Letterboxd’s Top 10 Highest Rated Films of 2024

Letterboxd recently released its recap of 2024, featuring some of the year’s highlights in cinema. We break down the top 10 highest-rated films of 2024, according to Letterboxd users.

Credit: IMDB

1. Dune: Part Two, directed by Denis Villeneuve and starring Timothée Chalamet, Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, and Zendaya, is the second installment in the Dune series, continuing the story from 2021’s Dune. In this film, Paul Atreides unites with Chani and the Fremen while seeking revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family. Facing a choice between the love of his life and the fate of the universe, he must prevent a terrible future only he can foresee.

   The film was originally slated for release in November 2023 but was delayed due to labor disputes in Hollywood that same year. Released in the United States in March 2024, it went on to gross $714.4 million worldwide, making it the fifth highest-grossing film of 2024. A sequel, Dune Messiah, is currently in development.

   Dune: Part Two currently holds a 4.4/5 rating with 2,090,017 ratings, making it the highest-rated film of 2024.

Credit: IMDB

2. I’m Still Here, directed by Walter Salles and based on the book Ainda Estou Aqui, follows Eunice Paiva, played by Fernanda Torres, as she begins a lonely battle to uncover the truth behind the disappearance of her husband, former PTB deputy Rubens Paiva, played by Selton Mello, all while trying to keep her family together.

Lead actress Fernanda Torres won the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama at the 82nd Golden Globes, and the film has been selected as Brazil’s entry for Best International Feature Film at the 97th Academy Awards.

I’m Still Here currently holds a 4.4/5 rating with 231,927 ratings on Letterboxd.

Credit: IMDB

3. How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies is a Thai comedy film directed by Pat Boonnitipat in his directorial debut. The story follows M, a university dropout struggling financially, who volunteers to care for his terminally ill grandmother in the hope of securing an inheritance. The film stars Putthipong Assaratanakul and Usha Seamkhum in their debut feature film roles.

The film grossed an estimated $78.3 million worldwide, making it the second highest-grossing Thai film of 2024 and the twelfth highest-grossing domestic film of all time, breaking box office records across Asia. It has also been selected as Thailand’s entry for Best International Feature Film at the 97th Academy Awards.

How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies currently holds a 4.3/5 rating with 78,980 ratings on Letterboxd.

4. Look Back is a Japanese one-shot web manga written and illustrated by Tatsuki Fujimoto. It tells the story of two girls—the outgoing Fujino and the reclusive Kyomoto—who share a passion for drawing manga. Driven by competitive fervor, Fujino strives to outperform the more talented Kyomoto, but the two eventually form a partnership deepened by the aftermath of a mass violence event.

Originally published in 2021 through Shonen Jump+, Look Back was adapted into a feature film in June 2024, directed by Kiyotaka Oshiyama. It currently holds a 4.3/5 rating with 198,701 ratings on Letterboxd.

5. Sing Sing, starring Colman Domingo and directed by Greg Kwedar, focuses on a group of incarcerated men participating in the creation of theatrical stage productions through the Rehabilitation Through the Arts program at Sing Sing Maximum Security Prison.

The film is based on the real-life events of the Rehabilitation Through the Arts program, founded in 1996, and features performances by many formerly incarcerated men who were alumni of the program during their imprisonment.

Sing Sing was named one of the top ten films of 2024 by the National Board of Review and the American Film Institute. It currently holds a 4.3/5 rating with 79,371 ratings on Letterboxd.

6. The Wild Robot is an animated science fiction film from DreamWorks Animation, based on the 2016 novel of the same name by Peter Brown. The story follows Roz, a service robot voiced by Lupita Nyong’o, who is shipwrecked on an uninhabited island. Roz must adapt to her surroundings, build relationships with the local wildlife, and become the adoptive mother of an orphaned goose named Brightbill, voiced by Kit Connor.

The film grossed an impressive $324.7 million worldwide, making it the sixth-highest-grossing animated film of 2024. It was also nominated for four awards at the 82nd Golden Globes, including Best Animated Feature Film.

The Wild Robot currently holds a 4.2/5 rating with 609,497 ratings on Letterboxd.

