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When we publish our year-end best-of lists (as we did earlier this month for 2023), they are inevitably populated with widely-seen movies. That is how the Flickchart system works: as more people see and rank more movies, the global Flickchart – and, in microcosm, the chart for each individual year – evolves. This is why we like to revisit these lists, as we did last week with the Top 20 Films of 2022, to see what changes your rankings have wrought.
Two years after the initial list was published on January 4, 2022, here are the current Top 20 Films of 2021.
20. West Side Story
Directed by Steven Spielberg
Current Global Rank: #3,083
NEW to the Top 20
Ranked by 819 users
West Side Story garnered seven Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, and Ariana DeBose took home the award for Best Supporting Actress. Spielberg’s 2022 follow-up, The Fabelmans, also garnered seven Oscar noms, including Best Picture and Director. DeBose’s subsequent work has included appearing in the final season of Westworld and headlining the voice cast of Disney’s Wish.
19. Last Night in Soho
Directed by Edgar Wright
Current Global Rank: #3,070
Previous Rank: #16
Previous Global Rank: #5,132
Ranked by 946 users
Soho has continued to climb the charts in the past two years; it has merely been surpassed by other 2021 films. Edgar Wright is currently in pre-production on a new thriller titled The Chain, and continues development on a potential remake of The Running Man.
18. Encanto
Directed by Jared Bush & Byron Howard
Co-directed by Charisse Castro Smith
Current Global Rank: #3,064
Previous Rank: #20
Previous Global Rank: #6,330
Ranked by 1,377 users
Encanto was a big hit with audiences and critics alike, winning the Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film. The next films from Walt Disney Animation Studios, Strange World in 2022 and Wish in 2023, have not been nearly so resoundingly successful.
17. The Last Duel
Directed by Ridley Scott
Current Global Rank: #3,010
NEW to the Top 20
Ranked by 667 users
Ridley Scott remains one of the busiest octogenarian directors in the business. After all, The Last Duel wasn’t even the only movie he directed that came out in 2021: his House of Gucci earned a single Oscar nomination, for Makeup and Hairstyling. 2023 saw the release of Scott’s period epic Napoleon, starring Joaquin Phoenix in the title role, and Scott is currently in post-production on the sequel to his Best Picture Oscar-winning Gladiator, starring Pedro Pascal.
16. Tick, Tick…BOOM!
Directed by Lin-Manuel Miranda
Current Global Rank: #3,002
NEW to the Top 20
Ranked by 620 users
Lin-Manuel Miranda was Oscar nominated for Best Original Song for Encanto. He’s continued his relationship with Disney, providing lyrics for new songs in last year’s The Little Mermaid remake, and appearing as the god Hermes in a couple episodes of Percy Jackson and the Olympians.
15. Drive My Car
Directed by Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
Current Global Rank: #2,905
NEW to the Top 20
Ranked by 404 users
This film’s Best International Feature Oscar win no doubt brought it to the attention of Flickchart’s user base. Hamaguchi’s followup, Evil Does Not Exist, made the festival circuit last year, and opens in his native Japan in April.
14. The Worst Person in the World
Directed by Joachim Trier
Current Global Rank: #2,801
NEW to the Top 20
Ranked by 351 users
The Worst Person in the World was also an Oscar nominee for Best International Feature, as well as Best Original Screenplay. Director Trier’s next project, Sentimental Value, will also star Worst Person’s Renate Reinsve, and is currently in pre-production.
13. The Green Knight
Directed by David Lowery
Current Global Rank: #2,736
Previous Rank: #12
Previous Global Rank: #4,134
Ranked by 866 users
The Green Knight is the first of only two films in the lower half of this list to relatively maintain its position from two years ago. David Lowery followed it up last year with Peter Pan & Wendy for Disney, and has helmed an episode of the upcoming Star Wars: Skeleton Crew.
12. No Time to Die
Directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga
Current Global Rank: #2,688
Previous Rank: #5
Previous Global Rank: #3,032
Ranked by 1,407 users
Daniel Craig’s swan song as James Bond earned Oscar nominations for Best Visual Effects and Best Sound, and won the award for Best Original Song for the Billie Eilish theme. The producers have been taking their time finding the next 007; they’re reportedly looking for younger star, but the list of actors rumored to be eyed for the part could be longer than this list you’re I currently reading. Cary Joji Fukunaga is one of the directors of the upcoming AppleTV+ miniseries Masters of the Air.
