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Data Analysis of Tom Hanks's filmography

Dan Gardner · RunPee Founder
 ·  17 min read
Infographic Movie Data

Four of Tom Hanks's roles, including Forrest Gump, Saving Private Ryan and Cast Away

Tom Hanks has had an illustrious career, and it's still going strong. He has starred in, by my count, 59 movies over a 40-year career (1984-2024). That's about 1.5 movies/year. But as much as he's done, a few things stick out. For instance, he is the definition of A-list movie-star, yet he's never been in a superhero movie. Let's take a look at Tom's entire career and break down the details.

Scatter Plot of Movie Ratings

What stands out for me is the incredible run of success Tom Hanks had starting in 1992 with A League of their Own. Hanks went on an astounding streak of fifteen consecutive movies, up to The Terminal in 2004, that are all above the (RottenTomatoes Audience) trendline. Included in this run were Forrest Gump, Toy Story, Saving Private Ryan, and The Green Mile. I can't think of any other actor or actress that had a run of success as that.

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If you look at the RottenTomatoes Audience scores, you can also see that for the first 16 years of his career, he was in fourteen movies and only four of them reached the trendline. Splash and The Money Pit straddle the trendline, while Big and The Burbs climb just a little above it. Maybe there is something to be said for the 10,000 hours of training before becoming an expert at something. :-)

