Ranker’s Top 5 LGBTQ+-Themed Movies
Photos: Warner Bros. Pictures
NOTE: Readers are still voting on this list all the time, and the ranking changes frequently. Changes in the list ranking may not immediately be reflected in this blog.
The movement for LGBTQ+ liberation and equality has taken incredible strides in the last few decades, and we’ve seen that progress reflected on the big screen. As more and more films depicting the everyday, romantic, and political lives of gay, lesbian, trans, intersex, and nonbinary people enter the cultural mainstream, the work of queer creators is increasingly being consumed by nonqueer audiences. It’s a natural consequence of progress, but the idea got us thinking: Which popular LGBTQ+ movies are more beloved by queer theatergoers, and which ones are enjoyed by a more mainstream audience?
We took a look at the Top 5 films on our list of The Best LGBTQ+ Themed Movies and used Ranker Insights to look at each of their respective fan bases. While we obviously can’t tell you which voters are queer and which are not, we can tell you which movies have fans who tend to love other LGBTQ+-themed films and which ones appeal to people with more general tastes in films. Here’s what we found:
Photo: TLA Releasing
#1: Latter Days
Available with subscription to: Tubi, Kanopy
Available to rent on: Amazon, Apple TV
This movie about a closeted Mormon missionary who falls in love with his openly gay neighbor received mixed reviews when it was released, but it’s got a fan base large enough to push it all the way to the top of Ranker’s list. Ranker Insights says Latter Days fans are distinct from other voters on this list — they’re not particularly likely to count themselves fans of any of the other Top 5 movies. They’re more likely to vote up other indie films about gay romance like Shelter, Trick, and Beautiful Thing. Rather than voting up the movies that became mainstream hits like Brokeback Mountain and Call Me By Your Name, a good portion of this list’s voters prefers lesser-known cult classics.
Photo: Focus Features
#2: Brokeback Mountain
Available with subscription to: Starz
Available to rent on: Amazon, Apple TV, Vudu, Redbox, Google Play
According to Ranker Insights, Brokeback Mountain’s fan base is drawn more to the films of director Ang Lee than to movies about LGBTQ+ romance: the six movies Brokeback Mountain fans are most likely to love are Life of Pi; Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; Sense and Sensibility; Taking Woodstock; and Ride with the Devil. They’re 8X more likely than the average movie fan to love Philadelphia and But I’m a Cheerleader — but they’re just as likely to be fans of dramas that aren’t focused on queer issues, like Atonement and The English Patient. Brokeback Mountain is an iconic queer film, but because of this movie’s mainstream appeal, it seems just as likely to attract film fanatics in general as it does fans of LGBTQ+ stories and characters.
Photo: Warner Bros.
#3: Call Me By Your Name
Available with subscription to: Peacock, Showtime
Available to rent on: Amazon, Vudu, Fandango, Apple TV, Redbox
Luca Guadagnino’s romantic drama was a nominee for best picture at the 2018 Academy Awards, and like Brokeback Mountain, it’s amassed a mainstream audience thanks to that exposure. Fans of Call Me By Your Name love cerebral indie films: they’re 10X more likely to love The Florida Project; 9X more likely to love Lady Bird; 6X more likely to love Eighth Grade; and 5X more likely to love The Killing of a Sacred Deer, Hereditary, and The Disaster Artist, all films from indie darling production house A24. Moonlight, which is explicitly about the experience of growing up queer, is less likely to draw fans of Call Me By Your Name than any of the other A24 movies mentioned above. Fans of Call Me By Your Name might be more drawn to artsy films in general than to ones specifically about queerness.
Photo: TWC
#4: Carol
Available on: Roku, Tubi, Pluto, IMDbTV
Available to rent on: Amazon, Apple TV, Fandango, Vudu
Unlike the audience for the previous two films on this list, Carol’s fans seem to be largely attracted to films that are similarly focused on queer and especially lesbian romance. They’re 7X more likely to love The Hours (2002), 6X more likely to love Boys Don’t Cry (1999), and 5X more likely to love both the Wachowski-directed neo-noir crime thriller Bound (1996) and the critically lauded period drama The Favourite (2018). Meanwhile, when it comes to television, the show Carol fans are most likely to enjoy is Orange Is the New Black, a show about life in a women’s prison that deals with lesbian relationships.
Photo: Tristar Pictures
