The proverbial yin to Marvel’s yang, DC Comics has itself inspired no shortage of classic film adaptations. Long before the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) was even a thing, efforts such as 1978’s “Superman” were redefining the entire concept of a comic book movie. In fact, one could make the argument that a number of the best DC films were released prior to or outside of the DCEU, such as Christopher Nolan’s iconic “Dark Knight” trilogy. (Here are all the “Batman” actors ranked from worst to best.)
On a related note, 2002’s “Road to Perdition” and David Cronenberg’s “A History of Violence” were both based on DC properties – a fact perhaps not generally known. Meanwhile, recent classics such as 2019’s “The Joker” and 2022’s “The Batman” are not technically considered to be part of the DCEU. As it just so happens, they’re also some of the most beloved DC-based films of the last decade. Does anyone notice a trend here? (These are 20 graphic novels that were made into really good movies.)
To spell it out, it would appear that most of the best DC efforts are the ones that don’t try to take on the MCU directly. The few exceptions would be 2017’s “Wonder Woman” and “Zack Snyder’s Justice League,” the latter of which may or may not be as good as its devoted fan base would have one believe. Otherwise, the DCEU has consistently struggled to land emotional punches or tell gripping stories without resorting to overwrought melodrama. Compare that to the MCU, which balances comedy and drama while generating genuine pathos for its myriad of characters.
But we digress. After all, is there a Marvel film or even a Marvel-adjacent film held in the same regard as something like “The Dark Knight?” Yin and yang, indeed.
Click here to see the best DC movies of all time
To determine the best DC Movies of all time, 24/7 Tempo created an index of average user ratings on IMDb, an online movie and TV database owned by Amazon, and average audience ratings on Rotten Tomatoes, an online movie and TV review aggregator, scaled to take into account the varying number of votes across the movies in our database. This combined rating was then averaged with the Rotten Tomatoes critic rating to obtain each film’s 24/7 Tempo index score. The rankings included all animated and live-action feature films based on DC Comics publications, including DC imprints.
47. Steel (1997)
> IMDb rating: 2.9 (13,923 votes)
> RT audience rating: 19% (7,118 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 12% (26 votes)
> Starring: Shaquille O’Neal, Annabeth Gish, Judd Nelson, Richard Roundtree
> Director: Kenneth Johnson
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46. Catwoman (2004)
> IMDb rating: 3.4 (118,422 votes)
> RT audience rating: 18% (274,736 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 9% (198 votes)
> Starring: Halle Berry, Sharon Stone, Benjamin Bratt, Lambert Wilson
> Director: Pitof
45. Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987)
> IMDb rating: 3.7 (48,270 votes)
> RT audience rating: 16% (66,115 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 10% (48 votes)
> Starring: Christopher Reeve, Gene Hackman, Margot Kidder, Jackie Cooper
> Director: Sidney J. Furie
44. Batman & Robin (1997)
> IMDb rating: 3.7 (250,422 votes)
> RT audience rating: 16% (554,671 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 12% (93 votes)
> Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, George Clooney, Chris O’Donnell, Uma Thurman
> Director: Joel Schumacher
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43. Supergirl (1984)
> IMDb rating: 4.4 (22,021 votes)
> RT audience rating: 26% (49,294 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 9% (34 votes)
> Starring: Helen Slater, Faye Dunaway, Peter O’Toole, Mia Farrow
> Director: Jeannot Szwarc
42. Jonah Hex (2010)
> IMDb rating: 4.7 (58,766 votes)
> RT audience rating: 20% (170,782 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 12% (153 votes)
> Starring: Josh Brolin, Megan Fox, John Malkovich, Michael Fassbender
> Director: Jimmy Hayward
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41. Superman III (1983)
> IMDb rating: 5.0 (69,797 votes)
> RT audience rating: 23% (167,256 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 29% (55 votes)
> Starring: Christopher Reeve, Richard Pryor, Margot Kidder, Jackie Cooper
> Director: Richard Lester
40. Batman (1943)
> IMDb rating: 6.1 (2,179 votes)
> RT audience rating: 61% (2,999 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 0% (2 votes)
> Starring: Lewis Wilson, Douglas Croft, J. Carrol Naish, Shirley Patterson
> Director: Lambert Hillyer
39. Batman Forever (1995)
> IMDb rating: 5.4 (250,293 votes)
> RT audience rating: 32% (609,359 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 39% (69 votes)
> Starring: Val Kilmer, Tommy Lee Jones, Jim Carrey, Nicole Kidman
> Director: Joel Schumacher
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38. Green Lantern (2011)
> IMDb rating: 5.5 (282,104 votes)
> RT audience rating: 45% (149,565 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 26% (248 votes)
> Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Peter Sarsgaard, Mark Strong
> Director: Martin Campbell
37. The Return of Swamp Thing (1989)
> IMDb rating: 4.6 (5,525 votes)
> RT audience rating: 55% (3,905 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 44% (9 votes)
