Now that 2024 is a wrap (as they say in the movie business), let’s take one final look at what I considered to be the best and the worst movies of the year. We begin by listing the top five movies at the box office for 2024, domestically. They are:
‘Inside Out 2‘ ($653 million)
‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ ($637 million)
‘Wicked‘ ($425 million)
‘Moana 2′ ($395 million)
‘Despicable Me 4 ‘($361 million)
Note that three of the top five movies in America were animated features, crowd-pleasers that made a lot of money. Part of their success is due to the fact that parents often accompany kids to the theater to see these films. That helps to boost profits.
My “Best List” is less based on profits than my personal criterion for a really good movie—would I like to see it again? If a movie really grabs me, it’s usually because it connects with me in some way, whether it’s the cleverness of the story or the brilliance of the filmmaking process.
This year, five movies that fell into that category included:
‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ – The irreverent, R-Rated, action/comedy, Summer Hit of 2024 starring Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman. It was everything that fans prayed that it would be and then some.
‘Moana 2‘ – That rare sequel that eclipsed that original blockbuster film by raising the bar of dazzling digital animation to new heights.
‘Gladiator II’ – Director Ridley Scott proving that, at age 86, he is still at the top of his game, a master of bold, sweeping, epic entertainment. Can’t wait for “Gladiator III.”
‘Super-Man: The Christopher Reeve Story‘ – Perhaps the best documentary feature film of the year, balancing tragedy and triumph in the life of one of Hollywood’s most beloved action heroes.
Movie poster for ‘Super-Man: The Christopher Reeve Story‘ (Courtesy: Warner Bros. Studios)
‘Complete Unknown‘ – Perhaps the Best Picture of 2024. James Mangold’s brilliant biopic about the life and times of Bob Dylan. Timotheé Chalamet’s career-topping performance, singing and playing Dylan’s iconic songs live, on camera.
Timothée Chalamet in “A Complete Unknown.” (Photo by Macall Polay, Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2024 Searchlight Pictures All Rights Reserved.)
Turning to my least favorite movies of the year, my criterion here is simple—movies that I barely sit through to the end, and movies that I wish I had never seen in the first place. In other words, movies that were pretty much just a waste of time, ones that made me wish I could have those two hours of my life back again.
Movies in that category this year included:
‘Borderlands’ – Eli Roth’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” wannabe, sci-fi, disaster—a dud, despite the A-List Casting of Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart and Jamie Lee Curtis.
‘Megalopolis‘ – A spectacular misfire from one of Hollywood’s most talented directors, Francis Ford Coppola. An attempt at a Mega-modern-day epic that collapses under its own density and weight.
‘Joker: Folie à Deux’ – Director Todd Phillips’s misconceived movie musical misfire following his spectacularly successful 2019 movie “Joker” (also starring Joaquin Phoenix). A crushingly boring disappointment.
‘Red One’ – A big-budget, holiday, 007-style spy thriller for kids that lands like a lump of coal, despite Dwayne Johnson, an A-List cast, and a sleighful of special effects.
‘Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga‘ – Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth are both horribly miscast in George Miller’s way-over-the-top, exhausting action thriller
Wishing everyone a healthy, happy, prosperous New Year and great lineup of 2025 movie releases!
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