Grab your obscene popcorn bucket, because it's time to look back on 2024, an absolutely outrageous year at the movies.
Sequels soared at the box office, from Inside Out 2 and Moana 2 to Beetlejuice Beetlejuice and Dune: Part Two. Scandals arose on the use of AI in production design and in quoting fictional reviews of Francis Ford Coppola movies. Musicals took to the spotlight for better or worse, ranging from Wicked, Mean Girls, The End, and This Me Now...A Love Story to Joker: Folie à Deux. Action movies hit hard with Fall Guy, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, and Monkey Man. Superhero movies raged on with chaotic anti-heroes in Madame Web, Deadpool & Wolverine, and The People's Joker. And sex in cinema was alive and well across Love Lies Bleeding, The Idea of You, Challengers, Queer, Nosferatu, Anora, and Babygirl.
But amid so much weirdness and riches, what impressed Mashable's entertainment team enough to make our top 10? Well, we loved so many movies this year, we couldn't stop there. And that's great news for anyone looking to watch something wild and wonderful this winter.
Here are the 25 best movies of the year, and where you can watch them.
25. The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim
Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings movies are a tough act to live up to (just ask his Hobbit trilogy). That's why it's so refreshing that Kenji Kamiyama's anime film The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim doesn't just seek to replicate its predecessors' formula. (Although you can expect plenty of Lord of the Rings Easter eggs.) Instead, this prequel opts for something bleaker, yet no less epic.
The War of the Rohirrim returns us to Rohan over a century before the events of The Lord of the Rings. Here, King Helm Hammerhand (voiced by Succession's Brian Cox) and his fierce daughter Héra (voiced by Gaia Wise) fight to protect their kingdom from the advances of Dunlending lord Wulf (voiced by Luke Pasqualino). The ensuing conflict leads to a grueling siege at the Hornburg, where War of the Rohirrim delves deep into the psychological strain of war. The focus on this desperation and the addition of some gothic horror elements adds new textures to what we've seen of J.R.R. Tolkien's work on-screen, making for a truly spectacular outing to Middle-earth. — Belen Edwards, Entertainment Reporter
How to watch: The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim opens in theaters Dec. 13.
24. Bird
Andrea Arnold’s latest triumph Bird is a brash, beautiful, and deeply moving coming-of-age tale with a touch of magical realism and wondrous performances.
The film centers on observant, creative, headstrong teen Bailey (an exceptional Nykiya Adams), whose life in a dilapidated Gravesend squat comes with significant challenges — the latest of which, her flighty dad, Bug (a gleeful Barry Keoghan), is both getting married and wants to pay for it all with a drug toad, and her mum, Peyton (the ever-talented Jasmine Jobson), and young siblings are in real danger from her abusive partner, Skate (a terrifying James Nelson-Joyce). Feeling pretty alone through all this and the horrors of puberty, Bailey finds an unexpected friend in eccentric, gentle wanderer Bird, a sublime, fragile performance by Franz Rogowski you won't forget anytime soon. As Siddhant Adlakha writes in his review for Mashable, "From the moment he appears, Rogowski's soft physicality brings dazzling contrast to Bailey's rough-and-tumble world, building intrigue in the process."
Electrified with a Blur/Oasis-filled Britpop soundtrack with copious amounts of Irish post-punk pals Fontaines D.C., Bird captures a complex portrait of adolescence, metamorphosis, and English social realism in the way only Arnold can. You'll be singing Blur's "The Universal" all the way down the street afterward. — Shannon Connellan, UK Editor
How to watch: Bird will premiere on MUBI Dec. 23.
23. Kneecap
Capturing the rebelliousness of the Irish hip-hop group for which it's named, Kneecap is a raucous and hilarious origin story starring Móglaí Bap, Mo Chara, and DJ Próvaí themselves. It's a bold move from director/writer Richard Peppiatt, but one that pays off big as the band's charisma translates to the big screen.
