Every Michael Douglas Movie Ranked From Worst To Best
Gabran Gray
From his worst to his best, here are all of Michael Douglas' movies.
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Michael Douglas is nothing less than a Hollywood legend. The son of famed actor Kirk Douglas began his own acting career in the late 1960s, taking on a television role in "CBS Playhouse" and a lead role in the feature film "Hail, Hero!"

There is seemingly nothing that Douglas can't accomplish as an actor. He's played romantic leads, action heroes, presidents, burnouts, fathers, and sons. Whether he's in an Oscar-caliber drama or helping Marvel build a mega-franchise in "Ant-Man," Douglas brings his best to every role.

That's not to say that every movie is Douglas' best. Anyone with more than 50 years of acting experience is sure to have worked on some less-than-wonderful films at times, but even in Douglas' worst movies, he stands out as an actor with surprising talent and charm. Douglas' work has earned him many awards, including a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Film Institute, an honor that was also once given to Douglas' father (via THR). No matter what genre of film piques your interest, Douglas has a role worth watching. From his worst to his best, here are all of Michael Douglas' movies.

Everyone loves a good romantic comedy. Unfortunately, good ones are few and far between. In 1980, Michael Douglas starred in what could be described as one of the worst rom-coms in cinematic history. "It's My Turn" was directed by Claudia Weill and had a screenplay written by Eleanor Bergstein. The story follows Chicago-based mathematics professor Kate Gunzinger (Jill Clayburgh) as she finds herself in an affair with married former baseball player Ben Lewin (Douglas).

The film currently sits at a jarring 0% on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics tend to be the harshest voices in the room, but the audience score, 22%, isn't much better. The poor reception would be bad enough, but "It's My Turn" also earned itself a Razzie nomination for Worst Screenplay. Michael Douglas has appeared in some truly spectacular films, so this particular outing is best forgotten.

Michael Douglas made his feature film debut in the 1969 black-and-white drama "Hail, Hero!" and the movie left a lot to be desired. David Manber adapted the screenplay from a John Weston novel, and David Miller directed the film. Douglas stars in the lead role as Carl Dixon, a man with hippie sensibilities who's trying to make sense of the chaos caused by the Vietnam war. Carl decides to enlist in the Army to try and spread a message of love to all the troops.

Douglas scored a Golden Globe nomination for Most Promising Newcomer, but the film itself was lambasted by critics at the time. Writing for The New York Times, one reviewer stated that Douglas' performance was "not especially memorable," but that without it, "'Hail, Hero!' would not even be tolerable." Those are harsh words, but then again, there aren't many actors who knock it out of the park with their very first role.

There's not much to love about 2009's "Beyond a Reasonable Doubt." The film is a remake of a 1956 movie of the same name, and the updated version was written and directed by Peter Hyams. This was the second time that Michael Douglas had worked on one of Hyams films, though their previous outing was much more successful. Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a 7% rating, and the critics consensus calls it "hackneyed and over dramatic." Audiences clearly weren't hungry for the remake either. The film earned less than $35,000 domestically and barely broke $4 million worldwide.

To be fair to Hyams, the film's over-the-top premise doesn't rest on his shoulders. "Beyond a Reasonable Doubt" focuses on District Attorney Mark Hunter (Douglas), who has eyes on a governorship. Reporter C.J. Nicholas (Jesse Metcalfe) is suspicious of Mark's legal tactics and frames himself for murder to get closer to the D.A. Plenty of courtroom drama ensues, and the story ends with an uninspired twist that we won't spoil here in case any gluttons for punishment want to subject themselves to the film.

Michael Douglas has worked with director Rob Reiner on two occasions. Their first collaboration is one of Douglas' best films of all time, so it'll come a little later in the list. The two reunited for the 2014 film "And So It Goes," which is another rom-com that fails to hit its mark. Douglas plays widower Oren Little, who focuses his attention on his realty business and has little patience for friends, family, and children. Oren's neighbor Leah (Diane Keaton) is a widow with no children looking for an outlet for her creative energies. The two of them are brought together when it falls on Oren to care for his 10-year-old granddaughter.

"And So It Goes" is as overly sentimental as it sounds, but it never quite manages to hit a note of sincerity. Rotten Tomatoes called the film an "unintentional tragedy," and critics gave it an 18% rating. Despite the poor reviews, the film wasn't a total flop. It managed to earn $25 million at the box office.

"It Runs in the Family" united multiple generations of the Douglas family to play a dysfunctional, but financially successful, New York family. The film dramatizes the various family feuds that keep everyone from coming together. Michael Douglas plays Alex Gromberg, who struggles to care for his father Mitchell (Kirk Douglas) post-stroke while also trying to run the family's legal firm and to coach his son Asher (Cameron Douglas) through college. Rory Culkin joined the cast as the youngest member of the Gromberg family, while Diana Douglas played the matriarch of the family and wife of her real-life ex-husband.

