23 Best Ensemble Cast Movies of All Time

By Vlad Zakh · August 6, 2026

Drama thought provoking feel good

Juggling a dozen storylines is a lot harder than it looks. The films here manage it through overlapping timelines, a shared crime or a single political rally. Pulp Fiction weaves hitmen, a boxer and a gangster’s wife together, Nashville tracks twenty-four characters around a campaign event, and The Departed somehow out-tenses its source. Short Cuts, Magnolia and The Royal Tenenbaums show how many different ways a big cast can work.

Pulp Fiction (1994)

01

Pulp Fiction (1994)

IMDb ★ 8.8 RT 92% Metacritic 95

Two hitmen, a boxer and a gangster's wife weave through a nonlinear crime saga in Los Angeles.

Directed by Quentin Tarantino · 2h 34m · Rated R

Won 1 Oscar69 wins & 72 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: Amazon Prime Video, fuboTV, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential, Paramount+ Amazon Channel, YouTube TV · Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

The Departed (2006)

02

The Departed (2006)

IMDb ★ 8.5 RT 91% Metacritic 85

A remake that somehow out-tenses its own already tense source material.

Directed by Martin Scorsese · 2h 31m · Rated R

Won 4 Oscars100 wins & 141 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: HBO Max Amazon Channel, YouTube TV, HBO Max · Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Short Cuts (1993)

03

Short Cuts (1993)

IMDb ★ 7.6 RT 95% Metacritic 81

A sprawling ensemble of Los Angeles lives, loosely adapted from Raymond Carver's short stories.

Directed by Robert Altman · 3h 08m · Rated R

Nominated for 1 Oscar17 wins & 19 nominations

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Nashville (1975)

04

Nashville (1975)

IMDb ★ 7.6 RT 89% Metacritic 96

Twenty-four characters converge around a political rally set against Nashville's country music scene.

Directed by Robert Altman · 2h 40m · Rated R

Won 1 Oscar23 wins & 25 nominations

Where to watch

Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

12 Angry Men (1957)

05

12 Angry Men (1957)

IMDb ★ 9.0 RT 100% Metacritic 97

One juror holds out against eleven others and slowly gets them to question a murder verdict they'd already settled on.

Directed by Sidney Lumet · 1h 37m · Rated NR

Nominated for 3 Oscars16 wins & 12 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: Hulu, fuboTV, MGM+ Amazon Channel, Philo, MGM Plus Roku Premium Channel, MGM Plus · Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Rashomon (1950)

06

Rashomon (1950)

IMDb ★ 8.1 RT 98% Metacritic 98

Four witnesses recount the same crime with four completely irreconcilable versions of events.

Directed by Akira Kurosawa · 1h 28m · Rated NR

Nominated for 1 Oscar9 wins & 5 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: HBO Max Amazon Channel, HBO Max · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)

07

The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)

IMDb ★ 7.6 RT 81% Metacritic 76

A dysfunctional family of former prodigies reunites when their estranged father fakes an illness.

Directed by Wes Anderson · 1h 50m · Rated R

Nominated for 1 Oscar11 wins & 46 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: HBO Max · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Little Miss Sunshine (2006)

08

Little Miss Sunshine (2006)

IMDb ★ 7.8 RT 91% Metacritic 80

A dysfunctional family road-trips a young girl to a beauty pageant she barely wants to attend.

Directed by Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris · 1h 42m · Rated R

Won 2 Oscars73 wins & 112 nominations

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Knives Out (2019)

09

Knives Out (2019)

IMDb ★ 7.9 RT 97% Metacritic 82

A rich family becomes a murder mystery's suspect list, and Marta is the one person who can't lie.

Directed by Rian Johnson · 2h 11m · Rated PG-13

Nominated for 1 Oscar52 wins & 114 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: fuboTV, Lionsgate+ Amazon Channel · Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, FlixFling · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

American Hustle (2013)

10

American Hustle (2013)

IMDb ★ 7.2 RT 92% Metacritic 90

Con artists and a rogue FBI agent get tangled in a sting that spirals out of anyone's control.

Directed by David O. Russell · 2h 18m · Rated R

Nominated for 10 Oscars70 wins & 229 nominations

Where to watch

Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Magnolia (1999)

11

Magnolia (1999)

IMDb ★ 8.0 RT 82% Metacritic 78

Sprawling, strange, and one of the most ambitious ensemble dramas of the decade.

Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson · 3h 09m · Rated R

Nominated for 3 Oscars28 wins & 59 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: HBO Max Amazon Channel, HBO Max · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Crash (2005)

12

Crash (2005)

IMDb ★ 7.7 RT 73% Metacritic 66

A dozen Los Angeles lives intersect through race, prejudice and one bad day after another.