Forget those doggedly dramatic, respectful movies about a musician's life and times. Kneecap's tale is one of sex, hard drugs, boneheaded decisions, and bangin' tracks that sparked a cultural resurrection — specifically, helping to preserve the Irish language. As I cheered in my review, "Peppiatt has done a superb job of not only shaking off the oh-so-serious shackles that are musician biopic conventions but also enthusiastically embracing the hip-hop energy of his subjects, allowing them to be both the stars and fuel of their story, propelling them to a climax that deserves its rowdy encore across the credits.
"Simply put, Kneecap is sensational, silly, sharp, and ultimately sublime." — Kristy Puchko, Entertainment Editor
How to watch: Kneecap is now streaming on Netflix.
22. La Chimera
The past and present collide in La Chimera, director Alice Rohrwacher's playful, melancholic tomb-raiding fantasy.
La Chimera stars Josh O'Connor (who's had a banner spring, between this and Challengers) as Arthur, the leader of a group of Tuscan tomb raiders (or tombaroli). Arthur has a mysterious knack for finding lost artifacts, a process Rohrwacher and cinematographer Hélène Louvart bring to life with a heavy dose of magical realism. Yet while the other tombaroli pillage tombs for money and glory, Arthur, haunted by visions of his lost love Beniamina (Yile Yara Vianello), seeks something less tangible. His quest plays out like something out of a fairy tale, filled with dreamy memories, tentative romance, and an aching longing that buries itself deep in your heart. — B.E.
How to watch: La Chimera is now streaming on Hulu.
21. Late Night with the Devil
If you like your horror lean and mean, you must see this '70s-set indie from writers/directors Cameron Cairnes and Colin Cairnes (aka the Cairnes Brothers).
David Dastmalchian, a character actor who's unnerved us in The Boogeyman and Prisoners, headlines here as Jack Delroy, a talk show host who is so determined to best Johnny Carson's ratings that he invites an allegedly possessed girl to be a guest on his Halloween special. Part showbiz satire, part found-footage horror, Late Night with the Devil uses a low-fi look and keenly creepy effects to create a throwback tale of terror that is rank with fresh blood. While the film's been criticized for its use of AI, its scares are so satisfying that it earned praise from none other than the master of horror himself, Stephen King. So, take a cue from our review: "Tune in and hang on. Dastmalchian and his demon are coming for you." — K.P.
How to watch: Late Night with the Devil is now streaming on Hulu and AMC+, and is available for rent or purchase on Prime Video.
20. The People's Joker
There are some movies so bizarre and daring that their very existence feels like a miracle. The People's Joker is one such miracle.
Co-writer/director/star Vera Drew channels her personal trans coming-of-age story into a supervillain narrative set in a funhouse mirror version of Batman's Gotham. There, Joker the Harlequin (Drew) seeks to make a mark on a corrupted comedy scene, ruled by a literally cartoony version of Saturday Night Live's Lorne Michaels. With a production design crowdsourced from across the internet, The People's Joker plays like an explosive kaleidoscope of references to every Batman movie and beyond. There's a deep love of all things DC, but without the suffocating reverence that has brought on superhero fatigue. With her biting sense of humor and raw emotional revelations, Drew has constructed a supervillain tale that is as jarring as it is compelling, as peculiar as it is profound. And considering Warner Bros.' litigious looming, that she got to release this movie at all is a victory for every weirdo with an idea for fanfic greatness. — K.P.
How to watch: The People's Joker is streaming on MUBI.
19. Hit Man
Richard Linklater and Glen Powell reunite for Hit Man, a rom-com that is killer in all sense of the word.
Powell plays Gary Johnson, a college professor whose side gig as an undercover hit man leads to an unexpected meet-cute with would-be client Madison (Andor's Adria Arjona). The pair's connection (and electrifying chemistry) sparks a delightful game of false identities, reinvention, and twisted love that toggles between hilarious, thrilling, and sexy at a moment's notice. Oh, who am I kidding; sometimes it's all three at once! — B.E.
How to watch: Hit Man is now streaming on Netflix.
