This is the 12th year of my annual awards. Eligible films are those released in the UK for the first time in 2024, whether in the cinema, TV, or on the ever increasing numbers of streaming / video on-demand services. This year, I tried to prioritise quality over quantity a bit more, so I saw fewer films this year, a total of 381. My average score out of 10 was 6.35 as compared to 5.03 last year. As always, there are a few that potentially could have featured below that I did not manage to squeeze in, such as The Order, All We Imagine as Light, The Crime is Mine and Mogwai: If the Stars Had A Sound.

MOST OVERLOOKED
Honourable Mentions: Shoshana, The Instigators, The Whip, On the Line, Control, Lore, Sleeping Dogs,
How Six Friends Made Their First Movie & Didn’t Kill Each Other, Red Rooms and Fancy Dance.
Winner: Sometimes I Think About Dying

MOST OVERRATED
Honourable mentions: Sasquatch Sunset, The Nature of Love, Hoard, Priscilla, Queer, It Ends With Us, Emilia Perez and Dune Part 2
Runner Up: Challengers
Winner: Poor Things

MOST UNDERRATED
I am tempted to put Madame Web into this category as, whilst it was eviscerated by almost every critic, I did not think it was any worse than the usual garbage served up by Marvel. But, I did not want to imply that I actually liked it! Most of that applies to Red One as well.
Honourable mentions: Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1, Cult Killer, Classified, Canary Black and Freelance
Winner: Wolfs

BEST SEQUEL/REMAKE/REBOOT
Honourable mentions: The Fall Guy, 10 Days of a Curious Man, A Quiet Place: Day One, Alien: Romulus. MaXXXine and Force of Nature: The Dry 2
Winner: Twisters

BEST POPCORN MOVIE
Honourable mentions: Twisters, The Fall Guy, Fly Me to the Moon, Monkey Man, Abigail, The Beekeeper, The Bricklayer, Absolution, Under Paris, Freelance, Classified, Rebel Ridge and Canary Black
3: Hit Man
Runner Up: Carry-On
Winner: Wolfs

BEST HORROR MOVIE
This is not an award I give every year, but 2024 was a bit of a vintage year for scary movies. It is debatable whether the winner actually falls into this category, but it deserves recognition.
Honourable mentions: All You Need is Death, A Quiet Place: Day One, Alien: Romulus, MaXXXine, Heretic, Abigail, Under Paris, Speak No Evil, Cuckoo, The Substance, Something in the Water, The Last Voyage of the Demeter, Immaculate, Sting, Smile 2 and Lisa Frankenstein
Runner Up: Late Night with the Devil
Winner: I Saw the TV Glow

BEST SCORE
Honourable mentions: Volker Bertelmann (Conclave), Eiko Ishibashi (Evil Does Not Exist), Raffertie (The Substance), Matthew Collings (On the Line), Geoff Barrow and Ben Salisbury (Civil War), Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (Challengers), Dominique Plante (Red Rooms), Mark Orton (The Holdovers) and Ian Lynch (All You Need is Death)
3: Hans Zimmer (Blitz)
Runner Up: John Gurtler and Jan Miserre (The Outrun)
Winner: Ryuichi Sakamoto (Monster)

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Honourable Mentions: It’s All Over: The Kiss That Changed Football, Will and Harper, From Roger Moore, With Love, How Six Friends Made Their First Movie and Didn’t Kill Each Other
5: Remembering Gene Wilder
4: Copa ’71
3: Strike: An Uncivil War
Runner Up: Scala!!!
Winner: Made in England: The Films of Powell and Pressburger

THE LIAM NEESON AWARD FOR SERVICES TO STRAIGHT TO STREAMING ACTION MOVIES
Runner Up: Liam Neeson (Absolution and In the Land of Saints and Sinners)
Winner: Aaron Eckhart (The Bricklayer, Classified and Chief of Station)

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Honourable Mentions: Dustin Lane (Sometimes I Think About Dying), Jamie Ramsay (All of Us Strangers),
Matthew Temple (Late Night with the Devil), Yunus Roy Imer (The Outrun). Eliot Rockett (MaXXXine), Philip Remy Øgaard (Absolution) and David Gallego (Rebel Ridge)
5: J. Michael Muro (Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1)
4: Yorick Le Saux (Blitz)
3: Drew Daniels (Anora)
Runner Up: Yoshio Kitagawa (Evil Does Not Exist)
Winner: Rob Hardy (Civil War)

