Year-End Lists

Roxana Hadadi: The Best Films of 2020, as published by The A.V. Club

[see also 2021 • 2010s • 2019]

1. Saint Frances
   Alex Thompson
2. Sound of Metal
   Darius Marder
3. Minari
   Lee Isaac Chung
4. Driveways
   Andrew Ahn
5. First Cow
   Kelly Reichardt
6. Miss Juneteenth
   Channing Godfrey Peoples
7. True History of the Kelly Gang
   Justin Kurzel
8. The Assistant
   Kitty Green
9. His House
   Remi Weekes
10. Small Axe: Red, White and Blue
    Steve McQueen
11. Nomadland
    Chloé Zhao
12. One Night in Miami
    Regina King
13. Sorry We Missed You
    Ken Loach
14. The Wild Goose Lake
    Diao Yinan
15. A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon
    Richard Phelan and Will Becher

This list contributes to:

• A.V. Club: Best Films of 2020

Lawrence Garcia: The Best Films of 2020, as published by The A.V. Club

[see also 2019 • 2018]

1. I Was at Home, But
   Angela Schanelec
2. Martin Eden
   Pietro Marcello
3. To the Ends of the Earth
   Kiyoshi Kurosawa
4. Yourself and Yours
   Hong Sang-soo
5. The Traitor
   Marco Bellocchio
6. City Hall
   Frederick Wiseman
7. Young Ahmed
   Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne
8. The Grand Bizarre
   Jodie Mack
9. Tommaso
   Abel Ferrara
10. The Day After I'm Gone
    Nimrod Eldar
11. Fourteen
    Dan Sallitt
12. Sibyl
    Justine Triet
13. Vitalina Varela
    Pedro Costa
14. A White, White Day
    Hlynur Pálmason
15. Another Round
    Thomas Vinterberg

This list contributes to:

• A.V. Club: Best Films of 2020

Charles Bramesco: The Best Films of 2020, as published by The A.V. Club

[see also 2021 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017]

1. The Twentieth Century
   Matthew Rankin
2. Shirley
   Josephine Decker
3. Da 5 Bloods
   Spike Lee
4. First Cow
   Kelly Reichardt
5. Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets
   Bill Ross IV and Turner Ross
6. Small Axe: Lovers Rock
   Steve McQueen
7. Time
   Garrett Bradley
8. The Painted Bird
   Václav Marhoul
9. Nomadland
   Chloé Zhao
10. Vitalina Varela
    Pedro Costa
11. Mank
    David Fincher
12. Dick Johnson Is Dead
    Kirsten Johnson
13. I'm Thinking of Ending Things
    Charlie Kaufman
14. The Assistant
    Kitty Green
15. The Grand Bizarre
    Jodie Mack

This list contributes to:

• A.V. Club: Best Films of 2020
• Village Voice Film Poll: Top 50 Films of 2020

Katie Rife: The Best Films of 2020, as published by The A.V. Club

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015]

1. Nomadland
   Chloé Zhao
2. Never Rarely Sometimes Always
   Eliza Hittman
3. Shirley
   Josephine Decker
4. The Assistant
   Kitty Green
5. Collective
   Alexander Nanau
6. Small Axe: Lovers Rock
   Steve McQueen
7. First Cow
   Kelly Reichardt
8. Possessor
   Brandon Cronenberg
9. Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets
   Bill Ross IV and Turner Ross
10. I'm Thinking of Ending Things
    Charlie Kaufman
11. The 40-Year-Old Version
    Radha Blank
12. Wolfwalkers
    Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart
13. Minari
    Lee Isaac Chung
14. The Truffle Hunters
    Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw
15. His House
    Remi Weekes

This list contributes to:

