Sort by Popularity - Most Popular Movies and TV Shows tagged with keyword "villain-as-protagonist"
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1. Breaking Bad (2008–2013)
TV-MA | 45 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A chemistry teacher diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer turns to manufacturing and selling methamphetamine with a former student in order to secure his family's future.
Stars: Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul, Anna Gunn, Betsy Brandt
Votes: 2,152,773
2. South Park (1997– )
TV-MA | 22 min | Animation, Comedy
Follows the misadventures of four irreverent grade-schoolers in the quiet, dysfunctional town of South Park, Colorado.
Stars: Trey Parker, Matt Stone, Isaac Hayes, Mona Marshall
Votes: 407,418
3. The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)
R | 180 min | Biography, Comedy, Crime
Based on the true story of Jordan Belfort, from his rise to a wealthy stock-broker living the high life to his fall involving crime, corruption and the federal government.
Director: Martin Scorsese | Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, Margot Robbie, Matthew McConaughey
Votes: 1,592,230 | Gross: $116.90M
4. Fresh (2022)
R | 114 min | Horror, Thriller
After quitting dating apps, a woman meets the supposedly perfect man and accepts his invitation to a romantic weekend getaway, only to find that her new paramour has been hiding some unusual appetites.
Director: Mimi Cave | Stars: Daisy Edgar-Jones, Sebastian Stan, Jojo T. Gibbs, Andrea Bang
Votes: 75,275
5. Apocalypse Now (1979)
R | 147 min | Drama, Mystery, War
A U.S. Army officer serving in Vietnam is tasked with assassinating a renegade Special Forces Colonel who sees himself as a god.
Director: Francis Ford Coppola | Stars: Martin Sheen, Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall, Frederic Forrest
Votes: 713,053 | Gross: $83.47M
6. The Human Centipede (First Sequence) (2009)
R | 92 min | Horror
A mad scientist kidnaps and mutilates a trio of tourists in order to reassemble them into a human centipede, created by stitching their mouths to each others' rectums.
Director: Tom Six | Stars: Dieter Laser, Winter Williams, Ashlynn Yennie, Akihiro Kitamura
Votes: 87,739 | Gross: $0.18M
7. Split (IX) (2016)
PG-13 | 117 min | Horror, Thriller
Three girls are kidnapped by a man with a diagnosed 23 distinct personalities. They must try to escape before the apparent emergence of a frightful new 24th.
Director: M. Night Shyamalan | Stars: James McAvoy, Anya Taylor-Joy, Haley Lu Richardson, Jessica Sula
Votes: 558,135 | Gross: $138.29M
8. Narcos (2015–2017)
TV-MA | 50 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
A chronicled look at the criminal exploits of Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar, as well as the many other drug kingpins who plagued the country through the years.
Stars: Pedro Pascal, Wagner Moura, Boyd Holbrook, Alberto Ammann
Votes: 472,803
9. The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)
R | 139 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
In late 1950s New York, a young underachiever named Tom Ripley is sent to Italy to retrieve Dickie Greenleaf, a rich and spoiled millionaire playboy. But when the errand fails, Ripley takes extreme measures.
Director: Anthony Minghella | Stars: Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jude Law, Cate Blanchett
Votes: 246,492 | Gross: $81.30M
10. No Country for Old Men (2007)
R | 122 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Violence and mayhem ensue after a hunter stumbles upon the aftermath of a drug deal gone wrong and over two million dollars in cash near the Rio Grande.
Directors: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen | Stars: Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, Woody Harrelson
Votes: 1,065,617 | Gross: $74.28M
11. 24 (2001–2010)
TV-14 | 44 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Counter Terrorism Agent Jack Bauer races against the clock to subvert terrorist plots and save his nation from ultimate disaster.
Stars: Kiefer Sutherland, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Carlos Bernard, Dennis Haysbert
Votes: 197,492
12. Gone Girl (2014)
R | 149 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
With his wife's disappearance having become the focus of an intense media circus, a man sees the spotlight turned on him when it's suspected that he may not be innocent.
Director: David Fincher | Stars: Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Neil Patrick Harris, Tyler Perry
Votes: 1,072,172 | Gross: $167.77M
13. Glass (2019)
PG-13 | 129 min | Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi
Security guard David Dunn uses his supernatural abilities to track Kevin Wendell Crumb, a disturbed man who has twenty-four personalities.
