2008

Academy winner Slumdog Millionaire poster

Slumdog Millionaire

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Should have won The Dark Knight poster

The Dark Knight

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The Academy's ballot

🏆Slumdog Millionaire#478.84 🎬The Curious Case of Benjamin Button#977.02 🎬The Reader#1574.76 🎬Frost/Nixon#1773.23 🎬Milk#1873.02

Your #1 was The Dark Knight (#1).

The full slate

The Dark Knight (2008)

⭐ Top-rated🏛️ All-time great💰 Box office #1

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Dir. Christopher Nolan · Christian Bale · Heath Ledger · Aaron Eckhart · Michael Caine

IMDb 9.1 (3,178,656 votes) · TMDB 8.531

Batman raises the stakes in his war on crime. With the help of Lt. Jim Gordon and District Attorney Harvey Dent, Batman sets out to dismantle the remaining criminal organizations that plague the streets. The partnership proves to be effective, but they soon find themselves prey to a reign of chaos unleashed by a rising criminal mastermind known to the terrified citizens of Gotham as the Joker.

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WALL·E (2008)

⭐ Top-rated🏛️ All-time great💰 Box office #9

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Dir. Andrew Stanton · Ben Burtt · Elissa Knight · Jeff Garlin · Fred Willard

IMDb 8.4 (1,325,472 votes) · TMDB 8.1

After hundreds of years doing what he was built for, WALL•E— a robot designed to clean up the earth—discovers a new purpose in life when he meets a sleek search robot named EVE. EVE comes to realize that WALL•E has inadvertently stumbled upon the key to the planet's future, and races back to space to report to the humans. Meanwhile, WALL•E chases EVE across the galaxy and sets into motion one of the most imaginative adventures ever brought to the big screen.

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Gran Torino (2008)

⭐ Top-rated🏛️ All-time great

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Dir. Clint Eastwood · Clint Eastwood · Christopher Carley · Bee Vang · Ahney Her

IMDb 8.1 (863,948 votes) · TMDB 7.991

Disgruntled Korean War veteran Walt Kowalski sets out to reform his neighbor, Thao Lor, a Hmong teenager who tried to steal Kowalski's prized possession: a 1972 Gran Torino.

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Slumdog Millionaire (2008)

🏆 Winner⭐ Top-rated

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Dir. Danny Boyle · Dev Patel · Freida Pinto · Madhur Mittal · Anil Kapoor

IMDb 8.0 (911,447 votes) · TMDB 7.73

A teenager reflects on his life after being accused of cheating on the Indian version of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?".

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Ip Man (2008)

⭐ Top-rated

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Dir. Wilson Yip · Donnie Yen · Simon Yam · Lynn Hung Doi-Lam · Hiroyuki Ikeuchi

IMDb 8.0 (243,885 votes) · TMDB 7.76

A semi-biographical account of Yip Man, the first martial arts master to teach the Chinese martial art of Wing Chun. The film focuses on events surrounding Ip that took place in the city of Foshan between the 1930s to 1940s during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Directed by Wilson Yip, the film stars Donnie Yen in the lead role, and features fight choreography by Sammo Hung.

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Iron Man (2008)

⭐ Top-rated💰 Box office #8

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Dir. Jon Favreau · Robert Downey Jr. · Terrence Howard · Jeff Bridges · Gwyneth Paltrow

IMDb 7.9 (1,228,296 votes) · TMDB 7.662

After being held captive in an Afghan cave, billionaire engineer Tony Stark creates a unique weaponized suit of armor to fight evil.

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In Bruges (2008)

⭐ Top-rated

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Dir. Martin McDonagh · Colin Farrell · Brendan Gleeson · Ralph Fiennes · Clémence Poésy

IMDb 7.9 (494,665 votes) · TMDB 7.502

Ray and Ken, two hit men, are in Bruges, Belgium, waiting for their next mission. While they are there they have time to think and discuss their previous assignment. When the mission is revealed to Ken, it is not what he expected.

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The Wrestler (2008)

⭐ Top-rated

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Dir. Darren Aronofsky · Mickey Rourke · Marisa Tomei · Evan Rachel Wood · Mark Margolis

IMDb 7.9 (331,531 votes) · TMDB 7.54

Aging wrestler Randy "The Ram" Robinson is long past his prime but still ready and rarin' to go on the pro-wrestling circuit. After a particularly brutal beating, however, Randy hangs up his tights, pursues a serious relationship with a long-in-the-tooth stripper, and tries to reconnect with his estranged daughter. But he can't resist the lure of the ring and readies himself for a comeback.