> Starring: Heather Locklear, Louis Jourdan, Sarah Douglas
> Director: Jim Wynorski
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36. Suicide Squad (2016)
> IMDb rating: 5.9 (672,885 votes)
> RT audience rating: 59% (147,456 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 26% (390 votes)
> Starring: Will Smith, Jared Leto, Margot Robbie, Viola Davis
> Director: David Ayer
35. The Kitchen (2019)
> IMDb rating: 5.5 (20,626 votes)
> RT audience rating: 69% (2,978 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 23% (231 votes)
> Starring: Melissa McCarthy, Tiffany Haddish, Elisabeth Moss, Domhnall Gleeson
> Director: Andrea Berloff
34. Batman: The Killing Joke (2016)
> IMDb rating: 6.4 (55,986 votes)
> RT audience rating: 50% (10,438 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 36% (44 votes)
> Starring: Kevin Conroy, Mark Hamill, Tara Strong, Ray Wise
> Director: Sam Liu
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33. Swamp Thing (1982)
> IMDb rating: 5.3 (14,388 votes)
> RT audience rating: 40% (22,173 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 62% (39 votes)
> Starring: Louis Jourdan, Adrienne Barbeau, Ray Wise, David Hess
> Director: Wes Craven
32. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)
> IMDb rating: 6.4 (686,908 votes)
> RT audience rating: 63% (237,709 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 29% (436 votes)
> Starring: Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Jesse Eisenberg
> Director: Zack Snyder
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31. The Losers (2010)
> IMDb rating: 6.3 (100,180 votes)
> RT audience rating: 54% (144,719 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 48% (167 votes)
> Starring: Idris Elba, Zoe Saldana, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Chris Evans
> Director: Sylvain White
30. Justice League (2017)
> IMDb rating: 6.1 (442,722 votes)
> RT audience rating: 68% (129,852 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 39% (408 votes)
> Starring: Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Jason Momoa, Ezra Miller
> Director: Zack Snyder
29. RED 2 (2013)
> IMDb rating: 6.6 (169,669 votes)
> RT audience rating: 62% (93,390 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 44% (155 votes)
> Starring: Bruce Willis, Helen Mirren, John Malkovich, Anthony Hopkins
> Director: Dean Parisot
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28. Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)
> IMDb rating: 5.4 (255,114 votes)
> RT audience rating: 73% (3,620 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 58% (440 votes)
> Starring: Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Kristen Wiig, Pedro Pascal
> Director: Patty Jenkins
27. Constantine (2005)
> IMDb rating: 7.0 (335,737 votes)
> RT audience rating: 72% (468,827 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 46% (229 votes)
> Starring: Keanu Reeves, Rachel Weisz, Djimon Hounsou, Shia LaBeouf
> Director: Francis Lawrence
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26. Superman Returns (2006)
> IMDb rating: 6.1 (281,468 votes)
> RT audience rating: 61% (517,208 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 74% (265 votes)
> Starring: Brandon Routh, Kevin Spacey, Kate Bosworth, James Marsden
> Director: Bryan Singer
25. Man of Steel (2013)
> IMDb rating: 7.1 (754,878 votes)
> RT audience rating: 75% (451,194 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 56% (340 votes)
> Starring: Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Michael Shannon, Diane Lane
> Director: Zack Snyder
24. Batman (1966)
> IMDb rating: 6.5 (32,833 votes)
> RT audience rating: 62% (138,989 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 79% (33 votes)
> Starring: Adam West, Burt Ward, Lee Meriwether, Cesar Romero
> Director: Leslie H. Martinson
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23. Aquaman (2018)
> IMDb rating: 6.8 (450,545 votes)
> RT audience rating: 73% (36,717 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 65% (411 votes)
> Starring: Jason Momoa, Amber Heard, Willem Dafoe, Patrick Wilson
> Director: James Wan
22. Watchmen (2009)
> IMDb rating: 7.6 (542,057 votes)
> RT audience rating: 71% (1,057,953 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 65% (310 votes)
> Starring: Jackie Earle Haley, Patrick Wilson, Carla Gugino, Malin Akerman
> Director: Zack Snyder
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21. Birds of Prey (2020)
> IMDb rating: 6.0 (228,914 votes)
> RT audience rating: 78% (15,761 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 79% (432 votes)
> Starring: Margot Robbie, Rosie Perez, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jurnee Smollett
> Director: Cathy Yan
20. Batman Returns (1992)
> IMDb rating: 7.1 (300,223 votes)
> RT audience rating: 73% (641,819 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 80% (85 votes)
> Starring: Michael Keaton, Danny DeVito, Michelle Pfeiffer, Christopher Walken
> Director: Tim Burton
19. Teen Titans GO! To the Movies (2018)
> IMDb rating: 6.7 (19,108 votes)
> RT audience rating: 71% (3,636 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 91% (133 votes)
> Starring: Greg Cipes, Scott Menville, Khary Payton, Tara Strong
> Directors: Aaron Horvath, Peter Rida Michail
