To celebrate the release of Anderson’s latest feature, we’re ranking his oeuvre from worst to best—or more accurately, from least great to greatest, because Anderson has never made an actively bad film; he’s made many great ones. Where does The French Dispatch rank in the auteur’s filmography? Read ahead to find out. In ascending order, here’s our ranking of all Wes Anderson Movies.
Wes Anderson Movies Ranked Worst to Best
10. The Darjeeling Limited (2007)
Anderson’s fourth movie is about three brothers mourning their father on a train ride across India. It’s hyper-stylized, but running on a shaggier script than usual. At times, The Darjeeling Limited feels dangerously close to feeling like another filmmaker mimicking Wes Anderson. The best part: Short film prequel Hotel Chevalier featuring a magnetic Natalie Portman is better than the movie.
9. The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou (2004)
Bill Murray stars in a tribute to Jacques Cousteau, as an oceanographer out for revenge against the jaguar shark that ate his partner. Murray performs the jaded character beautifully, but he’s so jaded it’s hard to care to much about this drama. The best part: The underwater scenes are so beautiful you want to print them out and frame them.
8. Isle of Dogs (2018)
Anderson’s second stop-motion animated feature—his ninth film overall—is a sci-fi comedy about a youngster in search of his pup. Isle of Dogs is magnificently crafted on a technical level, and often delightful. What doesn’t work—and what’s at odds with an otherwise touching story about outsiders—is cringeworthy cultural appropriation that feels about a half-century out of date. The best part: It’s hard to overstate the tactile quality of the characters and the world here, from matted fur, to sympathetic eyes to ravishing vistas.
7. Bottle Rocket (1996)
Anderson’s low-budget, debatably mumblecore caper debut has a confident spirit all its own, though it feels more experimental and less acceptable than Anderson’s later films. Bottle Rocket bombed at the box office, but found so many admirers that, well, the rest is history. The best part: If his now-famous visual style was still forming, Anderson’s penchant for writing memorable, funny characters is very much on display here.
6. The French Dispatch (2021)
Anderson’s spirited period tribute to dedicated journalists feels more episodic than his very best movies, but it’s hilarious, entertaining and touching. In short, The French Dispatch isn’t likely to win over any of Anderson’s non-fans, but it’s a resonant success that’s true to form. The best part: Timothée Chalamet delivers. The French Dispatch arrives in theaters on the same day as Dune. The 25-year-old actor (who’s shooting a Willy Wonka prequel right now, and was excellent on SNL last fall) is a formidable talent who’s here to stay.
5. Rushmore (1998)
Anderson’s sophomore feature, co-written with Owen Wilson, stars regular collaborator Jason Schwartzmanas a precocious teen in prep school who falls for a much older teacher and befriends an older industrialist (Bill Murray). Rushmore wears its references on its sleeve in a way that sometimes feels like a student film with a budget, and sometimes is enchanting. Added to the National Film Registry in 2016. The best part: Murray is perfect here.
4. Moonrise Kingdom (2012)
How often does a truly awesome live-action family film come along? Anderson took a break from decidedly more adult-targeted fare for this critically lauded adventure film about a scout and a misfit’s unlikely romance. The best part: Anderson regular Tilda Swinton is hysterically funny as an antagonist named Social Services.
3. The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)
After Rushmore, Anderson transcended the arthouse with The Royal Tenenbaums, a distinct, stylized but compellingly humanistic dramedy about a family’s early ups and later downs, influenced by the writing of J.D. Salinger. The best part: A rather famous, deeply sad scene of a suicide attempt displays a remarkable control of tone in a film that’s often comical but never farcical.
2. Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)
Anderson‘s first animated film and first adaptation is based on Roald Dahl‘s 1970 book, about a standoff between farmers and a cunning family of foxes. True to the spirit of Dahl, and all-time family film great Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Fantastic Mr. Fox is confidently odd and frightening in a way few movies of its ilk aspire to be. The best part: George Clooney’s lead voice work is aces.
1. The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)
This is a giant progression, an artist in full command reaching for greater heights. Anderson’s 1930s-set European crime dramedy doesn’t really set a foot wrong; it’s harrowing and deeply funny. The Grand Budapest Hotel won four Oscars and was nominated for nine, including Best Picture—and Anderson’s first Best Director nod. The best part: Ralph Fiennes has been an extraordinary, versatile actor since forever; here he gives his finest performance. A stunning tragicomic powerhouse. Next, check out the 100 best movies of all time.
