Yahoo Movies The best movies of 2024 from Wicked to Better Man
The year's 10 must-watch films and where to stream them
2024 has been a busy year at the movies, with cinemas being dominated by stylish musicals, moving dramas and gripping horror films.
There was so much to choose from it was hard for Yahoo to come to a definitive conclusion on the best films of the year, with honourable mentions going to several, including Holocaust drama The Zone of Interest, Civil War, Kneecap, Rebel Ridge, and sci-fi epic Dune: Part Two.
Other noteworthy films of the year that didn't make the final list include Queer, Didi, Sing Sing, Blitz, Monster, Love Lies Bleeding, Priscilla, The Wild Robot, Red Rooms, Bird, and Late Night With the Devil.
Without further ado, here are Yahoo's picks for the top films of 2024.
The Substance
Coralie Forgeat's body horror The Substance was truly something else, it is bold and gruesome and makes some fantastic points about ageism against women in Hollywood (and in general, actually). Demi Moore delivers one of the best performances of her career as Elisabeth Sparkle, the so-called faded star who decides to take The Substance to create a younger, more perfect version of herself in Sue (Margaret Qualley).
It is gory as hell but a non-stop thrill ride from start to finish, with Forgeat ending things on possibly the bloodiest ending in cinema.
The Substance is streaming on MUBI.
American Fiction
Cord Jefferson won his first Oscar for American Fiction in 2024 and it was rightly deserved for his frank examination of the publishing industry and Hollywood's approach to stories from Black creatives. Sharp, funny and informative, the movie will make you laugh, think and everything in between as Jeffrey Wright's professor Monk grapples with the ramifications of creating a stereotypical "Black" book as a joke to prove a point.
It is anchored by some great performances by Wright and Stirling K Brown, who both also received Oscar nods at this year's ceremony for good reason.
American Fiction is streaming on Prime Video.
Anora
Written and directed by Sean Baker (The Florida Project/Tangerine) Anora tells the rags to riches story of a New York stripper who marries a Russian oligarch's son. The unpredictable wild trip of a movie kicks off with the most incongruous use of Take That's Greatest Day ever committed to film, and takes audiences on an unforgettable rollercoaster of emotions, incorporating slapstick humour, social satire, and copious amounts of drugs.
It drew instant comparisons to Pretty Woman when it won the prestigious Palme d'Or at Cannes Film Festival in May, and should do for breakout star Mikey Madison's career what that film did for Julia Roberts'.
Anora is in cinemas now, and on digital download soon.
Better Man
When you read that Robbie Williams is being depicted as a monkey in Better Man, his own biopic, you wouldn't immediately think it'd be one of the best films of the year but the musician has proven people wrong his whole career, so it feels right.
It was a risk but director Michael Gracey pulls it off brilliantly, making the film stand out from the crowd whilst delivering some fantastic musical numbers as it charts Williams' career from his childhood to around 2003.
Better Man is in UK cinemas on 26 December.
Challengers
Luca Guadagnino delivered not one but two films in 2024 after the SAG-AFTRA actors' strike delayed Challengers from September 2023 to March this year. But when it did finally come out it was a grand slam. The tennis drama showed the director's prowess at depicting desire, something it shares with Queer, and it has so much sexual tension between tennis prodigy turned coach Tashi (Zendaya), down-on-his luck player Art (Mike Faist) and rough and ready rookie Patrick (Josh O'Connor) it practically oozes off the screen.
A lot was made of a three-way kiss between the actors but its the slow-burn narrative that made the film so sexy without any actual sex scenes. That combined with sensational performances from its lead trio and an electrifying score from Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross made it one of the director's best.
Challengers is streaming on Prime Video.
Wicked: Part One
Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande defied gravity in Wicked, the first part of Jon M Chu's adaptation of the beloved stage play. A stunning love letter to musicals with its beautifully intricate sets and lavish costumes, the duo make are the icing on top of the cake with their perfect partnership.
The movie will go down as one of the great Hollywood musicals thanks to the cast's stellar performances of Stephen Schwartz' songs, especially Erivo.
Wicked: Part One is in UK cinemas now.
The Holdovers
The Holdovers, Alexander Payne's long-awaited reunion with his Sideways star Paul Giamatti, suffered from unfortunate scheduling in the UK. The Oscar-winning period comedy — which takes place at Christmas in a snowbound private school — was released in UK cinemas mid-January, by which time most people couldn't face the prospect of more festive fare.
It did the film a massive disservice, as the comedy-drama about a cantankerous teacher who looks after a handful of kids over the Christmas break was a real gem. Funny, poignant, life-affirming and delightfully observed, The Holdovers will be your new favourite Christmas movie.
The Holdovers is streaming on NOW with a Sky Cinema Membership.
All Of Us Strangers
Although released back in January, Andrew Haigh's All Of Us Strangers lingered long in the memory of everyone that watched it. The achingly moving story — an adaptation of the 1987 novel Strangers by Taichi Yamada — stars Andrew Scott in a career-best performance as a writer haunted by the ghosts of his past.
When he strikes up a relationship with his neighbour Harry (Paul Mescal), the boundaries and memories of his new life and old begin to blur, and its haunting conclusion is a cinematic gut punch like no other.
All Of Us Strangers is streaming on Disney+.
Poor Things
Emma Stone claimed her second Oscar for her remarkable performance in Poor Things, a fantastical adaptation of Alasdair Gray's novel. She plays Bella Baxter, a woman brought back to life by a Frankenstein-like mad scientist (Willem Dafoe), imbuing her with child-like wonder.
The visuals and costumes are dazzling, and Greek filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos, who previously directed Stone in 2018's The Favourite, continues to push the boundaries of modern cinema.
Poor Things is streaming on Disney+.
One Life
Anthony Hopkins always delivers and he does so again in One Life, which dramatises the work of British humanitarian Nicholas Winton to help save Jewish children in Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia by bringing them to England. The real-life story is deeply moving and James Hawes creates a similarly emotional story as an older Nicholas reflects on his past self (Johnny Flynn) while reckoning with the notion that he is not the hero everyone thinks him to be.
Winton's work was highlighted in the BBC programme That's Life! which is brought stunningly to life in the movie too, leaving few dry eyes in the house.
Makes for an impactful double-bill with Jonathan Glazer's haunting holocaust movie The Zone of Interest, which is streaming on Prime Video.
