Top 10 Hitchcock Movies Ranked (According to Data)
Best Hitchock movies, you say?
Well, there are the best ones and then there are the most popular ones. And while box office data speaks, what speaks louder these days might just be search volume on Google.
I took a peak behind the scenes to see which of the many classic Hitchcock films you asked Google about the most. If was a bit difficult because so many of these movie titles have double meanings for words that have nothing to do with Hitchcock.
But here is my best shot at Hitchcock movies, ranked, using at least a teeny bit of science and data.
Alfred Hitchcock
Hitchcock Movies, Ranked (Using Search Data)
9. To Catch a Thief - 27,100 monthly searches
Cary Grant is so cute when he is trying to clear his name. Especially when Grace Kelly is by his side.
8. Vertigo - 40,500 monthly searches
Over 40k of you added the word “movie” to your query to make sure Google knew you weren’t talking about the disorder. And the only way to get real data on this one was to add it here too. Sadly, I’ve got to leave this tale of obsessive love in position number 8 since there is no way of knowing how many people were searching for Hitchocok when they typed in the word “vertigo.”
7. North by Northwest - 49,500 monthly searches
Cary Grant was at his finest as a secret agent in this film. And you have to love the entire Mount Rushmore sequence.
6. Rear Window - 74,000 monthly searches
So Rear Window might be the REAL number 5. And at 74,000 monthly searches with no competition from rap star biopics, it probably should be. But we’ve got to stick to the technicalities here. So it stays at number 6.
5. Notorious - 90,500 monthly searches
Now this one is a tough one to say for sure because there is a movie about the Notorious B.I.G. of the same name. Google gives the two films just about equal attention. But since it is commonly thought to be one of Hitchcock’s finest films, we will keep it right here in position 5.
4. The Birds - 90,500 monthly searches
Hitchcock’s tale of nature taking revenge on humans takes the number 4 spot.
3. Rebecca - 90,500 monthly searches
Rebecca is another tricky one, because there are SO many Rebeccas. But other than Rebecca Minkoff, all the results for this search have to do with the film or the book. Plus, doing a bit more digging on other variations of the keyword, I think there is enough reason to place it easily into the number 3 spot for the most popular Hitchcock movies.
2. Suspicion - 110,000 monthly searches
This one is interesting—it has climbed the rankings since last I checked. Maybe the pandemic has people feeling more suspicious about their partners?
And… drum roll…
Psycho - 246,000 monthly searches
Now you could argue that the word “psycho” isn’t always associate with the film itself. But Google seems to disagree, with the top results all related to the film, from Turner Classic Movies to IMDB and beyond. No matter which way you look at it, Pyscho is the movie that people searched for the most.
More Hitchcock coming your way…
In honor of Halloween, this month I am focusing on Hollywood tales of a spooky nature. Enjoy!
Sometimes when I am reading interesting stories from Old Hollywood, accounts vary tremendously. This one about a shrunken head is too good to ignore, regardless of the differences in details.
It seems that Clark Gable once gave Carole a shrunken head as a gift -- you see, they were both the ultimate pranksters. It was their thing -- to try to one up each other.
But this time, Clark had gone too far. Carole accused him of putting a curse on her, and threw the shrunken head out the window on the way to a party as they passed through Coldwater Canyon. This is where the story diverges. It is well-documented that they went back to pick up the head (I guess she was afraid of the fury of the shrunken head, perhaps because she was known to consult with psychics and mediums? I am sure they would advise her that was not good ju-ju).