18. Hard Truths
It's been almost 30 years since Marianne Jean-Baptiste co-starred in Mike Leigh's critically acclaimed Secrets & Lies, which earned her a slew of award nominations. As the prickly Pansy in Leigh's Hard Truths, Jean-Baptiste turns in one of the most extraordinary performances of the year. The result of their on-screen reunion is a challenging, sharply written, and stunningly performed kitchen sink drama. Pansy's daily anguish at the world around her results in increasingly unfiltered interactions, not only with strangers but with her husband, Curtley (David Webber), and son, Moses (Tuwaine Barrett). Jean-Baptiste also shares the screen with an excellent Michele Austin, who plays Pansy's much more positive sister, Chantal. With Leigh teaming up yet again with cinematographer Dick Pope, Hard Truths hits close to home as a tale of suppressed resentment, understandable rage, family trauma and grief, and ultimately, of what happens when you say the quiet part out loud.
As Siddhant Adlakha writes in his review for Mashable, "Hard Truths becomes a complex showreel for humanity at its most bitter and pained, with characters forced to turn inward and at least recognize (if not introspect and improve upon) the worst corners of themselves. Through long, unbroken close-ups and scenes of familial interaction in which tensions subtly build, Leigh's stark naturalism is brought slowly and fiercely to the fore by an accomplished actress at the height of her power, and at the height of her vulnerability." — S.C.
How to watch: Hard Truths will have a qualifying run in New York City on Dec. 6 before opening in limited release Jan. 10, 2025.
17. The Brutalist
In his in-depth review for Mashable, Siddhant Adlakha wrote, "The Brutalist is a towering paean to the American dream, in all its force and folly. Set over several decades, Brady Corbet's post-World War II immigrant saga is — like the architectural achievements of its protagonist — constructed with meticulous consideration, resulting in a work of multifaceted technique and piercing humanity.
"The film, arresting from its first frames, spends three-and-a-half engrossing hours on the tale of László Tóth (Adrien Brody), a fictitious Jewish Hungarian architect and survivor of the Holocaust, whose arrival in America yields both rigorous struggle and tempting opportunity. It embodies the kind of American epics no longer really made by Hollywood studios. Comparisons to The Godfather have abounded since its Venice International Film Festival premiere (though as a vast immigrant saga, a more fitting analogy might be The Godfather Part II). Time will tell whether these are hyperbole, but while watching The Brutalist, it's hard not to think of the truly great American stories of the 20th century, like Once Upon a Time in America, and, on occasion, even Citizen Kane...The Brutalist is, deep in its bones, a collectivist film that not only places immense emotional value on people and their history, but creates and embodies that value too."
How to watch: The Brutalist will open in limited theaters Dec. 20.
16. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
George Miller, you've done it again! The director's return to the Mad Max wasteland is nothing short of spectacular, a blistering revenge epic and work of mythology that pushes its lead character Furiosa (Anya Taylor-Joy and Alyla Browne, both spectacular) — and action filmmaking as a whole! — to new heights.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is a prequel done right, deepening Furiosa's story from Mad Max: Fury Road without stooping to fan service-y lore bombs. Here, we'll meet new players in the wasteland, like warlord Dementus (Chris Hemsworth, killing it in villain mode) and stoic driver Praetorian Jack (Tom Burke), with whom Furiosa shares a compelling, if understated, romance. It's also some of the best on-screen action since Fury Road itself. Miller kicks us off with a taut chase between Furiosa's formidable mother (Charlee Fraser) and the raiders who stole Furiosa, teaching us the rules of wasteland survival and attrition with keen visual storytelling. That's just a teaser for the real showstopper: a massive attack on Immortan Joe's (Lachy Hulme) war rig, complete with aerial warfare, real-time engine repair, and a character simply known as Piss Boy. Witness him, but more importantly, witness the brilliance that is Furiosa. — B.E.
How to watch: Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is now on Max.
15. The Substance
The Substance is one of the most critically heralded horror films of the year and also one of the most polarizing among our team. As the ferocious follow-up to her grisly and glorious directorial debut Revenge, French filmmaker Coralie Fargeat pulled no punches, delivering a thriller that's a gut-churning knockout.
