Tim Burton Movies, Ranked From Gothic Genius to Misfire
Nobody mixes crooked houses, pale faces and candy colors quite like Tim Burton. We put all 21 of his feature films, from Pee-wee's Big Adventure to Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, into one tier list based on where fans and critics actually land on them.
Some of these calls are easy. Others (looking at you, Alice in Wonderland) split rooms right down the middle. We picked a side and explained why. Disagree? That's what the comments are for. Rank them yourself and see how close you get to the consensus.
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SS Tier: The real deal
Edward Scissorhands
The purest Burton movie there is: suburban cul-de-sac meets gothic fairy tale, with Johnny Depp's scissor-handed man saying everything through his eyes because his hands can't hug anyone. The ice sculpture scene alone justifies its spot at the top.
About Edward Scissorhands
A 1990 fantasy drama about an artificial man with blades for hands who is taken in by a suburban family. Starring Johnny Depp and Winona Ryder, it's one of Burton's most personal projects.
- Released
- 1990
- Lead
- Johnny Depp
Beetlejuice
Michael Keaton's manic bio-exorcist turned a modest ghost comedy into a genre unto itself. The sandworms, the dinner party possession, the whole handmade practical-effects chaos of it still feels fresher than most CGI spectacle made decades later.
About Beetlejuice
A 1988 horror comedy about a newly dead couple who hire a chaotic 'bio-exorcist' to scare away the new owners of their house. Michael Keaton's title performance made it an instant cult classic.
- Released
- 1988
- Lead
- Michael Keaton
Ed Wood
Black and white, barely a hit at the time, and still the movie Burton fans point to when they want to prove he's a real filmmaker and not just a guy who likes stripes. Martin Landau's Bela Lugosi is a heartbreaker, and it's arguably Burton's warmest film.
About Ed Wood
A 1994 biographical comedy-drama about the famously bad filmmaker Ed Wood, shot in black and white. Martin Landau won an Academy Award for his role as Bela Lugosi.
- Released
- 1994
- Awards
- Oscar, Supporting Actor (Landau)
The Nightmare Before Christmas
Technically directed by Henry Selick, but it's Burton's story and vision through and through, and fans treat it as his anyway. Jack Skellington remains the best thing to come out of this whole stop-motion obsession of his.
About The Nightmare Before Christmas
A 1993 stop-motion musical following Jack Skellington, king of Halloween Town, who stumbles onto Christmas Town. Directed by Henry Selick from a story and characters by Tim Burton.
- Released
- 1993
- Director
- Henry Selick
AA Tier: Properly great
Batman (1989)
The movie that made a brooding, gothic Gotham the default instead of a joke. Jack Nicholson's Joker chews every inch of scenery and Danny Elfman's score is doing half the heavy lifting on the atmosphere.
About Batman (1989)
A 1989 superhero film that reimagined Batman as a dark, gothic figure, starring Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne and Jack Nicholson as the Joker.
- Released
- 1989
- Score
- Danny Elfman
Pee-wee's Big Adventure
Burton's debut feature and somehow still one of his funniest. The Large Marge truck stop scene is the first proof he could do genuine dread inside a kids' comedy, a trick he'd use for the rest of his career.
About Pee-wee's Big Adventure
Tim Burton's 1985 feature directorial debut, a comedy following Pee-wee Herman's cross-country quest to find his stolen bicycle.
- Released
- 1985
- Lead
- Paul Reubens
Batman Returns
Weirder, meaner and more Burton than the first one, which is exactly why some fans rank it even higher. Michelle Pfeiffer's Catwoman is the clear highlight, stitched-up suit and all, in a movie Warner Bros. reportedly found too dark for toy aisles.
About Batman Returns
The 1992 sequel pitting Batman against the Penguin and Catwoman, with a markedly darker tone than the first film. Michelle Pfeiffer stars as Selina Kyle.
