

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
- Idris Elba (“The Suicide Squad”)
- John David Washington & Zendaya (“Malcolm & Marie”)
- Sam Richardson & Milana Vayntrub (“Werewolves Within”)
- Daniel Kaluuya (“Judas and the Black Messiah”)
- Mckenna Grace (“Ghostbusters: Afterlife”)
- Will Smith (“King Richard”)
- Dev Patel (“The Green Knight”)
- Justin Chon (“Blue Bayou”)
- Emily Blunt (“A Quiet Place Part II”)
- Bhavin Rabari (“Last Film Show”)
- Emilia Jones (“CODA”)
- 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
- “CODA”
- “Dune”
- “Godzilla vs. Kong”
- “King Richard”
- “Last Night in Soho”
- “A Quiet Place Part II”
- “Spider-Man: No Way Home”
- “The Suicide Squad”

FEMALE / DIVERSE / INTERNATIONAL DIRECTORS
11 out of 20
- Marilyn Agrelo (“Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street”)
- Kenneth Branagh (“Belfast”)*
- Jane Campion (“The Power of the Dog”)
- Justin Chon (“Blue Bayou”)
- Reinaldo Marcus Green (“King Richard”)
- Siân Heder (“CODA”)
- Shaka King (“Judas and the Black Messiah”)
- Pan Nalin (“Last Film Show”)
- Guillermo del Toro (“Nightmare Alley”)
- Denis Villeneuve (“Dune”)*
- 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
- “Earwig and the Witch”
- “The Addams Family 2”
- “The Spongebob Movie: Sponge on the Run”
- “Tom & Jerry”
- “Clifford the Big Red Dog”
- “Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City”
- “Venom: Let There Be Carnage”
- “PAW Patrol: The Movie”
- “Malignant”
- “Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway”
FESTIVALS / STRAIGHT-TO-HOME VIDEO+DIGITAL
- “Dead Air”
- “Mother Schmuckers”
- “Potato Dreams of America”
- “When We Were Bullies”
- “Jakob’s Wife”
- “Offseason”
- “Superior”
- “Pebbles”
- “I’m Fine Thanks for Asking”
- “Sweet Thing”