Director: M. Night Shyamalan | Stars: James McAvoy, Bruce Willis, Samuel L. Jackson, Anya Taylor-Joy
Votes: 276,217 | Gross: $111.05M
14. Joker (I) (2019)
R | 122 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
During the 1980s, a failed stand-up comedian is driven insane and turns to a life of crime and chaos in Gotham City while becoming an infamous psychopathic crime figure.
Director: Todd Phillips | Stars: Joaquin Phoenix, Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz, Frances Conroy
Votes: 1,500,042 | Gross: $335.45M
15. Hannibal (2013–2015)
TV-MA | 45 min | Crime, Drama, Horror
Explores the early relationship between renowned psychiatrist Hannibal Lecter and a young FBI criminal profiler who is haunted by his ability to empathize with serial killers.
Stars: Hugh Dancy, Mads Mikkelsen, Caroline Dhavernas, Laurence Fishburne
Votes: 277,882
16. Deadwood (2004–2006)
TV-MA | 60 min | Crime, Drama, History
A show set in the late 1800s, revolving around the characters of Deadwood, South Dakota; a town of deep corruption and crime.
Stars: Timothy Olyphant, Ian McShane, Molly Parker, Brad Dourif
Votes: 118,217
17. Barry (2018–2023)
TV-MA | 30 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
A hit man from the Midwest moves to Los Angeles and gets caught up in the city's theatre arts scene.
Stars: Bill Hader, Stephen Root, Sarah Goldberg, Anthony Carrigan
Votes: 123,528
18. American Psycho (2000)
R | 102 min | Crime, Drama, Horror
A wealthy New York City investment banking executive, Patrick Bateman, hides his alternate psychopathic ego from his co-workers and friends as he delves deeper into his violent, hedonistic fantasies.
Director: Mary Harron | Stars: Christian Bale, Justin Theroux, Josh Lucas, Bill Sage
Votes: 720,538 | Gross: $15.07M
19. The Godfather Part II (1974)
R | 202 min | Crime, Drama
The early life and career of Vito Corleone in 1920s New York City is portrayed, while his son, Michael, expands and tightens his grip on the family crime syndicate.
Director: Francis Ford Coppola | Stars: Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton
Votes: 1,369,759 | Gross: $57.30M
20. Taxi Driver (1976)
R | 114 min | Crime, Drama
A mentally unstable veteran works as a nighttime taxi driver in New York City, where the perceived decadence and sleaze fuels his urge for violent action.
Director: Martin Scorsese | Stars: Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster, Cybill Shepherd, Albert Brooks
Votes: 925,306 | Gross: $28.26M
21. The Shining (1980)
R | 146 min | Drama, Horror
A family heads to an isolated hotel for the winter where a sinister presence influences the father into violence, while his psychic son sees horrific forebodings from both past and future.
Director: Stanley Kubrick | Stars: Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd, Scatman Crothers
Votes: 1,111,403 | Gross: $44.02M
22. The Terminator (1984)
R | 107 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
A human soldier is sent from 2029 to 1984 to stop an almost indestructible cyborg killing machine, sent from the same year, which has been programmed to execute a young woman whose unborn son is the key to humanity's future salvation.
Director: James Cameron | Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Michael Biehn, Paul Winfield
Votes: 927,886 | Gross: $38.40M
23. Loki (2021–2023)
TV-14 | 586 min | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
The mercurial villain Loki resumes his role as the God of Mischief in a new series that takes place after the events of “Avengers: Endgame.”
Stars: Tom Hiddleston, Owen Wilson, Sophia Di Martino, Wunmi Mosaku
Votes: 414,197
24. Catch Me If You Can (2002)
PG-13 | 141 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
Barely 17 yet, Frank is a skilled forger who has passed as a doctor, lawyer and pilot. FBI agent Carl becomes obsessed with tracking down the con man, who only revels in the pursuit.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hanks, Christopher Walken, Martin Sheen
Votes: 1,101,675 | Gross: $164.62M
25. Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992)
R | 128 min | Fantasy, Horror, Romance
The centuries old vampire Count Dracula comes to England to seduce his barrister Jonathan Harker's fiancée Mina Murray and inflict havoc in the foreign land.
Director: Francis Ford Coppola | Stars: Gary Oldman, Winona Ryder, Anthony Hopkins, Keanu Reeves
Votes: 239,605 | Gross: $82.52M
26. The Fall (I) (2013–2016)
TV-MA | 60 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A seemingly cold but very passionate policewoman goes head to head with a seemingly passionate father who is in fact a cold serial killer in this procedural out of Belfast. The only thing they share is their common complexity.
