Ever spent forty minutes scrolling through a streaming app, only to realize you’ve basically just watched a bunch of trailers and now you’re too tired to actually see a movie? Honestly, we’ve all been there. Digital clutter is real. The irony of 2026 is that while we have every piece of cinema ever made at our fingertips, finding one specific thing feels like hunting for a needle in a haystack of "Recommended for You" algorithms that don't actually know you at all.
This is exactly why movies in alphabetical order remains the gold standard for anyone who actually cares about their collection.
It sounds simple. Kinda boring, maybe? But there’s a reason why the American Film Institute and serious collectors like those over at Criterion still lean on the ABCs. It’s the only system that doesn't rely on your mood or a buggy AI recommendation engine. Whether you’re staring at a physical shelf of 4K SteelBooks or trying to tame a chaotic digital library, alphabetizing is the ultimate "reset button" for your brain.
The Logic (and the Weird Rules) of Alphabetizing
If you think putting movies in alphabetical order is just "A comes before B," you’ve never had to decide where to put 71 or The 400 Blows.
Most serious film databases—think IMDb or Letterboxd—follow a strict "ignore the articles" rule. You don't file The Godfather under T. That’s a rookie move. It goes under G. Why? Because if you have a thousand movies, your "T" section would be half the library. Imagine trying to find The Thing or The Truman Show by scrolling through five hundred other titles starting with "The." It’s a nightmare.
Numbers are where it gets spicy. Some people like to spell them out (so 12 Angry Men would go under T for "Twelve"). Most modern digital systems, however, put numbers at the very top, before the letter A.
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Pro Tip: If you're organizing a physical collection, keep your numbers in a "0-9" section at the start. It keeps the spine of the collection looking cleaner and saves you from the "Is it under S for Seven or 7 for Seven?" debate.
Why the A-Z System Beats Genre Sorting
Genre is subjective. Is Alien a sci-fi movie or a horror movie? Is The Menu a comedy, a thriller, or a social commentary? If you sort by genre, you’re always going to lose something in the cracks.
Alphabetical order is objective. Apocalypse Now is always under A. Zodiac is always under Z. There’s no debate, no "well, it feels like an action movie today."
But let's be real—the "franchise exception" is the one time you’re allowed to break the rules. If you’re a purist, The Dark Knight should be under D. But seeing it separated from Batman Begins (under B) feels wrong. It physically hurts the soul. Most collectors use a "sort title" method: they keep the alphabetical structure but group sequels together under the main franchise name. So, you'd have Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, and The Dark Knight Rises all sitting pretty under B.
The "Letter" Masterpieces You Should Know
To show you how diverse a library looks when you stop focusing on genres and start looking at movies in alphabetical order, let’s look at some heavy hitters that define their respective slots.
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The Power of "A" and "B"
Amadeus (1984) is a perfect example of why the beginning of the alphabet is so strong. It’s a lavish, loud, and incredibly petty biopic that holds up better than almost any other 80s Oscar winner. Right next to it, you might find Blade Runner 2049. The jump from 18th-century Vienna to a rain-soaked futuristic Los Angeles is jarring in the best way possible. That’s the magic of the ABCs—it forces you to see connections between films you’d never pair together.
The "M" Mid-point
The letter M is arguably the most crowded section of any movie list. You’ve got Mad Max: Fury Road, Metropolis, M, and Mulholland Drive. It’s a powerhouse. If you're scrolling through an alphabetical list and you hit M, you’re basically in the prestige heart of cinema history.
The "Q" and "X" Challenges
Every collector knows the struggle here. What do you even put in Q? Most people default to A Quiet Place (which, remember, goes under Q because we ignore the "A"). If you’re a fan of the classics, Quiz Show is a must-have. For X, it’s basically just X-Men or maybe X (the Ti West horror flick). These letters are the "rarities" that make a full A-Z collection feel complete.
How to Actually Fix Your Digital Library
If your Plex server or digital library is a mess, you don't need a new app. You just need a better naming convention.
- Standardize Titles: Ensure your files don't start with "The" or "A." Change "The Whale" to "Whale, The" in your metadata tags.
- Handle Sequels with "Sort Titles": In the "Sort Title" field of your media manager, rename The Godfather Part II to "Godfather 2." This keeps the sequence perfect while keeping the display title original.
- Use Years: If you have two movies with the same name (like the 1932 and 1982 versions of The Thing), the year is your best friend. Put the year in parentheses after the title. In alphabetical lists, the older version usually comes first.
Actionable Next Steps for Your Collection
Stop overthinking your "Watch Later" list. It's time to actually organize.
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First, pick a "The" policy. Decide right now if you’re an "ignore the article" person or a "everything under T" person. Stick to it. Mixing both is how libraries die.
Second, audit your 'N' and 'S' sections. These are usually the messiest. Check for duplicates or mislabeled sequels.
Third, embrace the random. The best part of viewing movies in alphabetical order is the "double feature" you never planned. Try watching the last movie in your 'L' section and the first movie in your 'M' section back-to-back. You’ll find weird thematic links that no algorithm would ever suggest.
Go ahead and look at your shelf or your app. If Arrival isn't near the top, you’ve got work to do. Clean it up, sort it out, and actually enjoy your movies for once.