IMDb’s Top 10 Movies of 2016 List Is… Interesting, Let’s Just Put It That Way
The Internet Movie Database is a fount of helpful information. With a few simple clicks, users can learn who shot the Miley Cyrus vehicle So Undercover (Things to Come cinematographer Denis Lenoir), which sequel in the Hellraiser franchise featured a performance from a young Adam Scott (the fourth one), or how old Taraji P. Henson is. (Who looks that good at 46?!) As a repository for loose factoids from, in, and around the world of screen entertainment, it can’t be beat. As a source for critical perspectives on those same films, however ... hoo boy. Just take a gander at any comment section for a movie’s page, and while you’re at it, check out the newly-released IMDb Top 10, which provides an even clearer view of its user base.
It’s key to understand that IMDb’s Top 10 is in no way based on quality, or even user-generated ratings, but sheer volume of clicks garnered by a single film’s page. With that in mind, the following list makes a little more sense:
1. Suicide Squad
2. Captain America: Civil War
3. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
4. Deadpool
5. X-Men: Apocalypse
6. The Jungle Book
7. The Magnificent Seven
8. Ghostbusters
9. Warcraft
10. The Legend of Tarzan
This represents a gauge of popularity more than anything, an objective indicator of which movies were most frequently looked up and nothing more. Perhaps Suicide Squad landed at the top of this list after audiences left the theater and thought to themselves, “I must know who’s to be held responsible for this,” and looked up director David Ayer. IMDb also runs a list of highest-rated movies (via /Film), one that’s markedly less horrifying:
1. La La Land, 8.9
2. Moonlight, 8.7
3. Hacksaw Ridge, 8.5
4. Manchester by the Sea, 8.5
5. Arrival, 8.3
6. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, 8.3
7. Zootopia, 8.1
8. Moana, 8.1
9. Deadpool, 8.1
10. Kubo and the Two Strings, 8.0
11. Captain America: Civil War, 8.0
12. Captain Fantastic, 8.0
13. Nocturnal Animals, 7.9
14. The Edge of Seventeen, 7.9
15. Doctor Strange, 7.9
Here’s a more agreeable batch of the critical darlings dominating the awards circuit and the fan-favorite franchise pictures, a more harmonious co-existence between movie-lover and person who uses IMDb. It’s sort of inspiring, in its own insignificant way — regardless of taste, we can all bond around our shared love for the charms of La La Land.