Movies stay with us. Whether you like comedies, dramas, historical epics, or musicals, films tend to leave behind moments that live rent-free in our heads long after the credits roll — for both good and bad reasons. One sign that something has truly stuck in our memory is the extent to which it spreads on the internet.
The Instagram account @funniestmoviememes23 captures all of those iconic scenes, characters, and lines from people’s favorite productions, and if you aren’t familiar with everything referenced here, maybe it’s about time you expand your watchlist.
A poll of 2,000 Americans conducted by Talker Research found that, on average, they believe they’ve watched their favorite movie 38 times, with Millennials leading the pack at an estimated 50 times, followed closely by Gen Z at 49 times.
Forrest Gump has been named the all-time favorite movie most often (17%), ahead of The Wizard of Oz (15%) and Titanic (15%).
The 1994 animated, coming-of-age story The Lion King (15%) ranked fourth, and the classic romantic drama Dirty Dancing (15%) rounded out the top five.
However, different generations are into different movies. For example, Shrek is a staple for Gen Z, along with Toy Story (25%) and the newer, now-classic Avengers: Endgame (24%).
Despite premiering before they were even born, the Jurassic Park series was also found to be popular with youngsters (16%).
They also like the Harry Potter series (15%), though it’s slightly more appreciated among Millennials (16%).
According to the survey, a little more than one-third of Gen Z (34%) believe the soundtrack can make or break a movie.
Almost three in five (56%) even admit that their all-time favorite movie could be categorized as a guilty pleasure.
