ELDORADO SHOWDOWN
Al Pacino versus Robert De Niro
Comparing their careers and ranking their films
MAR 4 2018
Tale of the Tape - Box Office - Reviews - "Godfather Ratings" - Genres
Al Pacino versus Robert De Niro
Comparing their careers and ranking their films
MAR 4 2018
Tale of the Tape - Box Office - Reviews - "Godfather Ratings" - Genres
Part III: Online Audience Ratings
Some of Al Pacino and Robert De Niro's top-grossing films are not particularly well liked by audiences. Conversely, many of their most "famous" or "acclaimed" films fall a decent ways down their box-office list. As a result, the tale told by Pacino and De Niro's box office receipts is pretty different from the tale told by their audience ratings. So what are those tales? And what are Pacino and De Niro's top-rated titles?
Some of Al Pacino and Robert De Niro's top-grossing films are not particularly well liked by audiences. Conversely, many of their most "famous" or "acclaimed" films fall a decent ways down their box-office list. As a result, the tale told by Pacino and De Niro's box office receipts is pretty different from the tale told by their audience ratings. So what are those tales? And what are Pacino and De Niro's top-rated titles?
Pacino and De Niro's Top-Rated Titles
Let's start by looking at Pacino and De Niro's highest-rated titles according to users (audiences) on IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes, the two online ratings sites with the most reviews.[1] These are not the critics' ratings or reviews. This is the voice of the people:
Let's start by looking at Pacino and De Niro's highest-rated titles according to users (audiences) on IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes, the two online ratings sites with the most reviews.[1] These are not the critics' ratings or reviews. This is the voice of the people:
First, you might notice that IMDb's user ratings and Rotten Tomatoes's audience scores yield remarkably similar rankings. There's a 95% correlation in the rankings across the nearly 150 Pacino and De Niro titles that are rated on both sites. That phenomenon is evident in the list above.
Whether we're looking at box office receipts (previous section), online audience ratings (this section), or customized "Godfather Ratings" (next section), the numbers support the popular notion that Pacino's portrayal of Michael Corleone in The Godfather is the best performance by either actor in any role. And it gives Pacino the advantage at the tippy top of the scale. Beyond that, Pacino and De Niro evenly split the top five (two apiece plus Godfather II) and top eight spots (three apiece plus Godfather II and Heat).
The broader list favors De Niro, who boasts three more top-20 titles than Pacino. Excluding The Godfather Saga (a re-edit of the first two Godfathers[2]), 11 titles have an IMDb user rating of 8.2 or higher – De Niro alone was in six, Pacino alone was in three, and they were both in two. Excluding Ellis (a lightly reviewed documentary short)[3] and Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam (a popular TV documentary in which De Niro had a smaller voice part), 13 titles have a Rotten Tomatoes audience score of 92% or higher – De Niro alone was in seven, Pacino alone was in four, and they were both in two.
But before you go handing the trophy to De Niro, consider that his far greater volume of work (113 IMDb credits to Pacino's 56) also includes a lot more duds. To that point, Pacino's average results are superior across all metrics – box office gross, online ratings, and "Godfather Ratings" alike. Pacino's average IMDb user rating is 6.8; De Niro's is 6.6. (Pacino's median is 6.9; De Niro's is 6.5.) Pacino's average Rotten Tomatoes audience score is 62%; De Niro's is 58%. (Pacino's median is 71%; De Niro's is 58%.)
[Three Pacino or De Niro films are in IMDb's top 15 highest-rated films of all time. The Godfather is #2, The Godfather: Part II is #4, and Goodfellas is #15. For those curious, The Shawshank Redemption is #1, The Dark Knight is #3, and Pulp Fiction is #5.]
Whether we're looking at box office receipts (previous section), online audience ratings (this section), or customized "Godfather Ratings" (next section), the numbers support the popular notion that Pacino's portrayal of Michael Corleone in The Godfather is the best performance by either actor in any role. And it gives Pacino the advantage at the tippy top of the scale. Beyond that, Pacino and De Niro evenly split the top five (two apiece plus Godfather II) and top eight spots (three apiece plus Godfather II and Heat).