READ MORE: Our No Time to Die review
11. Nobody
Directed by Ilya Naishuller
Current Global Rank: #2,635
Previous Rank: #10
Previous Global Rank: #4,048
Ranked by 952 users
Ilya Naishuller’s next action thriller, Heads of State, is currently in production and stars Carla Gugino, John Cena, Jack Quaid and Idris Elba. The Bob Odenkirk-led series Better Call Saul just ended its six-year run with an impressive record of 53 Emmy nominations… and not a single win.
10. Judas and the Black Messiah
Directed by Shaka King
Current Global Rank: #2,555
Previous Rank: #6
Previous Global Rank: #3,187
Ranked by 791 users
Judas made Oscar history by featuring the first all-black producing team to be nominated for Best Picture (though it actually qualified for the 2021 Oscars, rather than the 2022 ceremony that other movies on this list competed in). Of its six nominations, it won Best Original Song and Best Supporting Actor for Daniel Kaluuya. (LaKeith Stanfield was also nominated in the supporting category, when he arguably was the lead.) Shaka King’s next project is in development, but details are scarce thus far.
09. The Mitchells vs. the Machines
Directed by Michael Rianda
Co-directed by Jeff Rowe
Current Global Rank: #2,541
Previous Rank: #9
Previous Global Rank: #3,982
Ranked by 871 users
Mitchells was a Best Animated Feature Oscar nominee. Co-director Jeff Rowe took the lead for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem in 2023.
08. Zack Snyder’s Justice League
Directed by: Zack Snyder
Current Global Rank: #2,517
Previous Rank: #11
Previous Global Rank: #4,198
Ranked by 1,540 users
The movement to “Release the Ayer Cut” of Suicide Squad has not gotten the same traction as this did, and now DC movies are under new management, with Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn in charge. Meanwhile, Rebel Moon: A Child of Fire, the first of Zack Snyder’s two-part “not-Star Wars” space epic hit Netflix last month and has been almost universally panned. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Snyder’s been hyping a director’s cut.
07. The French Dispatch
Directed by Wes Anderson
Current Global Rank: #2,418
Previous Rank: #13
Previous Global Rank: #4,603
Ranked by 916 users
Wes Anderson had a big 2023 with the release of Asteroid City in theaters and several Roald Dahl-based shorts on Netflix. His next film is titled The Phoenician Scheme, is set to star Benicio del Toro, Michael Cera, and Bill Murray, and is currently in pre-production.
06. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
Directed by Destin Daniel Crettin
Current Global Rank: #2,224
Previous Rank: #3
Previous Global Rank: #2,118
Ranked by 2,076 users
Shang-Chi is widely considered one of the brighter spots in the floundering post-Endgame Marvel Cinematic Universe. Destin Daniel Cretton has thrown his lot in with Marvel, helping to develop a Wonder Man series for Disney+ and an as-yet-untitled Shang-Chi sequel.
05. CODA
Directed by Sian Heder
Current Global Rank: #2,208
NEW to the Top 20
Ranked by 541 users
CODA won the Best Picture Oscar…but it’s not the highest-ranked movie that wasn’t on this list two years ago. It also took the awards for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor for Troy Kotsur, the first deaf actor to win the award. Kotsur can next be seen opposite Helen Hunt and Maika Monroe in the crime thriller In Cold Light, currently in post-production. Emilia Jones starred in Fairyland and Cat Person in 2023, and will next appear opposite Kathryn Newton in the biopic Winner, hitting theaters this month. Sian Heder was part of the writing staff on the AppleTV+ series Little America. She has a couple of feature projects in early development.
04. Licorice Pizza
Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson
Current Global Rank: #2,104
NEW to the top 20
Ranked by 875 users
Licorice Pizza was Oscar nominated for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay, though it did not win. Anderson’s next film, under the title BC Project, stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn and Regina Hall, and is currently in pre-production.
