She might be best known as Monica from Friends, but Courteney Cox has had an impressive career outside of the hit sitcom as well. Appearing in tons of movies throughout her career, Cox has certainly made an impressive resume for herself.
Whether it be dabbling in the horror world, comedy, or a straight-up drama, Cox has dipped her toes into plenty of genres.
Even though not every film has been a mega-hit, she has always put in a strong performance and many of her movies have done incredibly well. Within this list, we are going to take a look at her 10 best movies, according to Rotten Tomatoes.
November (31%)
We kickstart this list with the movie November, which was released in 2005 and gained a 31% rating by Rotten Tomatoes. Courteney Cox plays a photographer in this movie named Sophie Jacobs, who sees her boyfriend murdered in a violent robbery.
The movie shows Jacobs attempting to continue her life until a mysterious slide appears in the projector. She believes it is her car from the night of the murder, and strange events begin to occur as Jacobs is forced to work out if it’s a reality, or just her grief and paranoia.
Cocoon: The Return (33%)
With a Rotten Tomatoes rating of 33%, Cocoon: The Return is next up on the list, with this 1988 movie being one of Courteney Cox’s first. This is a sequel to the original Cocoon and relies a little too heavily on that film, so if you’ve not seen the original, it can leave you a little puzzled.
The movie picks up five years later than the first film. With the Antareans returning to Earth to see the damage that their cocoons have sustained by earthquakes. Cox is involved in a secondary plot to the film, where she plays a researcher who stops a secret government plan.
The Tripper (38%)
In The Tripper, Courteney Cox pulled double duty as she worked as an actress and a producer on the movie. Here she works alongside David Arquette in what is a slasher movie, a genre that Cox knows all too well.
Taking place at a rock festival, this film follows a group of stoners that are followed by a serial killer who uses a Ronald Reagan mask. While it attempts to be slightly different from the norm, this ended up being very similar to most slashers, but on a much lower budget.
Mr. Destiny (38%)
Next up is Mr. Destiny, which was released in 1990 and was one of the first major movies that Courteney Cox was given the opportunity to work on. The cast is an impressive one, with Michael Caine and Jon Lovitz starring in the film.
The movie focuses on a businessman having a mid-life crisis until he meets a magical bartender who shows him what his life could have been. The story is a little far fetched and isn’t exactly the most gripping, hence why it was rated low by Rotten Tomatoes.
Scream 3 (39%)
Quite often, horror franchises overstay their welcome and push things to the point where they become ridiculous. Unfortunately for the Scream franchise, that was the lesson learned with the third movie, which was only rated at 39% by Rotten Tomatoes.
Courteney Cox is heavily attached to this franchise, having appeared in all of the movies, which at least allowed for some continuity. However, this third movie was a step too far for the slasher, with the story no longer being as gripping and tense as the previous movies.
Shaking The Tree (40%)
Released back in 1991, Shaking The Tree is next on the list with a rating of 40% on Rotten Tomatoes. The movie focuses on a group of guys who spend all their time together but make the decision to start moving on with their lives outside of the diner they hang out in.
Each character then goes off and starts living their lives, meeting other people, one of which is Courteney Cox’s character, Kathleen. It’s a comedy movie that isn’t exactly well known, but according to Rotten Tomatoes, it is one of her better movies.
Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (47%)
Next on the list is Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, a comedy thriller starring Jim Carrey in the lead role. Ventura is attempting to find a kidnapped dolphin mascot of the Miami Dolphins Football team, which is where Courteney Cox comes in. Within this movie, she plays Melissa Robinson, the Miami Dolphins publicist, who hires Ace.
While the movie didn’t perform well with critics, as the 47% from Rotten Tomatoes highlights, it did fine financially, grossing a worldwide total of $107 million. Ace Venture: Pet Detective is a cult hit that is still beloved to this day, proving that not all movies need to be critically acclaimed to be popular.
Scream 4 (60%)
11 years after the third movie was released, the decision was made to bring back the Scream franchise with a fourth installment. Proving that, like many horror franchises, they simply never seem to die. Thankfully, Scream 4 was a good example of a franchise bring brought back to life, with many original characters popping up once again.
One of those just so happened to be Courteney Cox’s, Gale Weathers, who has been one of the main characters throughout. Cox puts in another fantastic performance as Ghostface makes a final return.
Scream (79%)
In terms of movies, the Scream franchise is what Courteney Cox is best known for. The slasher movie was incredibly popular in the late 1990s and has remained a well-known horror franchise to this date, with Ghostface being one of the most recognizable characters in movie history.
The original movie has a rating of 79% on Rotten Tomatoes and is one of the most popular horror movies of all time. Cox portrays Gale Weathers, a fame-hungry news reporter who follows the killings incredibly closely and ends up getting involved in the situation because of that.
Scream 2 (82%)
It is quite rare that a sequel does better than the original movie, especially in the horror franchise. However, when it comes to Scream 2, that’s exactly what happened, at least, according to Rotten Tomatoes. The first sequel has an impressive 82% rating and is Courteney Cox’s best movie.
They didn’t waste any time in getting this made either. Striking while the iron was hot, Scream 2 was released just one year after the original, making sure they made the most of the momentum the first movie had. Blending the brilliant scares with plenty of humor once again, this was another tremendous slasher film.
