The 15 Best Movies Of The 2020s (So Far), Ranked

We're halfway through the 2020s, and one thing is clear: Movies are the balm, the salve, and the answer to life's biggest questions. Filmmakers are storytellers, and the stories told over the past five years have ranged from the thrilling to the serene, the serious to the hilarious, and beyond. We've seen box-office records smashed, non-English language films move the pop culture needle here in the U.S., and original ideas rewarded with praise and popcorn buckets. We've seen movies, and we're not stopping anytime soon.

For now, though, we're offering up a quick recap as to where we stand on the best films released between 2020 and now. Both blockbusters and indie surprises can be found below, but did your favorite make the cut? You'll have to keep reading to find out and start making a watchlist of the best movies of the 2020s so far!

While the films below include some heavy hitters with massive box-office earnings, it's worth remembering that budget and box-office don't determine quality. The endlessly brilliant "Hundreds of Beavers" cost just $150,000 to make. That's less than some films' catering budget, but it's enough to create one of the most entertaining and creative films in years. The simple plot sees an applejack salesman traveling the untamed landscape of 19th century North America at odds with hundreds, if not thousands of beavers. If he wants to survive the winter and win a local girl's heart, he'll have to become a legend.

The magic comes in the execution as filmmakers Mike Cheslik and Ryland Brickson Cole Tews (who also stars) deliver a live-action Looney Tunes adventure filled with physical gags, wordplay, deceptively sharp writing, and some beautifully crafted action sequences. There are physical, real-world antics and set pieces created with lo-fi effects and visual trickery, and it's absolute madness with a story that grows more and more ridiculous even as viewers find themselves being drawn in to our hero's journey.

Tennis fans have long accepted that sports cinema is pretty lacking when it comes to films about the sport. There's rom-com fluff ("Wimbledon") and biopic greatness ("Borg vs McEnroe,") but we've waited too long for the tennis version of "Bull Durham." Happily, that wait ends with Luca Guadagnino's incisive, sexy, and captivating "Challengers." Tennis, sex, obsession, love, honesty, manipulation, ambition, and more all come into play with onscreen action coming alive with energy and creative camerawork.

The film, initially inspired by a real match featuring Serena Williams, opens with a match between two former best friends (Mike Faist and Josh O'Connor) while a mutual (Zendaya) looks on, and through a series of time jumps, we come to see the path the three have taken to this point. It's electric and fun, and it's unafraid to tease adult sensibilities with its relationships and interactions. As exciting as things get off court, though, Guadagnino delivers a thrilling experience with the matches that avoids the usual left to right to left viewing experience. Add in an addictive score from Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (which deserved an Oscar nomination but didn't get one), and it's more than just a fantastic tennis film — it's a fantastic film, period.

In a world overflowing with bombastic distractions, it's sometimes nice to just sit back with a cup of hot cocoa and a warm film. "The Holdovers" is that warm film even if its lead character, a sourpuss professor named Paul Hunham (Paul Giamatti, at his grouchiest), prefers to keep the world at arm's length. A small college campus in New England breaks for Christmas, and Hunham is assigned to stay behind to look after the handful of students who aren't heading home. Ugh.

Alexander Payne's latest is a sweetly honest (and honestly sweet) film about letting people into our lives and becoming better for it. Snap judgements, whether about a grumpy teacher or a difficult kid, are rarely accurate, and it's only through time and compassion that we can truly get to know someone. All of that said, don't worry about this being some overly saccharine affair as David Hemingson's script and Giamatti's performance both have real bite and earn big laughs along the way. Dominic Sessa and Da'Vine Joy Randolph add to both the fun and the heart.

Godzilla has stomped his way across movie screens for three quarters of a century through roughly three dozen films, so it might be surprising to hear that the best of the bunch is arguably the most recent, "Godzilla Minus One." Writer/director Takashi Yamazaki began his film career in visual effects back in the 1980s before shifting into directing, and he's created something truly memorable here with a film that reintroduces Godzilla in a big, frightening, and affecting way. The balance between monstrous spectacle and human involvement has never been executed better.

Set primarily in post-war Japan, the film ties Godzilla's present rampage to a country's feelings of guilt. Atomic bomb radiation is still what grows the beast, but it's regret, loss, and suffering that fuels the narrative. Make no mistake, this Godzilla is a monster who generates as much fear as it does awe. Yamazaki crafts beautiful, thrilling set pieces including one that tips its hat to "Jaws" in a fun way, and through all the carnage and destruction, he maintains a throughline of human emotion that leads to some genuine tears from viewers (although the original ending would have been even tougher).

There are very few sure things when it comes to a film's box-office, so studios tend to go big on sequels and reboots hoping to build on past successes. Barbie dolls have been around for generations, but no one could have predicted how big the character would get on the big screen. Greta Gerwig's superb, uproarious "Barbie" — how strange that phrase would have been just a few years ago — grossed nearly one and a half billion dollars worldwide, and it's as much a testament to the filmmakers as it is to the enduring power of the brand itself.

