Sort by Popularity - Most Popular Movies and TV Shows With William Shakespeare

1. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)

PG | 142 min | Adventure, Family, Fantasy

Harry Potter, Ron and Hermione return to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for their third year of study, where they delve into the mystery surrounding an escaped prisoner who poses a dangerous threat to the young wizard.

Director: Alfonso Cuarón | Stars: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Richard Griffiths

Votes: 612,419 | Gross: $249.36M

2. Romeo + Juliet (1996)

PG-13 | 120 min | Drama, Romance

Shakespeare's famous play is updated to the hip modern suburb of Verona still retaining its original dialogue.

Director: Baz Luhrmann | Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Claire Danes, John Leguizamo, Harold Perrineau

Votes: 224,422 | Gross: $46.35M

3. West Side Story (1961)

Approved | 153 min | Crime, Drama, Musical

Two youngsters from rival New York City gangs fall in love, but tensions between their respective friends build toward tragedy.

Directors: Jerome Robbins, Robert Wise | Stars: Natalie Wood, George Chakiris, Richard Beymer, Russ Tamblyn

Votes: 112,234 | Gross: $43.66M

4. 10 Things I Hate About You (1999)

PG-13 | 97 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance

A pretty, popular teenager can't go out on a date until her ill-tempered older sister does.

Director: Gil Junger | Stars: Heath Ledger, Julia Stiles, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Larisa Oleynik

Votes: 328,625 | Gross: $38.18M

5. The Tragedy of Macbeth (2021)

R | 105 min | Drama, Thriller, War

A Scottish lord becomes convinced by a trio of witches that he will become the next King of Scotland, and his ambitious wife supports him in his plans of seizing power.

Director: Joel Coen | Stars: Denzel Washington, Frances McDormand, Alex Hassell, Bertie Carvel

Votes: 29,887

6. Cinderella (I) (2015)

PG | 105 min | Adventure, Drama, Family

When her father unexpectedly dies, young Ella finds herself at the mercy of her cruel stepmother and her scheming stepsisters. Never one to give up hope, Ella's fortunes begin to change after meeting a dashing stranger.

Director: Kenneth Branagh | Stars: Lily James, Cate Blanchett, Richard Madden, Helena Bonham Carter

Votes: 174,016 | Gross: $201.15M

7. Romeo and Juliet (1968)

PG | 138 min | Drama, Romance

When two young members of feuding families meet, forbidden love ensues.

Director: Franco Zeffirelli | Stars: Leonard Whiting, Olivia Hussey, John McEnery, Milo O'Shea

Votes: 31,449 | Gross: $38.90M

8. She's the Man (2006)

PG-13 | 105 min | Comedy, Romance, Sport

When her brother decides to ditch for a couple weeks, Viola heads over to his elite boarding school, disguised as him, and proceeds to fall for his school's star soccer player, and soon learns she's not the only one with romantic troubles.

Director: Andy Fickman | Stars: Amanda Bynes, Laura Ramsey, Channing Tatum, Vinnie Jones

Votes: 156,397 | Gross: $2.34M

9. Moonlighting (1985–1989)

TV-PG | 60 min | Comedy, Drama, Mystery

The quirky cases of a former model and a smart aleck detective who manage a private detective agency.

Stars: Cybill Shepherd, Bruce Willis, Allyce Beasley, Curtis Armstrong

Votes: 20,150

10. Much Ado About Nothing (1993)

PG-13 | 111 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance

Young lovers Hero and Claudio, soon to wed, conspire to get verbal sparring partners and confirmed singles Benedick and Beatrice to wed as well.

Director: Kenneth Branagh | Stars: Kenneth Branagh, Emma Thompson, Keanu Reeves, Kate Beckinsale

Votes: 47,851 | Gross: $22.55M

11. My Own Private Idaho (1991)

R | 104 min | Drama

Two best friends living on the streets of Portland as hustlers embark on a journey of self discovery and find their relationship stumbling along the way.

Director: Gus Van Sant | Stars: River Phoenix, Keanu Reeves, James Russo, William Richert

Votes: 55,413 | Gross: $6.40M

12. Ophelia (I) (2018)

PG-13 | 106 min | Drama, Romance, Thriller

A reimagining of Hamlet, told from Ophelia's perspective.

Director: Claire McCarthy | Stars: Daisy Ridley, Mia Quiney, Calum O'Rourke, Nathaniel Parker

Votes: 10,787 | Gross: $0.05M

13. Hamlet (1996)

PG-13 | 242 min | Drama

Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, returns home to find his father murdered and his mother remarrying the murderer, his uncle. Meanwhile, war is brewing.