BEST BRITISH OR IRISH FILM
Honourable Mentions: The End We Start From, Zone of Interest, In the Land of Saints and Sinners, Sky Peals, All You Need is Death, Strike: An Uncivil War, One Life, Joy, Freud’s Last Session, Paddington in Peru and On the Line
10: Made in England: The Films of Powell and Pressburger
9: Wicked Little Letters
8: Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
7: Kneecap
6: Shoshana
5: Unicorns
4: Chuck Chuck Baby
3: Blitz
Runner Up: Small Things Like These
Winner: The Outrun

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Honourable Mentions: James Krishna Floyd (Unicorns), Casey Affleck and Chuck MacLean (The Instigators), Jonathan Raymond and Kelly Reichardt (Showing Up), Richard Linklater and Glen Powell (Hit Man), Erica Tremblay and Miciana Alise (Fancy Dance), Johnathan A. Abrams (Juror #2), Jeremy Saulnier (Rebel Ridge), Pascal Plante (Red Rooms) and Megan Park (My Old Ass)
10: Azazel Jacobs (His Three Daughters)
9: Janis Pugh (Chuck Chuck Baby)
8: Jon Watts (Wolfs)
7: Yûji Sakamoto (Monster)
6: Alex Garland (Civil War)
5: İlker Çatak and Johannes Duncker (Teacher’s Lounge)
4: Radu Jude (Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World)
3: David Hemingson (The Holdovers)
Runner Up: Wim Wenders and Takuma Takasaki (Perfect Days)
Winner: Jane Schoenbrun (I Saw the TV Glow)
 
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
10: Samantha McAlister, Geoff Bussetil and Peter Moffat (Scoop)
9: Alice Birch and Megan Hunter (The End We Start From)
8: Jonathan Glazer (Zone of Interest)
7: Damla Serim and Mehmet Eroglu (10 Days of a Curious Man)
6: Andrew Haigh (All of Us Strangers)
5: Enda Walsh (Small Things Like These)
4: Nora Fingscheidt (The Outrun)
3: Stefanie Abel Horowitz, Kevin Armento and Katy Wright-Mead (Sometimes I Think About Dying)
Runner Up: Peter Straughan (Conclave)
Winner: Ava DuVernay (Origin)

THE JARED LETO AWARD FOR WORST PERFORMANCE
Dishonourable Mentions: The entire cast (This is Me Now – A Love Story), Timothee Chalamet (Dune Part 2) and Ruth Negga (Good Grief)
3: Caprice Bourret (A European Christmas)
Runner Up: Conor McGregor (Road House)
Loser: Saleka Shyamalan (Trap)

