Year-End Lists

Richard Corliss: 10 Best Movies of 2012, as published by Time Magazine

1. Amour
   Michael Haneke
2. Beasts of the Southern Wild
   Benh Zeitlin
3. Life of Pi
   Ang Lee
4. Anna Karenina
   Joe Wright
5. The Dark Knight Rises
   Christopher Nolan
6. Zero Dark Thirty
   Kathryn Bigelow
7. Dark Horse
   Todd Solondz
8. Dragon
   Peter Chan
9. Frankenweenie
   Tim Burton
10. The Invisible War
    Kirby Dick

HuffPost: 30+ Best Movies of 2012

[see also 2023 • 2022]

1. Zero Dark Thirty
   Kathryn Bigelow
2. Lincoln
   Steven Spielberg
3. Beasts of the Southern Wild
   Benh Zeitlin
4. Argo
   Ben Affleck
5. Django Unchained
   Quentin Tarantino
6. Moonrise Kingdom
   Wes Anderson
7. Silver Linings Playbook
   David O. Russell
8. Skyfall
   Sam Mendes
9. Les Misérables
   Tom Hooper
10. Looper
    Rian Johnson
11. The Avengers
    Joss Whedon
12. Life of Pi
    Ang Lee
13. The Master
    Paul Thomas Anderson
14. The Dark Knight Rises
    Christopher Nolan
14. The Hunger Games
    Gary Ross
15. Pitch Perfect
    Jason Moore
16. Amour
    Michael Haneke
17. 21 Jump Street
    Phil Lord and Chris Miller
18. Flight
    Robert Zemeckis
19. The Perks of Being a Wallflower
    Stephen Chbosky
20. Holy Motors
    Leos Carax
21. The Impossible
    Juan Antonio Bayona
22. ParaNorman
    Chris Butler & Sam Fell
22. Wreck-It Ralph
    Rich Moore
23. Promised Land
    Gus Van Sant
24. Magic Mike
    Steven Soderbergh
25. The Cabin in the Woods
    Drew Goddard
26. The Grey
    Joe Carnahan
27. Sleepwalk With Me
    Mike Birbiglia and Seth Barrish
28. The Sessions
    Ben Lewin
29. This Is 40
    Judd Apatow
30. Ruby Sparks
    Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris
30. Celeste & Jesse Forever
    Lee Toland Krieger

Amy Taubin: Top 10 Films of 2012, as published by Artforum

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013]

1. Cosmopolis
   David Cronenberg
2. The Gatekeepers
   Dror Moreh
3. Beasts of the Southern Wild
   Benh Zeitlin
4. Mobile Homestead [trilogy]
   Mike Kelley
5. Amour
   Michael Haneke
6. Memories Look At Me
   Song Fang
7. Our Children
   Joachim Lafosse
8. Almayer’s Folly
   Chantal Akerman
9. Araf — Somewhere In Between
   Yeşim Ustaoğlu
10. The Unspeakable Act
    Dan Sallitt

As Submitted to the Sight & Sound Poll

• Cosmopolis
  David Cronenberg
• The Gatekeepers
  Dror Moreh
• Beasts of the Southern Wild
  Benh Zeitlin
• Amour
  Michael Haneke
• Memories Look At Me
  Song Fang

This list contributes to:

• Sight & Sound Poll: Top 11 Films of 2012

David Edelstein: Top Ten Movies of 2012, as published by New York Magazine

[see also 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2011]

1. Zero Dark Thirty
   Kathryn Bigelow
2. Lincoln
   Steven Spielberg
3. Amour
   Michael Haneke
4. The Gatekeepers
   Dror Moreh
5. The Deep Blue Sea
   Terence Davies
6. Life of Pi
   Ang Lee
7. How to Survive a Plague: The Inside Story of How Citizens and Science Tamed AIDS
   David France
7. Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry
   Alison Klayman
8. Pitch Perfect
   Jason Moore
9. Oslo, August 31st
   Joachim Trier
10. Friends With Kids
    Jennifer Westfeldt

Best Film of 2005 (First Viewed in 2012)

• Margaret
  Kenneth Lonergan

I Love You, Too, Damn It

• Holy Motors
  Leos Carax
• Flight
  Robert Zemeckis
• Starlet
  Sean Baker
• The Perks of Being a Wallflower
  Stephen Chbosky
• Detropia
  Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady
• Monsieur Lazhar
  Philippe Falardeua
• Killer Joe
  William Friedkin
• Skyfall
  Sam Mendes
• Silver Linings Playbook
  David O. Russell
• Take This Waltz
  Sarah Polley
• Return
  Liza Johnson
• Beasts of the Southern Wild
  Benh Zeitlin

John Waters: 10 Best Films of 2012, as published by Artforum

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2011]

1. The Deep Blue Sea
   Terence Davies
2. Paradise: Faith
   Ulrich Seidl
3. Paradise: Love
   Ulrich Seidl
4. Amour
   Michael Haneke
5. Killer Joe
   William Friedkin
6. Beasts of the Southern Wild
   Benh Zeitlin
7. Compliance
   Craig Zobel
8. Marina Abramović: The Artist is Present
   Matthew Akers
9. Beloved
   Christophe Honoré
10. The Imposter
    Bart Layton

Cahiers du Cinéma: Top Ten Films of 2012

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2010s • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2011]

1. Holy Motors
   Leos Carax
2. Cosmopolis
   David Cronenberg
3. Twixt
   Francis Ford Coppola
4. 4:44 Last Day on Earth
   Abel Ferrara
4. In Another Country
   Hong Sang-soo
4. Take Shelter
   Jeff Nichols
7. Go Go Tales
   Abel Ferrara
8. Tabu
   Miguel Gomes
8. Faust
   Aleksandr Sokurov
10. Keep the Lights On
    Ira Sachs