2020s Films: Best Movies, Directors And Trends

Cinemas closed and reopened, streaming premieres, and the event film as the only sure thing.

Below: the films worth watching from the 2020s, the directors behind them, what was changing in cinema, and the year-by-year screen highlights from 2020 to 2025.

Useful for a film night, a themed party, a quiz round or working out what someone grew up watching.

Best films of the 2020s

• Dune (2021) and Dune: Part Two (2024).
• No Time to Die (2021) - delayed repeatedly, then the biggest UK release of its year.
• Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022).
• Top Gun: Maverick (2022) - the film credited with bringing audiences back.
• The Banshees of Inisherin (2022).
• Oppenheimer (2023) and Barbie (2023).
• Poor Things (2023).
• Wicked (2024).

Directors who defined the 2020s

• Christopher Nolan, still arguing for film and for the big screen.
• Denis Villeneuve, making the science fiction epic work commercially again.
• Greta Gerwig, with the biggest film of 2023.
• Yorgos Lanthimos and Martin McDonagh, both doing their best work.
• Daniels - Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert - sweeping the 2023 Oscars.

Cinema trends of the 2020s

• Cinemas closed for long stretches in 2020 and 2021, and some never reopened.
• Simultaneous streaming releases, then a retreat back to cinema windows.
• The event film thrives; the mid-budget drama largely moves to streaming.
• Barbenheimer in July 2023 as a one-off reminder of what a shared release can do.
• Strikes in 2023 push release dates across the following two years.

Going to the pictures

• Booking ahead became normal and never went back.
• Dressing up for Barbie, sitting through three hours for Oppenheimer.
• Cinema as an occasional occasion rather than a weekly habit.
• Everything else watched at home, usually while looking at a phone.

Film and television, year by year

• 2020 - Tiger King and Normal People were the lockdown programmes everybody watched.
• 2021 - Line of Duty's series six finale was watched by over fifteen million people.
• 2022 - Stranger Things, Top Gun: Maverick and The Traitors were the year's talking points.
• 2023 - Barbie and Oppenheimer opened on the same weekend in July and filled cinemas.
• 2024 - Mr Bates vs The Post Office in January changed government policy within a fortnight.
• 2025 - Adolescence became one of the most-discussed British dramas in years.

Years covered in the 2020s

• 2020 - Lockdown, clapping on doorsteps and a year nobody needs reminding of. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-2020
• 2021 - Another lockdown, then a summer of football and reopening. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-2021
• 2022 - The Platinum Jubilee, the death of the Queen and three Prime Ministers. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-2022
• 2023 - The coronation, Barbenheimer and 'Last Christmas' finally getting to number one. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-2023
• 2024 - A July general election, the Olympics in Paris and Gavin & Stacey signing off. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-2024
• 2025 - The Lionesses retained the Euros and the Oasis reunion filled the stadiums. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-2025
• That is every 2020s year we have written up so far: 2020 to 2025.

How to use this

• Film night: one film from the decade, the matching party playlist before it, and a quiz round after.
• Quiz round: read a film and ask for the year, or read a director and ask for the film.
• Reminiscence: ask what the first film they saw at the cinema was, and who took them.
• Anyone born in 2020 turns 50 in 2070, 60 in 2080 and 70 in 2090.

Shop prints and posters

How to write it so it lands

• Check the UK release date as well as the year - plenty of American films reached Britain months later.
• For a themed night, pick the film from the year someone turned eighteen, not the year they were born.
• Ask what the first film they saw at the cinema was. It gets a better story than asking their favourite.

Where to shop next

• Look back to 2020
• Look back to 2021
• Look back to 2022
• Look back to 2023
• Look back to 2024
• Look back to 2025
• 2020s books, films and TV
• 2020s calendar: year by year
• 2020s trivia: fun facts
• 2020s music: albums, artists and songs
• 2020s shopping guide
• The 2020s: the whole decade
• 2020s party playlist
• Viral and TikTok party games
• Phone party games
• How to run a quiz night
• Guess the year quiz
• Decade history: key events, politics and culture by era
• Decade books: best novels, authors and reading trends
• Decade films: best films and directors by era
• Decade guides: books, films and TV by era
• Decade shopping guides by era
• Decade tech: gadgets and computers by era
• Music by decade: albums, artists and songs
• Decade fashion: clothes, hair and accessories by era
• Decade calendar: every year from 1920
• Decade trivia: fun facts by era
• Decade trivia game: play for points
• Nostalgia gift shop
• Milestone birthday cards
• Planning the party? Birthday party ideas
• How to make a balloon arch
• Photo booth prop ideas
• Pin badges
• All guides

Frequently asked questions

What are the best films of the 2020s?

Dune (2021) and Dune: Part Two (2024). The full list above names real films with their release years, from the 2020s.

Which directors defined the 2020s?

Christopher Nolan, still arguing for film and for the big screen. The directors section above covers the rest.

What was cinema like in the 2020s?

Cinemas closed for long stretches in 2020 and 2021, and some never reopened. The trends and going-to-the-pictures sections above cover both the industry and the experience.

Do you sell films or DVDs?

No. We make greeting cards, art prints and pin badges in the UK. This page is free to read, print and copy for a quiz or a film night.