• A.V. Club: Best Films of 2020

A.A. Dowd: The Best Films of 2020, as published by The A.V. Club

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

1. I'm Thinking of Ending Things
   Charlie Kaufman
2. The Assistant
   Kitty Green
3. The Climb
   Michael Angelo Covino
4. First Cow
   Kelly Reichardt
5. Fourteen
   Dan Sallitt
6. Nomadland
   Chloé Zhao
7. Time
   Garrett Bradley
8. Small Axe: Lovers Rock
   Steve McQueen
9. Vitalina Varela
   Pedro Costa
10. Beanpole
    Kantemir Balagov
11. The Grand Bizarre
    Jodie Mack
12. The Nest
    Sean Durkin
13. A White, White Day
    Hlynur Pálmason
14. The Wild Goose Lake
    Diao Yinan
15. Alone
    John Hyams

This list contributes to:

• A.V. Club: Best Films of 2020
• Village Voice Film Poll: Top 50 Films of 2020

Joshua Rothkopf: Top 20 Films of 2020, as posted to Twitter

[see also 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2012 • 2011]

1. Martin Eden
   Pietro Marcello
2. Nomadland
   Chloé Zhao
3. I'm Thinking of Ending Things
   Charlie Kaufman
4. Kajillionaire
   Miranda July
5. Small Axe: Mangrove
   Steve McQueen
6. The Nest
   Sean Durkin
7. Welcome to Chechnya
   David France
8. The Invisible Man
   Leigh Whannell
9. Dick Johnson Is Dead
   Kirsten Johnson
10. Bacurau
    Kleber Mendonça Filho and Juliano Dornelles
11. Soul
    Pete Docter
12. Minari
    Lee Isaac Chung
13. Collective
    Alexander Nanau
14. Tommaso
    Abel Ferrara
15. She Dies Tomorrow
    Amy Seimetz
16. The Truffle Hunters
    Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw
17. Never Rarely Sometimes Always
    Eliza Hittman
18. Gunda
    Viktor Kosakovskiy
19. Bad Education
    Cory Finley
20. Sound of Metal
    Darius Marder

Alissa Wilkinson: The 25 Best Movies of 2020, as published by Vox

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

1. The Painter and the Thief
   Benjamin Ree
2. Mayor
   David Osit
3. Small Axe: Lovers Rock
   Steve McQueen
4. Dick Johnson Is Dead
   Kirsten Johnson
5. Driveways
   Andrew Ahn
6. The Assistant
   Kitty Green
7. Another Round
   Thomas Vinterberg
8. Time
   Garrett Bradley
9. First Cow
   Kelly Reichardt
10. Beanpole
    Kantemir Balagov
11. Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets
    Bill Ross IV and Turner Ross
12. Small Axe: Mangrove
    Steve McQueen
13. Scheme Birds
    Ellen Fiske and Ellinor Hallin
14. Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
    George C. Wolfe
15. Collective
    Alexander Nanau
16. Minari
    Lee Isaac Chung
17. Nomadland
    Chloé Zhao
18. The 40-Year-Old Version
    Radha Blank
19. Da 5 Bloods
    Spike Lee
20. City Hall
    Frederick Wiseman
21. She Dies Tomorrow
    Amy Seimetz
22. Wolfwalkers
    Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart
23. Palm Springs
    Max Barbakow
24. South Mountain
    Hilary Brougher
25. Bill & Ted Face the Music
    Dean Parisot

Honorable mentions

• 76 days
  Hao Wu, Weixi Chen and Anonymous
• Bacurau
  Kleber Mendonça Filho and Juliano Dornelles
• Bad Education
  Cory Finley
• Emma.
  Autumn de Wilde
• Eurovision
  David Dobkin
• Feels Good Man
  Arthur Jones
• Fourteen
  Dan Sallitt
• Kajillionaire
  Miranda July
• I'm Thinking of Ending Things
  Charlie Kaufman
• The Invisible Man
  Leigh Whannell
• Mank
  David Fincher
• Martin Eden
  Pietro Marcello
• Miss Juneteenth
  Channing Godfrey Peoples
• The Nest
  Sean Durkin
• Never Rarely Sometimes Always
  Eliza Hittman
• Shirley
  Josephine Decker
• Soul
  Pete Docter
• Sound of Metal
  Darius Marder
• The Surrogate
  Jeremy Hersh
• Welcome to Chechnya
  David France
• White Noise
  Daniel Lombroso

