Year-End Lists

Les Inrockuptibles: Top 20 Films of 2016

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011]

1. Elle
   Paul Verhoeven
2. In Bed with Victoria
   Justine Triet
3. Right Now, Wrong Then
   Hong Sang-soo
4. Aquarius
   Kleber Mendonça Filho
5. Staying Vertical
   Alain Guiraudie
6. Kaili Blues
   Bi Gan
7. Toni Erdmann
   Maren Ade
8. The Ornithologist
   João Pedro Rodrigues
9. Nocturama
   Bertrand Bonello
10. Things to Come
    Mia Hansen-Løve
11. Manchester by the Sea
    Kenneth Lonergan
12. Midnight Special
    Jeff Nichols
13. The Assassin
    Hou Hsiao-Hsien
14. Julieta
    Pedro Almodóvar
15. Carol
    Todd Haynes
16. The Hateful Eight
    Quentin Tarantino
17. Everybody Wants Some!!
    Richard Linklater
18. Homeland (Iraq Year Zero)
    Abbas Fahdel
19. It's Only the End of the World
    Xavier Dolan
20. This Summer Feeling
    Mikhaël Hers

This list summarizes other lists, including these:

• Les Inrocks: Emily Barnett: Top 10 Films of 2016
• Les Inrocks: Murielle Joudet: Top 10 Films of 2016

John Waters: 10 Best Films of 2016, as published by Artforum

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011]

1. Krisha
   Trey Edward Shults
2. Tickled
   David Farrier & Dylan Reeve
3. Everybody Wants Some!!
   Richard Linklater
4. Roar [1981]
   Noel Marshall
5. Wiener-Dog
   Todd Solondz
6. Elle
   Paul Verhoeven
7. Julieta
   Pedro Almodóvar
8. Like Cattle Towards Glow
   Dennis Cooper & Zac Farley
9. Valley of Love
   Guillaume Nicloux
10. A Quiet Passion
    Terence Davies

Cinema Scope: Top Ten Films of 2015

[see also 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2010s • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011]

1. Cemetery of Splendor
   Apichatpong Weerasethakul
2. Arabian Nights
   Miguel Gomes
3. The Assassin
   Hou Hsiao-Hsien
4. The Forbidden Room
   Guy Maddin
5. Right Now, Wrong Then
   Hong Sang-soo
6. Visit, or Memories and Confessions
   Manoel de Oliveira
7. Lost and Beautiful
   Pietro Marcello
8. No Home Movie
   Chantal Akerman
9. The Treasure
   Corneliu Porumboiu
10. Kaili Blues
    Bi Gan

Special mentions

• 88:88
  Isiah Medina
• Bring Me the Head of Tim Horton
  Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson, and Galen Johnson
• Carol
  Todd Haynes
• Chevalier
  Athina Rachel Tsangari
• In the Shadow of Women
  Philippe Garrel

Glenn Kenny: 47 Noteworthy Films of 2015 (released in the United States)

[see also 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2010s • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2013 • 2012]

1. Hard to Be a God
   Aleksey German
2. Anomalisa
   Charlie Kaufman & Duke Johnson
3. Girlhood
   Céline Sciamma
4. Horse Money
   Pedro Costa
5. Mad Max: Fury Road
   George Miller
6. Heart of a Dog
   Laurie Anderson
7. Heaven Knows What
   Ben Safdie and Joshua Safdie
8. Brooklyn
   John Crowley
9. The Hateful Eight
   Quentin Tarantino
10. Shaun the Sheep Movie
    Mark Burton and Richard Starzak
11. Ex Machina
    Alex Garland
12. Phoenix
    Christian Petzold
13. Son of Saul
    László Nemes
14. Star Wars: The Force Awakens
    JJ Abrams
15. The Assassin
    Hou Hsiao-Hsien
16. Inside Out
    Pete Docter
17. Carol
    Todd Haynes
18. The Mend
    John Magary
19. Timbuktu
    Abderrahmane Sissako
20. Creed
    Ryan Coogler
21. Fort Tilden
    Sarah-Violet Bliss and Charles Rogers
22. Clouds of Sils Maria
    Olivier Assayas
23. The Revenant
    Alejandro González Iñárritu
24. Magic Mike XXL
    Gregory Jacobs
25. The Forbidden Room
    Guy Maddin
26. Experimenter
    Michael Almereyda
27. Queen of Earth
    Alex Ross Perry
28. Hitchcock/Truffaut
    Kent Jones
29. Democrats
    Camilla Nielsson
30. Field Niggas
    Khalik Allah
31. Bridge of Spies
    Steven Spielberg
32. Eden
    Mia Hansen-Løve
33. Mistress America
    Noah Baumbach
34. Crimson Peak
    Guillermo del Toro
35. Grandma
    Paul Weitz
36. Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation
    Christopher McQuarrie
37. Trainwreck
    Judd Apatow
38. Blackhat
    Michael Mann
39. The Martian
    Ridley Scott
40. Love & Mercy
    Bill Pohlad
41. Tangerine
    Sean Baker
42. Spotlight
    Tom McCarthy
43. The Duke of Burgundy
    Peter Strickland
44. The Big Short
    Adam McKay
45. Ant-Man
    Peyton Reed
46. I’ll See You in My Dreams
    Brett Haley
47. Ballet 422
    Jody Lee Lipes

