While many films focus on memorable mythical beasts, dragon movies have proven that the colossal fire-breathing lizards of legend make for some of the best cinematic experiences. Giant dinosaur-like creatures with huge leathery wings and the ability to breathe fire are certainly exciting additions to any story, and it is not hard to see why dragons have been been the focus of tales for centuries — a trend that continued with the invention of cinema and birth of filmmaking. The best dragon movies showcase all the wonderful, thrilling, and terrifying ways these beasts can be used on the big screen.

Old stories would often depict dragons as a fearsome threat to the kingdom that needed to be vanquished by heroic knights. Certainly, there are still plenty of movies that play on the destructive nature of dragons. However, dragons in films can also be depicted as misunderstood creatures and even allies to the heroes. Epic fantasy adventures like Harry Potter have dragons, as do family-friendly fun like Shrek. From fairy tales to medieval adventures to magical epics, these dragon movies use the beasts to their greatest potential.

30 Shazam! Fury Of The Gods (2023)

The Superhero Takes On A Dragon In The City

While the first Shazam! movie was a solid hit with audiences and critics for bringing some much-needed levity into the DCEU, the sequel Shazam! Fury of the Gods was met with a much more tepid reaction and ultimately flopped. However, the sequel is still a fun and energetic superhero story that features some very memorable sequences that mix superhero and fantasy action.

In the climax of the movie, the heroic Shazam takes on the power god Kalypso as she rides her destructive dragon, Ladon, through the streets of Philadelphia. While there have been other examples of superheroes taking on dragons, this is the first time such a battle takes place in a modern urban city. It makes for a thrilling final action sequence of the film. It remains to be seen whether Shazam rebooted for James Gunn's DCU, but this sequence is a reminder that the Shazam! movies that exist are better than their reputations suggest.

29 Quest For Camelot (1998)

A Two-Headed Dragon Serves As Comedic Sidekick

Outside of Disney and DreamWorks movies, there are plenty of other animated adventures that like to explore the fun of the fantasy genre and often create their own unique dragon creatures. Quest for Camelot is one overlooked animated project from Warner Bros. However, while it has largely been forgotten, it offers a fun take on the legend of King Arthur. It follows the daughter of a slain knight who partners with a blind warrior to retrieve the lost sword Excalibur and return it to King Arthur before an evil traitor uses it to usurp the throne.

Instead of featuring a threatening dragon as one of the movie's major threats, the two-headed dragon, Devon and Cornwall, serve as the comedic relief characters, ing the heroes on their journey. Eric Idle and Don Rickles make for a fun pair, voicing the bickering dragons who are reluctantly stuck together but won't it that they also care a lot for each other.

28 Q: The Winged Serpent (1982)

A Flying Beast Wreaks Havoc In New York City

While Q: The Winged Serpent might initially seem like a schlocky and cheap B-movie in the creature feature genre, it is a lot more interesting and layered than that. From brilliant B-movie auteur Larry Cohen, Q: The Winged Serpent follows David Carradine as a New York detective investigating some ritualistic murders when he suddenly is pulled into the case of a giant winged monster that is stalking the skies above the city and claiming one victim after another.

The monster aspect of the story then turns it into something completely different and totally entertaining.

Q: The Winged Serpent excels because it is filled with defined characters and a real story that is funny and gripping. The monster aspect of the story then turns it into something completely different and totally entertaining. While the beast's stop-motion animated look certainly feels dated now, Cohen does a great job of keeping it unseen for much of the movie, making it an effective and imposing presence.

27 Dragon Wars: D-Wars (2007)

Dragons Wage War In The Modern World

While there are other movies that have taken dragons out of the historical and fantasy worlds and placed them in new settings, Dragon Wars: D-Wars is one of the best to imagine the fight against these destructive beasts if they suddenly arrived in the modern world. The movie is built on the premise that once every 500 years, dragons rise to roam the Earth and do battle with humanity caught in between.

The movie is a cheesy and cheap direct-to-video kind of action movie, but there is a lot of fun to be had for those not looking for something high-caliber. It is fun seeing these monsters flying around cities, taking down helicopters, munching on soldiers, and battling tanks. The movie also managed to attract some bigger-name stars such as Craig Robinson and Robert Forster to add a little bit extra to the final product.

26 Damsel (2024)

Millie Bobby Brown Faces A Powerful Dragon Head-On

2024 saw a new film enter the canon of movies with dragons in them — Netflix's Damsel, starring Millie Bobby Brown. The dragon in Damsel is a key part of the plot, so viewers who want plenty of screen time with a flying fire-breathing reptile won't be disappointed. In Damsel, Millie Bobby Brown stars as Elodie, a young woman who finds herself betrothed to the prince of a neighboring kingdom. However, shortly after the wedding ceremony, she realizes she's actually been selected to be a human sacrifice to appease a terrible dragon that was once a scourge on the land.

As far as modern dragon movies go, Damsel is definitely among the strongest.

Damsel features some incredible scenes featuring Millie Bobby Brown encountering the dragon, and the story isn't as simple as it first appears. Without giving away spoilers, Elodie discovers that the fearsome fantasy beast isn't the mindless reaper of discord and destruction the royalty of the kingdom of Aurea paint it out to be. As far as modern dragon movies go, Damsel is definitely among the strongest.