The broader list favors De Niro, who boasts three more top-20 titles than Pacino. Excluding The Godfather Saga (a re-edit of the first two Godfathers[2]), 11 titles have an IMDb user rating of 8.2 or higher – De Niro alone was in six, Pacino alone was in three, and they were both in two. Excluding Ellis (a lightly reviewed documentary short)[3] and Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam (a popular TV documentary in which De Niro had a smaller voice part), 13 titles have a Rotten Tomatoes audience score of 92% or higher – De Niro alone was in seven, Pacino alone was in four, and they were both in two.
But before you go handing the trophy to De Niro, consider that his far greater volume of work (113 IMDb credits to Pacino's 56) also includes a lot more duds. To that point, Pacino's average results are superior across all metrics – box office gross, online ratings, and "Godfather Ratings" alike. Pacino's average IMDb user rating is 6.8; De Niro's is 6.6. (Pacino's median is 6.9; De Niro's is 6.5.) Pacino's average Rotten Tomatoes audience score is 62%; De Niro's is 58%. (Pacino's median is 71%; De Niro's is 58%.)
[Three Pacino or De Niro films are in IMDb's top 15 highest-rated films of all time. The Godfather is #2, The Godfather: Part II is #4, and Goodfellas is #15. For those curious, The Shawshank Redemption is #1, The Dark Knight is #3, and Pulp Fiction is #5.]
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A few words on Heat and Once Upon a Time in America
Call me crazy, but I have to image that Heat's standing as the 8th-highest rated Pacino or De Niro film will surprise some folks. It tops Raging Bull, for which De Niro won Best Actor, Scent of Woman, for which Pacino won Best Actor, and several other more "critically acclaimed" films. I might not have expected it, and I might not entirely agree with it, but I like it because it reflects the will of the people – nearly half a million on IMDb and nearly a quarter million on Rotten Tomatoes for Heat alone.
And don't go getting mad at Heat just yet; it ranks even higher in next section's "Godfather Ratings," which combine box office results, the number and quality of online audience ratings, and actors' billing into a single metric. (Heat did really well at the box office and has a ton of high-quality reviews.)
Meanwhile, one highly regarded name that you didn't see in the box-office analysis and won't see in the "Godfather Ratings" is Once Upon a Time in America. The Sergio Leone crime drama is the 4th-highest rated Pacino or De Niro film on IMDb and the 5th-highest rated on Rotten Tomatoes. Now considered a masterpiece, the film was a huge box-office flop in the U.S. in 1984, grossing just $14.5 million domestically (2018 dollars), 94th all-time among Pacino and De Niro's films.
Other Pacino or De Niro films that have high online audience ratings but did very little at the box office include Brazil (De Niro) and The King of Comedy (De Niro), the latter of which was De Niro's fifth Martin Scorsese movie. A Bronx Tale (De Niro) and The Insider (Pacino) have high online ratings and did only modestly at the box office. Their "Godfather Ratings" all suffer some as a result.
Call me crazy, but I have to image that Heat's standing as the 8th-highest rated Pacino or De Niro film will surprise some folks. It tops Raging Bull, for which De Niro won Best Actor, Scent of Woman, for which Pacino won Best Actor, and several other more "critically acclaimed" films. I might not have expected it, and I might not entirely agree with it, but I like it because it reflects the will of the people – nearly half a million on IMDb and nearly a quarter million on Rotten Tomatoes for Heat alone.
And don't go getting mad at Heat just yet; it ranks even higher in next section's "Godfather Ratings," which combine box office results, the number and quality of online audience ratings, and actors' billing into a single metric. (Heat did really well at the box office and has a ton of high-quality reviews.)
