Odie Henderson: Top Ten Films of 2020, as submitted to the RogerEbert.com Survey

[see also 2019, 2018]

1. David Byrne's American Utopia — Spike Lee
2. Da 5 Bloods — Spike Lee
3. Small Axe: Lovers Rock — Steve McQueen
4. Nomadland — Chloé Zhao
5. Hamilton — Thomas Kail
6. Ma Rainey's Black Bottom — George C. Wolfe
7. His House — Remi Weekes
8. Time — Garrett Bradley
9. The Old Guard — Gina Prince-Bythewood
10. The Truth — Hirokazu Kore-eda

Screen Slate: Top 20 Films of 2020, a poll of the site's contributors. Also, visit Screen Slate to see their contributors' lists of notable first viewings and discoveries, "broadly defined." The responses make for some fun browsing.

1. First Cow — Kelly Reichardt
2. Time — Garrett Bradley
3. Small Axe: Lovers Rock — Steve McQueen
4. Days — Tsai Ming-liang
5. Never Rarely Sometimes Always — Eliza Hittman
6. Martin Eden — Pietro Marcello
7. Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets — Bill Ross IV and Turner Ross
8. Vitalina Varela — Pedro Costa
9. Bacurau — Kleber Mendonça Filho and Juliano Dornelles
10. City Hall — Frederick Wiseman
11. Dick Johnson Is Dead — Kirsten Johnson
12. Collective — Alexander Nanau
13. The Inheritance — Ephraim Asili
14. She Dies Tomorrow — Amy Seimetz
15. I Was at Home, But — Angela Schanelec
16. The Woman Who Ran — Hong Sang-soo
17. Undine — Christian Petzold
18. Tommaso — Abel Ferrara
19. Shirley — Josephine Decker
20. Beanpole — Kantemir Balagov

RogerEbert.com: The Ten Best Films of 2020, as selected by the site’s regular film critics and editors

[see also 2019, 2018, 2017]

1. Small Axe: Lovers Rock — Steve McQueen
2. Nomadland — Chloé Zhao
3. David Byrne's American Utopia — Spike Lee
4. First Cow — Kelly Reichardt
5. Da 5 Bloods — Spike Lee
6. Minari — Lee Isaac Chung
7. Beanpole — Kantemir Balagov
8. Never Rarely Sometimes Always — Eliza Hittman
9. The Nest — Sean Durkin
10. The Assistant — Kitty Green

Runners-up

• Bacurau — Kleber Mendonça Filho and Juliano Dornelles
• Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets — Bill Ross IV and Turner Ross
• I'm Thinking of Ending Things — Charlie Kaufman
• On the Rocks — Sofia Coppola
• Sound of Metal — Darius Marder
• Time — Garrett Bradley
• The Vast of Night — Andrew Patterson
• Vitalina Varela — Pedro Costa
• The Wolf House — Cristóbal León and Joaquín Cociña
• Wolfwalkers — Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart

Sheri Linden: The Best Films of 2020, as published by The Hollywood Reporter

[see also 2019]

1. Beanpole — Kantemir Balagov
2. Gunda — Viktor Kosakovskiy
3. Never Rarely Sometimes Always — Eliza Hittman
4. Promising Young Woman — Emerald Fennell
5. One Night in Miami — Regina King
6. Bacurau — Kleber Mendonça Filho and Juliano Dornelles
7. 76 days — Hao Wu, Weixi Chen and Anonymous
8. First Cow — Kelly Reichardt
9. Ammonite — Francis Lee
10. The 40-Year-Old Version — Radha Blank

Honorable mentions

• Beyond The Visible - Hilma af Klint — Halina Dyrschka
• Borat Subsequent Moviefilm — Jason Woliner
• Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution — Nicole Newnham and James LeBrecht
• David Byrne's American Utopia — Spike Lee
• La Llorona — Jayro Bustamante
• My Darling Vivian — Matt Riddlehoover
• The Painter and the Thief — Benjamin Ree
• The Surrogate — Jeremy Hersh
• Tesla — Michael Almereyda
• The Truffle Hunters — Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw

Jon Frosch: The Best Films of 2020, as published by The Hollywood Reporter

[see also 2019]

1. Never Rarely Sometimes Always — Eliza Hittman
2. Nomadland — Chloé Zhao
3. An Easy Girl — Rebecca Zlotowski
4. Ammonite — Francis Lee
5. Promising Young Woman — Emerald Fennell
6. The 40-Year-Old Version — Radha Blank
7. The Climb — Michael Angelo Covino
8. Beanpole — Kantemir Balagov
9. The Surrogate — Jeremy Hersh
10. Da 5 Bloods — Spike Lee

Honorable mentions

• And Then We Danced — Levan Akin
• Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution — Nicole Newnham and James LeBrecht
• David Byrne's American Utopia — Spike Lee
• First Cow — Kelly Reichardt
• Fourteen — Dan Sallitt
• The King of Staten Island — Judd Apatow
• One Night in Miami — Regina King
• 76 days — Hao Wu, Weixi Chen and Anonymous
• Swallow — Carlo Mirabella-Davis
• Time — Garrett Bradley