102030405060708090100198519901995200020052010201520202025Bachelor Party (1984): IMDb 6.3, RT Critics 54%, RT Audience 56%Splash (1984): IMDb 6.3, RT Critics 91%, RT Audience 63%The Man with One Red Shoe (1985): IMDb 5.7, RT Critics 47%, RT Audience 40%Volunteers (1985): IMDb 5.5, RT Critics 58%, RT Audience 38%Every Time We Say Goodbye (1986): IMDb 5.8, RT Critics 33%, RT Audience 50%Nothing in Common (1986): IMDb 5.9, RT Critics 57%, RT Audience 45%The Money Pit (1986): IMDb 6.4, RT Critics 47%, RT Audience 64%Dragnet (1987): IMDb 6.0, RT Critics 50%, RT Audience 52%Big (1988): IMDb 7.3, RT Critics 97%, RT Audience 82%Punchline (1988): IMDb 5.9, RT Critics 50%, RT Audience 47%The 'Burbs (1989): IMDb 6.8, RT Critics 53%, RT Audience 71%Turner & Hooch (1989): IMDb 6.2, RT Critics 52%, RT Audience 51%Joe Versus the Volcano (1990): IMDb 5.9, RT Critics 62%, RT Audience 54%The Bonfire of the Vanities (1990): IMDb 5.6, RT Critics 16%, RT Audience 25%A League of Their Own (1992): IMDb 7.3, RT Critics 81%, RT Audience 84%Philadelphia (1993): IMDb 7.7, RT Critics 81%, RT Audience 89%Sleepless in Seattle (1993): IMDb 6.8, RT Critics 75%, RT Audience 75%Forrest Gump (1994): IMDb 8.8, RT Critics 71%, RT Audience 95%Apollo 13 (1995): IMDb 7.7, RT Critics 96%, RT Audience 87%Toy Story (1995): IMDb 8.3, RT Critics 100%, RT Audience 92%That Thing You Do! (1996): IMDb 7.0, RT Critics 93%, RT Audience 78%Saving Private Ryan (1998): IMDb 8.6, RT Critics 94%, RT Audience 95%You've Got Mail (1998): IMDb 6.7, RT Critics 70%, RT Audience 73%The Green Mile (1999): IMDb 8.6, RT Critics 79%, RT Audience 94%Toy Story 2 (1999): IMDb 7.9, RT Critics 100%, RT Audience 86%Cast Away (2000): IMDb 7.8, RT Critics 89%, RT Audience 84%Catch Me If You Can (2002): IMDb 8.1, RT Critics 96%, RT Audience 89%Road to Perdition (2002): IMDb 7.7, RT Critics 81%, RT Audience 86%The Ladykillers (2004): IMDb 6.2, RT Critics 54%, RT Audience 48%The Polar Express (2004): IMDb 6.6, RT Critics 56%, RT Audience 63%The Terminal (2004): IMDb 7.4, RT Critics 61%, RT Audience 74%Cars (2006): IMDb 7.2, RT Critics 74%, RT Audience 79%The Da Vinci Code (2006): IMDb 6.6, RT Critics 26%, RT Audience 57%Charlie Wilson's War (2007): IMDb 7.0, RT Critics 82%, RT Audience 65%The Great Buck Howard (2008): IMDb 6.4, RT Critics 71%, RT Audience 53%Angels & Demons (2009): IMDb 6.7, RT Critics 37%, RT Audience 57%Toy Story 3 (2010): IMDb 8.3, RT Critics 98%, RT Audience 90%Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (2011): IMDb 6.9, RT Critics 45%, RT Audience 61%Larry Crowne (2011): IMDb 6.1, RT Critics 37%, RT Audience 33%Cloud Atlas (2012): IMDb 7.4, RT Critics 66%, RT Audience 66%Captain Phillips (2013): IMDb 7.8, RT Critics 93%, RT Audience 89%Saving Mr. Banks (2013): IMDb 7.5, RT Critics 79%, RT Audience 81%Bridge of Spies (2015): IMDb 7.6, RT Critics 91%, RT Audience 87%Ithaca (2015): IMDb 5.5, RT Critics 22%, RT Audience 33%A Hologram for the King (2016): IMDb 6.1, RT Critics 71%, RT Audience 43%Inferno (2016): IMDb 6.2, RT Critics 23%, RT Audience 35%Sully (2016): IMDb 7.4, RT Critics 85%, RT Audience 84%The Circle (2017): IMDb 5.4, RT Critics 15%, RT Audience 22%The Post (2017): IMDb 7.2, RT Critics 88%, RT Audience 72%A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (2019): IMDb 7.2, RT Critics 95%, RT Audience 92%Toy Story 4 (2019): IMDb 7.6, RT Critics 97%, RT Audience 94%Greyhound (2020): IMDb 7.0, RT Critics 79%, RT Audience 76%News of the World (2020): IMDb 6.8, RT Critics 88%, RT Audience 89%Finch (2021): IMDb 6.9, RT Critics 74%, RT Audience 65%A Man Called Otto (2022): IMDb 7.5, RT Critics 69%, RT Audience 97%Elvis (2022): IMDb 7.3, RT Critics 77%, RT Audience 94%Pinocchio (2022): IMDb 5.1, RT Critics 27%, RT Audience 28%Asteroid City (2023): IMDb 6.5, RT Critics 74%, RT Audience 62%Here (2024): IMDb 6.3, RT Critics 35%, RT Audience 59%The Phoenician Scheme (2025): IMDb 6.6, RT Critics 77%, RT Audience 70%Toy Story 5 (2026): RT Critics 92%, RT Audience 94%