Meanwhile, one highly regarded name that you didn't see in the box-office analysis and won't see in the "Godfather Ratings" is Once Upon a Time in America. The Sergio Leone crime drama is the 4th-highest rated Pacino or De Niro film on IMDb and the 5th-highest rated on Rotten Tomatoes. Now considered a masterpiece, the film was a huge box-office flop in the U.S. in 1984, grossing just $14.5 million domestically (2018 dollars), 94th all-time among Pacino and De Niro's films.
Other Pacino or De Niro films that have high online audience ratings but did very little at the box office include Brazil (De Niro) and The King of Comedy (De Niro), the latter of which was De Niro's fifth Martin Scorsese movie. A Bronx Tale (De Niro) and The Insider (Pacino) have high online ratings and did only modestly at the box office. Their "Godfather Ratings" all suffer some as a result.
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Audience ratings tell their own unique story
Pacino won the 1970s and early 1980s at the box office, but De Niro won the ratings game from 1976 to 1991.
The chart below adds more nuance to our view of Pacino and De Niro's careers. Pacino owned De Niro at the box office in the 1970s, and prior to 1976, Pacino wins the ratings game handily too, thanks to The Godfather (9.2 IMDb user rating, 98% Rotten Tomatoes audience score), Serpico (7.8, 88%), The Godfather: Part II (9.0, 97%), and Dog Day Afternoon (8.0, 90%). Even his lesser known early work fares pretty well, with Me. Natalie (6.9, 71%), The Panic in Needle Park (7.1, 75%), and Scarecrow (7.3, 79%).
At the same time, De Niro flopped around in a bunch of unknowns, often in lesser roles, before finally making a ratings dent in Mean Streets (7.4, 85%), which did little at the box office, and playing a legendary role in Godfather II (9.0, 97%).
Boosted by Scarface (1983), Pacino had the upper hand in the the box-office battle into the mid-1980s. But behind that ticket-counter shine, De Niro stole the audience-ratings belt from Pacino back in 1976 and held on to it into the early 1990s. From 1976 to 1990, De Niro appeared in 14 titles with a Rotten Tomatoes audience score of 81% or higher. Pacino appeared in only one (Scarface).[4] Pacino's other notables during that stretch were And Justice for All (7.4, 80%) and The Godfather: Part III (7.6, 78%), two box-office draws with sub-81% ratings.
De Niro's run featured Taxi Driver (8.3, 93%), 1900 (7.7, 85%), The Deer Hunter (8.2, 92%), Raging Bull (8.2, 93%), The King of Comedy (7.8, 90%), Once Upon a Time in America (8.4, 94%), Brazil (8.0, 90%), The Mission (7.5, 87%), Angel Heart (7.3, 81%), The Untouchables (7.9, 89%), Midnight Run (7.6, 87%), Goodfellas (8.7, 97%), and Awakenings (7.8, 89%).[5]
Pacino won the 1970s and early 1980s at the box office, but De Niro won the ratings game from 1976 to 1991.
The chart below adds more nuance to our view of Pacino and De Niro's careers. Pacino owned De Niro at the box office in the 1970s, and prior to 1976, Pacino wins the ratings game handily too, thanks to The Godfather (9.2 IMDb user rating, 98% Rotten Tomatoes audience score), Serpico (7.8, 88%), The Godfather: Part II (9.0, 97%), and Dog Day Afternoon (8.0, 90%). Even his lesser known early work fares pretty well, with Me. Natalie (6.9, 71%), The Panic in Needle Park (7.1, 75%), and Scarecrow (7.3, 79%).
At the same time, De Niro flopped around in a bunch of unknowns, often in lesser roles, before finally making a ratings dent in Mean Streets (7.4, 85%), which did little at the box office, and playing a legendary role in Godfather II (9.0, 97%).
Boosted by Scarface (1983), Pacino had the upper hand in the the box-office battle into the mid-1980s. But behind that ticket-counter shine, De Niro stole the audience-ratings belt from Pacino back in 1976 and held on to it into the early 1990s. From 1976 to 1990, De Niro appeared in 14 titles with a Rotten Tomatoes audience score of 81% or higher. Pacino appeared in only one (Scarface).[4] Pacino's other notables during that stretch were And Justice for All (7.4, 80%) and The Godfather: Part III (7.6, 78%), two box-office draws with sub-81% ratings.
