Last Updated on 7 July 2025

The following list is a snapshot of society’s current opinions of the 100 best movies that take place over just one day.

I found 24 different ranked lists online of “best movies that happen in one day” and pulled them all into Excel and merged them all to get this definitive compilation. See my Methodology page for the research process that was used, including links to all 24 lists that were averaged. Below is a checklist you can print to track which ones you’ve seen, followed by the ranked list with links to IMDb.

Best One-Day Movies – Viewing ChecklistDownload
  1. Do the Right Thing (1989)
  2. 12 Angry Men (1957)
  3. Die Hard (1988)
  4. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)
  5. Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
  6. Dazed and Confused (1993)
  7. Before Sunrise (1995)
  8. The Breakfast Club (1985)
  9. Dr. Strangelove (1964)
  10. Reservoir Dogs (1992)
  11. Magnolia (1999)
  12. Clerks (1994)
  13. High Noon (1952)
  14. Groundhog Day (1993)
  15. Rope (1948)
  16. Training Day (2001)
  17. Before Sunset (2004)
  18. Night of the Living Dead (1968)
  19. Run Lola Run (1998)
  20. Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)
  21. American Graffiti (1973)
  22. Clue (1985)
  23. The Goonies (1985)
  24. Rashomon (1950)
  25. Cléo from 5 to 7 (1962)
  26. The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)
  27. His Girl Friday (1940)
  28. Cloverfield (2008)
  29. A Single Man (2009)
  30. 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (2007)
  31. Adventures in Babysitting (1987)
  32. After Hours (1985)
  33. 25th Hour (2002)
  34. Victoria (2015)
  35. My Dinner with Andre (1981)
  36. La Haine (Hate) (1995)
  37. Tangerine (2015)
  38. Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)
  39. Casablanca (1942)
  40. La Notte (1961)
  41. Odd Man Out (1947)
  42. Phone Booth (2002)
  43. Collateral (2004)
  44. Falling Down (1993)
  45. Wet Hot American Summer (2001)
  46. Shiva Baby (2020)
  47. Escape from New York (1981)
  48. The Warriors (1979)
  49. Coherence (2013)
  50. Airplane! (1980)
  51. Margin Call (2011)
  52. Dredd (2012)
  53. Gravity (2013)
  54. Alien (1979)
  55. Empire Records (1995)
  56. Friday the 13th (1980)
  57. Speed (1994)
  58. The Swimmer (1968)
  59. Locke (2013)
  60. Bicycle Thieves (1948)
  61. The Aviator’s Wife (1981)
  62. The Thing (1982)
  63. Waiting… (2005)
  64. Booksmart (2019)
  65. Rebel without a Cause (1955)
  66. Stalker (1979)
  67. Before Midnight (2013)
  68. Bullet Train (2022)
  69. Palm Springs (2020)
  70. Superbad (2007)
  71. The Night Is Short, Walk on Girl (2017)
  72. Reality (2023)
  73. The Daytrippers (1996)
  74. Friday (1995)
  75. Irreversible (2002)
  76. Miracle Mile (1988)
  77. Tape (2001)
  78. The Clock (2010)
  79. Funny Games (1997)
  80. Rio Bravo (1959)
  81. From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)
  82. Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)
  83. A Christmas Carol (1938)
  84. Nine Queens (2000)
  85. Crank (2006)
  86. Halloween (1978)
  87. Predator (1987)
  88. Assault on Precinct 13 (1976)
  89. Captain Phillips (2013)
  90. Black Hawk Down (2001)
  91. The Celebration (1998)
  92. Duel (1971)
  93. Rambo: First Blood (1982)
  94. The Raid: Redemption (2011)
  95. The Longest Day (1962)
  96. Crawl (2019)
  97. The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
  98. Date Night (2010)
  99. Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995)
  100. Where Eagles Dare (1968)

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