03. The Suicide Squad
Directed by James Gunn
Current Global Rank: #1,454
Previous Rank: #4
Previous Global Rank: #2,150
Ranked by 2,102 users
Obviously, the success of this film is part of what got James Gunn appointed the new head of DC films at Warner Bros. He concluded his business with Marvel by directing Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 last year. In addition to overseeing all upcoming DC content alongside producing partner Peter Safran, Gunn is directing Superman: Legacy for a 2025 release.
02. Dune
Directed by Denis Villeneuve
Current Global Rank: #802
Previous Rank: #2
Previous Global Rank: #1,106
Ranked by 2,214 users
One of two 2021 films to crack Flickchart’s global Top 1000, Dune is getting a sequel; though originally supposed to be released last year, Dune: Part Two is finally hitting theaters March 1. After that, Denis Villeneuve is developing an adaptation of another notable science fiction novel: Arthur C. Clarke’s Rendezvous at Rama.
01. Spider-Man: No Way Home
Directed by Jon Watts
Current Global Rank: #558
Previous Rank: #1
Previous Global Rank: #1,028
Ranked by 2,765 users
Marvel’s only billion-dollar success since Avengers: Endgame, No Way Home brought together Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield and Tom Holland’s big-screen Spider-Men. With the future of Marvel now in flux, there’s no word on when the wall-crawler will grace theater screens next, though a couple of his villains are getting their own movies this year: Madame Web (February) and Kraven the Hunter (August). After a trio of Spider-films, director Jon Watts is going a little smaller in 2024 with Wolfs, a thriller starring Brad Pitt and George Clooney, expected in theaters September.
The Fallen
These are films that appeared on this list in January of 2022, but have since dipped in the rankings.
Luca
Directed by Enrico Casarosa
Was: #8
Now: #21
Current Global Rank: #3,143
Ranked by 1,129 users
Bo Burnham: Inside
Directed by Bo Burnham
Was: #18
Now: #25
Current Global Rank: #3,596
Ranked by 509 users
Black Widow
Directed by Cate Shortland
Was: #7
Now: #27
Current Global Rank: #4,126
Ranked by 2,191 users
Free Guy
Directed by Shawn Levy
Was: #14
Now: #29
Current Global Rank: #4,273
Ranked by 1,381 users
In the Heights
Directed by Jon M. Chu
Was: #18
Now: #31
Current Global Rank: #4,660
Ranked by 594 users
Raya and the Last Dragon
Directed by Don Hall & Carlos López Estrada
Co-directed by Paul Briggs & John Ripa
Was: #15
Now: #34
Current Global Rank: #4,816
Ranked by 980 users
Godzilla vs. Kong
Directed by Adam Wingard
Was: #19
Now: #44
Current Global Rank: #6,800
Ranked by 1,379 users
The Best of the Rest
Nicolas Cage in PIG.
To round out the list, here are the rest of the current Top 40 Films of 2022 on Flickchart:
21. Luca (directed by Enrico Casarosa)
22. WandaVision (miniseries) (directed by Matt Shakman)
23. Pig (directed by Michael Sarnoski)
24. The Power of the Dog (directed by Jane Campion)
25. Bo Burnham: Inside (directed by Bo Burnham)
26. Nightmare Alley (directed by Guillermo del Toro)
27. Black Widow (directed by Cate Shortland)
28. Marcel the Shell with Shoes On (directed by Dean Fleischer-Camp)
29. Free Guy (directed by Shawn Levy)
30. Ghostbusters: Afterlife (directed by Jason Reitman)
31. In the Heights (directed by Jon M. Chu)
32. Belfast (directed by Kenneth Branagh)
33. Don’t Look Up (directed by Adam McKay)
34. Raya and the Last Dragon (directed by Don Hall & Carlos López Estrada, co-directed by Paul Briggs & John Ripa)
35. Hawkeye (miniseries) (directed by Bert & Bertie and Rhys Thomas)
36. The Black Phone (directed by Scott Derrickson)
37. King Richard (directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green)
38. The Tragedy of Macbeth (directed by Joel Coen)
39. Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) (directed by Questlove)
40. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (miniseries) (directed by Kari Skogland)
