 00 / 00 | 11.8 | |
| 49 | The Last of the Finest (1990) | Brian Dennehy | 1.50 | 3.9 | 3.90 | 163 | 48 | 00 / 00 | 11.7 | |
| 49 | Back To Back (1989) | Ben Johnson | 0.10 | 0.1 | 0.10 | 213 | 47 | 00 / 00 | 9.2 | |
| 50 | The Dark Backward (1991) | Judd Nelson & James Caan |
0.00 | 0.1 | 0.10 | 253 | 46 | 00 / 00 | 8.8 | |
| 51 | The Colony (2013) | Kevin Zegers & Laurence Fishburne |
0.00 | 0.1 | 0.10 | 358 | 45 | 00 / 00 | 7.7 | |
| 52 | Thunderbirds (2004) | Ben Kingsley | 6.90 | 11.9 | 49.10 | 148 | 39 | 00 / 00 | 6.0 | |
| 54 | Boxing Helena (1993) | Julian Sands | 1.80 | 4.7 | 4.70 | 167 | 37 | 00 / 00 | 3.2 | |
| 54 | Haven (2004) | Orlando Bloom & Zoe Saldana |
0.10 | 0.2 | 0.30 | 281 | 37 | 00 / 00 | 2.8 | |
| 55 | Term Life (2016) | Vince Vaughn | 0.10 | 0.1 | 0.10 | 245 | 36 | 00 / 00 | 2.4 | |
| 56 | Slipstream (1989) | Mark Hamill | 0.00 | 0.1 | 0.10 | 227 | 34 | 00 / 00 | 1.7 |
Bill Paxton Adjusted World Wide Box Office Grosses
Possibly Interesting Facts About Bill Paxton
“That’s it, man. Game over, man. Game over!” – Private Hudson….1986’s Aliens…..it was playing the game with you Mr. Paxton….Rest in Peace.If you do a comment….please ignore the email address and website section.
Pretty sad news, this man had a quite a few memorable roles. Though are loss is sad, today at work I was given the pleasure of describing the plot to The Dark Backward and Paxton’s accordion player. I cannot seem to remember his character in Stripes, Commando, or Predator 2. Anyways…on with it…
Seen:22/51 or 43%
Favorite Top 10: Tombstone
UMR Snub (Too High/Too Low): Frailty can compete but TOMBSTONE is too low on this list.
Guilty Pleasure: Navy Seals, back when the old man taught me who Biehn was…along came Paxton.
Deep down I think we all loved most of his movies….even his latest Edge of Tomorrow was really good. So sad…RIP
Hey BryRog57….thanks for checking out our Paxton tribute. His character in The Dark Backward is one of the most outrageous characters in any movie I have ever seen. Not saying the movie is good….just that it has to be seen to believe.
Glad you remember your Biehn lessons from your youth…and yes Mr. Paxton came along with him. I want to see Frality…I have heard it is good…but up there with Tombstone? Find that hard to believe.
Good feedback…thanks for sharing it. Your tally is impressive but looks small compared to me. Living in my shadows…..lol.
I was stunned when I saw Bill died today, he seemed like he was in great shape. 61 onl, just like Miguel Ferrer earlier this year.
Bill is exactly #300 on the Oracle of Bacon list. Since Ben Kingsley was #30 and I listed the people ranked higher than him he worked with I decided to show anyone in the top 30 who appeared with Bill.
Apollo 13 (1995) – 24 Rance Howard
Edge of Tomorrow (2014) – 14 Joseph Oliviera
Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon (2005) – 12 Morgan Feeman
Mighty Joe Young (1998) -25 Richard Riehle
Monolith (1993) – 23 John Hurt
Next of Kin (1989) – 16 Liam Neeson
Slipstream (1989) – 30 Ben Kingsley
Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams (2002) – 3 Danny Trejo
Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over (2003) – 3 Danny Trejo
Streets of Fire (1984) – 7 Michael Pare
Traveller (1997) – 24 Rance Howard
True Lies (1994) – 14 Joseph Oliviera
U-571 (2000) – 5 Harvey Keitel
I did this quickly but I count 21 Oscar winners with Bill.