The obvious gimmick of the casting did little to improve the film's messy and unsatisfying script. While some reviewers praised the film's "complex and subtle" depiction of the Gromberg family, the majority were unimpressed. For once, Rotten Tomatoes and audiences agreed, giving "It Runs in the Family" a 29% and 28% rating, respectively.

Long before they were known for helming some of the greatest Marvel movies to date, the Russo brothers directed a financially successful but critically maligned comedy called "You, Me and Dupree." The film stars Matt Dillon and Kate Hudson as a newlywed couple Carl and Molly Peterson, whose lives are disrupted when their friend Dupree (Owen Wilson) needs to live with them. Michael Douglas plays the father of Hudson's character and acts as a pseudo-antagonist for the film while Carl struggles to earn his approval.

The film more than doubled its budget at the box office, but it didn't fare nearly as well with critics. The Rotten Tomatoes critics consensus calls the film a "generic entry" and says it "wears out its welcome." Audiences over on IMDb didn't appreciate the film either, giving it a 5.6 rating overall. Luckily for the Russos, "You, Me and Dupree" was just part of the early days of two very successful directorial careers.

Here is another star-studded film that failed to impress. Matthew McConaughey, Jennifer Garner, Emma Stone, and Michael Douglas bring to life this awkward mashup of "A Christmas Carol" and a boilerplate romantic comedy. McConaughey stars as Connor Mead, a womanizer who's visited by the ghosts of his ex-girlfriends while attending his brother's wedding. Douglas essentially plays the same role as Ebenezer Scrooge's business partner from the Dicken's story that this Mark Waters film is based on. Of course, at the wedding, Connor runs into the only girl who ever truly won his heart, and the two spend just over 90 minutes getting back together.

Unsurprisingly, "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past" failed critically. What's even more unfortunate for the film is that it opened the very same weekend as "X-Men Origins: Wolverine." According to Box Office Mojo, it had "the least-attended start of all Matthew McConaughey romantic comedies." Early May 2009 was a rough time for moviegoers, to say the least.

This 2001 film was based on the Andrew Klavan novel "Don't Say a Word." The screenplay was adapted by Anthony Peckham and Patrick Smith Kelly, and Gary Fleder directed the film. Michael Douglas stars as psychologist Nathan Conrad, whose daughter is kidnapped by jewel thief Patrick Koster (Sean Bean). Patrick promises to return Nathan's daughter if he can get an institutionalized mental patient to reveal the location of a gem worth millions of dollars.

At best, "Don't Say a Word" could be called moderately successful. It earned double its budget during its theatrical run, and IMDb users give it a somewhat favorable 6.3 rating. Overall, the film is well directed and features some strong performances, but, as Rotten Tomatoes notes, none of its best elements overpower its plot, which manages to walk a thin line between being utterly ridiculous and entirely too predictable.

This 2017 film stars Michael Douglas alongside Noomi Rapace, Orlando Bloom, and John Malkovich. Unfortunately, as The Guardian noted in its review of the film, "A cast of stars is unable to lift this derivative, turgid terrorism thriller." Directed by Michael Apted, "Unlocked" follows a CIA investigator (Rapace) who gets pulled into a terrorist scheme to launch a bioweapon attack on the city of London. Douglas plays a supporting role as the mentor to Rapace's character.

However paint-by-numbers the plot of the film might be, audiences still enjoyed it well enough. The audience score on Rotten Tomatoes stands at 44%, which might not be anything to write home about, but is a good bit higher than some of Douglas' other pictures (its 26% Tomatometer score, which is based on aggregated critic reviews, isn't so great). To match that tepid score, IMDb users give the film a 6.3 rating.

Released in 1979, "The In-Laws" is a beloved action-comedy. Unfortunately for Michael Douglas, he starred in 2003's remake of the film, which ended up being a total flop. Andrew Fleming directed the remake, which followed roughly the same plot as the original while changing details like locations and character names. Douglas plays Steve Tobias, an undercover CIA agent whose son is marrying the daughter of podiatrist Jerry Peyser. Jerry discovers Steve's identity, and to protect his cover, Steve pulls Jerry into an overseas CIA mission.

The remake tried and failed to take advantage of the original film's cult status. Off of a reported budget of $40 million, "The In-Laws" earned less than $27 million at the box office (via Bomb Report). Critics and audiences alike were unimpressed, but not outright disappointed, with the film. Rotten Tomatoes gives it a 33% rating and says it's "bigger and slicker than the original, but not necessarily better."