SPECIAL AWARD FOR UBIQUITOUS EXCELLENCE
Sometimes, due to a combination of good choices and the quirk of the release schedule, a performer is responsible for a number of noteworthy performances in a year. Anyone who has appeared in at least three films released this year is eligible.
10=: Aaron Eckhart (The Bricklayer, Classified and Chief of Station)
10=: Eddie Marsan (Firebrand, Midas Man and Back to Black)
10=: Hugh Grant (Heretic, Unfrosted and Paddington in Peru)
9: Olwen Fouéré (All You Need is Death, Cult Killer and Tarot)
8: Dan Stevens (Cuckoo, Godzilla x Kong and Abigail)
7: Russell Crowe (Land of Bad, The Exorcism and Sleeping Dogs)
6: David Dastmalchian (Late Night with the Devil, AfrAId and The Last Voyage of the Demeter)
5: Lesley Manville (The Critic, Back to Black and Queer)
4: Katherine Waterston (The End We Start From, AfrAId and Black Flies)
3: Cailee Spaeny (Civil War, Alien: Romulus and Priscilla)
Runner Up: Bill Nighy (The Beautiful Game, Joy, Role Play, That Christmas and The First Omen)
Winner: Daisy Ridley (Sometimes I Think About Dying, Young Woman and the Sea, Magpie and The Marsh King’s Daughter)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Honourable Mentions: Keeley Hawes (Scoop), Isabella Rossellini (Conclave), Jena Malone (Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1), Arisa Nakono (Perfect Days), Kathryn Newton (Abigail), Anna Garcia (Fly Me to the Moon), Noémie Merlant (Lee), Kerry Condon (In the Land of Saints and Sinners), Bonnie Chagneau-Ravoire (The Taste of Things), Andrea Riseborough (Lee), Hillary Baack (Close to You), Natalie Gavin (Sky Peals), Olivia Colman (Paddington in Peru) and Madeline Weinstein (Between the Temples)
20: Maura Tierney (Twisters)
19: Alia Shawkat (Drift)
18: Katherine Waterston (The End We Start From)
17: Laurie Babin (Red Rooms)
16: Amy Ryan (Wolfs)
15: Romola Garai (The Critic)
14: Lesley Manville (The Critic)
13: Aubrey Plaza (My Old Ass)
12: Sandra Hüller (Zone of Interest)
11: Saskia Reeves (The Outrun)
10: Alix West Lefler (Speak No Evil)
9: Elsie Fisher (Memory)
8: Anjana Vasan (Wicked Little Letters)
7: Da’vine Joy Randoloh (The Holdovers)
6: Alicia Witt (Longlegs)
5: Merritt Wever (Memory)
4: Deniz Dumanli (Crossing)
3: Emily Watson (Small Things Like These)
Runner Up: Saoirse Ronan (Blitz)
Winner: Annabel Scholey (Chuck Chuck Baby)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Honourable Mentions: Mark Strong (The Critic)Denzel Washington (Gladiator 2), Stephen Henderson (Civil War), Nabil Elouahabi (The Outrun), Tim Roth (Classified), Sam Worthington (Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1), David Hyde-Pierce (The Exorcism), Richard Roundtree (Thelma), Derek Jacobi (Gladiator 2), Ed Harris (Love Lies Bleeding), Woody Harrelson (Fly Me to the Moon) and Timothy Spall (Wicked Little Letters)
20: Franz Rogowski (Bird)
19: Paul Mescal (All of us Strangers)
18: Clarence Maclin (Sing Sing)
17: Simon Russell Beale (Firebrand)
16: Michael Stuhlbarg (The Instigators)
15: Paul Raci (Sing Sing)
14: Jason Bateman (Carry-On)
13: Ray Romano (Fly Me to the Moon)
12: John Turturro (The Room Next Door)
11: Don Johnson (Rebel Ridge)
10: Paul Weller (Blitz)
9: Bill Nighy (Joy)
8: J.K Simmons (Juror #2)
7: Yura Borisov (Anora)
6: Dennis Quaid (The Substance)
5: Sean Penn (Black Flies)
4: Jeremy Strong (The Apprentice)
3: Stanley Tucci (Conclave)
Runner Up: Jesse Plemons (Civil War)
Winner: Jamie Bell (All of Us Strangers)

BEST ACTRESS
Every year, I seem to say that this is the most hotly contested contest or the one that is hardest to whittle down to 20 names. This year is no exception, so I have expanded the list but was still left with lots of performances I wanted to recognise.
Honourable Mentions: Tuva Novotny (The Abyss), Eileen Walsh (Small Things Like These), Abigail Breslin (Classified), Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor (Origin), Brigette Lundy-Paine (I Saw the TV Glow), Daisy Ridley (Young Woman and the Sea), Anna Sophia Robb (Rebel Ridge), Carrie Coon (His Three Daughters), Kathryn Newton (Lisa Frankenstein), Daisy Ridley (Magpie), Kirsten Callaghan (Vindication Swim), Tilda Swinton (The Room Next Door), Carol Kane (Between the Temples), Thomasin McKenzie (Joy), Irina Starshenbaum (Shoshana), Kristen Stewart (Love Lies Bleeding), Juliette Gariépy (Red Rooms), Matilda Fleming (Christmas Eve in Miller’s Point) and Lily Sullivan (Monolith)
30: Ilayda Akdogan (10 Days of a Curious Man)
29: Aisling Bea (And Mrs)
28: Jessie Buckley (Wicked Little Letters)
27: Laure Calamy (Two Tickets to Greece)
26: Victoria Lucie (On the Line)
25: Jodie Comer (The End We Start From)
24: Jung Yu-mi (Sleep)
23: Kate Winslet (Lee)
22: Ilana Glazer (Babes)
21: Shailene Woodley (Killer Heat)
20: Hunter Schafer (Cuckoo)
19: Lola Petticrew (Tuesday)
18: Lena Durham (Treasure)
17: Lily Gladstone (Fancy Dance)
16: Maisy Stella (My Old Ass)
15: Anna Kendrick (Woman of the Hour)
14: Laure Calamy (The Origin of Evil)
13: Shian Donovan (The Whip)
12: Amy Adams (Nightbitch)
11: Michelle Williams (Showing Up)
10: Mikey Madison (Anora)
9: Leonie Benesch (Teacher’s Lounge)
8: Demi Moore (The Substance)
7: Natasha Lyonne (His Three Daughters)
6: Ilinca Manolache (Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World)
5: Cailee Spaeny (Civil War)
4: Louise Brealey (Chuck Chuck Baby)
3: Kirsten Dunst (Civil War)
Runner Up: Daisy Ridley (Sometimes I Think About Dying)
Winner: Saoirse Ronan (The Outrun)
 
