It’s that time of year when the film world gathers together at 97th Academy Awards to celebrate the best films that 2024 had to offer. The most prestigious award at the Oscars is Best Picture, and with 10 films vying for the prize, we’re going to rank them all.
These 10 nominees come from vastly different genres and have had vastly different critical receptions. However, the best films don’t always win Best Picture. So for this list, I will be ranking the films based on my own personal preference, then I’ll mention whether or not they can or should win the coveted Oscar for Best Picture. That way, it’s easy to identify which way the Academy could go and which way I would like them to go.
With that being said, here’s our ranking of every Best Picture nominee at this year’s Oscars!
10) Emilia Perez
Look, Emilia Perez certainly isn’t the worst movie that came out last year, but it’s definitely not good as the competition. Let’s just ignore all of the controversy surrounding Karla Sofia Gascon and look at the movie as is. It reeks of being disingenuous from top to bottom. The discussions about trans people are surface-level at best and a creepier Mrs. Doubtfire at worst. When the film tries to depict Mexican culture, it opts for some of the most half-baked stereotypes, and don’t even get me started about the awful musical numbers, like the infamous sex change song. While it had a shot at winning Best Picture before the Golden Globes, its chances have dropped significantly. They’re not zero, but it’s not likely.
Can It Win?: Not after Karla Sofia Gascon opened her mouth.Should It Win?: Hell no.
9) Nickel Boys
Nickel Boys is an experimental movie that gets points for its ambition, but not much else. The film tells the story of two boys who are forced to attend the juvenile reformatory school that is hell on Earth for the black kids and teens there. The film’s big gimmick is how it’s shot in first-person, making it visually striking. But ambitious cinematography can only go so far as the movie lumbers from plot point to plot point and takes an eternity to reach its end. It’s a movie that should be better than it is and it’s easy to see why this was one a dark horse Oscar nominee.
Can It Win?: Not likely.Should It Win? It really shouldn’t.
8) Wicked
Every year there seems to be one movie that gets a Best Picture nomination solely because of its popularity, and this year it’s Wicked. While that may sound like a backhanded compliment, it really isn’t. Wicked is a very well-polished musical, one that has a great shot at winning Best Production Design and Best Supporting Actress, but its two-and-a-half-hour runtime – which is longer than the first act of the musical that it’s adapting – does lead to some pacing issues. It’s good, but it’s really only here to make the Academy Awards seem not out of touch with general audiences.
Can It Win?: It’s a long shot, but it could.Should It Win? Ehhhhhh?
7) A Complete Unknown
Music biopics are no stranger to the Academy Awards, and this year we have A Complete Unknown, a musical biopic chronicling the life of Bob Dylan, played here by Timothee Chalamet. By all accounts, Chalamet delivers a solid performance in what is a very fine movie, but that’s just it. It’s just fine. Movies like this have been done before and while A Complete Unknown is a good reminder of how solid a musical biopic can be, it doesn’t do or say anything that hasn’t been done before.
Can It Win?: Not really.Should It Win? Nope.
6) Dune Part Two
In a lot of ways, Dune Part Two is a big improvement from its predecessor. There’s actually a plot here and there are plenty of memorable characters and scenes throughout the film that make it feel much more like a complete story. And, much like the first film, the technical elements really elevate Dune Part II into something special, with slick sound design and striking special effects. As cool as those parts are, technical marvels rarely win Best Picture, and the same goes for sequels.
Can It Win?: It’d need the Lisan al Gaib.Should It Win?: Nah, try again with Dune: Messiah.
5) The Brutalist
Brady Corbet’s American epic is a beast of a movie. Clocking in at three and a half hours, including an intermission, The Brutalist seemed like a frontrunner thanks to Adrian Brody and Corbet’s direction. It’s an extremely well-made film, but the longer it goes on the more it loses steam, eventually becoming somewhat incoherent in its ending. It’s impressive what Corbet was able to make, but it needs a touch more refinement to truly be great. Then again, this is exactly the kind of movie that the Academy goes for, so it has a pretty high chance of taking home Best Picture.
Can It Win?: Definitely.Should It Win?: I’d say no.
4) I’m Still Here
I’m Still Here was another dark horse candidate alongside Nickel Boys, but whereas Nickel Boys gets lost in its execution, I’m Still Here is a tight and gripping story about a mother in Brazil trying to figure out what happened to her missing husband. Fernanda Torres has been receiving critical acclaim for her performance and the movie paints a stark and brutal picture of what living under a repressive regime is like, as well as examining the impact of it decades later. While I would have personally preferred if it ended five minutes sooner, it’s still an excellent movie and one that could deliver a huge upset.
Can It Win?: A lot has to go right for it, but it can happen.Should It Win?: I wouldn’t be upset if it did.
3) Anora
If you were to ask me a month ago if Anora had a shot at winning Best Picture, I would have said no. It’s a good movie, and one that has a good comedy-of-errors vibe to it, but it was getting shut out of awards in favor of Emilia Perez and The Brutalist. However, there’s a lot of momentum for Anora now, and why shouldn’t there be? Its beginning may be a little underwhelming, but once it gets going, it’s a special little gem that is impossible not to watch. I may not have loved it as much as other films, but it’s probably the frontrunner heading into the Oscars.
Can It Win?: Certainly.Should It Win? Sure, why not?
2) The Substance
Horror movies rarely get any representation at the Oscars, but I’m all in for The Substance. It’s a movie that’s as subtle as a sledgehammer and makes its message abundantly clear. While that may be a bit grating to some, it’s so well presented that it’s hard not to admire it. It all leads to an explosive (quite literally) climax that’s impossible to ignore. There’s almost no shot of it winning Best Picture given how raw it is, although I think Demi Moore is a lock for Best Actress, but in a perfect world, The Substance would win Best Picture.
Can It Win?: Doubtful.Should It Win? I’d be thrilled if it did.
1) Conclave
If I were to choose one movie that is probably the best overall film at this year’s Academy Awards, it would be Conclave. With a strong cast led by Ralph Fiennes, this twisting story documenting who will succeed the Pope after his death is filled with plenty of intrigue. Each character gets a bit to shine and almost every element of the film is praiseworthy. The cinematography is solid, the script is great, and Ralph Fiennes deserves his Best Actor nomination. Thanks to the Oscar’s rank-choice ballot system, a movie like Conclave can really benefit and if the vote is split between Anora and The Brutalist, it may just have a shot at winning.
Can It Win?: Surprisingly yes.Should It Win? Yes.