The film takes a fish out of water approach as Barbie (Margot Robbie) heads out into the real world after realizing there's more to life than being Barbie. The script by Gerwig and Noah Baumbach explores beauty standards, sexism, the power of imagination and individuality, and even takes a few jabs at the doll's manufacturer, Mattel. The film, like the doll, resists subtlety, but Robbie and Ryan Gosling (as Ken) do great work bringing these initially one-note figures to life. Big laughs share the screen with spectacular production design, and it all comes together with genuine heart.

Lydia Tar is someone worth celebrating as a woman who's broken numerous barriers in the field of orchestral conducting, and she's done it her way without sacrificing her spirit, intelligence, or personality. That past comes back to bite her, though, and while this synopsis combined with a 158-minute running time hardly suggests an audience-friendly watch, Todd Field's "Tar" thrills and mesmerizes all the same. Cate Blanchett is a big part of that, as she remains the focus throughout, and like her character, she commands the screen from start to finish.

At the risk of setting up inaccurate expectations, this is one of the finest adaptations of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart" ever made. There might not be a literal body rotting away beneath the floorboards, but you can almost hear the metronome counting down the moments until Lydia's self-inflicted career demise. She's behaved and spoken poorly in the past, and rather than apologize, she continues to dig her own hole in an effort to stay centerstage. It's a hauntingly beautiful fall from grace captured with exquisite filmmaking and an incredibly powerful lead performance by Blanchett.

Belated sequels rarely outdo the original when it comes to quality and box-office, but Tom Cruise never walks away from a challenge. Arriving 36 years after Tony Scott's "Top Gun," Joseph Kosinski's "Top Gun: Maverick" soared into theaters as both spectacular entertainment and industry savior, earning one and a half billion dollars. Cruise's brash and cocky young Navy pilot is now a brash and cocky old man — well, old in Tom Cruise years — who's tasked with teaching a new generation of pilots how to explore their need for speed.

What could have been a simple rehash is instead a legitimately thrilling feature showcasing some of the best flying sequences you're likely to see outside of personal experience. The third act borrows from the likes of "Star Wars" and "Behind Enemy Lines," but Cruise and Kosinski make it their own with high stakes and stylish, exciting execution while still finding time for emotional beats like a touching cameo by Val Kilmer (whose return as Iceman was a condition of Cruise's own return). This sequel might not break new ground (outside of that box-office), but it goes above and beyond at delivering high-octane entertainment.

While Bong Joon-ho's Academy Award wins ("Parasite") and international productions ("Mickey 17") tend to dominate mainstream American discussion on South Korean filmmakers, the greatest living Korean director continues to deliver cinematic brilliance with far less fanfare. Park Chan-wook remains tethered to 2003's "Oldboy" in the minds of many, but he's made no fewer than five masterpieces since then including his latest film, "Decision to Leave." Ostensibly a thriller about a detective investigating a man's death, the film is instead a beautiful romance that's at turns whimsical and tragic.

A detective (Park Hae-il) arrives to determine if a dead man's wife (Tang Wei) is somehow responsible, and the ensuing mystery is less about the wife's guilt or innocence and more about the growing connection between these two strangers. Park Chan-wook fills the screen with gorgeous, meaningful imagery that both enhances and informs the themes and ideas at play. The two leads take hold of our hearts and minds with strong, affecting performances highlighting a shared affection and curiosity for each other that's uniquely sexy in its innocence. Sit with it, and let it sit with you.

If you look past the gassy corpse in the Daniels' (aka Daniel Scheinert & Daniel Kwan) "Swiss Army Man" and the fornicating boat in "Omniboat: A Fast Boat Fantasia," it's easy to see that these are filmmakers with real heart. It might seem obfuscated at times with visual effects and puerile humor, but it's clear that they're very in tune with the human condition and the emotions that come with it, and you need only bathe in the beautiful, loving, creative juices of their third feature, "Everything Everywhere All at Once," to see that.

Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan, and Stephanie Hsu are a family, all of them relatable in their honest feelings for each other — there's regret and disappointment, but it's all couched in love — even if they don't quite see it yet. The journey they go on is best experienced firsthand, but just know that it involves multiple dimensions, elaborate fight scenes, affectionate hot dog fingers, and more. It's an incredibly satisfying and entertaining film with a strong emotional element, but it's also terrifically funny, frequently thrilling, and endlessly weird. Both heart and imagination are unchecked, and that's a beautiful thing.

It's not news to say that the United States is a country hobbled by its messy, painful relationship with race, and while historical events suggest progress has been made, the truth is that racism remains a baseline for too many people and institutions. Cynics (realists?) will say that there will never be a true reckoning, but if that's true, then the best we can do is continue to bear witness, share stories, and hope that future generations do better. The unique and breathtaking "Nickel Boys" is a testament to that belief.