Trend: +0.07 IMDb points per decade

Show the data
MovieYearIMDbRT CriticsRT Audience
Bachelor Party19846.354%56%
Splash19846.391%63%
The Man with One Red Shoe19855.747%40%
Volunteers19855.558%38%
Every Time We Say Goodbye19865.833%50%
Nothing in Common19865.957%45%
The Money Pit19866.447%64%
Dragnet19876.050%52%
Big19887.397%82%
Punchline19885.950%47%
The 'Burbs19896.853%71%
Turner & Hooch19896.252%51%
Joe Versus the Volcano19905.962%54%
The Bonfire of the Vanities19905.616%25%
A League of Their Own19927.381%84%
Philadelphia19937.781%89%
Sleepless in Seattle19936.875%75%
Forrest Gump19948.871%95%
Apollo 1319957.796%87%
Toy Story19958.3100%92%
That Thing You Do!19967.093%78%
Saving Private Ryan19988.694%95%
You've Got Mail19986.770%73%
The Green Mile19998.679%94%
Toy Story 219997.9100%86%
Cast Away20007.889%84%
Catch Me If You Can20028.196%89%
Road to Perdition20027.781%86%
The Ladykillers20046.254%48%
The Polar Express20046.656%63%
The Terminal20047.461%74%
Cars20067.274%79%
The Da Vinci Code20066.626%57%
Charlie Wilson's War20077.082%65%
The Great Buck Howard20086.471%53%
Angels & Demons20096.737%57%
Toy Story 320108.398%90%
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close20116.945%61%
Larry Crowne20116.137%33%
Cloud Atlas20127.466%66%
Captain Phillips20137.893%89%
Saving Mr. Banks20137.579%81%
Bridge of Spies20157.691%87%
Ithaca20155.522%33%
A Hologram for the King20166.171%43%
Inferno20166.223%35%
Sully20167.485%84%
The Circle20175.415%22%
The Post20177.288%72%
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood20197.295%92%
Toy Story 420197.697%94%
Greyhound20207.079%76%
News of the World20206.888%89%
Finch20216.974%65%
A Man Called Otto20227.569%97%
Elvis20227.377%94%
Pinocchio20225.127%28%
Asteroid City20236.574%62%
Here20246.335%59%
The Phoenician Scheme20256.677%70%
Toy Story 52026—92%94%

All Movies with Ratings

You can explore Tom Hankses entire filmography below. Click on the column headers to resort the table and see what his best and worst movies are.

Toy Story 5202692%94%
The Phoenician Scheme20256.677%70%
Here20246.335%59%
Asteroid City20236.574%62%
A Man Called Otto20227.569%97%
Elvis20227.377%94%
Pinocchio20225.127%28%
Finch20216.974%65%
Greyhound20207.079%76%
News of the World20206.888%89%
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood20197.295%92%
Toy Story 420197.697%94%
The Circle20175.415%22%
The Post20177.288%72%
A Hologram for the King20166.171%43%
Inferno20166.223%35%
Sully20167.485%84%
Bridge of Spies20157.691%87%
Ithaca20155.522%33%
Captain Phillips20137.893%89%
Saving Mr. Banks20137.579%81%
Cloud Atlas20127.466%66%
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close20116.945%61%
Larry Crowne20116.137%33%
Toy Story 320108.398%90%
Angels & Demons20096.737%57%
The Great Buck Howard20086.471%53%
Charlie Wilson's War20077.082%65%
Cars20067.274%79%
The Da Vinci Code20066.626%57%
The Ladykillers20046.254%48%
The Polar Express20046.656%63%
The Terminal20047.461%74%
Catch Me If You Can20028.196%89%
Road to Perdition20027.781%86%
Cast Away20007.889%84%
The Green Mile19998.679%94%
Toy Story 219997.9100%86%
Saving Private Ryan19988.694%95%
You've Got Mail19986.770%73%
That Thing You Do!19967.093%78%
Apollo 1319957.796%87%
Toy Story19958.3100%92%
Forrest Gump19948.871%95%
Philadelphia19937.781%89%
Sleepless in Seattle19936.875%75%
A League of Their Own19927.381%84%
Joe Versus the Volcano19905.962%54%
The Bonfire of the Vanities19905.616%25%
The 'Burbs19896.853%71%
Turner & Hooch19896.252%51%
Big19887.397%82%
Punchline19885.950%47%
Dragnet19876.050%52%
Every Time We Say Goodbye19865.833%50%
Nothing in Common19865.957%45%
The Money Pit19866.447%64%
The Man with One Red Shoe19855.747%40%
Volunteers19855.558%38%
Bachelor Party19846.354%56%
Splash19846.391%63%

Character Types

I mentioned that Tom Hanks has never played a superhero, or been in a superhero movie at all. So what kind of characters does Tom typically play? Below is a breakdown of the role types into groups.

