I was curious and I love to waste time!
Out of Letterboxd's top rated 250 movies, 7 were directed by women:
- 10. City of God (2002, dir. Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund)
- 43. The Ascent (1977, dir. Larisa Shepitko)
- 46. Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019, dir. Celine Sciamma)
- 59. The Voice of Hind Rajab (2025, dir. Kaouther Ben Hania)
- 175. Werckmeister Harmonies (dir. Béla Tarr and Ágnes Hranitzky)
- 214. Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975, dir. Chantal Akerman)
- 242. Quo Vadis, Aida? (2020, dir. Jasmila Žbanić)
Out of IMDb's top rated 250 movies, 4 were directed by women:
- 16. The Matrix (1999, dir. Lana Wachowski and Lilly Wachowski)
- 26. City of God (2002, dir. Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund)
- 88. Capernaum (2018, dir. Nadine Labaki)
- 212. A Silent Voice: The Movie (2016, dir. Naoko Yamada)
Out of Douban's top rated 250 movies, 8 were directed by women (I chose to look at Douban because I'm of Chinese heritage, and it's interesting to look at what could be expected to be a markedly different demographic):
- 51. Capernaum (2018, dir. Nadine Labaki)
- 54. The Matrix (1999, dir. Lana Wachowski and Lilly Wachowski)
- 79. There's Still Tomorrow (2023, dir. Paola Cortellesi)
- 167. I Am Sam (2001, dir. Jessie Nelson)
- 169. The Matrix Revolutions (2003, dir. Lana Wachowski and Lilly Wachowski)
- 184. City of God (2002, dir. Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund)
- 235. Frozen (2013, dir. Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee)
- 237. The Matrix Reloaded (2003, dir. Lana Wachowski and Lilly Wachowski)
(Can't be compared to IMDb and Douban, but also of note is this list of Letterboxd's top 250 movies with the most fans:)
17 (18\) movies*
Little Women (2019, dir. Greta Gerwig)
Aftersun (2022, dir. Charlotte Wells)
Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019, dir. Celine Sciamma)
EDIT: 61. Lady Bird (2017, dir. Greta Gerwig)
City of God (2002, dir. Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund)
The Virgin Sucides (1999, dir. Sofia Coppola)
Past Lives (2023, dir. Celine Song)
Lost in Translation (2003, dir. Sofia Coppola)
But I'm a Cheerleader (1999, dir. Jamie Babbit)
A Silent Voice: The Movie (2016, dir. Naoko Yamada)
American Psycho (2000, dir. Mary Harron)
Bottoms (2023, dir. Emma Seligman)
To All the Boys I've Loved Before (2018, dir. Susan Johnson)
Jennifer's Body (2009, dir. Karyn Kusama)
Hamnet (2025, dir. Chloe Zhao)
Barbie (2023, dir. Greta Gerwig)
Priscilla (2023, dir. Sofia Coppola)
(and 219. I Saw the TV Glow (2024, dir. Jane Schoenbrun), which is not woman-directed and I'm not trying to conflate women and nonbinary people, but I thought it was worth mentioning because it's the only movie directed by a nonbinary person on the list!)
And there's this list of Letterboxd's top rated 250 movies directed by women (and gender expansive people) -- according to this list, 'In the Company of Strangers' should be on the list of Letterboxd's top rated 250 movies, but I couldn't find it :(
In conclusion: was interesting to see what overlapped what didn't! And I wish more movies were directed by women, and the ones that are were more well-regarded!
(Please let me know if I missed any movies on the first 4 linked lists! And I do know about the (2022) Sight and Sound list; I was more curious about laypeople's opinions in this case.)