Director: Kenneth Branagh | Stars: Kenneth Branagh, Julie Christie, Derek Jacobi, Kate Winslet

Votes: 37,869 | Gross: $4.41M

14. Carry on Cleo (1964)

Not Rated | 92 min | Adventure, Comedy, History

Two Britons, Hengist and Horsa, are captured and enslaved by invading Romans and taken to Rome. One of their first encounters in Rome leaves Hengist being mistaken for a fighter, and gets drafted into the Royal Guard to protect Caesar.

Director: Gerald Thomas | Stars: Kenneth Williams, Sidney James, Kenneth Connor, Charles Hawtrey

Votes: 4,504

15. Romeo & Juliet (2021 TV Movie)

95 min | Drama, Romance

Adaptation of Shakespeare's tragedy set in modern-day Italy where two young lovers strive to transcend a violent world where Catholic and secular values clash.

Director: Simon Godwin | Stars: Fisayo Akinade, Jessie Buckley, Ella Dacres, Tamsin Greig

Votes: 510

16. Sense & Sensibility (2008)

TV-14 | 174 min | Drama, Romance

Widow Dashwood and her three unmarried daughters, Elinor, Marianne and Margaret, inherit only a tiny allowance. So they move out of their grand Sussex home to a more modest cottage in ... See full summary »

Stars: Dominic Cooper, Charity Wakefield, Hattie Morahan, Janet McTeer

Votes: 11,771

17. Ran (1985)

R | 162 min | Action, Drama, War

In Medieval Japan, an elderly warlord retires, handing over his empire to his three sons. However, he vastly underestimates how the new-found power will corrupt them and cause them to turn on each other...and him.

Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Tatsuya Nakadai, Akira Terao, Jinpachi Nezu, Daisuke Ryû

Votes: 123,037 | Gross: $4.14M

18. Gnomeo & Juliet (2011)

G | 84 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy

Separated by a garden fence and a feud, are blue gnomes on one side and red gnomes on the other. This doesn't stop blue Gnomeo and red Juliet from falling in love with each other. Do they have a future together?

Director: Kelly Asbury | Stars: James McAvoy, Emily Blunt, Maggie Smith, Ashley Jensen

Votes: 55,420 | Gross: $99.97M

19. Romeo and Juliet (II) (2013)

PG-13 | 118 min | Drama, Romance

Romeo and Juliet secretly wed despite the sworn contempt their families hold for each other. It is not long, however, before a chain of fateful events changes the lives of both families forever.

Director: Carlo Carlei | Stars: Hailee Steinfeld, Douglas Booth, Damian Lewis, Laura Morante

Votes: 11,829 | Gross: $1.16M

20. Forbidden Planet (1956)

G | 98 min | Adventure, Sci-Fi

A starship crew in the 23rd century goes to investigate the silence of a distant planet's colony, only to find just two survivors, a powerful robot, and the deadly secret of a lost civilization.

Director: Fred M. Wilcox | Stars: Walter Pidgeon, Anne Francis, Leslie Nielsen, Warren Stevens

Votes: 48,390 | Gross: $3.00M

21. The Taming of The Shrew (1967)

Approved | 122 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance

Brutish, fortune-hunting scoundrel Petruchio tames his wealthy, shrewish wife, Katharina.

Director: Franco Zeffirelli | Stars: Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Cyril Cusack, Michael Hordern

Votes: 7,960 | Gross: $8.00M

22. The Hollow Crown (2012–2016)

TV-14 | 150 min | Drama, History, War

A mini-series of adaptations of Shakespeare's history plays: Richard II, Henry IV: Parts 1 and 2, and Henry V.

Stars: Anton Lesser, Simon Russell Beale, Tom Georgeson, John Mackay

Votes: 6,490

23. Macbeth (I) (2015)

R | 113 min | Drama, History, War

Macbeth, the Thane of Glamis, receives a prophecy from a trio of witches that one day he will become King of Scotland. Consumed by ambition and spurred to action by his wife, Macbeth murders his king and takes the throne for himself.

Director: Justin Kurzel | Stars: Michael Fassbender, Marion Cotillard, Jack Madigan, Frank Madigan

Votes: 56,335 | Gross: $1.11M

24. A Midsummer Night's Dream (1999)

PG-13 | 116 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Romance

Lovers' lives are complicated by city law, feuding faerie royalty, and... love.

Director: Michael Hoffman | Stars: Kevin Kline, Michelle Pfeiffer, Rupert Everett, Stanley Tucci

Votes: 25,399 | Gross: $16.07M

25. All Is True (2018)

PG-13 | 101 min | Biography, Drama, History

A look at the final days in the life of renowned playwright William Shakespeare.

