The Coen Brothers - All Their Movies Ranked

Short Biography:

Joel Daniel Coen (born November 29, 1954) and Ethan Jesse Coen (born September 21, 1957), collectively known as the Coen brothers, are American filmmakers. Their films span many genres and styles, which they frequently subvert or parody. Their most acclaimed works include Raising Arizona (1987), Miller’s Crossing (1990), Barton Fink (1991), Fargo (1996), The Big Lebowski (1998), O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000), No Country for Old Men (2007), True Grit (2010), Inside Llewyn Davis (2013), and The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018).

The brothers write, direct and produce their films jointly, although until The Ladykillers (2004) Joel received sole credit for directing and Ethan for producing. They often alternate top billing for their screenplays while sharing editing credits under an alias, Roderick Jaynes. They have been nominated for 13 Academy Awards together, and individually for one award each, winning Best Original Screenplay for Fargo and Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay for No Country for Old Men. The duo also won the Palme d’Or for Barton Fink (1991).

Here is a rundown of his movies, with the score based on the average from IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes (public votes only) and Letterboxd, from lowest ranked to highest:

Number of Qualifying Films:

Career Average Rating:

7.82

Total Career Box Office:

$ 1,171,909,829

Total Combined Budgets:

$ 406,000,000

Total Career Profit or [Loss]:

$ 765,909,829

Average Career Return on Every $1 Spent:

$ 2.86

19 – The Ladykillers (2004)

IMDb:

6.2

RT Users:

4.3

Letterboxd:

5.54

5.35

Comedy, Crime, Thriller

Top Billed Cast:

Tom Hanks, Irma P. Hall Marlon Wayans, J.K. Simmons, Tzi Ma, Ryan Hurst, George Wallace

SYNOPSIS:

Professor G.H. Dorr (Tom Hanks), a courtly Southern gentleman, arrives at the home of devout, elderly Marva Munson (Irma P. Hall), hoping to rent her extra room and use her basement to rehearse with his classical music ensemble. His fellow musicians, however, are actually criminals, and together they plan to rob a casino. When Mrs. Munson learns of their plan, they decide she must be silenced. Certainly, murdering one little old lady cannot be too difficult.

WORLDWIDE BOX OFFICE GROSS:

$ 76,665,191

PRODUCTION BUDGET:

$ 35,000,000

PROFIT OR (LOSS):

$ 41,665,191

RETURN ON EVERY $1 SPENT:

$ 2.19

18 – Intolerable Cruelty (2003)

IMDb:

6.3

RT Users:

4.8

Letterboxd:

5.82

5.64

Comedy, Crime, Thriller

Top Billed Cast:

George Clooney, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Geoffrey Rush, Billy Bob Thornton

SYNOPSIS:

Miles Massey (George Clooney) is an exceptional divorce lawyer who specializes in saving cheating husbands from having to pay expensive settlements. Unchallenged, he wearies of his life — until he meets the cunning Marylin Rexroth (Catherine Zeta-Jones). When Massey’s representation of her husband in court denies her any divorce compensation, Marylin vows to get revenge, enlisting the help of an oil baron (Billy Bob Thornton), and the two vie for the advantage in a flirtatious duel of wits.

WORLDWIDE BOX OFFICE GROSS:

$ 120,801,243

PRODUCTION BUDGET:

$ 60,000,000

PROFIT OR (LOSS):

$ 60,801,243

RETURN ON EVERY $1 SPENT:

$ 2.01

17 – Hail, Caesar! (2016)

IMDb:

6.3

RT Users:

4.4

Letterboxd:

6.42

5.71

Comedy, Drama, Mystery

Top Billed Cast:

Josh Brolin, George Clooney, Alden Ehrenreich, Ralph Fiennes, Scarlett Johansson, Tilda Swinton, Channing Tatum, Frances McDormand

SYNOPSIS:

In the early 1950s, Eddie Mannix is busy at work trying to solve all the problems of the actors and filmmakers at Capitol Pictures. His latest assignments involve a disgruntled director, a singing cowboy, a beautiful swimmer and a handsome dancer. As if all this wasn’t enough, Mannix faces his biggest challenge when Baird Whitlock gets kidnapped while in costume for the swords-and-sandals epic “Hail, Caesar!” If the studio doesn’t pay $100,000, it’s the end of the line for the movie star.

WORLDWIDE BOX OFFICE GROSS:

$ 63,945,241

PRODUCTION BUDGET:

$ 22,000,000

PROFIT OR (LOSS):

$ 41,945,241

RETURN ON EVERY $1 SPENT:

$ 2.91

16 – Burn After Reading (2008)

IMDb:

7.0

RT Users:

6.5

Letterboxd:

7.08

6.86

Comedy, Drama

Top Billed Cast:

George Clooney, Frances McDormand, Brad Pitt, John Malkovich, Tilda Swinton, Richard Jenkins, J.K. Simmons

SYNOPSIS:

When a disc containing memoirs of a former CIA analyst (John Malkovich) falls into the hands of Linda Litzke (Frances McDormand) and Chad Feldheimer (Brad Pitt), the two gym employees see a chance to make enough money for her to have life-changing cosmetic surgery. Predictably, events whirl out of control for the duo doofuses and those in their orbit.

