The 2020s have been a turbulent time for cinema. The decade began under the shadow of a global pandemic that brought production to a standstill, delayed countless releases, and made studios increasingly risk-averse. Just as the industry was beginning to recover, the strikes hit — triggering another wave of disruption and uncertainty in the creative process.
In the U.S., A24 and NEON have largely held the crown when it comes to prestige arthouse filmmaking, though even A24 now seems eager to move into more mainstream territory. International cinema has arguably weathered the storm a bit better, but it too has been reshaped by the long ripple effects of COVID. And while “Barbenheimer” may have offered a momentary jolt of optimism, some still question the long-term future of theatrical.
Now that we’ve reached the sixth year of the decade, IndieWire decided it was the perfect moment for its team of writers to put together a “best of the decade” list. The outcome?
01. Nickel Boys (RaMell Ross)
02. The Zone of Interest (Jonathan Glazer)
03. Aftersun (Charlotte Wells)
04. Tár (Todd Field)
05. The Boy and the Heron (Hayao Miyazaki)
06. Lovers Rock (Steve McQueen)
07. Top Gun: Maverick (Joseph Kosinski)
08. Time (Garrett Bradley)
09. Drive My Car (Ryusuke Hamaguchi)
10. Decision to Leave (Park Chan-wook)
11. Memoria (Apichatpong Weerasethakul)
12. Nope (Jordan Peele)
13. No Other Land (Abraham/Adra/Ballal/Szor)
14. The Power of the Dog (Jane Campion)
15. The Beast (Bertrand Bonello)
16. Asteroid City (Wes Anderson)
17. Armageddon Time (James Gray)
18. La Chimera (Alice Rohrwacher)
19. Pacifiction (Albert Serra)
20. Never Rarely Sometimes Always (Eliza Hittman)
Their full top 100 list can be found here. Some of the more “controversial picks” include “Jackass Forever” (#27), “The Matrix Resurrections” (#49), and “Megalopolis (#100).
There are many strong titles in that top 20 list, but I just can’t get on board with “Nickel Boys” taking the #1 spot. On my first viewing, it didn’t quite land—it felt more like a clever concept than a truly immersive story. That said, it’s definitely lingered in my mind, and I’m genuinely curious to revisit it, maybe even sometime soon.
So, I ask our readers, if you had to choose one film that truly defined this decade, what would it be? Honestly, I don’t know. I say this without exaggeration — I believe we’re living through the weakest decade for cinema since the silent era.
I know—2025 hasn’t exactly hit its stride yet. But there’s still time for things to turn around. What the year (and decade) needs is a spark: fresh voices bold enough to challenge the status quo and redefine the language of cinema. We’re overdue for rule breakers—the kind who can shape a decade the way Lynch’s “Blue Velvet” did in the ’80s, and Tarantino’s “Pulp Fiction” in the ’90s.