Most Popular Private Detective Movies and TV Shows
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1. Knives Out (2019)
PG-13 | 130 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
A detective investigates the death of a patriarch of an eccentric, combative family.
Director: Rian Johnson | Stars: Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Jamie Lee Curtis
Votes: 50,596
2. Motherless Brooklyn (2019)
R | 144 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
In 1950s New York, a lonely private detective afflicted with Tourette's Syndrome ventures to solve the murder of his mentor and only friend.
Director: Edward Norton | Stars: Edward Norton, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Alec Baldwin, Bobby Cannavale
Votes: 7,148
3. Sherlock (2010– )
TV-14 | 88 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A modern update finds the famous sleuth and his doctor partner solving crime in 21st century London.
Stars: Benedict Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman, Una Stubbs, Rupert Graves
Votes: 736,518
4. Veronica Mars (2004– )
TV-14 | 44 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
After her best friend is murdered, and her father is removed as county Sheriff, Veronica Mars dedicates her life to cracking the toughest mysteries in the affluent town of Neptune.
Stars: Kristen Bell, Jason Dohring, Enrico Colantoni, Percy Daggs III
Votes: 64,898
5. Murder on the Orient Express (2017)
PG-13 | 114 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
When a murder occurs on the train on which he's travelling, celebrated detective Hercule Poirot is recruited to solve the case.
Director: Kenneth Branagh | Stars: Kenneth Branagh, Penélope Cruz, Willem Dafoe, Judi Dench
Votes: 187,798 | Gross: $102.83M
6. American Psycho (2000)
R | 101 min | Crime, Drama
A wealthy New York City investment banking executive, Patrick Bateman, hides his alternate psychopathic ego from his co-workers and friends as he delves deeper into his violent, hedonistic fantasies.
Director: Mary Harron | Stars: Christian Bale, Justin Theroux, Josh Lucas, Bill Sage
Votes: 447,157 | Gross: $15.07M
7. The Big Lebowski (1998)
R | 117 min | Comedy, Crime, Sport
Jeff "The Dude" Lebowski, mistaken for a millionaire of the same name, seeks restitution for his ruined rug and enlists his bowling buddies to help get it.
Directors: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen | Stars: Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, Julianne Moore, Steve Buscemi
Votes: 681,621 | Gross: $17.50M
8. Poirot (1989–2013)
TV-14 | 100 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
The cases of eccentric but sharp Belgian detective Hercule Poirot.
Stars: David Suchet, Hugh Fraser, Philip Jackson, Pauline Moran
Votes: 34,422
9. The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996)
R | 121 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A woman suffering from amnesia begins to recover her memories after trouble from her past finds her again.
Director: Renny Harlin | Stars: Geena Davis, Samuel L. Jackson, Yvonne Zima, Craig Bierko
Votes: 68,960 | Gross: $33.33M
10. Jessica Jones (2015–2019)
TV-MA | 56 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Following the tragic end of her brief superhero career, Jessica Jones tries to rebuild her life as a private investigator, dealing with cases involving people with remarkable abilities in New York City.
Stars: Krysten Ritter, Rachael Taylor, Eka Darville, Carrie-Anne Moss
Votes: 182,205
11. Psycho (1960)
R | 109 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A Phoenix secretary embezzles forty thousand dollars from her employer's client, goes on the run, and checks into a remote motel run by a young man under the domination of his mother.
Director: Alfred Hitchcock | Stars: Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, Vera Miles, John Gavin
Votes: 557,465 | Gross: $32.00M
12. The Nice Guys (2016)
R | 116 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
In 1970s Los Angeles, a mismatched pair of private eyes investigate a missing girl and the mysterious death of a porn star.
Director: Shane Black | Stars: Russell Crowe, Ryan Gosling, Angourie Rice, Matt Bomer
Votes: 250,946 | Gross: $36.26M
13. Sherlock Holmes (2009)
PG-13 | 128 min | Action, Adventure, Crime
Detective Sherlock Holmes and his stalwart partner Watson engage in a battle of wits and brawn with a nemesis whose plot is a threat to all of England.