WORLDWIDE BOX OFFICE GROSS:

$ 163,728,902

PRODUCTION BUDGET:

$ 37,000,000

PROFIT OR (LOSS):

$ 126,728,902

RETURN ON EVERY $1 SPENT:

$ 4.43

15 – A Serious Man (2009)

IMDb:

7.0

RT Users:

6.8

Letterboxd:

7.66

7.15

Comedy, Drama

Top Billed Cast:

Michael Stuhlbarg, Richard Kind, Fred Melamed, Aaron Wolff, Adam Arkin

SYNOPSIS:

Larry Gopnik (Michael Stuhlbarg) is a physics professor at a 1960s university, but his life is coming apart at the seams. His wife (Sari Lennick) is leaving him, his jobless brother (Richard Kind) has moved in, and someone is trying to sabotage his chances for tenure. Larry seeks advice from three different rabbis, but whether anyone can help him overcome his many afflictions remains to be seen.

WORLDWIDE BOX OFFICE GROSS:

$ 31,430,334

PRODUCTION BUDGET:

$ 7,000,000

PROFIT OR (LOSS):

$ 24,430,334

RETURN ON EVERY $1 SPENT:

$ 4.49

15 – The Tragedy of Macbeth

IMDb:

7.1

RT Users:

7.5

Letterboxd:

7.54

7.38

Drama

Top Billed Cast:

Denzel Washington, Frances McDormand, Corey Hawkins, Alex Hassell, Kathryn Hunter

SYNOPSIS:

A Scottish lord becomes convinced by a trio of witches that he will become the next King of Scotland. His ambitious wife will do anything to support him in his plans of seizing power.

WORLDWIDE BOX OFFICE GROSS:

STREAMING

PRODUCTION BUDGET:

$ 35,000,000

PROFIT OR (LOSS):

N/A

RETURN ON EVERY $1 SPENT:

N/A

13 – The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018)

IMDb:

7.3

RT Users:

7.7

Letterboxd:

7.22

7.41

Comedy, Drama, Western

Top Billed Cast:

Tim Blake Nelson, Willie Watson, Clancy Brown, Danny McCarthy, David Krumholtz, James Franco, Liam Neeson

SYNOPSIS:

An anthology containing six short films all occurring in 19th-century post-Civil War America during the settling of the Old West.

WORLDWIDE BOX OFFICE GROSS:

STREAMING

PRODUCTION BUDGET:

N/A

PROFIT OR (LOSS):

N/A

RETURN ON EVERY $1 SPENT:

N/A

12 – The Hudsucker Proxy (1994)

IMDb:

7.2

RT Users:

7.9

Letterboxd:

7.16

7.42

Comedy, Drama

Top Billed Cast:

Tim Robbins, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Paul Newman, Charles Durning, John Mahoney, Bruce Campbell,

SYNOPSIS:

Greedy executive Sidney J. Mussburger (Paul Newman) hopes to take control of the company he works for by purchasing a majority share — but he must first devalue the stock. So he convinces the board to appoint know-nothing recent graduate Norville Barnes (Tim Robbins). But Mussburger’s plot backfires when Barnes’ latest invention succeeds, thereby increasing the company’s value. Worse yet, undercover reporter Amy Archer (Jennifer Jason Leigh) has the scoop on Mussburger’s shady dealings.

WORLDWIDE BOX OFFICE GROSS:

$ 14,938,149

PRODUCTION BUDGET:

$ 40,000,000

PROFIT OR (LOSS):

$ [-25,061,851]

RETURN ON EVERY $1 SPENT:

$ 0.37

11 – Inside Llewyn Davis (2013)

IMDb:

7.4

RT Users:

7.4

Letterboxd:

7.50

7.43

Drama

Top Billed Cast:

Oscar Isaac, Carey Mulligan, Justin Timberlake, Ethan Phillips, Robin Bartlett, John Goodman, Garrett Hedlund, Adam Driver

SYNOPSIS:

In 1961 New York City, folk singer Llewyn Davis (Oscar Isaac) is at a crossroads. Guitar in hand, he struggles against seemingly insurmountable obstacles to make a name for himself in the music world, but so far, success remains elusive. Relying on the kindness of both friends and strangers, Llewyn embarks on an odyssey that takes him from the streets of Greenwich Village to a Chicago club, where awaits a music mogul who could give him the big break that he desperately needs.

