DISCLAIMER: The following is subject to change as my opinions continue to evolve.
So awhile ago I did a list of my favorite films per year from 1960 to 2022. Recently I got bored and thought it’d be fun to expand that list into a Top 5 for each year. That said, I decided to only go as far back as 1977 this time around, as I haven’t seen enough films prior to that to make Top 5’s for 1960-1976.
The majority of the films that made the cut are generally well-received, though I did also include some guilty pleasures (you will know them when you see them). I also snuck in a few honorable mentions…
This is a long-ass list, so let’s get going!
2022
1.The Batman
2.Top Gun: Maverick
3.Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
4.Avatar: The Way of Water
5.Death on the Nile
2021
1.Dune
2.The Suicide Squad
3.Spider-Man: No Way Home
4.Free Guy
5.The Mitchells vs. the Machines
2020
1.Onward
2.Soul
3.Sonic the Hedgehog
4.Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
5.Bill & Ted Face the Music
2019
1.Knives Out
2.Jojo Rabbit
3.1917
4.Ford v Ferrari
5.Top End Wedding
2018
1.Game Night
2.Star Wars: The Last Jedi - Score-Only Version
3.Mission: Impossible - Fallout
4.Avengers: Infinity War
5.Solo: A Star Wars Story
Honorable Mention - Feast of the Seven Fishes
2017
1.War for the Planet of the Apes
2.Logan (any version)
3.Wonder Woman
4.John Wick: Chapter 2
5.Thor: Ragnarok
Honorable Mention - Coco
2016
1.Arrival
2.Hidden Figures
3.The Founder
4.Star Trek Beyond
5.Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
2015
1.Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation
2.The Martian
3.Mad Max: Fury Road
4.Inside Out
5.Star Wars: The Force Awakens (guilty pleasure)
2014
1.Guardians of the Galaxy
2.Captain America: The Winter Soldier
3.Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
4.22 Jump Street
5.X-Men: Days of Future Past
Honorable Mention - The Imitation Game
2013
1.The Wolf of Wall Street
2.Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues
3.Snowpiercer
4.Despicable Me 2
5.Gravity
2012
1.Django Unchained
2.Skyfall
3.The Avengers
4.21 Jump Street
5.Ted
2011
1.Midnight in Paris
2.Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol
3.Rise of the Planet of the Apes
4.The Muppets
5.A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas
2010
1.Inception
2.Toy Story 3
3.Despicable Me
4.The Other Guys
5.The Social Network
2009
1.Up
2.Star Trek
3.Nowhere Boy
4.The Road
5.Avatar
2008
1.Wall-E
2.The Dark Knight
3.Tropic Thunder (theatrical version)
4.Iron Man
5.Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
2007
1.No Country for Old Men
2.The Bourne Ultimatum
3.Ratatouille
4.There Will Be Blood
5.Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
2006
1.The Departed
2.Casino Royale
3.Borat
4.Idiocracy
5.Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby
2005
1.Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
2.Batman Begins
3.Serenity
4.Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith (guilty pleasure)
5.Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
2004
1.Team America: World Police
2.Spider-Man 2
3.The Bourne Supremacy
4.Shrek 2
5.Sideways
2003
1.School of Rock
2.The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
3.Finding Nemo
4.The Room
5.Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl
2002
1.The Bourne Identity
2.Spider-Man
3.Minority Report
4.The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
5.Star Wars: Attack of the Clones (so bad that it’s good)
2001
1.The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
2.Zoolander
3.Shrek
4.A Beautiful Mind
5.Ocean’s Eleven
2000
1.Cast Away
2.Gladiator
3.X-Men
4.Chicken Run
5.Memento
1999
1.Office Space
2.Toy Story 2
3.Fight Club
4.The Matrix
5.Star Wars: The Phantom Menace (guilty pleasure)
1998
1.The Big Lebowski
2.Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
3.Enemy of the State
4.The Truman Show
5.Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island
1997
1.The Fifth Element
2.Good Will Hunting
3.Liar Liar
4.Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery
5.Titanic
1996
1.That Thing You Do!
2.Matilda
3.Beavis and Butt-Head Do America
4.From Dusk till Dawn
5.Independence Day
1995
1.Toy Story
2.GoldenEye
3.Apollo 13
4.Heat
5.Die Hard with a Vengeance
1994
1.Pulp Fiction
2.True Lies
3.Speed
4.The Lion King
5.Dumb and Dumber
1993
1.The Fugitive
2.Jurassic Park
3.Batman: Mask of the Phantasm
4.Cool Runnings
5.Benny & Joon
1992
1.My Cousin Vinny
2.Batman Returns
3.Patriot Games
4.A Few Good Men
5.Home Alone 2: Lost in New York
1991
1.Silence of the Lambs
2.Terminator 2: Judgement Day
3.Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
4.Point Break
5.Not Without My Daughter
1990
1.Goodfellas
2.Home Alone
3.Back to the Future Part III
4.Total Recall
5.Dances with Wolves
1989
1.National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation
2.Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
3.Batman
4.Honey I Shrunk the Kids
5.Back to the Future Part II
1988
1.Die Hard
2.Beetlejuice
3.Stand and Deliver
4.Funny Farm
5.My Neighbor Totoro
1987
1.The Princess Bride
2.Moonstruck
3.Lethal Weapon
4.The Living Daylights
5.Robocop
1986
1.Aliens
2.Platoon
3.Crocodile Dundee
5.Pretty in Pink
4.Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
1985
1.Back to the Future
2.Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome
3.Clue
4.The Goonies
5.Ladyhawk
1984
1.Amadeus
2.The Terminator
3.Ghostbusters
4.Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
5.Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
1983
1.Scarface
2.Star Wars: Return of the Jedi
3.National Lampoon’s Vacation
4.A Christmas Story
5.WarGames
1982
1.E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
2.The Thing
3.Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
4.Blade Runner
5.The Dark Crystal
1981
1.Raiders of the Lost Ark
2.Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior
3.Escape from New York
4.For Your Eyes Only
5.The Fox and the Hound
1980
1.The Shining (either version)
2.Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
3.The Blues Brothers
4.Airplane
5.Superman II
1979
1.Alien
2.Mad Max
3.Apocalypse Now
4.The Warriors
5.Hardcore
1978
1.Animal House
2.Superman: The Movie
3.Grease
4.Halloween
5.The Lord of the Rings
1977
1.Star Wars
2.Saturday Night Fever
3.Wizards
4.Close Encounters of the Third Kind
5.The Hobbit
…Well that was fun!
Peace!
Related: 2023 Pop Culture Review
Related: My Top 10 Films Per Year, 1996-2023
