PHOTO BY DAVID LEE / NETFLIX

As more people have found their way back to the cinema — perhaps having finally noticed that the popcorn (and the screen, and the sound … and the overall experience) at home can’t possibly compete — they’ve been rewarded, blessedly, with variety.

The year had its share of expected blockbusters, including box-office blessings such as “Inside Out 2,” “Wicked” and “Deadpool vs. Wolverine.” It also had plenty of smaller budget but more ambitious films finding success, despite doing things in ways the pundits would deem antiquated — from the over-the-top gonzo effects of “The Substance” to the quiet, grown-up drama of “Conclave.”

For every dud (has anyone checked in on Francis Ford Coppola lately?), there was a triumphant hit (“Gladiator II,”), an out-of-nowhere delight (“The Wild Robot”) and a raucous surprise (“Drive-Away Dolls”). There was even a reminder of the continuing urgency of cinema (“The Seed of the Sacred Fig”) and a best-ever treatment of a classic tale (read to the end of the list for that one).

There were plenty of worthy contenders from which to select my list — but first, a few honorable mentions, all of which are worthy of a watch: “Blink Twice,” “Dune: Part Two,” “Here,” “In a Violent Nature,” “Late Night With the Devil,” “Nickel Boys,” “Nightbitch,” “The People’s Joker,” “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” and “The Substance.”

Here are the 10 best films of 2024.

PHOTO BY WILSON WEBB / FOCUS FEATURES

10) “Drive-Away Dolls”
This madcap road comedy from Ethan Coen, which was filmed in and around Pittsburgh, deserves more of an audience than it found on its theatrical release. It’s the kind of low-stakes, high-reward farce that has every chance to become a cult favorite, as a trio of mismatched friends and occasional lovers — played brilliantly by Margaret Qualley, Geraldine Viswanathan and Beanie Feldstein — go on an unwitting adventure. It’s hilarious, bawdy and breezy.
Where to See It: Now streaming on Prime Video and available to rent via digital on-demand services.

9) “The Piano Lesson”
Let’s put aside, for a moment, that “The Piano Lesson” was the first of the recent August Wilson adaptations not to be filmed in the master’s native Pittsburgh. (Though we’re still raw about it.) The brilliant, lingering tale of generational trauma is one of Wilson’s best; the film is smartly adapted by Malcolm Washington, who does an excellent job of turning a play into a big-screen experience. A loaded cast, led by potential Oscar winner Danielle Deadwyler, is reverential to the material while leaving their own stamp.
Where to See It: Now streaming on Netflix.

8) “Love Lies Bleeding”
Magic realism, crime caper and slice-of-life tragedy make for compelling bedfellows in this Lynchian drama by “Saint Maud” director Rose Glass. Kristen Stewart has never been better than she is here, thrust reluctantly into a violent odyssey of weightlifting and weapons dealing; Katy O’Brian equals her as a lost soul driven by love and ambition. If I’m not saying much about the plot, that’s deliberate; it’s better to discover the dark secrets of “Love Lies Bleeding” as you go.
Where to See It: Now streaming on Max and available to rent via digital on-demand services.

7) “Conclave”
Blackmail, backstabbing, treachery and manipulation: Just another day at the Vatican. An important day, anyway, as Ralph Fiennes leads a catty collection of cardinals tasked with picking the new Pope in this irresistible drama. “Conclave” gets a boost simply by being the kind of movie (and box-office success story) too rare in the ’20s; an original, mature drama that made no play for a wide audience and found one anyway simply by being a good movie.
Where to See It: Now streaming on Peacock and available to rent via digital on-demand services.

PHOTO BY NIKO TAVERNISE / MGM

6) “Challengers”
The better of two very good films released this year by the seemingly infallible director Luca Guadagnino (the William S. Burroughs adaptation “Queer” is the other), “Challengers” is an exuberantly sweaty tale of sex and tennis — or, perhaps, tennis as sex. The rarely consummated and even more rarely spoken love triangle between aces played by Zendaya, Mike Faist and Josh O’Connor will raise your heartbeat as if it’s you on the court. And no film this year sounded better, in large part thanks to a perfect score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross.
Where to See It: Now streaming on Prime Video and available to rent via digital on-demand services.

5) “Anora”
Mikey Madison should run away with the Best Actress Oscar for this genre pastiche of a love story — and, if she apes the style of the film when she collects the statue, she should do so with a symphonic explosion of vulgarity. A romance in its first act, a farce in its second and a tragedy in its third, “Anora” is the best film yet from director Sean Baker, packing some of the year’s most memorable scenes alongside genuine humor — and then pulling the rug out from under the audience in the closing moments. If you watch “Anora” at home, throw away the remote; you need to go for this ride in one sitting.
Where to See It: In theaters now and available to rent via digital on-demand services.

PHOTO BY GARETH GATRELL / PARAMOUNT PICTURES

4) “A Quiet Place: Day One”
I certainly didn’t expect this. The prequel to the popular, if slightly underdeveloped, “Quiet Place” movies is not a film I thought would dazzle me. Yet I walked out of the theater stunned, thanks to a heartbreaking and genuine performance by Lupita Nyong’o and a story that found the resonance of its apocalyptic subject matter better than the rest of the franchise could. It’s gripping, it’s shaky, it’s relevant. A hundred other films aimed for depth this year and didn’t come within a mile of what “A Quiet Place: Day One” did.
Where to See It: Now streaming on Paramount+ and available to rent via digital on-demand services.

3) “Sing Sing”
The true story is a remarkable one: Inmates in the notorious Sing Sing prison find community and hope via a mostly self-run theater program, getting caught up in petty squabbles and singular missions that feel like miracles inside prison walls. Colman Domingo, who has firmly established his place among the best actors alive, leads the charge — but a cast mostly made up of former inmates who performed with the group in question turns in no less memorable work. At once inspiring and heartbreaking, “Sing Sing” is the year’s finest drama.
Where to See It: Will be available via streaming (or digital on-demand services) in early 2025.

2) “The Wild Robot”
It took 20 years, but Dreamworks finally shook off its ogres and dragons to deliver a stone-cold classic of animation. A robot crashes on an untamed planet and finds itself without a task, only to become the adopted mother of an awkward gosling. What follows is moving and delightful at every moment, an instantly rewatchable treasure that neither leans heavily on its messaging nor ignores its time and place. Lupita Nyong’o gives another perfect performance — two in one year — voicing the titular robot. “The Wild Robot” easily surpasses a half-dozen movies that, if you’re a parent, you’re likely sick of by now; get your kids to love this one and you’ll actually be thrilled to see it again and again.
Where to See It: Available on Blu-Ray and to rent via digital on-demand services.

PHOTO BY AIDAN MONAGHAN / FOCUS FEATURES

1) “Nosferatu”
It took 100 years to make a perfect Dracula story. Perhaps we were just waiting for Robert Eggers. The director of stylish and haunting terrors including “The Witch” and “The Lighthouse” has the perfect eye and mind for the classic story, surpassing both the original Universal films and Werner Herzog’s maniacal 1979 adaptation. Bill Skarsgård ignores the influence of all his predecessors, from Bela Lugosi to Nic Cage, to render the ancient count as something not nearly human yet endlessly compelling. Designed to shock and entice in equal measure, “Nosferatu” does what the original film of that name did more than a century ago: Changes the language.
Where to See It: In theaters now.