Apollo 13 (1995) – Tom Hanks
Back to Back (1989) – Ben Johnson
Brain Dead (1990) – George Kennedy
Crazy Mama (1975) – Cloris Leachman
Frailty (2001) – Matthew McConaughey
Haywire (2012) – Michael Douglas
Indian Summer (1993) – Alan Arkin
Magnificent Obsession: Walking on the Moon (2005)- Morgan Freeman, Tom Hanks, Matthew McConaughey, Paul Newman
Mighty Joe Young (1998) – Charlize Theron
Million Dollar Arm (2014) – Alan Arkin
Slipstream (1989) – Ben Kingsley, F. Murray Abraham
Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over (2003) – George Clooney
The Evening Star (1996) – Shirley MacLaine, Jack Nicholson
Thunderbirds (2004) – Ben Kingsley
Titanic (1997) – Kate Winslet, Kathy Bates, Leonardo Dicaprio
Tombstone (1993) – Charlton Heston
True Lies (1994) – Charlton Heston
Twister (1996) – Helen Hunt, Philip Seymour Hoffman
U-571 (2000) – Matthew McConaughey
Hey Dan. Shocking is the way I felt too. When playing the mind game of naming his movies…I was so impressive with the volume of great movies….it left me thinking he was way under appreciated. I imagine he was even higher in previous Oracle rankings….seems television (Big Love) started taking away from his movie making time.
21 Oscar winners is actually a little low. I am trying to think who you left off…but it looks like you got all the ones I thought of…thanks for sharing this information on this very sad day. RIP Bill Paxton.
Bill was 526 in 2000, 469 in 2005, 320 in 2014 and had moved up to 300 this time around.
Hey Dan….thanks for the information on his rankings…seems somewhat strange that he has moved up as his movie career slowed.
Hi
Really sorry to hear of his tragic death, it seems there was complications following a routine operation. It must be an awful blow for his family.
I would say my favourite Paxton movie is A Simple Plan, story about three ordinary guys finding a case full of money in a plane in the forest. The story develops as we see how the money changes everything, the relationships among themselves and their families. It’s a really powerful film. The cast are on top form. I’m surprised it didn’t get the recognition it deserved.
Of course Apollo 13 and who could forget Titanic. To me he was always an ‘every man’ kind of actor, an ordinary guy you could relate to on the screen.
It’s a sad loss for movies but even worse for his family.
Hey Chris….thanks for sharing your thoughts on Bill Paxton. I agree a horrible blow for his family….shocking and sad. A Simple Plan is a good movie….I actually read the book first..and they did a good job of bringing that to the big screen. It got a couple of Oscar nominations….with one being for Billy Bob…who played Paxton’s brother.
Apollo 13 is another great one….though his role is not as flashy as others in the movie. Seems he and Hanks became good friends while making that one. Sad loss…for his family and friends.
“Game over man. Game over!” Sad news guys. I’m still shocked. So unexpected. Loved him as Hudson in Aliens, one of my favorite sci-fi films. From what I’ve read there were complications after he had heart surgery. So sad.
I’ve seen 26 of the 51 films listed, favorites include Terminator, True Lies, Aliens, Predator 2, Twister, Titanic, Near Dark, Tombstone, Commando, Apollo 13 and Edge of Tomorrow.
Aliens tops the critics chart, nice. Titanic the UMR no.1, no surprises there.
Interesting trivia about the JFK assassination.
Good tribute Bruce. Vote Up
Hey Steve….I love his movie quote from Aliens….it was bouncing around my head all day long. Aliens is one of my favorite movies of all-time. His Hudson is really run to watch. I know he wanted Hudson to come back for the Alien movie they are working on….maybe he made it out of that air vent after all.
I have seen 35. of his movies…with Frality being the one I want to see the most. Like most of your favorites too….with Terminator, Tombstone, True Lies, Aliens and Twister being my Top 5.
Glad you like the rankings…thanks for the feedback. RIP Private Hudson
Thoughts and prayers to his loved ones.
I second that Chandler…RIP Bill!