This list contributes to:

• Village Voice Film Poll: Top 50 Films of 2020

Passerby: Best Films of 2020

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021]

1. Sound of Metal
   Darius Marder
2. Never Rarely Sometimes Always
   Eliza Hittman
3. Dick Johnson Is Dead
   Kirsten Johnson
4. First Cow
   Kelly Reichardt
5. His House
   Remi Weekes

Allison Shoemaker: The Best Films of 2020, as published by The A.V. Club

[see also 2019 • 2018 • 2017]

1. Nomadland
   Chloé Zhao
2. First Cow
   Kelly Reichardt
3. Dick Johnson Is Dead
   Kirsten Johnson
4. Time
   Garrett Bradley
5. Never Rarely Sometimes Always
   Eliza Hittman
6. She Dies Tomorrow
   Amy Seimetz
7. Minari
   Lee Isaac Chung
8. Black Bear
   Lawrence Michael Levine
9. Beanpole
   Kantemir Balagov
10. The 40-Year-Old Version
    Radha Blank
11. Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets
    Bill Ross IV and Turner Ross
12. The Assistant
    Kitty Green
13. The Father
    Florian Zeller
14. I'm Thinking of Ending Things
    Charlie Kaufman
15. Promising Young Woman
    Emerald Fennell

This list contributes to:

• A.V. Club: Best Films of 2020

The A.V. Club: Best Films of 2020, assembled from the ballots of a dozen contributors

[see also 2021 • 2010s • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011]

1. First Cow
   Kelly Reichardt
2. Nomadland
   Chloé Zhao
3. The Assistant
   Kitty Green
4. Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets
   Bill Ross IV and Turner Ross
5. Small Axe: Lovers Rock
   Steve McQueen
6. Never Rarely Sometimes Always
   Eliza Hittman
7. I'm Thinking of Ending Things
   Charlie Kaufman
8. The Grand Bizarre
   Jodie Mack
9. Dick Johnson Is Dead
   Kirsten Johnson
10. Time
    Garrett Bradley
11. Fourteen
    Dan Sallitt
12. A White, White Day
    Hlynur Pálmason
13. Minari
    Lee Isaac Chung
14. Sound of Metal
    Darius Marder
15. Martin Eden
    Pietro Marcello
16. The Vast of Night
    Andrew Patterson
17. Da 5 Bloods
    Spike Lee
18. Mank
    David Fincher
19. Vitalina Varela
    Pedro Costa
20. The 40-Year-Old Version
    Radha Blank
21. Beanpole
    Kantemir Balagov
22. The Climb
    Michael Angelo Covino
23. The Nest
    Sean Durkin
24. The Invisible Man
    Leigh Whannell
25. Shirley
    Josephine Decker

This list summarizes other lists, including these:

• A.V. Club: A.A. Dowd: The Best Films of 2020
• A.V. Club: Allison Shoemaker: The Best Films of 2020
• A.V. Club: Beatrice Loayza: The Best Films of 2020
• A.V. Club: Caroline Siede: The Best Films of 2020
• A.V. Club: Charles Bramesco: The Best Films of 2020
• A.V. Club: Jesse Hassenger: The Best Films of 2020
• A.V. Club: Katie Rife: The Best Films of 2020
• A.V. Club: Lawrence Garcia: The Best Films of 2020
• A.V. Club: Mike D’Angelo: The Best Films of 2020
• A.V. Club: Noel Murray: The Best Films of 2020
• A.V. Club: Roxana Hadadi: The Best Films of 2020
• A.V. Club: Vikram Murthi: The Best Films of 2020