What is the iRankMovies score for The Blues Brothers?

Name: The Blues Brothers
Director: John Landis
Genre: comedy, crime, music
Released: 1980
Duration: 2 h 13 min
Rating: 7.9

The Blues Brothers has an iRankMovies score of 73.1/100, based on a weighted combination of IMDb (×3.0), Rotten Tomatoes (×2.0), Metacritic (×1.5), and TMDb (×1.0).

The Blues Brothers (1980)

They'll never get caught. They're on a mission from God.

Release:1980

Runtime:2h 13m

Country:United States

Director:John Landis

Language:English

Genre

ComedyCrimeMusic

See the best comedy movies →

Keywords

PrisonChicago IllinoisDancingConcertCountry MusicNaziJazzNun

iRank73

The Blues Brothers rating: IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic

IMDb7.9/10· 228K votes

Rotten Tomatoes72%

Metacritic60%

TMDb7.7/10· 5K votes

With 72% on Rotten Tomatoes, backed by 7.9/10 on IMDb and 60/100 on Metacritic, critical reception of this film has been positive.

About The Blues Brothers

Jake Blues, just released from prison, puts his old band back together to save the Catholic home where he and his brother Elwood were raised.

Cast of The Blues Brothers

John Belushi
as 'Joliet' Jake Blues
Dan Aykroyd
as Elwood Blues
James Brown
as Cleophus James
Cab Calloway
as Curtis
Ray Charles
as Ray
Aretha Franklin
as Mrs. Murphy
Steve Cropper
as Steve 'The Colonel' Cropper
Donald 'Duck' Dunn
as Donald 'Duck' Dunn
Murphy Dunne
as Murphy 'Murph' Dunne
Willie Hall
as Willie 'Too Big' Hall
Tom Malone
as "Bones" Malone
Lou Marini
as 'Blue Lou' Marini

The Blues Brothers facts

Budget: $27M
Box office: $115.2M
Collection: The Blues Brothers Collection

Our take on The Blues Brothers

John Landis's 1980 blend of comedy, crime and music follows Jake Blues, just out of prison, who reunites his old band on a self-declared mission to save the Catholic home where he and his brother Elwood grew up. That flimsy pretext is really an excuse for chases, deadpan swagger and a parade of musical numbers rooted in rhythm and blues. It's loose, anarchic and unapologetically excessive, more interested in energy than tidy plotting. Ideal for viewers who want a raucous, good-humoured ride with live-band showmanship at its core, and who don't mind a story that treats cause and effect as a suggestion rather than a rule.

Ranked by the iRankMovies editorial teamUpdated August 2026Methodology Data sources

Audience opinions

What the audience liked

•John Landis crafts audacious buddy comedy music adventure with charm
•Blues-driven soundtrack and Chicago setting create distinctive cultural atmosphere
•Comedy-crime-music genre blend showcases awestruck filmmaking ambition throughout