Credit: Crunchyroll

7. HAIKYU!! The Dumpster Battle is a Japanese animated sports film written and directed by Susumu Furudate, based on the anime television series of the same name. The film focuses on the intense volleyball match between Karasuno High School and Nekoma High School during the third round of the Spring Nationals.

Upon its release, the film grossed an incredible 11 billion yen in Japan, making it the second-highest-grossing Japanese film of 2024. It was later released in the U.S. by Crunchyroll through Sony Pictures Releasing on May 30, 2024.

HAIKYU!! The Dumpster Battle currently holds a 4.2/5 rating with 60,542 ratings on Letterboxd.

8. Hundreds of Beavers is an American slapstick comedy film from 2022, directed by Mike Cheslik and written by Cheslik and Ryland Brickson Cole Tews. However, the film didn’t receive a video-on-demand release until 2024, when it was self-distributed.

The story follows 19th-century applejack salesman Jean Kayak, played by Tews, who must battle hundreds of voracious beavers to become the greatest fur trapper in North America. The film was shot entirely in black and white over the course of twelve winter weeks in 2019–2020, with editing completed two years later in 2022.

Cheslik and the producers opted to self-distribute the film, rejecting all outside offers during the festival circuit. They planned to show the film in theaters for a week before releasing it on video-on-demand.

Hundreds of Beavers currently holds a 4.2/5 rating with 92,802 ratings on Letterboxd.

9. Rap World is an American mockumentary directed by Conner O’Malley and Danny Scharar, following three friends from Tobyhanna, Pennsylvania, as they document their attempt to record an entire rap album in a single night.

Conner O’Malley is best known for his work on Late Night with Seth Meyers but has also gained a large following on YouTube with his abstract and darkly humorous videos exploring suburban Americana characters. The film was shot on weekends over the course of two to three years, with most of the raps performed being original pieces by the actors.

Instead of a traditional theatrical release, the film was uploaded to YouTube through Conner O'Malley’s channel and has garnered 364,000 views.

Rap World currently holds a 4.1/5 rating based on 14,318 ratings.

10. The Brutalist is an American epic period drama directed by Brady Corbet and written by Corbet and Mona Fastvold. The film stars Adrien Brody as László Tóth, a Hungarian-born Jewish architect who survives the Holocaust and immigrates to the United States. He struggles to achieve the American dream until a wealthy client changes his life.

Brady Corbet began his career as an actor, appearing in films such as Thirteen, Mysterious Skin, and Funny Games, before making his directorial debut in 2015 with The Childhood of a Leader. For his work on The Brutalist, Corbet won the Silver Lion at the 81st Venice Film Festival and the Golden Globe for Best Director at the 82nd Golden Globes.

The Brutalist currently holds a 4.1/5 rating with 87,516 ratings on Letterboxd.

Non-Christmas Christmas Movies

Tired of watching Elf and The Polar Express every Christmas? Why not sit the family down and get the kids started early on their Letterboxd career with some of these more unorthodox Christmas movies.

Bridget Jones’s Diary remains one of the greatest Christmas-themed rom-coms of all time. The film stars Renée Zellweger as Bridget Jones, a 32-year-old publicity assistant caught in a love triangle between two men: her cocky, loudmouthed boss, Daniel Cleaver, played by Hugh Grant, and Mark Darcy, a childhood acquaintance turned handsome barrister, played by Colin Firth. Beyond being an absolutely hilarious, heartwarming, and entertaining film, it also offers a glimpse into the typical festivities of an English holiday season. If nothing else, watch this film simply to admire peak-hotness Hugh Grant and Colin Firth.

Just Friends is a romantic comedy about Chris Brander, played by Ryan Reynolds, a former undesirable and overweight nerd in high school who had a one-sided crush on his best friend, Jamie Palamino, played by Amy Smart, but was ultimately rejected at the end of senior year. Ten years later, Chris is a hunky record producer living in L.A. and dating pop stars when he is ordered to accompany wild-child superstar Samantha James, played hilariously by Anna Faris, to Paris. However, when their private jet makes an emergency landing in Chris’s hometown, he is forced to take Samantha home, where he ultimately runs into his old crush Jamie and tries to win her over. It’s a great, lighthearted Christmas comedy with some classic performances that evoke nostalgia for an early 2000s East Coast winter.

