Over the past few weeks I’ve noted a number of times how 2024 was a great year for genre films. A variety of films have been praised and award season hits really seemed to find their way into the mainstream more than perhaps usual, something of a recurring trend over the past couple of years. These ideas are particularly reflected in the results of this year’s poll for the audience best film of the year. There’s tended to be a diverse range of genres, blockbusters and indie films in the top ten each year, and that’s certainly the case here; but what stands out is just how successful some of these latter titles were. In the past blockbusters and some of the most talked about films of the year have made up the top three (last year Oppenheimer, Barbie and Wonka topped the list), and to some extent that’s the same here but with less of an angle on worldwide smashes. Emotional impacts seem to be a big part of this year’s list (All Of Us Strangers just missed out on the top ten and there was a good show of support for One Life). And so, without any more waffle, here are the top ten films of 2024 (by UK release date) as voted for by the various forms of the Just A Little Bit Random audience.
10. The Holdovers
After much build-up this Christmas flick managed to prove a success when released in the UK in mid-January and already seems to be destined to become a classic of the festive season. There’s plenty of warmth to be found at the heart of the connection between the dysfunctional trio in Alexander Payne’s latest film – even amongst Paul Giamatti and Dominic Sessa’s wonderful one-liner insults.
Emotional pain and isolation ease away amongst the humour and understanding which the film both demonstrates and emits. Payne does what he does best and extends a hand to such figures, both in the film and the audience, and takes them along on their respective journeys. The various bonds on-screen pushed by the feeling of the year’s closing days as layered and engaging characters lead the piece, and David Hemingson’s wit-filled screenplay, rather than a detailed narrative. This clearly connected with audiences throughout the year to perhaps return to it around Christmas, or perhaps watch it for the first time following the strong word-of-mouth, after it had such a strong effect and memory throughout the year.
9. Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
Not only did the return of Feathers McGraw create one of the biggest film events of the year, it also formed one of the most watched. Not just in terms of Christmas Day viewing, but also re-watches. Days, even weeks, after most got to see the return of Wallace and Gromit the internet was filled with jokes and references that were hidden the background of each scene – or in some cases upfront, Anton Deck has cropped up on social media feeds multiple times since.
Yet, aside from the many gags on display the craft of Vengeance Most Fowl has also received a lot of praise. The detail and general nature of the stop-motion, and indeed how long it takes, is something that remains consistently admired by the wider audience when it comes to Aardman and has been discussed as much as the finished product; especially when it comes to the scale of the climactic chase, knowing it has to follow-up the model train sequence in The Wrong Trousers – one of the greatest chases of all time, even according to the likes of Spielberg and del Toro.
All that time and effort has clearly been worth it with the reception that this latest outing for the, let’s be honest, iconic British duo who have lost none of their charm, style and creativity over 35 years – while the evil penguin, and his chicken disguise remains just as sinister three decades later.
8. Deadpool And Wolverine
One of the more divisive films of 2024, and perhaps the most divisive on this list, fans of Deadpool still found much to love about this third outing for the merc with a mouth. Seeing the fourth-wall-breaking antihero land in the MCU to rip it to pieces provided something of a continued, and needed, break from the rest of Marvel’s big screen ventures while showing some self-awareness via barrels of winks, nudges and fan service.
Nonetheless, while certainly leaning towards the fans and those well-versed in the various universes of comic book adaptations and beyond Deadpool And Wolverine managed to be the second biggest film of the year, the only two to cross $1 billion at the box office last year, although Moana 2 could just cross that line in the coming week or two. Some self-awareness seems to have been what people were wanting from their superhero films, and indeed in a year where blockbusters were quite hit and miss, and varied drastically in box office performance, this one provided some successes for both Marvel and a good deal of the audience, some of who’s fears that the character would be changed by the studio were quickly put to rest. It’s clearly made enough of a successes as it continues the regular appearance of the MCU in the audience top ten.