Military/Law Enforcement (11)
Captain Miller (Saving Private Ryan) - WWII Captain Captain Krause (Greyhound) - Naval Commander Captain Phillips (Captain Phillips) - Merchant Marine Paul Edgecomb (Green Mile) - Prison guard Carl Hanratty (Catch Me) - FBI Agent Det. Turner (Turner & Hooch) - Police detective Streebek (Dragnet) - Police detective Captain Kidd (News of the World) - Former Confederate Captain Charlie Wilson (Charlie Wilson's War) - Congressman involved in military operations Jim Lovell (Apollo 13) - Astronaut/Naval aviator Sully Sullenberger (Sully) - Former military pilot

Professionals/Academics (8)
Robert Langdon (Da Vinci Code, Angels & Demons, Inferno) - Professor Ben Bradlee (The Post) - Newspaper editor Andrew Beckett (Philadelphia) - Lawyer Sherman McCoy (Bonfire Vanities) - Banker Walt Disney (Saving Mr. Banks) - Studio executive Fred Rogers (Beautiful Day) - TV host Steven Gold (Punchline) - Comedian David Basner (Nothing in Common) - Advertising executive

Caregivers/Mentors (6)
Geppetto (Pinocchio) - Craftsman/father Finch - Robot builder/dog caretaker Woody (Toy Story series) - Leader/protector of toys Otto (Man Called Otto) - Helping neighbors Jimmy Dugan (League of Their Own) - Baseball coach Josh (Big) - Adult version of child

Ordinary People in Extraordinary Situations (7)
Chuck Noland (Cast Away) - Stranded survivor Viktor Navorski (Terminal) - Stranded traveler Forrest Gump - Accidental historical figure Joe (Joe vs Volcano) - Man who thinks he's dying Allen Bauer (Splash) - Man who falls for a mermaid Ray Peterson (The 'Burbs) - Suburban dad investigating neighbors Walter Fielding (Money Pit) - Homeowner dealing with house disasters

Historical Figures (6)
Walt Disney Fred Rogers Jim Lovell Sully Sullenberger Charlie Wilson Colonel Parker

Antagonists/Morally gray (3)
Colonel Parker (Elvis) - Exploitative manager Bailey (The Circle) - Manipulative tech CEO Professor Dorr (The Ladykillers) - Criminal mastermind

Widower (3) A Man Called Otto (Otto) Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close Sleepless in Seattle

Analysis

What stands out to me is how infrequently Tom plays an unlikable character. There are only three movies where he played a character that was less than flattering. But, we could expand this to if we consider movies such as A Man Called Otto where he is unliked by his neighbors, until the character undergoes a catharsis and becomes much beloved. I think we have to stick with how the character is perceived at the end of the story to make judgment.

Awards & Recognition

Tom Hanks Awards Highlights

  • 2 Academy Award wins (from 6 nominations)
  • Back-to-back Oscar wins: Philadelphia (1993) & Forrest Gump (1994)
  • 7 Emmy Awards as producer
  • 2 Golden Globe wins (from 9 nominations)
  • Films have garnered over 150 Oscar nominations combined

Oscar Nominations

YearFilmCategoryResult
1989BigBest ActorNominated
1994PhiladelphiaBest ActorWON
1995Forrest GumpBest ActorWON
1999Saving Private RyanBest ActorNominated
2001Cast AwayBest ActorNominated
2020A Beautiful Day in the NeighborhoodBest Supporting ActorNominated

Most Decorated Films

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Forrest Gump (1994)

13 nominations, 6 wins including:

  • Best Picture ✅
  • Best Director ✅
  • Best Actor ✅
  • Best Adapted Screenplay ✅
  • Best Film Editing ✅
  • Best Visual Effects ✅