With 2014's "Beyond the Reach" we enter into mixed review territory. Director Jean-Baptiste Léonetti and screenwriter Stephen Susco adapted the film from the 1972 novel "Deathwatch" by Robb White. The film has a distinct "No Country for Old Men" vibe, but it's miles away from having the same impact. Michael Douglas stars as the wealthy and villainous John Madec, who wants to hunt an endangered bighorn sheep out in the Mojave Desert. Young tracker Ben (Jeremy Irvine) is hired to lead John to the sheep, but things take a turn when John accidentally shoots an old prospector and threatens to lay the blame at Ben's feet.

Watching Douglas play an out-and-out bad guy is definitely a fun change of pace, but that alone was not enough to launch "Beyond the Reach" into total success. According to Rotten Tomatoes, critics enjoyed the film more than general audiences, but still walked away feeling let down by a "misguided story that stumbles to the finish." At best, the film is an entertaining diversion; at worst, it's simply a missed opportunity.

What could go wrong when mixing neo-noir vibes with a comedy script? A lot, it turns out. "One Night at McCool's" failed to impress overall. The film barely broke $13 million during its box office run, despite having an $18 million budget (via Box Office Mojo). It performed slightly better critically than financially, though its underwhelming attempts at comedy and its casting of Liv Tyler were both cited as detrimental to the film overall.

The film has a somewhat repetitive structure. Each of the three leads, played by Matt Dillon, Paul Reiser, and John Goodman, tells their version of events. The overlapping element in all their stories is the con woman Jewel (Tyler). Michael Douglas is Mr. Burmeister, who gets paid $10,000 to kill Jewel. There's enough here for an entertaining 90 minutes, but with a 33% Tomatometer rating and an audience score that's only slightly higher, "One Night at McCool's" won't go down as a misunderstood cult classic.

Michael Douglas isn't a muscled-up action star a la Schwarzenegger, but he's played the lead in more than his fair share of action movies. "The Sentinel" is a 2006 thriller about a Secret Service agent (Douglas) who gets blackmailed after having an affair with the First Lady (Kim Basinger). He then uncovers a plot to kill the president and must use all his training to stop the assassination. The film was directed by Clark Johnson and adapted from a novel by real-life former Secret Service agent Gerald Petievich.

There's some fun action to be found in "The Sentinel," and it's a rare opportunity to see Douglas as a gun-slinging hero. Those qualities aren't enough to make up for what the film lacks in originality. IMDb rates the movie a 6.1, which isn't exactly a glowing endorsement. Rotten Tomatoes' Tomatometer puts it at 35%.

Michael Douglas' second feature film was quite a bit better than his debut, but that doesn't mean it was an Oscar-worthy outing. Directed by and written by Stephen and Elinor Karpf, "Adam at Six A.M." tells the story of college professor Adam Gaines spending a summer in Missouri after attending a relative's funeral. While living a rural lifestyle and getting work building power lines, Adam falls in love and begins to reevaluate his life and career.

The 1970 film was Scheerer's feature-length directorial debut. He only went on to direct one more feature, though he worked most of his life as a prolific television director. "Adam at Six A.M." isn't a celebrated film, but audiences give it middling reviews. It's a charming look at Douglas developing his skills early in his career.

The third time's the charm, in most cases. "Summertree" succeeded at raising Michael Douglas' profile as an actor, even as it failed at being a spectacular film in and of itself. That may have been the point of the whole endeavor, as Douglas' father Kirk produced the film (via IMDb). The film currently has a three-star rating on Letterboxd, with many reviewers praising Douglas' performance.

The movie was adapted from a 1967 play of the same name by playwright Ron Cowen and was the second film directed by established actor Anthony Newley. The story follows protagonist Jerry (Douglas), who is deciding whether to dodge the Vietnam War draft. As the world gets more and more complicated, so does Jerry's life when he falls in love with a married woman.

If you've ever wondered whether or not Michael Douglas has the singing voice of an angel, you might have already discovered that 1985's movie musical "A Chorus Line" can't answer that. The film stars Douglas as Zach, a theater director casting dancers for a new show, but the people auditioning for him are the only ones who sing. The story examines the gritty life of professional theater actors and unearths the relationship between Zach and unemployable actress Cassie (Alyson Reed).

"A Chorus Line" is based on a stage production of the same name. The stage show has had some real success over the years, but its translation to the big screen didn't work out so well. Despite the best efforts of the cast and director David Attenborough, "A Chorus Line" bombed at the box office and failed to really impress critics.

Michael Douglas has a supporting role in this charming 1972 Disney flick. Young Johnny Whitaker and Jodie Foster take on the titular roles. Napoleon (Whitaker) and his grandfather befriend a circus clown caring for an old lion. When the clown needs to travel to Europe, the two agree to keep the lion. After Napoleon's grandfather dies, he and his friend Samantha (Foster) attempt to take the lion to a man named Danny, who Napoleon thinks can care for him and the lion in his grandfather's place.