If the holiday season fills you with uncontrollable rage that makes you want to commit murder, then 1974’s Black Christmas is the movie for you. Starring Romeo and Juliet’s Olivia Hussey, this Canadian-made slasher film has been hailed as one of the earliest in the genre, inspiring countless horror movies to follow. Loosely based on the urban legend of “The Babysitter and the Man Upstairs,” Black Christmas tells the story of a group of sorority sisters being stalked by a faceless killer who terrorizes them with incessant phone calls before slowly picking them off one by one. Known as one of the darker cult Christmas movies, this film is credited with defining slasher genre tropes later used in classics like Halloween and Scream. It’s a perfect film for anyone who takes pride in being on the naughty list.

Arguably the most Christmas-themed movie on this list, Gremlins still goes underappreciated during the holiday season. The plot follows small-town bank teller Billy during Christmastime, when his father brings him a gift from a mystical Chinatown antique store: a living, breathing mogwai. Billy names his new, cute, and cuddly pet Gizmo, but when he accidentally breaks one of the three golden rules of caring for a mogwai, five new creatures spawn from Gizmo and wreak havoc in the neighborhood. Directed by Joe Dante and produced by Steven Spielberg, Gremlins is a great mix of a children’s movie and a black comedy, all set during the holiday season. It’s also famously known as the film that led to the creation of the PG-13 rating after multiple complaints upon its release.

Stanley Kubrick’s last film, Eyes Wide Shut, is arguably one of his most bizarre and haunting works. The story follows Tom Cruise as he scours New York City for a sexual encounter after his wife, Nicole Kidman, admits to fantasizing about a man she met. His carnal desire sends him on a journey where he stumbles upon an elite underground society filled with orgies and Venetian masks. Surprisingly, all of this takes place during the Christmas and holiday season, as seen in the numerous Christmas trees and lights filling each backdrop. Beyond being a fantastic film, Eyes Wide Shut has also spawned a multitude of conspiracy theories surrounding secret societies, the upper echelons, and the Illuminati—some theorists even speculate this was the true cause of Kubrick's death. Was this film a glimpse into the reality of the hidden workings of elite society or simply an adaptation of 1926’s Dream Story? Who knows. Either way, it makes a wonderful watch during the holiday season—just be careful that the pot doesn’t make you aggressive..

We’ve arrived at the least well-known film on this list: Doug Liman’s 1999 film Go. However, despite being a more obscure ’90s indie film, Go is packed with a loaded ensemble cast, a future A-list director, and a great script. Coming straight off Swingers, Doug Liman directs this film about a Christmas Eve night of debauchery in the same quick-witted and fast-paced style he is known for. It features classic performances from Katie Holmes, Taye Diggs, Jay Mohr, William Fichtner, and Melissa McCarthy. And if that doesn’t sell it for you, there’s also a very sexy Timothy Olyphant as a shirtless drug dealer in a Santa hat.

Tim Burton actually has multiple films that could be considered for this list, such as Edward Scissorhands and The Nightmare Before Christmas. However, Batman Returns does a perfect job of subtly inserting Christmas themes and motifs into the background of an action movie, on par with Die Hard. Following the success of the first Batman, Tim Burton introduces a whole new roster of star-studded villains for Batman to contend with, including Danny DeVito as the Penguin, Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman, and Christopher Walken as Max Shreck. Batman Returns is a perfect film for those who desire a darker, more gothic Christmas, filled with snow-covered art deco architecture and moody fireplace lighting.

Sidelined: The Qb and Me Fumbled on the Play

When I heard that TikTok star Noah Beck was making his acting debut in a Wattpad fanfiction adaptation titled The QB Bad Boy and Me, I knew I was in for a treat. I had been following this film since it was first announced and was genuinely interested in the outcome. I find Noah Beck charismatic and was hopeful his transition into film would be successful. Instead, what I got was a movie so packed with stereotypical high school romance tropes that it devolves into an unrecognizable, faceless abomination.

