Year-End Lists

Todd McCarthy: Best Films of 2018, as published by The Hollywood Reporter

[see also 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2017 • 2016]

Honorable Mentions

• The Favourite
  Yorgos Lanthimos
• The Sisters Brothers
  Jacques Audiard
• Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
  Morgan Neville
• The Mule
  Clint Eastwood
• Annihilation
  Alex Garland
• Golden Exits
  Alex Ross Perry
• If Beale Street Could Talk
  Barry Jenkins
• Green Book
  Peter Farrelly
• Mission: Impossible – Fallout
  Christopher McQuarrie
• Jane Fonda in Five Acts
  Susan Lacy

1. Vice
   Adam McKay
2. Roma
   Alfonso Cuaron
3. Can You Ever Forgive Me?
   Marielle Heller
4. Cold War
   Pawel Pawlikowski
5. Free Solo
   Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin
6. Burning
   Lee Chang-dong
7. Eighth Grade
   Bo Burnham
8. The Rider
   Chloé Zhao
9. Shoplifters
   Hirokazu Kore-eda
10. The Other Side of the Wind
    Orson Welles

Sight & Sound Poll: Best Films of 2018 (a poll of 164 critics and curators published by Sight & Sound Magazine)

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011]

1. Roma
   Alfonso Cuaron
2. Phantom Thread
   Paul Thomas Anderson
3. Burning
   Lee Chang-dong
4. Cold War
   Pawel Pawlikowski
5. First Reformed
   Paul Schrader
6. Leave No Trace
   Debra Granik
7. The Favourite
   Yorgos Lanthimos
7. You Were Never Really Here
   Lynne Ramsay
9. Happy as Lazzaro
   Alice Rohrwacher
9. Zama
   Lucrecia Martel
11. The Image Book
    Jean-Luc Godard
12. If Beale Street Could Talk
    Barry Jenkins
13. BlacKkKlansman
    Spike Lee
14. The Other Side of the Wind
    Orson Welles
14. Shirkers
    Sandi Tan
14. Shoplifters
    Hirokazu Kore-eda
17. Sorry to Bother You
    Boots Riley
18. Faces Places
    Agnès Varda and JR
18. The Rider
    Chloé Zhao
18. Western
    Valeska Grisebach

This list summarizes other lists, including these:

• Sight & Sound Poll: Erika Balsom: The Best Films of 2018
• Sight & Sound Poll: Simran Hans: The Best Films of 2018

Justin Chang: Best Movies of 2018, as published by The Los Angeles Times

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2017 • 2016]

1. Burning
   Lee Chang-dong
2. First Reformed
   Paul Schrader
3. Zama
   Lucrecia Martel
4. Black Panther
   Ryan Coogler
5. Private Life
   Tamara Jenkins
6. If Beale Street Could Talk
   Barry Jenkins
7. The Rider
   Chloé Zhao
8. Western
   Valeska Grisebach
9. Shoplifters
   Hirokazu Kore-eda
10. Happy as Lazzaro
    Alice Rohrwacher
11. The Favourite
    Yorgos Lanthimos
12. Madeline’s Madeline
    Josephine Decker
13. Support the Girls
    Andrew Bujalski
14. Widows
    Steve McQueen
15. Hereditary
    Ari Aster
16. Eighth Grade
    Bo Burnham
17. Shirkers
    Sandi Tan
18. Amazing Grace
    Sydney Pollack
19. Vox Lux
    Brady Corbet
20. Annihilation
    Alex Garland

