As 2024 comes to a close, we find ourselves reflecting on this past year and how many great things have happened in pop culture. New albums, new TV shows and, of course, many new movies came out this year. And there’s no way we would end 2024 without talking about some of our faves in that category. Shall we get started?
Wicked
There’s no other movie that could possibly open this list of best movies of 2024 except for Wicked. The massive production finally brought the beloved stage production to the big screen under the direction of Jon M. Chu (who you’ll remember from In The Heights), with Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo in the main roles of Glinda and Elphaba, respectively. Wicked is, in our opinion, further proof that having fans involved is always the best course of action if you want something done right. Both Cynthia and Ariana have been huge fans of the musical for ages, with the ‘yes, and?’ singer even tweeting about wanting to play Glinda years ago. The duo is spectacular on screen together, their voices complement each other really well in the soundtrack. And don’t get us started on how stunning the sets and costumes are as well.
Don’t forget; this was only part one! It was absolutely perfect and definitely left us hungry for more. We can’t wait to see the second part of Wicked next year (spoiler alert: it’ll probably appear in our Best of 2025 article too.)
Mean Girls
Continuing on the theme of movie musicals that were adapted from the stage, Mean Girls has had a spot on this list since it came out. Renée Rapp gave us even more reasons to love Regina George in this updated version of a classic high school story. Combining elements from the stage musical and the 2004 movie, 2024 Mean Girls truly hit the spot for those of us who enjoyed both of the previous versions of the story.
The musical numbers were fun, the acting from everyone in the cast was spectacular, and the adaptation was clearly well thought out in order to make it the best possible experience. And of course, it was super fun to see Tina Fey reprise the role of Ms. Norbury.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
Over 30 years after the first Beetlejuice movie, our queen Winona Ryder has stepped back into the role of Lydia Deetz for a new story at the old Deetz residence. She isn’t the rebellious teen this time, but the mother of a skeptical teenage daughter named Astrid who thinks Lydia’s job as a psychic is just a bunch of hocus pocus. However, after Lydia’s father’s death, the whole family comes back to the old house for the funeral, and Astrid accidentally brings an old foe of her mother’s back from the dead (literally).
The combination of horror and comedy elements in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice work seamlessly to create the perfect sequel to the beloved 1988 classic, while also breathing new life into the Deetz family drama to keep us hooked from start to finish. And it’s truly delightful to see Winona and Michael Keaton back on screen as their iconic characters.
Monkey Man
In this house we stan Dev Patel and anything he acts in, especially if it’s as good as Monkey Man. In the movie, Dev is Kid, a young man who makes a living by getting beaten up for money in an underground fight club while wearing a gorilla mask. After years of that, however, Kid decides to use all his pent-up rage in a revenge plot against the city’s sinister elite after finding a way to infiltrate it.
Between awesome fight sequences and stellar acting from the entire cast, Monkey Man couldn’t be left out of our list. Congratulations to Dev Patel for a great performance both as an actor and as the director of one of the best action movies of 2024.
Deadpool & Wolverine
Deadpool & Wolverine was the best superhero movie of the year, and we’ll hear no criticism about it. Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman have been friends offscreen for ages, and their friendship truly translates to the screen when we see them acting together in this movie. Hugh Jackman chose to come back to his grumpy X-Men character after years just for this movie, and boy, are we glad he did it! In the story, Deadpool gets an invitation to join the MCU but instead chooses to recruit a Wolverine variant to help save his own universe from extinction.
The result is a story that mixes classic superhero movie antics with buddy comedy elements and the classic Deadpool dark humor we know and love. And all that to the tune of one of the best soundtracks of the year, including Backstreet Boys’ ‘Bye Bye Bye’ and Stray Kids’ ‘Slash.’
Ainda Estou Aqui (I’m Still Here)
Ainda Estou Aqui, or I’m Still Here in English, is a Brazilian movie set during the military dictatorship that tells the real story of Eunice Paiva, the wife of Rubens Paiva, a congressman who went missing during the dictatorship. The movie is based on the autobiography of Marcelo Rubens Paiva, the couple’s youngest son and stars some of the biggest names of Brazilian cinema, such as Selton Mello as Rubens Paiva and Fernanda Torres and her mother, Fernanda Montenegro, as Eunice Paiva in different stages of her life.
I’m Still Here was a hit at home and also internationally, even winning the award for Best Screenplay at the 81st Venice International Film Festival and being nominated for Best International Feature Film at the 97th Academy Awards.
Challengers
We could never leave our queen Zendaya out of this list. In Challengers, our girl is at the center of the story in every sense. Her character, Tashi, is a former tennis prodigy turned coach who finds herself in the middle of a love triangle with her current husband and her ex-boyfriend. Between complicated personal feelings for both guys and the ambition to prove she can turn her husband’s career around, Tashi is one of the most interesting main characters we’ve seen this year.
If you haven’t seen Challengers yet, we highly recommend you do so before the year is over! You will not regret it.