Saving Private Ryan (1998)

11 nominations, 5 wins including:

  • Best Director ✅
  • Best Cinematography ✅
  • Best Sound ✅
  • Best Film Editing ✅
  • Best Sound Effects Editing ✅
  • Best Picture ❌(winner: Shakespeare in Love. Seriously???)
  • Best Actor (Hanks) ❌

Cast Away (2000)

2 nominations:

  • Best Actor (Hanks) ❌
  • Best Sound ❌

The Green Mile (1999)

4 nominations:

  • Best Picture ❌(winner: American Beauty)
  • Best Supporting Actor (Michael Clarke Duncan) ❌
  • Best Adapted Screenplay ❌
  • Best Sound ❌

Toy Story Series

Toy Story (1995):

  • Special Achievement Academy Award ✅
  • First animated feature nominated for Best Original Screenplay ❌
  • Best Original Song ("You've Got a Friend in Me") ❌
  • Best Original Musical or Comedy Score ❌

Toy Story 3 (2010):

  • Best Picture Nomination (rare for animated film) ❌
  • Best Animated Feature ✅
  • Best Sound Editing ❌
  • Best Original Song ❌
  • Best Adapted Screenplay ❌

Toy Story 4 (2019):

  • Best Animated Feature ✅
  • Best Original Song ❌

Box Office Analysis

Domestic

It's ironic that Tom Hankses domestic box-office pull is trending down, while his movie ratings are trending up. (See above.) However, there are a few things to consider. For starters, Tom Hanks never went for the blockbuster roles. He happened to make some fantastically popular movies, but they were never the sort of movie that you would expect to see compete with the Marvel Cinematic Universe or such. To this day, the only franchise Tom Hanks has been involved with is Toy Story. He's never played the same character twice, with the exception of Robert Langdon from The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons.

Worldwide

Tom Hankses worldwide results are trending up, just slightly. Much of that is due to the outsized popularity of Toy Story 3/4, and The Da Vinci Code. The Da Vinci Code represents the largest difference between domestic and international box office earnings.

