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Soundtracks That Are Better Than Their Movies

Soundtracks That Are Better Than Their Movies

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Soundtracks can make or break a movie. Even if you don’t notice the music and sound in the background of the film, it’s important. Try and watch a clip of a film or TV show missing a soundtrack. It’s eerie and seems off. Music can really build a moment. It adds suspense and gives viewers and the audience hints at what’s to come, without just visual cues.

Some movies use soundtracks better than others. Sometimes, the soundtracks themselves are even better than the movie. There are plenty of films where viewers and fans remember the music more than the plot or characters. A great example of this is “Alvin and the Chipmunks.”

Truthfully, although the movie is cute and okay, it isn’t anything groundbreaking. But the soundtrack and songs used are hard to forget, especially with their squeaking voices. This film’s soundtrack stayed on the Billboard 200 list for five weeks. To compare to the audience’s love for this film, “Alvin and the Chipmunks” scored a 64% audience score and a 29% on the Tomatometer.

An honorable mention not written in this list is the soundtrack used in “Guardians of the Galaxy.” This fun film is a favorite for many Marvel fans, but it wouldn’t be so iconic without the soundtrack. Songs played in this movie include “Hooked On a Feeling,” “Escape (The Piña Colada Song)” and “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.”

Are you ready to discover other incredible soundtracks that are better than their movies? Follow along to learn more.

To determine the soundtracks that are better than their movie, 24/7 Tempo reviewed data on IMDb ratings and historical Billboard 200 chart performance. Soundtrack albums were ranked based on the difference between their Billboard 200 chart performance and the IMDb user rating for their movie. Billboard 200 chart performance was measured using an inverse point system wherein a week at No. 1 is worth 200 points, a week at No. 2 is worth 199 points, and so on, up to a week at No. 200, worth one point.

Billboard 200 chart performance and IMDb user rating were both normalized on a scale of 0 to 1 and subtracted from one another. Only soundtracks that spent at least 20 weeks on the Billboard 200 in movies with IMDb user ratings below 6.5/10 were included. Chart data is current through March 16, 2024. (Check out the 18 of the most memorable TV theme songs ever.)

Here is the list of films with soundtracks that are better than their movie. 

40. The Players Club (1998)

Source: Courtesy of New Line Cinema
  • Peak position on Billboard 200: No. 10 (for 1 week)
  • Total time on Billboard 200: 25 weeks
  • IMDb user rating: 5.8/10 (7,285 votes)

39. Honeymoon in Vegas (1992)

Source: Courtesy of Columbia Pictures
  • Peak position on Billboard 200: No. 18 (for 1 week)
  • Total time on Billboard 200: 38 weeks
  • IMDb user rating: 5.9/10 (19,047 votes)

38. Wild in the Streets (1968)

Source: Courtesy of American International Pictures (AIP)
  • Peak position on Billboard 200: No. 12 (for 2 weeks)
  • Total time on Billboard 200: 32 weeks
  • IMDb user rating: 5.9/10 (2,194 votes)

37. Breakin’ (1984)

Source: Courtesy of MGM/UA Entertainment Company
  • Peak position on Billboard 200: No. 8 (for 2 weeks)
  • Total time on Billboard 200: 23 weeks
  • IMDb user rating: 5.8/10 (7,190 votes)

36. The Nutty Professor (1996)

Source: Courtesy of Universal Pictures
  • Peak position on Billboard 200: No. 8 (for 1 week)
  • Total time on Billboard 200: 21 weeks
  • IMDb user rating: 5.7/10 (123,227 votes)

35. Jonathan Livingston Seagull (1973)

Source: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures
  • Peak position on Billboard 200: No. 2 (for 1 week)
  • Total time on Billboard 200: 34 weeks
  • IMDb user rating: 5.8/10 (2,314 votes)

34. Runaway Bride (1999)

Source: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures
  • Peak position on Billboard 200: No. 4 (for 1 week)
  • Total time on Billboard 200: 33 weeks
  • IMDb user rating: 5.6/10 (104,104 votes)

33. Booty Call (1997)

Source: Courtesy of Columbia Pictures
  • Peak position on Billboard 200: No. 24 (for 1 week)
  • Total time on Billboard 200: 28 weeks
  • IMDb user rating: 5.5/10 (9,495 votes)