Director: Guy Ritchie | Stars: Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Rachel McAdams, Mark Strong
Votes: 558,195 | Gross: $209.03M
14. Wedding Crashers (2005)
R | 119 min | Comedy, Romance
John Beckwith and Jeremy Grey, a pair of committed womanizers who sneak into weddings to take advantage of the romantic tinge in the air, find themselves at odds with one another when John meets and falls for Claire Cleary.
Director: David Dobkin | Stars: Owen Wilson, Vince Vaughn, Rachel McAdams, Christopher Walken
Votes: 319,394 | Gross: $209.22M
15. Chinatown (1974)
R | 130 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
A private detective hired to expose an adulterer finds himself caught up in a web of deceit, corruption, and murder.
Director: Roman Polanski | Stars: Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway, John Huston, Perry Lopez
Votes: 273,676 | Gross: $29.20M
16. Greta (2018)
R | 98 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
A young woman befriends a lonely widow who's harboring a dark and deadly agenda toward her.
Director: Neil Jordan | Stars: Isabelle Huppert, Chloë Grace Moretz, Maika Monroe, Jane Perry
Votes: 18,088 | Gross: $10.52M
17. Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003)
PG-13 | 106 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
The Angels investigate a series of murders which occur after the theft of a witness protection profile database.
Director: McG | Stars: Drew Barrymore, Lucy Liu, Cameron Diaz, Bernie Mac
Votes: 115,564 | Gross: $100.83M
18. Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
PG | 104 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
A toon-hating detective is a cartoon rabbit's only hope to prove his innocence when he is accused of murder.
Director: Robert Zemeckis | Stars: Bob Hoskins, Christopher Lloyd, Joanna Cassidy, Charles Fleischer
Votes: 172,237 | Gross: $156.45M
19. Sin City: A Dame to Kill For (2014)
R | 102 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
Some of Sin City's most hard-boiled citizens cross paths with a few of its more reviled inhabitants.
Directors: Frank Miller, Robert Rodriguez | Stars: Mickey Rourke, Jessica Alba, Josh Brolin, Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Votes: 144,548 | Gross: $13.76M
20. Midnight in Paris (2011)
PG-13 | 94 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Romance
While on a trip to Paris with his fiancée's family, a nostalgic screenwriter finds himself mysteriously going back to the 1920s everyday at midnight.
Director: Woody Allen | Stars: Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Kathy Bates, Kurt Fuller
Votes: 364,399 | Gross: $56.82M
21. Enola Holmes (2020)
Drama, Mystery | Post-production
Upon the disappearance of their mother, the child sister of Sherlock and Mycroft Holmes runs away to become a fugitive private detective herself.
Director: Harry Bradbeer | Stars: Henry Cavill, Helena Bonham Carter, Millie Bobby Brown, Sam Claflin
22. The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)
R | 139 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
In late 1950s New York, Tom Ripley, a young underachiever, is sent to Italy to retrieve Dickie Greenleaf, a rich and spoiled millionaire playboy. But when the errand fails, Ripley takes extreme measures.
Director: Anthony Minghella | Stars: Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jude Law, Cate Blanchett
Votes: 166,633 | Gross: $81.30M
23. Vertigo (1958)
PG | 128 min | Mystery, Romance, Thriller
A former police detective juggles wrestling with his personal demons and becoming obsessed with a hauntingly beautiful woman.
Director: Alfred Hitchcock | Stars: James Stewart, Kim Novak, Barbara Bel Geddes, Tom Helmore
Votes: 332,322 | Gross: $3.20M
24. The Shop Around the Corner (1940)
Not Rated | 99 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Two employees at a gift shop can barely stand each other, without realizing that they are falling in love through the post as each other's anonymous pen pal.
Director: Ernst Lubitsch | Stars: Margaret Sullavan, James Stewart, Frank Morgan, Joseph Schildkraut
Votes: 25,164 | Gross: $0.20M
25. There's Something About Mary (1998)
R | 119 min | Comedy, Romance
A man gets a chance to meet up with his dream girl from high school, even though his date with her back then was a complete disaster.
