The 30 best movies of 1988

Ranked by weighted audience rating: among 107 movies with at least 300 votes on TMDb, the formula balances the score with the vote count, so a barely-rated title cannot leap past a classic. Túmulo dos Vagalumes leads, rated 8.4 (1988). The average release year on the list is 1988. The list is recalculated weekly; each title links to its full page, including where to watch in Brazil.

Page updated on 09/20/2026.

1

Grave of the Fireflies (1988)

directed by Isao Takahata · 89 min · 8.5 6,802 votes
2

Cinema Paradiso (1988)

directed by Giuseppe Tornatore · 155 min · 8.4 4,965 votes
3

My Neighbor Totoro (1988)

directed by Hayao Miyazaki · 87 min · 8.1 9,048 votes
4

Akira (1988)

directed by Katsuhiro Otomo · 124 min · 7.9 4,963 votes
5

Die Hard (1988)

directed by John McTiernan · 132 min · 7.8 12,602 votes
6

Rain Man (1988)

directed by Barry Levinson · 133 min · 7.8 7,296 votes
7

Mississippi Burning (1988)

directed by Alan Parker · 128 min · 7.7 2,014 votes
8

Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)

directed by Robert Zemeckis · 104 min · 7.5 6,324 votes
9

Beetlejuice (1988)

directed by Tim Burton · 92 min · 7.4 8,646 votes
10

The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988)

directed by David Zucker · 86 min · 7.3 4,654 votes
11

They Live (1988)

directed by John Carpenter · 93 min · 7.3 3,613 votes
12

The Big Blue (1988)

directed by Luc Besson · 168 min · 7.4 1,613 votes
13

Stand and Deliver (1988)

directed by Ramón Menéndez · 102 min · 7.8 478 votes
14

Big (1988)

directed by Penny Marshall · 105 min · 7.2 4,153 votes
15

A Short Film About Love (1988)

directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski · 87 min · 7.8 428 votes
16

Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988)

directed by Pedro Almodóvar · 89 min · 7.4 1,030 votes
17

The Land Before Time (1988)

directed by Don Bluth · 69 min · 7.2 2,822 votes
18

A Fish Called Wanda (1988)

directed by Charles Crichton · 107 min · 7.2 2,503 votes
19

The Vanishing (1988)

directed by George Sluizer · 107 min · 7.4 865 votes
20

The Thin Blue Line (1988)

directed by Errol Morris · 103 min · 7.7 424 votes
21

Time of the Gypsies (1988)

directed by Emir Kusturica · 142 min · 7.6 454 votes
22

A Short Film About Killing (1988)

directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski · 85 min · 7.6 414 votes
23

Midnight Run (1988)

directed by Martin Brest · 126 min · 7.2 1,331 votes
24

Dangerous Liaisons (1988)

directed by Stephen Frears · 119 min · 7.2 1,302 votes
25

The Last Temptation of Christ (1988)

directed by Martin Scorsese · 164 min · 7.2 1,233 votes
26

Bloodsport (1988)

directed by Newt Arnold · 92 min · 7.1 2,256 votes
27

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988)

directed by Frank Oz · 110 min · 7.1 1,082 votes
28

Dead Ringers (1988)

directed by David Cronenberg · 116 min · 7.1 1,041 votes
29

Alice (1988)

directed by Jan Švankmajer · 86 min · 7.4 369 votes
30

Running on Empty (1988)

directed by Sidney Lumet · 111 min · 7.4 368 votes