Where to watch
Each link opens a search on that service. Checked 13 October 2026.
Streaming data from JustWatch
Citizen Kane
1941
· Movie
· 119 min
A
MEANRANK
86/100
Where it ranks
- Mean Score #83
- IMDb #140
- Google retired #2360
- Metacritic #24
- Letterboxd #237
- Rotten Tomatoes Critics #61
+7 more
- Metacritic Critics #3
- Metacritic Audience #225
- Criticker #87
- Douban #138
- Kinopoisk #847
- AlloCiné #123
- Trakt #453
Every rating
74–100
out of 100
Mostly agreed
Lowest is Criticker on 74, highest is Metacritic critics on 100. Critics average 100, everyone else 83.
See the films the platforms disagree about most →Following the death of a vastly powerful newspaper magnate, a newsreel reporter is tasked with discovering the meaning of his enigmatic final word. The investigation leads through a series of flashbacks, revealing the man's rise from poverty to immense wealth and influence. Through interviews with those who knew him, a complex portrait of a deeply flawed and lonely individual emerges, though the central mystery of his character remains elusive.
Details
- Director
- Orson Welles
- Writers
- Herman J. Mankiewicz, Orson Welles
- Released
- 17 April 1941
- Country
- United States
- Language
- English, Italian
- Runtime
- 119 min
- Rated
- NR
- Budget
- $839.7K
- Box office
- $23.2M
- Awards
- 10 wins, 13 nominations
This title elsewhere
Cast
Full cast (154) →
Awards & nominations
See all 23 →1 major award won · 10 wins from 23 nominations across 10 ceremonies
| Academy Awards 1941 | Best Original Screenplay | Herman J. Mankiewicz and Orson Welles | Winner |
| Academy Awards 1941 | Best Director | Orson Welles | Nominee |
| Academy Awards 1941 | Outstanding Motion Picture | Mercury | Nominee |
| Academy Awards 1941 | Best Actor | Orson Welles | Nominee |
| Academy Awards 1941 | Best Art Direction–Interior Decoration – Black-and-White | Perry Ferguson, Van Nest Polglase, Al Fields and Darrell Silvera | Nominee |
| Academy Awards 1941 | Best Cinematography – Black-and-White | Gregg Toland | Nominee |
| Academy Awards 1941 | Best Film Editing | Robert Wise | Nominee |
| Academy Awards 1941 | Best Scoring of a Dramatic Picture | Bernard Herrmann | Nominee |
Awards from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA.
More like this
Featured in
All lists →
On this list
29 October 2026
Five great directorial debuts, ranked for what is already on screen
Citizen Kane, The 400 Blows, Get Out, Reservoir Dogs and Following: first features judged without borrowing greatness from the careers that followed.
On this list
16 September 2026
The r/TrueFilm canon's top twenty, from the 2018 poll
A historical community ranking, with new viewing notes and a closer look at the taste it records.
29 October 2026
Why Batman works without superpowers—and when the films forget why
Fear, money, detective work and moral limits: four Batman films test what makes Bruce Wayne worth watching.
29 October 2026
TV shows with Black female leads: four series worth arguing about
Insecure, Queen Sugar, Scandal and How to Get Away with Murder, ranked for character writing, dramatic range and the lives they make room for.
29 October 2026
Five great TV scores—and the scenes that explain why
Twin Peaks, Succession, Game of Thrones, Westworld and Stranger Things, judged for what their original music does inside the drama.
8 October 2026
Leonardo DiCaprio's films, ranked—and the performances inside them
Twenty-one selected films, with a closer look at the acting: comic timing, self-invention, wounded authority and the effort that sometimes shows.
29 October 2026
Five great directorial debuts, ranked for what is already on screen
Citizen Kane, The 400 Blows, Get Out, Reservoir Dogs and Following: first features judged without borrowing greatness from the careers that followed.
On this list
16 September 2026
The r/TrueFilm canon's top twenty, from the 2018 poll
A historical community ranking, with new viewing notes and a closer look at the taste it records.
29 October 2026
Why Batman works without superpowers—and when the films forget why
Fear, money, detective work and moral limits: four Batman films test what makes Bruce Wayne worth watching.
29 October 2026
TV shows with Black female leads: four series worth arguing about
Insecure, Queen Sugar, Scandal and How to Get Away with Murder, ranked for character writing, dramatic range and the lives they make room for.
29 October 2026
Five great TV scores—and the scenes that explain why
Twin Peaks, Succession, Game of Thrones, Westworld and Stranger Things, judged for what their original music does inside the drama.
8 October 2026
Leonardo DiCaprio's films, ranked—and the performances inside them
Twenty-one selected films, with a closer look at the acting: comic timing, self-invention, wounded authority and the effort that sometimes shows.
Just released
See all →
Coming soon
Trailer — Citizen Kane
×Full cast — Citizen Kane
×
23 awards — Citizen Kane
×
Academy Awards
9 nominations, 1 won
| Best Original Screenplay | Herman J. Mankiewicz and Orson Welles | Winner |
| Best Actor | Orson Welles | Nominee |
| Best Art Direction–Interior Decoration – Black-and-White | Perry Ferguson, Van Nest Polglase, Al Fields and Darrell Silvera | Nominee |
| Best Cinematography – Black-and-White | Gregg Toland | Nominee |
| Best Director | Orson Welles | Nominee |
| Best Film Editing | Robert Wise | Nominee |
| Best Scoring of a Dramatic Picture | Bernard Herrmann | Nominee |
| Best Sound Recording | John Aalberg | Nominee |
| Outstanding Motion Picture | Mercury | Nominee |
National Board of Review Awards
4 nominations, 4 won
| Best Acting | George Coulouris | Winner |
| Best Acting | Orson Welles | Winner |
| Best Film | Winner | |
| Top Ten Films | Winner |
New York Film Critics Circle Awards
3 nominations, 1 won
| Best Film | Winner | |
| Best Actor | Orson Welles | Nominee |
| Best Director | Orson Welles | Nominee |
DVD Exclusive Awards
1 nomination, 1 won
| Best Audio Commentary | Roger Ebert | Winner |
National Film Preservation Board
1 nomination, 1 won
| National Film Registry | Winner |
Online Film & Television Association Awards
1 nomination, 1 won
| Hall of Fame – Motion Picture | Winner |
Village Voice Film Poll
1 nomination, 1 won
| Best Film of the Century | Winner |
Online Film Critics Society Awards
1 nomination
| Best Overall DVD | Nominee |
Satellite Awards
1 nomination
| Best Classic DVD | Citizen Kane: Ultimate Collector's Edition | Nominee |
Saturn Awards
1 nomination
| Best DVD/Blu-Ray Special Edition Release | Citizen Kane: 70th Anniversary Ultimate Collector's Edition | Nominee |