Top 28 Jake Gyllenhaal Movies RANKED
by einhornellis | created - 20 Jan 2021 | updated - 3 weeks ago | PublicJake Gyllenhaal is one of the greatest actors of the 21st century. Despite starring in dozens of award-winning hits, Gyllenhaal has not only never won, but he has only ever received one nomination at the Oscars.
In January 2021, I watched all 25 movies Gyllenhaal had starred in at the time. Here is my updated ranking of his best to worst movies based on his performance & the overall rating of the film.
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1. Nightcrawler (2014)
R | 117 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
When Louis Bloom, a con man desperate for work, muscles into the world of L.A. crime journalism, he blurs the line between observer and participant to become the star of his own story.
Director: Dan Gilroy | Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo, Bill Paxton, Riz Ahmed
Votes: 604,899 | Gross: $32.38M
100/10 Gyllenhaal gives an Oscar-worthy performance as Louis Bloom, an ambitious sociopath who is capable of doing anything for his new business. "He stumbles into a new career as a cameraman and -- armed with a camcorder and police scanner -- begins nocturnal forays across the city in search of shocking and grisly crimes."
2. End of Watch (2012)
R | 109 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Shot documentary-style, this film follows the daily grind of two young police officers in LA who are partners and friends and what happens when they meet criminal forces greater than themselves.
Director: David Ayer | Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Peña, Anna Kendrick, America Ferrera
Votes: 269,205 | Gross: $41.00M
100/10
This lost film-style movie is a work of art from start to finish. Gyllenhaal plays Brian Taylor, a risk-taker who films everything he and his partner experience as L.A. police officers.
"End of Watch is a visceral story of beat cops that is rare in its sensitivity, rash in its violence and raw in its humor. The story is, in a way, an ordinary one — regular cops who aren’t corrupt, guys who chalk up any heroics to just doing their job."
- L.A. Times
3. Jarhead (2005)
R | 125 min | Biography, Drama, War
A psychological study of Marine's state of mind during the Gulf War. Told through the eyes of a U.S. Marine sniper who struggles to cope with boredom, a sense of isolation, and other issues back home.
Director: Sam Mendes | Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Jamie Foxx, Lucas Black, Scott MacDonald
Votes: 206,662 | Gross: $62.66M
100/10
This brilliant war movie follows Anthony Swofford from enlistment during the Gulf War to life after serving in the military. It's based on a 2003 memoir by U.S. marine Anthony Swofforrd.
"It contains no heroism, little action, no easy laughs. It is about men who are exhausted, bored, lonely, trained to the point of obsession and given no opportunity to use their training."
4. Brokeback Mountain (2005)
R | 134 min | Drama, Romance
Ennis and Jack are two shepherds who develop a sexual and emotional relationship. Their relationship becomes complicated when both of them get married to their respective girlfriends.
Director: Ang Lee | Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Heath Ledger, Michelle Williams, Randy Quaid
Votes: 382,427 | Gross: $83.04M
9.5/10
Gyllenhaal portrays Jack Twist in this incredible film about a complex relationship between two men who meet when they find work sheep-herding for the summer on Brokeback Mountain during the 1960's.
"With its emotional depth and poignant portrayal of forbidden love, it captivates readers, eliciting both empathy and reflection."
5. Source Code (2011)
PG-13 | 93 min | Action, Drama, Mystery
A soldier wakes up in someone else's body and discovers he's part of an experimental government program to find the bomber of a commuter train within 8 minutes.
Director: Duncan Jones | Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan, Vera Farmiga, Jeffrey Wright
Votes: 549,993 | Gross: $54.71M
9.3/10
This mind-bending classic follows helicopter pilot Colter Stevens on a top-secret military operation that enables him to experience the last few minutes in the life of another man.
"It doesn’t take long for Source Code to hook you. The actors are nicely matched, and what a relief to like a new movie with Mr. Gyllenhaal after a run of groaners. In a sympathetic turn, he hits the dark and light notes right, bringing subtle differences to his performance."
