The Best Paul Thomas Anderson Movies Ranked And Where to Watch them

If you're looking for the best Paul Thomas Anderson movies of all time then here is a definitive list. We rank every movie directed by Paul Thomas Anderson based on their popularity score from IMDB from best to worst. Click on the ‘see more’ button to find out where to watch them in Australia covering all streaming services. In April 2024 there are 9 films in this list.

List of the Best Movies Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson In Order of Popularity

  1. There Will Be Blood
  2. Magnolia
  3. Boogie Nights
  4. Phantom Thread
  5. Punch-Drunk Love
  6. The Master
  7. Hard Eight
  8. Licorice Pizza
  9. Inherent Vice

Stream the top 9 Movies directed by Paul Thomas Anderson

1. There Will Be Blood

Rated: R

8.2/10

Ruthless silver miner, turned oil prospector, Daniel Plainview, moves to oil-rich California. Using his son to project a trustworthy, family-man image, Plainview cons local landowners into selling him their valuable properties for a pittance. However, local preacher Eli Sunday suspects Plainview's motives and intentions, starting a slow-burning feud that threatens both their lives.

2. Magnolia

Rated: R

8.0/10

Coincidence, divine intervention and fate play their part on a day in the intertwined lives of a select group of southern Californians.

3. Boogie Nights

Rated: R

7.9/10

Set in 1977, back when sex was safe, pleasure was a business and business was booming, idealistic porn producer Jack Horner aspires to elevate his craft to an art form. Horner discovers Eddie Adams, a hot young talent working as a busboy in a nightclub, and welcomes him into the extended family of movie-makers, misfits and hangers-on that are always around. Adams' rise from nobody to a celebrity adult entertainer is meteoric, and soon the whole world seems to know his porn alter ego, "Dirk Diggler". Now, when disco and drugs are in vogue, fashion is in flux and the party never seems to stop, Adams' dreams of turning sex into stardom are about to collide with cold, hard reality.

4. Phantom Thread

Rated: R

7.4/10

In 1950s London, renowned British dressmaker Reynolds Woodcock comes across Alma, a young, strong-willed woman, who soon becomes ever present in his life as his muse and lover.

5. Punch-Drunk Love

Rated: R

7.3/10

A socially awkward and volatile small business owner meets the love of his life after being threatened by a gang of scammers.

6. The Master

Rated: R

7.1/10

Freddie, a volatile, heavy-drinking veteran who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, finds some semblance of a family when he stumbles onto the ship of Lancaster Dodd, the charismatic leader of a new "religion" he forms after World War II.

7. Hard Eight

Rated: R

7.1/10

A stranger mentors a young Reno gambler who weds a hooker and befriends a vulgar casino regular.

8. Licorice Pizza

Rated: R

7.1/10

The story of Alana Kane and Gary Valentine growing up, running around and going through the treacherous navigation of first love in the San Fernando Valley, 1973.

9. Inherent Vice

Rated: R

6.6/10

In Los Angeles at the turn of the 1970s, drug-fueled detective Larry "Doc" Sportello investigates the disappearance of an ex-girlfriend.