Want to know the best Pink Panther movies? How about the worst Pink Panther movies? Curious about Pink Panther box office grosses or which Pink Panther movie picked up the most Oscar® nominations? Need to know which Pink Panther got the best reviews from critics and audiences and which got the worst reviews? Well you have come to the right place….because we have all of that information.
The Pink Panther movie franchise primarily focuses on a series of comedy-mystery films featuring an inept French police detective, Inspector Jacques Clouseau. The series began with the release of 1963’s The Pink Panther (1963). The role of Clouseau was originated by, and is most closely associated with, Peter Sellers. Most of the films were written and directed by Blake Edwards, with theme music composed by Henry Mancini. Elements and characters inspired by the films were adapted into other media, including books, comic books and animated series. This page ranks the 11 Pink Panther movies Best to Worst in 6 different categories.
Figured listening to this classic theme…might make reading the table even more fun.
Pink Panther 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 Pink Panther movies by who played Inspector Jacques Clouseau or his relative.
- Sort Pink Panther movies by who played Jane…..if she was in the movie.
- Sort Pink Panther movies by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost (in millions)
- Sort Pink Panther movies how they were received by critics and audiences. 60% rating or higher should indicate a good movie.
- Sort by how many Oscar® nominations each Pink Panther movie received and how many Oscar® wins each Pink Panther movie won.
- Sort Pink Panther 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 button to make this page very interactive.
Stats and Possibly Interesting Things From The Above Pink Panther Table
- Six Pink Panther movies crossed the magical $100 million domestic gross mark. That is a percentage of 54.54% of the movies listed. The Pink Panther Strikes Again (1976) is the biggest Pink Panther box office hit.
- An average Pink Panther movie grosses $111.40 million in adjusted box office gross.
- Using RottenTomatoes.com’s 60% fresh meter. 5 Pink Panther movies are rated as good movies…or 45.45% of his movies. A Shot in the Dark (1964) is the highest rated Pink Panther movie while Son of the Pink Panther (1993) is the lowest rated Pink Panther movie.
- Two Pink Panther movies received at least one Oscar® nomination in any category…..or 18.18% of the Pink Panther movies.
- Zero Pink Panther movies won at least one Oscar® in any category…..or 0.00% of the Pink Panther movies.
- An average Ultimate Movie Rankings (UMR) Score is 60. 5 Pink Panther movies scored higher that average….or 45.45% of the Pink Panther movies. The Pink Panther Strikes Again (1976) got the the highest UMR Score while Son of the Pink Panther (1993) got the lowest UMR Score.
Possibly Interesting Facts About Pink Panther Movies
1. The first film in the series, 1963’s The Pink Panther, was intended to have David Niven’s character Sir Charles Lytton as the main character. However, Peter Sellers’ portrayal of Inspector Clouseau was so loved by the crew (and later by the audience) it became his character that this film and the sequels focused on.
2. Peter Sellers modeled the character of Clouseau on the trademark of a box of matches which includes an image of Capt. Matthew Webb, who in 1875 became the first person to swim the channel (his heroic mustache and proud stance are both mimicked).
3. In the bath scene with Capucine and Robert Wagner in 1963’s The Pink Panther, an industrial-strength foaming agent was used, which burned both of the stars’ skin. Wagner, who was completely immersed at one point, became blind for four weeks.
4. Cato played by Burt Kwouk and Dreyfus played by Herbert Lom make their first appearance in the Clouseau film series in 1964’s A Shot In The Dark.
5. Because the careers of Blake Edwards and Peter Sellers were declining, United Artists had no desire to finance another Panther film. Edwards took his script of The Return of the Pink Panther (1975) to British producer Lew Grade, who subsequently bought the rights. The Return of the Pink Panther ended up being the most successful movie in the series.
6. The blue-and-gold macaw that appears in 1976’s The Pink Panther Strikes Back is the same bird that appears in two of the Bond films, For Your Eyes Only (1981) and The Living Daylights (1987).
7. 1978’s Revenge of the Pink Panther was the fifth “Pink Panther” movie and the final one of the 1970s. It also was the final live collaboration of Peter Sellers and Blake Edwards. 1982’s Trail of the Pink Panther consisted of outtakes and unused scenes from The Pink Panther Strikes Again (1976).
