The 30 Best Movies Based on TV Shows
From 'The A-Team' to 'The X-Files,' Moviefone counts down the 30 best movies based on television programs of all time.
Denzel Washington in 'The Equalizer 3.' Photo: Stefano Montesi.
Question: What does 'The Equalizer 3' have in common with movies like 'Mission: Impossible,' 'The A-Team,' 'Luther: The Fallen Sun' and 'Sex in the City'?
Answer: They are all movies based on popular TV programs!
Whether it's a continuation of the original series like 'The X-Files' or 'The Simpsons Movie,' or a remake of the show such as 'The Fugitive' or 'Miami Vice,' Hollywood has long enjoyed success from adapting popular television programs into feature films.
In honor of 'The Equalizer 3,' which opened in theaters on September 1st, Moviefone is counting down the 30 best movies based on TV programs of all time.
NOTE: For this list we are including both movies that are remakes of TV shows featuring a new cast, as well as films that continue the story of the series with the original cast.
Let's begin!
30. 'The Addams Family' (1991)
(L to R) Dana Ivey as Margaret Alford, Christina Ricci as Wednesday Addams, Anjelica Huston as Morticia Addams, Carel Struycken as Lurch, Judith Malina as Grandmama, Jimmy Workman as Pugsley Addams, Dan Hedaya as Tully Alford and Raul Julia as Gomez Addams in 1991's 'The Addams Family.' Photo courtesy of Paramount PIctures.
When a man claiming to be long-lost Uncle Fester (Christopher Lloyd) reappears after 25 years lost, the family plans a celebration to wake the dead. But the kids barely have time to warm up the electric chair before Morticia (Anjelica Huston) begins to suspect Fester is fraud when he can't recall any of the details of Fester's life.
29. 'Get Smart' (2008)
When the identities of secret agents from Control are compromised, the Chief (Alan Arkin) promotes hapless but eager analyst Maxwell Smart (Steve Carrell) and teams him with stylish, capable Agent 99 (Anne Hathaway), the only spy whose cover remains intact. Can they work together to thwart the evil plans of KAOS and its crafty operative?
28. 'Lost in Space' (1998)
The prospects for continuing life on Earth in the year 2058 are grim. So the Robinsons (William Hurt, Mimi Rogers, Heather Graham, Lacey Chabert and Jack Johnson) are launched into space to colonize Alpha Prime, the only other inhabitable planet in the galaxy. But when a stowaway (Gary Oldman) sabotages the mission, the Robinsons find themselves hurtling through uncharted space.
27. '21 Jump Street' (2012)
In high school, Schmidt (Jonah Hill) was a dork and Jenko (Channing Tatum) was the popular jock. After graduation, both of them joined the police force and ended up as partners riding bicycles in the city park. Since they are young and look like high school students, they are assigned to an undercover unit to infiltrate a drug ring that is supplying high school students synthetic drugs.
26. 'The Brady Bunch Movie' (1995)
The original '70s TV family is now placed in the 1990s, where they're even more square and out of place than ever.
25. 'Star Trek: First Contact' (1996)
(L to R) Alice Krige as the Borg Queen and Patrick Stewart as Jean-Luc Picard in 'Star Trek: First Contact.' Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures.
The Borg, a relentless race of cyborgs, are on a direct course for Earth. Violating orders to stay away from the battle, Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) and the crew of the newly-commissioned USS Enterprise E pursue the Borg back in time to prevent the invaders from changing Federation history and assimilating the galaxy.
24. 'Charlie's Angels' (2000)
Three women (Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore and Lucy Liu), detectives with a mysterious boss, retrieve stolen voice-ID software, using martial arts, tech skills, and sex appeal.
23. 'Dragnet' (1987)
LAPD Sgt. Joe Friday (Dan Aykroyd) -- the equally straight-laced nephew of the famous police sergeant of the same name (Jack Webb) -- is paired up with a young, freewheeling detective named Pep Streebeck (Tom Hanks). After investigating some strange robberies at the local zoo and the theft of a stockpile of pornographic magazines, they uncover cult activity in the heart of the city and are hot on the case to figure out who's behind it all.
