21. THE SUICIDE SQUAD

Directed by: James Gunn
Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures
Release Date: August 5, 2021
Genre: Action
Budget: $185 million

20. DUNE

Directed by: Denis Villeneuve
Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures
Release Date: October 22, 2021
Genre: Sci-Fi
Budget: $165 million
6-TIME ACADEMY AWARD WINNER

19. MALCOLM & MARIE

Directed by: Sam Levinson
Studio: Netflix
Release Date: February 5, 2021
Genre: Drama
Budget: $2.5 million

18. WEREWOLVES WITHIN

Directed by: Josh Ruben
Studio: IFC Films
Release Date: June 25, 2021
Genre: Comedy | Horror
Budget: $6.5 million

17. JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH

Directed by: Shaka King
Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures
Release Date: February 12, 2021
Genre: Drama
Budget: $26 million
2-TIME ACADEMY AWARD WINNER

16. GHOSTBUSTERS: AFTERLIFE

Directed by: Jason Reitman
Studio: Columbia Pictures + Sony Pictures
Release Date: November 19, 2021
Genre: Sci-Fi
Budget: $75 million

15. BELFAST

Directed by: Kenneth Branagh
Studio: Focus Features
Release Date: November 12, 2021
Genre: Drama
Budget: $20-25 million
ACADEMY AWARD WINNER

14. GODZILLA VS. KONG

Directed by: Adam Wingard
Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures
Release Date: March 31, 2021
Genre: Sci-Fi
Budget: $200 million

13. THE POWER OF THE DOG

Directed by: Jane Campion
Studio: Netflix
Release Date: November 17, 2021
Genre: Drama
Budget: $39 million
ACADEMY AWARD WINNER

12. KING RICHARD

Directed by: Reinaldo Marcus Green
Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures
Release Date: November 19, 2021
Genre: Drama
Budget: $50 million
ACADEMY AWARD WINNER

11. THE GREEN KNIGHT

Directed by: David Lowery
Studio: A24
Release Date: July 30, 2021
Genre: Fantasy
Budget: $15 million

10. BLUE BAYOU

Directed by: Justin Chon
Studio: Focus Features
Release Date: September 17, 2021
Genre: Drama
Budget: $—
FILM INDEPENDENT SPIRIT AWARD NOMINEE

9. NIGHTMARE ALLEY

Directed by: Guillermo del Toro
Studio: Searchlight Pictures
Release Date: December 17, 2021
Genre: Drama
Budget: $60 million
ACADEMY AWARD NOMINEE

8. NO TIME TO DIE

Directed by: Cary Joji Fukunaga
Studio: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release Date: October 8, 2021
Genre: Action
Budget: $300 million
ACADEMY AWARD WINNER

7. STREET GANG: HOW WE GOT TO SESAME STREET

Directed by: Marilyn Agrelo
Studio: Screen Media Films
Release Date: April 23, 2021
Genre: Documentary
Budget: $—

6. A QUIET PLACE PART II

Directed by: John Krasinski
Studio: Paramount Pictures
Release Date: May 28, 2021
Genre: Horror
Budget: $60 million

5. LAST FILM SHOW

Directed by: Pan Nalin
Studio: Incognito Films
Release Date: June 10, 2021
Genre: Drama
Budget: $—

4. CODA

Directed by: Siân Heder
Studio: Apple TV+
Release Date: August 13, 2021
Genre: Drama
Budget: $10 million
2-TIME ACADEMY AWARD + BEST PICTURE WINNER

3. LAST NIGHT IN SOHO

Directed by: Edgar Wright
Studio: Focus Features
Release Date: October 29, 2021
Genre: Thriller
Budget: $43 million

2. PIG

Directed by: Michael Sarnoski
Studio: Neon
Release Date: July 16, 2021
Genre: Drama
Budget: $4 million
INDEPENDENT SPIRIT AWARD WINNER

1. SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME

Directed by: Jon Watts
Studio:Columbia Pictures + Sony Pictures
Release Date: December 17, 2021
Genre: Action
Budget: $200 million
ACADEMY AWARD NOMINEE

OVERRATED FILMS OF 2021

(Films that everyone was raving about that fell a little flat for me)

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENTS OF 2021

(Films that I wanted to be good and had tons of potential, but were some of the worst films of the year)

Venom: Let There Be Carnage

Directed by: Andy Serkis
Studio: Columbia Pictures + Sony Pictures
Release Date: October 1, 2021
Genre: Action

Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City

Directed by: Johannes Roberts
Studio: Screen Gems + Sony Pictures
Release Date: November 24, 2021
Genre: Horror

Malignant

Directed by: James Wan
Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures
Release Date: September 10, 2021
Genre: Horror

“BEST OF” STATS

MONTH OF RELEASE

January: 0
February: 2
March: 1
April: 1
May: 1
June: 2
July: 2
August: 2
September: 1
October: 3
November: 4
December: 2

FILMS WITH FEMALE OR DIVERSE LEADS / CO-LEADS

12 out of 21

---

1. Idris Elba (“The Suicide Squad”)
2. John David Washington & Zendaya (“Malcolm & Marie”)
3. Sam Richardson & Milana Vayntrub (“Werewolves Within”)
4. Daniel Kaluuya (“Judas and the Black Messiah”)
5. Mckenna Grace (“Ghostbusters: Afterlife”)
6. Will Smith (“King Richard”)
7. Dev Patel (“The Green Knight”)
8. Justin Chon (“Blue Bayou”)
9. Emily Blunt (“A Quiet Place Part II”)
10. Bhavin Rabari (“Last Film Show”)
11. Emilia Jones (“CODA”)
12. Thomasin McKenzie & Anya Taylor Joy (“Last Night in Soho”)

PASS THE BECHDEL TEST

(1) It has to have at least two [named] women in it
(2) Who talk to each other
(3) About something besides a man

8 out of 21

---

1. “CODA”
2. “Dune”
3. “Godzilla vs. Kong”
4. “King Richard”
5. “Last Night in Soho”
6. “A Quiet Place Part II”
7. “Spider-Man: No Way Home”
8. “The Suicide Squad”

FEMALE / DIVERSE / INTERNATIONAL DIRECTORS

11 out of 20

---

1. Marilyn Agrelo (“Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street”)
2. Kenneth Branagh (“Belfast”)*
3. Jane Campion (“The Power of the Dog”)
4. Justin Chon (“Blue Bayou”)
5. Reinaldo Marcus Green (“King Richard”)
6. Siân Heder (“CODA”)
7. Shaka King (“Judas and the Black Messiah”)
8. Pan Nalin (“Last Film Show”)
9. Guillermo del Toro (“Nightmare Alley”)
10. Denis Villeneuve (“Dune”)*
11. Edgar Wright (“Last Night in Soho”)*

STUDIO OF RELEASE

Warner Bros. Pictures: 5
Focus Features: 3
Columbia Pictures + Sony Pictures: 2
Netflix: 2
Paramount Pictures: 1
Searchlight Pictures: 1
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer: 1
Neon: 1
A24: 1
IFC Films: 1
Screen Media Films: 1
Incognito Films: 1
Apple TV+: 1

ROTTEN TOMATOES RATINGS

Certified Fresh: 18
Fresh: 2
Rotten: 1

PRODUCTION BUDGETS

$0 – $20 MILLION (Low Budget)

“Malcolm & Marie”	$2.5 million
“Pig”	$4 million
“Werewolves Within”	$6.5 million
“CODA”	$10 million
“The Green Knight”	$15 million
“Blue Bayou”	—
“Last Film Show”	—
“Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street”	—

$20-100 MILLION (Moderate Budget)

“Belfast”	$20-25 million
“Judas and the Black Messiah”	$26 million
“The Power of the Dog”	$39 million
“Last Night in Soho”	$43 million
“King Richard”	$50 million
“Nightmare Alley”	$60 million
“A Quiet Place Part II”	$60 million
“Ghostbusters: Afterlife”	$75 million

$100-$199 MILLION (Big Budget)

“Dune”	$165 million
“The Suicide Squad”	$185 million

$200 MILLION PLUS (Mega Budget)

“Godzilla vs. Kong”	$200 million
“Spider-Man: No Way Home”	$200 million
“No Time to Die”	$300 million

FAVORITES OF 2021

ANIMATED: “The Mitchells vs. The Machines”
DOCUMENTARY: “Street Gang: How We Got To Sesame Street”
LOW BUDGET: “Pig”
INTERNATIONAL: “Last Film Show”
PERFORMANCE: Nicolas Cage — “Pig”

WORST OF 2021

WIDE RELEASE

FESTIVALS / STRAIGHT-TO-HOME VIDEO+DIGITAL