The Best 10 Films of 2024
Plus some disappointments and additional recommendations.
While 2024 did not produce a deluge of modern classics—thanks, in part, to the recent strikes in Hollywood—it still produced many worthwhile films, films with transformative performances, unforgettable imagery, dance-inducing music, and thought-provoking ideas.
Movie studios do not abide by the calendar year, so not everyone gets to see a film at the same time. Movies like The Brutalist and Nickel Boys were released on the coasts in 2024 but didn’t reach the Twin Cities until early 2025. That’s why this list of the top 10 movies of 2024 took an extra month to compile.
Thanks to an AMC Stubs membership, I saw 32 movies in the theater in 2024. Seeing a movie in the theater is how they’re meant to be seen. The big screen always enhances the cinematic experience. Thankfully, I saw all but one of my top 10 in the theater last year.
Before revealing the top 10 films of 2024, I want to touch on the biggest disappointments of the year.
Paul Mescal as Lucius in Gladiator ll
Gladiator II was one of the most anticipated films of the year. While Denzel Washington delights, the rest of the movie falls flat. It’s overlong and overstuffed, with stale, predictable characters and plotting—plus some downright egregious CGI “monkeys.”
Similarly, Wolfs, starring Brad Pitt and George Clooney, had promise but failed to deliver. It’s a bland, boring film that coasts on the fame of its stars. I’m not sure what genre it’s supposed to be—it's neither funny nor thrilling, lacks any real mystery, and offers very little drama. The leads seemed disinterested and clearly phoned it in. Quite disappointing, especially considering how well they paired in the Ocean’s films.
Megalopolis, from famed director Francis Ford Coppola, also underwhelmed. The mind behind five-star classics like The Godfather and Apocalypse Now crafting an allegory about the fall of America mirroring the fall of Rome should have been fascinating. Unfortunately, the film was a tonal and narrative mess with few redeeming qualities. A big swing that mostly misses.
Onto bigger and better things…
Here are the top 10 films of 2024!
10. The Beast
Léa Seydoux as Gabrielle in The Beast
The Beast is an unusual film. Split into three parts – past, present, and future – the film explores emotional connection and repression, and its impact on our psyches. The film follows a young woman named Gabrielle. She exists in the near future where emotions have been deemed a threat, presumably by an AI of some sort. She lives in a futuristic, seemingly empty Paris, where she hopes to acquire a job, a rarity for humans. To secure employment, she seeks to purify her DNA through a medical procedure of sorts that sends her mind into her alternate lives all in an attempt to rid herself of any strong emotions. Each of these lives is separated by time but connected through character and theme.
The Beast is a thought-provoking and eerie film with lots of tension about how emotion dictates our lives.
9. Civil War
Cailee Spaeny and Kirsten Dunst as Photojournalists in Civil War
Civil War follows a group of journalists navigating a treacherous, war-torn path from Pennsylvania to Washington DC amidst a U.S. Civil War. While the politics of this war are not clearly described, Civil War highlights the brutality of war, and what a modern civil war on American soil might look like – both physically and socially. And how journalists might operate in such a situation. It’s loud, it’s hair-raising and hits terrifyingly close to home.
Civil War has little to say about U.S. politics but plenty to say about Americans and Journalism.
8. Nosferatu (2024)
Bill Skarsgård as Nosferatu and Lily-Rose Depp as Ellen Hutter in Nosferatu (2024)
Nosferatu (2024) has a couple of the year’s best performances. Lily-Rose Depp and Bill Skarsgård are remarkable in this remake of the 1922 classic by the same name. The physicality of their acting was particularly mesmerizing.
The film’s set, production, and costume design, combined with stunning cinematography, make Nosferatu one of the most visually striking films of 2024. These elements perfectly complement its melancholic and ominous tone, ideal for this retelling of the vampire classic.
I’ll be eagerly awaiting whatever Robert Eggers does next!
7. Nickel Boys
Ethan Herisse as Elwood and Brandon Wilson as Turner in Nickel Boys
Nickel Boys’ collage-like construction and point-of-view framing create a captivating cinematic experience. This unique framing alone is enough to recommend the film.