22. 'Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me' (1992)
In the questionable town of Deer Meadow, Washington, FBI Agent Desmond (Chris Isaak) inexplicably disappears while hunting for the man who murdered a teen girl. The killer is never apprehended, and, after experiencing dark visions and supernatural encounters, Agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) chillingly predicts that the culprit will claim another life. Meanwhile, in the more cozy town of Twin Peaks, hedonistic beauty Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee) hangs with lowlifes and seems destined for a grisly fate.
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me
21. 'Sex and the City' (2008)
A New York writer (Sarah Jessica Parker) on sex and love is finally getting married to her Mr. Big (Chris Noth). But her three (Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis and Cynthia Nixon) best girlfriends must console her after one of them inadvertently leads Mr. Big to jilt her.
20. 'The Man from U.N.C.L.E.' (2015)
(L to R) Henry Cavill and Armie Hammer in film 'The Man From U.N.C.L.E.,' directed by Guy Ritchie.
At the height of the Cold War, a mysterious criminal organization plans to use nuclear weapons and technology to upset the fragile balance of power between the United States and Soviet Union. CIA agent Napoleon Solo (Henry Cavill) and KGB agent Illya Kuryakin (Arie Hammer) are forced to put aside their hostilities and work together to stop the evildoers in their tracks. The duo's only lead is the daughter (Alicia Vikander) of a missing German scientist, whom they must find soon to prevent a global catastrophe.
19. 'South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut' (1999)
When the four boys see an R-rated movie featuring Canadians Terrance and Philip, they are pronounced "corrupted", and their parents pressure the United States to wage war against Canada.
18. 'Jackass: The Movie' (2002)
Johnny Knoxville and his band of maniacs perform a variety of stunts and gross-out gags on the big screen for the first time. They wander around Japan in panda outfits, wreak havoc on a once civilized golf course, they even do stunts involving LIVE alligators, and so on.
17. 'Veronica Mars' (2014)
Years after walking away from her past as a teenage private eye, Veronica Mars (Kristen Bell) gets pulled back to her hometown - just in time for her high school reunion - in order to help her old flame Logan Echolls (Jason Dohring), who's embroiled in a murder mystery.
16. 'Maverick' (1994)
Maverick (Mel Gibson) is a gambler who would rather con someone than fight them, and needs an additional three thousand dollars in order to enter a winner-takes-all poker game that begins in a few days, so he joins forces with a woman gambler (Jodie Foster) with a marvellous southern accent, and the two try and enter the game.
Maverick
15. 'Wayne's World' (1992)
(L to R) Mike Myers and Dana Carvey in 'Wayne's World.' ©2021 Paramount Pictures. All Right Reserved.
The adventures of two amiably aimless metal-head friends, Wayne (Mike Myers) and Garth (Dana Carvey). From Wayne's basement, the pair broadcast a talk-show called "Wayne's World" on local public access television. The show comes to the attention of a sleazy network executive (Rob Lowe) who wants to produce a big-budget version of "Wayne's World"—and he also wants Wayne's girlfriend, a rock singer named Cassandra (Tia Carrere). Wayne and Garth have to battle the executive not only to save their show, but also Cassandra.
14. 'State of Play' (2009)
When a congressional aide is killed, a Washington, D.C. journalist (Russell Crowe) starts investigating the case involving the Representative (Ben Affleck), his old college friend.
13. 'The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!' (1988)
When the incompetent Lieutenant Frank Drebin (Leslie Nielsen) seeks the ruthless killer of his partner, he stumbles upon an attempt to assassinate Queen Elizabeth II (Jeannette Charles).
The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!
12. 'Miami Vice' (2006)
A case involving drug lords and murder in South Florida takes a personal turn for undercover detectives Sonny Crockett (Colin Farrell) and Ricardo Tubbs (Jamie Foxx). Unorthodox Crockett gets involved romantically with the Chinese-Cuban wife (Gong Li) of a trafficker of arms and drugs, while Tubbs deals with an assault on those he loves.
11. 'The X Files' (1998)
Mulder (David Duchovny) and Scully (Gillian Anderson), now taken off the FBI's X Files cases, must find a way to fight the shadowy elements of the government to find out the truth about a conspiracy that might mean the alien colonization of Earth.
