559 Best Movies & Shows Released in 2024

Staff & contributors
Find the best movies and show to watch from the year 2024. These handpicked recommendations are highly-rated by viewers and critics.
When the world gets dark– when something bad happens that makes you lose your faith in the world around you– it can be hard to think that art would be of any help. After all, a piece of paper with scribbles on it can’t undo the wrong that’s happened, or help out directly with the concrete, solidified systems and solutions to the world’s problems. Look Back even acknowledges the possibility of art harming its creators, but through the friendship forged by Fujino and Kyomoto, it also acknowledges the way art can save you and the people who share that love, through some of the most beautiful animation ever created.

Genre: Animation, Drama

Actor: Daisuke Takahashi, Kota Oka, Kureha Maki, Maaya Sakamoto, Masumi Taira, Mizuki Yoshida, Rina Endou, Shinnosuke Tokudome, Toshiyuki Morikawa, Yoichiro Saito, Yuumi Kawai

Director: Kiyotaka Oshiyama

Rating: NR

, 2024

One thing about director Sean Baker’s movies is that everything is rooted in class. Anora might charm as a romance, delight as a comedy, and dazzle as a realistic look into sex work, but at the end of the day, it’s a movie about labor, specifically exploitation labor, making the movie as painfully realistic as it is hopelessly romantic. It’s like the anti-Pretty Woman in that way. There’s no doubt it will have the same cultural impact (it’s already starting heated discourses on the internet) and will be remembered for just as long. The heated performances, breathtaking cinematography, and subtly hilarious script are all bonuses to this gem of a film.

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance

Actor: Aleksey Serebryakov, Darya Ekamasova, Ella Rubin, Ivy Wolk, Karren Karagulian, Lindsey Normington, Luna Sofía Miranda, Mark Eydelshteyn, Masha Zhak, Mickey O'Hagan, Mikey Madison, Ross Brodar, Vache Tovmasyan, Yura Borisov

Director: Sean Baker

Rating: R

When two young brides are mistakenly swapped on a train, it’s a difficult situation, much more so when the brides in question are both veiled and wearing the same red bridal attire. This seemingly simple swap is the entire plot of Laapataa Ladies, but director Kiran Rao transforms this mishap into a hilarious, yet realistic, satire that challenges plenty of the norms enforced on women in the country. As Phool and Jaya switch places, the film understands where their respective mindsets come from– Phool having not learned much about the world, and Jaya having been jaded by it– but the film doesn’t stop there. It brings them to places that challenge those mindsets, and in turn, they challenge the people around them too, by actively making choices from the mindsets they had to hold to survive. Laapataa Ladies is what it says on the tin– Laapataa is the word for lost– but the sharply written characters, the witty dialogue, and the subtle social commentary make this charming love story one of a kind.

Genre: Comedy, Drama

Actor: Chhaya Kadam, Geeta Agrawal Sharma, Nitanshi Goel, Pratibha Ranta, Ravi Kishan, Sparsh Shrivastav

Director: Kiran Rao

Coming of age films are a staple in cinema, but rare is a great depiction of growing up on the internet, chatting with friends, and learning about the world through just a small screen. Dìdi is one of those rare films that remembers that pivotal era, which is why it’s often likened to Bo Burnham’s Eighth Grade, but Sean Wang depicts a more angsty than anxious Asian American kid with a mother and a grandmother less able to relate to the wider Western town they live in, and with nothing he wants to do but to skate, shoot skating, and try to fit in with people he thinks are cool. It’s both funny and self-critical, as if Wang was looking back to remember the times he screwed up, but it’s also just comforting to watch him own up to who he really is, even if it doesn’t garner the exact response he’s been hoping for. It’s also precisely why Dìdi found its audience.

Genre: Comedy, Drama

Actor: Cameron Foxly, Chang Li Hua, Izaac Wang, Joan Chen, Joziah Lagonoy, Macaela Parker, Shirley Chen, Spike Jonze, Stephanie Hsu

Director: Sean Wang

Rating: R

As a continuation of the original animated series done in a similar visual style, X-Men '97 could have very easily settled for cheap nostalgia pandering to fans old and new. But what we get instead is a show that hardly seems pressured by expectations and focuses all its energy on simply telling a good story with powerful themes. The best X-Men stories have always touched on prejudice, systemic inequality, and the struggle to come to terms with one's own differences from society. And this new series follows right along, already communicating so much character within its first two 30-minute episodes while maintaining dire stakes for its entire ensemble. And even with the occasional awkward line reading, the quality of the writing always shines through—whether in an emotionally charged conversation between Cyclops and Jean Grey about what a parent's responsibility should be; in the empathetic words of Storm to the rest of her team; or in one of several show-stopping speeches given by Magneto, who finds himself reluctantly aiming for balance between humans and mutants more than ever before. And in every exchange or monologue, there's always an unease about the situation the X-Men find themselves in, caught between protecting those who wish them dead and leaving this responsibility behind to begin their own lives.

Genre: Action, Action & Adventure, Adventure, Animation, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Science Fiction

Actor: Alison Sealy-Smith, Cal Dodd, Catherine Disher, Chris Britton, George Buza, Gil Birmingham, Gui Agustini, Holly Chou, Jennifer Hale, JP Karliak, Lenore Zann, Matthew Waterson, Ray Chase, Ross Marquand, Terri Douglas

Director: Chase Conley, Emi Yonemura, Jake Castorena

Rating: TV-PG

When we think of biopics, we think of underdogs overcoming all odds just through the magnetic power of one’s voice or mastery of their instrument, with the accolades a natural reward for all they’ve been through. Kneecap is not that. The biopic about the titular Belfast hip hop act acknowledges the Troubles, but right off the bat, they would rather tackle that through the actual music. With a low budget, Kneecap dresses themselves in neon tracksuits, reliving their beginnings with stylized camera movements, scribbled out lyrics and action lines, and an impeccable energetic score sync from their usual music video director Rich Peppiatt. It’s an exciting new portrait of the band and Ireland today.

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Music

Actor: Adam Best, Cathal Mercer, DJ Próvai, Emily Lamey, Fionnuala Flaherty, Jessica Reynolds, Josie Walker, Kerri Quinn, Lalor Roddy, Michael Fassbender, Mo Chara, Móglaí Bap, Niall Cusack, Simone Kirby

Director: Rich Peppiatt

Rating: R

The worst possible things that could happen, happen to orphaned twins Gracie and Gilbert but still they power on, motivated solely by the hope of being reunited once more. It’s a sweet premise, young siblings on opposite ends of the country encouraging one another with heartfelt letters. And with the soft-spoken Gracie (Snook) narrating the whole thing, it’s easy to be lulled into a sense of ease and comfort. But those familiar with director Adam Elliot’s work know that it’s never that simple. The film is as dark and edgy as it is sentimental and hopeful. It’s a complex piece of work, one that asks: is life worth living? After all the hardships, misfortune, depravity, and brutality, must we go on? You probably know what answer the movie will give you, but how it gets there is a heart-shattering journey that’s worth taking nonetheless.

Genre: Animation, Drama

Actor: Adam Elliot, Dominique Pinon, Eric Bana, Jacki Weaver, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Magda Szubanski, Nick Cave, Sarah Snook

Director: Adam Elliot

Rating: R