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César Best Film Winners, Ranked

France's national film award since 1976 — every César for Best Film in our library, ranked by composite canon score rather than by ceremony year.

Award results are facts and are listed in full. The score chip is our composite canon score.

  1. 1
    The Pianist2002 · Roman Polanski · France / Germany / United Kingdom · musical, drama, biography
    3.86

    Palme d'Or winner 2002 · BAFTA Best Film winner 2003 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 2003 #1

  2. 2
    Amour2012 · Michael Haneke · France / Germany / Austria · drama
    3.39

    Palme d'Or winner 2012 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 2013 #1 · César Best Film winner 2013

  3. 3
    Anatomy of a Fall2023 · Justine Triet · France · thriller, crime, drama
    3.33

    Palme d'Or winner 2023 · César Best Film winner 2024 · Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 2023 #3

  4. 4
    Amélie2001 · Jean-Pierre Jeunet · France / Germany · comedy, romance, drama
    2.58

    César Best Film winner 2002 · TIFF People's Choice winner 2001 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 2001 #6

  5. 5
    Au revoir les enfants1987 · Louis Malle · France / Italy / Germany · drama, war
    2.43

    Venice Golden Lion winner 1987 · César Best Film winner 1988 · Vatican film list

  6. 6
    À Nos Amours1983 · Maurice Pialat · France · drama
    2.41

    Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 1983 #1 · César Best Film winner 1984 · Sarris's annual top 10 1984 #2

  7. 7
    The Artist2011 · Michel Hazanavicius · France / Belgium · comedy, romance, drama
    2.35

    Oscar Best Picture winner 2011 · BAFTA Best Film winner 2012 · César Best Film winner 2012

  8. 8
    A Prophet2009 · Jacques Audiard · France / Italy · drama, crime, thriller
    2.25

    Cannes Grand Prix winner 2009 · César Best Film winner 2010 · Film Comment year-end poll 2010 #5

  9. 9
    Tess1979 · Roman Polanski · United Kingdom / France · drama
    2.01

    César Best Film winner 1980 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 1980 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1980 #7

  10. 10
    Thérèse1986 · Alain Cavalier · France · drama, biography
    1.92

    César Best Film winner 1987 · Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 1986 #7 · Sarris's annual top 10 1986 #3

  11. 11
    Elle2016 · Paul Verhoeven · France / Germany / Belgium · thriller
    1.88

    César Best Film winner 2017 · Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 2016 #2 · Film Comment year-end poll 2016 #3

  12. 12
    Cyrano de Bergerac1990 · Jean-Paul Rappeneau · France · romance, drama, comedy
    1.86

    César Best Film winner 1991 · TIFF People's Choice winner 1990 · Empire 500 (2008) #143

  13. 13
    BPM (Beats per Minute)2017 · Robin Campillo · France · drama
    1.73

    Cannes Grand Prix winner 2017 · César Best Film winner 2018 · Film Comment year-end poll 2017 #19

  14. 14
    La Haine1995 · Mathieu Kassovitz · France · drama, crime
    1.73

    César Best Film winner 1996 · Letterboxd Top 250 #21 · Empire 500 (2008) #170

  15. 15
    Of Gods and Men2010 · Xavier Beauvois · France · drama, war
    1.70

    Cannes Grand Prix winner 2010 · César Best Film winner 2011 · Film Comment year-end poll 2011 #34

  16. 16
    Too Beautiful for You1989 · Bertrand Blier · France · comedy, drama
    1.69

    Cannes Grand Prix winner 1989 · César Best Film winner 1990 · Siskel's annual top 10 1990 #5

  17. 17
    Providence1977 · Alain Resnais · France / Switzerland · drama
    1.64

    César Best Film winner 1978 · Ebert's annual top 10 1977 #2 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1979 #10

  18. 18
    Emilia Pérez2024 · Jacques Audiard · France · musical, comedy, crime
    1.56

    César Best Film winner 2025 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 2024 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 2025 #6

  19. 19
    Lady Chatterley2006 · Pascale Ferran · France / United Kingdom / Belgium · drama
    1.51

    César Best Film winner 2007 · Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 2006 #4 · Film Comment year-end poll 2007 #7

  20. 20
    Wild Reeds1994 · André Téchiné · France · drama
    1.51

    César Best Film winner 1995 · Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 1994 #4 · NYT Best 1,000 Movies

  21. 21
    Same Old Song1997 · Alain Resnais · France / United Kingdom / Switzerland · comedy, romance, musical
    1.25

    César Best Film winner 1998 · Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 1997 #6 · Sarris's annual top 10 1999 #10

  22. 22
    The Barbarian Invasions2003 · Denys Arcand · Canada / France · drama, comedy
    1.25

    César Best Film winner 2004 · Sarris's annual top 10 2003 #1

  23. 23
    Smoking/No Smoking1993 · Alain Resnais · France / Italy · drama, comedy
    1.18

    César Best Film winner 1994 · Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 1993 #4

  24. 24
    Savage Nights1992 · Cyril Collard · France / Italy · biography, romance, drama
    1.14

    César Best Film winner 1993 · Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 1992 #5

  25. 25
    The Beat That My Heart Skipped2005 · Jacques Audiard · France · drama, crime, romance
    1.11

    César Best Film winner 2006 · Film Comment year-end poll 2005 #31 · Criterion Collection spine #1280

  26. 26
    Timbuktu2014 · Abderrahmane Sissako · France / Mauritania · drama
    1.11

