15 Most Watched Movies On Letterboxd, Ranked By Number Of Viewers

In the 2020s, who exactly is the average Letterboxd user?

When the site first launched in 2011, its lack of popularity kept it sacred to the most extremely online cinephiles, the kind who had been using IMDb since the ’90s. As social media at large grew in popularity, and the advent of smartphones allowed moviegoers to carry a live film journal in their pocket in and out of the cinema without a second thought, it steadily grew in popularity through the late 2010s. When Covid locked everyone indoors with nothing to do but watch old movies and talk about them online, its popularity finally exploded to the state we enjoy today.

Along the way, Letterboxd has expanded its reach beyond those early cinephiles and even their more modern counterparts known as “Film Twitter.” Yes, A24 and NEON enthusiasts now share space with Snydercut fanatics, casual blockbuster moviegoers, and the oh-so-dreaded “Film Bro” — the kind of guy who projects himself as an absolute authority on the medium but has yet to venture outside the work of Christopher Nolan. In taking a look at the most-watched movies on the site as of writing, we’re able to get a unique glimpse into what the site has become at its most prominent.

Let’s breakdown the most watched movies on Letterboxd, ranked by number of viewers. 

Rating: 4.0 | Logs: 5.7 million | Likes: 1.9 million | Top 500 Ranking: Unranked

“The Wolf of Wall Street” occupies a unique place in Martin Scorsese’s filmography. It’s certainly one of his most popular and, at least in some circles, most beloved films – and, having grossed over $407 million worldwide, it remains the legendary director’s most financially successful work. But it’s also quietly one of his most fascinatingly controversial and polarizing, a fact that has almost definitely contributed to its logs on Letterboxd.

In bringing Jordan Belfort’s memoir to the big screen, audiences have questioned whether Scorsese’s lens glamorizes its subject irresponsibly. On the one hand, it might feel as silly as suggesting that “Goodfellas” would inspire viewers to join the mafia — on the other, it’s less about some tacit endorsement of the specific worlds or figures centered than the possibility that the entrancing pursuit of power depicted in either film might have more impact than you’d first expect.

Someone misreading Scorsese’s work does not retroactively turn a movie like “The Wolf of Wall Street” into something it obviously isn’t trying to be. Even so, the fact that this is his most-watched title on the site is worth noting, and, for our purposes, an early indicator of the specific kind of movie that gets the most attention on Letterboxd.

Rating: 4.2 | Logs: 5.7 million | Likes: 2.3 million | Top 500 Ranking: No. 266

While Leonardo DiCaprio was the A-List draw leading up to the film’s release in 2010, “Inception” would ultimately turn Christopher Nolan into a marquee name himself. “The Dark Knight” had already earned the filmmaker plenty of acclaim, but the immediate cultural ubiquity of his ambitious follow-up sci-fi thriller was undeniable outside the world of franchise filmmaking. The $839 million box office haul didn’t hurt either.

“Inception” was an instant classic, on the same level as several of the higher, older entries on this list. Its viewership numbers may have been helped by the film’s infamously ambiguous ending, the likes of which are still rarely seen in mainstream blockbusters. Of course, it also benefits from being a Christopher Nolan film — as readers will soon see, the director holds a lot of presence on Letterboxd.

Rating: 4.2 | Logs: 5.8 million | Likes: 2.5 million | Top 500 Ranking: No. 250

It isn’t at all surprising to see Quentin Tarantino represented in a list of the most-watched films on Letterboxd. In fact, if there’s anything the least bit shocking here, it’s that he, like Martin Scorsese, only made it here once. Both filmmakers are widely associated with the “film bro” stereotype, after all, the “Inglourious Basterds” director even more so.

But just as Scorsese is represented by a film so popular that it’s invited criticisms could be leveled at much of his filmography, if afforded the same volume of consideration, we’d actually expect to see Tarantino’s revisionist World War II epic and/or his antebellum Western “Django Unchained” here instead. That Letterboxd users elevated “Pulp Fiction” above them both is, frankly, pleasantly surprising.

Tarantino’s second film is endlessly quotable, structurally subversive, stylistically confident, and just as exciting now as it was over 25 years ago. As of writing, “Pulp Fiction” remains his highest-rated film on Rotten Tomatoes.