Directors: Bobby Farrelly, Peter Farrelly | Stars: Cameron Diaz, Matt Dillon, Ben Stiller, Lee Evans
Votes: 278,997 | Gross: $176.48M
26. The Happytime Murders (2018)
R | 91 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
When the puppet cast of a '90s children's TV show begin to get murdered one by one, a disgraced LAPD detective-turned-private eye puppet takes on the case.
Director: Brian Henson | Stars: Melissa McCarthy, Elizabeth Banks, Maya Rudolph, Leslie David Baker
Votes: 20,829 | Gross: $20.71M
27. Guilt (2019– )
57 min | Comedy, Crime, Thriller
Two brothers accidentally run over and kill an old man. Despite covering their tracks, their lives start to fall apart when neighbors and relatives of the dead man begin to have doubts about the way he died.
Stars: Mark Bonnar, Ruth Bradley, Jamie Sives, Ellie Haddington
Votes: 625
28. Angel Heart (1987)
R | 113 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A private investigator is hired by a man who calls himself Louis Cyphre to track down a singer named Johnny Favorite. But the investigation takes an unexpected and somber turn.
Director: Alan Parker | Stars: Mickey Rourke, Robert De Niro, Lisa Bonet, Charlotte Rampling
Votes: 75,330 | Gross: $17.19M
29. Constantine (2005)
R | 121 min | Action, Fantasy, Horror
Supernatural exorcist and demonologist John Constantine helps a policewoman prove her sister's death was not a suicide, but something more.
Director: Francis Lawrence | Stars: Keanu Reeves, Rachel Weisz, Djimon Hounsou, Shia LaBeouf
Votes: 286,802 | Gross: $75.98M
30. Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994)
PG-13 | 86 min | Comedy
A goofy detective specializing in animals goes in search of the missing mascot of the Miami Dolphins.
Director: Tom Shadyac | Stars: Jim Carrey, Courteney Cox, Sean Young, Tone Loc
Votes: 261,310 | Gross: $72.22M
31. Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011)
PG-13 | 129 min | Action, Adventure, Crime
Detective Sherlock Holmes is on the trail of criminal mastermind Professor Moriarty, who is carrying out a string of random crimes across Europe.
Director: Guy Ritchie | Stars: Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Jared Harris, Rachel McAdams
Votes: 401,494 | Gross: $186.85M
32. The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)
R | 110 min | Comedy, Drama
The eccentric members of a dysfunctional family reluctantly gather under the same roof for various reasons.
Director: Wes Anderson | Stars: Gene Hackman, Gwyneth Paltrow, Anjelica Huston, Ben Stiller
Votes: 250,971 | Gross: $52.36M
33. Unfaithful (2002)
R | 124 min | Drama, Romance, Thriller
A New York suburban couple's marriage goes dangerously awry when the wife indulges in an adulterous fling.
Director: Adrian Lyne | Stars: Richard Gere, Diane Lane, Olivier Martinez, Erik Per Sullivan
Votes: 75,228 | Gross: $52.80M
34. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005)
R | 103 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
A murder mystery brings together a private eye, a struggling actress, and a thief masquerading as an actor.
Director: Shane Black | Stars: Robert Downey Jr., Val Kilmer, Michelle Monaghan, Corbin Bernsen
Votes: 205,731 | Gross: $4.24M
35. Murder on the Orient Express (1974)
PG | 128 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
In December 1935, when his train is stopped by deep snow, detective Hercule Poirot is called on to solve a murder that occurred in his car the night before.
Director: Sidney Lumet | Stars: Albert Finney, Lauren Bacall, Ingrid Bergman, Sean Connery
Votes: 51,136
36. Gone Baby Gone (2007)
R | 114 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Two Boston area detectives investigate a little girl's kidnapping, which ultimately turns into a crisis both professionally and personally.
Director: Ben Affleck | Stars: Morgan Freeman, Ed Harris, Casey Affleck, Michelle Monaghan
Votes: 238,486 | Gross: $20.30M
37. Lady in the Lake (1946)
Approved | 105 min | Crime, Film-Noir, Mystery
The lady editor of a crime magazine hires Philip Marlowe to find the wife of her boss. The private detective soon finds himself involved in murder.