Demi Moore stars as Elisabeth Sparkle, an actress whose star is fading as she ages, and heartless Hollywood execs (exemplified by a shellfish-chomping Dennis Quaid) hunger for young beauties and fresh blood. So when a miracle drug allows her to split her life with a perky younger model of herself (Drive-Away Dolls' Margaret Qualley), she leaps at the chance. But the brutal cost it takes is ugly.
A ghastly satire about the misogynistic beauty standards applied to women, The Substance shocked and awed critics and audiences alike with its giddily gruesome imagery. In his review for Mashable, Siddhant Adlakha argued "its style has no real substance." Others on our team were apoplectic over the movie's most twisted turns. But the majority of Mashable's team reveled in Fargeat's brutal honesty, which explored how vanity and insecurity can warp a person, inside and out. Speaking for those of us who loved The Substance, there's something undeniably exhilarating about a movie that's as proudly pink as Barbie but as unhinged as the gnarliest midnight movie. — K.P.
How to watch: The Substance is now streaming on MUBI.
14. Oddity
In a year rich with sensational horror offerings, Oddity was among our very favorite. A follow-up to Irish filmmaker Damian McCarthy's deeply creepy Caveat, Oddity seamlessly blends a barrage of spooky subgenres with Irish lore to create something sickening, scary, strange, and timeless.
As I recounted in my review of the movie's SXSW premiere, this supernatural thriller begins with a seeming slasher setup. A woman home alone hears an unwelcome knock at the door, and then is offered an impossible decision that will determine: life or death. Keeping his audience on their toes, McCarthy then leaps to a year later, introducing us to a visually impaired psychic and her oddity shop, full of cursed curiosities. From there, ghosts, witchcraft, and psychological thriller elements come into play, mostly within a remote home that looks just wrong from every angle. And that's before the creepy Wooden Man arrives as a grim gift. In this way, Oddity plays like an anthology, unfurling horrific surprises, intense scares, and strange stories, but all within one sophisticated, unnerving saga. The result is a movie that's not just a must-see for horror fans, it's a must-see over and over again to catch every cryptic detail. — K.P.
How to watch: Oddity is now streaming on Shudder.
13. Conclave
No one is more surprised than lapsed Catholic me that one of the funnest films of 2024 was set in a cardinal's conclave to choose the new pope. Sure, on the surface, Conclave, adapted from Robert Harris' 2016 novel of the same name, is a thriller. In the sacred halls of the Vatican, the Catholic church's most revered leaders gather together for a series of secret votes to determine who among them will be God's representative on Earth. And as dean of the conclave, Cardinal Thomas Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes) is tasked not only with keeping things running smoothly but also sussing out what skeletons lie in the closets of the contenders.
And yet within this dramatic framework, the charming ensemble (which includes Isabella Rossellini, Stanley Tucci, and John Lithgow) laces in a catty sense of humor, which has been catching on in memes and social media. Through this divine blend of suspense and subtle comedy, helmer Edward Berger delivers a thriller that is divinely entertaining. — K.P.
How to watch: Conclave is now in theaters and available for rent or purchase on Prime Video.
12. The Wild Robot
You know how some movies can make you cry just by thinking about them? That's the case with The Wild Robot, a stunning story of connection and kindness from DreamWorks Animation and director Chris Sanders (Lilo & Stitch, How to Train Your Dragon).
Like in Sanders' prior work, The Wild Robot strikes gold with a story of an unlikely duo: a robot named Roz (voiced by Lupita Nyong'o), who's stranded on a deserted island, and an orphaned gosling named Brightbill (voiced by Heartstopper's Kit Connor), who imprints on her. While Roz initially views raising Brightbill as a task she needs to complete in order to fulfill her programming, the pair's relationship becomes so much more — as does Roz's relationship to the entire island. An ode to found family and to the power of kindness, The Wild Robot won't stop until it's tugged every last one of your heartstrings. Nor will it stop until you've marveled at every detail of its watercolor-inspired animation, a marvel of visual storytelling that instantly elevates it to one of DreamWorks' (and 2024's) best. — B.E.
