Thelma & Louise Voted UK's Favourite Road Movie

Ridley Scott’s 1991 iconic female buddy film, Thelma & Louise, is the UK’s No.1 road movie according to new consumer research conducted by JET – one of the UK’s leading fuel brands.

The iconic film starring Susan Sarandon, Geena Davis and Harvey Kietel (with a memorable cameo from a then un-known Brad Pitt) picked up 6 Oscar nominations and was both a commercial and critical success.

The film, which follows best friends Thelma and Louise as they embark on an ill-fated road trip to the Grand Canyon in a classic 1966 Ford Thunderbird is the ultimate road movie and the UK’s favourite with just under half (47%) placing it in their top 5 with 1:6 voting it their outright winner.

Easy Rider, the 1969 classic starring Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper is the UK’s second-favourite road movie of all-time with the Burt Reynolds/Sally Field 1970s comedy Smokey and the Bandit taking the third spot.

Conducted online in August 2020 amongst 2000 UK adults the research coincides with the launch of a new ad campaign for JET - that has 300+ branded forecourts nationally - that features a man ‘driving’ a grand piano through the iconic peak district landscape before stopping at a JET forecourt to quickly refuel before once again hitting the open road. A unique, dramatic and joyful journey seen through the eyes of the driver.

“Our aim is to get the drivers who visit our forecourts back on the road quickly and safely” says Áine Corkery, Manager, Brand UK Marketing, Phillips 66 Limited “And we thought the launch of the ‘Keep On Moving’ campaign was the perfect time to poll the population to discover their favourite road movies - one of the most enduring and evocative film genres.”

The UK’s Top 10 Road Movies:

• 1 Thelma & Louise
• 2 Easy Rider
• 3 Smokey and the Bandit
• 4 Dumb & Dumber
• 5 Road Trip
• 6 Planes Trains and Automobiles
• 7 National Lampoon’s Vacation
• 8 Rain Man
• 9 Mad Max
• 10 We’re The Millers

Key findings:

• Gen Z’s vote We’re The Millers top road movie
• Men pick Easy Rider as their No.1
• Baby Boomers (65+) also opt for Easy Rider
• Londoner’s buck the national trend and vote Mad Max into their top 3
• Of the top 10, Rain Man was the most commercially successful grossing $354 million at the box office followed by We’re The Millers ($269 million) and Dumb & Dumber ($247 million).