The 100 Best Films of 2021 According to Rotten Tomatoes

Now that the end of 2021 is nearly upon us, it’s time to look back and see which movies were considered truly worth watching in the past year. And perhaps the most trusted arbiter of “the best cinema” (or most convenient, anyway) is Rotten Tomatoes.

To commemorated this past year in film, we took a gander at Rotten Tomatoes’ yearly “Best Movies” list, which features films that received the highest Tomatometer scores in 2021, and listed the crème de la crème — the top 100 films. Take a look below!

The 100 Best Films of 2021 According to Rotten Tomatoes

100. Final Account (92%)

Directed by Luke Holland

99. PG: Psycho Goreman (92%)

Written and directed by Steven Kostanski

98. The Humans (92%)

Written and directed by Stephen Karam

97. LIMBO (92%)

Written and directed by Ben Sharrock

96. No Sudden Move (92%)

Directed by Steven Soderbergh, written by Ed Solomon

95. Saint Maud (92%)

Written and directed by Rose Glass

94. My Octopus Teacher (93%)

Written and directed by Pippa Ehrlich and James Reed

93. Wildland (93%)

Directed by Jeanette Nordahl, written by Ingeborg Topsøel

92. Baby Done (93%)

Directed by Curtis Vowell, written by Sophie Henderson

91. The Capote Tapes (93%)

Directed by Ebs Burnough, written by Ebs Burnough and Holly Whiston

90. Pray Away (93%)

Directed by Kristine Stolakis

89. The Alpinist (93%)

Directed by Peter Mortimer and Nick Rosen

88. Spring Blossom (93%)

Written and directed by Suzanne Lindon

87. Martyrs Lane (93%)

Written and directed by Ruth Platt

86. Lily Topples The World (93%)

Directed by Jeremy Workman

85. All Light, Everywhere (93%)

Written and directed by Theo Anthony

84. Lucky (93%)

Directed by Natasha Kermani, written by Brea Grant

83. Swan Song (93%)

Written and directed by Todd Stephens

82. Some Kind of Heaven (93%)

Directed by Lance Oppenheim

81. The Killing of Two Lovers (93%)

Written and directed by Robert Machoian

80. Val (93%)

Directed by Ting Poo and Leo Scott

‘Val’

79. Never Gonna Snow Again (94%)

Directed by Małgorzata Szumowska, written by Małgorzata Szumowska and Michal Englert

78. Old Henry (94%)

Written and directed by Potsy Ponciroli

77. West Side Story (95%)

Directed by Steven Spielberg, written by Tony Kushner

76. The Souvenir Part II (94%)

Written and directed by Joanna Hogg

75. About Endlessness (94%)

Written and directed by Roy Andersson

74. Raya and the Last Dragon (94%)

Directed by Don Hall and Carlos López Estrada, written by Adele Lim and Qui Nguyen

73. In The Heights (94%)

Directed by Jon M. Chu, written by Quiara Alegría Hudes

72. The Delivered (95%)

Written and directed by Thomas Clay

71. El Planeta (95%)

Written and directed by Amalia Ulman

70. Wildfire (95%)

Written and directed by Cathy Brady

69. Jimmy Carter: Rock & Roll President (95%)

Directed by Mary Wharton, written by Bill Flanagan

68. Lapsis (95%)

Written and directed by Noah Hutton

67. Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street (95%)

Directed by Marilyn Agrelo

66. Rita Moreno: Just A Girl Who Decided To Go For It (95%)

Directed by Mariem Pérez Riera

65. MASS (95%)

Written and directed by Fran Kranz

64. The Disciple (96%)

Written and directed by Chaitanya Tamhane

63. The Human Factor (96%)

Written and directed by Dror Moreh

62. Test Pattern (96%)

Written and directed by Shatara Michelle Ford

61. Plan B (96%)

Directed by Natalie Morales, written by Joshua Levy and Prathiksha Srinivasan

60. In The Same Breath (96%)

Directed by Nanfu Wang

‘Mass’

59. Stray (96%)

Written and directed by Elizabeth Lo

58. Slaxx (96%)

Directed by Elza Kephart, written by Patricia Gomez and Elza Kephart

57. The Amusement Park (96%)

Directed by George A. Romero, written by Wally Cook

56. The Rescue (96%)

Directed by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin

55. Petite Maman (96%)

Written and directed by Céline Sciamma

54. Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry (96%)

Directed by R.J. Cutler

53. I’m Your Man (96%)

Directed by Maria Schrader, written by Jan Schomburg, Maria Schrader, and Emma Braslavsky