25 Beowulf (2007)

A Norse Hero Takes On A Legendary Viking Beast

2007's Beowulf may not be the most critically acclaimed action fantasy movie or adaptation of a historical epic, though it does still stand as one of the best dragon movies. Directed by Robert Zemeckis, who also helmed the Back to the Future trilogy and Forrest Gump, and based on a script co-written by Neil Gaiman, Beowulf is a rich reimagining of the Norse saga of the same name.

Beowulf was made with 3D viewing in mind, which means it was dismissed by many critics for being a gimmicky project that focused too much on CGI, but in the decades since, it still stands as having one of the most fearsome dragons seen on the big screen.

Beowulf has some incredible scenes when the fierce titular hero takes them on, so viewers who like the sound of intense action Viking vs. dragon action sequences should definitely seek it out.

Unlike Damsel and several other dragons in movies that have them, the dragons in Beowulf are a threatening presence through and through. There's no attempts to portray the fantastical beasts in a positive or nuanced light in the 2007 movie — just like in the original Norse saga, their only purpose is to cause mayhem and fear. This means that Beowulf has some incredible scenes when the fierce titular hero takes them on, so viewers who like the sound of intense action Viking vs. dragon action sequences should definitely seek it out.

24 The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader (2010)

A Cursed Dragon Becomes A Key Ally Of Prince Caspian

The Chronicles of Narnia movies, which adapt the classic fantasy novels of C.S. Lewis, have all manner of fantastical beasts and creatures in them. It's no surprise then that dragons would emerge in the story sooner or later, and it's in the third story, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, that one of Narnia's dragons finally appears. The 2010 movie adaptation also includes said dragon, and in a similar vein to the dragon in Damsel, it's a beast that seems threatening at first but is soon revealed to be a more nuanced presence.

The dragon in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is introduced when it attacks the titular ship on its voyage to rescue the seven missing lords of Narnia. However, it's revealed that the dragon is none other than the cousin of the Pevensie children, Eustace Scrubb.

Eustace's greed gets the better of him when he finds some treasure, which leads him to be cursed and turned into a dragon. Played by Will Poulter, Eustace makes for an interesting character when both in human and dragon form, and the CGI in 2010's The Voyage of the Dawn Treader still holds up when viewed in the 2020s.

23 Mulan (1998)

Eddie Murphy Voices One Of Disney's Most Beloved Animated Dragons

While they are most often presented as a threat or danger in movies, animated films have a long history of featuring dragons as comic relief or otherwise friendly characters. This is especially true for Disney, who have several movies that include animated dragons who actively help various princesses or protagonists — and perhaps none are as lovable as Mushu, the dragon spirit guide who helps the titular heroine in 1998's Mulan.

Mushu isn't an especially powerful dragon, but he is perhaps the funniest ever seen on screen.

Mushu and Mulan have a lot in common, as both are trying to prove themselves and sur the incredibly low expectations of their family (or, in Mushu's case, the Ancestors at the Fa family shrine). Mushu isn't an especially powerful dragon, but he is perhaps the funniest ever seen on screen. This is little surprise given that he's voiced by comedy legend Eddie Murphy. The 2020 live-action remake of Mulan chose to ignore Mushu and he wasn't included in the movie, a decision that caused no shortage of chagrin among fans of the animated original.

22 Jabberwocky (1977)

Two Monty Python Are Behind This Bizarre Movie About A Dragon Hunt

When it comes to classic comedy, the Monty Python movies stand out as some of the most hilarious and, most importantly, surreal ever made. While it's not a Monty Python film, 1977's Jabberwocky takes everything that makes the comedy troup's projects so memorable and supplants it into a strange tale about a hapless barrel-makers apprentice who must hunt the dragon chasing his father. The similarities to Monty Python are obvious throughout, which is of no surprise given that it's directed by Terry Gilliam and stars MIchael Palin.

The dragon in Jabberwocky is definitely one of the strangest looking in any movie, and is very much the product of low-budget 1970s special effects. This only serves to make it more endearing though, and it definitely fits the overall tone of this incredibly unique — and unashamadely silly — medieval fantasy about an unlikely hero simply trying his best.

21 Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings (2021)

The MCU's Origin Story Features A Legendary And Heroic Dragon

Given how much the MCU has expanded over the years, perhaps it was only a matter of time before a dragon was thrown into the mix. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is an MCU origin story that is initially a somewhat grounded martial arts action movie, but there eventually are more fantastical elements introduced — including an epic dragon.

When Shang-Chi's villainous father Wenwu frees the Dweller-in-Darkness in the movie's climax, the Great Protector returns to help Shang-Chi.

As part of the legend at the center of the movie, a Chinese dragon known as the Great Protector sealed an evil creature known as the Dweller-in-Darkness inside a cave. When Shang-Chi's villainous father Wenwu frees the Dweller-in-Darkness in the movie's climax, the Great Protector returns to help Shang-Chi. The bloated CGI finale is considered the weakest aspect of the movie, but Shang-Chi is a top-tier Phase 4 film that helped introduce a fun new hero into the MCU. Three years later, fans are still waiting for Shang-Chi 2.