Top 10 Favorite Opening Scenes in Movies

Top 10 Favorite Opening Scenes in Movies 

You can probably tell by my blog, but I love movies, and one of the most important scenes in any movie is the opening scene. These are my Top 10 Favorite opening scenes. 

10. Hercules: This 1997 Disney Animated Film is one of the most underappreciated Disney Animated Films of all time. It’s fun, funny, and has great music. And the great music starts in the opening scene in the movie where you have four women singing “The Gospel Truth” and it’s just  catchy and the song gets stuck in your head and this is just a fun way to start a movie. 

9. Goodfellas: We move from Disney Studios to Martin Scorsese which is basically the same thing…just kidding! This opening scene starts with Robert DeNiro, Ray Liotta, and Joe Pesci driving in a car where you see them hear a noise they pull over and there is a body in the trunk and you have Joe Pesci be well...Joe Pesci, and it hooks you and captivates you right of the gate. It’s also starts with a great movie line, “As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster. To me, being a gangster was better than being President of the United States.”

8. Toy Story 3: This movie starts with a very fun scene where you have Andy playing with his toys in the western adventure .This for me is the best opening scene in any Toy Story movies even though each movie starts with a great opening scene. And it has some fun and great moments with Evil Dr. Pork Chop and Buzz lifting the train after failing. And it’s an entertaining way to start an entertaining and great movie. 

7. Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation: This is my personal favorite of the Mission Impossible movies. And part of that is because it has one of my favorite opening scenes in any movie ever. Where you the Benji and Ethan Hunt trying got hijack a plane. And you have maybe Tom Cruise’s craziest stunt where he hangs of the side of a plane as it is taking over. It’s just a fun way to start of this great movie that makes you interesting right out of the gate and that is what all great opening scenes should do. 

6. Avengers Infinity War: If you guys know me you know how much I love the MCU and one of the best ones is Avengers Infinity War. The way the movie starts where you have Thanos attack an Asgardian ship you get to see Thanos in the first 5 minutes and they set up that this guy is a threat and he also was able to beat the Hulk in a fist fight not very mean living creatures have been able to do that. There is also some nice humor for Thor. Put the pieces together and you get this fantastic opening scene to a fantastic movie. 

5. Jurassic Park: What I think this scene is build this sense of danger in the first five minutes of the movie. You don’t see the dinosaur all you see is a guy getting pulled in by a dinosaur with his mouth and even though you don’t see the monsters you feel danger early on and it starts back up again after the dinosaurs escape. I think it also does a fantastic job of setting up the tone for the second half of the movie with this sense of danger and this threat that needs to be stopped. 

4. Up: This is the most emotional opening scene I have ever scene. You have these two kids who meet in a house and you see their relationship grow in the first few minutes, and you have them get married, grow old and then the death of Ellie happens. This is just great storytelling because there is almost no dialogue in the first 10 minutes of the movie, but it hooks you because of the storytelling.  And it hook you with this emotion right out of the gate that I think very few movies have been able to do. I love this scene so much and it is a great way to start a great Pixar movie. 

3. The Dark Knight: The Dark Knight is one of the best comic book movies and one of the best movies of all time. And the opening scene is one of the driving forces of that. Where you have these goons in clown masks robbing a bank and then you see this goon kill a bunch of people and then it’s revealed it’s the Joker and as he is revealed he says “I believe that what doesn’t kill you, simple makes you stranger”. Put the pieces together and you get one of the most iconic opening scenes of all time and an introduction to one of the best villains in movie history. 

2. The Dark Knight Rises: The final movie in Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy has my favorite opening scene in a superhero movie where once again you get the introduction the villain of the movie with this epic scene. And just these great Bane quotes like “Crashing this plane” or “Yes. The Fire Rises” (they might not sound interesting but when you see them in the movie they are great). And like some of the other scenes I mentioned on the list, they establish this threat right of the gate to the audience.  I love this scene so very much. 

1.  The Lion King: This list started and ended with a Disney Animated movie (both from the  90s). But it kicks off with one of the most iconic songs in movie history with “The Circle of Life”. And that captivates you with stunning animation all these animals going to this rock to watch this baby lion being baptized. And with the stunning animation and the great song you get this scene that is my personal favorite and one of the most iconic opening scenes in movie history. 

That is my Top 10 Favorite Opening Scenes in Movies. Soon my review for A Good Day to Die Hard and my Die Hard Movies ranking will be dropping on my blog. And let me know if there is any other Top 10 and rankings you want to see!