What was 2024’s best movie? From ‘The Substance’ to ‘Conclave,’ our top 10

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What marks this year’s greatest films? Explorations of humanity and creativity within a confined structure, be it a maximum-security prison or a teenager’s mind. Thoughtful examinations of how we treat people who are different than us, and also how we look at ourselves. And the awesome power of music, from young stars bucking the system to a spiritually charged instrument handed down through generations.

Oh, and a bunch of backstabbing wannabe popes. Don’t forget about those guys.

Last year may have had Barbie and J. Robert Oppenheimer – congrats again on that Oscar win, Oppie! – but 2024 has Bob Dylan and Paul Atreides, onscreen alter egos of MVP Timothée Chalamet. Also, considering the past 12 months, Anxiety being a main cinematic character couldn’t be more perfect.

Here are 2024’s best movies, definitively ranked:

10. ‘The Piano Lesson’
11. ‘The Substance’
12. ‘A Different Man’
13. ‘Inside Out 2’
14. ‘Civil War’
15. ‘Dune: Part Two’
16. ‘A Complete Unknown’
17. ‘Sing Sing’
18. ‘Conclave’
19. ‘The Brutalist’