Adapted from Colson Whitehead’s 2019 novel, Nickel Boys dives into the lives of two young Black men in the 1960s South, as they navigate the brutal realities of Jim Crow and systemic racism.
While Nickel Boys is not a fun or happy movie, it has enough light-hearted and heartwarming moments not to leave you depressed. It’s not meant to excite or enthrall, but endear and enlighten—and it delivers. It’s a thought-provoking and emotional story about an American experience that was all too common and how those experiences reverberate today.
6. The Brutalist
Guy Pierce, Adrien Brody, and Isaach De Bankole in The Brutalist
The Brutalist is a big, bold, and beautiful film about the consequences of war, American assimilation, and the tension between art and commerce.
Director and co-writer Brady Corbet took a big swing with The Brutalist. This film was clearly a monumental undertaking, crafted with the ambition to make a lasting mark on cinema history and its canon. At 3.5 hours long, with a 15-minute intermission (which I greatly appreciated), it never feels overlong or drawn out.
The image-making in The Brutalist is impeccable. Every frame is meticulously and artistically crafted, resulting in a truly awe-inspiring visual experience. The performances are top-tier, with Adrien Brody and Guy Ritchie in particular delivering standout work. The music is beautiful—when that score swells, it captures the very essence of what a cinematic experience should feel like.
While The Brutalist may not reach the iconic heights of The Godfather, it certainly aims for them. As the saying goes, "Shoot for the moon, land among the stars." Regardless, it’s a film well worth your time. If you can, catch it on IMAX or the biggest screen you can find.
5. Anora
Mark Eydelshteyn as Vanya and Mikey Madison as Ani in Anora
Anora is a spectacular film about the social dynamics of class and sex work. Anora, aka Ani, is a stripper at a club in the Brighton Beach neighborhood of New York City. At work, she meets Ivan, aka Vanya, the son of a Russian oligarch. They hit it off and experience a tumultuous romance as the film unfolds.
Anora is simultaneously delightful and depressing. Like life, the tone shifts often, but never too abruptly. The tonal transitions are smooth, akin to an experienced DJ seamlessly blending one track into the next.
Speaking of music, Anora had me movin’ and groovin’ in my theater seat, especially to a club remix of Take That’s Greatest Day—my favorite needle drop of the year.
The performances are another standout. Mikey Madison (Anora) and Yuriy Borisov (Igor) are exceptional, and it’s no surprise they’ve both earned Oscar nominations. The rest of the cast is impressive as well. Mark Eydelshteyn, Karren Karagulian, and Vache Tovmasyan in particular bring a lot to the film, most enjoyably their humor.
Anora is many things: exciting, funny, terrifying, and heartbreaking. A roller coaster ride that will stick with you.
4. The Substance
Demi Moore as Elizabeth Sparkle in The Substance
While unabashedly gruesome, The Substance uses its cringe-inducing visuals to offer powerful commentary on the female experience—particularly aging, body image, insecurity, and how women are often cast aside as they grow older.
With standout performances from Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley (and a shoutout to Dennis Quaid too), The Substance is hilarious, brimming with theme, and thoroughly entertaining.
Even if you're not a fan of horror, or body horror (which I generally am not), The Substance is still absolutely worth a watch.
3. Sing Sing
Clarence Maclin and Colman Domingo in Sing Sing
Sing Sing is hands down the most moving movie of the year—utterly human and deeply emotional. This is not your typical prison drama. It's not about a prisoner’s trial, an escape, or gang violence. It’s about a prison theater group’s production of a play.
On a deeper level, Sing Sing examines how society treats and misperceives its outcasts, and how that treatment shapes their lives. It reveals the emotion and humanity of these individuals, making for a film that is both incredibly touching and, at times, conflicting. It's heartwarming, yet heartbreaking, to witness these men express their emotions so openly and vulnerably.
What makes Sing Sing the most powerful film of the year is its deep empathy for these prisoners. What makes it one of the coolest films of the year is that most of the cast were real-life prisoners who participated in this real-life theater program. Their performances are nothing short of astonishing, especially considering this was their first professional acting gig.