10. 'Luther: The Fallen Sun' (2023)
Idris Elba as John Luther in 'Luther: The Fallen Sun.' Photo: John Wilson/Netflix © 2023.
A gruesome serial killer (Andy Serkis) is terrorizing London while brilliant but disgraced detective John Luther (Idris Elba) sits behind bars. Haunted by his failure to capture the cyber psychopath who now taunts him, Luther decides to break out of prison to finish the job by any means necessary.
9. 'Batman' (1966)
The Dynamic Duo (Adam West and Burt Ward) faces four super-villains (Cesar Romero, Burgess Meredith, Frank Gorshin and Lee Meriwether) who plan to hold the world for ransom with the help of a secret invention that instantly dehydrates people.
8. 'The Simpsons Movie' (2007)
After Homer (Dan Castellaneta) accidentally pollutes the town's water supply, Springfield is encased in a gigantic dome by the EPA and the Simpsons are declared fugitives.
The Simpsons Movie
7. 'The A-Team' (2010)
A group of Iraq War veterans goes on the run from U.S. military forces while they try to clear their names after being framed for a crime they didn't commit. Along the way, Col. Hannibal Smith (Liam Neeson), Capt. H.M. ‘Howling Mad’ Murdock (Sharlto Copley), Sgt. Bosco ‘B.A.’ Baracus (Quinton Jackson), and Lt. Templeton ‘Faceman’ Peck (Bradley Cooper) help out various people they encounter.
6. 'The Sweeney' (2013)
Jack Regan (Ray Winstone), a hardened cop who doesn’t play by the rules, is confronted with a criminal from his past. With sidekick George Carter (Ben Drew) they are put on the case of a jewellery store heist that ends in a killing. But is that killing really an execution in disguise? With pressure from his boss (Steven Mackintosh) and the fact that Regan is having an affair with that boss’s wife (Hayley Atwell), it’s not going to be easy for him to stay out of trouble.
5. 'The Equalizer' (2014)
Denzel Washington in Sony Pictures' 'The Equalizer.'
Robert McCall (Denzel Washington) believes he has put his mysterious past behind him and dedicated himself to beginning a new, quiet life. But when he meets Teri (Chloë Grace Moretz), a young girl under the control of ultra-violent Russian gangsters, he can’t stand idly by – he has to help her. Armed with hidden skills that allow him to serve vengeance against anyone who would brutalize the helpless, McCall comes out of his self-imposed retirement and finds his desire for justice reawakened. If someone has a problem, if the odds are stacked against them, if they have nowhere else to turn, McCall will help. He is The Equalizer.
4. 'The Muppet Movie' (1979)
A Hollywood agent persuades Kermit the Frog (Jim Henson) to pursue a career in Hollywood. On his way there he meets his future muppet crew while being chased by the desperate owner of a frog-leg restaurant!
The Muppet Movie
3. 'Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan' (1982)
It is the 23rd century. The Federation Starship U.S.S. Enterprise is on routine training maneuvers and Admiral James T. Kirk (William Shatner) seems resigned to the fact that this inspection may well be the last space mission of his career. But Khan (Ricardo Montalban) is back. Aided by his exiled band of genetic supermen, Khan - brilliant renegade of 20th century Earth - has raided Space Station Regula One, stolen a top secret device called Project Genesis, wrested control of another Federation Starship and sets out in pursuit of the Enterprise, determined to let nothing stand in the way of his mission: kill Admiral Kirk... even if it means universal Armageddon.
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
2. 'The Fugitive' (1993)
Wrongfully convicted of murdering his wife and sentenced to death, Richard Kimble (Harrison Ford) escapes from the law in an attempt to find the real killer and clear his name.
The Fugitive
1. 'Mission: Impossible' (1996)
Tom Cruise in 'Mission: Impossible.' ©2021 Paramount Pictures. All Right Reserved.
When Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise), the leader of a crack espionage team whose perilous operation has gone awry with no explanation, discovers that a mole has penetrated the CIA, he's surprised to learn that he's the No. 1 suspect. To clear his name, Hunt now must ferret out the real double agent and, in the process, even the score.