52. Riders of Justice (96%)

Written and directed by Anders Thomas Jensen

51. C’mon C’mon (96%)

Written and directed by Mike Miller

50. The Sparks Brothers (96%)

Directed by Edgar Wright

49. The Power of the Dog (96%)

Written and directed by Jane Campion

48. CODA (96%)

Written and directed by Sian Heder

47. Judas and the Black Messiah (96%)

Directed by Shaka King, written by Will Berson and Shaka King

46. The Reason I Jump (97%)

Directed by Jerry Rothwell, written by Naoki Higashida

45. The Boy Behind The Door (97%)

Written and directed by David Charbonier and Justin Powell

44. The Human Voice (97%)

Written and directed by Pedro Almodóvar

43. The Lost Leonardo (97%)

Directed by Andreas Koefoed, written by Andreas Koefoed, Duska Zagorac, Andreas Møl Dalsgaard, Mark Monroe, and Christian Kirk Muff

42. I Carry You With Me (97%)

Written and directed by Heidi Ewing

41. GUNDA (97%)

Directed by Victor Kossakovsky, written by Victor Kossakovsky and Ainara Vera

40. The Truffle Hunters (97%)

Directed by Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw

‘Test Pattern’

39. Shiva Baby (97%)

Written and directed by Emma Seligman

38. Pig (97%)

Written and directed by Michael Sarnoski

37. 7 Prisoners (98%)

Directed by Alexandre Moratto, written by Alexandre Moratto and Thayná Mantesso

36. Liyana (98%)

Directed by Aaron Kopp and Amanda Kopp

35. Assassins (98%)

Directed by Ryan White

34. HOPE (98%)

Written and directed by Maria Sødahl

33. Days (98%)

Written and directed by Ming-liang Tsai

32. Demon Slayer -Kimetsu No Yaiba- The Movie: Mugen Train (98%)

Directed by Haruo Sotozaki

31. Attica (98%)

Directed by Stanley Nelson and Traci Curry, written by Stanley Nelson

30. My Heart Can’t Beat Unless You Tell It To (98%)

Written and directed by Jonathan Cuartas

29. SWEAT (98%)

Written and directed by Magnus von Horn

28. There Is No Evil (98%)

Written and directed by Mohammad Rasoulof

27. Becoming Cousteau (98%)

Directed by Liz Garbus, written by Mark Monroe and Pax Wassermann

26. Apples (98%)

Directed by Christos Nikou

25. The Paper Tigers (98%)

Written and directed by Quoc Bao Tran

24. FLEE (98%)

Directed by Jonas Poher Rasmussen, written by Jonas Poher Rasmussen and Amin Nawabi

23. Julia (98%)

Directed by Julie Cohen and Betsy West

22. Two of Us (98%)

Directed by Filippo Meneghetti, written by Filippo Meneghetti and Malysone Bovorasmy

21. The Velvet Underground (98%)

Written and directed by Todd Haynes

20. The Mitchells vs. The Machines (98%)

Directed by Michael Rianda, written by Michael Rianda and Jeff Rowe

‘Days’

19. The Father (98%)

Directed by Florian Zeller, written by Christopher Hampton and Florian Zeller

18. Minari (99%)

Written and directed by Lee Isaac Chung

17. Identifying Features (99%)

Directed by Fernanda Valadez, written by Astrid Rondero and Fernanda Valadez

16. MLK/FBI (99%)

Directed by Samuel D. Pollard, written by Benjamin Hedin and Laura Tomaselli

15. Summer of Soul (… Or, When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised)    (99%)

Directed by Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson

14. Acasă, My Home (100%)

Directed by Radu Ciorniciuc

13. AZOR (100%)

Written and directed by Andreas Fontana

12. Changing the Game (100%)

Directed by Michael Barnett, written by Michael Mahaffie

11. The Woman Who Ran (100%)

Written and directed by Hong Sang-soo

10. Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror (100%)

Written and directed by Kier-La Janisse

9. Paper Spiders (100%)

Directed by Inon Shampanier, written by Natalie Shampanier

8. Mayor (100%)

Directed by David Osit

7. Sabaya (100%)

Written and directed by Hogir Hirori

6. Luzzu (100%)

Written and directed by Alex Camilleri

5. The Worst Person in the World (100%)

Directed by Joachim Trier, written by Joachim Trier and Eskil Vogt

4. Slalom (100%)

Directed by Charlène Favier, written by Charlène Favier and Marie Talon

3. Quo Vadis, Aida? (100%)

Written and directed by Jasmila Zbanic

2. Drive My Car (100%)

Directed by Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, written by Ryûsuke Hamaguchi and Takamasa Oe

1. 76 Days (100%)

Directed by Hao Wu and Weixi Chen, written by Hao Wu

‘Quo Vadis, Aida?’

If you want to see the full list, head on over to Rotten Tomatoes!