Rating: 4.2 | Logs: 5.9 million | Likes: 2 million | Top 500 Ranking: No. 265

Throughout the late 2000s and 2010s, the hierarchy of Pixar films was generally agreed upon. The “Toy Story” films were the studio’s defining work and thus afforded due respect, while “Up” and “WALL-E” were generally considered their greatest standalone achievements. Whether or not that remains true is up for debate. As Pixar’s young audience grew up, however, the film they began to champion more passionately into the 2020s was “Ratatouille.”

When we revisited the film ourselves in 2020, we remarked in hindsight that it was an inflection for the studio in terms of creative risk. In another retrospective review released two years later, we praised its celebration of universal artistic expression and its rejection of harsh personal standards and the rat race we call “hustle culture” now. Those qualities are likely what contributed to its post-pandemic renaissance in the Letterboxd community. 

Interestingly, users of the much older IMDb have “Ratatouille” ranked as the eighth-best Pixar film. On Letterboxd, it’s ranked second-best behind “WALL-E,” which is nonetheless not as popular overall.

Rating: 4.2 | Logs: 5.9 million | Likes: 2.1 million | Top 500 Ranking: No. 398

A classic easily on the same level as “Pulp Fiction” or “Inception,” yet with a much different core fanbase, “Forrest Gump” makes it onto this list simply by being a must-watch entry in the wider canon of American cinema. The 1994 film (based on Winston Groom’s novel and inspired by some historical events) has maintained a reputation for being one of the greatest and most popular films ever made — a reputation that many Letterboxd users grew up hearing about ad nauseam.

While “Forrest” has run his way into the Top 500, an unusual amount of Letterboxd users passionately hate the film. Some of its most popular reviews are extensive, negative close readings of its messaging, describing Forrest’s journey as one that endorses American exceptionalism and uncritical obedience to the state. That’s certainly a new take on the story, though even Tom Hanks himself had doubts about “Forrest Gump” before its release.

Rating: 4.4 | Logs: 6 million | Likes: 2.9 million | Top 500 Ranking: No. 70

“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” is the most recent entry on our list so far, though it’s only the fourth most-recent overall. Indeed, there is a certain level of recency bias represented here, with movies that inspired significant online discourse since the site’s pandemic-era explosion closer to the top. But to make it onto this list in the first place, a new film can’t just be an instant classic or objectively popular (neither “Avatar: The Way of Water” nor “Avengers: Endgame” made this list). It also needs to be great or terrible in a way that captures the specific, cultural micro-zeitgeist of Film Twitter.

In the case of “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” its revolutionary animation alone is enough to explain why so many film fans have been compelled to log it. Equally as impactful, however, was the 2023 release of its sequel “Across the Spider-Verse,” which captured similar energy (though it did not make this list). Most popular reviews for “Into the Spider-Verse” are either from its original release window or from 2023.

Rating: 4.1 | Logs: 6 million | Likes: 2.7 million | Top 500 Ranking: Unranked

“La La Land” was released in 2016, just before the site saw its first major bump in popularity around 2018. Many of the most popular reviews were actually posted during its original release window (especially in early 2017, leading up to the Academy Awards), with a significant portion being posted in 2018. In other words, as many film fans were just learning what Letterboxd was, “La La Land” was seemingly one of the first films they were excited to log.

Even so, it’s somewhat shocking to us that “La La Land” made it here. Surely it isn’t getting the benefit of repeat viewing – what emotional masochist would return to it after its gorgeously devastating ending? Oh, apparently Christopher Nolan would, as he saw the film three times in theaters alone. Speaking of Nolan…

Rating: 4.5 | Logs: 6.1 million | Likes: 2.7 million | Top 500 Ranking: No. 24

“The Dark Knight” is frequently celebrated not only as the greatest 21st-century superhero movie and possibly the greatest of all time, but as one of the best-aging and most culturally enduring films ever made. This is Christopher Nolan’s second appearance on this list, though it isn’t his last. He is the only director with multiple films in the top-15 most-logged movies on Letterboxd.

Its status has been unshakable since its release in 2008. Compared to other films on this list, popular reviews are spread across the years much more evenly, reaching back as early as 2014. One notable, potential bump could be identified in 2019, when Letterboxd users were seemingly logging the film in protest against another movie. Ironically, that degree of fervor is exactly what would propel even a disliked film above “The Dark Knight.”