7. The Wild Robot
One of the most praised films in terms of visuals last year, as another animated film (after Dreamworks’ Puss In Boots: The Last Wish, voted the fourth best film of 2023) takes a leaf from the book of Spider-Verse to stand out with its visual style, The Wild Robot also had a widespread emotional impact. Much of this courtesy of Chris Sanders’ multiple layers of understanding, as shown with his work on one of the greatest films ever made Lilo And Stitch. Whether for those who feel like outsiders but eventually find their, sometimes dysfunctional, tribe or as a portrait about parenting Dreamworks’ latest clearly landed a punch with many audience members.
This is a film that emits the same strength of heart that it’s clearly made with in its storytelling. Complimented by its humour there are a number of jokes here that call back to some of the early Dreamworks films, such as Shrek, with a number of adult-leaning jokes which successfully go over the heads of younger audience members. A heartfelt film which warmly embraces its subject with thought and insight as Lupita Nyong’o’s titular robot, Roz, vastly exceeds her initial “crushing obligation” to help the animals in the wilderness around her.
6. Inside Out 2
In a similar vein to The Wild Robot, and much like the original film, Inside Out 2 also works on different levels for older and younger audiences. By exploring anxiety this sequel explores more mature themes than the 2015 original but still manages to create an adventure through the mind full of colour, imagination and a good dash of joy.
With a new set of emotions there’s still a balance to be found and no overbearing feeling to those which come across and are felt by the audience. Perhaps in part this is because of the depiction of anxiety, and how to deal with it. In recent years the idea of anxiety and panic attacks have come more to the fore in films and been praised, again to refer to Puss In Boots: The Last Wish, and even recently-released Babygirl (a much, MUCH different film) features a brief moment dealing with a panic attack. Inside Out 2 deals with this upfront pushing its relatability through the way it continues to perfectly visual mental concepts and feelings. Taking an initial joke and turning it into a proper element within the narrative which moves the story along and creates another clever and creative piece of work, not to mention the biggest film of the year. This was an undeniable, and to some extent unexpected in terms of just how big it became, hit and perhaps a large part of that is because of just how well it communicates its ideas and works in different ways for different audiences while still telling the same story.
5. Paddington In Peru
The love for Paddington continues to spread as his third outing, which sees him travel to Peru, proved just as much of a success with audiences of all ages as the first two, which continue to grow their audience with each regular showing on TV and display of love from those who are already fans. There may have been some comments about how it doesn’t quite reach the heights of the first two entries, but that doesn’t seem to have stopped it from connecting with viewers – as, at time of writing, it continues to hold on in the box office top ten two months after release.
Having already mentioned British icons once this trilogy has undoubtedly brought new life into Paddington with this iteration becoming just as much of one as he was before. Maybe over the last couple of months we’ve needed reminders that “when dark skies are grey, hope is the way” in addition to those that “if we’re kind and polite the world will be right”. The bear and his adages, and those of Aunt Lucy, are still very much the same and it creates a welcoming feeling that’s easy to relax into for Paddington In Peru, and the added bonus of Olivia Colman as a singing nun – Let’s Prepare For Paddington is one of the underrated bangers of the year, alongside Vengeance Most Fowl’s The Gnome Song. It’s clear that what we need in the world is just a bit more Paddington.
4. Dune: Part Two
Back in 2021 you voted Dune your fourth best film of the year (when No Time To Die came out on top), three years later you’ve placed the conclusion to the story, at least for now, in the same spot. Just as much of an intense visual spectacle, with additional sandworms, there’s been some question as to how the film will fare during awards season after somewhat having fallen behind in the conversation, as if a bit of an outsider now while still possibly securing nominations. While that might be the case for awards voters the effect its had on audiences, and in their memories is clear, as there was a strong show of support for it. In fact, there was a lot of support for the top four films in general with a good gap between them and the rest of the top ten.
