The 8 Best Movies of 2005, Ranked

2005 gave us a Batman reboot, a wizard tournament and a spaceship nobody paid to see. The data did the ranking. I just collect the angry comments.

Number one beat the Caped Crusader on the scoreboard. His fans will be loud.

1. 8
   Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)8.2

   The haircuts aged badly. The dragon task did not.

   Grossed $901 million worldwide on a reported $150M budget with an A CinemaScore. It sits last because it skims its story like a kid skimming homework the night before.
2. 7
   Thank You for Smoking (2005)8.4

   A comedy about a lobbyist that's sharper than most dramas.

   Made on a reported $10M, it grossed just $39 million worldwide. Audiences beat 90% of movies on our data. Aaron Eckhart's grin does most of the persuading.
3. 6
   Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005)8.4

   Funnier than half of 2005's hits, and nobody bought tickets.

   $4,243,756 domestic. That's it. Shane Black's noir comedy pairs Robert Downey Jr. with Val Kilmer, and the narrator keeps heckling his own movie. Legit criminal that it flopped.
4. 5
   Walk the Line (2005)8.4

   The biopic formula, done so well you forgive the formula.

   $119.5 million domestic and an A CinemaScore. Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon carry a story beat structure that kinda every music biopic since has tried to copy.
5. 4
   Serenity (2005)8.5

   Box office flop, cult classic, better than most space operas.

   Grossed $40.4 million worldwide against a reported $39M budget. Audiences beat 93% of movies. Nathan Fillion plays a captain who's bad at everything except surviving.
6. 3
   Pride & Prejudice (2005)8.6

   Matthew Macfadyen's hand flex outranks most action scenes.

   Metacritic 82, and critics beat 86% of movies. Joe Wright made a corset story feel muddy, sweaty and urgent. Two people refusing to say feelings out loud has never been this tense.
7. 2
   Batman Begins (2005)8.8

   The best superhero origin, and still only number two here.

   1.75 million IMDb votes at 8.2, the most on this list by miles. But Metacritic gave it a 70, lowest here. Katie Holmes reading speeches at Bruce is why.
8. 1
   Brokeback Mountain (2005)8.9

   Ang Lee's quiet heartbreak beats Batman. Critics agree. Fight me.

   Critics beat 92% of movies and Metacritic is 87, both tops here. Made on a reported $14M, it grossed $179 million worldwide. Heath Ledger barely talks and still wrecks you.

$642.37 says somebody types 'Batman should be number one' before they even finish the list.

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Current mood: ready to fight about it