Boyhood is the best-reviewed movie of 2014

2014 | 100 Boyhood |
2013 | 97 12 Years a Slave |
2012 | 95 Zero Dark Thirty |
2011 | 95 A Separation |
2010 | 95 The Social Network |
Well, that wasn't exactly suspenseful. Boyhood, writer-director Richard Linklater's astounding 12-years-in-the-making chronicle of one boy's experiences as he reaches adolescence and beyond, has had the title of 2014's highest-scoring film locked up since its release in July, after first wowing critics at Sundance in January.
Boyhood is the only new movie to achieve a "perfect" 100 score since we first began gathering movie reviews for Metacritic back in 1999. It is also easily the most honored film of the year on critic top 10 lists, and is also cleaning up on the awards circuit, making it a virtual lock for a best picture Oscar nomination next week.
But Boyhood wasn't 2014's only great movie. Out of the 655 films released last year to receive at least 7 reviews from professional critics, 53 received a Metascore of 81 or higher, the cutoff we use to indicate "universal acclaim" from reviewers. That is both a higher total and a higher percentage (8% vs. 7%) than in 2013, when only 41 films scored 81 or above.
Overall, 44.4% of films released in 2014 were reviewed positively by critics (scoring 61 or higher). That figure is also an improvement over 2013, when just 42.6% of releases received positive reviews. However, the average Metascore for all films dipped slightly last year, to 56.3 (a drop of 0.2 compared to 2013). One reason for that might be the increase in terrible films. A total of 14 releases in 2014 scored below 20. That's the highest total of truly awful films in any calendar year since 2002.
Below are 2014's highest-scoring films in a variety of categories. On the following two pages are more complete rankings of all of the year's best and worst films.
#1 | #2 | #3 | #4 | #5 |
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Boyhood IFC Films ![]() ![]() |
Mr. Turner Sony Pictures Classics |
Selma Paramount |
Whiplash Sony Pictures Classics |
Stand Clear of the Closing Doors Oscilloscope ![]() ![]() |
#1 | #2 | #3 | #4 | #5 |
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Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) Fox Searchlight ![]() ![]() |
The Grand Budapest Hotel Fox Searchlight ![]() ![]() |
Inherent Vice Warner Bros. |
Pride CBS Films ![]() ![]() |
Dear White People Roadside Attractions ![]() ![]() |
#1 | #2 | #3 | #4 | #5 |
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Top Five Paramount |
Obvious Child A24 ![]() ![]() |
The Trip to Italy IFC Films ![]() ![]() |
22 Jump Street Columbia ![]() ![]() |
Neighbors Universal ![]() ![]() |
#1 | #2 | #3 | #4 | #5 |
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Big Men Abramorama |
The Overnighters Drafthouse Films ![]() ![]() |
National Gallery Zipporah Films |
Citizenfour RADiUS-TWC |
Last Days in Vietnam American Experience |
#1 | #2 | #3 | #4 | #5 |
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Leviathan Sony Pictures Classics |
Two Days, One Night Sundance Selects |
Ida Music Box Films ![]() ![]() |
Force Majeure Magnolia Pictures ![]() ![]() |
We Are the Best! Magnolia Pictures ![]() ![]() |
#1 | #2 | #3 | #4 | #5 |
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Snowpiercer The Weinstein Company ![]() ![]() |
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes 20th Century Fox ![]() ![]() |
Under the Skin A24 ![]() ![]() |
Guardians of the Galaxy Disney ![]() ![]() |
X-Men: Days of Future Past 20th Century Fox ![]() ![]() |
#1 | #2 | #3 | #4 | #5 |
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The Babadook IFC Films ![]() ![]() |
A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night Kino Lorber |
Only Lovers Left Alive Sony Pictures Classics ![]() ![]() |
Housebound XLrator Media ![]() ![]() |
Witching & Bitching IFC Midnight ![]() ![]() |
#1 | #2 | #3 | #4 | #5 |
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Stranger by the Lake Strand Releasing ![]() |
Locke A24 ![]() ![]() |
A Most Violent Year A24 |
Gone Girl 20th Century Fox ![]() ![]() |
Blue Ruin RADiUS-TWC ![]() ![]() |
#1 | #2 | #3 | #4 | #5 |
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The Tale of the Princess Kaguya Gkids ![]() |
Ernest & Célestine Gkids ![]() ![]() |
The LEGO Movie Warner Bros. ![]() ![]() |
Wrinkles Gkids ![]() ![]() |
Rocks in My Pockets Zeitgeist Films |
On the next page ...
Continue reading for a look at the best and worst wide releases of 2014.
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