Throughout the history of cinema, the majority of movies made featured a largely male-driven narrative with female characters either being supporting characters or not having major roles at all. Of course, female-driven movies existed, but only recently did they become more mainstream and are being made more often.
This is, of course, reflected in IMDb's Top 250 List, which features the highest-rated movies of all time. Some of these feature women as co-stars, while others have a single female lead.
Requiem For A Dream (2000) - 8.3
Darren Aronofsky's Requiem for a Dream is an interesting movie in that it features four different characters - played by Jared Let, Ellen Burstyn, Jennifer Connelly, and Marlon Wayans - that are all considered leads, two of which are female and one of which is a POC. The movie was a huge success critically, earning multiple award nominations.
Based on the 1978 novel of the same name, it follows these four different people struggling with drug addiction and the way drugs impact their lives.
Amelie (2001) - 8.3
Jean-Pierre Jeunet's Amelie is a rare gem when it comes to romantic comedies. Inarguably one of the best French movies of recent years, it features Audrey Tautou as its sole lead and was nominated for multiple awards, including five Academy Awards.
Set in Paris, it depicts the contemporary life of the city in a peculiar manner through the eyes of a young waitress named Amelie, who decides to improve the lives of those around her while struggling with her own shyness.
Incendies (2010) - 8.3
Often considered Denis Villeneuve's greatest work, Incendies is an Academy Award-nominated war thriller with two of the three leads being female (Lubna Azabal and Melissa Desormeaux-Poulin).
Adapted from a play of the same name, it tells the story of two Canadian twins who, after the death of their mother, travel to the Middle East to find out about her secret past while a bloody civil war rages on.
A Separation (2011) - 8.3
The Iranian drama A Separation was a massive critical and commercial success winning the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film. Leila Hatami and Peyman Moaadi co-star as wife and husband respectively.
The story primarily focuses on an Iranian middle-class married couple of 14 years who decide to separate and the way this impacts their daughter and those around them.
Alien (1979) - 8.4
Perhaps Ridley Scott's most famous work, Alien is a sci-fi horror classic with a strong female lead that is often considered to be one of the best female characters ever created. Played by Sigourney Weaver, Ellen Ripley would go on to appear in the following installments in the franchise.
The story takes place on the commercial space tug "Nostromo," which is returning back to Earth with seven crew members in stasis. After detecting a transmission, the ship's computer wakes the crew, who decide to check out the planet where the transmission came from. They eventually encounter an aggressive creature that they call Alien.
Princess Mononoke (1997) - 8.4
One of Hayao Miyazaki's best works, Princess Mononoke largely focuses on the theme of the environment, but it also features two lead characters of the opposite sex, making it an outstanding female-led movie.
Set in the late Muromachi period in Japan, it tells the story of a young prince named Ashitaka who meets a young woman named San who was raised by wolves - and all of this while a conflict between the forest gods and humans rages on.
Psycho (1960) - 8.5
Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho is probably his most well-known work and was a crucial addition to world cinema due to its slasher elements, outstanding performances, and intricate camerawork, among other things. Though it technically has a male lead (Anthony Perkins), it does start with a female protagonist (Janet Leigh) and then introduces another major female character (Vera Miles).
Based on the 1959 novel of the same name, it follows the story of an on-the-run thief Marion Crane who is killed by the motel proprietor Norman Bates and the aftermath of these events that prompt Marion's sister Lila and lover Sam to investigate.
The Silence Of The Lambs (1991) - 8.6
The Silence of the Lambs is another psychological horror movie headed by a female lead (Jodie Foster) and her male co-star (Anthony Hopkins). The movie was a commercial and critical success, winning multiple awards and becoming a cultural phenomenon.
Based on the 1988 novel of the same name, it follows a young FBI agent investigating the case of a serial killer nicknamed "Buffalo Bill." To catch him, the agent decides to get the help of an ex-serial killer and psychiatrist, Dr. Hannibal Lecter.
Spirited Away (2001) - 8.6
Another brilliant movie directed by Miyazaki, Spirited Away is known for its achievements at the box office as much as for its praise by critics and iconic status among regular audiences. In addition, the movie is a coming-of-age story of a 10-year-old girl.
Chihiro moves into a new neighborhood with her parents, but on their way, they encounter a strange tunnel that leads them to the spirit world. There, Chihiro's parents are turned into pigs and she now has to find a way to free them and herself.
Parasite (2019) - 8.6
One of the most successful foreign movies of recent years, Bong Joon-ho's Parasite was a massive success and won numerous awards, including Best Picture at the Academy Awards and the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, making it the third film to ever do so. It has an ensemble cast, half of which is made up of female characters.
The story follows a poor family who decides to infiltrate a rich family by posing as unrelated, highly-qualified specialists.