Entertainment Movies 'Wizard of Oz' Beats 'Star Wars' to Be Named Most Influential Movie of All Time — See the Full List! Researchers at the University of Turin in Italy have given the title to Wizard of OZ after studying more than 47,000 movies By Ale Russian Ale Russian Ale Russian is a contributing writer at PEOPLE. She has been working at PEOPLE since 2023. Her work has appeared in Women's World, First For Women, Biography.com and the Chicago Sun-Times. People Editorial Guidelines Published on November 30, 2018 10:16AM EST The most influential movie has officially been named. Researchers at the University of Turin in Italy have given the title to Wizard of OZ after studying more than 47,000 movies, according to Yahoo! The movie was crowned the winner after findings showed it had the most references made to it in other movies, and the most spin-offs. According to the study, Oz beat Star Wars and Psycho, which came in second and third, as well as fourth and fifth place finishers King Kong and 2001: A Space Odyssey. There’s No Place Like Home! The Wizard of Oz‘s Ruby Slippers Found 13 Years After Theft “We propose an alternative method to box office takings, which are affected by factors beyond the quality of the film such as advertising and distribution, and reviews, which are ultimately subjective, for analyzing the success of a film,” said lead researcher Dr Livio Bioglio, according to Yahoo! Everett “We have developed an algorithm that uses references between movies as a measure for success, and which can also be used to evaluate the career of directors, actors and actresses, by considering their participation in top-scoring movies.” WATCH: Judy Garland’s Daughter Lorna Luft Reveals How the Family Will Celebrate Wizard of Oz Anniversary The movie was released in 1939 and featured Judy Garland as Dorothy, a simple farm girl from Kansas who is transported to the land of Oz before ruby red slippers bring her back home. Check out the top 20 below: Close