Director: Robert Montgomery | Stars: Robert Montgomery, Audrey Totter, Lloyd Nolan, Tom Tully
Votes: 4,699
38. The Firm (1993)
R | 154 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
A young lawyer joins a prestigious law firm only to discover that it has a sinister dark side.
Director: Sydney Pollack | Stars: Tom Cruise, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Gene Hackman, Hal Holbrook
Votes: 109,350 | Gross: $158.35M
39. Pain & Gain (2013)
R | 129 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
A trio of bodybuilders in Florida get caught up in an extortion ring and a kidnapping scheme that goes terribly wrong.
Director: Michael Bay | Stars: Mark Wahlberg, Dwayne Johnson, Anthony Mackie, Tony Shalhoub
Votes: 191,341 | Gross: $49.88M
40. 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: 16,922
41. Knight Rider (1982–1986)
TV-PG | 46 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A lone crimefighter battles the forces of evil with the help of a virtually indestructible and artificially intelligent supercar.
Stars: David Hasselhoff, Edward Mulhare, Richard Basehart, Patricia McPherson
Votes: 27,650
42. Nicky Larson et le parfum de Cupidon (2018)
91 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
Nicky Larson, the best private investigator in the business, is called for a high-risk mission: to recover the perfume of Cupid, a perfume that would make irresistible the one who uses it.
Director: Philippe Lacheau | Stars: Philippe Lacheau, Élodie Fontan, Tarek Boudali, Julien Arruti
Votes: 2,329
43. Wild at Heart (1990)
R | 125 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
Young lovers Sailor and Lula run from the variety of weirdos that Lula's mom has hired to kill Sailor.
Director: David Lynch | Stars: Nicolas Cage, Laura Dern, Willem Dafoe, J.E. Freeman
Votes: 76,781 | Gross: $14.56M
44. The Rockford Files (1974–1980)
TV-PG | 60 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
The cases of an easy going ex-convict turned private investigator.
Stars: James Garner, Noah Beery Jr., Joe Santos, Luis Delgado
Votes: 6,259
45. Murder by Death (1976)
PG | 95 min | Comedy, Crime, Mystery
Five famous literary detective characters and their sidekicks are invited to a bizarre mansion to solve an even stranger mystery.
Director: Robert Moore | Stars: Peter Falk, Alec Guinness, Peter Sellers, Eileen Brennan
Votes: 31,099
46. A Walk Among the Tombstones (2014)
R | 114 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Private investigator Matthew Scudder is hired by a drug kingpin to find out who kidnapped and murdered his wife.
Director: Scott Frank | Stars: Liam Neeson, Dan Stevens, David Harbour, Boyd Holbrook
Votes: 107,330 | Gross: $26.31M
47. The Last Boy Scout (1991)
R | 105 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
A private detective's protected female witness is murdered, prompting him and the victim's boyfriend to investigate the crime that leads to a corrupt politician and a crooked football team owner.
Director: Tony Scott | Stars: Bruce Willis, Damon Wayans, Chelsea Field, Noble Willingham
Votes: 88,333 | Gross: $59.51M
48. Republic of Doyle (2010–2014)
60 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
Jake Doyle and his father Malachy run a private investigations agency in St. John's, Newfoundland. Their cases involve them in all sorts of dealings - not all of them on the right side of the law.
Stars: Allan Hawco, Krystin Pellerin, Mark O'Brien, Marthe Bernard
Votes: 2,891
49. Secondhand Lions (2003)
PG | 109 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
A coming-of-age story about a shy, young boy sent by his irresponsible mother to spend the summer with his wealthy, eccentric uncles in Texas.
Director: Tim McCanlies | Stars: Haley Joel Osment, Michael Caine, Robert Duvall, Kyra Sedgwick
Votes: 49,497 | Gross: $41.41M
50. Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2010)
PG | 94 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
The adventures of a 12 year old who is fresh out of elementary and transitions to middle school, where he has to learn the consequences and responsibility to survive the year.
Director: Thor Freudenthal | Stars: Zachary Gordon, Robert Capron, Rachael Harris, Steve Zahn
Votes: 39,685 | Gross: $64.00M