Year-End Lists

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.

[see also 2022 • 2021]

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

This list summarizes other lists, including these:

• Screen Slate: Molly Haskell: Best Films of 2020
• Screen Slate: Susannah Gruder: Best Films of 2020

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

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2010s • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016]

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

This list summarizes other lists, including these:

• RogerEbert.com: Brian Tallerico: Top Ten Films of 2020
• RogerEbert.com: Monica Castillo: Top Ten Films of 2020
• RogerEbert.com: Odie Henderson: Top Ten Films of 2020
• RogerEbert.com: Sheila O’Malley: Top Ten Films of 2020

Nick Schager: The Best Movies of 2020, as published by Esquire

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011]

1. Dick Johnson Is Dead
   Kirsten Johnson
2. First Cow
   Kelly Reichardt
3. I'm Thinking of Ending Things
   Charlie Kaufman
4. The Painted Bird
   Václav Marhoul
5. Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets
   Bill Ross IV and Turner Ross
6. Nomadland
   Chloé Zhao
7. The Wild Goose Lake
   Diao Yinan
8. Martin Eden
   Pietro Marcello
9. Minari
   Lee Isaac Chung
10. The Assistant
    Kitty Green
11. Never Rarely Sometimes Always
    Eliza Hittman
12. Collective
    Alexander Nanau
13. Vitalina Varela
    Pedro Costa
14. City Hall
    Frederick Wiseman
15. Possessor
    Brandon Cronenberg
16. The Vast of Night
    Andrew Patterson
17. Another Round
    Thomas Vinterberg
18. Sorry We Missed You
    Ken Loach
19. Gunda
    Viktor Kosakovskiy
20. Tenet
    Christopher Nolan
21. Gretel & Hansel
    Oz Perkins
22. Let Them All Talk
    Steven Soderbergh
23. Bacurau
    Kleber Mendonça Filho and Juliano Dornelles
24. The Cordillera of Dreams
    Patricio Guzmán
25. The Wolf House
    Cristóbal León and Joaquín Cociña
26. The Painter and the Thief
    Benjamin Ree
27. Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
    Jason Woliner
28. The Dark and the Wicked
    Bryan Bertino
29. His House
    Remi Weekes
30. Tommaso
    Abel Ferrara
31. Rewind
    Sasha Neulinger
32. Koko-di Koko-da
    Johannes Nyholm
33. Da 5 Bloods
    Spike Lee
34. Sound of Metal
    Darius Marder
35. The Father
    Florian Zeller
36. Tesla
    Michael Almereyda
37. Aviva
    Boaz Yakin
38. Relic
    Natalie Erika James
39. The Invisible Man
    Leigh Whannell
40. To the Ends of the Earth
    Kiyoshi Kurosawa
41. Welcome to Chechnya
    David France
42. Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution
    Nicole Newnham and James LeBrecht
43. Ammonite
    Francis Lee
44. Capone
    Josh Trank
45. Small Axe: Mangrove
    Steve McQueen
46. Beanpole
    Kantemir Balagov
47. Father Soldier Son
    Catrin Einhorn and Leslye Davis
48. The Way Back
    Peter Weir
49. Emma.
    Autumn de Wilde
50. Shirley
    Josephine Decker
51. Driveways
    Andrew Ahn
52. Mank
    David Fincher
53. Apocalypse '45
    Erik Nelson
54. Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
    George C. Wolfe
55. Young Ahmed
    Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne
56. The Beach House
    Jeffrey A. Brown
57. Boys State
    Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine
58. Color Out of Space
    Richard Stanley
59. Nomad: In the Footsteps of Bruce Chatwin
    Werner Herzog
60. Bad Education
    Cory Finley
61. Synchronic
    Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead
62. The Whistlers
    Corneliu Porumboiu
63. Lost Girls
    Liz Garbus
64. The Trip to Greece
    Michael Winterbottom
65. On the Rocks
    Sofia Coppola

This list contributes to:

• Village Voice Film Poll: Top 50 Films of 2020

Murielle Joudet: Top 7 Films of 2020, as published by Les Inrockuptibles

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016]

