Best Comedy Movies of All Time - 10,000 Fans Have Voted and the Results Will Surprise You

Ask five people. You will get five completely different answers. And every single person will be shocked that the others are wrong.

That is the thing about comedy. It is the most personal genre in film. What makes one person fall off their chair laughing leaves another person completely cold.

At Ultimate Rankings, we asked 10,000 fans to settle it. What are the best comedy movies of all time? The votes came in fast. The arguments came in faster.

Here are the results. Try not to argue at your screen.

Best Comedy Movies of All Time - Fan Voted Results

1. Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) — The Comedy Standard

Here is the thing about Monty Python.

People quote this film without knowing they are quoting it. "It's just a flesh wound." "We are the knights who say Ni." "What is the air speed velocity of an unladen swallow?" These lines are in the language now. They belong to everyone.

Made for a budget of approximately £229,000 — less than most scenes in modern films cost
The cast wrote it, directed it, starred in it, and also played most of the female roles because they could not afford more actors
Monty Python and the Holy Grail is still in the top 10 of IMDb's comedy rankings 50 years later
The Black Knight scene is still taught in film schools as an example of escalating comedy
Inspired a Broadway musical that ran for years — Spamalot

Fans on Ultimate Rankings placed Holy Grail first because it is the one comedy everyone agrees on. Rock fans love it. Pop fans love it. Sports fans love it. It belongs to no group and every group simultaneously.

2. Some Like It Hot (1959) — The Critics' Choice

Some Like It Hot was voted the greatest comedy film ever made by the American Film Institute. It topped their list in 2000.

It is also genuinely, deeply funny. Which is not always the case with films that win critical polls.

Stars Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, and Jack Lemmon — the strongest comedy cast ever assembled
The final line of the film — "Well, nobody's perfect" — is still called the greatest last line in movie history
Made in 1959. Funny in 2026. That is the definition of timeless comedy.
Directed by Billy Wilder, who made more classic films in more genres than almost any other director

The argument for Some Like It Hot being number one is this: no other film on this list has stayed as funny for as long.

3. Airplane! (1980) — The Fastest Comedy Ever Made

Here is a challenge.

Watch Airplane! and count the jokes. You will lose count before the first ten minutes are over.

Airplane! has more jokes per minute than any other comedy film ever made. Jokes in the background. Jokes in the foreground. Jokes hidden in other jokes.

Made for $3.5 million. Earned $83 million at the box office.
The line "Don't call me Shirley" is one of the most quoted comedy lines in film history
Leslie Nielsen became one of the greatest comedy actors in history because of this one film
Parodied the disaster movie genre so completely that the genre never fully recovered

Fans on Ultimate Rankings note that Airplane! is the one film where even the parts you did not laugh at the first time become funny the second time.

4. The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) — The Beautiful One

Most comedies are fast. The Grand Budapest Hotel is precise.

Every frame is designed like a painting. Every line of dialogue is chosen like a poem. It is the only comedy on this list that is also genuinely a work of visual art.

Won four Academy Awards — the most of any Wes Anderson film
Ralph Fiennes in the best comedic performance of his career
A comedy about loss, friendship, and the end of an era — dressed up as an adventure
The lobby boy entrance scene is one of the most precisely timed comedy sequences ever filmed

Grand Budapest Hotel proves that comedy does not have to be loud or fast to be brilliant. Sometimes being precise is better.

5. Superbad (2007) — The Honest One

Superbad is funny because it is true.

Every teenager who watched it recognised themselves or someone they knew. Every adult who watched it remembered being that teenager. That honesty is what makes it work.

Jonah Hill and Michael Cera's friendship feels completely real because they were actually close friends
The McLovin subplot was almost cut from the film — it became the most quoted part
Made for $20 million. Earned $169 million worldwide.
Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg wrote the script when they were 13 years old

Fans on Ultimate Rankings placed Superbad fifth because it connected emotionally in a way that pure joke films often cannot.

