The 25 Best A24 Movies, Ranked
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It’s no secret that A24 makes some of the best films in modern cinema. If you see A24 before a film's opening credits, you can bet it’ll be worth the watch. In recent years, many A24 films have earned The Academy’s stamp of approval (we’re looking at you, Moonlight and The Zone of Interest). Nowadays, A24’s films usually get a theatrical release, but now, most of their impressive catalog is available to stream. If you missed Bodies Bodies Bodies, rest assured—it’s on Netflix now, along with X and Uncut Gems, which, per our calculations, happen to be some of A24's best work.
Since the dust has finally settled on awards season, we figured it was high time to take on the impossible task of ranking the studio's 25 best outings. Take a look below—and meet us in the comments section.
When You Finish Saving the World
When You Finish Saving the World stars Julianne Moore as a mother who can’t connect with her son. He’s too busy falling in love with his classmate to notice her efforts, and she bonds with a kid at her local women’s shelter to fill the void. It’s a coming-of-age story for both protagonists who fall apart before finding their way back to each other. Plus, it marks Jesse Eisenberg's thrilling arrival as a legitimately stellar director.—Bria McNeal
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Love Lies Bleeding (In Theaters)
Love Lies Bleeding is a bodybuilder romance starring Kristen Stewart and Katy M. O’Brian. Stewart plays Lou, a gym manager who falls in love with her new client, Jackie. They hit it off immediately, but their whirlwind romance is threatened when Lou is sucked into her family’s crime ring. If you haven't seen Love Lies Bleeding yet, just know that it's easily one of the best sex movies in recent memory.—B.M.
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Talk to Me
In Talk to Me, a group of teenagers learn they can connect with spirits through an embalmed hand. Somehow, they decide it’d be a good idea to turn that into a party game, which inevitably leads to some very dire circumstances. I won’t spoil it for you, but ghosts don’t like to be messed with. That said, I will tell you that Talk to Me is a singular debut from the Philippou brothers—one that's so damn good that we may one day regret ranking it this low.—B.M.
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Dream Scenario
In my opinion, Dream Scenario is pure nightmare fuel—but hey, it makes for a great story. The film stars Nicolas Cage as Paul Matthews, an ordinary guy who starts popping up in everyone’s dreams. It’s all fun and games until Paul’s cameos begin to alter reality. Also, Dream Scenario is the latest stop on the Nic-Cageaissance, which I always and forever will be here for.—B.M.
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Pearl
Pearl, the once-secret prequel of X, stands out from its bloody original. Paying homage to the golden era of Hollywood films, Pearl is the origin story for an unhinged, ambitious girl whose personality is too big for her small town. Mia Goth reprises her role as the younger Pearl, who turns into the deranged elderly woman in X. Goth brings an impassioned performance that evokes empathy for the lonely and out of control young Pearl. The next film in the trilogy is set to continue with the adventures of Maxine after X.—Sirena He
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Green Room
Featuring one of the best performances from the beloved late actor Anton Yelchin, Green Room is a hyper-violent horror film set in the claustrophobic green room of a punk club. In the film, Yelchin and his bandmates wind up playing at a punk club populated by neo-Nazis—and are forced into a terrifying bloody standoff against them when they witness a murder. Plus, Patrick Stewart appears in a role unlike any he’s ever played before. Instead of his usual calm and kindly demeanor, Stewart plays a cold and ruthless villain who'll haunt your dreams.—S.H.
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Obvious Child
The Jenny Slate-led romantic comedy puts a spin on the typical meet-cute. In Obvious Child, Slate has a one-night stand and finds herself knocked up a few weeks later. She contemplates having an abortion, all while still stalking her ex—and maybe falling in love with the new man in her life who is unaware of her situation. Things get complicated, but Obvious Child never takes itself too seriously. The film also dared to broach the topic of abortion in a way that feels realistic, tender, and compassionate.—S.H.
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First Cow
First Cow follows a baker and a Chinese immigrant in the 1800s who sell cookies made from stolen milk. When the cow’s owner gets wise, the two men are forced to run for their lives. That sounds a bit crazier than what this quiet movie entails, but it’s also anchored by a fantastic are-they-or-aren’t-they queer romance between the newfound friends.—Josh Rosenberg
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Bodies Bodies Bodies
What do you think would happen if And Then There Were None took place in 2022? Well, watch Bodies Bodies Bodies to find out. The comedic thriller follows a rich group of twenty-somethings who spend the night in a remote mansion. When one friend turns up dead, tensions rise amongst the group while they try to identify the killer... and turn against each other in the process. Also, you know, Pete Davidson is there, too.—B.M.
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Eighth Grade
Bo Burnham's directorial debut, 2018's Eighth Grade, does something incredible: It manages to brilliantly convey the joys and pains of being young in the smartphone era, while still maintaining relatability to everyone who was ever young. Consider this a call for a Boyhood-esque catch-up with Eighth Grade's lovable hero, Kayla.—Brady Langmann
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First Reformed
A quasi-remix of Winter Light and Diary of a Country Priest, director Paul Schrader sends Ethan Hawke into the bitter cold of upstate New York to drum up support for his church. Since First Reformed is a Schrader film, get ready for everyone in the movie to enter a world of pitiful and tortuous misery. Luckily for the Taxi Driver screenwriter, he’s the best at that kind of thing.—J.R.
