What was 2024's best movie? From 'The Substance' to 'Conclave,' our top 10

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What marks this year's greatest films? Explorations of humanity and creativity within a confined structure, be it a maximum-security prison or a teenager's mind. Thoughtful examinations of how we treat people who are different than us, and also how we look at ourselves. And the awesome power of music, from young stars bucking the system to a spiritually charged instrument handed down through generations.

Oh, and a bunch of backstabbing wannabe popes. Don't forget about those guys.

Last year may have had Barbie and J. Robert Oppenheimer – congrats again on that Oscar win, Oppie! – but 2024 has Bob Dylan and Paul Atreides, onscreen alter egos of MVP Timothée Chalamet. Also, considering the past 12 months, Anxiety being a main cinematic character couldn't be more perfect.

Here are 2024’s best movies, definitively ranked:

10. 'The Piano Lesson'

Whatever Denzel Washington's family is getting each other for Christmas, it can't be better than what they gifted us. Son Malcolm directs this nuanced adaptation of the August Wilson play, and other son John David stars alongside a phenomenal Danielle Deadwyler as siblings butting heads over what to do with an heirloom piano. The drama is a spiritual journey of a family coming back together under ghostly circumstances.

Where to watch: Netflix.

9. 'The Substance'

Demi Moore being back in the spotlight is pretty great in itself – the fact that she's in something so absolutely crazypants is the cherry on the top of a bloody body-horror spectacle not to be missed. An aging celebrity (Moore) takes a treatment that unlocks her younger self (Margaret Qualley), some key rules are broken and the results are messy, monstrous and metaphorical in a hilariously jaw-dropping hoot about beauty and self-worth.

Where to watch: Mubi, video on demand.

8. 'A Different Man'

Yeah, Sebastian Stan also played Donald Trump this year. But his best role came in this dark comedy about identity, playing an actor with disfiguring neurofibromatosis. An experimental drug turns him into a new man – well, at least facially, because superficial confidence can't change the fact that he’s still an insecure mess internally. Come for the meta eccentricity, stay for a revelatory, movie-stealing performance from Adam Pearson.

Where to watch: Video on demand.

7. 'Inside Out 2'

Sometimes you're just trying to have fun with friends and go to hockey camp when puberty hits you square in the face – or, in the case of this enchanting Pixar sequel, fills your noggin with a whole bunch of new emotions. The jittery Anxiety (fabulously voiced by Maya Hawke) leads a mutiny and kicks out Joy (Amy Poehler) and Co. in a matured narrative that ambitiously captures what it's like for a kid (and adults) to feel overwhelmed and out of control.

Where to watch: Disney+, video on demand.

6. 'Civil War'

With his riveting cautionary tale, director Alex Garland takes our current political and cultural divide to a disturbing place and makes audiences confront what an actual modern civil war would look like. The thriller doubles as a journalism movie, too, with Kirsten Dunst turning in an outstanding performance as a world-weary photographer who takes a rookie (Cailee Spaeny) under her wing on the dangerous road to a scoop for the ages.

Where to watch: Max, video on demand.

5. 'Dune: Part Two'

For a much-anticipated sci-fi epic, director Denis Villeneuve's 2021 "Dune" was aggressively average. (Heck, that David Lynch "Dune" was more enjoyable.) But all is forgiven now, Denis: "Part Two" is a sprawling, sandworm-filled triumph. Chalamet finally finds his way as the messianic Paul Atreides – plus digs into the thorny issues that come with being a savior figure – in a gripping, action-packed sequel exploring power, colonialism and religion.

Where to watch: Max, video on demand.

4. 'A Complete Unknown'

There have been so many underwhelming music biopics, it's a treat when one comes along that works. And thanks to Chalamet grabbing a guitar and harmonica, the Bob Dylan movie is positively electric chronicling the enigmatic singer's early years in the 1960s. He rises quickly in the New York music scene, finding chemistry on and off stage with Joan Baez (Monica Barbaro) and going to war with the folk establishment as the times change around him.

Where to watch: In theaters Dec. 25.

3. 'Sing Sing'

Take it to the bank: One day Colman Domingo will win an Oscar. And while he didn't get one this past season for "Rustin," this unforgettable prison drama based on a true story might do the trick. Incarcerated for a crime he didn't commit, Divine G (Domingo) recruits a hardened fellow convict (Clarence Maclin) into the prisoner theatrical troupe that brings him creative joy. As great a tale as that is, it's made even better by the casting of actual thespians from Sing Sing.

Where to watch: Coming soon to video on demand, returns in theaters Jan. 17.

2. 'Conclave'

Director Edward Berger effortlessly weaves together a locked-room mystery, courtroom drama, detective tale and political thriller into a supremely satisfying papal potboiler. After the holy father dies suddenly (and a little mysteriously), a stressed-out but good-hearted cardinal (Ralph Fiennes) leads the meeting to determine the next pope, navigating power-hungry candidates as well as his own crisis of faith.

Where to watch: Peacock (Dec. 13), video on demand

1. 'The Brutalist'

Everything is monumental in director Brady Corbet's rich historical epic, from a gorgeous music score and production design to a yearslong narrative that takes a hard look at the immigrant experience and what happens when the "American dream" is held just out of arm's length. After surviving the Holocaust, a Hungarian Jewish architect (Adrien Brody) comes to America and is commissioned by an industrialist (Guy Pearce) to build a community center, while trying to bring his wife (Felicity Jones) over from Europe and weathering his own ego and vices. And like "Conclave," the drama presents a soulful, revealing ending that adds something significant to our cultural conversation.

Where to watch: In theaters Dec. 20.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Best movies of 2024: Our picks for the year's 10 must-watch films