2024 has been a fantastic year for weirdos being weird on the big screen, so allow us to be weird about weirdos being weird on the big screen by telling you about our favourites, either on your medium sized desktop screen or more likely the tiny screen you have in your hands. In any case, here are our top movies of the year.
In this list, you’ll see the individual top tens of all our cinephile (that’s cine!) editors, who each make their case for their number one choice. Tomorrow you can check back on whatever screen you prefer to see our overall list, and see what swiped the crown from 2023’s top choice, Bottoms.
Stacey Henley, Editor-in-Chief
10. Dune: Part 2, 9. Wicked, 8. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, 7. Anora, 6. Longlegs, 5. The Substance, 4. Hundreds of Beavers 3. I Saw The TV Glow, 2. Monkey Man
1. Challengers
There are few things I love more in this life than sport. Though tennis isn’t my game, I think of myself as a Newcastle United fan before most things, and there are few sports I don’t become immediately engrossed in when I watch them. This is why I loved Challengers – it understood the feeling of sport, its nature, its meaning. Not just that it was accurate technically, it had respect for the game itself at its heart.
Held up by three excellent performances at its centre and propelled to greatness by its different expressions of love and the aching at its core, the basic ingredients of Challengers would make a good movie whatever the topic. But it’s the competitive eroticism of tennis, combined with that wonderful ‘camera-as-tennis-ball’ sequence that makes Challengers my number one pick.
Eric Switzer, Senior Editor & Producer
10. Monkey Man, 9. Trap, 8. Twisters, 7. Longlegs, 6. Late Night With The Devil, 5. It’s What’s Inside, 4. I Saw The TV Glow, 3. The Substance, 2. Dune: Part 2
1. The Wild Robot
In stark contrast to the rest of my horror-ble top ten list, The Wild Robot is the heartwarming tale of a bot and her bird on a journey to discover it’s okay to be different. Simple in premise and no doubt as schmaltzy as they come, the magic of The Wild Robot is in how deeply affecting it manages to be anyway.
Between its striking animation style, soul-shaking score, and a stellar performance from Lupita Nyong’o, The Wild Robot has all the right ingredients combined in just the right way. It’s a shame this movie had just a fraction of the success of Disney’s meager offerings this year, considering how much it captures the spirit and creativity of Disney animation when it was in its prime.
Andrew King, Features Editor
10. Conclave, 9. Will & Harper, 8. Woman of the Hour, 7. Evil Does Not Exist, 6. In A Violent Nature, 5. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, 4. Dune: Part Two, 3. The First Omen, 2. Longlegs
1. Challengers
As soon as Challengers’ credits rolled, I turned to my wife and said, “Holy s***, what a f***in’ movie!” She agreed, and we walked out of the theater on a different planet from the one we started on. I place incredible weight on how a movie makes me feel, and Challengers made me feel like I had electricity flowing through my veins. I haven’t revisited it since it hit streaming. I’m just not ready to touch that experience yet.
An 131-minute-long rally of a movie, Luca Guadagnino’s thrilling romantic drama kept me as tense as the strings in a tennis racket from the moment it introduced the love triangle at its core: Zendaya’s Tashi Duncan, Josh O’Conner’s Patrick Zweig, and Mike Faist’s Art Donaldson.
As Patrick and Art compete for Tashi’s attention (and, for each others’) the performers’ chemistry — gorgeously captured on 35mm film by cinematographer Sayombhu Mukdeeprom and scored by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ propulsive club banger soundtrack — ensure that the ball stays in play until the exhilarating final shot.
James Troughton, Executive Editor
10. My Old Ass, 9. Kneecap, 8. Trap, 7. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, 6. Monkey Man, 5. Abigail, 4. The Wild Robot, 3. The Substance, 2. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
1. Dune: Part 2
I’ve never been a Dune-head. The first one was a slog, I shut the first book after a few chapters, and any attempt to watch the David Lynch movie ended in disaster. But Dune: Part 2 sunk its giant sandworm teeth into me, and now I’m desperate for anything to do with this bizarre and wonderful world.
Dune: Part 2 is a surreal movie with some of the most poignant visuals in modern cinema, thanks to incredibly talented cinematographer Greig Fraser, scored to one of Hans Zimmer’s best compositions yet. The story of Paul Atreides being corrupted into a saviour figure, losing himself to power (as told beautifully through the lens of Chani, played by Zendaya), is a tragic, powerful warning as relevant now as it was nearly 60 years ago.