- NY Times
6. Stronger (I) (2017)
R | 119 min | Biography, Drama
Stronger is the inspiring real life story of Jeff Bauman, an ordinary man who captured the hearts of his city and the world to become a symbol of hope after surviving the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing.
Director: David Gordon Green | Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Tatiana Maslany, Miranda Richardson, Richard Lane Jr.
Votes: 49,676 | Gross: $4.21M
7. Zodiac (2007)
R | 157 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Between 1968 and 1983, a San Francisco cartoonist becomes an amateur detective obsessed with tracking down the Zodiac Killer, an unidentified individual who terrorizes Northern California with a killing spree.
Director: David Fincher | Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey Jr., Mark Ruffalo, Anthony Edwards
Votes: 598,703 | Gross: $33.08M
8. Prisoners (2013)
R | 153 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
When Keller Dover's daughter and her friend go missing, he takes matters into his own hands as the police pursue multiple leads and the pressure mounts.
Director: Denis Villeneuve | Stars: Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Viola Davis, Melissa Leo
Votes: 810,171 | Gross: $61.00M
9. Southpaw (2015)
R | 124 min | Action, Drama, Sport
After a fatal incident sends him on a rampant path of destruction, a champion boxer fights to get custody of his daughter and revive his professional career.
Director: Antoine Fuqua | Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Rachel McAdams, Oona Laurence, Forest Whitaker
Votes: 258,510 | Gross: $52.42M
10. Life (I) (2017)
R | 104 min | Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
A team of scientists aboard the International Space Station discover a rapidly evolving life form that caused extinction on Mars and now threatens all life on Earth.
Director: Daniel Espinosa | Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Rebecca Ferguson, Ryan Reynolds, Hiroyuki Sanada
Votes: 254,054 | Gross: $30.23M
11. Okja (2017)
TV-MA | 120 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
A young girl risks everything to prevent a powerful, multinational company from kidnapping her best friend - a fascinating beast named Okja.
Director: Bong Joon Ho | Stars: Tilda Swinton, Paul Dano, Ahn Seo-hyun, Jake Gyllenhaal
Votes: 132,209
12. Road House (2024)
R | 121 min | Action, Thriller
Ex-UFC fighter Dalton takes a job as a bouncer at a Florida Keys roadhouse, only to discover that this paradise is not all it seems.
Director: Doug Liman | Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Daniela Melchior, Conor McGregor, Billy Magnussen
Votes: 113,996
13. Donnie Darko (2001)
R | 113 min | Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
After narrowly escaping a bizarre accident, a troubled teenager is plagued by visions of a man in a large rabbit suit who manipulates him to commit a series of crimes.
Director: Richard Kelly | Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Jena Malone, Mary McDonnell, Holmes Osborne
Votes: 850,399 | Gross: $1.48M
14. Love & Other Drugs (2010)
R | 112 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
In 1990s Pittsburgh, a medicine peddler starts a relationship with a young woman suffering from Parkinson's disease.
Director: Edward Zwick | Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Anne Hathaway, Judy Greer, Oliver Platt
Votes: 224,323 | Gross: $32.37M
15. Demolition (2015)
R | 101 min | Comedy, Drama
A successful investment banker struggles after losing his wife in a tragic car crash. With the help of a customer service rep and her young son, he starts to rebuild, beginning with the demolition of the life he once knew.
Director: Jean-Marc Vallée | Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Naomi Watts, Chris Cooper, Judah Lewis
Votes: 112,273 | Gross: $1.98M
16. Enemy (2013)
R | 91 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
A man seeks out his exact look-alike after spotting him in a movie.
Director: Denis Villeneuve | Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Mélanie Laurent, Sarah Gadon, Isabella Rossellini
Votes: 215,343 | Gross: $1.01M
17. The Day After Tomorrow (2004)
PG-13 | 124 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Jack Hall, paleoclimatologist, must make a daring trek from Washington, D.C. to New York City to reach his son, trapped in the cross-hairs of a sudden international storm which plunges the planet into a new Ice Age.
