X-Men Movies Ranked: Best to Worst

I ranked the X-Men movies best to worst by how well each film tells its own story, how its performances and set pieces hold up today, and how much it adds to the wider saga. The list covers all 13 Fox films from X-Men (2000) to The New Mutants (2020): seven main saga films and six spin-offs (the Wolverine films, Deadpool, Deadpool 2 and The New Mutants). I put them on one list because most people searching for the best X-Men film want one answer, and the spin-offs hold some of the best work in the series. Deadpool & Wolverine (2024) is a Marvel Studios film, so it sits outside this list, and you can find it on its Marvel franchise page. This is opinion throughout, so disagree freely.

The ranking rests on what I saw on screen and why it worked or did not, not on how many people agreed with me. Box office appears in the justifications as context, never as a criterion. If you want the money side, the X-Men box office page has every figure, and if you want the viewing sequence, see the X-Men movies in order guide.

Four questions decided each position. Does the film have a clear idea of what it is about? Does it use its ensemble well, or does it hand characters a line and move on? Do the set pieces stay in the memory? And does it still play when you watch it by itself? That last question matters because this series changed casts, directors and timelines more than once, and some films only make sense with homework.

The top tier is made up of Logan, X2 and X-Men: Days of Future Past, the films I would happily rewatch tomorrow. Logan (2017), directed by James Mangold, sits first because it is the one film where the hero's body is the plot: a worn down Wolverine in 2029, driving a limo near the Mexican border, asked to take a girl named Laura somewhere safe. The failing mind of an elderly Charles Xavier gives the quiet scenes real tension. It grossed $619 million worldwide on a $97 million budget, according to Box Office Mojo, which is a healthy return for a hard R film.

Is X2 the best X-Men movie? In my opinion it is the best of the main saga, and Logan edges it only because Logan is the more complete film. X2 (2003), directed by Bryan Singer, opens with a teleporting mutant attacking the US President inside the White House and then turns on William Stryker's raid on Xavier's school. It gives Nightcrawler, Pyro and Deathstrike real room without losing the core cast, which is a harder juggling act than it looks. Paradoxically, it is also the film that made X-Men (2000) feel small.

X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014), also directed by Singer, takes third because it joins two casts without confusing the viewer. Kitty Pryde sends Wolverine's mind back to 1973, and the film cuts between a doomed Sentinel future and a young Xavier who has lost his powers to a drug that lets him walk. It earned $746 million worldwide, the third highest of the 13 films.

The middle tier holds films that succeed on their ideas but wobble in execution. X-Men: First Class (2011), directed by Matthew Vaughn, is the best of the group, since its 1962 setting, the Hellfire Club and the Xavier and Erik friendship give it a spine that few sequels match. Deadpool (2016), directed by Tim Miller, follows, a $58 million film that made $783 million worldwide.

X-Men (2000) lands sixth. It is lean at 104 minutes, it opens at Auschwitz in 1944 with a young Erik bending a gate, and it builds the Wolverine and Rogue relationship cleanly. By modern standards the set pieces are modest, but, as the film that made the rest possible, it earns its place. Deadpool 2 (2018) is seventh: David Leitch's sequel brings in Josh Brolin as Cable, and it is the highest grossing of all 13 films at $786 million worldwide, yet the first film had the better balance of jokes and heart.

The Wolverine (2013) and X-Men: Apocalypse fill eighth and ninth. The Wolverine has the series' most distinctive location work, in Japan, and a stronger tone than its predecessor. Apocalypse has Oscar Isaac as En Sabah Nur and a huge ensemble, but at 144 minutes it is the longest film in the series, and the villain gets lost among the crowd.

The bottom tier is where the ideas outrun the films. X-Men: The Last Stand (2006), directed by Brett Ratner, has a strong premise in a treatment that removes mutant powers, but it cuts it into so many storylines that none gets room. Dark Phoenix (2019) is a flat telling of Jean Grey's unstable power. X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009) rushes through its hero's history. And The New Mutants (2020), which I place last, has the most original setting in the series, an isolated hospital, and the thinnest finish.

I am critical of these films but not cruel to the people who made them. The New Mutants had a long delay from its original April 2018 date, so, in fairness, some of the trouble came from the road, not only the script.

The best X-Men movie to start with is X-Men (2000) if you want the series in release order, because it introduces the school, Magneto and Wolverine in 104 minutes. If you would rather skip the older style, First Class works as a fresh entry, since it covers the start of the Xavier and Erik friendship. Think of it like a television series: you can begin at the pilot or at a well made prequel season. The X-Men characters page helps if you want to meet Wolverine, Professor X and Magneto first.

Yes, Marvel Studios is developing its own X-Men film, dated for May 5, 2028 in US theaters, according to TheWrap, with Jake Schreier directing. Details are on the new X-Men movie page. I will slot it into this ranking once it is released and I have seen it.