This movie is, without a doubt, a monumental feat of sci-fi filmmaking that will go down as one of the genre’s best, cementing Denis Villeneuve as one of cinema’s all-time greats.
Allyson Cochran, Editor
10. Speak No Evil, 9. Monkey Man, 8. Saturday Night, 7. Heretic, 6. Smile 2, 5. Wicked, 4. A Real Pain, 3. Juror #2, 2. Civil War
1. My Old Ass
I stumbled into My Old Ass by pure chance at an AMC Screen Unseen, a five dollar gamble on a surprise movie. As the opening sequence rolled, I was bracing for cringey teen fluff. Cut to me, 90 minutes later, ugly-crying and laughing so hard I had to muffle myself to avoid becoming that person in the theater.
The movie follows an 18-year-old on a mushroom trip where she meets her 39-year-old self, who delivers a single, life-defining piece of advice. It’s sharp, heartfelt, and somehow features a genius use of Justin Bieber’s One Less Lonely Girl. What starts as a summer coming-of-age story morphs into a hilarious gut punch about love, regret, and embracing your future.
James Kennedy, Staff Writer
10. Dune: Part 2, 9. A Real Pain, 8. The Monk and the Gun, 7. Monkey Man, 6. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, 5. Civil War, 4. Heretic, 3. Baby Assassins 2, 2. The Last Stop in Yuma County
1. Hundreds of Beavers
This year I watched a number of movies crafted by talented filmmakers backed by hundreds of millions of dollars. Yet, an independent film shot on a shoestring budget about a fur trapper who uses hunting techniques ripped directly out of Wile E Coyote’s playbook is what left the biggest impact on me.
Hundreds of Beavers is one grisly Looney Tunes-esque beaver murder after another. While that should be exhausting, each act of beaverside is entrancingly inventive, and the visual gags build off each other so well that I was utterly captivated. It all culminates in a third act that is the perfect escalation of everything that came before it. It’s a jaw-dropping masterclass in excess. While Hundreds of Beavers may lack the gloss of a Dune Part 2, it has a hundred times the chutzpah and infinitely more beavers.
Cristian Macias, Video Producer
10. Juror #2, 9. Civil War, 8. Didi, 7. Late Night with the Devil, 6. Sing Sing, 5. Anora, 4. Evil Does Not Exist, 3. Look Back, 2. Challengers
1. Dune: Part 2
For years, I considered Dune unfilmable, with Herbert’s novel failing to engross me beyond its grand world building. Even as a big Denis guy – and an even bigger sci-Fi enthusiast – I was worried of how the final cut would shake out. Let alone how the book’s more sudden climax would translate to screen. But if there’s one thing we can be sure of Denis Villeneuve, it’s that he’ll find that narrow path.
Dune: Part 2 is sublime cinema. An intergalactic meditative political drama turned monumental blockbuster. A masterpiece in all technical categories of cinematic craft. It’s not just that Dune’s intimate character moments elevate the original text, it’s that its tragedy is painted from the lush, warm palette of silhouettes and burning sand, where every frame is indeed a painting. Greig Fraser was absolutely operating on god mode here; there’s never been a better case for the sustainment of the IMAX format.
If Denis wasn’t already in the shortlist of all-timers, it’s assuredly Dune: Part 2 that cements him as one of cinema’s elite visionaries.
Axel Bosso, Editor
10. Terrifier 3, 9. The Substance, 8. The First Omen, 7. Longlegs, 6. Challengers, 5. Chime. 4. Exhuma, 3. Red Rooms, 2. Look Back
1. I Saw The TV Glow
It feels weird to have Jane Schoenbrun’s indie darling as my favorite movie of the year since I don’t feel it’s particularly aimed at me (in short, this is a trans allegory). However, when I looked back at everything I watched in 2024, I couldn’t find any other film that left me so vulnerable and captivated by the pictures playing on my screen. I Saw the TV Glow is a beautifully shot and directed film, with some of the best performances, monologues, and terrifying scenes I have seen throughout the year.
I don’t have the best relationship with my body. Body dysmorphia, and more specifically, bigorexia, is a common disorder in cis males when you train a lot, and it has been tough going through my recent change of appearance. What Justice Smith’s character portrays on the silver screen, even if it’s more related to gender, had me shouting “Yes, that’s exactly how I feel!” The existential anguish suffered by this fictional character hurt me at first. After weeks of thinking about it and some extra help, I started walking a healthier path about who I am and how I look. Thank you, Jane.
