The 10 funniest movies of all time, according to science
Comedy is perhaps the most subjective genre in the whole of cinema, with an individual’s sense of humour coming down to a variety of factors. Indeed, while no one movie can capture this variation of tastes, there are a handful of movies that have been passed down from generation to generation as the funniest films of all time, where such comedians as Jim Carrey, Robin Williams and Eddie Murphy have thrived on the big screen.
But, where it’s difficult to come to some kind of consensus as to the definitive ‘best’ comedy movie of all time, science has stepped in to help, settling all future debates regarding the matter in the future. Of course, things aren’t that simple, with the study discarding the use of specific scientific reactions to conduct a simple survey instead, recording the funniest movies of all time by jotting down the laughs per minute of any given movie.
The study, previously conducted by the former streaming service Lovefilm, asked its members for the ten movies that made them chuckle the most. This data was then compiled, with the highest-performing movies being put in front of a panel where each film was given a ‘Laugh a Minute’ score, a not-so-scientific score devised by dividing the number of laughs by the film’s runtime.
So, what exactly can we learn from this top ten? Well, with 1980’s Airplane topping the list with three laughs per minute and Naked Gun taking third place, there’s certainly a case to be made for the actor Leslie Nielsen being the king of comedy.
Originally a straight-talking performer of drama and action movies, Airplane saw Nielsen transition to comedy, where he quickly became a household name. Largely seen as one of the funniest and most timeless films of all time, Airplane was a spoof movie that mocked disaster flicks, telling the story of an aircraft that is put into severe danger when the majority of its crew and passengers go down with food poisoning.
Elsewhere on the list, Todd Phillips’ 2009 blockbuster comedy The Hangover comes in at number two, with the film being sensationally popular at the time of release, prompting two sequels in 2011 and 2013, respectively. Starring Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis, the film became the foundation for several careers that now thrive in contemporary cinema.
Take a look at the full list of the funniest movies of all time, according to science, below.
The funniest movies of all time:
- Life of Brian (Terry Jones, 1979)– 1.2 laughs per minute
- Shaun of the Dead (Edgar Wright, 2004) – 1.3 laughs per minute
- Bridesmaids (Paul Feig, 2011) – 1.4 laughs per minute
- American Pie (Paul Weitz, 1999) – 1.5 laughs per minute
- Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (Adam McKay, 2004) – 1.6 laughs per minute
- Borat (Larry Charles, 2006) – 1.7 laughs per minute
- Superbad (Greg Mottola, 2007) – 1.9 laughs per minute
- Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (David Zucker, 1988) – 2.3 laughs per minute
- The Hangover (Todd Phillips, 2009) – 2.4 laughs per minute
- Airplane! (David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, Jerry Zucker, 1980) – 3 laughs per minute
