Best Heist Movies of All Time - Based on 54 Published Rankings

Scene from Heat (1995) ranked best heist movie of all time

Welcome to our Reel Fives pre-launch movie rankings for the best heist films of all time. Our Reel Fives team has found 54 published ranked lists of the top heist movies published online and ended up with 59 movies that made the list. For each ranked list of greatest movies for the heist genre, we have taken the top five ranked heist films. The movie rankings of top heist films that we aggregated are included at the bottom of this post and include rankings of the best movies in the heist genre created by movie experts as well as rankings from polling sites, such as ranker.com.

Heist films take audiences on a cat and mouse adventure that revolve around the planning and execution of a major burglary or theft. The theft usually involves large amounts of money or very expensive goods, such as diamonds, and usually requires significant amounts of planning and organizing. Heat (1995), the all-time best heist movie, is the classic cat versus mouse film. Robbers unknowingly leave a clue for the police after a huge heist and they try to avoid being caught. Heists capture both sides of the game. From how the robbers steal the money to how the police plan to catch them, the films exhilarate audiences. Ocean’s Eleven (2001), ranked second, combines humor and poker faces as eleven men attempt to steal $150 million from three Las Vegas’s casinos at the same time. Heists seem impossible and that is part of the excitement they offer. Reservoir Dogs (1992), ranked third, chronicles the examination the group of robbers have on themselves after an ‘easy’ heist goes wrong. To get ahead, the police hire informants to infiltrate the group and to get intelligence. Will the heist be successful? That is the question heist films attempt to answer all while the robbers are being chased by the authorities.

Planning and execution are crucial a successful heist. However, humans are susceptible to error. Heists often go wrong due to human error and those make for interesting heist films as well. Love got in the way in Rifiti (1955), ranked fourth, when a gangster gave his mistress a ring from a heist, causing more trouble for the robbers. Rifiti (1955) does not stand alone in this mistake. Love played a crucial role Dog Day Afternoon (1975), ranked fifth. The 1975 Oscar winner for Best Original Screenplay goes awry when a heist turns into a hostage situation after a man just wants to steal money for his boyfriend to get a sex change. Love complicates heists because it adds another element that is hard to plan for. While it motivates protagonists, it can also lead them to make poor choices.

Heist films have shared similar plotlines for decades, which explains the mix of old and new films in the rankings. The diversity of release years for the top ten ranked movies is not seen as much in other genres. Older films, such as The Italian Job (1969), still hold strong alongside new films where robbers using more advanced techniques. Heist films remain true to the classic Hollywood style. 