1. The Things We Say, the Things We Do
   Emmanuel Mouret
2. I'm Thinking of Ending Things
   Charlie Kaufman
3. Un soupçon d'amour
   Paul Vecchiali
4. Enormous
   Sophie Letourneur
5. Simply Black
   Jean-Pascal Zadi and John Wax
6. Hotel by the River
   Hong Sang-soo
7. The Salt of Tears
   Philippe Garrel

This list contributes to:

• Les Inrocks: Top 20 Films of 2020

Marilou Duponchel: Top 10 Films of 2020, as published by Les Inrockuptibles

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017]

1. The Things We Say, the Things We Do
   Emmanuel Mouret
2. Adolescents
   Sébastien Lifshitz
2. Little Girl
   Sébastien Lifshitz
3. My Best Part
   Nicolas Maury
4. Uncut Gems
   Ben Safdie and Joshua Safdie
5. The August Virgin
   Jonás Trueba
6. The King of Staten Island
   Judd Apatow
7. The Woman Who Ran
   Hong Sang-soo
8. Enormous
   Sophie Letourneur
9. My Donkey, My Lover & I
   Caroline Vignal
10. Summer of 85
    François Ozon

This list contributes to:

• Les Inrocks: Top 20 Films of 2020

Emily Barnett: Top 10 Films of 2020, as published by Les Inrockuptibles in no order

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016]

• Every Day a Good Day
  Tatsushi Ômori
• Ema
  Pablo Larraín
• DNA
  Maïwenn
• My Best Part
  Nicolas Maury
• Uncut Gems
  Ben Safdie and Joshua Safdie
• If It Were Love
  Patric Chiha
• Richard Jewell
  Clint Eastwood
• Little Girl
  Sébastien Lifshitz
• Adam
  Maryam Touzani
• Mother
  Rodrigo Sorogoyen

This list contributes to:

• Les Inrocks: Top 20 Films of 2020

Les Inrockuptibles: Top 20 Films of 2020

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011]

1. Uncut Gems
   Ben Safdie and Joshua Safdie
2. Mank
   David Fincher
3. Adolescents
   Sébastien Lifshitz
3. Little Girl
   Sébastien Lifshitz
4. The King of Staten Island
   Judd Apatow
5. Un soupçon d'amour
   Paul Vecchiali
6. The Things We Say, the Things We Do
   Emmanuel Mouret
7. Richard Jewell
   Clint Eastwood
8. My Best Part
   Nicolas Maury
9. Summer of 85
   François Ozon
10. Enormous
    Sophie Letourneur
11. The Invisible Man
    Leigh Whannell
12. Dark Waters
    Todd Haynes
13. Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains
    Gu Xiaogang
14. Soul
    Pete Docter
15. The Woman Who Ran
    Hong Sang-soo
16. Hotel by the River
    Hong Sang-soo
17. The August Virgin
    Jonás Trueba
18. The Trial of the Chicago 7
    Aaron Sorkin
19. If It Were Love
    Patric Chiha
20. Undine
    Christian Petzold

This list summarizes other lists, including these:

• Les Inrocks: Emily Barnett: Top 10 Films of 2020
• Les Inrocks: Marilou Duponchel: Top 10 Films of 2020
• Les Inrocks: Murielle Joudet: Top 7 Films of 2020

Michael Phillips: Top 10 Movies of 2020, as published by The Chicago Tribune

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011]

1. Small Axe: Lovers Rock
   Steve McQueen
2. First Cow
   Kelly Reichardt
3. David Byrne's American Utopia
   Spike Lee
4. Nomadland
   Chloé Zhao
5. City So Real
   Steve James
6. Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
   George C. Wolfe
7. The Assistant
   Kitty Green
8. Small Axe: Mangrove
   Steve McQueen
9. The Vast of Night
   Andrew Patterson
10. Never Rarely Sometimes Always
    Eliza Hittman

Runners-up, 11-20, in alphabetical order

• Beanpole
  Kantemir Balagov
• Driveways
  Andrew Ahn
• Earth
  Visakesa Chandrasekaram
• The 40-Year-Old Version
  Radha Blank
• Hamilton
  Thomas Kail
• The Nest
  Sean Durkin
• The Personal History of David Copperfield
  Armando Iannucci
• Small Axe: Red, White and Blue
  Steve McQueen
• 76 days
  Hao Wu, Weixi Chen and Anonymous
• Shirley
  Josephine Decker

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

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 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 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 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