"Napoleon and Samantha" was directed by Bernard McEveety and written by Stewart Raffill. It might not be anything to write home about, but without a doubt, it's a charming family film. The film's score was nominated for an Oscar, and while it isn't a Disney classic, IMDb gives it just over 6 out of 10 stars.

Sports movies come in all varieties, but there might be a reason that there aren't scores of films about Olympic running. 1979's "Running," written and directed by Steven Hilliard Stern, is exactly that. Michael Douglas stars as Michael Andropolis, who's training to be a marathon runner in the 1976 Summer Olympics. Michael's wife Janet (Susan Anspach) is in the process of leaving him, and Michael needs to find a way to pull his marriage and his athletic career together.

The problems with "Running" have nothing to do with the film's performers. A contemporary reviewer for The New York Times praised Douglas' "power and intensity" but bemoaned the fact that the movie gives him "little to do ... except run and occasionally look winded." At that point in time, Douglas' career was starting to heat up, but the best was yet to come.

"Romancing the Stone" is one of Michael Douglas' best movies, but its sequel falls short of the benchmark set by Robert Zemeckis' original film. Douglas worked as a producer on "The Jewel of the Nile," and he, Danny Devito, and Kathleen Turner all reprised their roles. The story follows Jack (Douglas) and Ralph (Devito) as they attempt to rescue Joan (Turner), who's been kidnapped during a trip down the Nile River.

According to Rotten Tomatoes, critics appreciated the film more than audiences, but neither group of filmmakers was blown away by what they saw. Part of the problem was the absence of Zemeckis and the writers of "Romancing the Stone." Still, for a campy action-adventure, you could see much worse than "The Jewel of the Nile."

Susan Isaacs released her novel "Shining Through" in 1988. Four years later, its film adaptation, written and directed by David Seltzer, made its way to the big screen. The story is a World War II spy drama with a thread of romance woven throughout. Linda Voss (Melanie Griffith) works alongside Ed Leland (Michael Douglas) at the Office of Strategic Services in the build-up to the war. As the two of them fall in love, war erupts, and Linda volunteers to go undercover in Nazi Germany.

Opinions on "Shining Through" are thoroughly mixed. Rotten Tomatoes reveals that audiences enjoyed the film significantly more than critics, and reviews on IMDb are split right down the middle as well. Fans of war movies and star-crossed love stories will likely feel perfectly at home here, but everyone else can probably give this movie a pass.

"Las Vegas" is another star-studded film that failed to perfectly stick the landing. The comedy follows four friends—Billy (Michael Douglas), Paddy (Robert De Niro), Archie (Morgan Freeman), and Sam (Kevin Kline)—as they take a trip to Vegas to celebrate Billy's upcoming wedding.

What "Las Vegas" lacks in originality, it almost makes up for in performance quality. There's no denying the fun in watching some of the greatest actors of a generation play off of each other. As for the comedy itself, Rotten Tomatoes calls it "mostly a mellower 'Hangover' retread for the older set." Do with that what you will. "Las Vegas" makes for an entertaining watch, and it doesn't overstay its welcome, but that's probably the best that could be said about the film.

This erotic thriller takes place in the high-tech world of CD-ROM production. While this 1994 film might be a bit outdated for modern audiences in more ways than one, "Disclosure" was a major box office success when it was first released. The film made over $200 million from a budget of just $50 million (via Box Office Mojo). Critics and audiences weren't terribly impressed by the film, which suffers from the same hard-to-believe plot that plagues the Michael Crichton novel the film is based on.

Tom Sanders (Michael Douglas) works in CD-ROM production and expects to be promoted when his boss retires. Instead, the job is given to his boss' daughter, played by Demi Moore. To make Tom's situation even worse, his new boss soon frames him for sexual harassment and threatens to destroy his life and career. As a peak back into the wilds of '90s culture, "Disclosure" is still worth a watch, but it should probably be left wherever CD-ROMs live now.

Lions, and Douglas, and Kilmer, oh my. "The Ghost and the Darkness" focuses on a railway line being built in Kenya. The construction is plagued by two lions that keep attacking the workers. Engineer John Henry Patterson (Val Kilmer) is tapped to deal with the problem, but when he realizes that he's out of his element he calls up famous hunter Charles Remington (Michael Douglas) to finish the lions once and for all.

The movie was based on historical events. The real-life John Henry Patterson published "The Man-Eaters of Tsavo" in 1908. According to Rotten Tomatoes, critics were unimpressed with the film and took particular issues with its attempt to hint at "supernatural profundities" fueling the lions' reign of terror. On the other hand, most audiences enjoyed the film, and there's something special about seeing Douglas and Kilmer working together.