20 honorable mentions

• Bisbee '17
  Robert Greene
• BlacKkKlansman
  Spike Lee
• A Bread Factory
  Patrick Wang
• Can You Ever Forgive Me?
  Marielle Heller
• First Man
  Damien Chazelle
• Gavagai
  Rob Tregenza
• Hale County This Morning, This Evening
  RaMell Ross
• Leave No Trace
  Debra Granik
• Let the Sunshine In
  Claire Denis
• Minding the Gap
  Bing Liu
• Paddington 2
  Paul King
• A Quiet Place
  John Krasinski
• Roma
  Alfonso Cuaron
• The Sisters Brothers
  Jacques Audiard
• Sorry to Bother You
  Boots Riley
• Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
  Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, and Rodney Rothman
• Thunder Road
  Jim Cummings
• Where Is Kyra?
  Andrew Dosunmu
• Wildlife
  Paul Dano
• You Were Never Really Here
  Lynne Ramsay

Alison Willmore: 11 Best Movies Of 2018, as published by BuzzFeed

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2012 • 2011]

1. The Rider
   Chloé Zhao
2. The Favourite
   Yorgos Lanthimos
3. A Star Is Born
   Bradley Cooper
4. Minding the Gap
   Bing Liu
5. Madeline’s Madeline
   Josephine Decker
6. The Death of Stalin
   Armando Iannucci
7. You Were Never Really Here
   Lynne Ramsay
8. Burning
   Lee Chang-dong
9. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
   Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, and Rodney Rothman
10. Support the Girls
    Andrew Bujalski
11. Hereditary
    Ari Aster

Girish Shambu: Favorite Films of 2018, as posted to Twitter, limited to US releases

[see also 2021 • 2017]

• Western
  Valeska Grisebach
• The Rider
  Chloé Zhao
• Leave No Trace
  Debra Granik
• Zama
  Lucrecia Martel
• Milla
  Valérie Massadian
• You Were Never Really Here
  Lynne Ramsay
• Minding the Gap
  Bing Liu
• Let the Sunshine In
  Claire Denis
• Sorry to Bother You
  Boots Riley
• Can You Ever Forgive Me?
  Marielle Heller

John Powers: 2018's 12 Best Movies, as published by Vogue

[see also 2017 • 2015]

1. Burning
   Lee Chang-dong
1. Roma
   Alfonso Cuaron
3. Shoplifters
   Hirokazu Kore-eda
4. Zama
   Lucrecia Martel
5. Happy as Lazzaro
   Alice Rohrwacher
6. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
   Joel & Ethan Coen
7. The Favourite
   Yorgos Lanthimos
8. Lean On Pete
   Andrew Haigh
9. Leave No Trace
   Debra Granik
10. Blindspotting
    Carlos López Estrada
11. Can You Ever Forgive Me?
    Marielle Heller
12. Paddington 2
    Paul King

Honorable Mentions (alphabetical order)

• BlacKkKlansman
  Spike Lee
• Black Panther
  Ryan Coogler
• Cold War
  Pawel Pawlikowski
• Crazy Rich Asians
  Jon M. Chu
• First Man
  Damien Chazelle
• First Reformed
  Paul Schrader
• Private Life
  Tamara Jenkins
• The Rider
  Chloé Zhao
• A Star Is Born
  Bradley Cooper
• Vice
  Adam McKay
• Vox Lux
  Brady Corbet

Film Comment: Best Films of 2018, a poll of the magazine's contributors and editors

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

1. Zama
   Lucrecia Martel
2. Burning
   Lee Chang-dong
3. First Reformed
   Paul Schrader
4. Roma
   Alfonso Cuaron
5. Western
   Valeska Grisebach
6. Shoplifters
   Hirokazu Kore-eda
7. Let the Sunshine In
   Claire Denis
8. The Other Side of the Wind
   Orson Welles
9. Happy as Lazzaro
   Alice Rohrwacher
10. Hale County This Morning, This Evening
    RaMell Ross
11. Sorry to Bother You
    Boots Riley
12. If Beale Street Could Talk
    Barry Jenkins
13. The Rider
    Chloé Zhao
14. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
    Joel & Ethan Coen
15. Support the Girls
    Andrew Bujalski
16. You Were Never Really Here
    Lynne Ramsay
17. Monrovia, Indiana
    Frederick Wiseman
18. Personal Problems
    Bill Gunn
19. The Favourite
    Yorgos Lanthimos
20. BlacKkKlansman
    Spike Lee

