The 50 Best Movies of 2020

by Jason Dietz, Metacritic Features Editor – January 6, 2021

Here is Metacritic's final list of the 50 best-reviewed movies of 2020, ranked by Metascore. This list only includes films receiving at least 7 reviews from professional critics.

All films released between January 1, 2020 and December 31, 2020 in at least one U.S. theater or directly to streaming or VOD/digital services were eligible for inclusion. Titles are ranked by Metascore (a weighted average of scores from top professional critics) prior to rounding based on scores as of January 3, 2021.

17 of 25 photo by Neon

90 Gunda

(#7) Experimental, black-and-white, and G-rated, the highly acclaimed Gunda has been described (by the A.V. Club) as a "wordless documentary Babe" for its leisurely, lyrical look at the lives of various animals (a mother pig, a flock of chickens, a herd of cows) on a Norwegian farm. The film screened briefly and virtually in December (and will return to virtual cinemas this weekend), and could reach actual theaters sometime in the coming months.

“Gunda may be a meditational slow-burn, but as it unfurls its immersive audiovisual tapestry it hovers between non-fiction observation and lyrical insight, and to that end feels like an advancement of the nature documentary form.” —Eric Kohn, IndieWire

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