Best Fictional Election or Campaign Movie?
by urbanemovies | created - 30 Oct 2018 | updated - 01 Feb 2023 | PublicWhich of these select fictional election or campaign movies* most earns your vote?
* Movies can encompass any political aspect from grassroots movement, campaign, convention, election, or post-election event for any candidate from dog catcher to president or be a solitary issue-centric campaign or set in any country.
Take the companion poll: Best True Story Election or Campaign Movie?
Discuss the topic here.
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1. Election (1999)
R | 103 min | Comedy, Romance
A high school teacher meets his match in an over-achieving student politician.
Director: Alexander Payne | Stars: Matthew Broderick, Reese Witherspoon, Loren Nelson, Chris Klein
Votes: 104,479 | Gross: $14.88M
2. Primary Colors (1998)
R | 143 min | Comedy, Drama
A man joins the political campaign of a smooth-operator candidate for President of the United States of America.
Director: Mike Nichols | Stars: John Travolta, Emma Thompson, Kathy Bates, Larry Hagman
Votes: 30,099 | Gross: $38.97M
3. The Ides of March (2011)
R | 101 min | Drama, Thriller
An idealistic staffer for a new presidential candidate gets a crash course on dirty politics during his stint on the campaign trail.
Director: George Clooney | Stars: Paul Giamatti, George Clooney, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ryan Gosling
Votes: 230,659 | Gross: $40.96M
4. Man of the Year (2006)
PG-13 | 115 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A comedian who hosts a news satire program decides to run for president, and a computerized voting machine malfunction gets him elected.
Director: Barry Levinson | Stars: Robin Williams, Laura Linney, Lewis Black, Christopher Walken
Votes: 35,170 | Gross: $37.44M
5. The Best Man (1964)
Approved | 102 min | Drama
The two front runners for their party's presidential nomination, one principled and the other ruthless, vie for the former president's endorsement.
Director: Franklin J. Schaffner | Stars: Henry Fonda, Cliff Robertson, Edie Adams, Margaret Leighton
Votes: 3,727
6. The Campaign (2012)
R | 85 min | Comedy
An incumbent Representative embroiled in personal scandal faces a no-holds-barred challenge from a naive newcomer funded by two unscrupulous billionaire lobbyist brothers.
Director: Jay Roach | Stars: Will Ferrell, Zach Galifianakis, Jason Sudeikis, Dylan McDermott
Votes: 136,984 | Gross: $86.91M
7. The Purge: Election Year (2016)
R | 108 min | Action, Horror, Sci-Fi
Former Police Sergeant Barnes becomes head of security for Senator Charlie Roan, a Presidential candidate targeted for death on Purge night due to her vow to eliminate the Purge.
Director: James DeMonaco | Stars: Frank Grillo, Elizabeth Mitchell, Mykelti Williamson, J.J. Soria
Votes: 110,011 | Gross: $79.21M
8. Wag the Dog (1997)
R | 97 min | Comedy, Drama
Shortly before an election, a spin-doctor and a Hollywood producer join efforts to fabricate a war in order to cover up a Presidential sex scandal.
Director: Barry Levinson | Stars: Dustin Hoffman, Robert De Niro, Anne Heche, Woody Harrelson
Votes: 88,444 | Gross: $43.02M
9. Bob Roberts (1992)
R | 102 min | Comedy, Drama
A conservative folk singer turns his hand to politics, running for the US Senate. He is not above dirty tricks and smear campaigns to gain an advantage over his opponent.
Director: Tim Robbins | Stars: Tim Robbins, Giancarlo Esposito, Alan Rickman, Ray Wise
Votes: 15,631 | Gross: $4.48M
10. Meet John Doe (1941)
Passed | 122 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A penniless drifter is recruited by an ambitious columnist to impersonate a non-existent person who said he'd be committing suicide as a protest, and a social movement begins.
Director: Frank Capra | Stars: Gary Cooper, Barbara Stanwyck, Edward Arnold, Walter Brennan
Votes: 14,898
11. Definitely, Maybe (2008)
PG-13 | 112 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A political consultant tries to explain his impending divorce and past relationships to his 11-year-old daughter.