Director: Kenneth Branagh | Stars: Kenneth Branagh, Judi Dench, Ian McKellen, Nonso Anozie

Votes: 4,524 | Gross: $1.20M

26. Blackadder (1982–1983)

TV-PG | 195 min | Comedy

In the Middle Ages, Prince Edmund the Black Adder constantly schemes and endeavors to seize the crown from his father and brother.

Stars: Rowan Atkinson, Brian Blessed, Elspet Gray, Tim McInnerny

Votes: 37,870

27. Doctors (2000– )

30 min | Drama

The daily lives of staff at a Birmingham medical practice, including their often-dramatic involvements with their patients.

Stars: Adrian Lewis Morgan, Jan Pearson, Matthew Chambers, Diane Keen

Votes: 1,301

28. Get Over It (2001)

PG-13 | 87 min | Comedy, Romance

A high school senior's girlfriend breaks up with him. His friends try to make him think of something else. His friend's sister Kelly helps him with the school musical. Spending time with Kelly has an effect.

Director: Tommy O'Haver | Stars: Kirsten Dunst, Ben Foster, Melissa Sagemiller, Sisqó

Votes: 18,937 | Gross: $11.56M

29. Henry V (1989)

PG-13 | 137 min | Biography, Drama, History

In the midst of the Hundred Years War, the young King Henry V of England embarks on the conquest of France in 1415.

Director: Kenneth Branagh | Stars: Kenneth Branagh, Derek Jacobi, Simon Shepherd, James Larkin

Votes: 29,749 | Gross: $10.16M

30. Hey Arnold! (1996–2004)

TV-Y7 | 15 min | Animation, Comedy, Drama

The everyday life of Arnold, a fourth-grader in a nameless city that resembles Brooklyn, New York, who lives in a multi-racial boarding house with his grandparents and a motley assortment of friends and neighbors.

Stars: Francesca Marie Smith, Jamil Walker Smith, Dan Castellaneta, Justin Shenkarow

Votes: 33,199

31. ABC Afterschool Specials (1972–1997)

60 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama

"ABC Afterschool Specials" were occasional educational shows broadcast in the afternoon. Each episode was produced by a different company.

Stars: Lance Kerwin, Samaria Graham, Mara Hobel, Alexa Kenin

Votes: 1,088

32. I Capture the Castle (2003)

R | 113 min | Drama, Romance

A love story set in 1930s England that follows 17-year-old Cassandra Mortmain, and the fortunes of her eccentric family, struggling to survive in a decaying English castle.

Director: Tim Fywell | Stars: Romola Garai, Rose Byrne, Bill Nighy, Sophie Stuckey

Votes: 7,538 | Gross: $1.17M

33. The Merchant of Venice (2004)

R | 131 min | Drama, Romance

In 16th century Venice, when a merchant must default on a large loan from an abused Jewish moneylender for a friend with romantic ambitions, the bitterly vengeful creditor demands a gruesome payment instead.

Director: Michael Radford | Stars: Al Pacino, Joseph Fiennes, Lynn Collins, Jeremy Irons

Votes: 36,449 | Gross: $3.77M

34. Titus (1999)

R | 162 min | Drama, History, Thriller

Titus returns victorious from war, only to plant the seeds of future turmoil for himself and his family.

Director: Julie Taymor | Stars: Anthony Hopkins, Jessica Lange, Osheen Jones, Dario D'Ambrosi

Votes: 20,565 | Gross: $1.92M

35. Hamlet (1990)

PG | 135 min | Drama

Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, finds out that his uncle Claudius killed his father to obtain the throne, and plans revenge.

Director: Franco Zeffirelli | Stars: Mel Gibson, Glenn Close, Alan Bates, Paul Scofield

Votes: 22,338 | Gross: $20.71M

36. L.A. Noire (2011 Video Game)

M | Action, Crime, Drama

Cole Phelps, a war hero and rookie cop, moves up the ranks and solves dark cases in 1940s Los Angeles.

Director: Brendan McNamara | Stars: Aaron Staton, Michael McGrady, Adam J. Harrington, Sean McGowan

Votes: 15,177

37. Julius Caesar (1953)

Not Rated | 120 min | Drama, History

The growing ambition of Julius Caesar is a source of major concern to his close friend Brutus. Cassius persuades him to participate in his plot to assassinate Caesar but they have both sorely underestimated Mark Antony.

Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz | Stars: Louis Calhern, Marlon Brando, James Mason, John Gielgud

Votes: 11,460

38. A Midsummer Night's Dream (I) (2016 TV Movie)

TV-14 | 90 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Romance

A modern re-telling of the classic fantasy drama by William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream holds a star-studded cast with euphoric effects and melodramatic storytelling.

Director: David Kerr | Stars: John Hannah, Elliot Levey, Eleanor Matsuura, Colin McFarlane

Votes: 739

39. Throne of Blood (1957)

Not Rated | 110 min | Drama, History

A war-hardened general, egged on by his ambitious wife, works to fulfill a prophecy that he would become lord of Spider's Web Castle.

Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Minoru Chiaki, Isuzu Yamada, Takashi Shimura

Votes: 51,325

40. Othello (1995)

R | 123 min | Drama, Romance

The Moorish General Othello is manipulated into thinking that his new wife Desdemona has been carrying on an affair with his Lieutenant Michael Cassio, when in reality, it is all part of the scheme of a bitter Ensign named Iago.

Director: Oliver Parker | Stars: Laurence Fishburne, Kenneth Branagh, Irène Jacob, Nathaniel Parker

Votes: 9,628 | Gross: $2.11M

41. Macbeth (1971)

R | 140 min | Drama, History

A ruthlessly ambitious Scottish lord seizes the throne with the help of his scheming wife and a trio of witches.

Director: Roman Polanski | Stars: Jon Finch, Francesca Annis, Martin Shaw, Terence Bayler

Votes: 13,759

42. Rosaline (2022)

Comedy, Romance | Post-production

A comedic retelling of Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet," told from the point of view of Romeo's jilted ex, Rosaline, the woman Romeo first claims to love before he falls for Juliet.

Director: Karen Maine | Stars: Kaitlyn Dever, Kyle Allen, Isabela Merced, Minnie Driver

43. Coriolanus (2011)

R | 123 min | Drama, Thriller, War

A banished hero of Rome allies with a sworn enemy to take his revenge on the city.

Director: Ralph Fiennes | Stars: Ralph Fiennes, Gerard Butler, Brian Cox, Lubna Azabal

Votes: 32,107 | Gross: $0.76M

44. Kiss Me Kate (1953)

Approved | 109 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance

An ex-husband and wife team star in a musical version of 'The Taming of the Shrew'; off-stage, the production is troublesome with ex-lovers' quarrels and two gangsters looking for some money owed to them.

Director: George Sidney | Stars: Kathryn Grayson, Howard Keel, Ann Miller, Keenan Wynn

Votes: 6,280

45. Shakespeare's Globe: A Midsummer Night's Dream (2014)

172 min | Comedy

Mistaken identity, unrequited love, and the supernatural are combined in Shakespeare's classic set in the woods of Greece on a moonlit night.

Director: Dominic Dromgoole | Stars: Steffan Donnelly, Huss Garbiya, Tala Gouveia, Tom Lawrence

Votes: 165

46. Tromeo and Juliet (1996)

R | 107 min | Action, Comedy, Drama

Tromeo, a filmmaker, falls in love with Juliet, the daughter of a former partner who tried to steal his business from him.

Director: Lloyd Kaufman | Stars: Jane Jensen, Will Keenan, Valentine Miele, William Beckwith

Votes: 6,334

47. Hamlet (2000)

R | 112 min | Drama, Romance, Thriller

Modern-day New York City adaptation of Shakespeare's immortal story about Hamlet's plight to avenge his father's murder.

Director: Michael Almereyda | Stars: Ethan Hawke, Kyle MacLachlan, Diane Venora, Sam Shepard

Votes: 9,527 | Gross: $1.57M

48. Theater of Blood (1973)

R | 104 min | Comedy, Drama, Horror

A Shakespearean actor takes poetic revenge on the critics who denied him recognition.

Director: Douglas Hickox | Stars: Vincent Price, Diana Rigg, Ian Hendry, Harry Andrews

Votes: 10,865

49. Wishbone (1995–1998)

TV-Y7 | 30 min | Adventure, Comedy, Family

An intelligent and witty dog imagines himself in the role of characters from classic books and gets involved in similar real-life adventures.

Stars: Larry Brantley, Jordan Wall, Christie Abbott, Adam Springfield

Votes: 3,834

50. King Lear (2018 TV Movie)

TV-14 | 115 min | Drama

An aging King invites disaster when he abdicates to his corrupt, toadying daughters, and rejects his loving and honest one.

Director: Richard Eyre | Stars: Jim Broadbent, Jim Carter, Tobias Menzies, Emily Watson

Votes: 3,710