David Fincher is a talented filmmaker that has directed many critically acclaimed movies in the past 3 decades. He has directed 11 movies and 2 TV shows (Mindhunter & House of Cards) and his movies have grossed over $2B worldwide. Fincher has also directed many shorts and music videos for famous artists. Fincher made his directional debut in 1992 with Alien 3, the third movie of the Alien film franchise.
And after that, he made many thriller movies that are still being loved by many audiences from all over the world. His movies have received a total of 40 Academy award (Oscar) nominations and won 8 Oscars. Even though he was nominated 3 times for best director, unfortunately, he never won in that category. Hopefully, he will win an Academy Award for directing someday. So in this article, we will have a look at the 10 best David Fincher movies of all time.
10 Best David Fincher Movies
10. Panic Room
2002 | Thriller, Crime
Music By: Howard Shore
Cast: Jodie Foster, Kristen Stewart, Forest Whitaker, Jared Leto, Dwight Yoakam, Patrik Bauchau
IMDb Ratings: 6.8/10
Fincher’s 2002’s thriller Panic Room includes some great actors like Jodie Foster, Kristen Stewart, and Jared Leto. Panic Room is a story about how a mother named Meg Altman (played by Jodie Foster) and her daughter Sarah Altman (played by Kristen Stewart) tries to hide from some men that break into their house. Jodie Foster’s acting in this movie is great as usual. Despite it being a movie with a lot of mixed reviews Panic Room managed to gross almost $200M at the worldwide box office. Even though many people say it’s plot is predictable it is a great movie to watch if you love the thriller genre.
9. Mank
2020 | Drama, Black & White
Cinematography: Erik Messerschmidt
Cast: Gary Oldman, Amanda Seyfried, Lily Collins, Arliss Howard, Tom Pelphrey and more
IMDb Ratings: 6.9/10
David Fincher’s latest movie Mank is the biography of the famous Hollywood screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz, who wrote many great scripts for movies like Citizen Kane (1941), The Pride of the Yankees (1942), and many more. Gary Oldman delivers an incredible performance as Herman J. Mankiewicz(Mank) and he was nominated for Best Actor at the 93rd Academy Awards, and even though the movie received a lot of mixed reviews from the audience David Fincher was nominated for Best Director this time. The supporting cast includes Lily Collins as Rita Alexander and Amanda Seyfried as Marion Davies. However, because of the pandemic, the movie didn’t perform well at the box office.
8. The Game
1997 | Thriller, Mystery
Music By: Howard Shore
Cast: Michael Douglas, Sean Penn, James Rebhorn, Deborah Kara Unger, Peter Donat, Carol Baker and more.
IMDb Ratings: 7.7/10
Followed by the success of Se7en (1995) David Fincher decided to take on another thriller movie named “The Game”. It tells the story of a merchant banker named Nicholas Van Orton that receives a strange gift on his birthday. Nicholas Van Orton is played by Michael Douglas and Deborah Kara Unger plays the role of Christine. Fincher does a wonderful job of keeping the audience in suspense throughout its runtime. The Game is loved by many thriller movie enjoyers because of its interesting story, and it truly is a story worth watching. Even though it wasn’t as successful as Se7en, The Game managed to gross almost $110M at the worldwide boxoffice.
7. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
2008 | Romance, Fantasy
Story By: Eric Roth, Robin Swicord
Cast: Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Mahershala, Ali Taraji P, Julia Ormond and more.
IMDb Ratings: 7.8/10
The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button tells the story of a child named Benjamin Button who has a very rare disease that keeps aging him backward. Brad Pitt plays the role of Benjamin Button and Cate Blanchett plays the role of Benjamin’s love interest Daisy. Brad Pitt delivers a magnificent performance that got him nominated for an Oscar. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button became the Fincher that received the most number of Oscar nominations (10 nominations) including one for Best Director. The movie grossed over $335M at the worldwide box office also becoming one of the highest-grossing Fincher movies.
6. The Girl with the Dragon tattoo
2011 | Thriller, Mystery
Music By: Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross
Cast: Rooney Mara, Daniel Craig, Noomi Rapace, Stellan Skarsgard, Christopher Plummer and more.
