The 25 Best Presidential Films
by z_ingle | created - 18 Feb 2013 | updated - 11 Feb 2019 | PublicThese are the best films that focus on a president, whether real or fictional, narrative or documentary.
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1. JFK (1991)
R | 189 min | Drama, History, Thriller
New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison discovers there's more to the Kennedy assassination than the official story.
Director: Oliver Stone | Stars: Kevin Costner, Gary Oldman, Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau
Votes: 169,878 | Gross: $70.41M
2. Fail Safe (1964)
Approved | 112 min | Drama, Thriller
A technical malfunction sends American planes to Moscow to deliver a nuclear attack. Can all-out war be averted?
Director: Sidney Lumet | Stars: Henry Fonda, Walter Matthau, Fritz Weaver, Dan O'Herlihy
Votes: 24,402
3. Nixon (1995)
R | 192 min | Biography, Drama, History
A biographical story of former U.S. President Richard Nixon, from his days as a young boy, to his eventual Presidency, which ended in shame.
Director: Oliver Stone | Stars: Anthony Hopkins, Joan Allen, Powers Boothe, Ed Harris
Votes: 32,721 | Gross: $13.56M
4. Vice (I) (2018)
R | 132 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
The story of Dick Cheney, an unassuming bureaucratic Washington insider, who quietly wielded immense power as Vice President to George W. Bush, reshaping the country and the globe in ways that are still felt today.
Director: Adam McKay | Stars: Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Steve Carell, Sam Rockwell
Votes: 162,374 | Gross: $47.84M
5. Lincoln (2012)
PG-13 | 150 min | Biography, Drama, History
As the Civil War rages on, U.S President Abraham Lincoln struggles with continuing carnage on the battlefield as he fights with many inside his own cabinet on his decision to emancipate the slaves.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field, David Strathairn, Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Votes: 272,586 | Gross: $182.21M
6. The Best Man (1964)
Approved | 102 min | Drama
The two front runners for their party's presidential nomination, one principled and the other ruthless, vie for the former president's endorsement.
Director: Franklin J. Schaffner | Stars: Henry Fonda, Cliff Robertson, Edie Adams, Margaret Leighton
Votes: 3,726
7. Abe Lincoln in Illinois (1940)
Approved | 110 min | Biography, Drama, History
Humble Abraham Lincoln gains the respect of his Illinois neighbors, growing in stature and respect until he is elected President in 1860 and departs for Washington.
Director: John Cromwell | Stars: Raymond Massey, Gene Lockhart, Ruth Gordon, Mary Howard
Votes: 2,060
8. Primary Colors (1998)
R | 143 min | Comedy, Drama
A man joins the political campaign of a smooth-operator candidate for President of the United States of America.
Director: Mike Nichols | Stars: John Travolta, Emma Thompson, Kathy Bates, Larry Hagman
Votes: 30,106 | Gross: $38.97M
9. The War Room (1993)
PG | 96 min | Documentary, History
A documentary of the Bill Clinton 1992 presidential campaign and the organization who ran it.
Directors: Chris Hegedus, D.A. Pennebaker | Stars: James Carville, George Stephanopoulos, Heather Beckel, Paul Begala
Votes: 4,431 | Gross: $0.90M
10. Gabriel Over the White House (1933)
Passed | 86 min | Drama, Fantasy, Romance
A political hack becomes President during the height of the Depression and undergoes a metamorphosis into an incorruptible statesman after a near-fatal accident.
Director: Gregory La Cava | Stars: Walter Huston, Karen Morley, Franchot Tone, Arthur Byron
Votes: 1,398
11. Dave (1993)
PG-13 | 110 min | Comedy, Romance
An uncanny Presidential lookalike named Dave is recruited by the Secret Service to become a momentary stand-in for the President of the United States.
Director: Ivan Reitman | Stars: Kevin Kline, Sigourney Weaver, Frank Langella, Kevin Dunn
Votes: 56,836 | Gross: $63.27M
12. Thirteen Days (2000)
PG-13 | 145 min | Drama, History, Thriller
In October 1962, the Kennedy administration struggles to contain the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Director: Roger Donaldson | Stars: Kevin Costner, Bruce Greenwood, Shawn Driscoll, Drake Cook
Votes: 62,683 | Gross: $34.59M
13. Jackie (V) (2016)
R | 100 min | Biography, Drama
Following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy fights through grief and trauma to regain her faith, console her children, and define her husband's historic legacy.