How to watch: The Wild Robot is now available to purchase on Prime Video and Apple TV+.
11. Flow
There may be no more immersive movie-watching experience this year than Flow, a dialogue-free ride through a flooded fantasy world that may leave you feeling as soaked (and stressed) as its unlikely heroes. Director Gints Zilbalodis puts us in the paws of a little black cat struggling to survive after a watery disaster sweeps it from its home. Stranded on a sailboat with a motley group of animals — including a capybara, a lemur, a secretarybird, and a Golden Retriever — the cat must learn to cooperate with its crewmates if it's going to adapt to this strange new world.
Flow eschews any hallmarks of how American animation portrays animals, instead going for realistic animal sounds and movements. The result is instantly engrossing. We are initially alienated from the animals' inner thoughts and motivations, yet Zilbalodis renders them clear through hyper-specific characterization and interactions. The animation (all completed in open-source 3D software Blender) is striking too, mixing detailed textures and graphics to create a film that is beautiful yet somewhat unfamiliar. There's no way you can look away from this sweet, layered tale of teamwork, or the precious feline at its heart. — B.E.
How to watch: Flow is now in theaters.
10. Will & Harper
Since their early days at Saturday Night Live, Will Ferrell and Harper Steele have had a strong connection when it comes to comedy. This would flourish as they made movies together, including the sublime Lifetime movie parody A Deadly Adoption, the absolutely epic musical comedy Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga, and now their most personal of all, Will & Harper. Helmed by Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar director Josh Greenbaum, this documentary follows the two longtime friends and colleagues on a road trip across America, as they navigate what their friendship means now that Harper has come out as a trans woman.
While her devoted pal is by her side at visits to dive bars, pro basketball games, and a surly Texas steakhouse, not all of the Americans they run across are so welcoming. Through this vulnerable and wonderfully vibrant film, this dynamic duo offers plenty of jokes, but also a thoughtful exploration of what it means to be trans in America in this moment. In Mashable's review out of TIFF, I declared, "Will & Harper is a resoundingly joyful and moving documentary, resplendent in its openness. It's their love story, and it's glorious."* — K.P.
How to watch: Will & Harper is now streaming on Netflix.
9. Better Man
Robbie Williams brings a wild makeover to the musical biopic with Better Man. The English pop star plays narrator to his rags-to-riches story, while a collaboration between actor Jonno Davies and Wētā FX transforms the famous bad boy into a fun-loving chimpanzee.
The concept sounds like a bonkers gimmick, but writer/director Michael Gracey (The Greatest Showman) utilizes this ape to explore not just what happened in Williams' life but also how he felt — like a dancing chimp. The metaphor doesn't get old; over the course of rousing musical numbers that chart William's rise to fame, fall from grace, and finding himself, it opens Better Man up to embrace the surreal and sensational. By rejecting the stodgy standards of a respectful biopic, this movie comes alive. As I raved in Mashable's review out of TIFF, "Rich in vibrant emotion, body-rocking musical numbers, daring performances, and a scorching tenderness, Better Man more than rocks. It rules." — K.P.
How to watch: Better Man opens in limited release Dec. 25, expanding to theaters everywhere on Jan. 10, with a Paramount+ debut to follow.
8. Babygirl
As a titillating follow-up to the humorous whodunnit Bodies Bodies Bodies, writer/director Halina Reijn delivered Babygirl. Nicole Kidman stars as a high-powered CEO balancing a demanding professional life with a personal life that includes her gentle theater director husband (Antonio Banderas) and high-energy teen daughters (Vaughan Reilly and Esther McGregor). Her world turns upside down when a cocky intern (Harris Dickinson) begins to flirt — very inappropriately — with her.
Delving into topics about sex, power dynamics, forbidden lust, and identity, Babygirl is an electrifying blend of humor and yearning that is absolutely dizzying, in the best way possible. As I wrote in our rave review out of TIFF, "Emotionally naked, unapologetically provocative, and defiantly playful, Reijn's film joyfully explores the complicated ties that bind. Amid stiff competition, she delivers one of the sexiest, most thrilling films of the year." — K.P.