Reverse Shot: 10 Best Movies of 2015

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2010s • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011]

1. In Jackson Heights
   Frederick Wiseman
2. Carol
   Todd Haynes
3. The Assassin
   Hou Hsiao-Hsien
4. Clouds of Sils Maria
   Olivier Assayas
5. Timbuktu
   Abderrahmane Sissako
6. Hard to Be a God
   Aleksey German
7. Arabian Nights
   Miguel Gomes
8. The Look of Silence
   Joshua Oppenheimer
9. Eastern Boys
   Robin Campillo
10. Horse Money
    Pedro Costa

David Morgan: The 20 Best Films of 2015, as posted by CBS News (in alphabetical order)

[see also 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016]

• Amy
  Asif Kapadia
• Carol
  Todd Haynes
• Clouds of Sils Maria
  Olivier Assayas
• Ex Machina
  Alex Garland
• The Forbidden Room
  Guy Maddin
• Inside Out
  Pete Docter
• It Follows
  David Robert Mitchell
• The Look of Silence
  Joshua Oppenheimer
• Mad Max: Fury Road
  George Miller
• The Martian
  Ridley Scott
• Phoenix
  Christian Petzold
• The Revenant
  Alejandro González Iñárritu
• Room
  Lenny Abrahamson
• Son of Saul
  László Nemes
• Spotlight
  Tom McCarthy
• Star Wars: The Force Awakens
  JJ Abrams
• Steve Jobs
  Danny Boyle
• The Wolfpack
  Crystal Moselle
• The Wonders
  Alice Rohrwacher
• What We Do in the Shadows
  Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi

David Hudson: Top 17 Films of 2015, as published by Fandor’s Keyframe Daily

[see also 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016]

1. The Assassin
   Hou Hsiao-Hsien
2. Carol
   Todd Haynes
3. Inherent Vice
   Paul Thomas Anderson
4. Jafar Panahi’s Taxi
   Jafar Panahi
5. Cemetery of Splendor
   Apichatpong Weerasethakul
6. Mad Max: Fury Road
   George Miller
7. The Look of Silence
   Joshua Oppenheimer
8. 45 Years
   Andrew Haigh
9. Victoria
   Sebastian Schipper
10. The Forbidden Room
    Guy Maddin

Honorable Mentions

• Arabian Nights
  Miguel Gomes
• Mountains May Depart
  Jia Zhang-ke
• Ex Machina
  Alex Garland
• Counting
  Jem Cohen
• Eisenstein in Guanajuato
  Peter Greenaway
• Results
  Andrew Bujalski
• Naz & Maalik
  Jay Dockendorf

Alison Willmore: 19 Best Movies of 2015, as published by BuzzFeed

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2014 • 2012 • 2011]

1. Mad Max: Fury Road
   George Miller
2. Anomalisa
   Charlie Kaufman & Duke Johnson
3. Carol
   Todd Haynes
4. Phoenix
   Christian Petzold
5. Creed
   Ryan Coogler
6. Jafar Panahi’s Taxi
   Jafar Panahi
7. It Follows
   David Robert Mitchell
8. Ex Machina
   Alex Garland
9. Eden
   Mia Hansen-Løve
10. Spotlight
    Tom McCarthy
11. Heaven Knows What
    Ben Safdie and Joshua Safdie
12. The Martian
    Ridley Scott
13. What We Do in the Shadows
    Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi
14. The Duke of Burgundy
    Peter Strickland
15. Blind
    Eskil Vogt
16. Tangerine
    Sean Baker
17. 45 Years
    Andrew Haigh
18. Wild Tales
    Damián Szifrón
19. The Diary of a Teenage Girl
    Marielle Heller

Michael Phillips: 10 Best Movies of 2015, as published by The Chicago Tribune

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011]

1. Spotlight
   Tom McCarthy
2. Anomalisa
   Charlie Kaufman & Duke Johnson
3. Love & Mercy
   Bill Pohlad
4. The Diary of a Teenage Girl
   Marielle Heller
5. Son of Saul
   László Nemes
6. Carol
   Todd Haynes
7. Beasts of No Nation
   Cary Joji Fukunaga
8. Creed
   Ryan Coogler
9. Heart of a Dog
   Laurie Anderson
10. Tangerine
    Sean Baker

Nick Schager: The Best Films of 2015, as published by The A.V. Club

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011]

1. Mad Max: Fury Road
   George Miller
2. The Look of Silence
   Joshua Oppenheimer
3. Phoenix
   Christian Petzold
4. Brooklyn
   John Crowley
5. The Assassin
   Hou Hsiao-Hsien
6. Hard to Be a God
   Aleksey German
7. Spotlight
   Tom McCarthy
8. Slow West
   John Maclean
9. James White
   Josh Mond
10. Bone Tomahawk
    S. Craig Zahler
11. The Nightmare
    Rodney Ascher
12. A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence
    Roy Andersson
13. Amy
    Asif Kapadia
14. The Revenant
    Alejandro González Iñárritu
15. Crimson Peak
    Guillermo del Toro

This list contributes to:

• A.V. Club: 20 Best Films of 2015
• Village Voice Film Poll: Top 50 Films of 2015
• Variety: 10 Best Films of 2015