The 105 best genre movies of the decade, ranked
We asked 50 critics we love to cast their ballots. Here are the results.
The first-ever Inverse Singularity Awards is our name for a critics' poll of the best genre movies of the 2010s. Thank you to all the critics who voted!
Who voted: We asked 50 critics, from established, Pulitzer Prize nominated veterans, to up-and-coming voices, to cast their votes on a ballot of our favorite genre movies of the decade. See the full list of critics and how they voted.
How it worked: Each critic could rank a movie on the ballot on a scale of 0 to 10. They could also offer one write-in vote per year and give it a score from 0 to 10. The write-ins are at the bottom of this article. Each movie on the ballot could earn a maximum of 500 points (50 critics x 10 points).
Go deeper: The voting data revealed some interesting patterns and surfaced a few movies that should've made the ballot (Midsommar), and others that, in retrospect, have no place on the ballot (see the Zombieland sequel). Read more about voting trends among the data.
Read these Singularity Awards essays in celebration of the decade's best:
- Lupita Nyong'o's brilliance made Hollywood take genre seriously
- A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night cracked open every cliche
- J.J. Abrams was sci-fi's biggest booster, but is he any good?
- Patrick Stewart's unlikely role made him the scariest villain of the decade
- The best genre movies of the decade, by the numbers
- In praise of hard science fiction's amazing decade
- The Wandering Earth capped off China's big decade
- The Cabin in the Woods woke the horror gods
- Planet of the Apes was the bravest blockbuster of the decade
- The 10 best movie aliens of the decade
- Unfriended was arguably the most important social media movie of the decade
- The 10 creepiest creeps of the decade
How movies on the ballot ranked...
[Key: Title of Movie (Release year) - Number of total points out of 500]
93. Zombieland: Double Tap (2019) - 92
92. Europa Report (2013) - 121
91. Anna and the Apocalypse (2017) - 123
90. Doctor Sleep (2019) - 138
89. Power Rangers (2017) - 146
88. Elysium (2013) - 148
87. Unsane (2018) - 153
86. Limitless (2011) - 164
85. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019) - 165
84. The Visit (2015) - 170
83. World War Z (2013) - 171
82. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012) - 173
81. High Rise (2015) - 180
80. Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017) - 181
79. The Wind Rises (2013) - 191
79. Your Name (2016) - 191
78. The Purge (2013) - 192
77. First Man (2018) - 193
76. Spectre (2015) - 203
75. The Conjuring (2013) - 211
74. Upstream Color (2013) - 212
73. Jupiter Ascending (2015) - 213
72. Train to Busan (2016) - 216
72. Split (2017) - 216
71. Venom (2018) - 224
70. High Life (2018) - 226
69. Kubo and the Two Strings (2016) - 229
68. This Is The End (2013) - 238
68. A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night (2014) - 238
67. Source Code (2011) - 241
67. Prometheus (2012) - 241
66. Big Hero 6 (2014) - 243
65. Aquaman (2018) - 244
64. Dredd (2012) - 248
63. The Raid: Redemption (2011) - 249
62. War of the Planet of the Apes (2017) - 251
61. Kingsman (2014) - 252
60. Fast Five (2011) - 255
59. The Hunger Games (2012) - 256
58. Melancholia (2011) - 257
57. Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013) - 258
56. Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011) - 259
55. The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (2015) - 260
54. Doctor Strange (2016) - 262
53. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014) - 263
53. Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019) - 263
52. X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) - 265
51. 10 Cloverfield Lane (2016) - 266
50. Iron Man 3 (2013) - 267
49. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Part 2 (2011) - 270
48. X-Men: First Class (2011) - 272
48. Ant-Man (2015) - 272
47. Birdman (2014) - 275
46. Deadpool (2016) - 276
45. The Witch (2015) - 278
44. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part I (2010) - 281
43. A Quiet Place (2018) - 283
42. Okja (2017) - 286
41. Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (2015) - 290
41. Hereditary (2018) - 290
40. Avengers: Infinity War (2018) - 291
39. Captain America: Civil War (2016) - 292
38. It Follows (2014) - 294
37. Under the Skin (2013) - 297
36. Pacific Rim (2013) - 300
35. The World’s End (2013) - 304
35. The Martian (2015) - 304
34. The Babadook (2014) - 308
33. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010) - 309
33. Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) - 309
32. Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) - 318
31. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) - 320
31. Blade Runner 2049 (2017) - 320
30. Gravity (2013) - 322
29. The Avengers (2012) - 323
28. Looper (2012) - 324
27. Avengers: Endgame (2019) - 330
26. The Shape of Water (2017) - 332
25. Wonder Woman (2017) - 333
24. Black Swan (2010) - 336
23. Us (2019) - 341
22. What We Do in the Shadows (2014) - 343
21. Edge of Tomorrow (2014) - 345
20. Skyfall (2012) - 346
19. Drive (2011) - 347
18. Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) - 348
17. Captain America: Winter Soldier (2014) - 349
17. Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) - 349
16. Snowpiercer (2014) - 359
15. Interstellar (2014) - 361
14. Inception (2010) - 365
14. Cabin in the Woods (2012) - 365
13. Logan (2017) - 370
12. Thor: Ragnarok (2017) - 372
11. Black Panther (2018) - 376
10. Annihilation (2018) - 379
9. John Wick (2014) - 381
8. Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017) - 387
7. Arrival (2016) - 394
6. Parasite (2019) - 404
5. Ex Machina (2015) - 406
4. The Social Network (2010) - 415
3. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) - 419
2. Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) - 436
1. Get Out (2017) - 459
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The Write-Ins...