IMDb Ratings: 7.8/10
The movie is based on a novel with the same name. Daniel Craig plays the role of Mikael Blomkvist, a journalist that hires Lisbeth Salander (played by Rooney Mara) a computer hacker, to solve the case of a woman that has gone missing for 40 years. Rooney Mara’s powerful performance managed to earn an Oscar nomination for “Best Leading Actress” at the 84th Academy Awards. Fincher once again managed to give a truly thrilling experience for the audience with this movie. This is definitely a thriller that you shouldn’t miss.
5. gone girl
2014 | Thriller, Mystery
Adapted From: Gone Girl
Cast: Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Neil Patrick Harris, Tyler Perry, Carrie Coon and more.
IMDb Ratings: 8.1/10
The movie is adapted from the novel by Gillian Flynn that has the same name. It tells a story about a psychotic wife who tries to get her husband in trouble. Ben Affleck plays the role of Nick Dunne, the husband and Rosamund Pike plays the role of Amy Dunne, the psychotic wife. Rosamund Pike gives a magnificent performance and she was nominated for the best leading actress that year. The movie is a great mix of thriller, mystery, and romance; Fincher does a perfect job by balancing all those 3 elements. Gone girl became a huge success grossing over $369M at the worldwide box office. It is a must-watch if you love the Thriller/Mystery genre.
4. the social network
2010 | Drama, History
Music By: Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross
Cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake, Armie Hammer and more.
IMDb Ratings: 7.7/10
The Social Network tells the real story behind how the multibillion-dollar social media network Facebook was created. Jesse Eisenberg plays Mark Zuckerberg and Andrew Garfield plays the role of his friend Eduardo Saverin and both of the actors deliver incredible performances. The social network earned Oscar nominations for best picture, best director, best leading actor, and for 2 other categories. And it won in Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Editing, and the Best Original Score categories.
Also The social network grossed $225M at the worldwide box office, so this could be also called the most successful Fincher movie to this date. Even though the story isn’t 100% accurate Mark Zuckerberg has claimed that most parts of the story are true. So if you want to know about the origin story of Facebook then this is the movie for you.
3. zodiac
2007 | Thriller, Mystery
Music By: David Shire
Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo, Robert Downey Jr., Chloe Sevigny, Anthony Edwards and more.
IMDb Ratings: 7.7/10
Zodiac movie is based on a true story about a serial killer named as the “Zodiac Killer”. The movie stars some A-list actors like Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey Jr., and Mark Ruffalo. Jake Gyllenhaal plays Robert Graysmith a cartoonist who tries to solve the case of the killer, while Mark Ruffalo plays the role of Detective Dave Toschi.
The movie received a lot of mixed reviews because of how it ended without a proper answer, but still, the way Fincher builds suspense throughout the movie makes it one of the greatest murder mysteries of all time. Zodiac didn’t do well in the box office (only earned $84.7M) mostly because of its runtime and its ending, but now a lot of people are starting to love the movie.
2. fight club
1999 | Thriller, Drama
Music By: The Dust Brothers
Cast: Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, Helena Bonham Carter, Meat Loaf, Jared Leto and more.
IMDb Ratings: 8.8/10
The movie that you are not allowed to talk about (if you know you know). Fight club stars Edward Norton, Brad Pitt, and Helena Bonham Carter as main characters. The movie is based on the novel by Chuck Palahniuk that goes by the same name. The story is about a young guy who’s obsessed with perfection, then he meets someone and his life completely changes from that point.
The storyline is truly ahead of its time, it perfectly depicts the harsh reality today. Even though the movie didn’t perform extremely well at the box office (only earned $101.2M), it is now being loved by many audiences and considered one of the greatest movies ever made.
1. seven
1995 | Crime, Drama
Music By: Howard Shore
Cast: Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, Gwyneth Paltrow, John C Mcginley and more.
IMDb Ratings: 8.6/10
David Fincher’s 1995 hit Se7en stars Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, Kevin Spacey, and Gwyneth Paltrow in the main roles. It is a story about a serial killer who murders people according to seven deadly sins. Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman play the roles of detective Mills and detective Somerset who try to bring down the killer. And Kevin Spacey plays the role of John Doe, the serial killer.
Brad Pitt delivers an incredible performance, and with its outstanding screenplay, Se7en has become a masterpiece in the thriller genre. The movie became a huge success, grossing over $325M worldwide and becoming the 7th highest-grossing movie in 1995. According to me this movie leads the best David Fincher movies of all time list.
List By
Cinescape
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