$0$200M$400M$600M$800M$1B$1.2B1985199019952000200620152022Bachelor Party (1984): Worldwide $98M, Domestic $98MSplash (1984): Worldwide $211M, Domestic $156MThe Man with One Red Shoe (1985): Worldwide $36M, Domestic $36MVolunteers (1985): Worldwide $45M, Domestic $45MNothing in Common (1986): Worldwide $67M, Domestic $67MThe Money Pit (1986): Worldwide $97M, Domestic $97MBig (1988): Worldwide $303M, Domestic $251MTurner & Hooch (1989): Worldwide $157M, Domestic $157MJoe Versus the Volcano (1990): Worldwide $85M, Domestic $85MA League of Their Own (1992): Worldwide $268M, Domestic $242MPhiladelphia (1993): Worldwide $407M, Domestic $154MSleepless in Seattle (1993): Worldwide $428M, Domestic $251MForrest Gump (1994): Worldwide $1.32B, Domestic $642MApollo 13 (1995): Worldwide $655M, Domestic $402MToy Story (1995): Worldwide $671M, Domestic $373MSaving Private Ryan (1998): Worldwide $989M, Domestic $482MThe Green Mile (1999): Worldwide $558M, Domestic $286MToy Story 2 (1999): Worldwide $999M, Domestic $497MCast Away (2000): Worldwide $774M, Domestic $429MCatch Me If You Can (2002): Worldwide $682M, Domestic $352MRoad to Perdition (2002): Worldwide $319M, Domestic $183MThe Polar Express (2004): Worldwide $477M, Domestic $194MThe Terminal (2004): Worldwide $394M, Domestic $178MThe Da Vinci Code (2006): Worldwide $1.07B, Domestic $292MCharlie Wilson's War (2007): Worldwide $175M, Domestic $89MAngels & Demons (2009): Worldwide $625M, Domestic $183MToy Story 3 (2010): Worldwide $1.2B, Domestic $515MLarry Crowne (2011): Worldwide $102M, Domestic $52MCloud Atlas (2012): Worldwide $130M, Domestic $27MCaptain Phillips (2013): Worldwide $351M, Domestic $125MBridge of Spies (2015): Worldwide $165M, Domestic $72MInferno (2016): Worldwide $220M, Domestic $34MSully (2016): Worldwide $240M, Domestic $125MThe Post (2017): Worldwide $179M, Domestic $82MToy Story 4 (2019): Worldwide $1.07B, Domestic $434MElvis (2022): Worldwide $287M, Domestic $151MAsteroid City (2023): Worldwide $54M, Domestic $28MHere (2024): Worldwide $16M, Domestic $12.2MThe Phoenician Scheme (2025): Worldwide $40.6M, Domestic $19.6MToy Story 5 (2026): Worldwide $1.15B, Domestic $480.3M
Show the data
MovieYearWorldwideDomestic
Bachelor Party1984$98M$98M
Splash1984$211M$156M
The Man with One Red Shoe1985$36M$36M
Volunteers1985$45M$45M
Nothing in Common1986$67M$67M
The Money Pit1986$97M$97M
Big1988$303M$251M
Turner & Hooch1989$157M$157M
Joe Versus the Volcano1990$85M$85M
A League of Their Own1992$268M$242M
Philadelphia1993$407M$154M
Sleepless in Seattle1993$428M$251M
Forrest Gump1994$1.32B$642M
Apollo 131995$655M$402M
Toy Story1995$671M$373M
Saving Private Ryan1998$989M$482M
The Green Mile1999$558M$286M
Toy Story 21999$999M$497M
Cast Away2000$774M$429M
Catch Me If You Can2002$682M$352M
Road to Perdition2002$319M$183M
The Polar Express2004$477M$194M
The Terminal2004$394M$178M
The Da Vinci Code2006$1.07B$292M
Charlie Wilson's War2007$175M$89M
Angels & Demons2009$625M$183M
Toy Story 32010$1.2B$515M
Larry Crowne2011$102M$52M
Cloud Atlas2012$130M$27M
Captain Phillips2013$351M$125M
Bridge of Spies2015$165M$72M
Inferno2016$220M$34M
Sully2016$240M$125M
The Post2017$179M$82M
Toy Story 42019$1.07B$434M
Elvis2022$287M$151M
Asteroid City2023$54M$28M
Here2024$16M$12.2M
The Phoenician Scheme2025$40.6M$19.6M
Toy Story 52026$1.15B$480.3M

Genre Breakdown

No shocker here. Dramas are, by far, the most common movie genre that Tom Hanks is in—almost doubling the next most common genre: comedy. And the majority of Tom Hankses comedy movies were in the beginning of his career. The last comedy he made was Larry Crowne in 2011.