The movie follows Dallas Bryan, played by Sienna Agudong, an artistically inspired cheerleader with big dreams who just wants to escape her small town. Noah Beck plays the ridiculously named Drayton Francis Lahey, the star football quarterback who, surprise, surprise, doesn't want to follow in his father’s footsteps. It’s a movie about two people who have nothing and everything in common, who supposedly hate yet love each other, and who are ultimately brought together purely by their horniness.

Sidelined tries to be too many movies at once and fails at all of them. Drayton is supposedly a bad boy who rides a motorcycle but won’t drink the night before a game. He’s a bad boy who lives in a multimillion-dollar prefab mansion but doesn’t throw parties there. He’s the bad boy who doesn’t kiss on the first date, yet he’s bad enough to not give Dallas the bed when she sleeps over. At no point in this film did I feel that any of the characters experienced a change or had an emotional arc. It’s astonishing how someone can make a movie where supposedly life-changing events happen to the two main characters, yet they remain exactly the same at the end as they were at the beginning.

Beyond the bad styling, poor lighting, and horrendous script, what’s most distasteful about this movie is its complete lack of fun. In fact, it’s offensively boring. I had ground-level expectations going into this film, yet it somehow still managed to leave me feeling disappointed. What this film makes abundantly clear is that the heyday of high school romance films like 10 Things I Hate About You and She’s All That is dead and gone. My one consolation is that I watched this movie for free on Tubi.

Gladiator II Should Have Been Left on the Arena Floor

IMDB

Following the absolute disaster that was 2023’s Napoleon, Gladiator II's mediocre performance just might be the killing blow for Ridley Scott’s cinematic legacy. It’s been twenty four years since Ridley Scott first delivered us his epic drama Gladiator starring Russell Crowe as a disgraced and betrayed Roman general seeking vengeance against Joaquin Phoenix’s corrupt and childish emperor Commodus. The idea that this five time Oscar winning movie needed a sequel two decades later has left audiences questioning what exactly is going on in the decaying entertainment empire of Hollywood. 

The movie begins with Paul Mescal’s Lucius gently caressing his grain harvest and playing with his wife, Arishat, in the drying laundry. Unfortunately, he doesn’t have much time to develop a character as the Romans, led by Pedro Pascal’s General Acacius, are at the gates. Battle ensues, Lucius is taken prisoner and sold as a gladiator to Denzel Washington’s Macrinus, a slippery slave master with political intentions who promises Lucius his revenge on Acacius if he fights for him. You can pretty much imagine the rest of the film as it follows a near identical plotline as Gladiator but after the midpoint it quickly devolves into an absolute chaotic mess culminating in an eye roll worthy finale.

In fact the only things this film has in common with Gladiator are fantastic costumes, intricately detailed set design, and some rather impressive battle scenes. Beyond that it feels like a drawn out episode of the Starz series Spartacus except with a $200 million budget and fewer sex scenes.  Despite the best efforts of the cast, Gladiator II fails in every attempt at trying to fill in Gladiator’s sandals due to a lack of emotional depth, a fumbling plot line, and, at times, incoherent directing . The movie was such an exhausting watch that by the end of the two and a half hour runtime I felt like I myself had fought an entire gladiator match.

In terms of the performances, there isn’t really much to say. Lines were read. Some louder than others, some with more spit than others. Paul Mescal gives a rather uninspired performance but, to his credit, he was only working with the meager crumbs of character development he was given. Denzel Washington plays Denzel Washington except this time in a turquoise silk robe, conniving his way through the decaying excess of Rome in a performance so over the top he might as well be in a Shakespearean play. Connie Nielsen does her best to infuse the film with some semblance of emotion but it ends up falling flat like a gutted gladiator on the arena floor.

Much like a crazed and senile Roman emperor, Ridley Scott has simultaneously built and destroyed an entire entertainment legacy all in a single lifetime. As a result, he has managed to create his own B-movie remake of one of his greatest dramatic films. I think it is about time that Ridley steps down from his director’s throne and retires before he completely burns through the rest of his filmography.