Director: Adam Brooks | Stars: Ryan Reynolds, Rachel Weisz, Abigail Breslin, An Nguyen
Votes: 173,203 | Gross: $31.97M
12. 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: 920,077 | Gross: $28.26M
13. Our Brand Is Crisis (2015)
R | 107 min | Comedy, Drama
A battle-hardened American political consultant is sent to help re-elect a controversial president in Bolivia, where she must compete with a long-term rival working for another candidate.
Director: David Gordon Green | Stars: Sandra Bullock, Billy Bob Thornton, Anthony Mackie, Joaquim de Almeida
Votes: 23,261 | Gross: $7.00M
14. Swing Vote (2008)
PG-13 | 120 min | Comedy, Drama
In a remarkable turn-of-events, the result of the presidential election comes down to one man's vote.
Director: Joshua Michael Stern | Stars: Kevin Costner, Paula Patton, Kelsey Grammer, Madeline Carroll
Votes: 19,401 | Gross: $16.28M
15. The Great McGinty (1940)
Passed | 82 min | Comedy
Dan McGinty has great success in his chosen field of crooked politics, but he endangers it all in one crazy moment of honesty.
Director: Preston Sturges | Stars: Brian Donlevy, Muriel Angelus, Akim Tamiroff, Allyn Joslyn
Votes: 4,411
16. The Candidate (1972)
PG | 110 min | Comedy, Drama
Bill McKay is a candidate for the U.S. Senate from California. He has no hope of winning, so he is willing to tweak the establishment.
Director: Michael Ritchie | Stars: Robert Redford, Peter Boyle, Melvyn Douglas, Don Porter
Votes: 11,912 | Gross: $0.12M
17. The Manchurian Candidate (2004)
R | 129 min | Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
In the midst of the Gulf War, soldiers are kidnapped and brainwashed for sinister purposes.
Director: Jonathan Demme | Stars: Denzel Washington, Liev Schreiber, Meryl Streep, Kimberly Elise
Votes: 116,576 | Gross: $65.96M
ORIGINAL: The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
18. Napoleon Dynamite (2004)
PG | 96 min | Comedy
A listless and alienated teenager decides to help his new friend win the class presidency in their small western high school, while he must deal with his bizarre family life back home.
Director: Jared Hess | Stars: Jon Heder, Efren Ramirez, Jon Gries, Aaron Ruell
Votes: 237,663 | Gross: $44.54M
19. The Adjustment Bureau (2011)
PG-13 | 106 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
The affair between a politician and a contemporary dancer is affected by mysterious forces keeping the lovers apart.
Director: George Nolfi | Stars: Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Lisa Thoreson, Florence Kastriner
Votes: 270,082 | Gross: $62.50M
20. The Last Hurrah (1958)
Approved | 121 min | Drama
Frank Skeffington is an old Irish-American political boss, running for re-election as mayor of a U.S. town for the last time.
Director: John Ford | Stars: Spencer Tracy, Jeffrey Hunter, Dianne Foster, Pat O'Brien
Votes: 4,154
21. Head of State (2003)
PG-13 | 95 min | Comedy
When a presidential candidate dies unexpectedly in the middle of the campaign, Washington, D.C. alderman Mays Gilliam is unexpectedly picked as his replacement.
Director: Chris Rock | Stars: Chris Rock, Bernie Mac, Lynn Whitfield, Dylan Baker
Votes: 21,228 | Gross: $37.79M
22. Newton (2017)
Not Rated | 106 min | Comedy, Drama
A government clerk on election duty in the conflict ridden jungle of Central India tries his best to conduct free and fair voting despite the apathy of security forces and the looming fear of guerrilla attacks by communist rebels.
Director: Amit Masurkar | Stars: Rajkummar Rao, Pankaj Tripathi, Anjali Patil, Raghubir Yadav
Votes: 21,186
23. In the Line of Fire (1993)
R | 128 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Secret Service agent Frank Horrigan couldn't save Kennedy, but he's determined not to let a clever assassin take out this president.