Directed by Paul Haggis · 1h 52m · Rated R

Won 3 Oscars66 wins & 112 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: Lionsgate+ Amazon Channel, Howdy Amazon Channel · Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Traffic (2000)

13

Traffic (2000)

IMDb ★ 7.5 RT 93% Metacritic 86

The war on drugs told from three intersecting perspectives, each compromised in its own way.

Directed by Steven Soderbergh · 2h 27m · Rated R

Won 4 Oscars73 wins & 86 nominations

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Boogie Nights (1997)

14

Boogie Nights (1997)

IMDb ★ 7.9 RT 91% Metacritic 87

An ensemble rise-and-fall story that made a porn-industry setting feel almost tender.

Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson · 2h 36m · Rated R

Nominated for 3 Oscars36 wins & 64 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: Criterion Channel · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

The Big Chill (1983)

15

The Big Chill (1983)

IMDb ★ 7.1 RT 70% Metacritic 61

College friends reunite for a funeral and spend the weekend facing who they've each become.

Directed by Lawrence Kasdan · 1h 45m · Rated R

Nominated for 3 Oscars4 wins & 8 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: Sony Pictures Core Amazon Channel · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Avengers: Endgame (2019)

16

Avengers: Endgame (2019)

IMDb ★ 8.4 RT 94% Metacritic 78

The Avengers attempt a time heist to undo a universe-altering snap.

Directed by Anthony Russo & Joe Russo · 3h 01m · Rated PG-13

Nominated for 1 Oscar71 wins & 132 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: Disney Plus · Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

The Avengers (2012)

17

The Avengers (2012)

IMDb ★ 8.0 RT 91% Metacritic 69

Earth's mightiest heroes assemble for the first time to stop an alien invasion.

Directed by Joss Whedon · 2h 23m · Rated PG-13

Nominated for 1 Oscar40 wins & 81 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: Disney Plus, Hulu · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Ocean's Eleven (2001)

18

Ocean's Eleven (2001)

IMDb ★ 7.7 RT 83% Metacritic 74

A crew of con artists plans an elaborate simultaneous heist of three Las Vegas casinos.

Directed by Steven Soderbergh · 1h 56m · Rated PG-13

4 wins & 20 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: HBO Max Amazon Channel, YouTube TV, HBO Max, Starz Apple TV channel · Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Love Actually (2003)

19

Love Actually (2003)

IMDb ★ 7.5 RT 65% Metacritic 55

Ten overlapping London love stories converge in the weeks before Christmas.

Directed by Richard Curtis · 2h 15m · Rated R

Won 1 BAFTA Award11 wins & 30 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads, Starz, Starz Apple TV channel, Starz Roku Premium Channel · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Crazy, Stupid, Love. (2011)

20

Crazy, Stupid, Love. (2011)

IMDb ★ 7.4 RT 79% Metacritic 68

A newly single father is mentored in dating by a serial womaniser, with unexpected romantic tangles all round.

Directed by Glenn Ficarra & John Requa · 1h 58m · Rated PG-13

5 wins & 23 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: HBO Max Amazon Channel, HBO Max · Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

He's Just Not That Into You (2009)

21

He's Just Not That Into You (2009)

IMDb ★ 6.4 RT 42% Metacritic 47

Several overlapping Baltimore relationships all struggle with the same brutal dating truths.

Directed by Ken Kwapis · 2h 09m · Rated PG-13

1 win & 4 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: fuboTV, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential, Paramount+ Amazon Channel, Paramount+ Roku Premium Channel · Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

New Year's Eve (2011)

22

New Year's Eve (2011)

IMDb ★ 5.6 RT 7% Metacritic 22

An ensemble cast's lives converge in Times Square during the countdown to midnight.

Directed by Garry Marshall · 1h 58m · Rated PG-13

2 wins & 9 nominations

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Valentine's Day (2010)

23

Valentine's Day (2010)

IMDb ★ 5.8 RT 18% Metacritic 34

A dozen intersecting Los Angeles couples navigate one chaotic Valentine's Day.

Directed by Garry Marshall · 2h 05m · Rated PG-13

7 wins & 12 nominations

Where to watch

Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Streaming availability data from JustWatch, via TMDB. Availability changes often, so check the service before you plan a movie night.

Vlad Zakh

Founder, Movieix

Founder of Movieix. He started the site because most recommendation pages felt like noise. Here, lists are sorted by who's in the film, where it's from and what mood you're in tonight.