Skip to main content

10 best movies of the 2010s, ranked

Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron as Max and Furiosa in Mad Max: Fury Road.
Warner Bros.

The 2010s were a treasure trove for groundbreaking films that transformed into modern classics. These innovative movies pushed boundaries and redefined genres, permanently changing filmmaking and pop culture in the process. Whether it’s intense dramas or stunning animations, the 2010s had something for every type of cinephile.

From the legendary Parasite to the poignant Moonlight, the 2010s were full of genre-defining masterpieces that continue to influence and inspire. It showcased talents from all over the world and had fans flocking to cinemas year after year. With the 2020s now well underway, it’s possible to look back at some of the greatest cinematic gems from the decade that delivered some of the most unforgettable stories ever told.

Recommended Videos

10. The Social Network (2010)

Andrew Garfield and Jesse Eisenberg in The Social Network.
Sony Pictures

The Social Network chronicles the creation of one of the most important innovations of the 2000s – Facebook. Directed by David Fincher, the biographical drama primarily focuses on Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg), a Harvard student who partners with his friend Eduardo Saverin (Andrew Garfield) to develop “The Facebook.” The site’s growth eventually attracts the interest of Napster co-founder Sean Parker (Justin Timberlake) but also starts to cause drama between Mark and Eduardo, whose once close bond dissolves into a lengthy legal battle.

The 2010 film benefits from a sharp screenplay by Aaron Sorkin, which is perfectly executed under Fincher’s masterful direction. The tech startup world is depicted with increasing intensity in The Social Network, especially as Mark’s complex character inevitably makes questionable decisions to maintain control over the company. While its historical accuracy is dubious, it’s undoubtedly a captivating watch, if only to see the heartbreaking betrayal that destroys Mark and Eduardo’s friendship.

9. Boyhood (2014)

Ellar Coltrane and Ethan Hawke in Boyhood (2014)
IFC Films

Often cited alongside the best coming-of-age movies of all time, Boyhood is a unique movie in that it follows the same cast over a period of twelve years. Directed by Richard Linklater, it primarily revolves around the life of Mason Evans Jr. (Ellar Coltrane), who grows up in Texas with his single mother, Olivia (Patricia Arquette), and older sister, Samantha (Lorelei Linklater). It then depicts the milestones of Mason’s childhood to young adulthood, including his complicated relationship with his father, Mason Sr. (Ethan Hawke), awkward school dances, budding romances, and more.

Boyhood doesn’t feature a traditional plot structure, opting for a series of vignettes featuring Mason’s character, friends, and family. It also incorporates the changes in actors’ real lives and personalities into the constantly evolving script every year. This atypical approach stays true to the 2014 film’s commitment to authenticity, which results in a work of art that realistically captures the bittersweet experience of growing up.

8. La La Land (2016)

Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone in the cinema in La La Land
Lionsgate

The modern musical romance that had viewers sobbing as they left theaters, La La Land is a massively successful work by director Damien Chazelle. Set in Los Angeles, it’s centered on the whirlwind romance between Mia (Emma Stone), an aspiring actress, and Sebastian (Ryan Gosling), a dedicated jazz musician. Over time, Mia and Seb begin to realize that they need to pursue different paths and choose between embracing their ambitions or saving their relationship.

La La Land received universal acclaim for Chazelle’s sharp direction, the cast’s impeccable performances, and its dazzling musical score. It paid homage to classic Hollywood musicals without losing its contemporary flair, with the song and dance portrayal of Mia and Seb’s love story being technically impressive and incredibly entertaining to watch all the way to its tear-jerking ending. The 2016 movie would receive a record-tying fourteen Oscar nominations, winning six, including Best Director for Chazelle.

7. Call Me by Your Name (2017)

Timothee Chalamet and Armie Hammer hug and look into each other's eyes in Call Me By Your Name.
Sony Pictures Classics

Call Me by Your Name is a moving coming-of-age romance directed by Luca Guadagnino based on André Aciman’s eponymous 2007 novel. Set in the summer of 1983 in Northern Italy, the film follows the connection that forms between 17-year-old Elio Perlman (Timothée Chalamet) and Oliver (Armie Hammer), a 24-year-old graduate student working as an intern for Elio’s father (Michael Stuhlbarg). While initially hesitant, the inexperienced Elio soon falls hard for the confident Oliver, with their tender affair being the highlight of the summer.

With its lush setting, mesmerizing performances, and heartbreaking depiction of first love, the 2017 film was immediately lauded as one of the best contemporary romance movies. There’s a slow build-up that maximizes the romantic backdrop, with the entire film taking viewers on a journey of new love and sudden heartbreak. Call Me by Your Name also features rich dialogue to reflect its characters’ growing desires and evolving emotions, with the movie notably taking home the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay at the 90th Academy Awards.

6. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)

The alternate versions of Spider-Man from "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse."
Sony Pictures Animation / Sony Pictures Animation

It wouldn’t be an overstatement to say that Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse reinvigorated the saturated superhero genre, with the cutting-edge animated movie bursting onto the scene with its distinct visual style and exciting story. The film follows Miles Morales (Shameik Moore), a Brooklyn teenager who struggles to live up to his father’s expectations while embracing his role as the new Spider-Man. When Kingpin (Liev Schreiber) activates a particle accelerator, it opens a portal to multiple dimensions, bringing together different versions of Spider-Man from various universes. They soon have to work together to stop the villain from destroying reality as they know it.

Into the Spider-Verse is easily one of the greatest superhero movies from the last decade, with the film being a clear love letter to both its medium and the comics. The 2018 movie is chock full of color and energy, showcasing spectacular aesthetics and animation styles that would push boundaries and set high standards for future films. Its sequel, Across the Spider-Verse, was similarly successful, with countless fans eagerly waiting for the third movie, Beyond the Spider-Verse.

5. Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019)

Adèle Haenel and Noémie Merlant stand near the ocean in Portrait of a Lady on Fire.
Pyramide Films

In the late 18th century, on a remote island in Brittany, the young painter Marianne (Noémie Merlant) is commissioned to create a wedding portrait of the reluctant bride-to-be Héloïse (Adèle Haenel). Having just left a convent and unwilling to marry a man she has never met, Héloïse refuses to sit for portraits, so Marianne must observe her in secret and paint her likeness without her knowledge. As Marianne spends more time with Héloïse, they unexpectedly fall in love despite their impossible circumstances.

Portrait of a Lady on Fire is a stunning work by director Céline Sciamma, who would make history by becoming the first female filmmaker to win the Queer Palm at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival. A triumph of diverse romances on the big screen, the 2019 film beautifully captures a fleeting affair by portraying burning desires with a balance of clever subtlety and intense passion. The resulting relationship is both uniquely intimate and tragically doomed, with Marianne and Héloïse’s arcs being among the most powerful stories of the 2010s.

4. Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

Mad Max points a gun in Mad Max: Fury Road.
Roadshow Entertainment

Mad Max: Fury Road would serve as the fourth installment in the Mad Max franchise, reinvigorating the post-apocalyptic series that began in 1979. Set in a desolate desert wasteland where water and gasoline are scarce commodities, the 2014 film follows the troubled loner Max Rockatansky (Tom Hardy) as he teams up with the warrior Furiosa (Charlize Theron). The duo plots their escape alongside the tyrannical warlord Immortan Joe’s (Hugh Keays-Byrne) five wives, as they are relentlessly pursued by Joe and his War Boys.

Directed by George Miller, Fury Road dazzled with its non-stop action, particularly the extended chase scenes featuring massive war rigs and spectacular explosions in the desert. With a story that unfolds at breakneck speed to go with its stunning visual and practical effects, it’s not surprising that the heart-pounding movie has aged incredibly well. It has even spawned a prequel film, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, which premiered to smaller critical and commercial acclaim.

3. Roma (2018)

A group of children and two women embracing on the beach in the movie Roma.
Netflix

Director Alfonso Cuarón’s Roma is one of the best Netflix original movies ever made, with the renowned drama revolving around Cleo (Yalitza Aparicio), a young indigenous maid working for a middle-class family. Set during the early 1970s in Mexico City, it shows Cleo’s perspective as she goes through her daily tasks for the family she serves, with her connection with the matriarch Sofia (Marina de Tavira) particularly highlighted. Deeper struggles within Cleo’s life and routine are soon revealed and juxtaposed with Sofia’s own problems.

Cuarón’s personal connection to the story shines through the film, with the gorgeous black-and-white work being inspired by his own upbringing and the women who shaped his life. Roma has been praised for its depiction of the often-overlooked lives of domestic workers and the way its actors, specifically Aparicio, have a dignified and humanizing approach to their roles. The 2018 film would become the first-ever Mexican entry to win Best Foreign Language Film at the 91st Academy Awards. Roma also took home the Oscar for Best Cinematography and Best Director.

2. Moonlight (2016)

Mahershala Ali and Alex R. Hibbert in Moonlight (2016)
A24

An instant classic directed by Barry Jenkins, Moonlight is a profound coming-of-age drama that chronicles the life of its protagonist, Chiron. The film is divided into three chapters, each depicting a pivotal stage in Chiron’s life: childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. The first chapter, “Little,” introduces Chiron (Alex Hibbert) as a young boy growing up in a rough Miami neighborhood who finds solace in a local drug dealer, Juan (Mahershala Ali). In the second chapter, “Chiron,” the story shifts to Chiron’s teenage years (Ashton Sanders), where he grapples with his sexual identity. The final chapter, “Black,” depicts an adult Chiron (Trevante Rhodes), who has transformed into a hardened figure, mirroring Juan.