I’d be remiss not to highlight Clarence Maclin, who plays the second lead in the film. A formerly incarcerated participant in the theater program, Maclin more than holds his own on-screen—at times outshining the great Colman Domingo. It's frankly a shame that Maclin wasn’t recognized with an Oscar nomination for his performance; it was, without question, the best supporting performance I saw all year.
Sing Sing is a must-see for its profound empathy, its celebration of humanity, and the remarkable performances by an even more remarkable group of men.
2. Challengers
Mike Faist, Zendaya, and Josh O’Connor in Challengers
Challengers is a heart-pumping tennis player’s love triangle filled with mind games, fierce competition, and gobs of sexual tension. On the surface, it’s about three young tennis players climbing the ranks of the professional world. But dig a little deeper, and Challengers becomes a complex exploration of power dynamics in intimate relationships, ambition, passion, and—of course—sex.
Without a doubt, Challengers has the best soundtrack of the year, possibly even the decade. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, of Nine Inch Nails fame, deliver the perfect score that complements the film’s tone and themes. One can’t help but get amped up by it, it’s invigorating.
The performances from all three leads are stellar. Zendaya is as alluring, sensual, and commanding as ever. Mike Faist plays his role with the perfect mix of hesitation and deference. But it’s Josh O’Connor, my personal favorite of the three, who steals the show—his portrayal is the right blend of skeezy and slimy, while still being frustratingly charming. Each performance fits together like pieces of a puzzle, forming an enthralling and exhilarating whole.
Challengers will leave you throbbing in more ways than one!
1. Dune: Part Two
The Final Duel in Dune: Part Two
Dune: Part Two, Denis Villeneuve’s highly anticipated follow-up to Dune (2021), is a masterclass in sci-fi epic filmmaking. The film is impeccably crafted, visually mesmerizing, and stacked with a remarkable cast.
There are countless memorable moments throughout the film—scenes that are not only jaw-dropping but genuinely awe-inspiring. Some of the visuals will give me goosebumps, encapsulating what cinema at its finest can achieve. And if you didn’t catch it in IMAX, I strongly recommend you jump at the chance when it inevitably returns to theaters in a few years. The film's scale and beauty truly demand that format.
While Dune: Part Two looks and sounds spectacular, it’s the remarkable performances that truly bring the world to life. Rebecca Ferguson shines as Lady Jessica, and Javier Bardem’s portrayal of Stilgar is equally impressive. Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, and Léa Seydoux all deliver standout performances that elevate their movie stardom to a new level. Dave Bautista, Stellan Skarsgård, Josh Brolin, and Charlotte Rampling are also stellar. "Stacked" may be an understatement.
Austin Butler as Feyd Rautha Harkonnen in Dune: Part Two
Dune Part Two is also brimming with ideas and themes about religion, colonization, messianic figures, drugs, white saviorism, and more. The strategy, the political and tactical maneuvering, all add texture, and depth to the story, its characters’ and their stakes.
With its inventiveness, thrilling action, political intrigue, and thematic depth, Dune: Part Two is one of the greatest sci-fi films of all time.
I Also Recommend…
There are always more than 10 movies worth seeing in any given year. Here are some other 2024 films that I’d recommend:
Babygirl - A movie about sexual desire and the difficulty in communicating it.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga - A thrilling action epic and the prequel to Mad Max: Fury Road.
Rebel Ridge - Breakout performance of the year for Aaron Pierre. He should be the next James Bond. Rebel Ridge is a good action film about a guy with a certain set of skills seeking justice in a corrupt small town.
The Fall Guy - If you like Ryan Gosling comedies this will tickle your fancy.
Alien: Romulus - If you’re at all interested in the Alien films, this is a good one!
Marmalade - Shot in Minnesota, near my house, this funny mystery thriller, is a fun watch.
Kneecap - A rambunctiously fun Netflix film about free speech and an Irish rap duo.
What’s Inside - A fun Netflix mystery thriller about body swapping.
Snack Shack - A movie about two teenage boys and entrepreneurship.
The Apprentice - A well-done portrait of a particular kind of American success with two of the best performance of the year from Jeremy Strong as Roy Cohn and Sebastian Stan as Donald Trump.
The Beekeeper - If you like the Jason Statham genre you’ll love this.
Happy Watching!