The Best Reviewed Movies of 2024

Never let anyone tell you it’s been a bad year for movies, because according to our review scores, there were plenty of excellent entries for film buffs to enjoy. Each year, we round up our best reviewed movies into a single list and going by our count, 22 films received top marks from IGN’s official reviews in 2024, which means they were awarded either a 9 or a 10. With so many strong films coming out this year, we won’t blame you if you missed a few, so we’re here to provide a full account of every 2024 film that IGN scored as either “Amazing” (9) or a “Masterpiece” (10).

Let’s start with the three movies that received a 10.

Sasquatch and Mad Max Sagas

First up is Sasquatch Sunset, a bonkers story about a family of non-verbal sasquatches. Reviewer Clint Gage is upfront about how divisive the movie likely is for audiences, but he loved it, calling it an “emotional masterpiece of experimental cinema.” Give it a try if you’re open to something truly unconventional. Another unconventional movie from this year is Riddle of Fire, a stunning debut feature from Weston Razooli that is a bizarre mix of crime caper, fairytale fantasy, and video game quest logic (really) about a group of kids going on an adventure to find a blueberry pie for their sick mother. We won’t spoil anything else about this special movie, but seek it out if you want to see one of the best and weirdest films of the year.

Lastly for the 10’s, we have Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, the long-awaited prequel to Mad Max: Fury Road. Starring the always amazing Anya Taylor-Joy as a younger incarnation of Imperator Furiosa (played by Charlize Theron in Fury Road), this wasteland odyssey is in a much different tonal register from its 2015 counterpart, but its more melancholic and character-driven approach makes it an easy contender for one of the year’s best. Even if you’re not typically a Mad Max person, it’s worth watching for Taylor-Joy’s fantastic performance and some stellar action sequences. Sadly the movie didn’t light up the box office, so if you didn’t check it out in theaters, be sure to give it a watch at home.

TVs That Glow, Thinking About Dying, and Festival Faves

As for the 9’s, we have quite a few to get through. We’ll start with I Saw the TV Glow, an arthouse horror film from director Jane Schoenbrun. This is one of the most intensely personal and idiosyncratic films of the year, and has not only taken the Letterboxd community by storm but has also received praise from iconic filmmakers like Martin Scorsese and Paul Schrader. Speaking of iconic filmmakers, be on the lookout early next year for Steven Soderbergh’s Presence, an experimental horror film shot from the perspective of a paranormal entity. Siddhant Adlakha reviewed the film for IGN out of the Sundance Film Festival, saying it’s a “resourceful haunted house thriller” and a “midnight genre romp.” Presence will be released in theaters on January 24, 2025.

And if we’re talking festival favorites, we have to mention The Brutalist, which has become one of the most acclaimed films of the year after a festival tour that included Venice, TIFF and NYFF. This three-and-a-half-hour epic comes from director Brady Corbet, and stars Adrien Brody and Felicity Jones. Brody plays László Tóth, an architect and Holocaust survivor who travels to America and works to bring his wife and niece over from Europe. Although some may balk at the extended runtime (including an old-school intermission), reviewer Chase Hutchinson urges you to stick with it, saying that the film is a “bold, beautiful, and brutal look at the United States, not how we like to think of the country, but how it actually is for those smothered underneath it.”

Some other film festival darlings this year include Sundance entry Sometimes I Think About Dying, a not at all SEO-friendly dark comedy starring Star Wars alum Daisy Ridley as a suicidal office worker who struggles with severe loneliness. Reviewer Marya E. Gates said Ridley delivers a “rich and resonant performance,” and that director Rachel Lambert’s “surreal touches heighten its melancholy.” There’s also Sing Sing, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2023, but was properly released this year by A24. The film stars Colman Domingo as Divine G, an incarcerated man who brings together his fellow inmates with a makeshift theater group. Reviewer Carlos Aguilar called the film, which is yet another winner for Domingo’s filmography, a “touching drama and an inspiring reminder of how community and an outlet for self-discovery can positively shape someone’s outlook.”

Civil Wars, Challengers and Kindness

A24 distributed two other movies on our list, the first being Alex Garland’s blockbuster Civil War. Garland is usually more well-known for his smaller scale science-fiction films like Ex Machina and Annihilation, but with this movie he jumped into a speculative action epic filled with excellent performances and stellar cinematography. Led by Kirsten Dunst and Cailee Spaeny, Civil War is tense and thrilling in all the right ways. The second movie here is Janet Planet, a coming of age film and the directorial debut of Annie Baker, which went on a multi-festival tour in 2023 before finally being released this year. Typically more associated with her work in theater as a playwright, Baker didn’t miss a step in her transition to film, with IGN’s review saying the film’s “photographic aesthetic enhances its distinct sense of time, place, and memory.”