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The Iron Claw
The biographical story of the tragic Von Erich family is dramatically retold in The Iron Claw, featuring Zac Efron and Jeremy Allen White as beefy professional wrestlers. I promise you, nothing will make you cry more than when Efron tears up and says that he “used to be a brother.” He deserved an Oscar nomination for that moment alone.—J.R.
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The Green Knight
Spellbinding and surreal, The Green Knight honors and deconstructs the Arthurian legend of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. In the classic chivalric romance, reckless Sir Gawain, a knight of King Arthur’s Round Table, accepts a challenge from the sinister Green Knight: any knight who can land a blow may keep his imposing axe, but one year later, the knight must journey to the Green Chapel, where they’ll receive the same blow. When Gawain beheads the Green Knight, he seals his fate—and tees up the bulk of the movie, too. The Green Knight traces Gawain’s quest to confront his challenger; along the way, he contends with ghosts, giants, thieves, talking foxes, and so much more. This dreamlike film moves like a medieval poem, circling back again and again to resonant images and themes. Full of bewitching contradictions, The Green Knight is an unforgettable epic about masculinity, mortality, and the true meaning of honor.—Adrienne Westenfeld
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The Lighthouse
Quiet and subtly terrifying (until it’s suddenly about pure survival), The Lighthouse is the kind of film that director Robert Eggers described as “a movie where both Jung and Freud would be furiously eating their popcorn.” Set in 1890s New England, everything isn’t as it seems when a never-ending storm keeps the experienced lighthouse keeper (Willem Dafoe) locked up with the novice trainee (Robert Pattinson). Shot in black and white with claustrophobic interiors, The Lighthouse is tense and mysterious—as an unfortunate circumstance slowly drives the two keepers into a violent and Oedipal panic.—J.R.
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Minari
Named after a water parsley plant native to South Korea that grows best in poor soil, Minari follows South Korean immigrants who settle on a farm in Arkansas during the '80s. As their children explore the confusing culture-clash of American assimilation, so does new farmer Jacob Yi (Steve Yeun) in his pursuit to create a better life for his family. Of course, Yuh-Jung Youn gives a singular performance as their aging matriarch.—J.R.
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After Yang
In After Yang’s vision of the future, robotic companions become a household norm. Yang is a quiet android who dances and teaches a couple’s adoptive daughter about her Chinese heritage. But when he suddenly breaks down, the family comes to realize how much they thought of him as more than just a learning tool. If you haven't seen After Yang yet, fix that right now—it's one of the most underrated films on this list.—J.R.
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Lady Bird
Greta Gerwig’s Lady Bird is a coming-of-age film that perfectly captures the awkwardness of adolescence. But not in the way you'd think. Instead of focusing on puberty, Gerwig highlights the point where you’re not a child but not quite an adult either, along with all the tension that comes with it. Plus, there's plenty to laugh and cry about as Lady Bird follows Christine’s struggle to co-exist with her mother, during her senior year of high school.—B.M.
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Ex Machina
Turns out, the story of a tech bro who goes absolutely batshit has enduring relevance! Also: Oscar Isaac, we love you.—B.L.
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Everything Everywhere All At Once
Listen: I'm happy that the 2023 Academy Awards came and went with Everything Everywhere All At Once cleaning up. Otherwise, I would've returned here and written 5,000 words about Michelle Yeoh's greatness. Good thing you know to not tempt me, members of the Academy!—B.L.
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Aftersun
Aftersun asks the eternal question of any person's life: What’s wrong with Dad? Apparently, a whole lot. Paul Mescal plays this film’s troubled father in a performance that netted the young star an Oscar nomination for Best Actor. Earning the honor for an indie film, to boot? Kudos!—J.R.
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Past Lives
I'm not afraid to say it: Past Lives is easily the best film of 2023. (Sorry, Oppenheimer!) Celine Song’s breakthrough debut explores the emotional rollercoaster two people go through when they grow apart. Past Lives breaks past typical romantic drama themes—such as winning the girl! and choosing Mr. Right!—to tell a heartbreaking and deeply relatable story.—J.R.
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Hereditary
You know, I could wax poetic about Ari Aster's Hereditary, going on about its staggeringly deep layers of subtext, burn-in-your-brain imagery, and once-in-a-decade horror performance from Toni Colette. In the end? Hereditary is the most a film has ever scared many of us. Period.—B.L.
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The Zone of Interest
There's a reason why The Zone of Interest won Best International Feature at this year's Academy Awards: Its portrait of the Holocaust is chilling, haunting, and won't leave your mind or heart anytime soon. Jonathan Glazer's film follows Rudolf Höss, a military commander who moves his family into a home next to the Auschwitz concentration camp. —B.M.
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Uncut Gems
Being anxious at Passover is as quintessentially a shared Jewish experience as the Old Testament adage that suffering leads to understanding. In this way, the Safdie Brothers’s Uncut Gems may be the first film since Joel & Ethan Coen's A Serious Man to accurately explore man’s search for meaning from the POV of the most guilt-ridden Jewish man on the planet. Adam Sandler’s Howard Ratner isn’t simply a gambling addict trying to make up overdue debts. He just wants to win for once—and win big.—J.R.
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Moonlight
In this delicate and breathtaking Moonlight, Chiron, a young Black man, struggles to accept his identity when he falls in love with his best friend. The story spans three time periods, moving through childhood, his teen years, and adulthood, as Chiron confronts what it means to be queer. Barry Jenkins's 2017 Best Picture winner still stands as a staggering feat of moviemaking today—and is easily the best of A24's monumental contributions to film. (Which, of course, is saying a lot.)—B.M.
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