Agatha Christie movies have been in demand since the advent of Hollywood cinema. She published over 125 written works, including 74 novels, selling more than two billion copies, making her the second best-selling fiction author ever. The first Agatha Christie movie came in 1928 with the first non-English language adaptation coming a year later. Foreign filmmakers have taken a particular liking to Christie's work. Of more than 30 film adaptations, 14 are non-English adaptations.

Even today, Christie's mystery novels remain popular among readers worldwide. They are still being adapted into television series and movies, whether they're stand-alone stories or part of the mysteries solved by Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot. While miniseries and special presentations on television tend to be more common than movies, new Agatha Christie movies also continue to be released. However, the best Agatha Christie movies appeal to fans of the novels as much as they do those who have never read her works.

25 Alibi (1931)​​​

The Lost Agatha Christie Movie From The Earliest Decades Of Cinema

Alibi is one of the first Agatha Christie movies by Twickenham Studios. Alibi stars Austin Trevor as Hercule Poirot and is considered a lost film. Even if it is a lost film, it's still notable for being the first Christie adaptation to feature Hercule Poirot. It's based on the 1928 play of the same name, which itself was based on Christie's 1926 novel The Murder of Roger Ackroyd.

Alibi features a character named Caryll Sheppard (played by Mercia Swinburne), who became the inspiration for Miss Marple, Christie's other great detective character. Director Leslie S. Hiscott was prolific, directing around 60 movies between 1925 and 1956. This was also the first of two Agatha Christie movies that Hiscott directed. He followed it up with Black Coffee, with Austin Trevor returning one more time as Hercule Poirot. He also made movies about Sherlock Holmes in his career.

24 Black Coffee (1931)

A Long-Lost Adaptation Of Christie's Stage Play Movie Response

Black Coffee stars Austin Trevor as Hercule Poirot and is based on the 1929 stage play of the same name. Christie wrote the play in response to the film adaptations made up to that point. In the story, Poirot and a friend, Arthur Hastings, visit a physicist only to discover his dead body. The plot revolves around a secret formula the physicist was working on and each previous visitor's motives for murdering him.

No known copies exist of either of Leslie S. Hiscott's Agatha Christie movies, but both earned strong enough reviews that Black Coffee is still known about and discussed today. While the movie was not an adaptation of one of the author's novels, in 1998 (22 years after her death), Australian-born writer and classical music critic Charles Osborne turned the play into a novel (with the blessing of Christie's estate).

23 Ten Little Indians (1989)

A Group Of Former Suspects Must Solve A Murder

In 1989, Harry Alan Towers released his third version of the Agatha Christie story, And Then There Were None, which he renamed Ten Little Indians. The movie sees ten strangers, all accused of murders in the past, summoned to an African safari by a mysterious host. When they start dying one by one, the survivors have to figure out which of them is the murderer before they all die.

This was not a Christie story with her two major detectives (Hercule Poirot and Marla Maples). Instead, it featured ten regular people forced to sleuth their way through this intriguing whodunit. The cast included Donald Pleasence (Dr. Loomis from Halloween) and Frank Stallone (Sylvester Stallone's brother). Producer Harry Alan Towers previously adapted this book into a movie in 1965 and 1974, and this was the lesser quality of the three movie versions.

22 Ordeal By Innocence (1984)

Donald Sutherland Strives To Clear A Dead Man's Name

Ordeal by Innocence is a 1984 movie based on the book of the same name by Agatha Christie. The book follows Dr. Arthur Calgary, a witness to a murder, but he doesn't realize the full extent of what he saw until two years later when Jack Argyle, an innocent man, was found guilty of the crime and died in prison. Dr. Calgary then reveals that Argyle is not guilty and that Calgary has an alibi for him, which proves it, meaning the killer is still out there.

Donald Sutherland plays Dr. Calgary, and the ing cast includes prominent names like Christopher Plummer, Faye Dunaway, and Ian McShane. There are some complaints about the music score, which is jazz and doesn't fit the format of a mystery movie at all. However, the story itself is well told, and it is a great look at social conformity and the idea of killing just to maintain someone's respectability. It pays like a throwback mystery movie with a great cast involved.

21 Ten Little Indians (1965)

An Early Adaptation That Inspired Many Horror Movies

The 1965 version of Ten Little Indians is set in a mansion in the snowy Alps as a mysterious host invites ten people to a remote location. The host doesn't appear and instead leaves a message claiming that each person is responsible for the death of another and will be killed during their stay at the mansion. The message comes to fruition as guests keep turning up dead in the mansion, and the remaining survivors have to figure out who the mysterious killer is before they reach the same fate.

