Following The Film Stage’s 50 Best Films of 2024, our contributors share their personal top 10 lists as part of our year-end coverage.

Every year offers some important lessons about moviegoing, and 2024 was no exception. Buy tickets early if you are taking children with you Evil. Never count out Mike Leigh, George Miller or Clint Eastwood. Bow down to Francis Ford Coppola if you like it Megalopolis or not. Start appreciating Demi Moore and Nicole Kidman again. Stop looking Alien: Romulus before the end.

And of course, choose your Uber driver carefully. On the way to my first screening at the Toronto International Film Festival in September, my film ran a stop sign, was pulled over, and missed the only press screening of The brutalist. (I’m still stewing about that.)

Now for my list of favorites for 2024; Read on to see if I found Brady Corbet’s film at some point. (No, thanks to you, the fast Uber driver and the Toronto Police Service.)

Honorable Mentions: Another man, his three daughters, Megalopolis, Nosferatu, the substance

10. Bird (Andrea Arnold)

A funny thing happened to me after I saw Andrea Arnolds Bird at TIFF. The story of a tough 12-year-old (Nykiya Adams), her scheming father (Barry Keoghan), and a strange visitor named Bird (Franz Rogowski) struck me as the strangest film I saw at TIFF. It was also one of the most memorable, and I have to acknowledge the novel use of music from two of my favorite bands, The Verve (“Lucky Man”) and Blur (“The Universal”), as well as the “father music” joke that was way too close it was on. Weeks later I was still thinking about it and thought it was a good sign. When I watched it a second time months later, I was impressed by Arnold’s impressively authentic world-building, the film’s initially jarring fantasy elements, and the lived-in performances of the entire cast. Bird is Arnold’s best film to date.

9. Janet Planet (Annie Baker)

What a surefire debut film Janet Planet was for acclaimed playwright Annie Baker. It’s the most original look at childhood in memory Petite Mamanbut Baker also has a lot to say about parenting. What’s most impressive is the film’s ability to highlight the small but important details that make up each day as a parent and child. It’s rare to identify equally with an 11-year-old and her mother. Janet also has the most knowing and joyful ending shot of any film released in 2024.

8. challenger (Luca Guadagnino)

Funny, sexy and emotionally captivating, Luca Guadagninos challenger was an incredibly pleasant surprise. How often do we see memorable sports movies these days, let alone hit romantic comedies? challenger fits into both categories, but is also a high-stakes drama full of surprises. With a strong script from Justin Kuritzkes and a trio of phenomenal performances, this film is one to rewatch and enjoy for years to come.

7. The beast (Bertrand Bonello)

Léa Seydoux has the chance to play a character in three different eras The beastand responds by making each one complex and compelling in very different ways. Bertrand Bonello’s epic adaptation of Henry James’ The beast in the jungle is haunting and difficult, culminating in a Seydoux scream for the ages. Bonello is at his best here and for the director of House of Tolerance, Saint Laurent, And NocturamaThat’s saying something.

6. Anora (Sean Baker)

How Anatomy of a fall, titaniumAnd parasiteSean Baker’s Anora is a Palme d’Or winner that lives up to the international hype. Mikey Madison is unforgettable, Yura Borisov is enigmatic and the humor is really great. There’s never a moment where you know exactly where the film is going, right up until the final scene. There are also Toros (Karren Karagulian). Toros is hard to beat. Plus, you’ll never listen to Take That the same way again.

5. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (George Miller)

While Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga earned less than his predecessor, Mad Max: Fury RoadIt was just as creative at the box office as the previous film. You shouldn’t hesitate to call Fury Road one of the greatest action films of all time (if not The What makes it all the more impressive is that director George Miller had what it took Furiosa even more epic. Against all odds, he managed to create a completely original and utterly captivating new work Crazy Max Entry. Anya Taylor-Joy’s performance is in no way inferior to Charlize Theron’s work Fury Roadand Chris Hemsworth and Tom Burke aren’t far behind. Furiosa Also includes at least three all-time action sequences: the intense opening with Charlee Fraser as Furiosa’s badass mother; the Octoboss attack on the War Rig; and Furiosa and Praetorian Jack’s heartbreaking attack on Gastown. Admit it – you can see these sequences in your head as you read this. What an achievement! And what a journey, both for the audience and for Furiosa herself.

4. The brutalist (Brady Corbet)

What a tremendous achievement director Brady Corbet and co-writer Mona Fastvold have achieved The brutalist. I was thrilled, frustrated, exhausted and excited by this widescreen story about the vampiric relationship between patron and artist (this is just one of many threads). The acting – particularly from Adrien Brody, Guy Pearce, Felicity Jones and Isaach de Bankolé – is great and the score by Daniel Blumberg is a modern classic. And while Corbet’s direction and the film’s overall design are remarkable, I find myself continually returning to Crobet and Fastvold’s metaphor-rich script. Even the missteps (and there are a few, especially in the second part of the film) arguably add to the experience. The whole thing culminates in an epilogue that is lively and disturbing. Here is a festival favorite that more than lives up to the hype, and a work of artistic brilliance unlike any other in recent American cinema.

3. I saw the television light up (Jane Schoenbrun)

Martin Scorsese and Paul Schrader were among the many voices who raved about Jane Schoenbrun’s work I saw the television light upand these filmmakers know something about fascinating cinema. Allegorical, fantastic, sad––I saw the television light up is a film with a shocking and truly shocking ending. I’m not sure I’ll ever forget the sight and sound of Owen completely alone, screaming into the void. And that’s me certainly I’ll never stop wondering (and thinking back) The pink opaque poet. How lucky we are to still be alive when Schoenbrun creates art.

2. Nickel Boys (RaMell Ross)

Colson Whitehead’s novel The Nickel Boys is one of the great novels of the 2010s. RaMell Ross and co-author Joslyn Barnes have managed to transform a very complex book into a deeply emotional, suitably stirring experience. Ross, who also directed, uses a first-person approach that is both bold and extremely effective. The result is a wonderfully moving, groundbreaking creation. In fact, it’s the most immersive and structurally innovative film of 2024. Nickel Boys will shock you.

1. Hard truths (Mike Leigh)

In legendary British filmmaker Mike Leigh’s latest film, Marianne Jean-Baptiste plays a woman whose intense anger – at her family, the people she meets while running errands, and the world itself – is both hysterically funny and devastatingly sad. Hard truths could be the first truly great film to address the ongoing impact of COVID on our collective consciousness. While the pandemic is only mentioned in passing, the atmosphere of unease, discontent and simmering anger that many felt (and still feel) is evident in every image. Hard truths. Leigh’s filmography is so strong and full of masterpieces (Life is sweet, Naked, Secrets and lies, Turned upside down) this ranking Truths among his works is tricky. But that can be thought about later. Currently, Hard truths must be recognized as the biggest and most emotionally impactful film of 2024.

Discover more of the best of 2024.