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.

20 of 25 photo by David Lee/HBO

93 David Byrne's American Utopia

(#4) Sometimes it can happen twice in a lifetime. After starring in perhaps the greatest concert film of all time, David Byrne has finally returned to the medium for another triumph—and it could be 2020's most purely joyful film, in a year when joy was in short supply. Oh, and it's a Spike Lee joint, marking the director's second appearance in our top 50 (following Da 5 Bloods) and establishing a new career-best score for the veteran filmmaker. Streaming now on HBO/HBO Max, American Utopia captures Byrne's recent innovative Broadway show in which he performs a collection of Talking Heads and solo tracks with the aid of an untethered backing band, all of them constantly in motion thanks to Annie-B Parson's thrilling choreography.

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“American Utopia is an outstanding collaboration between two essential artists; I can’t believe there’s anyone alive who won’t be moved by this document. Byrne’s career is a testament to never resting on one’s laurels, to always searching for creative expansion—but more than anything, American Utopia proves how electrifying he still is as a performer. Same as it ever was.” —Jordan Hoffman, Vanity Fair

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