De Niro's run featured Taxi Driver (8.3, 93%), 1900 (7.7, 85%), The Deer Hunter (8.2, 92%), Raging Bull (8.2, 93%), The King of Comedy (7.8, 90%), Once Upon a Time in America (8.4, 94%), Brazil (8.0, 90%), The Mission (7.5, 87%), Angel Heart (7.3, 81%), The Untouchables (7.9, 89%), Midnight Run (7.6, 87%), Goodfellas (8.7, 97%), and Awakenings (7.8, 89%).[5]
De Niro won the 1990s and 2000s at the box office, but Pacino won the ratings game from 1992 to 2006.
Then we witness the reverse, though not quite to the same degree. De Niro won a tough box-office duel in the 1990s and smoked Pacino in the 2000s. But from 1992 to 2003, Pacino has more highly rated films. Of their nine top-rated titles during that period, Pacino alone was in six, De Niro alone was in two (A Bronx Tale and Casino), and they co-starred in Heat. Pacino's mini-run was punctuated by Glengarry Glen Ross (7.8, 88%), Scent of a Woman (8.0, 92%), Carlito's Way (7.9, 91%), Donnie Brasco (7.8, 89%), The Insider (7.9, 90%). and Angels in America (8.3, 97%).
The audience ratings also capture De Niro and Pacino's 21st-century declines. Between Jackie Brown (1997) and Silver Linings Playbook (2012), De Niro's only title with a Rotten Tomatoes audience score over 81% was Stardust (7.7, 86%), in which he played the complementary role of Captain Shakespeare. (De Niro came close with Men of Honor and Meet The Parents in 2000.) Still, De Niro had the second-biggest box-office decade of his career in the 2000s – justice for the late 1970s and 1980s, when he had a ton of top-rated movies but yielded relatively little at the ticket counter.
Pacino's only hit since 2003 was his award-winning portrayal of Jack Kevorkian for HBO's You Don't Know Jack (2010). And so the stage is set for next month's Paterno, also on HBO, and next year's The Irishman, which reunites Pacino and De Niro for the fourth time.
Next: "The Godfather Ratings" combine box office results, audience ratings, and billing into a single metric
Then we witness the reverse, though not quite to the same degree. De Niro won a tough box-office duel in the 1990s and smoked Pacino in the 2000s. But from 1992 to 2003, Pacino has more highly rated films. Of their nine top-rated titles during that period, Pacino alone was in six, De Niro alone was in two (A Bronx Tale and Casino), and they co-starred in Heat. Pacino's mini-run was punctuated by Glengarry Glen Ross (7.8, 88%), Scent of a Woman (8.0, 92%), Carlito's Way (7.9, 91%), Donnie Brasco (7.8, 89%), The Insider (7.9, 90%). and Angels in America (8.3, 97%).
The audience ratings also capture De Niro and Pacino's 21st-century declines. Between Jackie Brown (1997) and Silver Linings Playbook (2012), De Niro's only title with a Rotten Tomatoes audience score over 81% was Stardust (7.7, 86%), in which he played the complementary role of Captain Shakespeare. (De Niro came close with Men of Honor and Meet The Parents in 2000.) Still, De Niro had the second-biggest box-office decade of his career in the 2000s – justice for the late 1970s and 1980s, when he had a ton of top-rated movies but yielded relatively little at the ticket counter.
Pacino's only hit since 2003 was his award-winning portrayal of Jack Kevorkian for HBO's You Don't Know Jack (2010). And so the stage is set for next month's Paterno, also on HBO, and next year's The Irishman, which reunites Pacino and De Niro for the fourth time.