6. Groundhog Day (1993) — The Philosophical Comedy

Groundhog Day is not just a comedy. It is a film that philosophers, psychologists, and religious scholars have all written about seriously.

It is also hilarious.

Bill Murray's best performance — which is saying something given his entire career
The premise is so simple it sounds like a bad idea. A man relives the same day forever. That is it. They made it into a masterpiece.
Film critics re-evaluated it over the following decade and moved it from "pleasant comedy" to "one of the greatest films ever made"
The phrase "Groundhog Day" entered everyday language — people use it to describe any repetitive situation

A comedy that adds new meaning every time you watch it with different eyes. That is a rare achievement.

7. Bridesmaids (2011) — The One That Changed Everything

Bridesmaids proved something that Hollywood had been pretending was not true.

Women are funny. Enormously, brilliantly, uncomfortably funny. And audiences will pay to see it.

Made for $32 million. Earned $288 million worldwide.
Kristen Wiig's screenplay was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay
Changed how Hollywood approached female-led comedies permanently
The dress shop scene is one of the most uncomfortable and funny scenes in modern film history

Fans on Ultimate Rankings note that Bridesmaids is one of the few comedies that is equally funny to people who saw it in 2011 and people discovering it today.

8. The Big Lebowski (1998) — The Cult Classic

When The Big Lebowski was released, it was considered a disappointment.

Then something happened. People kept watching it. And watching it again. And quoting it to each other. And it became one of the most beloved comedies ever made.

Jeff Bridges as The Dude is one of the greatest comedy characters in film history
There is a festival called Lebowski Fest that takes place in multiple cities every year
The Coen Brothers have said The Dude is based on a real person they knew
"The Dude abides" is still quoted by people who have never seen the film

The Big Lebowski is proof that a great comedy does not need to succeed immediately. It just needs to be great.

9. What Fans Cannot Agree On

Fans on Ultimate Rankings are currently fighting over these final spots:

Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986) — The most perfectly escapist comedy ever made
This Is Spinal Tap (1984) — Invented the mockumentary format. Still the best one.
The Princess Bride (1987) — Comedy, adventure, romance. Does every genre simultaneously.
Dumb and Dumber (1994) — Jim Carrey at his absolute peak. No film has made more people spit out drinks.

Your vote on Ultimate Rankings decides who makes it.

Your Vote Decides - Cast It Now

Is Monty Python really the greatest comedy? Should Airplane! be higher? Do Bridesmaids deserve more credit?

This debate is live on Ultimate Rankings. Thousands of fans are voting every day.

Cast your vote now at Ultimate Rankings — your vote changes the live rankings. ultimaterankings.com

FAQ

What is the best comedy movie of all time? Based on fan votes at Ultimate Rankings, Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) holds the top spot as the best comedy movie of all time, followed by Some Like It Hot and Airplane! The American Film Institute rates Some Like It Hot as the greatest comedy film ever made.

What are the funniest movies ever made? Fans on Ultimate Rankings rate these as the funniest movies ranked of all time: Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Some Like It Hot, Airplane!, The Grand Budapest Hotel, and Superbad. Each is funny in a completely different way.

It is an airplane! the funniest movie ever made? Airplane! has more jokes per minute than any other comedy film ever made. Fans on Ultimate Rankings rank it third overall. Many comedy writers and directors consider it the most technically accomplished pure comedy film ever produced.

Why is Bridesmaids considered one of the greatest comedy films? Bridesmaids is considered one of the greatest comedy films ever because it changed what Hollywood believed about female-led comedies. It was nominated for two Academy Awards and earned $288 million worldwide on a $32 million budget, proving that women-led comedies could be both critically acclaimed and commercially successful.

Where can I vote for the best comedy movie of all time? Cast your vote at Ultimate Rankings (ultimaterankings.com) — the fan-powered platform where your vote updates live entertainment rankings every single day.