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18. Superman II (1980)
> IMDb rating: 6.8 (106,286 votes)
> RT audience rating: 76% (240,008 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 85% (53 votes)
> Starring: Gene Hackman, Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder, Ned Beatty
> Directors: Richard Lester, Richard Donner
17. Batman (1989)
> IMDb rating: 7.5 (371,179 votes)
> RT audience rating: 84% (911,847 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 72% (76 votes)
> Starring: Michael Keaton, Jack Nicholson, Kim Basinger, Robert Wuhl
> Director: Tim Burton
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16. A History of Violence (2005)
> IMDb rating: 7.4 (235,945 votes)
> RT audience rating: 76% (280,131 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 87% (215 votes)
> Starring: Viggo Mortensen, Maria Bello, Ed Harris, William Hurt
> Director: David Cronenberg
15. Stardust (2007)
> IMDb rating: 7.6 (269,557 votes)
> RT audience rating: 86% (468,594 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 77% (197 votes)
> Starring: Charlie Cox, Claire Danes, Sienna Miller, Ian McKellen
> Director: Matthew Vaughn
14. Shazam! (2019)
> IMDb rating: 7.0 (319,560 votes)
> RT audience rating: 82% (18,286 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 90% (415 votes)
> Starring: Zachary Levi, Mark Strong, Asher Angel, Jack Dylan Grazer
> Director: David F. Sandberg
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13. Joker (2019)
> IMDb rating: 8.4 (1,195,248 votes)
> RT audience rating: 88% (66,387 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 68% (592 votes)
> Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz, Frances Conroy
> Director: Todd Phillips
12. The Lego Batman Movie (2017)
> IMDb rating: 7.3 (146,848 votes)
> RT audience rating: 80% (46,788 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 90% (316 votes)
> Starring: Will Arnett, Michael Cera, Rosario Dawson, Ralph Fiennes
> Director: Chris McKay
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11. The Suicide Squad (2021)
> IMDb rating: 7.2 (329,819 votes)
> RT audience rating: 82% (3,247 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 90% (365 votes)
> Starring: Margot Robbie, Idris Elba, John Cena, Joel Kinnaman
> Director: James Gunn
10. Road to Perdition (2002)
> IMDb rating: 7.7 (263,892 votes)
> RT audience rating: 86% (189,050 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 81% (214 votes)
> Starring: Tom Hanks, Tyler Hoechlin, Rob Maxey, Liam Aiken
> Director: Sam Mendes
9. Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021)
> IMDb rating: 8.0 (378,458 votes)
> RT audience rating: 94% (43,030 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 71% (305 votes)
> Starring: Henry Cavill, Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Amy Adams
> Director: Zack Snyder
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8. V for Vendetta (2005)
> IMDb rating: 8.2 (1,100,039 votes)
> RT audience rating: 90% (904,635 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 73% (255 votes)
> Starring: Hugo Weaving, Natalie Portman, Rupert Graves, Stephen Rea
> Director: James McTeigue
7. Wonder Woman (2017)
> IMDb rating: 7.4 (638,822 votes)
> RT audience rating: 83% (136,056 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 93% (474 votes)
> Starring: Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Robin Wright, Lucy Davis
> Director: Patty Jenkins
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6. Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993)
> IMDb rating: 7.8 (49,959 votes)
> RT audience rating: 88% (7,692 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 85% (33 votes)
> Starring: Kevin Conroy, Dana Delany, Hart Bochner, Stacy Keach
> Directors: Eric Radomski, Bruce Timm
5. Superman (1978)
> IMDb rating: 7.4 (172,325 votes)
> RT audience rating: 86% (286,242 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 94% (72 votes)
> Starring: Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder, Gene Hackman, Marlon Brando
> Director: Richard Donner
4. The Batman (2022)
> IMDb rating: 8.0 (486,567 votes)
> RT audience rating: 87% (10,000 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 85% (485 votes)
> Starring: Robert Pattinson, Zoe Kravitz, Jeffrey Wright, Colin Farrell
> Director: Matt Reeves
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3. Batman Begins (2005)
> IMDb rating: 8.2 (1,429,075 votes)
> RT audience rating: 94% (1,116,467 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 84% (288 votes)
> Starring: Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Ken Watanabe, Liam Neeson
> Director: Christopher Nolan
2. The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
> IMDb rating: 8.4 (1,655,119 votes)
> RT audience rating: 90% (1,213,612 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 87% (373 votes)
> Starring: Christian Bale, Tom Hardy, Anne Hathaway, Gary Oldman
> Director: Christopher Nolan
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1. The Dark Knight (2008)
> IMDb rating: 9.0 (2,561,375 votes)
> RT audience rating: 94% (1,831,566 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 94% (346 votes)
> Starring: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Michael Caine
> Director: Christopher Nolan
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