Next: "The Godfather Ratings" combine box office results, audience ratings, and billing into a single metric
ELDORADO SHOWDOWN
Al Pacino versus Robert De Niro
I. Introduction (Tale of the Tape)
II. Box Office Receipts
III. Online Audience Ratings
IV. "The Godfather Ratings"
V. Film Genres Over Time
Al Pacino versus Robert De Niro
I. Introduction (Tale of the Tape)
II. Box Office Receipts
III. Online Audience Ratings
IV. "The Godfather Ratings"
V. Film Genres Over Time
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Footnotes
[1] I chose to use Rotten Tomatoes's audience score (out of 100%), which actually shows the percentage of users who rated a title 3.5 stars or higher (out of 5.0). The audience score is not a direct rating (i.e., a film with a higher average rating could theoretically have a lower audience score), but in my view it's more familiar and commonly referenced that the underlying Rotten Tomatoes user rating (out of 5.0 stars). If you're curious, there is a 96% correlation between how Pacino and De Niro's films rank according Rotten Tomatoes' audience rating (out of 100%) and the underlying user rating (out of 5.0 stars).
[2] The best IMDb rating for both actors belongs to The Godfather Saga, in which director Francis Ford Coppola and editor Barry Malkin re-edited The Godfather and The Godfather: Part II together in chronological order and added in almost 75 minutes of deleted scenes. The "mini-series" originally aired on NBC over four consecutive nights in November of 1977. Its IMDb review volume is really low, and it isn't even listed on Rotten Tomatoes, so I've excluded it from the rankings.
[3] Ellis technically has the best Rotten Tomatoes audience score (100%). The documentary short is a 14-minute look at "the journey of an immigrant at Ellis Island [as] told through an art installation by French photographer JR," who was profiled by Anderson Cooper on 60 Minutes last week (Sunday, February 25). But that score has come on only 12 reviews, and if Ellis's IMDb rating is any indication, it will likely come down as more people review the piece. So I've also excluded it.
[4] Excluding The Godfather Saga, which is listed for both actors as a separate IMDb credit but was merely a re-edit of the first two Godfather films.
[5] And Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam (7.9, 93%), a TV documentary in which De Niro had a smaller voice part.
[1] I chose to use Rotten Tomatoes's audience score (out of 100%), which actually shows the percentage of users who rated a title 3.5 stars or higher (out of 5.0). The audience score is not a direct rating (i.e., a film with a higher average rating could theoretically have a lower audience score), but in my view it's more familiar and commonly referenced that the underlying Rotten Tomatoes user rating (out of 5.0 stars). If you're curious, there is a 96% correlation between how Pacino and De Niro's films rank according Rotten Tomatoes' audience rating (out of 100%) and the underlying user rating (out of 5.0 stars).
[2] The best IMDb rating for both actors belongs to The Godfather Saga, in which director Francis Ford Coppola and editor Barry Malkin re-edited The Godfather and The Godfather: Part II together in chronological order and added in almost 75 minutes of deleted scenes. The "mini-series" originally aired on NBC over four consecutive nights in November of 1977. Its IMDb review volume is really low, and it isn't even listed on Rotten Tomatoes, so I've excluded it from the rankings.
[3] Ellis technically has the best Rotten Tomatoes audience score (100%). The documentary short is a 14-minute look at "the journey of an immigrant at Ellis Island [as] told through an art installation by French photographer JR," who was profiled by Anderson Cooper on 60 Minutes last week (Sunday, February 25). But that score has come on only 12 reviews, and if Ellis's IMDb rating is any indication, it will likely come down as more people review the piece. So I've also excluded it.
[4] Excluding The Godfather Saga, which is listed for both actors as a separate IMDb credit but was merely a re-edit of the first two Godfather films.
[5] And Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam (7.9, 93%), a TV documentary in which De Niro had a smaller voice part.
The primary data sources for this story are Box Office Mojo (February 6), IMDb (January 26), and Rotten Tomatoes (February 2). Data was compiled and analyzed by ELDORADO. All charts and graphics herein were created by ELDORADO.
ELDORADO | Berkeley, CA | New York, NY
eldo.co | @eldo_co
ELDORADO | Berkeley, CA | New York, NY
eldo.co | @eldo_co