Moonlight is unflinching in its portrayal of Chiron’s hardships, including his mother’s struggle with drug addiction and his own experiences with bullying and fights. The 2016 film is a bold exploration of Black masculinity and queer identity, an intersection so rarely seen in mainstream movies. Now considered among the best movies of this century, it would win three Oscars, including Best Picture, cementing its place in cinematic history.

1. Parasite (2019)

Mrs. Park covering her mouth with her hand in "Parasite."
CJ Entertainment / CJ Entertainment

Parasite is a film that needs no introduction. Director Bong Joon-ho would shock the world with a genre-bending masterpiece that would quickly turn him into a household name. It has a deceptively simple premise, with the film following the impoverished Kim family, who scheme their way into the lives of the wealthy Park family by posing as skilled workers. The Kims enjoy their new positions for a while, only for a dark secret to emerge that could jeopardize their carefully constructed ruse.

Bong Joon-ho’s brilliant satire would have a historic triumph at the 92nd Academy Awards, where it became the first non-English language film to win Best Picture alongside an additional three Oscars. The eat-the-rich movie greatly benefits from the South Korean filmmaker’s trademarks, which include cleverly using meticulously crafted settings and composition to convey socio-economic commentary. Paired with a flawless screenplay that hides a truly jaw-dropping twist, Parasite delivers a thrilling viewing experience and a biting critique of capitalism and class division.

Topics
Hannah Saab
Saab whips up SEO-optimized articles as a writer for Digital Trends and updates top-performing articles on Collider.
Dominic Fike’s Elliot will be back for season 3 of ‘Euphoria’
Dominic Fike as Elliot in Euphoria

For years, it looked like the third season of Euphoria might not happen. Now that it's filming, though, it looks like almost all of the main actors from the first two seasons will be returning, and that includes Dominic Fike's Elliot, according to reporting from Variety.

Although Fike wasn't a part of the official cast announcement for the upcoming season, his character will be returning for the third season. Fike's Elliot was a drug-addicted, guitar-slinging teen who formed a bond with Zendaya's Rue and Hunter Schafer's Jules over the course of the second season, and ultimately drove a wedge between them. Variety is reporting that Fike will shoot a couple of scenes for the show next week, which may suggest that his role will be more limited in the second season.

Read more
Warner Bros. signs screenwriter for Goonies sequel
The cast of Goonies look at a treasure map.

A Goonies sequel has been talked about for decades, and even the late Richard Donner -- who directed the first Goonies in 1985 -- was trying to make it happen. Now, there may actually be a chance to hear "Goonies never say die!" on the big screen again. Warner Bros. is developing a Goonies sequel and a screenwriter has already been chosen.

Deadline was the first to report that Potsy Ponciroli has signed on to write Goonies 2, although the name of the film has yet to be finalized. Ponciroli's previous credits are somewhat limited in scripted film and television shows, including Greedy People, Old Henry, and the TV series Still the King.

Read more
40 years later, there’s no forgetting about The Breakfast Club
The cast of The Breakfast Club sits in a line of chairs in a still from the 1985 movie.

