It felt like a quieter year for the movies in 2024. While global box office takings appear to have increased, 2024 cinema didn’t have a Barbenheimer-style pop culture defining moment – despite the promotional teams for Wicked trying very hard to fabricate one. What the global box office does speak to is a cinematic landscape that continues to shift and change in search of its position in the new entertainment landscape. Existing IP remains the key strategy, with Red One and IF the only films in the top 25 grossing films in the world that are not sequels, remakes or adaptations. We saw the continued decline of the superhero movie after two decades as the dominant blockbuster force, with the second year in a row of only two superhero movies – Deadpool & Wolverine (which was ok) and Venom: The Last Dance (which was not good) – cracking the global box office top ten. Family animation showed that it is still the most dependable performer, with Inside Out 2 and Moana 2 performing strongly and Despicable Me 4 and Kung Fu Panda 4 doing solidly (Inside Out 2 also showed that Pixar is still very much a drawcard when Disney doesn’t shoot themselves in the foot by sending them straight to Disney+). Wicked confirmed that the non-animated musical genre has returned as a legitimate blockbuster form, while Joker: Folie à Deux (which I kind of liked)showed that if you are going to make a sequel that is openly antagonistic to the audience that made your first film a massive hit then you probably shouldn’t inflate the budget with massive salary raises.

While it is those films with the carpet bomb marketing campaigns that tend to shape the discussion about whether it has been a good or bad year for the movies, if you look a bit further there are always some fantastic films to be found and 2024 was no different. This year I watched 359 film, including 89 new releases, reviewing as I went on Instagram and Letterboxd. Below are my picks for the best of those new film. As always, my list is based on Australian release dates, so some of these films may have shown up in 2023 lists elsewhere.

10. Will & Harper (Josh Greenbaum)

A beautiful, warm and insightful documentary following two friends on a road trip as they navigate their relationship following one’s gender transition. The openness and grace with which the two ask and answer the questions that such a change naturally prompts is really impactful. With the public discourse around trans issues so shaped by uninformed and inexperienced perspectives, this film has the power to do a lot of good in the world. I am so much more interested in Will Ferrell when he is being himself rather than performing.

9. The Three Musketeers: D’Artagnan (Martin Bourboulon)

After numerous lacklustre Hollywood attempts, it turns out if you let the French make the Three Musketeers blockbuster you end up with something really cool. Because it is in French, The Three Musketeers: D’Artagnan onlyreceived a limited, cinema release, largely in arthouse and independent theatres, but the reality is that it is a rollicking piece of action-adventure filmmaking, combining beautiful period production design with swashbuckling action and an intriguing, propulsive plot. The second part, The Three Musketeers: Milady, wasn’t quite as good but the pair still make for a good time at the movies.

8. Civil War (Alex Garland)

An incredibly intense, harrowing film that marked a notable step up in the scale of what we’ve seen from A24 before. In a move that will frustrate some people, Garland’s film makes a concerted effort not to detail the politics of the conflict. So, while it feels plausible it is not endeavouring to be a piece of partisan contemporary political commentary. As a war film, having the civil war taking place in the US rather than some ‘other’ part of the world removes some distance, changing our relationship with the conflict and its combatants. 

7. May December (Todd Haynes)

Through films like Carol and Far From Heaven, Haynes has shown himself to be a brilliant contemporary exponent of the melodrama and he uses that mode to great effect in this uncomfortable but compelling work. In a way, May December tells the story after the story, focusing on an encounter between an actress preparing for a role and a controversial couple 20 years after they became a national news story (she was an adult, he was 13), to explore denial and unacknowledged trauma. The overbearing score creates a lurid, TV melodrama feel without undermining the seriousness of the subject matter. 

6. Zone of Interest (Jonathan Glazer)

There have been numerous films made about the Holocaust, but none quite like this fascinating film. It is a narrative work but on the surface level the story doesn’t matter. Rather, it is about the juxtaposition of the seeming mundanity of the domestic narrative with the horrific reality we know is occurring just over the fence. Brilliant sound design ensures the unseen is never far from your mind. A powerful exploration of the cognitive dissonance that allows people to oversee horrific evil as though it were any other job. 

5. Anora (Sean Baker)

Funny and sad at the same time, this film about a stripper who gets swept off her feet by the impulsive son of a Russian oligarch sees through the fantasy of Pretty Woman in particular, and the Cinderella story more generally. Baker has always been attuned to the politics of class, and Anora’s escalating situation does a great job of highlighting the differences between the way that those with too much money and those with not enough are able to move through the world. A breakout titular performance from Mikey Madison.

4. A Different Man (Aaron Schimberg)

A really creative and fascinating exploration of the relationship between disability and self-perception/identity. Edward’s disfigurement has shaped the way he engages with the world. While a miracle cure seemingly liberates him, being forced to reflect on his own life from his new perspective, and encountering a man with the same condition living without that containment, confronts his assumptions. Sebastian Stan continues to do really interesting work that increasingly makes his Marvel projects stick out like a sore thumb in his filmography.

3. My Old Ass (Megan Park)

I came into this one knowing absolutely nothing and was utterly charmed by this warm, sweet and funny film about youth and love. An 18-year-old on the verge of leaving home for college has a mushroom-induced encounter with her 39-year-old self which prompts her to look afresh at the life she already has. The dialogue-with-her-future-self premise could be twee but it invests in it and makes it work, and then impressively sticks the landing.

2. Anatomy of a Fall (Justine Triet)

A brilliantly executed and thoroughly engrossing courtroom drama that revels in the unknowability of the case. Rather than a multitude of possible explanations, we are really only presented with two possibilities: either he jumped or he was pushed. Yet despite largely experiencing the story from the accused’s point of view we still never know whether to believe her. Having a slightly different legal system to the US/UK models that dominate our screen adds another layer of interest to the unfolding case.

1.  The Holdovers (Alexander Payne)

The Holdovers is the best Christmas movie to come out in many a year, despite a quirk of the release schedule seeing it hit cinemas in Australia in mid-January. Built around three tremendous performances, it earns its moments of sweetness by not shying away from the more heartbreaking aspects of its characters’ stories. Not just a Christmas movie, it has a lot to say about class, race and education without feeling preachy. Payne does a great job of not just recreating the films 1970s setting, but making the film feel like a film from the seventies. I topped and tailed my year with viewings of The Holdovers and it hit the spot both times.

The Next Best (alphabetical):

• Better Man (Michael Gracey)
• Challengers (Luca Guadagnino)
• Dune: Part Two (Denis Villeneuve)
• Fallen Leaves (Aki Kaurismaki)
• Perfect Days (Wim Wenders)
• Rebel Ridge (Jeremy Saulnier)
• The Remarkable Life of Ibelin (Benjamin Ree)
• September 5 (Tim Fehlbaum)
• Wicked (Jon M. Chu)
• The Wild Robot (Chris Sanders)

For those who are interested in the stuff I didn’t like as much, you can find my full ranking of all 89 new release films I saw this year here.