WORLDWIDE BOX OFFICE GROSS:

$ 32,960,249

PRODUCTION BUDGET:

$ 11,000,000

PROFIT OR (LOSS):

$ 21,960,249

RETURN ON EVERY $1 SPENT:

$ 3.00

10 – Raising Arizona (1987)

IMDb:

7.3

RT Users:

8.5

Letterboxd:

7.66

7.82

Comedy, Crime

Top Billed Cast:

Nicolas Cage, Holly Hunter, Trey Wilson, John Goodman, William Forsythe, Frances McDormand

SYNOPSIS:

Fast-paced farce about an unlikely pair who go to extreme lengths to have a child. When an incompetent robber marries a policewoman, they discover that they are infertile. In order to appease his wife’s longings for a child, the man steals one of a set of quintuplets, but mayhem ensues when the child’s rich father sends a rabbit-shooting bounty hunter after the kidnapper.

WORLDWIDE BOX OFFICE GROSS:

$ 29,180,280

PRODUCTION BUDGET:

$ 5,500,000

PROFIT OR (LOSS):

$ 23,680,280

RETURN ON EVERY $1 SPENT:

$ 5.31

9 – True Grit (2010)

IMDb:

7.6

RT Users:

8.5

Letterboxd:

7.46

7.85

Adventure, Drama, Western

Top Billed Cast:

Jeff Bridges, Hailee Steinfeld, Matt Damon, Josh Brolin, Barry Pepper

SYNOPSIS:

After an outlaw named Tom Chaney (Josh Brolin) murders her father, feisty 14-year-old farm girl Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld) hires Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges), a boozy, trigger-happy lawman, to help her find Chaney and avenge her father. The bickering duo are not alone in their quest, for a Texas Ranger named LaBoeuf (Matt Damon) is also tracking Chaney for reasons of his own. Together the unlikely trio ventures into hostile territory to dispense some Old West justice.

WORLDWIDE BOX OFFICE GROSS:

$ 252,276,927

PRODUCTION BUDGET:

$ 38,000,000

PROFIT OR (LOSS):

$ 214,276,927

RETURN ON EVERY $1 SPENT:

$ 6.64

8 – The Man Who Wasn’t There (2001)

IMDb:

7.5

RT Users:

8.5

Letterboxd:

7.62

7.87

Crime, Drama

Top Billed Cast:

Billy Bob Thornton, Frances McDormand, Michael Badalucco, James Gandolfini, Katherine Borowitz

SYNOPSIS:

A dark tale of infidelity and murder, crime and punishment. Set in a small northern California town of the late 40s, the film portrays Ed Crane (Billy Bob Thornton), a barber dissatisfied with his life. His wife Doris’ (Frances McDormand) infidelity presents Ed with an opportunity for blackmail that he thinks will help him to change it. However, Ed’s scheme unravels and lays bare even darker secrets…

WORLDWIDE BOX OFFICE GROSS:

$ 18,916,623

PRODUCTION BUDGET:

$ 20,000,000

PROFIT OR (LOSS):

$ [-1,083,377]

RETURN ON EVERY $1 SPENT:

$ 0.95

7 – Blood Simple (1984)

IMDb:

7.6

RT Users:

8.8

Letterboxd:

7.72

8.04

Crime, Drama, Thriller

Top Billed Cast:

John Getz, Frances McDormand, Dan Hedaya, M. Emmet Walsh, Samm-Art Williams

SYNOPSIS:

“Blood Simple” was the first feature film from Joel and Ethan Coen. This is the newly restored and re-edited director’s cut of the film, introduced by Mortimer Young. The stylish crime thriller premiered at film festivals in 1984. “Blood Simple” begins deep in the heart of Texas, where a jealous saloon owner hires a cheap divorce detective to kill the saloon owner’s younger wife and her bartender lover. But the detective gets a better idea: he follows the two lovers, and…

WORLDWIDE BOX OFFICE GROSS:

$ 4,228,292

PRODUCTION BUDGET:

$ 1,500,000

PROFIT OR (LOSS):

$ 2,728,292

RETURN ON EVERY $1 SPENT:

$ 2.82

6 – O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)

IMDb:

7.7

RT Users:

8.9

Letterboxd:

7.78

8.13

Adventure, Comedy, Crime

Top Billed Cast:

George Clooney, John Turturro, Tim Blake Nelson, Charles Durning, John Goodman

SYNOPSIS:

Ulysses Everett McGill (George Clooney) is having difficulty adjusting to his hard-labor sentence in Mississippi. He scams his way off the chain gang with simple Delmar (Tim Blake Nelson) and maladjusted Pete (John Turturro), then the trio sets out to pursue freedom and the promise of a fortune in buried treasure. With nothing to lose and still in shackles, their hasty run takes them on an incredible journey of awesome experiences and colorful characters.

WORLDWIDE BOX OFFICE GROSS:

$ 71,870,729

PRODUCTION BUDGET:

$ 26,000,000

PROFIT OR (LOSS):

$ 45,870,729

RETURN ON EVERY $1 SPENT:

$ 2.76

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