- Released
- 1992
Corpse Bride
The stop-motion sibling to Nightmare that doesn't get quite the same love, but it should. Prettier color palette than most people remember and a genuinely moving ending once Victor makes his choice.
About Corpse Bride
A 2005 stop-motion musical about a man accidentally betrothed to a deceased bride while already engaged to someone else in the land of the living.
- Released
- 2005
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Blood as a punchline, Sondheim's score intact, and Depp singing his own way through a role that's demanded better voices. It's grim, gory and oddly one of Burton's most disciplined films start to finish.
About Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
A 2007 musical adaptation of Stephen Sondheim's stage show about a vengeful London barber. Johnny Depp stars in the title role.
- Released
- 2007
- Based on
- Stephen Sondheim musical
BB Tier: Solid and worth your time
Mars Attacks!
A gleefully dumb alien-invasion spoof with a cast list that reads like an awards ceremony seating chart. It bombed on release but has aged into a cult favorite for anyone who likes their sci-fi with a sneer.
About Mars Attacks!
A 1996 sci-fi comedy spoofing alien-invasion B-movies, with a large ensemble cast facing off against gleefully destructive Martians.
- Released
- 1996
Big Fish
The sentimental one, and proof Burton can do earnest without losing his taste for the strange. The giant and the circus and the witch's glass eye all serve the bigger point about the stories fathers tell.
About Big Fish
A 2003 drama about a son trying to separate fact from exaggerated legend in his dying father's larger-than-life stories.
- Released
- 2003
Frankenweenie
A feature-length do-over of Burton's early short, and the stop-motion craft is gorgeous, all black-and-white suburban gloom. It's a smaller, gentler story than his other dead-pet-related work, but it knows exactly what it's doing.
About Frankenweenie
A 2012 stop-motion feature expanding Burton's earlier short film, about a boy who brings his dead dog back to life.
- Released
- 2012
Big Eyes
A quieter, more grounded Burton film about the real-life art fraud behind those big-eyed waif paintings. Amy Adams carries it, and it's a reminder he can tell a human story without a single stop-motion skeleton in sight.
About Big Eyes
A 2014 drama based on the true story of painter Margaret Keane, whose husband took credit for her famous big-eyed artwork.
- Released
- 2014
- Lead
- Amy Adams
Sleepy Hollow
Christopher Walken as a headless horseman with filed teeth is the kind of casting only Burton pulls off. The fog-soaked village sets look incredible, even if the plot gets a little lost chasing its own atmosphere.
About Sleepy Hollow
A 1999 horror film loosely based on the Washington Irving story, following Ichabod Crane's investigation of a headless horseman.
- Released
- 1999
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Depp's Wonka is a divisive choice, closer to a damaged recluse than Gene Wilder's showman, and fans still argue about whether that works. The factory itself, though, is as good as Burton's imagination has ever looked on screen.
About Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
A 2005 adaptation of Roald Dahl's novel about a boy who wins a tour of Willy Wonka's mysterious factory.
- Released
- 2005
- Lead
- Johnny Depp
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
A legacy sequel that mostly earns its nostalgia instead of just cashing in on it. Keaton slides back into the role with no rust at all, even if the plot juggles a few too many new characters to match the original's lean chaos.
About Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
A sequel to the 1988 original, bringing back Michael Keaton's title character years later with a new generation of the Deetz family.
- Released
- 2024
CC Tier: Flawed but has its fans
Planet of the Apes (2001)
The one fans and critics agree didn't need to exist. It looks the part, the ape makeup is genuinely impressive, but the story never finds its own reason for being beyond that twist ending everyone argued about.
About Planet of the Apes (2001)
A reimagining of the classic sci-fi story about an astronaut stranded on a world ruled by intelligent apes.
- Released
- 2001
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
Has all the ingredients, odd kids with secret powers, a sinister villain, a dollhouse-pretty setting, but it never quite clicks the way his best ensemble films do. Eva Green is doing more work than the script gives her credit for.
About Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
A 2016 fantasy film based on the novel of the same name, about children with supernatural abilities living in a time loop.
- Released
- 2016
Dark Shadows
Depp's vampire fish-out-of-water routine gets old fast, and the movie can't decide if it's a horror-comedy or a soap opera parody. A few good sight gags about lava lamps and 1970s decor aren't enough to hold it together.
About Dark Shadows
A 2012 horror comedy based on the gothic soap opera of the same name, about a vampire who returns to his family's estate centuries later.
- Released
- 2012
DD Tier: Mostly missed the mark
Alice in Wonderland (2010)
The one that made a fortune and still gets dismissed as Burton-by-numbers, all CGI mushrooms and no real wonder. Fans are genuinely split here, some like the visuals enough to forgive the thin story, but the consensus has not been kind over time.
About Alice in Wonderland (2010)
A big-budget fantasy adventure reimagining Lewis Carroll's story, following an older Alice who returns to Wonderland.
- Released
- 2010
FF Tier: The one to skip
Dumbo (2019)
The Disney remake nobody asked Burton to make, and it shows. It swaps the original's heart for spectacle, stretches a 64-minute classic into a bloated runtime, and feels less like a Tim Burton film than any other movie on this list.
About Dumbo (2019)
A live-action remake of Disney's animated classic about a baby elephant with oversized ears who can fly.
- Released
- 2019
How we ranked them
We leaned on what comes up again and again in fan forums, critic reviews and retrospectives: craft, originality, how well the film holds up on rewatch, and whether it still feels like a Burton film and not a studio product wearing his name. Box office numbers mattered less than whether people still talk about the movie with affection. Where opinion is genuinely split, we say so and explain which way we leaned.
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Rank these yourselfFAQ
What is Tim Burton's best movie?
Consensus points to Edward Scissorhands, Beetlejuice or Ed Wood, depending on whether you value fairy-tale emotion, comedic chaos, or a loving biopic. All three sit at the top of most fan and critic rankings.
What is Tim Burton's worst movie?
Dumbo (2019) is the one most fans and critics agree landed at the bottom, seen as an impersonal studio remake rather than a real Burton project.
Did Tim Burton direct The Nightmare Before Christmas?
No, Henry Selick directed it. Burton wrote the original story and produced it, which is why it's closely associated with him even though it's technically Selick's film.
Is Alice in Wonderland (2010) considered one of his good movies?
Opinion is split. It was a massive box office hit, but a lot of fans and critics see it as style over substance compared to his earlier work.
How many movies has Tim Burton directed?
This list covers 21 of his feature films, from his 1985 debut Pee-wee's Big Adventure through Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.
More rankings
Image credits
- Edward ScissorhandsCover: Wikipedia · Source
- BeetlejuiceCover: Wikipedia · Source
- Ed WoodCover: Wikipedia · Source
- The Nightmare Before ChristmasCover: Wikipedia · Source
- Batman (1989)Cover: Wikipedia · Source
- Pee-wee's Big AdventureCover: Wikipedia · Source
- Batman ReturnsCover: Wikipedia · Source
- Corpse BrideCover: Wikipedia · Source
- Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet StreetCover: Wikipedia · Source
- Mars Attacks!Cover: Wikipedia · Source
- Big FishCover: Wikipedia · Source
- FrankenweenieCover: Wikipedia · Source
- Big EyesCover: Wikipedia · Source
- Sleepy HollowCover: Wikipedia · Source
- Charlie and the Chocolate FactoryCover: Wikipedia · Source
- Beetlejuice BeetlejuiceCover: Wikipedia · Source
- Planet of the Apes (2001)Cover: Wikipedia · Source
- Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar ChildrenCover: Wikipedia · Source
- Dark ShadowsCover: Wikipedia · Source
- Alice in Wonderland (2010)Cover: Wikipedia · Source
- Dumbo (2019)Cover: Wikipedia · Source