32. Get Rich or Die Tryin’ (2005)

Source: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures
  • Peak position on Billboard 200: No. 2 (for 1 week)
  • Total time on Billboard 200: 30 weeks
  • IMDb user rating: 5.5/10 (49,972 votes)

31. Lost Horizon (1973)

Source: Courtesy of Columbia Pictures
  • Peak position on Billboard 200: No. 58 (for 1 week)
  • Total time on Billboard 200: 21 weeks
  • IMDb user rating: 5.2/10 (2,837 votes)

30. Charlie’s Angels (2000)

Source: Courtesy of Columbia Pictures
  • Peak position on Billboard 200: No. 7 (for 1 week)
  • Total time on Billboard 200: 36 weeks
  • IMDb user rating: 5.6/10 (195,530 votes)

29. Godzilla (1998)

Source: Courtesy of TriStar Pictures
  • Peak position on Billboard 200: No. 2 (for 1 week)
  • Total time on Billboard 200: 26 weeks
  • IMDb user rating: 5.4/10 (202,314 votes)

28. The Woman in Red (1984)

Source: Courtesy of Orion Pictures
  • Peak position on Billboard 200: No. 4 (for 3 weeks)
  • Total time on Billboard 200: 40 weeks
  • IMDb user rating: 5.9/10 (17,205 votes)

27. Mortal Kombat (1995)

Source: Courtesy of New Line Cinema
  • Peak position on Billboard 200: No. 10 (for 1 week)
  • Total time on Billboard 200: 46 weeks
  • IMDb user rating: 5.8/10 (124,191 votes)

26. Daredevil (2003)

Source: Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox
  • Peak position on Billboard 200: No. 9 (for 1 week)
  • Total time on Billboard 200: 24 weeks
  • IMDb user rating: 5.3/10 (228,441 votes)

25. The Preacher’s Wife (1996)

Source: Courtesy of Buena Vista Pictures Distribution
  • Peak position on Billboard 200: No. 3 (for 2 weeks)
  • Total time on Billboard 200: 42 weeks
  • IMDb user rating: 5.7/10 (13,653 votes)

24. Spawn (1997)

Source: Courtesy of New Line Cinema / imdb.com
  • Peak position on Billboard 200: No. 7 (for 1 week)
  • Total time on Billboard 200: 25 weeks
  • IMDb user rating: 5.2/10 (72,040 votes)

23. Thank God It’s Friday (1978)

Source: Courtesy of Columbia Pictures
  • Peak position on Billboard 200: No. 10 (for 3 weeks)
  • Total time on Billboard 200: 27 weeks
  • IMDb user rating: 5.4/10 (3,097 votes)

22. Sliver (1993)

Source: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures
  • Peak position on Billboard 200: No. 23 (for 2 weeks)
  • Total time on Billboard 200: 23 weeks
  • IMDb user rating: 5.1/10 (33,806 votes)

21. The Dukes of Hazzard (2005)

Source: Courtesy of Warner Bros.
  • Peak position on Billboard 200: No. 26 (for 1 week)
  • Total time on Billboard 200: 28 weeks
  • IMDb user rating: 5.1/10 (81,681 votes)

20. Casino Royale (1967)

Source: Courtesy of Columbia Pictures
  • Peak position on Billboard 200: No. 22 (for 2 weeks)
  • Total time on Billboard 200: 21 weeks
  • IMDb user rating: 5.0/10 (32,293 votes)

19. Batman Forever (1995)

Batman Forever (1995) | Jim Carrey and Tommy Lee Jones in Batman Forever (1995)
Source: Courtesy of Warner Bros.

N/A

  • Peak position on Billboard 200: No. 5 (for 3 weeks)
  • Total time on Billboard 200: 34 weeks
  • IMDb user rating: 5.4/10 (265,555 votes)

18. Cocktail (1988)

Source: Courtesy of Buena Vista Pictures Distribution
  • Peak position on Billboard 200: No. 2 (for 1 week)
  • Total time on Billboard 200: 61 weeks
  • IMDb user rating: 5.9/10 (91,383 votes)

17. The Lizzie McGuire Movie (2003)

Source: Courtesy of Buena Vista Pictures Distribution
  • Peak position on Billboard 200: No. 6 (for 1 week)
  • Total time on Billboard 200: 48 weeks
  • IMDb user rating: 5.5/10 (41,897 votes)