Director: Roland Emmerich | Stars: Dennis Quaid, Jake Gyllenhaal, Emmy Rossum, Dash Mihok
Votes: 476,265 | Gross: $186.74M
18. Brothers (I) (2009)
R | 105 min | Drama, Thriller, War
While on tour in Afghanistan, Sam's helicopter is shot down and he is presumed dead. Back home, it is his screw-up brother who looks after the family. Sam does return, but with a lot of excess baggage.
Director: Jim Sheridan | Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Natalie Portman, Tobey Maguire, Sam Shepard
Votes: 146,933 | Gross: $28.50M
19. October Sky (1999)
PG | 108 min | Biography, Drama, Family
The true story of Homer Hickam, a coal miner's son who was inspired by the first Sputnik launch to take up rocketry against his father's wishes.
Director: Joe Johnston | Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Chris Cooper, Laura Dern, Chris Owen
Votes: 98,088 | Gross: $32.48M
20. Nocturnal Animals (2016)
R | 116 min | Drama, Thriller
A wealthy art gallery owner is haunted by her ex-husband's novel, a violent thriller she interprets as a symbolic revenge tale.
Director: Tom Ford | Stars: Amy Adams, Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Shannon, Aaron Taylor-Johnson
Votes: 304,821 | Gross: $10.66M
21. Proof (2005)
PG-13 | 100 min | Drama, Mystery
The daughter of a brilliant but mentally disturbed mathematician, recently deceased, tries to come to grips with her possible inheritance: his insanity. Complicating matters are one of her father's ex-students, who wants to search through his papers, and her estranged sister, who shows up to help settle his affairs.
Director: John Madden | Stars: Gwyneth Paltrow, Anthony Hopkins, Hope Davis, Jake Gyllenhaal
Votes: 46,323 | Gross: $7.52M
22. Velvet Buzzsaw (2019)
R | 113 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A thriller about the contemporary art scene of Los Angeles, where big money artists and mega-collectors pay a high price when art collides with commerce.
Director: Dan Gilroy | Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo, Zawe Ashton, Tom Sturridge
Votes: 66,073
23. Ambulance (2022)
R | 136 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Two robbers steal an ambulance after their heist goes awry.
Director: Michael Bay | Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Eiza González, Garret Dillahunt
Votes: 98,285 | Gross: $22.78M
24. Everest (2015)
PG-13 | 121 min | Action, Adventure, Biography
On May 10, 1996, mountain guides Rob Hall and Scott Fischer combine their expedition teams for a final ascent to the summit of Mount Everest. With little warning, a storm strikes the mountain and the climbers must now battle to survive.
Director: Baltasar Kormákur | Stars: Jason Clarke, Ang Phula Sherpa, Thomas M. Wright, Martin Henderson
Votes: 232,502 | Gross: $43.48M
25. Rendition (2007)
R | 122 min | Drama, Thriller
When a terrorist bombing in North Africa kills 19 incl. an American, an Egyptian chemical engineer flying from South Africa to his wife in USA, is arrested upon arriving USA. He disappears. His wife asks senator for help.
Director: Gavin Hood | Stars: Reese Witherspoon, Jake Gyllenhaal, Peter Sarsgaard, Alan Arkin
Votes: 58,223 | Gross: $9.74M
26. The Sisters Brothers (2018)
R | 122 min | Drama, Western
Eli and Charlie Sisters, an infamous duo of gunslinging assassins, chase a gold prospector and his unexpected ally in 1850s Oregon.
Director: Jacques Audiard | Stars: John C. Reilly, Joaquin Phoenix, Jake Gyllenhaal, Riz Ahmed
Votes: 70,505 | Gross: $3.14M
27. The Guilty (2021)
R | 90 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A demoted police officer assigned to a call dispatch desk is conflicted when he receives an emergency phone call from a kidnapped woman.
Director: Antoine Fuqua | Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Riley Keough, Peter Sarsgaard, Christina Vidal
Votes: 148,866
28. Wildlife (2018)
PG-13 | 105 min | Drama
A teenage boy must deal with his mother's complicated response after his father temporarily abandons them to take a menial and dangerous job.
Director: Paul Dano | Stars: Ed Oxenbould, Jake Gyllenhaal, Carey Mulligan, Travis W Bruyer
Votes: 31,391 | Gross: $1.03M
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