Rating: 3.8 | Logs: 6.4 million | Likes: 2.4 million | Top 500 Ranking: Unranked

In 2019, Letterboxd users were, as they say, living in a society. And they were not happy about that.

As a film, “Joker” isn’t extraordinarily controversial, transgressive, or even combative against any group of viewers. The media storm surrounding its release — from director Todd Phillips’ whinging about the so-called “far left” to the hysterical narrative that a comic book movie would ignite real violence — was probably one of the most irritating releases of a movie in recent memory.

Most popular reviews are from the film’s original release window, and the majority of them are negative, though users overall have granted it a relatively positive 3.8 rating. That “Joker” ranks this high likely indicates that Letterboxd’s most vocal, passionate, and popular users don’t always reflect the broader site consensus. When their outsized hatred is combined with mainstream popularity, that can make a movie like “Joker” a mad tyrant in their virtual world.

Rating: 4.2 | Logs: 6.4 million | Likes: 2.6 million | Top 500 Ranking: No. 279

Though it isn’t thought of as a true science fiction film, “The Truman Show” deserves to be remembered for being every bit as prescient as the genre’s most insightful creations. In terms of accurately predicting the future of entertainment and culture, it might even surpass them.

“The Truman Show” feels eerily and increasingly relevant with each passing year. Many popular reviews for the film on Letterboxd were posted in 2020 and 2021, years when its uncanny depiction of life became especially hard to ignore. Not only were people across the globe confined in a similar manner to Jim Carrey’s titular character, but they began spending much of that time on platforms like Twitch or YouTube, where isolated content creators of all ages began turning their own lives into live daily reality shows.

Rating: 4.5 | Logs: 6.8 million | Likes: 3.6 million | Top 500 Ranking: No. 14

“Parasite” is essentially the quintessential Letterboxd film, in that it enjoys mainstream popularity and acclaim while also holding prestige among more exacting movie fans. Prior to its wide release and even during the few following months, Bong Joon-ho was the kind of director young cinephiles cherished to the point of gatekeeping him. That isn’t to say it wasn’t cause for celebration when he broke out beyond “Snowpiercer” in 2019, when “Parasite” became the first foreign-language film to win Best Picture.

The reputation enjoyed by “Parasite” has only gotten stronger since its historic win. A 2025 poll from the New York Times hailed it as the best film of the century so far. It’s now the sort of must-watch movie consulted by aspiring filmmakers, commentators, and cinephiles who want to witness an expert use of symbolism in storytelling craft.

Rating: 4.3 | Logs: 7.1 million | Likes: 3.2 million | Top 500 Ranking: No. 199

The fact that “Fight Club” is the third-most popular film logged on Letterboxd is all the more amazing considering it’s just one of three 20th-century movies to make it on this list (alongside “Pulp Fiction” and “Forrest Gump”). It’s also, strangely, the film that leaves users the most conflicted. Despite the general aura of “ick” surrounding it, they just can’t help but appreciate how undeniably superb it is.

Nobody understands why people hate “Fight Club” fans like “Fight Club” fans. Generally speaking, they are divided into two camps: those who enjoy the film as a satire of an increasingly antisocial society and those who misread David Fincher’s warning as a call to arms. Its message has been so warped since its release that even Fincher himself can’t stand devotees of “Fight Club.”

Rating: 3.7 | Logs: 7.1 million | Likes: 2.7 million | Top 500 Ranking: Unranked

There’s no denying that the Barbenheimer double feature phenomenon helped catapult “Barbie” upwards through these rankings. But that risks underselling how much of an event “Barbie” was in its own right.

After years in development hell, Warner Bros. came out swinging. They put Greta Gerwig in the director’s chair, gave her immense creative freedom, and bankrolled a star-studded cast anchored by Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling at the peak of their powers. Even the soundtrack was a big deal, winning several Grammys.

“Barbie” is the lowest-rated film on this list, on both Letterboxd and in the Real World™, and “Oppenheimer” (4.2) decisively won the critical battle. However, the former film’s placement reinforces the populist preeminence claimed by its $1.4 billion box office haul. The 5.2 million logs obtained by “Oppenheimer” weren’t enough to make it onto this list, though, as you’ll soon see, Christopher Nolan’s overall dominance on the site remains undisputed.