David Rooney: The Best Films of 2020, as published by The Hollywood Reporter

[see also 2019]

1. David Byrne's American Utopia — Spike Lee
2. First Cow — Kelly Reichardt
3. Never Rarely Sometimes Always — Eliza Hittman
4. Ammonite — Francis Lee
5. Beanpole — Kantemir Balagov
6. Minari — Lee Isaac Chung
7. Promising Young Woman — Emerald Fennell
8. Nomadland — Chloé Zhao
9. Small Axe: Lovers Rock — Steve McQueen
10. Bacurau — Kleber Mendonça Filho and Juliano Dornelles

Honorable mentions

• The Assistant — Kitty Green
• Da 5 Bloods — Spike Lee
• The 40-Year-Old Version — Radha Blank
• The Invisible Man — Leigh Whannell
• Ma Rainey's Black Bottom — George C. Wolfe
• News of the World — Paul Greengrass
• The Old Guard — Gina Prince-Bythewood
• One Night in Miami — Regina King
• The Surrogate — Jeremy Hersh
• Wolfwalkers — Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart

IndieWire: Best Movies of 2020, as voted by film critics from around the world

[see also 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011]

1. Nomadland — Chloé Zhao
2. Never Rarely Sometimes Always — Eliza Hittman
3. First Cow — Kelly Reichardt
4. Small Axe: Lovers Rock — Steve McQueen
5. I'm Thinking of Ending Things — Charlie Kaufman
6. Beanpole — Kantemir Balagov
7. Time — Garrett Bradley
8. Da 5 Bloods — Spike Lee
9. Martin Eden — Pietro Marcello
10. Bacurau — Kleber Mendonça Filho and Juliano Dornelles

Dana Stevens: The Best Movies of 2020, as published by Slate

[see also 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011]

• The Assistant — Kitty Green
• Bacurau — Kleber Mendonça Filho and Juliano Dornelles
• Beanpole — Kantemir Balagov
• Collective — Alexander Nanau
• Da 5 Bloods — Spike Lee
• First Cow — Kelly Reichardt
• Let Them All Talk — Steve Soderbergh
• Minari — Lee Isaac Chung
• Nomadland — Chloé Zhao
• Saint Maud — Rose Glass

Plus five runners-up

• City Hall — Frederick Wiseman
• Dick Johnson Is Dead — Kirsten Johnson
• Fourteen — Dan Sallitt
• Small Axe: Lovers Rock — Steve McQueen
• Time — Garrett Bradley

Mara Reinstein: The Best Movies of 2020, as published by Us Weekly

1. Promising Young Woman — Emerald Fennell
2. Palm Springs — Max Barbakow
3. The Prom — Ryan Murphy
4. Minari — Lee Isaac Chung
5. Da 5 Bloods — Spike Lee
6. The Trial of the Chicago 7 — Aaron Sorkin
7. The Invisible Man — Leigh Whannell
8. Bad Education — Cory Finley
9. Nomadland — Chloé Zhao
10. Taylor Swift: Miss Americana — Lana Wilson

Honorable mentions

• The Father — Florian Zeller
• Babyteeth — Shannon Murphy
• Sylvie's Love — Eugene Ashe
• Run — Aneesh Chaganty
• Sound of Metal — Darius Marder
• Borat Subsequent Moviefilm — Jason Woliner

Randy Myers: The Best 10 Movies of 2020, as published by San Jose Mercury News

1. Driveways — Andrew Ahn
2. Nomadland — Chloé Zhao
3. Minari — Lee Isaac Chung
4. Small Axe — Steve McQueen
5. Collective — Alexander Nanau
6. Bacurau — Kleber Mendonça Filho and Juliano Dornelles
7. First Cow — Kelly Reichardt
8. Promising Young Woman — Emerald Fennell
9. Mank — David Fincher
10. Wolfwalkers — Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart

Honorable Mentions

• Let Them All Talk — Steve Soderbergh
• Never Rarely Sometimes Always — Eliza Hittman
• I Carry You with Me — Heidi Ewing
• The Personal History of David Copperfield — Armando Iannucci
• Sound of Metal — Darius Marder
• Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution — Nicole Newnham and James LeBrecht
• The Climb — Michael Angelo Covino
• The Midnight Sky — George Clooney
• The Father — Florian Zeller
• Sylvie's Love — Eugene Ashe
• The Truffle Hunters — Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw
• Soul — Pete Docter
• The Trial of the Chicago 7 — Aaron Sorkin
• Palm Springs — Max Barbakow
• Shirley — Josephine Decker
• Survival Skills — Quinn Armstrong
• Around the Sun — Oliver Krimpas
• News of the World — Paul Greengrass
• Embattled — Nick Sarkisov
• The Half of It — Alice Wu
• Boys State — Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine
• Athlete A — Bonni Cohen and Jon Shenk
• Da 5 Bloods — Spike Lee