When people walked out of theaters after watching "Wall Street" in 1987, few were probably wondering when the film would get a sequel. Over 20 years later, although "Wall Street" was definitely remembered fondly, many were shocked to see 20th Century Fox giving a sequel a go with "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps." The studio got Oliver Stone to direct, had Michael Douglas return as Gordon Gekko, and paired him with young star Shia LaBeouf for another exploration of high-class greed and master manipulation.

There was a possibility that "Money Never Sleeps" could have been the rare sequel that surpassed the original, but sadly, the film fell a little flat and didn't make nearly the impression that it could have. Though it earned mixed reviews at best, the "Wall Street" sequel still featured great performances from its leads and its excellent supporting cast, including Carey Mulligan and Josh Brolin. Douglas even won a Golden Globe nomination for his work in the film.

In 1989, Michael Douglas starred in an action thriller set in Japan's criminal underbelly. Douglas and Andy Garcia play two NYPD detectives tasked with escorting an arrested Yakuza member (Yūsaku Matsuda) back to Japan, where he can be prosecuted. The trip doesn't go as smoothly as either officer intends, and what follows is a two-hour action extravaganza.

Despite mixed reviews that frequently criticized the film's surface-level story, there is plenty to love about "Black Rain." The film was directed by the one and only Ridley Scott, and it boasts a score composed by Hans Zimmer. "Black Rain" also scored two Academy Award nominations for Best Sound and Best Effects. While there are definitely stronger films in Douglas' catalog, you could do a lot worse than throwing on "Black Rain" for an evening flick.

1992's "Basic Instinct" took the premise of a cable police procedural and turned it into an iconic, if not exactly spectacular, erotic thriller. The film follows detective Nick Curran (Michael Douglas) as he investigates the murder of a rock star. His chief suspect is the rocker's girlfriend Catherine, played by Sharon Stone, who previously published a crime novel that laid out the murder in detail. Catherine and Nick have a hot-blooded affair as the investigation spirals into uncertainty.

To say that "Basic Instinct" stretches believability until it breaks is a fair criticism that also mostly misses the point. Audiences loved the wild ride of the sexy plot, and the film blew up at the box office, earning hundreds of millions of dollars with its relatively small budget (via Box Office Mojo), though critics gave the film uneven reviews. Michael Douglas should be commended for sitting back and letting Stone shine in what Rotten Tomatoes calls a "star-making performance."

This 1998 thriller is a remake of Alfred Hitchcock's "Dial M for Murder," which is itself an adaptation of a Frederick Knott play of the same name. Director Andrew Davis and screenwriter Patrick Smith Kelly had no problem leaving the source material behind to go their own direction when it suited them. They received less than a glowing response to their efforts, but "A Perfect Murder" is still a competent and entertaining film.

Michael Douglas stars as Steven Taylor, a successful Wall Street investor with a wife, played by Gwenyth Paltrow, more than 20 years his junior. Steven discovers that his wife is cheating on him with a painter named David (Viggo Mortensen). Steven pays David to murder his wife, intending to send David to prison and to profit from his wife's death by taking her private fortune, but the plan begins to unravel the moment it's set in motion.

This is the debut film from director/screenwriter M. Cahill. He followed up the film more than a decade later when he released his second feature, "Porcupine," in 2021. "The King of California" opened to mostly positive reviews. A reviewer for The New York Times praised Douglas' work in the film, calling it his "strongest screen performance since 'Wonder Boys.'"

Charlie (Douglas) reunites with his 16-year-old daughter Miranda (Evan Rachel Wood) when he's released from a mental institution. Miranda's mother left the family, so Miranda has been supporting herself in Charlie's absence. Miranda hopes that Charlie's release means that he's getting better, but she begins to doubt that when he tells her about a secret stash of Spanish gold hidden under their suburban neighborhood.

Michael Douglas' first collaboration with Peter Hyams was much more successful than their second outing together. "The Star Chamber" is a crime thriller about the efficacy of the legal system versus the efficiency of vigilante justice. Judge Steve Hardin (Douglas) is invited to join a secret organization called the Star Chamber that punishes criminals who have, one way or another, avoided legal consequences for their actions. The trouble really begins when Steve discovers that two "criminals" sentenced to death by the Star Chamber are actually innocent.

Critics in general enjoyed the movie, and it currently sits at 71% on Rotten Tomatoes. Not everyone was enamored with the film, however. Roger Ebert called the ending "especially infuriating," and judging by the audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, many viewers agreed with him. IMDb's 6.3 rating tempers both opinions, but ultimately some paint-by-numbers plotting keeps "The Star Chamber" from being great.