0510152025DramaComedyAdventureRomanceAnimationThrillerCrimeActionBiographyFamilyMysteryFantasyWarHistorySci-FiSportDrama: 29Comedy: 17Adventure: 9Romance: 8Animation: 7Thriller: 7Crime: 6Action: 5Biography: 5Family: 5Mystery: 5Fantasy: 4War: 4History: 3Sci-Fi: 3Sport: 2
Show the data
GenreMoviesTitles
Drama29Here, A Man Called Otto, Elvis, Finch, News of the World, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, The Post, A Hologram for the King, Inferno, Sully, Bridge of Spies, Ithaca, Captain Phillips, Saving Mr. Banks, Cloud Atlas, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, Angels & Demons, Charlie Wilson's War, The Da Vinci Code, The Ladykillers, The Terminal, Road to Perdition, Cast Away, The Green Mile, Saving Private Ryan, Apollo 13, Forrest Gump, Philadelphia, Nothing in Common
Comedy17Toy Story 5, The Phoenician Scheme, Larry Crowne, The Ladykillers, You've Got Mail, That Thing You Do!, Sleepless in Seattle, A League of Their Own, Joe Versus the Volcano, The 'Burbs, Turner & Hooch, Big, Punchline, The Money Pit, The Man with One Red Shoe, Volunteers, Bachelor Party
Adventure9Toy Story 5, Toy Story 4, Inferno, Cloud Atlas, Toy Story 3, Angels & Demons, The Da Vinci Code, Toy Story 2, Toy Story
Romance8Cloud Atlas, Larry Crowne, You've Got Mail, Sleepless in Seattle, Joe Versus the Volcano, Every Time We Say Goodbye, Nothing in Common, Splash
Animation7Toy Story 5, Pinocchio, Toy Story 4, Toy Story 3, The Polar Express, Toy Story 2, Toy Story
Thriller7The Circle, Inferno, Captain Phillips, Cloud Atlas, Angels & Demons, The Da Vinci Code, Road to Perdition
Crime6The Phoenician Scheme, The Ladykillers, Catch Me If You Can, Road to Perdition, Turner & Hooch, Dragnet
Action5Greyhound, Inferno, Angels & Demons, The Da Vinci Code, Saving Private Ryan
Biography5Elvis, Sully, Captain Phillips, Saving Mr. Banks, Charlie Wilson's War
Family5Toy Story 5, Toy Story 4, Toy Story 3, Toy Story 2, Toy Story
Mystery5The Circle, Inferno, Angels & Demons, The Da Vinci Code, The 'Burbs
Fantasy4Pinocchio, Cloud Atlas, The Polar Express, Splash
War4Greyhound, Bridge of Spies, Charlie Wilson's War, Saving Private Ryan
History3News of the World, The Post, Bridge of Spies
Sci-Fi3Finch, The Circle, Cloud Atlas
Sport2A League of Their Own, Punchline

Number of movies/year

Tom Hanks has been a remarkably consistent performer. In his forty-year career—thus far—he has only missed releasing a movie in seven of those years. And with movie releases being somewhat variable, some of that is probably due to studio decisions.

01231984198919941999200420092014201920241984: 21985: 21986: 31987: 11988: 21989: 21990: 21992: 11993: 21994: 11995: 21996: 11998: 21999: 22000: 12002: 22004: 32006: 22007: 12008: 12009: 12010: 12011: 22012: 12013: 22015: 22016: 32017: 22019: 22020: 22021: 12022: 32023: 12024: 12025: 12026: 1
Show the data
YearMoviesTitles
19842Bachelor Party, Splash
19852The Man with One Red Shoe, Volunteers
19863Every Time We Say Goodbye, Nothing in Common, The Money Pit
19871Dragnet
19882Big, Punchline
19892The 'Burbs, Turner & Hooch
19902Joe Versus the Volcano, The Bonfire of the Vanities
19910
19921A League of Their Own
19932Philadelphia, Sleepless in Seattle
19941Forrest Gump
19952Apollo 13, Toy Story
19961That Thing You Do!
19970
19982Saving Private Ryan, You've Got Mail
19992The Green Mile, Toy Story 2
20001Cast Away
20010
20022Catch Me If You Can, Road to Perdition
20030
20043The Ladykillers, The Polar Express, The Terminal
20050
20062Cars, The Da Vinci Code
20071Charlie Wilson's War
20081The Great Buck Howard
20091Angels & Demons
20101Toy Story 3
20112Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, Larry Crowne
20121Cloud Atlas
20132Captain Phillips, Saving Mr. Banks
20140
20152Bridge of Spies, Ithaca
20163A Hologram for the King, Inferno, Sully
20172The Circle, The Post
20180
20192A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, Toy Story 4
20202Greyhound, News of the World
20211Finch
20223A Man Called Otto, Elvis, Pinocchio
20231Asteroid City
20241Here
20251The Phoenician Scheme
20261Toy Story 5

Movie Timeperiods

I don't expect that this data is precise; there are some educated guesses about the period in which some of these movies take place. Since Tom Hankses career really started in the 1980s and 1990s, most of his movies take place in "present-day" for their release date. What's interesting are the movies that are outside of that window. Tom Hanks has made a lot of historical movies and played a few notable historical characters.