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The Curious Case of Benjamin Button poster

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)

🎬 Nominee⭐ Top-rated

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Dir. David Fincher · Brad Pitt · Cate Blanchett · Taraji P. Henson · Julia Ormond

IMDb 7.8 (747,736 votes) · TMDB 7.6

Born under unusual circumstances, Benjamin Button springs into being as an elderly man in a New Orleans nursing home and ages in reverse. Twelve years after his birth, he meets Daisy, a child who flits in and out of his life as she grows up to be a dancer. Though he has all sorts of unusual adventures over the course of his life, it is his relationship with Daisy, and the hope that they will come together at the right time, that drives Benjamin forward.

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#10

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (2008)

⭐ Top-rated

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Dir. Mark Herman · Asa Butterfield · Vera Farmiga · David Thewlis · Jack Scanlon

IMDb 7.7 (275,397 votes) · TMDB 7.82

When his family moves from their home in Berlin to a strange new house in Poland, young Bruno befriends Shmuel, a boy who lives on the other side of the fence where everyone seems to be wearing striped pajamas. Unaware of Shmuel's fate as a Jewish prisoner or the role his own Nazi father plays in his imprisonment, Bruno embarks on a dangerous journey inside the camp's walls.

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#11

Let the Right One In (2008)

⭐ Top-rated

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Dir. Tomas Alfredson · Kåre Hedebrant · Lina Leandersson · Per Ragnar · Henrik Dahl

IMDb 7.8 (240,425 votes) · TMDB 7.546

When Oskar, a sensitive, bullied 12-year-old boy, meets his new neighbor, the mysterious and moody Eli, they strike up a friendship. Initially reserved with each other, Oskar and Eli slowly form a close bond, but it soon becomes apparent that she is no ordinary young girl.

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#12

Changeling (2008)

⭐ Top-rated

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Dir. Clint Eastwood · Angelina Jolie · John Malkovich · Jeffrey Donovan · Michael Kelly

IMDb 7.7 (275,425 votes) · TMDB 7.58

Los Angeles, 1928. When single mother Christine Collins leaves for work, her son vanishes without a trace. Five months later, the police reunite mother and son. But when Christine suspects that the boy returned to her isn't her child, her quest for truth exposes a world of corruption.

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#13

Taken (2008)

⭐ Top-rated

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Dir. Pierre Morel · Liam Neeson · Maggie Grace · Famke Janssen · Olivier Rabourdin

IMDb 7.7 (673,541 votes) · TMDB 7.407

Bryan Mills, a former government operative, is trying to reconnect with his teenage daughter Kim. After reluctantly agreeing with his ex-wife to let Kim go to Paris on vacation with a friend, his worst nightmare comes true. While on the phone with his daughter shortly after she arrives in Paris, she and her friend are abducted by a gang of human traffickers. Working against the clock, Bryan relies on his extensive training and skills to track down the ruthless gang that abducted her and launch a one-man war to rescue his daughter.

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#14

Kung Fu Panda (2008)

⭐ Top-rated💰 Box office #3

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Dir. Mark Osborne · Jack Black · Dustin Hoffman · Angelina Jolie · Ian McShane

IMDb 7.6 (582,472 votes) · TMDB 7.325

Chosen by prophecy but doubted by all, Po is an unlikely choice for the mystical title of the Dragon Warrior—a clumsy panda thrust into the world of kung fu as a deadly enemy threatens the Valley of Peace. Under reluctant guidance by Master Shifu and the Furious Five, Po must embrace who he is to unlock the power that no scroll can teach.

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#15

The Reader (2008)

🎬 Nominee

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Dir. Stephen Daldry · Ralph Fiennes · Kate Winslet · David Kross · Lena Olin

IMDb 7.6 (274,309 votes) · TMDB 7.469

The story of Michael Berg, a German lawyer who, as a teenager in the late 1950s, had an affair with an older woman, Hanna, who then disappeared only to resurface years later as one of the defendants in a war crimes trial stemming from her actions as a concentration camp guard late in the war. He alone realizes that Hanna is illiterate and may be concealing that fact at the expense of her freedom.

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#16

A Wednesday (2008)

⭐ Top-rated

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Dir. Neeraj Pandey · Anupam Kher · Naseeruddin Shah · Jimmy Shergill · Deepal Shaw

IMDb 8.1 (86,117 votes) · TMDB 7.008

Prakash Rathod, a retired police commissioner recounts the most memorable case of his career wherein he was informed about a bomb scare in Mumbai by an ordinary commoner.