Back in 1993, Michael Douglas starred in a cult film that has some striking similarities to Todd Phillips' "Joker." Whether or not you prefer Joel Schumacher's "Falling Down" to the 2019 supervillain film probably has a lot to do with your allegiance to DC comics, but audiences and critics alike praised the film for its "popcorn-friendly take" on a wide array of political and cultural themes (via Rotten Tomatoes). Both films take a look at the consequences of men bottling their pain and anger until they unleash it on the world.

Douglas stars as Bill "D-Fens" Foster, a downtrodden man struggling to come to terms with his lost job and failed marriage. Bill walks across the city of Los Angeles through uniquely intense summer heat, and almost every one of his encounters with other people ends in a violent outburst from Bill. "Falling Down" feels almost just as relevant today as it did in the early '90s. One modern reviewer called it "one of Hollywood's most overt yet morally complex depictions of the modern white-victimization narrative" (via LA Weekly). Schumacher and Douglas crafted a complex character absorbed with so much more than just surface-level rage.

Without a doubt, "Fatal Attraction" is the most successful of Michael Douglas' erotic thrillers. The film follows a weekend affair gone deadly wrong. Dan Gallagher (Douglas) is a married lawyer who has a fling with Alex (Glenn Close) when his wife and daughter are out of town for the weekend. Alex becomes obsessed with Dan. Manipulative attempts to get more of his attention quickly become frightening and violent behaviors when he won't leave his wife to be with her.

When it was released in 1987, "Fatal Attraction" was a box-office smash. It earned over $7 million during its opening weekend and over $300 million throughout its theatrical run (via Box Office Mojo). The film was also a critical darling with overwhelmingly positive reviews. It was nominated for six Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Lead Actress for Close, and Best Supporting Actress for Anne Archer, who played Dan Gallagher's wife.

Oliver Stone directed and co-wrote this 1987 film about the extravagance and greed of Wall Street investors in the Reagan years. "Wall Street" won Michael Douglas an Academy Award for Best Actor. It was his second statuette; "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," which he produced, had previously won Best Picture. "Wall Street" nearly tripled its budget at the box office, and it has a 79% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Charlie Sheen stars as Bud Fox, a young stockbroker with dreams of making it big on Wall Street. Bud engages in insider trading with his mentor, the obscenely wealthy Gordon Gekko (Douglas). Gordon believes that "greed, for lack of a better word, is good," and Bud falls into that mentality until he begins to see the damage that Gordon's corporate raiding does to others. The film's message still resonates today, and its 126 minutes are unforgettable largely thanks to Douglas' riveting, magnetic performance.

"Solitary Man" is one of the hidden gems in Michael Douglas' filmography. The film has an incredible cast that includes Susan Sarandon, Jenna Fischer, Jesse Eisenberg, Mary-Louise Parker, and Danny DeVito. Brian Koppelman wrote the screenplay and co-directed the film with David Levien. The film centers on a formerly successful car salesman whose personal indiscretions have cost him a career, a marriage, and many of his close relationships.

Though "Solitary Man" has a great script and features phenomenal performances, it absolutely bombed at the box office. With a budget of $15 million, the film grossed less than $6 million at the global box office (via Box Office Mojo). Sometimes great films don't make money, and if reviews are anything to go by, "Solitary Man" is a great film, in large part due to Douglas himself. Rotten Tomatoes' consensus reads, "Built around a singularly unpleasant main character, 'Solitary Man' needed a flawless central performance to succeed — and Michael Douglas delivers." Audiences were less enamored with the film than critics, but for fans of impassioned personal dramas, this is a must-watch.

Steven Soderbergh directed this action-packed thriller about clandestine organizations and covert operatives that are constantly at each other's throats. Gina Carano stars as highly trained black-ops agent Mallory Kane. Carano is joined by a number of other big stars, including Ewan McGregor, Michael Fassbender, Antonio Banderas, and Channing Tatum. Douglas plays a CIA agent who gives Mallory Kane and her partner a special mission that goes horribly wrong.

"Haywire" was far from a box office smash, but its earnings exceeded its budget, and critical response to the film was glowing. It has an 80% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, which praises the film's "top-notch cast and outstanding direction." Audiences didn't connect to the film on the same level, leaving it with a 41% audience score and only a 5.8 rating on IMDb. For action aficionados, though, "Haywire" is well worth the time.

"Avengers: Endgame" likely needs no introduction. It's the culmination of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's "Infinity Saga" and sees the Avengers attempting to restore the universe after Thanos wiped out half of all life at the end of "Avengers: Infinity War." It's directed by the same Russo brothers who previously worked with Michael Douglas on "You, Me and Dupree." It made an almost unbelievable amount of money: nearly $2.8 billion during its run in theaters (via The Numbers).

