2024 has been an excellent year for movies, with a lot of weirder flicks wriggling through the blockbuster dominance to the apex of pop culture. Here at TheGamer, our collection of film buff editors have assembled their top tens to bring you the ultimate list of 2024’s best movies.
With horror, indie cinema, sci fi, romance, animation, and show-stopping action all in the charts this year, it’s a real mixed bag – but everything in that mixed bag is a treat to behold. So reach in and grab whatever takes your fancy: here’s our official list of the top ten movies of 2024.
10
Civil War
Kicking off our list is Alex Garland’s Civil War. It had a mixed reception when it opened – many felt its lofty political ideas didn’t offer strong enough world-building, or enough ties to The Current Situation. But that is not what Civil War is about. The war is just a backdrop. This is a movie about photography.
A life thru a lens told through a lens, this is a movie about mentorship, the quest for art, and the drive in our hearts. It’s similar to Nope in that sense, Jordan Peele’s Hollywood horror that also made our list two years ago.
9
Hundreds Of Beavers
Hundreds of Beavers is the greatest video game movie ever to exist. It’s not based on any video game, yet it holds that title nonetheless. The black and white silent comedy (wait, come back!) is heavily inspired by classic Mario and Zelda games, and is the greatest practical slapstick movie this side of Abbott and Costello.
8
The Wild Robot
In a year when often mediocre Disney movies won big at the box office, DreamWorks’ Disneyest work yet won our hearts. Starring Lupita Nyong’o as the titular robot and Pedro Pascal as her wily fox pal (and occasional manipulator), The Wild Robot is not a complicated movie. But it nails every single beat, and even if you know what’s coming, the emotional ripples hit you all the same.
7
Monkey Man
Saved from streaming by Jordan Peele, Dev Patel’s directorial debut (in which he stars) is John Wick with social commentary. Blistering, far more transgressive than it was given any credit for, and bloodier than sin, Monkey Man may go down as the most overlooked movie of the year.
6
Longlegs
It is little surprise that a site who placed Alan Wake 2 so highly in 2023’s Game of the Year list also thought highly of Longlegs. The creeping dread and X-Files-inspired imagery runs deep through both of them, and Longlegs had us in a similar stranglehold this year. In a year when horror was ever-present on the silver screen, none were perhaps quite as scary as Longlegs.
5
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
If Monkey Man is not the most overlooked movie of the year, then Furiosa surely is. The tragic follow-up to Fury Road, this prequel took one of the Max mythos’ most interesting characters and found a way to develop her further, adding compelling world-building alongside its fiery spectacles.
Who would have called that Chris Hemsworth would end up having one of the best post-MCU roles? “I want them back” perfectly subverted our expectations after featuring so heavily in the trailers, and might be the scene of the year.
4
The Substance
The balance must be respected, and few have struck it between horror and comedy quite so well as The Substance. An uncomfortable movie, unforgettable in its visuals and beautifully uplifted by two committed performances at the helm, it is a grotesque explosion of glamour.
For all the disgusting and horrific scenes it offers up, none are quite so frightening as Demi Moore wiping and reapplying lipstick over and over again. If the award circuit is going to recognise horror this year, The Substance is the best shot.
3
I Saw The TV Glow
Have you ever felt the need to stand in a crowded room and scream until your lungs give out, but you know if you did, nobody would even notice you? If so, do I ever have a trauma-inducing film for you. A trans allegory seeped in misery, it’s the kind of story we need more of. A lot of people feel more seen by the metaphorical truth of I Saw The TV Glow than they do by false positivity.
It’s unfortunately the perfect moment for our times – a tale of being overlooked, unwanted, misunderstood. It resonates wider than its trans messaging, and speaks to anybody who has ever been directionless in life, and is a beautiful tale of growing up, even if you need to claw your way out of your body to do it.
2
Challengers
Possibly the most talked about movie of the year, the erotic tennis love triangle of Challengers is one of the most sensual stories ever put to screen. Beneath the imagery though, there is a twisted tale of betrayal and potential. And it all hangs on a love of sport. It echoes through Challengers, and it could not exist without it. The tennis ball shot is the pinnacle of 2024’s weirdo cinema.
1
Dune: Part 2
Denis Villenueve’s sci-fi second half is a masterpiece of vivid imagery. Delving into Frank Herbert’s foundational sci-fi novel, it takes a narrative considered unfilmable and makes it deeply human. A moving, searingly relevant tale of the power of rebellions and the people we put power in, no movie looked better on the screen this year.
It’s TheGamer’s movie of the year because it manages to bridge so many audiences. It’s slow and contemplative, but also electric and violent. It’s small, all about feelings and glances, but also epic, about empires and politics. It’s the Best Picture front-runner for a reason, but we all know this is the award everybody wants.
