Throughout 2024, there were countless films that stood out not only to fans all around the world but also to critics and box offices. It would be far too long of an article if I discussed every single movie that came out this year. So instead, I will only discuss what I believe to be the top five, in no particular order. These have been chosen not only for my personal enjoyment of them but also for how the world enjoyed them and the impact they had.
“Inside Out 2”
To start off, a movie that was highly anticipated as a sequel — “Inside Out 2.” The movie was released on June 14 and earned a total gross of $1.69 billion, making it the highest-grossing animated film of all time. The movie follows the main character, Riley, as she goes through puberty and experiences the new emotions that go along with that, including boredom, anxiety, envy, nostalgia and embarrassment.
This movie was extremely important to show people how these emotions, mainly anxiety, can affect you and how you can overcome it. The movie shows the audience how you can’t always let your emotions control you and how to stop them from doing so, such as talking with friends, doing what you love and taking a deep breath from time to time. Riley must do this throughout the film as she battles starting high school, meeting new friends and trying to figure out her identity.
I also believe that it is extremely important for Disney to have made this film due to their main target audience being younger kids who are going to be going through the same thing one day. It is important for them to learn from Riley and learn to not fear her emotions and not let them control her.
“Heretic”
Another movie that came out this past year is “Heretic.” This movie was released on Nov. 15 and stars Hugh Grant as the main antagonist. The film follows two young Mormon women as they go door-to-door trying to get people to join their church until they meet Hugh Grant’s character, Mr. Reed, who tricks them into playing a part in a religious hypothesis of his. He does so by testing exactly how much they trust each other and their religion as they try to escape his house.
The film does a wonderful job of talking about religion and different ideologies in a new and interesting way. While some view religion and ideology as uncomfortable topics, the film does a great job of making the audience curious and wanting to understand different perspectives. This was a difficult movie to fully commit to in the beginning, but once the storyline was piqued, it was an incredibly intriguing, educated and overall exciting movie to watch.
“Challengers”
The next movie that was an incredibly large hit near the beginning of the year, releasing on April 26, was “Challengers.” This was a very anticipated movie as it starred a fan favorite, Zendaya, as one of the main characters and grossed a total of $96 million worldwide. This movie follows Zendaya’s character, Tashi, as she balances coaching her husband into becoming a tennis champion and a love triangle between them and her husband’s former best friend.
This movie jumps between different timelines and points of view, but that never confuses the film. All three of the main actors, especially Zendaya, held an amazing performance not only from the acting perspective but also with their athleticism. The film required all three of them to learn to play tennis, and it paid off in the film, genuinely looking like they had all been playing tennis for years. The drama throughout definitely kept me locked onto the story, and I would recommend it to anyone old enough to watch.
“Wicked”
One of the movies that I could potentially argue was the biggest movie of the year was “Wicked.” This movie starred Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande as the main characters in the Broadway-adapted musical. The film was released somewhat recently on Nov. 22 and was an instant success.
Many interviews and commercials starring the main actors preceded and followed the film’s release, such as one interview that instantly went viral. EqualPride journalist Tracey Gilchrist interviewed Erivo and Grande in November of 2024. During the interview, Gilchrist explains that “many people are taking the lyrics of ‘Defying Gravity’ and really holding space with that, and feeling the power in that.” The quote went viral on social media platforms, especially TikTok, with people using the term “holding space” as a joke in their posts.
The movie has grossed $634 million worldwide since its opening, but the attention and popularity of the film have yet to stop. Because it was adapted from a Broadway musical, many people already knew the storyline, song lyrics and characters going into the film. Some were so passionate about the film that they would sing in the theater during the songs. This led to the release of a sing-along version of the film, featuring the lyrics to the songs at the bottom of the screen.
The film has led to countless trends, products, Halloween costumes and nominations since its release. The sequel to the film is already highly anticipated and is said to release on Nov. 21, 2025.
“We Live in Time”
The final movie that I would like to acknowledge is “We Live in Time.” This movie was released on Oct. 18 and stars Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield. It follows these two characters as they fall in love, start a family and go through numerous hardships together.
Due to painful discoveries, their love is put to the test. They cherish moments together, eventually learning to overcome and deal with these discoveries. This acting couple are amazing both on and off the screen with their chemistry and friendship. They bring such emotion into the film that it is hard not to get attached to these characters and feel for them throughout.
The movie was extremely popular, mainly among younger women, as it is a romantic and dramatic movie. The film has extreme underlying themes of not taking things for granted, experiencing your life living in the moment and taking chances on things you truly desire and love. I would extremely recommend watching this if given the chance.
While these were not the only insanely brilliant and popular movies of the year, they are just a few from the past year that I strongly believe everyone should watch and enjoy. These movies were incredible in many different ways, and I hope future audiences believe so too.
Katie Jones is a first-year nursing student who mainly writes about pop culture, entertainment and social justice. You can write to her at [email protected].