Top 59 Heist Movies Based on 54 Published Rankings
Percent of online top fives movies appear in shown
1 . Heat (1995): 70.3%
2 . Ocean's Eleven (2001): 61.1%
3 . Reservoir Dogs (1992): 37.0%
4 . Rififi (1955): 29.6%
5 . Dog Day Afternoon (1975): 29.6%
6 . The Killing (1956): 27.7%
7 . Inception (2010): 25.9%
8 . The Italian Job (1969): 22.2%
9 . Inside Man (2006): 22.2%
10 . The Usual Suspects (1995): 18.5%
11 . The Italian Job (2003): 16.6%
12 . The Town (2010): 12.9%
13 . The Asphalt Jungle (1950): 9.25%
14 . Snatch (2000): 9.25%
15 . Die Hard (1988): 7.40%
16 . The Thomas Crown Affair (1968): 7.40%
17 . Thief (1981): 7.40%
18 . Now You See Me (2013): 5.55%
19 . The Sting (1973): 5.55%
20 . Heist (2001): 5.55%
21 . The Score (2001): 5.55%
22 . Ronin (1998): 5.55%
23 . The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1973): 3.70%
24 (tied). The Thomas Crown Affair (1999): 3.70%
24 (tied). Bob Le Flambeur (1956): 3.70%
26 (tied). The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974): 3.70%
26 (tied). Catch Me If You Can (2002): 3.70%
28 (tied). Bonnie and Clyde (1967): 3.70%
28 (tied). Jackie Brown (1997): 3.70%
28 (tied). A Fish Called Wanda (1988): 3.70%
31 (tied). Sexy Beast (2000): 3.70%
31 (tied). Point Break (1991): 3.70%
33 (tied). The Good, the Bad, the Weird (2008): 1.85%
33 (tied). Gone in 60 Seconds (2000): 1.85%
33 (tied). Drive (2011): 1.85%
33 (tied). The Fast and the Furious (2001): 1.85%
37 (tied). Le Cercle Rouge (1970): 1.85%
37 (tied). The Lavender Hill Mob (1951): 1.85%
37 (tied). Die Hard: With a Vengeance (1995): 1.85%
40 (tied). Three Kings (1999): 1.85%
40 (tied). The Ladykillers (1955): 1.85%
40 (tied). Money Train (1995): 1.85%
40 (tied). Panic Room (2002): 1.85%
40 (tied). Bottle Rocket (1996): 1.85%
40 (tied). Fast Five (2011): 1.85%
40 (tied). The Dark Knight (2008): 1.85%
47 (tied). Kelly's Heroes (1970): 1.85%
47 (tied). Armed and Dangerous (1986): 1.85%
47 (tied). Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998): 1.85%
47 (tied). The Killers (1946): 1.85%
47 (tied). The Great Train Robbery (1979): 1.85%
47 (tied). The Getaway (1972): 1.85%
47 (tied). Sneakers (1992): 1.85%
54 (tied). The Walk (2015): 1.85%
54 (tied). Johnny One Hundred Pesos (1994): 1.85%
54 (tied). 3000 Miles to Graceland (2001): 1.85%
54 (tied). Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001): 1.85%
54 (tied). The Lookout (2007): 1.85%
59 . Ocean's 11 (1960): 0%
Heist Movie Ranking Sources
Paste	List of top 21 (link)
Taste of Cinema	List of top 10 (link)
Film School WTF	List of top 65 (link)
Business Insider	List of top 21 (link)
The Movie Review Query Engine	List of top 51 (link)
Hollywood.com	List of top 20 (link)
What Culture	List of top 10 (link)
The Daily Beast	List of top 11 (link)
Goliath.com	List of top 10 (link)
411 Mania	List of top 5 (link)
Hey U Guys	List of top 6 (link)
Complex	List of top 10 (link)
entertainment.ie	List of top 10 (link)
Flecking Records	List of top 10 (link)
The Sun	List of top 21 (link)
Cinema.com	List of top 11 (link)
Ranker	List of top 142 (link)
AMC	List of top 10 (link)
IGN	List of top 5 (link)
Magnificent Movies	List of top 25 (link)
The Cinemaholic	List of top 10 (link)
Gone With the Twins	List of top 10 (link)
Silicon India	List of top 5 (link)
Cool On Purpose	List of top 5 (link)
Public Transportation Snob	List of top 5 (link)
We Eat Films	List of top 5 (link)
Signature Reads	List of top 5 (link)
Dead Good	List of top 10 (link)
Lomography	List of top 5 (link)
Criminal Movies	List of top 10 (link)
Screen Creek	List of top 5 (link)
ComingSoon.net	List of top 10 (link)
Flicks and the City	List of top 6 (link)
eBay	List of top 10 (link)
St. Louis Post-Dispatch	List of top 10 (link)
CAVE Magazine	List of top 10 (link)
The Main Damie	List of top 5 (link)
Gaijinass	List of top 7 (link)
The Lincoln Journal Star	List of top 5 (link)
Examiner.com	List of top 5 (link)
Reelz	List of top 10 (link)
The Wall Street Journal	List of top 5 (link)
Think Nice	List of top 5 (link)
Right Cinema	List of top 10 (link)
Sweaty Nerd	List of top 10 (link)
The Flick Chick	List of top 5 (link)
Movie Fanatic	List of top 10 (link)
TopMoviesLists.com	List of top 10 (link)
Filmspotting	List of top 5 (link)
Jordan's Movie Guide	List of top 10 (link)
Tech Smart	List of top 5 (link)
Make Us Write	List of top 5 (link)
Pure M	List of top 10 (link)
AMC	List of top 5 (link)

Identifying the top movies is our mission.
www.reelfives.com
https://www.facebook.com/reelfives
https://twitter.com/reelfives
Podcast:  https://soundcloud.com/reelfives