"Avengers: Endgame" is the highest-grossing movie to feature a performance from Michael Douglas. It's also tied for the highest-ranked movie on Rotten Tomatoes with Douglas. With that said, you'd be forgiven for only noticing Douglas after seeing "Endgame" more than once. He has a very brief, and somewhat poorly de-aged, cameo in the middle of the film as Hank Pym.

Directed by David Fincher, "The Game" had the misfortune of being released right between "Se7en" and "Fight Club." While those other two films got the lion's share of attention, "The Game" is a phenomenal thriller that stands equal to both of them. Michael Douglas stars as Nicholas van Orton, a rich banker whose brother gives him a ticket for a game with Consumer Recreation Services. Nicholas' brother promises that the game will change his life, but when Nicholas gets involved, he realizes he might not survive to see the game's end.

"The Game" is filled with twists and turns that keep viewers on the edge of their seats the entire time. Fincher's masterful style ratchets up the tension with each scene. "The Game" broke the hundred-million-dollar mark at the box office, and critics raved about the film. "The Game" proves that Fincher can do no wrong, especially when he's working with actors, like Douglas, who are at the top of their game.

Long before starring in "Disclosure," Michael Douglas was in another film with ties to Michael Crichton. 1978's "Coma" was written and directed by Crichton, who adapted the story from a novel by Robin Cook. The story takes place in a hospital where healthy patients are mysteriously becoming irreversibly comatose. Resident Susan Wheeler (Geneviève Bujold) and her boyfriend Mark (Douglas) begin looking into the comas, and they discover a horrible secret at the heart of the hospital.

More than 40 years later, "Coma" is still tense and terrifying. The film currently has an 81% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Audiences have been less kind to the film, though that may be because of how disturbing the subject matter is. Contemporary reports credited the film with causing a significant drop in the number of people donating organs to hospitals (via AFI Catalog). "Coma" is not for the faint of heart, but it's a fantastic ride from beginning to end.

Here is another Michael Douglas film with a jaw-dropping cast that includes Tobey Maguire, Robert Downey Jr., Alan Tudyk, and Frances McDormand. Curtis Hanson directed "Wonder Boys," and Steve Kloves adapted the screenplay from the successful novel of the same name by acclaimed author Michael Chabon. Douglas stars as a creative writing professor who's struggling to finish his second novel while dealing with complicated relationships with his friends and lover.

"Wonder Boys" was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Editing at the Academy Awards. The film took home the Oscar for Best Original Song, for "Things Have Changed," written by folk legend Bob Dylan. Rotten Tomatoes gives "Wonder Boys" an 81% approval rating with high praise for Douglas' and Maguire's performances. In spite of the critical success, "Wonder Boys" bombed at the box office, making back just over half of its budget.

Michael Douglas joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2015's "Ant-Man." Douglas plays Hank Pym, the scientist who invented the size-altering technology that lets Ant-Man operate as a superhero. Decades after his time in the suit, Hank turns to Scott Lang for help in stopping his corporate nemesis from using his own version of the shrinking technology for personal gain. With Hank's expertise and coaching, Scott is able to become Ant-Man and save the world.

Even in 2015, there were probably some people who were skeptical that Marvel could take a relatively small-time hero like Ant-Man and turn him into a big-screen success. That skepticism vanished when "Ant-Man" earned half a billion dollars at the global box office. The movie is one of the MCU's most well-received films and currently boasts an 83% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

"Ant-Man and the Wasp" is one of those rare sequels that outperformed the original film at every level. Peyton Reed returned to the director's chair for the film that also saw the return of Paul Rudd as Scott Lang, Michael Douglas as Hank Pym, and Evangeline Lilly as Hank's daughter, Hope van Dyne. After the events of "Captain America Civil War," Scott is on house arrest and rethinking his relationship to fatherhood and superhero-hood. Hank and Hope, now acting as the Wasp, pull Scott back into the fold for another mission that unearths their past.

"Ant-Man and the Wasp" was another major commercial success for Marvel. The film earned over $600 million at the box office, surpassing the original by roughly $100 million. It performed better than the original critically as well, pulling in an 87% approval rating from Rotten Tomatoes. The film worked so well that production on its sequel "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania" began almost immediately.

1989's "The War of the Roses" was directed by Danny DeVito, who also co-starred in the film alongside Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner. The movie is a black comedy about a failing marriage where neither husband nor wife wants to give up the couple's extravagant lifestyle. Barbara and Oliver Rose (Turner and Douglas, respectively) take their divorce battle to extremes, and neither seems to care about the damage they leave in their wake.

"The War of the Roses" was a 1991 BAFTA nominee for Best Screenplay (via IMDb). Michael Leeson adapted the screenplay from a novel of the same name by Warren Adler. The film was a rousing box-office success, pulling in over $150 million. Critics raved about the film and especially praised DeVito's "stylish direction" (via Rotten Tomatoes). The comedy provides so much more than surface-level laughs and deserves to be remembered as a classic.

Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner, and Danny DeVito first united their talents in Robert Zemeckis' classic adventure film "Romancing the Stone." The screenplay was written by Diane Thomas and follows romance writer Joan Wilder (Turner) as she's pulled into a novelistic adventure in Colombia. In order to save her sister's life from an evil smuggler (DeVito), she enlists the help of bird smuggler Jack Colton (Douglas).

"Romancing the Stone" is a near-perfect, lighthearted adventure flick. Critics particularly praised the "sparkling chemistry" of the film's cast, which made every moment of the over-the-top action more believable, relatable, and fun. The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Editing, but it won two Golden Globes – Best Comedy Motion Picture and Best Performance by an Actress for Turner (via IMDb).

1979's "The China Syndrome" is without a doubt one of the best movies starring Michael Douglas. The film is a success on every level. Reporter Kimberly Wells (Jane Fonda) and her cameraman (Douglas) stumble into a catastrophe that could cause the death of thousands, if not more. The two of them are at a nuclear power plant when the core begins to melt down. Workers at the plant manage to avoid total disaster, but the burden of revealing the poor safety standards at the plant falls to Kimberly and plant supervisor Jack Godell (Jack Lemmon).

"The China Syndrome" was financially a massive success. The film earned nearly $52 million in theaters. Critically, it could hardly have performed better. It was nominated for four Oscars: Best Actor for Jack Lemmon, Best Actress for Jane Fonda, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Art Direction-Set Decoration. On the popularity front, "The China Syndrome" boasts an 81% audience approval rating and an 87% critics approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. This could easily be Douglas' top spot, but he still has some other truly incredible movies in his filmography.

With a script from Aaron Sorkin and direction from Rob Reiner, 1995's "The American President" had plenty going for it even before actors like Michael Douglas, Annette Bening, Martin Sheen, and Michael J. Fox joined the cast. "The American President" is a romantic comedy about widowed President Andrew Shepard (Douglas) falling in love with environmental lobbyist Sydney Ellen Wade (Bening). President Shepard is seeking reelection, and his new relationship threatens his ability to win.

"The American President" earned itself a slew of award nominations including Best Original Score at the Academy Awards in addition to Best Motion Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Actor, and Best Screenplay at the Golden Globes. The screenplay worked so well that Sorkin would later return to White House-centered drama as the writer of "The West Wing," which also starred Sheen. Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a 91% approval rating and calls it "a charming romantic comedy with political bite." It's Michael Douglas' best rom-com by far, but "The American President" has more meat on its bones than simply jokes and sentimentality.

Released in 2000, "Traffic" is the second most fruitful collaboration between Michael Douglas and director Steven Soderbergh. The screenplay was written by Stephen Gaghan, who based it on the miniseries "Traffik" from Simon Moore. The film explores the war on drugs with three interconnected stories about people from all walks of life. The stories are brought to life by a wildly talented cast including Michael Douglas, Benicio del Toro, and Catherine Zeta-Jones (who married Douglas shortly before "Traffic" premiered).

Douglas' character is Ohio judge Robert Wakefield. He's named head of the Office of National Drug Control Policy just when the issue is becoming personal for him. His daughter's cocaine addiction is slowly consuming his life, and Wakefield wants to control the drug problem at home before doing it for the nation. The other two stories in the film follow authorities working in Mexico and an undercover DEA agent operating in San Diego.

"Traffic" excelled critically and at the box office. It topped all financial expectations by earning over $200 million. On top of that, "Traffic" won four Oscars: Best Supporting Actor (del Toro), Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Film Editing. It was also nominated for Best Picture. The film's pitch-perfect drama lands it at a 92% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Michael Douglas' best movie also came from working with Stephen Soderbergh. In 2013, HBO released "Behind the Candelabra," a biopic following the last 10 years of Liberace's life. Richard LaGravenese wrote the screenplay based on a biography from authors Scott Thorson and Alex Thorleifson. Michael Douglas headlines as Liberace. Matt Damon plays Scott Thorson, who meets and falls in love with the famed pianist when he's 18 years old. The two are together from 1977 to 1982 and reunite five years later, shortly before Liberace's death.

"Behind the Candelabra" blew up at the 2014 Primetime Emmy Awards. The film took home 11 awards in total, including Outstanding Cast, Outstanding Lead Actor, and Outstanding Director (via IMDb). It was nominated for an additional four Emmy awards, including nods for the cinematography, screenplay, Damon's performance, and the supporting performance from Scott Bakula. With a 7.0 rating on IMDb and a stunning 94% approval on Rotten Tomatoes, "Behind the Candelabra" is Douglas' best movie role to date, though who knows what the 77-year-old actor still has in store for the world.