Year-End Lists

Steve Erickson: 20 Best Films of 2016, as published by Gay City News

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

1. Toni Erdmann
   Maren Ade
2. Moonlight
   Barry Jenkins
3. No Home Movie
   Chantal Akerman
4. ‘Til Madness Do Us Part
   Wang Bing
5. Right Now, Wrong Then
   Hong Sang-soo
6. Certain Women
   Kelly Reichardt
7. Elle
   Paul Verhoeven
8. Things to Come
   Mia Hansen-Løve
9. I Am Not Your Negro
   Raoul Peck
10. The Mermaid
    Stephen Chow

Runners-up (alphabetically)

• 10 Cloverfield Lane
  Dan Trachtenberg
• 13th
  Ava DuVernay
• Arrival
  Denis Villeneuve
• The Handmaiden
  Park Chan-wook
• Little Men
  Ira Sachs
• The Lobster
  Yorgos Lanthimos
• Neither Heaven Nor Earth
  Clément Cogitore
• Notfilm
  Ross Lipman
• Pervert Park
  Frida and Lasse Barkfors
• The Witness
  James D. Solomon

David Morgan: The 10 Best Films of 2016, as posted by CBS News

[see also 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2015]

• Moonlight
  Barry Jenkins
• Manchester by the Sea
  Kenneth Lonergan
• Cameraperson
  Kirsten Johnson
• The Lobster
  Yorgos Lanthimos
• Don’t Breathe
  Fede Alvarez
• Hell or High Water
  David Mackenzie
• Toni Erdmann
  Maren Ade
• Weiner
  Josh Kriegman and Elyse Steinberg
• Rogue One
  Gareth Edwards
• Arrival
  Denis Villeneuve

Roger Koza’s La Internacional Cinéfila Poll: Best Movies of 2016 (as voted by critics, programmers, festival directors and filmmakers from 28 countries)

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2015]

1. Elle
   Paul Verhoeven
2. The Death of Louis XIV
   Albert Serra
3. Aquarius
   Kleber Mendonça Filho
4. Sieranevada
   Cristi Puiu
5. Toni Erdmann
   Maren Ade

Honorable Mentions

• El viento sabe que que vuelvo a casa
  José Luis Torres Leiva
• Homeland (Iraq Year Zero)
  Abbas Fahdel
• The Ornithologist
  João Pedro Rodrigues
• Hermia & Helena
  Matías Piñeiro
• Paterson
  Jim Jarmusch
• Staying Vertical
  Alain Guiraudie

Stephanie Zacharek: Top 20 Movies of 2016, as published by Time Magazine

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2010s • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013]

1. Moonlight
   Barry Jenkins
2. Paterson
   Jim Jarmusch
3. Loving
   Jeff Nichols
4. Elle
   Paul Verhoeven
5. Silence
   Martin Scorsese
6. Manchester by the Sea
   Kenneth Lonergan
7. Tower
   Keith Maitland
8. La La Land
   Damien Chazelle
9. Everybody Wants Some!!
   Richard Linklater
10. The Shallows
    Jaume Collet-Serra

Honorable Mentions

• Things to Come
  Mia Hansen-Løve
• Toni Erdmann
  Maren Ade
• Certain Women
  Kelly Reichardt
• Hell or High Water
  David Mackenzie
• The Nice Guys
  Shane Black
• The Fits
  Anna Rose Holmer
• 20th Century Women
  Mike Mills
• Whiskey Tango Foxtrot
  Glenn Ficarra and John Requa
• Hidden Figures
  Theodore Melfi
• Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping
  Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone

Nicole Brenez: 5 Best Films of 2016, as submitted to the Sight & Sound Poll

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2010s • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2015 • 2012]

• Blanche
  Marc Hurtado
• Bangkok Joyride
  Ing K
• Welcome to Madagascar
  Franssou Prenant
• I Will Pay for Your Story
  Lech Kowalski
• Hinterlands
  Scott Barley

This list contributes to:

• Sight & Sound Poll: Top 30 Films of 2016

Little White Lies: 25 Best Films of 2016

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

1. Everybody Wants Some!!
   Richard Linklater
2. Julieta
   Pedro Almodóvar
3. Embrace of the Serpent
   Ciro Guerra
4. Paterson
   Jim Jarmusch
5. Knight of Cups
   Terrence Malick
6. Love & Friendship
   Whit Stillman
7. Sully
   Clint Eastwood
8. Arabian Nights
   Miguel Gomes
9. Midnight Special
   Jeff Nichols
10. Heaven Knows What
    Ben Safdie and Joshua Safdie
11. The Assassin
    Hou Hsiao-Hsien
12. Chi-Raq
    Spike Lee
13. Things to Come
    Mia Hansen-Løve
14. No Home Movie
    Chantal Akerman
15. Further Beyond
    Christine Molloy and Joe Lawlor
16. Son of Saul
    László Nemes
17. Kate Plays Christine
    Robert Greene
18. Anomalisa
    Charlie Kaufman & Duke Johnson
19. Cosmos
    Andrzej Zulawski
20. Rogue One
    Gareth Edwards
21. The Neon Demon
    Nicolas Winding Refn
22. Fire at Sea
    Gianfranco Rosi
23. Hail, Caesar!
    Joel & Ethan Coen
24. High-Rise
    Ben Wheatley
25. The BFG
    Steven Spielberg

J.R. Jones: The Best Films of 2016, as published by The Chicago Reader

[see also 2017 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011]

1. Embrace of the Serpent
   Ciro Guerra
2. Manchester by the Sea
   Kenneth Lonergan
3. Don’t Think Twice
   Mike Birbiglia
4. The Witness
   James D. Solomon
5. London Road
   Rufus Norris
6. The Club
   Pablo Larraín
7. Son of Saul
   László Nemes
8. Microbe & Gasoline
   Michel Gondry
9. Tower
   Keith Maitland
10. Weiner
    Josh Kriegman and Elyse Steinberg

Runners-up

11. Seasons
    Jacques Perrin & Jacques Cluzaud
12. The President
    Mohsen Makhmalbaf
13. Anomalisa
    Charlie Kaufman & Duke Johnson
14. Moonlight
    Barry Jenkins
15. 45 Years
    Andrew Haigh
16. Hello, My Name Is Doris
    Michael Showalter
17. The Measure of a Man
    Stéphane Brizé
18. Hell or High Water
    David Mackenzie
19. Gleason
    Clay Tweel
20. Equity
    Meera Menon

Leah Pickett: Top Ten Films of 2016, as published by The Chicago Reader

1. American Honey
   Andrea Arnold
2. Moonlight
   Barry Jenkins
3. Arrival
   Denis Villeneuve
4. La La Land
   Damien Chazelle
5. The Handmaiden
   Park Chan-wook
6. O.J.: Made in America
   Ezra Edelman
7. The Witch
   Robert Eggers
8. 13th
   Ava DuVernay
9. The Lobster
   Yorgos Lanthimos
10. Manchester by the Sea
    Kenneth Lonergan

Honorable mentions

• The Edge of Seventeen
  Kelly Fremon Craig
• Hell or High Water
  David Mackenzie
• Southside with You
  Richard Tanne
• The Love Witch
  Anna Biller
• Christine
  Antonio Campos
• Don’t Think Twice
  Mike Birbiglia

Scott Tobias: Top 10 Films of 2016 as submitted to the Village Voice Film Poll and the Indiewire poll

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

1. Manchester by the Sea
   Kenneth Lonergan
2. Toni Erdmann
   Maren Ade
3. Silence
   Martin Scorsese
4. The Handmaiden
   Park Chan-wook
5. Paterson
   Jim Jarmusch
6. Right Now, Wrong Then
   Hong Sang-soo
7. Moonlight
   Barry Jenkins
8. Jackie
   Pablo Larraín
9. Elle
   Paul Verhoeven
10. Aquarius
    Kleber Mendonça Filho

This list contributes to:

• Village Voice Film Poll: Top 50 Films of 2016

Cahiers du Cinéma: Top Ten Films of 2016

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2010s • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011]

1. Toni Erdmann
   Maren Ade
2. Elle
   Paul Verhoeven
3. The Neon Demon
   Nicolas Winding Refn
4. Aquarius
   Kleber Mendonça Filho
5. Slack Bay
   Bruno Dumont
6. Julieta
   Pedro Almodóvar
7. Staying Vertical
   Alain Guiraudie
8. Struggle for Life
   Antonin Peretjatko
9. Carol
   Todd Haynes
10. Le Bois dont les rêves sont faits
    Claire Simon