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#17

Frost/Nixon (2008)

🎬 Nominee

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Dir. Ron Howard · Frank Langella · Michael Sheen · Kevin Bacon · Rebecca Hall

IMDb 7.6 (116,064 votes) · TMDB 7.28

For three years after being forced from office, Nixon remained silent. But in summer 1977, the steely, cunning former commander-in-chief agreed to sit for one all-inclusive interview to confront the questions of his time in office and the Watergate scandal that ended his presidency. Nixon surprised everyone in selecting Frost as his televised confessor, intending to easily outfox the breezy British showman and secure a place in the hearts and minds of Americans. Likewise, Frost's team harboured doubts about their boss's ability to hold his own. But as the cameras rolled, a charged battle of wits resulted.

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#18

Milk (2008)

🎬 Nominee

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Dir. Gus Van Sant · Sean Penn · Emile Hirsch · Josh Brolin · Diego Luna

IMDb 7.5 (186,261 votes) · TMDB 7.214

The true story of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man ever elected to public office. In San Francisco in the late 1970s, Harvey Milk becomes an activist for gay rights and inspires others to join him in his fight for equal rights that should be available to all Americans.

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#19

Mamma Mia! (2008)

💰 Box office #5

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Dir. Phyllida Lloyd · Amanda Seyfried · Meryl Streep · Pierce Brosnan · Colin Firth

IMDb 6.5 (307,285 votes) · TMDB 7.0

A spirited young bride-to-be living with her single mother on a small Greek island secretly invites three of her mother's ex-boyfriends in hope of finding her biological father to walk her down the aisle.

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#20

Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (2008)

💰 Box office #6

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Dir. Eric Darnell · Ben Stiller · Chris Rock · David Schwimmer · Jada Pinkett Smith

IMDb 6.7 (272,009 votes) · TMDB 6.528

Alex, Marty, and other zoo animals find a way to escape from Madagascar when the penguins reassemble a wrecked airplane. The precariously repaired craft stays airborne just long enough to make it to the African continent. There the New Yorkers encounter members of their own species for the first time. Africa proves to be a wild place, but Alex and company wonder if it is better than their Central Park home.

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#21

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian poster

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008)

💰 Box office #10

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Dir. Andrew Adamson · William Moseley · Anna Popplewell · Skandar Keynes · Georgie Henley

IMDb 6.5 (239,908 votes) · TMDB 6.632

One year after their incredible adventures in the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Peter, Edmund, Lucy and Susan Pevensie return to Narnia to aid a young prince whose life has been threatened by the evil King Miraz. Now, with the help of a colorful cast of new characters, including Trufflehunter the badger and Nikabrik the dwarf, the Pevensie clan embarks on an incredible quest to ensure that Narnia is returned to its rightful heir.

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#22

Quantum of Solace (2008)

💰 Box office #7

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Dir. Marc Forster · Daniel Craig · Olga Kurylenko · Mathieu Amalric · Judi Dench

IMDb 6.5 (498,977 votes) · TMDB 6.337

Betrayed by Vesper, the woman he loved, 007 fights the urge to make his latest mission personal. Pursuing his determination to uncover the truth, Bond and M interrogate Mr. White, who reveals that the organization that blackmailed Vesper is far more complex and dangerous than anyone had imagined.

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#23

Hancock (2008)

💰 Box office #4

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Dir. Peter Berg · Will Smith · Charlize Theron · Jason Bateman · Jae Head

IMDb 6.4 (540,227 votes) · TMDB 6.357

Hancock is a down-and-out superhero who's forced to employ a PR expert to help repair his image when the public grows weary of all the damage he's inflicted during his lifesaving heroics. The agent's idea of imprisoning the antihero to make the world miss him proves successful, but will Hancock stick to his new sense of purpose or slip back into old habits?

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#24

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull poster

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)

💰 Box office #2

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Dir. Steven Spielberg · Harrison Ford · Cate Blanchett · Karen Allen · Shia LaBeouf

IMDb 6.2 (514,777 votes) · TMDB 6.028

Set during the Cold War, the Soviets—led by sword-wielding Irina Spalko—are in search of a crystal skull which has supernatural powers related to a mystical Lost City of Gold. Indy is coerced to head to Peru at the behest of a young man whose friend—and Indy's colleague—Professor Oxley has been captured for his knowledge of the skull's whereabouts.

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How scoring works: films are ranked by a composite of a weighted (Bayesian) IMDb rating — the same method as the IMDb Top 250, so a high score from few voters can't outrank a strong score from many — blended with TMDB. Box office is a tiebreaker and a badge, never part of the score. Raw IMDb ratings and vote counts are shown on each card.