Honestly, if you ask a casual moviegoer what the "best" movie ever made is, they’ll probably point you toward The Godfather or maybe The Shawshank Redemption if they’ve spent enough time on IMDb. But step into the chaotic, neon-drenched world of Letterboxd, and the answer gets way more complicated.
It’s a battlefield of cinephiles.
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On this platform, the highest rated films on Letterboxd aren't just blockbusters. They are a weird, beautiful mix of 1960s Japanese samurai epics, devastating Brazilian social dramas, and—increasingly—anime that people are willing to go to war for. If you think a list of "best movies" should be predictable, Letterboxd is here to prove you wrong.
Why Harakiri Stays at the Top (And Why It Might Not Last)
For the longest time, Masaki Kobayashi’s 1962 masterpiece Harakiri has sat on the throne. It’s a 4.67-rated juggernaut that basically dismantles the "honor" of the samurai. It's brutal. It's slow. It’s perfect.
But here is the thing: the Letterboxd community is young, and their tastes are shifting. We saw it happen in real-time throughout 2025.
Enter Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc.
You probably didn’t expect a devil-hunting anime to challenge the classics, did you? Well, it did. In the 2025 Letterboxd Year in Review, Chainsaw Man was crowned the highest-rated film of the year with a staggering 4.4 average. It actually pushed its way into the all-time Top 250, landing right around the #100 spot. Some purists on Reddit are absolutely losing their minds over it. They argue that you shouldn't be able to rank a movie that requires 12 episodes of context to understand.
They might have a point. But the users don't care.
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The 2026 Shift: New Blood vs. The Old Guard
We are currently seeing a massive influx of "recency bias" that is shaking up the highest rated films on Letterboxd. Look at One Battle After Another, the Paul Thomas Anderson and Leonardo DiCaprio collaboration. It didn't just win at the box office; it’s sitting comfortably as one of the highest-rated action films in the history of the site.
Then there’s Ryan Coogler’s Sinners.
It’s rare for a horror movie to stay high on Letterboxd because horror is so subjective, but Sinners has managed to keep a death grip on its 4.0+ rating.
- Harakiri (1962) - Still the king of the narrative feature list.
- The Godfather (1972) - The old reliable.
- 12 Angry Men (1957) - Proof that people still love a good room-based argument.
- Parasite (2019) - The modern gold standard.
- Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc (2025) - The controversial newcomer.
It’s a weird list.
You’ve got a black-and-white tragedy sitting right next to a movie about a guy with chainsaws for arms. That’s Letterboxd in a nutshell.
The "International" Factor
One of the best things about this site is how it treats world cinema. While American critics are obsessed with the Oscars, Letterboxd users are obsessing over films like Sunshine from the Philippines or Lokah from India.
Antoinette Jadaone’s Sunshine actually ended 2025 as the 5th highest-rated film by a female director. It’s a sports drama about a gymnast, and it has more emotional weight than most Hollywood biopics combined. Similarly, the Malayalam film Lokah (Chapter 1: Chandra) shocked everyone by outranking Avatar: Fire and Ash in the action category.
Letterboxd users love an underdog.
They also love a good "vibe." That’s why you see movies like Stop Making Sense (the Talking Heads concert doc) sitting with a 4.68 rating. It’s technically a documentary, but on Letterboxd, it’s treated like a religious experience.
The Movies Everyone Is Waiting For
As we move through 2026, the rankings are destined to break again. The most anticipated film on the entire platform right now is Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey.
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The trailer alone has 121 million views.
If Nolan delivers, we could see a total reshuffle of the Top 10. Letterboxd users worship Nolan. If The Odyssey hits a 4.5 on opening weekend, expect the servers to go down. People also have their eyes on Dune: Messiah and Project Hail Mary.
There is a specific kind of "Letterboxd Movie"—usually something visually stunning with a bit of a dark edge—that just works for this demographic.
How to Actually Use These Ratings
Don't just look at the Top 250 and think you have to watch them all in order. You'll get depressed. Half of those movies are about the end of the world or people crying in rainy alleys.
Instead, look at the "highest rated" by genre.
- For Comedy: Parasite actually holds the top spot here, even though it’s barely a comedy. It’s more of a "laugh so you don't cry" situation.
- For Action: Go with Harakiri or The Seven Samurai. If you want something modern, One Battle After Another is the 2025 pick.
- For Animation: Grave of the Fireflies is the highest rated, but please, prepare your soul for that one. It's devastating.
The ratings change every day. A single viral tweet or a TikTok edit can send a 1970s cult classic screaming up the charts. That’s the beauty of it. It’s a living, breathing list.
To stay ahead of the curve, you should start tracking the "Official Top 250 Narrative Feature Films" list on the site. It updates every Monday. If you see a movie like Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me suddenly jump 50 spots, it usually means a new restoration just dropped or a famous director mentioned it in an interview.
Your next move? Pick one film from the top ten that you’ve never heard of. Don't Google the plot. Just watch it.
The community usually knows what they’re talking about, even if they are a little obsessed with anime right now.