16. Xanadu (1980)
Source: Courtesy of Universal Pictures

  • Peak position on Billboard 200: No. 4 (for 3 weeks)
  • Total time on Billboard 200: 36 weeks
  • IMDb user rating: 5.3/10 (15,244 votes)

15. Endless Love (1981)

Source: Courtesy of Universal Pictures
  • Peak position on Billboard 200: No. 9 (for 2 weeks)
  • Total time on Billboard 200: 20 weeks
  • IMDb user rating: 4.9/10 (9,500 votes)

14. Annie (2014)

Annie (2014) | Annie (2014)
Source: Courtesy of Sony Pictures Releasing

N/A

  • Peak position on Billboard 200: No. 12 (for 1 week)
  • Total time on Billboard 200: 49 weeks
  • IMDb user rating: 5.3/10 (40,331 votes)

13. Suicide Squad (2016)

Source: Courtesy of Warner Bros.
  • Peak position on Billboard 200: No. 1 (for 2 weeks)
  • Total time on Billboard 200: 72 weeks
  • IMDb user rating: 5.9/10 (719,574 votes)

12. Boomerang (1992)

Source: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures
  • Peak position on Billboard 200: No. 4 (for 5 weeks)
  • Total time on Billboard 200: 54 weeks
  • IMDb user rating: 5.6/10 (31,225 votes)

11. High School Musical 3: Senior Year (2008)

Source: Courtesy of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
  • Peak position on Billboard 200: No. 2 (for 1 week)
  • Total time on Billboard 200: 37 weeks
  • IMDb user rating: 5.0/10 (67,178 votes)

10. Who’s That Girl (1987)

Source: Courtesy of Warner Bros.
  • Peak position on Billboard 200: No. 7 (for 2 weeks)
  • Total time on Billboard 200: 28 weeks
  • IMDb user rating: 4.8/10 (11,011 votes)

9. Fifty Shades Darker (2017)

Fifty Shades Darker (2017) | Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan in Fifty Shades Darker (2017)
Source: Courtesy of Universal Pictures

N/A

  • Peak position on Billboard 200: No. 1 (for 1 week)
  • Total time on Billboard 200: 29 weeks
  • IMDb user rating: 4.6/10 (110,815 votes)

8. The Jazz Singer (1980)

Neil Diamond
Source: Keystone / Hulton Archive via Getty Images
  • Peak position on Billboard 200: No. 3 (for 7 weeks)
  • Total time on Billboard 200: 115 weeks
  • IMDb user rating: 5.9/10 (4,979 votes)

7. Alvin and the Chipmunks (2007)

Source: Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox
  • Peak position on Billboard 200: No. 5 (for 1 week)
  • Total time on Billboard 200: 58 weeks
  • IMDb user rating: 5.2/10 (94,122 votes)

6. Graffiti Bridge (1990)

Source: Courtesy of Warner Bros.
  • Peak position on Billboard 200: No. 6 (for 2 weeks)
  • Total time on Billboard 200: 24 weeks
  • IMDb user rating: 4.4/10 (2,245 votes)

5. Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel (2009)

Source: Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox
  • Peak position on Billboard 200: No. 6 (for 1 week)
  • Total time on Billboard 200: 33 weeks
  • IMDb user rating: 4.5/10 (54,096 votes)

4. Batman & Robin (1997)

Batman & Robin (1997) | Jesse Ventura and Ralf Moeller in Batman & Robin (1997)
Source: Courtesy of Warner Bros.

N/A

  • Peak position on Billboard 200: No. 5 (for 1 week)
  • Total time on Billboard 200: 22 weeks
  • IMDb user rating: 3.8/10 (267,109 votes)

3. Coyote Ugly (2000)

Source: Courtesy of Buena Vista Pictures
  • Peak position on Billboard 200: No. 10 (for 2 weeks)
  • Total time on Billboard 200: 104 weeks
  • IMDb user rating: 5.7/10 (120,509 votes)

2. Twilight (2008)

Source: Courtesy of Summit Distribution
  • Peak position on Billboard 200: No. 1 (for 1 week)
  • Total time on Billboard 200: 95 weeks
  • IMDb user rating: 5.3/10 (485,404 votes)

1. Fifty Shades of Grey (2015)

Source: Courtesy of Universal Pictures
  • Peak position on Billboard 200: No. 2 (for 2 weeks)
  • Total time on Billboard 200: 54 weeks
  • IMDb user rating: 4.2/10 (334,499 votes)
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