Stars: Gillian Anderson, Jamie Dornan, John Lynch, Aisling Franciosi
Votes: 120,327
27. Death Note (2006–2007)
TV-14 | 24 min | Animation, Crime, Drama
An intelligent high school student goes on a secret crusade to eliminate criminals from the world after discovering a notebook capable of killing anyone whose name is written into it.
Stars: Mamoru Miyano, Brad Swaile, Vincent Tong, Ryô Naitô
Votes: 382,014
28. A Clockwork Orange (1971)
R | 136 min | Crime, Sci-Fi
In the future, a sadistic gang leader is imprisoned and volunteers for a conduct-aversion experiment, but it doesn't go as planned.
Director: Stanley Kubrick | Stars: Malcolm McDowell, Patrick Magee, Michael Bates, Warren Clarke
Votes: 883,887 | Gross: $6.21M
29. Point Break (1991)
R | 122 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
An F.B.I. Agent goes undercover to catch a gang of surfers who may be bank robbers.
Director: Kathryn Bigelow | Stars: Patrick Swayze, Keanu Reeves, Gary Busey, Lori Petty
Votes: 203,373 | Gross: $43.22M
30. Red Eye (2005)
PG-13 | 85 min | Thriller
A woman is kidnapped by a stranger on a routine flight. Threatened by the potential murder of her father, she is pulled into a plot to assist her captor in a political assassination.
Director: Wes Craven | Stars: Rachel McAdams, Cillian Murphy, Brian Cox, Laura Johnson
Votes: 142,766 | Gross: $57.89M
31. Fear (1996)
R | 97 min | Drama, Thriller
When Nicole met handsome, charming, affectionate David, he was everything. It seemed perfect, but soon she sees that David has a darker side. And his adoration turns to obsession, their dream into a nightmare, and her love into fear.
Director: James Foley | Stars: Mark Wahlberg, Reese Witherspoon, William Petersen, Amy Brenneman
Votes: 55,332 | Gross: $20.75M
32. Monster (2022– )
TV-MA | 60 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
The story of a cannibalistic serial killer named Jeffrey Dahmer, a.k.a. the Milwaukee Monster.
Stars: Evan Peters, Richard Jenkins, Molly Ringwald, Niecy Nash
Votes: 157,829
33. Cruella (2021)
PG-13 | 134 min | Adventure, Comedy, Crime
A live-action prequel feature film following a young Cruella de Vil.
Director: Craig Gillespie | Stars: Emma Stone, Emma Thompson, Joel Fry, Paul Walter Hauser
Votes: 267,366 | Gross: $86.10M
34. Falling Down (1993)
R | 113 min | Action, Crime, Drama
An ordinary man frustrated with the various flaws he sees in society begins to psychotically and violently lash out against them.
Director: Joel Schumacher | Stars: Michael Douglas, Robert Duvall, Barbara Hershey, Rachel Ticotin
Votes: 207,903 | Gross: $40.90M
35. Psycho (1960)
R | 109 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A Phoenix secretary embezzles $40,000 from her employer's client, goes on the run and checks into a remote motel run by a young man under the domination of his mother.
Director: Alfred Hitchcock | Stars: Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, Vera Miles, John Gavin
Votes: 721,118 | Gross: $32.00M
36. Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
PG-13 | 166 min | Drama, Western
A mysterious stranger with a harmonica joins forces with a notorious desperado to protect a beautiful widow from a ruthless assassin working for the railroad.
Director: Sergio Leone | Stars: Henry Fonda, Charles Bronson, Claudia Cardinale, Jason Robards
Votes: 350,233 | Gross: $5.32M
37. Death Proof (2007)
R | 127 min | Action, Drama, Thriller
Two separate sets of voluptuous women are stalked at different times by a scarred stuntman who uses his "death proof" cars to execute his murderous plans.
Director: Quentin Tarantino | Stars: Kurt Russell, Zoë Bell, Rosario Dawson, Vanessa Ferlito
Votes: 314,958
38. There Will Be Blood (2007)
R | 158 min | Drama
A story of family, religion, hatred, oil and madness, focusing on a turn-of-the-century prospector in the early days of the business.