8. David Niven filmed his scenes for Trail of the Pink Panther (1982) and Curse of the Pink Panther (1983) at the same time, due to his ill health. His voice was so weak that professional celebrity impressionist Rich Little was hired to dub Niven’s voice.
9. Steve Martin had such respect for Peter Sellers that when he was asked to take over the role of Clouseau, he put off the decision to accept it until after he had already worked out the character’s accent and run several ideas for scenes past director Shawn Levy.
10. Check out the Pink Panther movies compared to current and classic actors. Most 100 Million Dollar Movies of All-Time.
Return of the Pink Panther was the first one I saw in a theater. It was on a double in my neighborhood with Woody Allen’s Take the Money and Run which was 6 years old at the time. I’ve seen them all, not a big Peter Sellers fan and I told you about being snowed out for the 2nd Steve Martin one.
Hey Dan….tally count….you 11, me and Steve 9 and Flora 6. That would be a funny double feature to check out…….I recently rewatched most of the Sellers’ Panther movies….but Return of the Pink Panther is the one I have not been able to check out. Thanks for the comment, the tally and the movie memories…they are always appreciated.
I’ve seen all the Peter Sellers Pink Panther movies. That is 6.
I tried watching the Steve Martin first movie, but could not get through it.
My favourite Pink Panther films are The Pink Panther and A Shot in the Dark.
I am a big fan of Henry Mancini music and have a cd of his scores.
Hey Flora….tally count….me and Steve at 9….you at 6. I felt the first Pink Panther Martin movie had some funny parts….and I liked the Clive Owen and Kevin Kline supporting roles. The second Martin Panther movie was hard to watch….I will probably never watch that one again. A Shot in the Dark is my favorite….while my fondest memory is seeing The Pink Panther Strikes Back with my father….we both laughed so hard at the massive assassin scene where everybody gets killed except for Sellers. As a Mancini fan….hope you clicked the video and listened to the famous Panther scene while checking out the page and commenting. Good stuff as always.
One of my favorite movie franchises. That being said, it appears to be hit and miss when you watch a Pink Panther movie. The early Seller ones are awesome. The first Martin has some funny scenes. The last Seller ones are good, the rest are horrible. Though I have not seen The Son of the Pink Panther, based on the stats I am not missing anything.
I agree with you SteinHoF16….they are very hit and miss. The first two are classics. The third one with Arkin is supposed to be horrible (I have not seen it)…..while the Sellers’ ones of the 1970s are all good….though have not aged very well. The early 1980s ones are horrible….the Son of the Pink Panther is the lowest one rated here…..the first Martin one is decent…while the second one destroyed the franchise…at least for awhile. That is indeed a “hit and miss” franchise. Thanks for the comment and the visit.
“The fern is ringing” Loved Peter Sellers as Inspector Clouseau.
Looking at the charts I’ve missed seeing just 2 films they are – Son of the Pink Panther (Benigni) and Inspector Clouseau (Alan Arkin).
My favorites are the first 5 Peter Sellers comedies with the first two in the lead, the funniest IMO is the second one – A Shot in the Dark.
Looking at the grosses the most successful seems to be the 4th movie – The Pink Panther Strikes Again. I saw that at the cinema 40 years ago, jeez I’m getting old.
So there is a James Bond connection, the same parrot was used and Roger Moore has a cameo as Clouseau in Curse of the Pink Panther. Interesting.
A fun page Bruce. Vote Up!
Hey Steve
1. Loved Sellers and the Pink Panther movies as a kid….seeing the ones in the 1970s with my father were very good times.
2. I have also seen 9 of his movies….though…my memory of Curse of the Pink Panther is very faint….other than it was pretty horrible. I have also not seen the two you have not seen…..though the Arkin version is at my local library.
3. I have recently re-watched the original Pink Panther, A Shot in the Dark, Revenge of the Pink, The Pink Panther Strikes Back and Trail of the Pink Panther….actually saw that one two nights ago. Looking to re-watch Return of the Pink Panther….but that one is a little hard to find….as it has a different owner of the rights of the movie.
4. We are both getting older…especially when we are talking about movies we saw in theaters 40 years ago.
5. Glad you like the James Bond connection….I figured you would like that.
6. Thanks for the kind words and the visit.