Director: Wolfgang Petersen | Stars: Clint Eastwood, John Malkovich, Rene Russo, Dylan McDermott
Votes: 113,647 | Gross: $102.31M
24. The Dead Zone (1983)
R | 103 min | Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi
A man awakens from a coma to discover he has a psychic ability to foresee future events.
Director: David Cronenberg | Stars: Christopher Walken, Brooke Adams, Tom Skerritt, Herbert Lom
Votes: 77,276 | Gross: $20.77M
25. State of the Union (1948)
Approved | 124 min | Comedy, Drama
An industrialist is urged to run for President, but this requires uncomfortable compromises on both political and marital levels.
Director: Frank Capra | Stars: Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Van Johnson, Angela Lansbury
Votes: 4,169
26. Bulworth (1998)
R | 108 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A suicidally disillusioned liberal politician puts a contract out on himself and takes the opportunity to be bluntly honest with his voters by affecting the rhythms and speech of hip-hop music and culture.
Director: Warren Beatty | Stars: Warren Beatty, Halle Berry, Kimberly Deauna Adams, Vinny Argiro
Votes: 27,292 | Gross: $26.53M
27. Welcome to Mooseport (2004)
PG-13 | 110 min | Comedy, Romance
A US president who has retired after two terms in office returns to his hometown of Mooseport, Maine and decides to run for Mayor against another local candidate.
Director: Donald Petrie | Stars: Gene Hackman, Ray Romano, Maura Tierney, Marcia Gay Harden
Votes: 13,462 | Gross: $14.47M
28. The American President (1995)
PG-13 | 114 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A widowed U.S. President running for reelection and an environmental lobbyist fall in love. It's all above-board, but "politics is perception," and sparks fly anyway.
Director: Rob Reiner | Stars: Michael Douglas, Annette Bening, Martin Sheen, Michael J. Fox
Votes: 60,613 | Gross: $65.00M
29. All the King's Men (2006)
PG-13 | 128 min | Drama, Thriller
Based on the Robert Penn Warren novel. The life of populist Southerner Willie Stark, a political creature loosely based on Governor Huey Long of Louisiana.
Director: Steven Zaillian | Stars: Sean Penn, Jude Law, Kate Winslet, Anthony Hopkins
Votes: 25,579 | Gross: $7.22M
ORIGINAL: All the King's Men (1949)
30. The Shoes of the Fisherman (I) (1968)
G | 162 min | Drama
After spending decades in a Siberian Gulag labor camp, Roman Catholic priest Kiril Lakota is set free by Russian leader Piotr Ilyich Kamenev at the height of the Cold War.
Director: Michael Anderson | Stars: Anthony Quinn, Laurence Olivier, Oskar Werner, David Janssen
Votes: 4,154
31. Black Sheep (1996)
PG-13 | 87 min | Comedy
A gubernatorial candidate hires a wormy special assistant whose only job is to make sure the candidate's well-meaning but incompetent brother doesn't ruin the election.
Director: Penelope Spheeris | Stars: Chris Farley, David Spade, Tim Matheson, Christine Ebersole
Votes: 43,663 | Gross: $32.38M
32. Election (2005)
Unrated | 101 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Rival gang leaders are locked in a struggle to become the new chairman of Hong Kong's Triad society.
Director: Johnnie To | Stars: Louis Koo, Suet Lam, Tony Ka Fai Leung, Eddie Cheung
Votes: 11,369
33. Irresistible (I) (2020)
R | 101 min | Comedy, Drama
A Democratic strategist helps a retired veteran run for mayor in a small, conservative Midwest town.
Director: Jon Stewart | Stars: Steve Carell, Rose Byrne, Chris Cooper, Brent Sexton
Votes: 23,434
Added 01 August 2020
34. Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (2022)
PG-13 | 142 min | Adventure, Family, Fantasy
Albus Dumbledore knows that Gellert Grindelwald is moving to take control of the wizarding world. Unable to stop him alone, he asks Newt Scamander to lead an intrepid team on a dangerous mission.
Director: David Yates | Stars: Eddie Redmayne, Jude Law, Ezra Miller, Dan Fogler
Votes: 170,180 | Gross: $95.85M
Added 01 February 2023
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