Director/co-writer RaMell Ross tells the story through the eyes of two Black teenagers — we're literally seeing the world through their alternating POVs — but what could have easily been an off-putting gimmick is instead a stunningly intimate approach. The boys see both beauty and pain, something that shapes their growing views on the world, and we're made privy along the way. Ross captures magnificent imagery and never shies away from the darkness even as violence is left to fade into the background. This is a film you'll carry with you for some time, and sometimes that's the best we can hope for.

The only thing studios fear is uncertainty, but Warner Bros. made a rare investment in a bold, original idea — a period piece about twin brothers, the Black experience, morality, and vampires — and it paid off beautifully. Ryan Coogler leaves Marvel behind for "Sinners," a big, bloody slice of horror that's unafraid to get its hands (and tongues) dirty with a story that will have your fists clenching, your face smiling, and your toes tapping.

Coogler's muse, Michael B. Jordan, takes center stage as twin brothers who return from running with gangsters in Chicago to their small hometown in the Mississippi Delta. A shared desire to go legit lands them and the mostly Black revelers at their juke joint in the sharp-toothed sights of a roving Irish vampire, and their first night back threatens to become their last as all hell breaks loose. Jordan is joined onscreen by Hailee Steinfeld, Jack O'Connell, Delroy Lindo, and more, and they all find life alongside slick cinematography and an unforgettable score. Gory, sexy, and wildly entertaining, Coogler's latest is his best film yet and a strong contender for best of 2025.

Hannah Arendt's observation on the banality of evil has been alluded to in numerous films, both holocaust-related and otherwise, but few have explored its weight as stunningly as Jonathan Glazer's "The Zone of Interest," one of the most disturbing movies you'll ever see. While not entirely without plot, the film sits instead as a window into the lives and minds of people unmoved by the plight of others as they live in a comfortable house just outside the walls of Auschwitz. It's not necessarily that Rudolph Hoss and his family actively despise the people being held and murdered inside the camp — it's that they're not really thinking about them at all.

Children laugh and play, and a family celebrates, but the horror of it all hangs in the air around them. This is their life — before it was something else, and soon it will change again, but for now, this is their life. Glazer makes a point of never looking inside the camp, and while we catch sight of guard towers and chimneys, they're presented as mere architectural elements just as gun shots are nothing more than background noise. It's a disturbing tranquility.

As kids, Nora and Hae-sung were inseparable and promised to stay together forever. Life got in the way, though, and after decades apart, Hae-sung's come to New York City from South Korea to see the now-married Nora again. The setup to Celine Song's painfully beautiful "Past Lives" is a story that could easily move in any manner of directions. The reunion could lend itself to a romantic comedy, a thriller, or even a lusty tale of intimacy and infidelity. Less expected, and all the more powerful for it, the film instead takes an honest look at love, fate, and the things we think we need in someone else.

Greta Lee is the film's heart as Nora, and while she's happily married — as happily married as anyone truly is — to a kind and incredibly understanding man named Arthur (John Magaro), she's reminded of the boy she left behind. Hae-sung (Teo Yoo) is now a man, of course, and his journey back to her is frayed with self-doubt and shyness, but it's one that will lead both to self-discovery. This is a beautiful, relatable, compassionate film.

When it comes to Americans watching Indian cinema, there's before "RRR" and there's after "RRR." S.S. Rajamouli's epic tale of unlikely friends coming together to fend off the British empire captured American audiences like no Indian film before it leading to a long rollout across the country. Viewers who knew only that Indian films featured musical numbers learned to strike the word "only" from their vocabulary as Rajamouli and friends dazzle, thrill, excite, and impress with an adventure that almost redefines cinematic entertainment as each wild beat is chased by something even crazier. 

Visual effects are plentiful, but they never get in the way of the fun, as you're too busy smiling in awe at what's transpiring. The budding friendship at the film's heart is equally entertaining even as story turns and flashbacks reveal shifting allegiances and sincere motivations, and you can't help but get caught up in the adventure while learning about Indian history, political movements, and personalities. You may even find yourself tearing up out of joy and cheering numerous times during the film — and then seeking out more of the wonders that Indian films have to offer.

Christopher Nolan's Academy Award winning film is an epic across the board. From its three-hour running time to a double-digit cast of very recognizable actors to a story that builds to the epitome of immediate, man-made destruction, "Oppenheimer" is a big film. Liberties may be taken on the biopic front, but it's the core story that Nolan is after here, one about a man troubled less by the outside world as he is by the ideas within him. Oppenheimer knows the door he's opening, the proverbial toothpaste tube he's squeezing out that can never be returned, but he's incapable of stopping his forward march.

There's a lot to take in here as men and women out of history find life in strong writing and performances, all in service of a sad story about our inability to simply let things go. Whether they be people from our past or theories on atomic fusion, we're a species controlled as much by memories of our past as we are dreams of our future.