110. Sucker Punch (2011) - 4
109. Alien Covenant (2017) - 6
108. Despicable Me (2010) - 7
108. Thor (2011) - 7
108. Another Earth (2011) - 7
108. Cosmopolis (2012) - 7
108. Beautiful Creatures (2013) - 7
108. The Guest (2014) - 7
108. Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) - 7
108. Assassin's Creed (2016) - 7
108. Neon Demon (2016) - 7
108. Sausage Party (2016) - 7
108. Silence (2016) - 7
108. Life (2017) - 7
108. Avengement (2019) - 7
108. Detective Pikachu (2019) - 7
108. The Art of Self-Defense (2019) - 7
107. I'm Here (2010) - 8
107. How to Train Your Dragon (2010) - 8
107. Monsters (2010) - 8
107. Never Let Me Go (2010) - 8
107. Super 8 (2011) - 8
107. Sound of My Voice (2011) - 8
107. Spring Breakers (2012) - 8
107. Moonrise Kingdom (2012) - 8
107. John Carter (2012) - 8
107. Blue Ruin (2013) - 8
107. Monsters University (2013) - 8
107. The Wolverine (2013) - 8
107. Godzilla (2014) - 8
107. Unfriended (2014) - 8
107. Crimson Peak (2015) - 8
107. The Lobster (2015) - 8
107. Shin Godzilla (2016) - 8
107. The Conjuring 2 (2016) - 8
107. Atomic Blonde (2017) - 8
107. The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017) - 8
107. Fast Color (2019) - 8
107. Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019) - 8
107. The Wandering Earth (2019) - 8
106. Hot Tub Time Machine (2010) - 9
106. Kick-Ass (2010) - 9
106. Take Shelter (2011) - 9
106. Real Steel (2011) - 9
106. The Dark Knight Rises (2012) - 9
106. ParaNorman (2012) - 9
106. Buzzard (2014) - 9
106. Gone Girl (2014) - 9
106. The Raid 2 (2014) - 9
106. Two Days One Night (2014) - 9
106. Anomolisa (2015) - 9
106. Sicario (2015) - 9
106. April and the Extraordinary World (2015) - 9
106. The Revenant (2015) - 9
106. Steve Jobs (2015) - 9
106. The Handmaiden (2016) - 9
106. The Love Witch (2016) - 9
106. Baby Driver (2017) - 9
106. Dunkirk (2017) - 9
106. Bumblebee (2018) - 9
106. The House That Jack Built (2018) - 9
105. MacGruber (2010) - 10
105. Unstoppable (2010) - 10
105. Twixt (2011) - 10
105. The Tree Of Life (2011) - 10
105. The Green Hornet (2011) - 10
105. Kill List (2011) - 10
105. Resident Evil: Retribution (2012) - 10
105. Holy Motors (2012) - 10
105. Cloud Atlas (2012) - 10
105. 12 Years A Slave (2013) - 10
105. Advantageous (2015) - 10
105. Yakuza Apocalypse (2015) - 10
105. Inside Out (2015) - 10
105. Carol (2015) - 10
105. Blackhat (2015) - 10
105. Allied (2016) - 10
105. Moana (2016) - 10
105. Silence (2016) - 10
105. Swiss Army Man (2016) - 10
105. Blade of the Immortal (2017) - 10
105. Downsizing (2017) - 10
105. Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2 (2017) - 10
105. John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017) - 10
105. The Night Comes for Us (2018) - 10
105. John Wick 3 (2019) - 10
105. Knives Out (2019) - 10
105. One Cut of the Dead (2019) - 10
104. Man of Steel (2013) - 16
103. Shutter Island (2010) - 17
103. Magic Mike XXL (2015) - 17
103. It (2017) - 17
103. Mission Impossible: Fallout (2018) - 17
103. Ad Astra (2019) - 17
102. Hanna (2011) - 18
102. Computer Chess (2013) - 18
102. Mandy (2018) - 18
101. Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012) - 19
101. The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) - 19
101. Whiplash (2014) - 19
101. A Ghost Story (2017) - 19
101. Sorry to Bother You (2018) - 19
101. Under The Silver Lake (2019) - 19
100. Toy Story 3 (2010) - 20
100. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011) - 20
100. Attack the Block (2011) - 20
100. Moonlight (2016) - 20
99. The Lego Movie (2014) - 24
98. The Guest (2014) - 25
97. Tron: Legacy (2010) - 26
96. Hell or High Water (2016) - 27
95. The Master (2012) - 30
94. Midsommar (2019) - 38