This story is one of the most frequently adapted Christie novels. It has even provided the inspiration for a lot of horror movies that center on isolation as victims are picked off. Harry Alen Towers co-wrote the script for the movie, one of three times that he worked to adapt this Agatha Christie novel into a movie. Most critics praised the cast and the mystery, although many said that it wasn't as good as other adaptations of this specific story that was adapted in the past.

20 Seven Dials Mystery (1981)

Conspiracy And Murder Among The London Aristocracy

The Seven Dials Mystery is based on the Christie novel of the same name, although this novel was written in a different style than most of her earlier murder mystery work. The novel brought back characters from The Secret of Chimneys but didn't pay as much attention to the detectives' deduction work and instead focused on conspiracies and international spies. The 1981 movie follows Lady Eileen "Bundle" Brent, who investigates the murder of Gerry Wade, with the mystery continuing to escalate after his death.

Bundle uncovers a larger conspiracy as another man is killed, and she learns of the existence of a secret society that is involved in both murders. One of several Agatha Christie adaptations for London Weekend Television, the TV movie worked so well for longtime fans because it rarely deviated from the source material. Cheryl Campbell (Chariots of Fire) starred as Lady Eileen 'Bundle' Brent in the movie.

19 Why Didn't They Ask Evans? (1980)

The Adaptation That Brought Agatha Christie Stories To The Small Screen

Why Didn't They Ask Evans? is a detective novel by Agatha Christie and the 1980 TV movie is based on the book of the same name. The movie follows Bobby Jones as he investigates the murder of a man he comes across while golfing whose last words are, "Why didn't they ask Evans?" Jones starts to do a deep dive into the man's life and tries to uncover the mystery of his fatal wounds on the golf course that day.

This is actually the first major Christie adaptation for television because, during her lifetime, the author disliked television. Following her death in 1976, her estate (and specifically her daughter Rosalind Hicks) allowed the broadcast rights for her stories to be sold. Why Didn't They Ask Evans? became hugely popular, and is the reason there are so many TV adaptations today.

18 Death On The Nile (2022)

Kenneth Branagh's Second Outing As Poirot

Kenneth Branagh returns as Poirot in this sequel to Murder On The Orient Express. In Death on the Nile, Agatha Christie's most famous detective is just trying to take a vacation, but of course, his time of relaxation is interrupted by murder. Sadly for his plans of relaxation, he is swept into the murder mystery and has to figure out who the killer is before they strike again. Like its predecessor, Death On The Nile is full of twists, turns, and dramatic accusations.

It also has a more lush backdrop and a bigger budget for costumes to reflect the opulence of the trip. Visually, the movie is stunning, and a cast featuring Gal Gadot, Letitia Wright, Russell Brand, Armie Hammer, Annette Bening, and Rose Leslie certainly makes it as star-studded as the previous one. The movie earned a Saturn Award nomination for Best Action/Adventure Film and a nomination from the Visual Effects Society for Outstanding ing Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature.

17 Murder On The Orient Express (2017)

The First Movie In Branagh's Blockbuster Poirot Trilogy

Murder On The Orient Express is one of the most often adapted (or alluded to) of Christie's novels. This Agatha Christie story has been adapted into radio shows, TV specials, movies, and even video games. Despite those familiar with Christie's work knowing the ending since it was initially published in 1934, many are still captivated by all the twists and turns, as literally everyone Poirot comes into with is a suspect.

Kenneth Branagh as Poirot in this version of the story is incredibly captivating to watch, and the huge cast of stars (Penelope Cruz, Johnny Depp, Daisy Ridley, Leslie Odom Jr., among others) lend gravitas to their roles. The movie sees a murder on the train known as the Orient Express, and everyone on board is a suspect. The movie earned a Saturn Awards nomination for Best Thriller Film and a nomination from the Costume Designers Guild for Excellence in a Period Film.

16 Gumnaam (1965)

Bollywood's Take On A Classic Christie Tale

Indian adaptations of Agatha Christie’s works are incredibly popular. Gumnaam is only the second Indian adaptation and the first in Hindi. The story adapts Christie’s And Then There Were None. In this version, eight characters win a trip, but the prize actually sets them all up to be stalked and systematically murdered one by one. The surviving characters try to hunt down the killer, just as in Christie's original novel.

Eventually, they discover their connections to one another, but only after most of them have already been killed. While the movie might not feature as many characters as the original novel, the themes and suspense remain the same. The movie is more of a thriller than a mystery movie, which helps differentiate it from other Agatha Christie movies. It ended up winning the Best Art Direction (Color) Award at the 13th Filmfare Awards, with two other nominations for the actors.