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson | Stars: Daniel Day-Lewis, Paul Dano, Ciarán Hinds, Martin Stringer
Votes: 643,533 | Gross: $40.22M
39. Unforgiven (1992)
R | 130 min | Drama, Western
Retired Old West gunslinger William Munny reluctantly takes on one last job, with the help of his old partner Ned Logan and a young man, The "Schofield Kid."
Director: Clint Eastwood | Stars: Clint Eastwood, Gene Hackman, Morgan Freeman, Richard Harris
Votes: 437,587 | Gross: $101.16M
40. The Mask (1994)
PG-13 | 101 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
Bank clerk Stanley Ipkiss is transformed into a manic superhero when he wears a mysterious mask.
Director: Chuck Russell | Stars: Jim Carrey, Cameron Diaz, Peter Riegert, Peter Greene
Votes: 423,338 | Gross: $119.94M
41. Cape Fear (1991)
R | 128 min | Crime, Thriller
A convicted rapist, released from prison after serving a fourteen-year sentence, stalks the family of the lawyer who originally defended him.
Director: Martin Scorsese | Stars: Robert De Niro, Nick Nolte, Jessica Lange, Juliette Lewis
Votes: 217,764 | Gross: $79.10M
42. Wild Things (1998)
R | 108 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A police detective uncovers a conspiracy behind a case involving a high-school guidance counselor when accusations of rape are made against him by two female students.
Director: John McNaughton | Stars: Kevin Bacon, Neve Campbell, Matt Dillon, Denise Richards
Votes: 131,399 | Gross: $29.75M
43. Animal (I) (2023)
Not Rated | 204 min | Action, Crime, Drama
The hardened son of a powerful industrialist returns home after years abroad and vows to take bloody revenge on those threatening his father's life.
Director: Sandeep Reddy Vanga | Stars: Ranbir Kapoor, Anil Kapoor, Bobby Deol, Rashmika Mandanna
Votes: 91,835
44. Batman (1989)
PG-13 | 126 min | Action, Adventure
The Dark Knight of Gotham City begins his war on crime with his first major enemy being Jack Napier, a criminal who becomes the clownishly homicidal Joker.
Director: Tim Burton | Stars: Michael Keaton, Jack Nicholson, Kim Basinger, Robert Wuhl
Votes: 405,560 | Gross: $251.19M
45. The Boy Next Door (2015)
R | 91 min | Thriller
A woman, separated from her unfaithful husband, falls for a younger man who has moved in next door, but their torrid affair soon takes a dangerous turn.
Director: Rob Cohen | Stars: Jennifer Lopez, Ryan Guzman, Kristin Chenoweth, John Corbett
Votes: 45,690 | Gross: $35.39M
46. Law Abiding Citizen (2009)
R | 109 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A frustrated man decides to take justice into his own hands after a plea bargain sets one of his family's killers free.
Director: F. Gary Gray | Stars: Gerard Butler, Jamie Foxx, Leslie Bibb, Colm Meaney
Votes: 321,168 | Gross: $73.34M
47. Hook (1991)
PG | 142 min | Adventure, Comedy, Family
When Captain James Hook kidnaps his children, an adult Peter Pan must return to Neverland and reclaim his youthful spirit in order to challenge his old enemy.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Dustin Hoffman, Robin Williams, Julia Roberts, Bob Hoskins
Votes: 273,965 | Gross: $119.65M
48. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (2022)
PG | 122 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
When the manic Dr. Robotnik returns to Earth with a new ally, Knuckles the Echidna, Sonic and his new friend Tails is all that stands in their way.
Director: Jeff Fowler | Stars: James Marsden, Jim Carrey, Ben Schwartz, Tika Sumpter
Votes: 88,529 | Gross: $190.87M
49. Collateral (2004)
R | 120 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A cab driver finds himself the hostage of an engaging contract killer as he makes his rounds from hit to hit during one night in Los Angeles.
Director: Michael Mann | Stars: Tom Cruise, Jamie Foxx, Jada Pinkett Smith, Mark Ruffalo
Votes: 434,601 | Gross: $101.01M
50. Hannibal (2001)
R | 131 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Living in exile, Dr. Hannibal Lecter tries to reconnect with now disgraced F.B.I. Agent Clarice Starling, and finds himself a target for revenge from a powerful victim.
Director: Ridley Scott | Stars: Anthony Hopkins, Julianne Moore, Gary Oldman, Ray Liotta
Votes: 294,182 | Gross: $165.09M