How to watch: Babygirl opens in theaters Dec. 25.
7. Problemista
Saturday Night Live writer turned filmmaker Julio Torres came out swinging with his weirdly brilliant feature directorial debut, Problemista. Inspired by his own experiences as an immigrant finding New York City a place of promise, problems, and glittering trash, he wrote, directed, and starred opposite Tilda Swinton in one of the most sensational comedies of the last decade.
The story centers on Alejandro (Torres), an aspiring toymaker who is desperately seeking a sponsor for his visa when he meets art-scene critic/menace Elizabeth (Swinton). A modern fairy tale of a noble young knight and a dragon who might help him or swallow him whole, Problemista is a movie filled with surreal and wonderful imagery, imaginative jokes, and quirky performances from the likes of Isabella Rossellini, Past Lives' Greta Lee, A League of Their Own's Kelly McCormack, Hacks' Meg Stalter, Abbott Elementary's Larry Owens, and Wu-Tang Clan's RZA. This deeply humane and humorous comedy is a bizarre balm, sure to have you howling with laughter between its most biting barbs. — K.P.
How to watch: Problemista is now streaming on Max.
6. Dune: Part Two
With 2021's Dune, director Denis Villeneuve proved he could do justice to Frank Herbert's sci-fi masterwork. Three years later, he topped himself with Dune: Part Two, a sobering epic that will surely go down in history as one of the greatest sci-fi films and sequels ever made.
Dune: Part Two continues the story of Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet), who finds himself among the planet Arrakis' indigenous Fremen. There he becomes entangled in the impossible position of hoping to avenge the Harkonnens' attack on his house, while also trying to avoid a future in which he unleashes holy war upon the universe. As Dune: Part Two moves closer and closer to that violent inevitability, Villeneuve and co-writer Jon Spaihts don't shy away from the darkness of Paul's story. They build his relationship with Chani (an extraordinary Zendaya) and the Fremen into an immaculate tragedy, pitting faith against manipulation with explosive results.
On top of all this, Villeneuve fills the screen with sci-fi strangeness and wonders galore. Who can forget the H.R. Giger-esque fever dream that is Giedi Prime, or the sense of levitation that hits when Harkonnen soldiers fly across the desert? Armies of sandworms and Austin Butler's gleefully evil Feyd-Rautha only add to Dune: Part Two's excellence — now bring on Dune Messiah!* — B.E.
How to watch: Dune: Part Two is now streaming on Max.
5. Love Lies Bleeding
Rose Glass, the writer/director who awed critics in 2020 with her stunning religious horror film Saint Maud, has blessed us with a follow-up that is as scorchingly sexy as it is deeply unsettling.
Set against a merciless desert town, Love Lies Bleeding stars Kristen Stewart as a surly loner who manages a rundown gym. Things begin to look up when a perfectly permed and righteously ripped bodybuilder (Katy O'Brian) rolls into her squalid realm. Their attraction is instant, their loyalty is potentially lethal. So when they run afoul of a local kingpin (Ed Harris, wearing a mangy skullet), this noir thriller veers into a place of jaw-dropping violence and grievous vengeance, with a climax that is as outrageous as it is exhilarating. As I wrote in our review, "There are movies that grab you by the throat. There are movies that punch you in the gut. Love Lies Bleeding is both, and I fucking love it." — K.P.
How to watch: Love Lies Bleeding is streaming on Max.
4. Dìdi
Dìdi is a movie that is hard to shake, because it's ruthlessly effective in transporting the audience back to what it meant to be coming of age in the 2000s. This directorial debut of writer/helmer Sean Wang follows a 13-year-old Taiwanese American boy who goes by several names, all the better to code-switch for his family, skater friends, school crush, and beyond.