If you were looking for new entries from some of our most celebrated directors, 2024 was rife with those as well. Italian auteur Luca Guadagnino (Suspiria remake heads unite) turned in Challengers, a sweat and sex drama featuring both a love triangle and lots of tennis. Starring Zendaya, Mike Faist and Josh O’Connor, the movie was widely beloved by film fans and critics, including our own. For movies that were not widely beloved, see Francis Ford Coppola’s long-gestating passion project Megalopolis, which stumbled with critics and audiences but found some defenders, including here at IGN. Starring Adam Driver as a visionary architect in an alternate 21st century, it’s a movie that’s difficult to describe without sounding a bit off the wall. We’ll just say that if you were looking for something that could only have come from a singular artistic mind (for better or worse), Megalopolis is truly a one of a kind experience.

The surreal sensation Yorgos Lanthimos also returned to theaters this year with Kinds of Kindness, an anthology film featuring three darkly comedic stories. Reuniting with regular muse Emma Stone (you saw Poor Things last year, didn’t you?), the Greek director delivered yet another gonzo movie primed for the sickos. His style isn’t for everyone, but if you can get on his wavelength, there’s no one doing this exact kind of movie at his level right now. And of course we also have Sean Baker’s Anora, one of the most talked about movies of the year as we prepare for award season. Mikey Madison, who before this was most well-known for her work in Scream 5, has become an early favorite for Best Actress categories due to her performance as the title character, a sex worker who goes through a bizarre series of events when her new husband’s parents try to get their wedding annulled.

The Dead Live!

And if we’re talking auteurs, we have to mention Nosferatu, the latest film from acclaimed director Robert Eggers. Known for excellent films like The Witch and The Northman, Eggers channels his Gothic energy by remaking the 1922 classic from F. W. Murnau, which is commonly considered one of the most historically important horror films of all time. Although some fans of the original novel may lament its deviations from the source material, Nosferatu pulls from a fascinating mélange of influences besides the book and Murnau’s film, such as the 1932 black and white film Vampyr, the 1979 remake from Werner Herzog, Francis Ford Coppola’s 1992 adaptation, and even features a little bit of DNA from The Exorcist. This one is dropping in theaters on Christmas Day, so if you’re in the mood for a blood-soaked period piece after opening your presents, be sure not to miss it.

There were some strong franchise entries this year as well. A Quiet Place: Day One, the third film in the sci-fi horror series, surprised by being far better than your average prequel has any right to be. Featuring great performances from Lupita Nyong’o and Joseph Quinn and a confident character-driven story, Day One proved that this franchise has more life in it than many would have expected. We also saw the conclusion of Warner Bros.’ two-part animated adaptation of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ seminal graphic novel classic Watchmen with Watchmen: Chapter II. Reviewer Zaki Hasan had nothing but praise for the second installment, writing that “the many ways it sticks to its roots delighted this fan of the comic, but it can just as easily serve as an entree into this story for someone experiencing it fresh.”

Sticking with animation, the Looney Tunes will soon get in on the action with The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie. After the incredibly disheartening situation with the shelving of Coyote vs. Acme, this film premiered at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival and is set to be released worldwide on February 28, 2025. Reviewer Rafael Motamayor said the film “has enough gags per minute to leave audiences short of breath with laughter, but also a big heart that shows why these characters are so beloved even after nearly 90 years.” On that note, another animated staple will soon be making a comeback with Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl, a new feature-length film in the British claymation franchise. It features the return of The Wrong Trousers antagonist Feathers McGraw, and according to IGN reviewer Ryan Gaur, it “stands shoulder to shoulder with some of Aardman’s best work.” That one will be dropping on BBC One and BBC iPlayer December 25 and streams on Netflix beginning January 3. 2025.

Wicked Anime

For the anime fans in the audience, we want to highlight two particular films. The first is The Concierge, an adaptation of Tsuchika Nishimura’s manga series The Concierge at Hokkyoku Department Store, which is centered around a shopping center for anthropomorphic animals (the staff are human, if you were wondering). Reviewer Kambole Campbell praised how the film adapted the manga, saying that The Concierge has a “lively, expressive art style and wonderfully absurd characters.” The second is Haikyu!! The Dumpster Battle, which is a sequel to the anime television series Haikyu!! This series is about the Karusono High School volleyball team and member Shoyo Hinata in particular, with the film detailing a particularly important match against Nekoma High School. Reviewer Mike Mamon said the film is “a delightful watch for long-time fans that doubles as an entertaining sampler for those curious about this beloved series.”

And last on our list is the long-anticipated film adaptation of Wicked, the beloved Broadway musical that acts as a prequel to The Wizard of Oz. This Part 1 of 2 from director Jon M. Chu stars Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba and Ariana Grande as Galinda. Given the box office totals and A CinemaScore, IGN reviewer Alyssa Mora wasn’t alone in loving the way the film brings the musical to the big screen. She wrote that “this film adaptation epitomizes what modern movie musicals can and should be,” and that “Wicked will undoubtedly immortalize Grande and Erivo in movie musical history.” That’s some high praise! Of course, you know what she’s talking about since you’ve seen it already, haven’t you?

What were your favorite movies of 2024? Let’s discuss in the comments!

Carlos Morales writes novels, articles and Mass Effect essays. You can follow his fixations on Bluesky.