Last Updated on 7 July 2025

I searched the Internet for lists of the best movies that take place in just a single day. Criteria included the movies being ranked, not just listed, and generally created by groups, whether teams or committees or based on general public voting (like Ranker.com).

I was able to find 24 lists. I took the 24 lists and added all their content into a spreadsheet, noting the rank of every film. I ended up averaging the rankings each movie got (there were 50 that were on at least 2 lists) and dividing that average by a factor of the number of lists that movie was on. The lowest score meant a high ranking average on many lists. The complete spreadsheet is attached at the bottom.

The movies that were on the most lists (out of 24) were:

  • Do the Right Thing (1989) – 20 lists
  • 12 Angry Men (1957) – 18 lists
  • Die Hard (1988) – 17 lists
  • Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986) – 17 lists
  • Dog Day Afternoon (1975) – 14 lists
  • Dazed and Confused (1993) – 14 lists
  • Before Sunrise (1995) – 13 lists
  • The Breakfast Club (1985) – 12 lists

Here are links to the lists I used along with dates the lists were created:

Best One-Day MoviesDownload

Loading