From the Newsstands: This article appeared in The Eagle’s December 2025 print edition which can be viewed here.
The results are in, and our list of American University’s 100 favorite movies is finally here.
In celebration of our 100th birthday, The Eagle polled 180 students, alumni and faculty members on their favorite movies. Respondents could put at least one and up to 10 favorites on their ballot.
The battle for first place was fierce, but one film emerged with a wide margin of support. To everyone’s surprise, Damien Chazelle’s Academy Award-winning “La La Land” claimed the title of the University’s favorite movie with 24 votes.
Looking downward, the rest of the top 15 were quite decisive, but close calls.
Greta Gerwig’s “Little Women” and the original “Mamma Mia!” film by Phyllida Lloyd claimed second and third place, each earning 17 votes. Other films in the top 15 include Christopher Nolan’s “Interstellar” in sixth place, “Dead Poets Society” in ninth and “10 Things I Hate About You” in 12th.
Speaking of “Interstellar,” Nolan took the title of most popular director among respondents, having nine of his films make the cut.
Respondents were able to provide feedback as to why they chose particular films, with many citing their favorites’ emotional impact, good “vibes,” cinematic beauty, discussion of world events or the feeling of comfort they elicit — many childhood favorites cropped up.
One trend that emerged from the final list is that the results closely mirror Letterboxd’s list of all-time most popular films, as measured by user reviews. The list also includes films like “La La Land,” “Parasite,” “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” “Everything, Everywhere, All At Once” and “Knives Out” in its top 25.
Missing from the community’s top 25 are multiple popular franchises, such as “The Lord of the Rings,” “Star Wars,” “Harry Potter” and “The Hunger Games.” A few movies from these franchises made the top 100, but there was no such luck for “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy.
A couple of animated movies also placed in the top 50. Hayao Miyazaki, perhaps the greatest animator of our time, had five of his films represented in the top 100. His most popular film was “Spirited Away,” which took 20th place with eight votes. His second most popular film is my favorite, “Princess Mononoke,” which received seven votes.
Apart from the presence of multiple queer films, the final list lacks diversity. White male directors were overrepresented, with a few exceptions like Gerwig, Miyazaki and Alfonso Cuarón. Powerful films centering diverse storytelling or crafted by nonwhite directors that made the final list include “Past Lives,” “Y Tu Mama Tambien,” and “BlacKkKlansman.”
Did your favorite films make the cut? Take a look at the graphic, or the final tally from us @TheEagleAU on Letterboxd, to find out.
This article was edited by Alfie Pritchard, Jessica Ackerman and Walker Whalen. Copy editing done by Sabine Kanter-Huchting, Arin Burrell, Paige Caron, Ryan Sieve, Andrew Kummeth and Ariana Kavoossi.