    César Best Film winner 2015 · Film Comment year-end poll 2015 #6

  27. 27
    Les Misérables2019 · Ladj Ly · France · drama
    1.08

    César Best Film winner 2020 · Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 2019 #7

  28. 28
    The Last Metro1980 · François Truffaut · France · drama, romance, war
    1.08

    César Best Film winner 1981 · NYT Best 1,000 Movies · Criterion Collection spine #462

  29. 29
    Ridicule1996 · Patrice Leconte · France · comedy, drama
    1.00

    César Best Film winner 1997 · Sarris's annual top 10 1996 #3

  30. 30
    The Taste of Others2000 · Agnès Jaoui · France · comedy, drama
    0.93

    César Best Film winner 2001 · Sarris's annual top 10 2001 #6

  31. 31
    The Dreamlife of Angels1998 · Erick Zonca · France · drama
    0.92

    César Best Film winner 1999 · NYT Best 1,000 Movies

  32. 32
    Monsieur Klein1976 · Joseph Losey · France / Italy · drama, crime
    0.91

    César Best Film winner 1977 · Criterion Collection spine #1123

  33. 33
    The Secret of the Grain2007 · Abdellatif Kechiche · France · drama
    0.91

    César Best Film winner 2008 · Criterion Collection spine #527

  34. 34
    Le vieux fusil1975 · Robert Enrico · France / Germany · drama, war
    0.75

    César Best Film winner 1976

  35. 35
    L'argent des autres1978 · Christian de Chalonge · France · drama
    0.75

    César Best Film winner 1979

  36. 36
    Quest for Fire1981 · Jean-Jacques Annaud · France / Canada · fantasy, drama
    0.75

    César Best Film winner 1982

  37. 37
    La Balance1982 · Bob Swaim · France · crime, drama
    0.75

    César Best Film winner 1983

  38. 38
    Le Bal1983 · Ettore Scola · France / Italy / Algeria · musical, drama
    0.75

    César Best Film winner 1984

  39. 39
    My New Partner1984 · Claude Zidi · France · comedy, crime
    0.75

    César Best Film winner 1985

  40. 40
    Three Men and a Cradle1985 · Coline Serreau · France · comedy
    0.75

    César Best Film winner 1986

  41. 41
    Camille Claudel1988 · Bruno Nuytten · France · drama, romance, biography
    0.75

    César Best Film winner 1989

  42. 42
    Other People's Money1991 · Norman Jewison · United States · comedy, romance, drama
    0.75

    César Best Film winner 1979

  43. 43
    Tous les Matins du Monde1991 · Alain Corneau · France · drama, romance, musical
    0.75

    César Best Film winner 1992

  44. 44
    Venus Beauty Institute1999 · Tonie Marshall · France · comedy, romance, drama
    0.75

    César Best Film winner 2000

  45. 45
    Games of Love and Chance2003 · Abdellatif Kechiche · France · drama
    0.75

    César Best Film winner 2005

  46. 46
    Séraphine2008 · Martin Provost · France / Belgium · biography, drama
    0.75

    César Best Film winner 2009

  47. 47
    Me, Myself and Mum2013 · Guillaume Gallienne · France / Belgium · comedy
    0.75

    César Best Film winner 2014

  48. 48
    Fatima2014 · Philippe Faucon · France / Canada · drama
    0.75

    César Best Film winner 2016

  49. 49
    Custody2017 · Xavier Legrand · France · drama
    0.75

    César Best Film winner 2019

  50. 50
    Bye Bye Morons2020 · Albert Dupontel · France · comedy, drama
    0.75

    César Best Film winner 2021

  51. 51
    Lost Illusions2021 · Xavier Giannoli · France · drama
    0.75

    César Best Film winner 2022

  52. 52
    The Night of the 12th2022 · Dominik Moll · France / Belgium · thriller
    0.75

    César Best Film winner 2023

  53. 53
    The Ties That Bind Us2024 · Carine Tardieu · France / Belgium
    0.75

    César Best Film winner 2026

A national academy's best picture

France's film establishment votes its own best picture every year. Since 1976 the Académie des Arts et Techniques du Cinéma — founded by Georges Cravenne — has given the César for Best Film to a single feature, the country's counterpart to the Oscar and the nearest thing its industry has to an annual self-portrait.

The academy celebrates French cinema, yet it does not confine itself to it — it will crown an international production too, and the highest-ranked winner on our list is exactly such a case. Its taste leans grave and literary — occupation and childhood (Au revoir les enfants, 1987), aging and dying — but it can still reward the frankly charming, as when Jean-Pierre Jeunet's Amélie (2001) carried the prize. A few directors recur: Jacques Audiard and Alain Resnais each account for three winners here, Roman Polanski for two.

How our list ranks them

The order is ours, not the academy's — every Best Film winner in the library, re-sorted by composite canon score instead of by ceremony year, and the two verdicts mostly disagree.

Polanski's The Pianist (2002) tops the César winners — score 3.86, #66 in the whole library — a standing no other winner matches. Behind it sits a cluster of recent, widely decorated films: Michael Haneke's Amour (2012) and Justine Triet's Anatomy of a Fall (2023) score within a narrow band just below, with Michel Hazanavicius's silent pastiche The Artist (2011) a step further back.

Then the numbers fall away. Most winners land deep in the library — Audiard's prison saga A Prophet (2009), the runaway Amélie — and the long tail holds films the wider canon has quietly set aside. That drop is the honest reading of any national prize: it records what one country's academy loved in a given year, which is not always what the rest of film history chose to keep.