Director: Pablo Larraín | Stars: Natalie Portman, Peter Sarsgaard, Greta Gerwig, Billy Crudup
Votes: 83,418 | Gross: $13.96M
14. Young Mr. Lincoln (1939)
Passed | 100 min | Biography, Drama, History
A fictionalized account of the early life of the American president as a young lawyer facing his greatest court case.
Director: John Ford | Stars: Henry Fonda, Alice Brady, Marjorie Weaver, Arleen Whelan
Votes: 9,177
15. The Contender (2000)
R | 126 min | Drama, Thriller
Senator Laine Hanson is a contender for U.S. Vice President, but information and disinformation about her past surfaces that threatens to derail her confirmation.
Director: Rod Lurie | Stars: Joan Allen, Gary Oldman, Jeff Bridges, Christian Slater
Votes: 25,009 | Gross: $17.87M
16. Frost/Nixon (2008)
R | 122 min | Biography, Drama, History
A dramatic retelling of the post-Watergate television interviews between British talk-show host David Frost and former president Richard Nixon.
Director: Ron Howard | Stars: Frank Langella, Michael Sheen, Kevin Bacon, Sam Rockwell
Votes: 112,458 | Gross: $18.59M
17. The Butler (I) (2013)
PG-13 | 132 min | Biography, Drama
As Cecil Gaines serves eight presidents during his tenure as a butler at the White House, the civil rights movement, Vietnam, and other major events affect this man's life, family, and American society.
Director: Lee Daniels | Stars: Forest Whitaker, Oprah Winfrey, John Cusack, Jane Fonda
Votes: 119,725 | Gross: $116.63M
18. The Ides of March (2011)
R | 101 min | Drama, Thriller
An idealistic staffer for a new presidential candidate gets a crash course on dirty politics during his stint on the campaign trail.
Director: George Clooney | Stars: Paul Giamatti, George Clooney, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ryan Gosling
Votes: 230,704 | Gross: $40.96M
19. White House Down (2013)
PG-13 | 131 min | Action, Drama, Thriller
While on a tour of the White House with his young daughter, a Capitol policeman springs into action to save his child and protect the president from a heavily armed group of paramilitary invaders.
Director: Roland Emmerich | Stars: Channing Tatum, Jamie Foxx, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jason Clarke
Votes: 236,169 | Gross: $73.10M
20. Amistad (1997)
R | 155 min | Biography, Drama, History
In 1839, the revolt of Mende captives aboard a Spanish owned ship causes a major controversy in the United States when the ship is captured off the coast of Long Island. The courts must decide whether the Mende are slaves or legally free.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Djimon Hounsou, Matthew McConaughey, Anthony Hopkins, Morgan Freeman
Votes: 82,757 | Gross: $44.18M
21. Recount (2008 TV Movie)
TV-MA | 116 min | Drama, History
A chronicle of the weeks after the 2000 U.S. Presidential election, and the subsequent recounts in Florida.
Director: Jay Roach | Stars: Kevin Spacey, Bob Balaban, Denis Leary, Ed Begley Jr.
Votes: 13,597
22. The American President (1995)
PG-13 | 114 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A widowed U.S. President running for reelection and an environmental lobbyist fall in love. It's all above-board, but "politics is perception," and sparks fly anyway.
Director: Rob Reiner | Stars: Michael Douglas, Annette Bening, Martin Sheen, Michael J. Fox
Votes: 60,624 | Gross: $65.00M
23. Jimmy Carter Man from Plains (2007)
PG | 125 min | Documentary, Biography, History
A chronicle of the former president's tour recent for his book "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid."
Director: Jonathan Demme | Stars: Jimmy Carter, Rosalynn Carter, Lillian Carter, Elizabeth Hayes
Votes: 956 | Gross: $0.11M
24. Game Change (2012 TV Movie)
TV-MA | 118 min | Biography, Drama, History
Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska becomes Senator John McCain's running mate in the 2008 Presidential election.
Director: Jay Roach | Stars: Ed Harris, Julianne Moore, Woody Harrelson, Peter MacNicol
Votes: 23,203
25. Olympus Has Fallen (2013)
R | 119 min | Action, Thriller
Secret Service agent Mike Banning finds himself trapped inside the White House in the wake of a terrorist attack and works with national security to rescue the President from his kidnappers.
Director: Antoine Fuqua | Stars: Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart, Morgan Freeman, Angela Bassett
Votes: 292,281 | Gross: $98.93M
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