Raising Arizona: The Best Comedy Movie Was Made on a $6 Million Budget
Raising Arizona: The Best Comedy Movie Was Made on a $6 Million Budget
Jacqueline Burt CoteFri, March 6, 2026 at 12:18 AM UTC
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(Photo by Sunset Boulevard on Getty Images)
Since the days of silent film, movies have been making audiences laugh. Countless comedies have topped the box office over the years, but if you had to pick the "best" ever, which one would it be?
Narrowing down the playing field to pick the most hilarious comedies in cinema history is no easy task, but that's what Paste did with their "100 best comedies of all time" list. As writer Michael Burgin explained, Paste staff chose and ranked films "based on how many laughs we think they are likely to generate for the modern audience," meaning "some great films that are also comedies may appear lower on the list" than they would have if elements like “cultural impact” or “pioneering importance” were being considered.
The selections did indeed include plenty of more modern-day movies, starting with Kevin Smith's black-and-white indie classic Clerks at #100 (1994). In fact, the '90s figured somewhat prominently; among the other notable nods from that particular era were Dazed and Confused (1993) at #83 ("alright, alright, alright"), the adorable Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) at #75, Clueless (1995) at #73 — as if! — and Wes Anderson's Rushmore (1998) at #38.
The earlier years of the silver screen were represented, too, with such classics as Charlie Chaplin's The Gold Rush (1925) at #54 and The Great Dictator (1940) at #22, along with Frank Capra's Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) at #46 and various others. The '50s showed up in the form of films Some Like It Hot (1959) at #16 and Singin' in the Rain (1952) at #37.
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Funniest films from the '60s included Billy Wilder's The Apartment (1960) at #67, Mel Brooks' The Producers (1967) at #57 and The Odd Couple (1968) at #30, with the '70s showing up in such titles as The Jerk (1979) at #92 and Monty Python and the Holy Grail(1975) at #17.
The top 10 included several laugh-out-loud '80s flicks, kicking off with A Fish Called Wanda (1988) in tenth place, Airplane! (1980) at #8 and Rob Reiner's beloved The Princess Bride (1987) coming in sixth. Two movies from the '30s nearly made it to the very top of the list: It Happened One Night (1934) at #9 and Duck Soup (1933) at #3; from the '40s, The Philadelphia Story (1940) was ranked #4.
Three '70s movies made it into the top 10, including Monty Python’s Life of Brian (1979) at #7, Young Frankenstein (1974) at #5 and Woody Allen's Annie Hall (1977) in second place.
So which movie was crowned the best comedy of all time? That honor went to the delightfully slapstick Raising Arizona (1987). As the article (accurately) put it: "From its opening courtship sequence to the struggles of H.I. (Nicholas Cage) and Ed (Holly Hunter) to form a family by borrowing an 'extra' from a family with a surplus to the final battle with the Lone Biker of the Apocalypse, the Coen brothers’ film remains an immensely beguiling and quotable farcical fable."
It seems the Coen brothers knew Raising Arizona would be popular; as What Culture reported, they made the movie because they were in need of a hit...and that's what they got. Made on a "relative microbudget" of about $6 million, Raising Arizona brought a $29 million return at the box office.
Related: 1997 Classic Ranked 'Best Seinfeld Episode' of All Time
This story was originally published by Parade on Mar 6, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