You could also argue that the Toy Story movies mostly take place in the 1990s, even though they're not in our universe.

0123456789Pre-19001930s1940s1950s1960s1970s1980s1990s2000s2010s2020sFutureFantasy/TimelessPre-1900: 11930s: 11940s: 21950s: 21960s: 21970s: 21980s: 91990s: 52000s: 42010s: 42020s: 3Future: 2Fantasy/Timeless: 7
Show the data
Time periodMoviesTitles
Pre-19001News of the World
1930s1Road to Perdition
1940s2Saving Private Ryan, A League of Their Own
1950s2The Phoenician Scheme, Bridge of Spies
1960s2Elvis, Saving Mr. Banks
1970s2Elvis, Saving Mr. Banks
1980s9Joe Versus the Volcano, The Bonfire of the Vanities, The 'Burbs, Turner & Hooch, Big, Nothing in Common, The Money Pit, Bachelor Party, Splash
1990s5The Post, You've Got Mail, That Thing You Do!, Philadelphia, Sleepless in Seattle
2000s4Angels & Demons, Charlie Wilson's War, The Da Vinci Code, Cast Away
2010s4The Circle, Captain Phillips, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, Larry Crowne
2020s3Here, Asteroid City, A Man Called Otto
Future2Finch, Cloud Atlas
Fantasy/Timeless7Toy Story 5, Pinocchio, Toy Story 4, Toy Story 3, The Polar Express, Toy Story 2, Toy Story

Directors

Here is a list of movie Directors Tom Hanks has worked with on multiple projects. Zemeckis, Spielberg, and Ron Howard appear to be his favorites. He has even directed himself twice.

Director's NameList of Movies
(5) Robert ZemeckisForrest Gump (1994) Cast Away (2000) The Polar Express (2004) Pinocchio (2022) Here (2024)
(5) Steven SpielbergSaving Private Ryan (1998) Catch Me If You Can (2002) The Terminal (2004) Bridge of Spies (2015) The Post (2017)
(5) Ron HowardSplash (1984) Apollo 13 (1995) The Da Vinci Code (2006) Angels & Demons (2009) Inferno (2016)
(3) John LasseterToy Story (1995) Toy Story 2 (1999) Cars (2006)
(2) Paul GreengrassCaptain Phillips (2013) News of the World (2020)
(2) Penny MarshallBig (1988) A League of Their Own (1992)
(2) Tom HanksThat Thing You Do! (1996) Larry Crowne (2011)
(2) Nora EphronSleepless in Seattle (1993) You've Got Mail (1998)
(2) Tom TykwerA Hologram for the King (2016) Cloud Atlas (2012)*

*Note: Cloud Atlas was co-directed by Lana & Lilly Wachowski along with Tom Tykwer

Other Actors

Surprisingly, Tom Hanks hasn't worked with the same actors with great frequency. Outside of the Toy Story franchise, the only actor he has starred with more than twice is Meg Ryan in Sleepless in Seattle (1993), You've Got Mail (1998), and Ithaca (2015).

The Perfect Tom Hanks Movie

Based on all of this data, the perfect Tom Hanks movie would be where he played a soldier in a drama/romance opposite Meg Ryan set in the 1980s, directed by either Steven Spielberg, Robert Zemeckis, or Ron Howard.

Special Thanks

A big shoutout to Anthropic/Sonnet 3.5 for doing the heavy lifting on the data crunching and creating the charts.

 

 

 

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