Year-End Lists

The Playlist: 25 Best Films of 2018

[see also 2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2010s • 2019]

1. You Were Never Really Here
   Lynne Ramsay
2. First Reformed
   Paul Schrader
3. Hereditary
   Ari Aster
4. Annihilation
   Alex Garland
5. Burning
   Lee Chang-dong
6. Roma
   Alfonso Cuaron
7. Eighth Grade
   Bo Burnham
8. The Favourite
   Yorgos Lanthimos
9. Leave No Trace
   Debra Granik
10. Suspiria
    Luca Guadagnino
11. Paddington 2
    Paul King
12. First Man
    Damien Chazelle
13. If Beale Street Could Talk
    Barry Jenkins
14. Mandy
    Panos Cosmatos
15. Shoplifters
    Hirokazu Kore-eda
16. A Quiet Place
    John Krasinski
17. Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
    Morgan Neville
18. Sorry to Bother You
    Boots Riley
19. Wildlife
    Paul Dano
20. The Death of Stalin
    Armando Iannucci
21. Private Life
    Tamara Jenkins
22. A Star Is Born
    Bradley Cooper
23. BlacKkKlansman
    Spike Lee
24. The Rider
    Chloé Zhao
25. Black Panther
    Ryan Coogler

Just a point or two from cracking the top 25

26. Blindspotting
    Carlos López Estrada
27. Vice
    Adam McKay
28. Can You Ever Forgive Me?
    Marielle Heller
29. Cold War
    Pawel Pawlikowski
30. Crazy Rich Asians
    Jon M. Chu

After that

31. Mission: Impossible – Fallout
    Christopher McQuarrie
32. Widows
    Steve McQueen
33. Thunder Road
    Jim Cummings
34. Thoroughbreds
    Cory Finley
35. Love, Simon
    Greg Berlanti
36. Incredibles 2
    Brad Bird
37. Let the Sunshine In
    Claire Denis
38. The Tale
    Jennifer Fox
39. Custody
    Xavier Legrand
40. Claire’s Camera
    Hong Sang-soo
41. Game Night
    John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein
42. Upgrade
    Leigh Whannell
43. Madeline’s Madeline
    Josephine Decker
44. 1985
    Yen Tan
45. Araby
    João Dumans and Affonso Uchôa
46. Foxtrot
    Samuel Maoz
47. Minding the Gap
    Bing Liu
48. Vox Lux
    Brady Corbet
49. Museo
    Alonso Ruizpalacios
50. This Is Congo
    Daniel McCabe