Fronting the film as Chris/Dìdi/Wang Wang, Izaac Wang remarkably shoulders a film that brazenly plunges into the mercurial nature of being a teen. Meaning, we are cringing witnesses as this eager-to-impress hero lays down little white lies, flirts poorly, alienates friends with off-putting anecdotes, and screams at his devoted mom (Joan Chen). Then, on top of all this, the emotionally intelligent filmmaker also captures the heartache and earnestness a generation first poured into MySpace and AIM Instant Messenger. As I raved in my review, Dìdi isn't just a good coming-of-age movie or a great coming-of-age movie. Dìdi is unquestionably one of the most poignant and very best movies of the year. — K.P.
How to watch: Dìdi is now streaming on Peacock.
3. Nickel Boys
Colson Whitehead's Pulitzer Prize–winning novel finds an exquisite, powerful adaptation with director RaMell Ross at the helm. Uniquely filmed in mostly first-person perspective shots, Nickel Boys quite literally puts you in the protagonists' shoes, through every painful, resistantly joyful, and traumatic experience at the reform school they attend in Jim Crow-era Florida. As Siddhant Adlakha writes in his review for Mashable, "In Whitehead's novel, the words on the page are just as meaningful as the blank spaces between them — an approach Ross recreates not through absence, but through the layered use of archival video and images that blend fiction with reality in both wistful and harrowing ways."
Ethan Herisse and Brandon Wilson are nothing short of superb as Elwood and Turner, two young Black men wrongfully incarcerated at the brutal Nickel Academy, which Whitehead based on the Dozier School in Florida. In this state-sanctioned realm of injustice and fear, the pair's friendship holds a poignant power that sits at the heart of Whitehead's story, one steeped in horrific facts. Nickel Boys honours unimaginable perseverance in a film that will stay with you long afterward. — S.C.
How to watch: Nickel Boys open on Dec. 13 in NYC and in Los Angeles Dec. 20.
2. Challengers
The alluring ad campaign for Luca Guadagnino's sports drama teased a love triangle between stars Josh O'Connor, Mike Faist, and Zendaya. Yet not even the clip of that three-way kiss could prepare us for the cinematic force of nature that is Challengers.
Written by Justin Kuritzkes, Challengers centers on a dynamic love triangle between two childhood friends and a female tennis phenom whose drive to win is catching. Incredibly, the film has no actual sex scenes — but that didn't stop social media from exploding into thirsty fan edits. The film oozes with sensuality in every tennis match, slick with sweat and adrenaline pumping thanks to a score by Academy Award–winning composers Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. The result is a ruthlessly sexy movie that toys with its audience just as its leading lady does her boys. And — as all best-of-year movies ought to be — Challengers only gets better and richer with every rewatch.
Do as Zendaya says: See it again and then again. Challengers is a winner that'll leave you ragged yet wanting more. — K.P.
How to watch: Challengers is now streaming on Prime Video.
1. Anora
2024 was a year in cinema defined by desire, from horny comedies like Lisa Frankenstein and Drive-Away Dolls to heralded thrillers like Love Lies Bleeding, Challengers, and Babygirl. But the best of the bunch — also beating out a slew of movies that weren't remotely salacious — is Sean Baker's Anora, a dramedy that Mashable proclaimed a "triumph" out of its TIFF premiere.
In a star-making turn, Mikey Madison (Scream 5) stars as a sex worker whose professional relationship with a young Russian client swiftly swings into a quickie wedding in Vegas. But Baker, who's made a career out of compelling films centered on the rich inner lives of sex workers, isn't offering a sloppy retread of Pretty Woman. When cronies come banging on the mansion door, it's up to Anora to fight for the future she wants. And along the way, Madison and a crackling ensemble deliver not only lip-biting tension, but also jolting laughs that never make its eponymous heroine the butt of the joke. Everyone from Mashable who saw it was wowed.
Beautifully captured, beguiling spirited, "Anora offers a glorious thrill, as bold as it is brilliant." And so, it's the best film of the year. — K.P.
How to watch: Anora is now in theaters.
Want more of the best of 2024? Join Mashable as we look back at all the viral TikTok songs, internet slang, memes, hyped-up hardware, scientific discoveries, dating trends, social media apps, and more that have delighted and amazed us so far this year.
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