In a year where Warner Bros’ blockbuster sequels largely faltered at the box office, with the likes of Furiosa and the divisive Joker: Folie A Deux drastically underperforming, Dune: Part Two was embraced from its opening weekend and beyond. A fitting follow-up to the first instalment of Denis Villeneuve’s transporting sci-fi epic, this more narrative-led return to the desert planet of Arrakis made the most of the big screen and packed it with masses of details for audiences who wanted to see the second half of this story, and get caught up in the tension of the various fights and battles on display – particularly in regards to the ending and Austin Butler’s scene-stealing Feyd-Rautha.
3. Conclave
While expected to be an awards season favourite Conclave become something of a box office success, too. Keeping a steady audience each weeks and holding on in cinemas amongst titles such as Wicked, Moana 2, Mufasa: The Lion King and Sonic The Hedgehog 3. Less a film about quite conversations and potential popes and religion and more a political thriller, Edward Berger’s follow-up to All Quiet On The Western Front is a bubbling pot of overlapping tensions.
Based on Robert Harris’ book of the same name, Peter Straughan’s screenplay never talks down to the audience or pontificates, instead understanding that the audience will follow along and bringing them into the established workings of the film and process to elect a new pope. Warring sides erupt amongst a set of fine performances and form a suspenseful process as figures are whittled and knocked down in their attempts to become the new leader of the Catholic Church. It all makes for a gripping thriller filled with unpredictable twists, in some cases receiving similar responses to murder mysteries, which have received plenty of love in previous audience top tens (Knives Out placed third in 2019 while Glass Onion was named the best film of 2022). All capturing multiple audiences in the unfurling of secrets as part of the increasing battle at the centre of the film.
2. The Zone Of Interest
I’ve already mentioned a number of times the lasting emotional impact that a number of films had last year, but one that perhaps had the biggest and most lingering effect is The Zone Of Interest. While I may not have sung its praises as much as most others, there’s no denying the profound impact that Jonathan Glazer’s view of evil, following the commandant of Auschwitz (Christian Friedl) and his wife (Sandra Hüller) go about their day to day life whilst living next door to the concentration camp which we never step foot in.
As we hear screams and gunshots, or see smoke billowing behind the garden walls, we hear conversations about the flowers or how, when her husband is in line for a promotion, Hüller’s Hedwig doesn’t want to move away from the idyllic life she’s built in their home. The banality of evil created a shocking and harrowing experience for many who saw The Zone Of Interest, and it indeed became a frontrunner during last year’s awards race, even alongside the likes of Oppenheimer and The Holdovers, in part because of just how strong of an impact it had both throughout and long after it finished. The show of support for this film throughout the voting process was strong, as shown by its runner-up placement, with a consistently high number of votes coming in from the start. Reflecting it as one of the most acclaimed films of the year, and one of the most effective long after it’s run-time has finished.
1. Wicked
One of the biggest and most beloved Broadway musicals turns into one of the biggest and most beloved films of the year. Wicked proved a big hit with fans of the musical, we all saw and heard about the debacle involving singing along and taking pictures in the cinema (the sing-a-long version was released on Christmas Day and put your phone away!) and those who hadn’t seen the stage version yet. Capturing audiences in its unashamed, glitzy song and dance numbers and big Broadway tunes, led by Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande who can both undoubtedly belt out a tune, and make one hell of a press tour.
With a months long build-up and the film and no sign of the film slowing down at the box office there seems to be little sign of Wicked fatigue settling in, which shows further anticipation building for the sequel later this year. For a film only adapting one half of the stage musical with a run-time just as long as the whole musical (including intermission) there were worries that this could have turned into something bad, but instead it was met with the opposite of loathing and became one of the most popular films of the year. Taking people back, in some ways, to a scaled up version of Oz and the Emerald City for an acclaimed, entertaining musical and perhaps one of the few pieces of event cinema from the last year. Landing that final punch with Erivo belting out Defying Gravity it clearly took off for audiences, leading it to be voted as your best film of 2024.
Just A Little Bit Random 