BEST ACTOR
Honourable Mentions: Nejat Isler (10 Days of a Curious Man), Russell Crowe (Land of Bad), Barry Keoghan (Bird), Liam Neeson (Absolution), Matt Damon (The Instigators), Ben Hardy (Unicorns), Elliot Page (Close to You), Aaron Pierre (Rebel Ridge), Egill lafsson (Touch), Daniel Craig (Queer), Ryan Gosling (The Fall Guy), James Norton (Joy), Glen Powell (Hit Man) and Kevin Costner (Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1)
20: Dev Patel (Monkey Man)
19: Jude Law (Firebrand)
18: Sean Penn (Daddio)
17: Jeffrey Wright (American Fiction)
16: Ewan McGregor (Bleeding Love)
15: Ian McShane (American Star)
14: Anthony Hopkins (One Life)
13: Brad Pitt (Wolfs)
12: Colmon Domingo (Sing Sing)
11: Paul Giamatti (The Holdovers)
10: Eugenio Derbez (Radical)
9: Ian McKellen (The Critic)
8: Hugh Grant (Heretic)
7: George Clooney (Wolfs)
6: Casey Affleck (The Instigators)
5: Koji Yakusho (Perfect Days)
4: Jason Patel (Unicorns)
3: Ralph Fiennes (Conclave)
Runner Up: Cillian Murphy (Small Things Like These)
Winner: Andrew Scott (All of Us Strangers)

BEST DIRECTOR
Honourable Mentions: Colin and Cameron Cairnes (Late Night with the Devil), Jeremy Saulnier (Rebel Ridge), Michael Winterbottom (Shoshana), Megan Park (My Old Ass), Andrew Haigh (All of Us Strangers), İlker Çatak (Teacher’s Lounge), Rachel Lambert (Sometimes I Think About Dying), Doug Liman (The Instigators), Richard Linklater (Hit Man), James Krishna Floyd and Sally El Hosaini (Unicorns) and Dev Patel (Monkey Man)
20: Jonathan Glazer (Zone of Interest)
19: Jon Watts (Wolfs)
18: Sean Baker (Anora)
17: Kevin Costner (Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1)
16: Tim Mielants (Small Things Like These)
15: Anna Kendrick (Woman of the Hour)
14: Clint Eastwood (Juror #2)
13: Juame Collet-Sera (Carry-On)
12: Alexander Payne (The Holdovers)
11: Edward Berger (Conclave)
10: Hirokazu Kore-eda (Monster)
9: Kelly Reichardt (Showing Up)
8: Jane Schoenbrun (I Saw the TV Glow)
7: Ryusuke Hamaguchi (Evil Does Not Exist)
6: Nora Fingscheidt (The Outrun)
5: Wim Wenders (Perfect Days)
4: Steve McQueen (Blitz)
3: Ava DuVernay (Origin)
Runner Up: Radu Jude (Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World)
Winner: Alex Garland (Civil War)

WORST FILM
Dishonourable Mentions: Mea Culpa, Snack Shack, It’s What’s Inside, Ricky Stanicky, Once Upon a Christmas Wish, Prey!, An Easter Bloom. Incoming, Just in Time and A European Christmas
Runner Up: Tyler Perry’s Divorce in the Black
Loser: This is Me Now – A Love Story

BEST FILM
50: Sky Peals
49: Anora
48: Sleep
47: All You Need is Death
46: A Quiet Place: Day One
45: Lee
44: Fly Me to the Moon
43: Red Rooms
42: Evil Does Not Exist
41: Crossing
40: 10 Days of a Curious Man
39: The Fall Guy
38: Twisters
37: Fancy Dance
36: Shirley
35: Late Night with the Devil
34: Zone of Interest
33: The End We Start From
32: Rebel Ridge
31: My Old Ass
30: Hit Man
29: Wicked Little Letters
28: Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1
27: American Fiction
26: Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
25: Showing Up
24: Carry-On
23: Woman of the Hour
22: Monster
21: Kneecap
20: All of Us Strangers
19: The Instigators
18: Shoshana
17: Juror #2
16: His Three Daughters
15: The Teacher’s Lounge
14: Unicorns
13: Wolfs
12: Conclave
11: The Holdovers
10: I Saw the TV Glow
9: Chuck Chuck Baby
8: Sometimes I Think About Dying
7: Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World
6: Blitz
5: Small Things Like These
4: Perfect Days
3: The Outrun
Runner Up: Civil War
Winner: Origin