The Idea Of You
As you probably know by now, we at THP are huge romance fans, so there was no way we’d skip The Idea Of You in this list. With Anne Hathaway and Nicholas Galitzine in the main roles, the movie introduces us to a recently divorced mom who gets involved with the lead singer of the boy band her teenage daughter used to be obsessed with.
As Solène and Hayes get more and more involved, they quickly come to find out their romance may not be as easy as they’d like. On the positive side, these challenges help Solène to confront her own insecurities about society’s judgements. We also have to mention how much we love this spin on the “romance with a rockstar” trope.
Inside Out 2
If Riley thought moving to a new city as a pre teen was hard, she had no idea what was coming when her teenage years hit. With puberty, our protagonist gains a new group of emotions to turn her life upside down during this very turbulent period. Joy thought Sadness was hard to deal with in the first movie because she hadn’t met Anxiety yet.
In Inside Out 2, the familiar emotions we’ve come to know and love must work together with the newer ones in order to get Riley through her first year of high school as smoothly as possible (spoiler: it’s not that simple.) What can we say? Balanced emotions are a lot harder to achieve when you’re a teen, and so many of us still remember how that feels and can deeply relate to these characters because of it.
The Substance
The Substance is definitely not for the faint of heart, but it is surely one of the best horror movies of 2024. With Demi Moore in the main role, we follow the story of Elizabeth Sparkle, a famous TV host in her 50s who loses her job for being “too old” and comes in contact with a black market drug called “The Substance” afterwards. The drug promises to create a younger and “better” version of herself, and it does…in the form of a clone she must transfer her consciousness into for seven days at most.
But the more Elizabeth exists as this younger clone, the less she wants to come back to her original body, which leads to unexpected consequences. As the movie progresses, the criticism toward celebrity culture and female beauty standards becomes more clear. All in all an awesome movie, but just maybe avoid watching it while you’re having dinner.
Turtles All The Way Down
Based on the novel by John Green, Turtles All The Way Down brings Aza Holmes as its protagonist. A teenager struggling with anxiety and OCD, Aza isn’t exactly having the easiest time, but that doesn’t stop her from living her life and being one of John Green’s best protagonists. Throughout the movie, Ava and her best friend Davis navigate their complex feelings and Ava’s mental health struggles.
Despite the delicate themes, Turtles All The Way Down is a great movie and brings a very positive representation of how mental health struggles can affect someone’s life in different ways. Definitely check it out if you have the chance!
Twisters
We all love the 1996 classic, Twister, right? Right! So we couldn’t let ourselves make a list of the best movies of 2024 and not include its sequel, Twisters. In it, Kate Cooper is a retired storm chaser who wants nothing to do with storms anymore and seems happy hiding behind her calm job in New York. But of course, things can’t stay calm for long, and she’s eventually asked to go to Oklahoma by a friend to help test some new equipment.
Once there, Kate and her friend Javi cross paths with Tyler Owens, an internet celebrity who makes a living by chasing storms and filming videos of them for his followers. It’s safe to say this trio won’t be having the easiest time when it comes to working together, but it sure makes for some very interesting moments in the narrative.
Despicable Me 4
First of all, Gru and Lucy had another child! Yes, folks, Despicable Me 4 introduces a new character in the form of the couple’s youngest son, Gru Jr. But their domestic bliss is soon disrupted by a new villain who is determined to make Gru’s life difficult at every opportunity. Maxime Le Mal and Gru used to be school rivals. And now that they’ve grown up, he’s planning to use Gru Jr. for his revenge.
Because of this, Gru and his family are relocated to a safe house in another town where no one is supposed to know who they are. Of course that doesn’t go 100% as planned, but that’s the fun of this franchise, right?
Moana 2
After three years of relative calmness since the events of Moana, the princess must once again sail the seas in order to protect her island from danger. And she’ll need the help of our favorite “ordinary demigod” Maui to do so. In a vision of one of her ancestors, Moana learns the reason why she’s had so much trouble trying to find other people with a deep connection to the ocean: a malicious storm god named Nalo wanted power over mortals, so he sunk a legendary island called Motufetu—which connected all other islands—down to the depths of the ocean.
And it gets worse: if Moana can’t find a way to raise Motufetu back, her own home island of Motunui will go extinct as well. Once again, the fate of her people is in her hands, but we’ve never doubted Moana’s capacity for facing the worst of dangers.
Haikyu!! The Dumpster Battle
Yes, we’re anime nerds too, are you surprised? Anyway, let’s talk about the masterpiece that is Haikyu!! The Dumpster Battle. Working as a direct sequel to the Haikyu!! anime, the movie follows the Karasuno High volleyball team as they advance in the Harutaka tournament, battling against Nekoma High and facing new rivals and challenges at every turn.
The movie does a stellar job of resonating with fans of the animated series as well as being a door for new fans to walk through. Much like in the show, The Dumpster Battle combines insane character development with thrilling volleyball sequences that’ll get you hooked!
What did you think of our list? What are some other 2024 movies you think should be on this list? Let us know by tweeting us @thehoneypop or via Instagram and Facebook. You know we love to hear what you have to say.
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