Kenneth Turan: Best Movies of 2018, as published by The Los Angeles Times

[see also 2019 • 2017 • 2015 • 2012]

No. 1 Pick

• Black Panther
  Ryan Coogler
• Leave No Trace
  Debra Granik

The Rest, Ordered Alphabetically

• Cold War
  Pawel Pawlikowski
• Free Solo
  Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin
• Incredibles 2
  Brad Bird
• Roma
  Alfonso Cuaron
• Shoplifters
  Hirokazu Kore-eda
• A Star Is Born
  Bradley Cooper
• Vice
  Adam McKay

Sundance Documentaries

• Bisbee '17
  Robert Greene
• Crime + Punishment
  Stephen Maing
• Dark Money
  Kimberly Reed
• Hal
  Amy Scott
• Hale County This Morning, This Evening
  RaMell Ross
• Jane Fonda in Five Acts
  Susan Lacy
• King in the Wilderness
  Peter W. Kunhardt
• The Last Race
  Michael Dweck
• On Her Shoulders
  Alexandria Bombach
• The Oslo Diaries
  Mor Loushy & Daniel Sivan
• RBG
  Betsy West and Julie Cohen
• The Sentence
  Rudy Valdez
• Shirkers
  Sandi Tan
• Three Identical Strangers
  Tim Wardle
• Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
  Morgan Neville

A Second 10

• At Eternity’s Gate
  Julian Schnabel
• The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
  Joel & Ethan Coen
• BlacKkKlansman
  Spike Lee
• Can You Ever Forgive Me?
  Marielle Heller
• The Front Runner
  Jason Reitman
• The Mule
  Clint Eastwood
• A Private War
  Matthew Heineman
• They Shall Not Grow Old
  Peter Jackson
• 22 July
  Paul Greengrass
• Wildlife
  Paul Dano

Wonderful Films That Still Linger

• Puzzle
  Marc Turtletaub
• Early Man
  Nick Park
• Juliet, Naked
  Jesse Peretz
• Beirut
  Brad Anderson
• The Guilty
  Gustav Möller
• The Land of Steady Habits
  Nicole Holofcener
• Big Fish and Begonia
  Liang Xuan and Zhang Chun
• Mirai
  Mamoru Hosoda
• The Death of Stalin
  Armando Iannucci
• The Guardians
  Xavier Beauvois
• American Animals
  Bart Layton
• Hearts Beat Loud
  Brett Haley
• Custody
  Xavier Legrand
• The Cakemaker
  Ofir Raul Graizer
• I Am Not a Witch
  Rungano Nyoni

Matt Zoller Seitz: Top Ten Films of 2018, as published by RogerEbert.com

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

1. A Bread Factory
   Patrick Wang
2. Annihilation
   Alex Garland
3. Sorry to Bother You
   Boots Riley
4. Private Life
   Tamara Jenkins
5. Shoah: Four Sisters
   Claude Lanzmann
6. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
   Joel & Ethan Coen
7. Hereditary
   Ari Aster
8. Searching
   Aneesh Chaganty
9. Minding the Gap
   Bing Liu
10. Bodied
    Joseph Kahn

This list contributes to:

• RogerEbert.com: Ten Best Films of 2018

Peter Debruge: Top 10 Films of 2018, as published by Variety

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2017]

1. Blindspotting
   Carlos López Estrada
2. A Star Is Born
   Bradley Cooper
3. Shoplifters
   Hirokazu Kore-eda
4. The Hate U Give
   George Tillman Jr.
5. Eighth Grade
   Bo Burnham
6. Museo
   Alonso Ruizpalacios
7. Life & Nothing More
   Antonio Méndez Esparza
8. Mission: Impossible – Fallout
   Christopher McQuarrie
9. Burning
   Lee Chang-dong
10. In Syria
    Philippe Van Leeuw