Judd Nelson, Emilio Estevez, Ally Sheedy, Molly Ringwald, and Anthony Michael Hall in The Breakfast Club Universal Pictures
The late John Hughes once mulled a sequel to his 1985 ode to adolescence, The Breakfast Club. The idea was that he’d pick up years later with the same characters, five suburban teenagers from different cliques who look past their differences and forge some common ground over a long Saturday in detention. Simple minds race with the questions Hughes could answer by reconvening his party of five. Would neo-maxi-zoom-dweebie Brian become a meathead, just like the actor who played him, Anthony Michael Hall? Would the glam-up makeover that outsider Allison (Ally Sheedy) receives at the end of the film take? Would burnout Bender (Judd Nelson) escape the lifetime in Loserville so many assume awaits him?
It was an intriguing pitch, at least for anyone who’s ever wondered who these fictional Illinois kids might grow up to be. At the same time, maybe it’s a relief that Hughes never got around to pursuing the idea. After all, the enduring appeal of The Breakfast Club rests largely on the narrow parameters it sets for itself: It’s just five kids in one room over a single day. To look beyond this mere snapshot of youth would be to betray its eternal present tense. The movie exists, irresistibly, in the moment, just like the teenagers who flocked to it in initial release and the many who have continued to discover it over the four decades since.
Arguably no filmmaker capitalized more on the teen experience than Hughes, the writer and sometimes director of youth-courting sensations like Sixteen Candles, Pretty in Pink, and of course Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. But if all those movies could be called quintessential ’80s hits, The Breakfast Club is more timeless, even as it unfolds entirely within a kind of hourglass. The almost theatrical minimalism of Hughes’ scenario transcends trends. He shaved off all the extraneous conventions of high-school movies. There’s no big game, no prom, no graduation, no classroom even. It’s a teen movie that says that the teens alone are enough.
The Breakfast Club Trailer
The Breakfast Club, which turns 40 today (they grow up so fast!), made stars out of its stars – the core members of the so-called Brat Pack that took Hollywood by storm for a few whirlwind years. It’s primarily an acting showcase. When not trading sharp insults, the five deliver tearful monologues — sometimes in a literal circle, à la a drama club. Like their characters, they had their whole lives ahead of them, and it’s interesting to consider the careers that followed: Molly Ringwald becoming America’s sweetheart before decamping for Paris, Emilio Estevez headlining multiple hit franchises, Sheedy reinventing herself as an indie darling. And who could have guessed that Nelson, who arguably delivers the film’s most charismatic performance (all bad-boy bravado, until we get glimpses of the scared kid underneath), would land a comfy network sitcom gig a mere decade later?
The film is an optimistic fantasy of unexpected teenage solidarity. It takes a little suspension of disbelief to imagine that eight hours together could turn “a brain, an athlete, a basket case, a princess, and a criminal” into fast friends. Of course, Hughes’ script is smart enough to acknowledge the ephemerality of their kumbaya: None of them harbor too many delusions about their connection lasting once the five are back in their respective social circles. That’s the bittersweet power of the Billboard-climbing Simple Minds anthem that both opens and closes the movie: “Don’t you forget about me” is a touching plea to immortalize this fleeting day of communion, even once it fades with the ring of the school bell.
The hierarchies of high school don’t mean much in the grand scheme of things, The Breakfast Club says. It’d be easier to take that message seriously if Hughes didn’t end up kind of reinforcing them. Allison’s miniature Pygmalion arc — emerging from the bathroom like a homecoming queen, dolled up by Ringwald’s Claire — betrays both the character’s countercultural kookiness and the film’s be-yourself ethos. She only wins the jock prince by fundamentally changing who she is; it’s a preview of the makeover plots of future teen comedies like She’s All That and Drive Me Crazy. And Hughes really does Brian dirty. However much empathy the dork garners with the cooler kids, he’s still doing their homework as they pair off and make out.
The Breakfast Club | Detention Dance
It’s a little ironic that a movie all about looking past stereotypes would codify them so much through its advertising campaign. That famous Annie Leibovitz poster, with the cast huddled together, treats each label the characters reject and rebel against as a marketable brand. The Breakfast Club might be the most influential teen movie of them all, and part of its influence was turning the genre into one big game of opposites attracting. How many major teen movies and TV shows derive their tension from the clash of cliques, and the supposedly revelatory revelation that jocks, freaks, and geeks aren’t so different after all?
You can see a little of The Breakfast Club in nearly every quick-witted teen entertainment that came after it. While films like Heathers explicitly positioned themselves as sardonic rebuttals to the Hughes school of kids-are-all-right sentimentality, plenty of descendants of the big and small screen simply updated the writer-director’s model for younger generations, swapping the music and fashion and slang, but not the essential spirit. The Breakfast Club’s single day of bickering and bonding bled into everything from Scream to My-So Called Life to the collegiate Community (a sitcom that references the film in its first episode, and arranged a guest spot for Hall a few weeks later). 

It’s also what you could call an essential Gen X text: Before Reality Bites or Singles or the comparably gabby work of Richard Linklater, there was this portrait of five teens divided by social status but united by their shared disaffection and desire not to become their parents. Not that the Latchkey Generation has a monopoly on such feelings. One reason The Breakfast Club endures where some of its ’80s contemporaries don’t is that it gets at the essential identity crisis of growing up: The whole world seems invested in defining you (and your future) at a time when you’re still very much on the cusp of figuring that out for yourself.
You could say that the kids of The Breakfast Club aren’t just rebelling against the boxes everyone wants to put them. They’re rebelling against the pressure to be anything before they’re ready to decide who they are. That’s the real reason a sequel was a bad idea, however appealing it may have sounded. In plucking a single significant day out of the lives of these characters — the kind any kid might mythically inflate in their mind, at a time when every emotion and experience feels massive — Hughes remained true to the embryonic beauty of late childhood, when the possibilities still seem endless because they essentially are. The movie is a freeze frame, just like the one on which it triumphantly, iconically ends.
The Breakfast Club is available to rent or purchase through the major digital services. For more of A.A. Dowd’s writing, visit his Authory page.

Read more