Movie buffs know that the most exciting times to catch drama movies are at the beginning and end of each year, and 2024 is no exception. (Well, outside of Challengers dominating the spring.) As awards season starts to rev up in December before continuing into early 2025, many of 2024's most exciting, acclaimed films—from epic romances to coming-of-age stories to psychological thrillers—are still coming to theaters. Cinephiles can expect standout performances from Hollywood’s biggest actresses and indie darlings that may dominate awards season.
That's not to mention the great films we've seen throughout the year. So as you're reflecting on what's graced our screens in the past 12 months, and what to look out for as the year comes to a close, read on for the best drama films of 2024.
'All We Imagine As Light'
Payal Kapadia's acclaimed festival darling stars Kani Kusruti, Divya Prabha, and Chhaya Kadam as three friends and hospital employees seeking happiness and struggling to survive while living in Mumbai, a city full of lonely transplants.
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'Anora'
This Palme d’Or winner from Sean Baker stars Mikey Madison as Ani, a sex worker who grew up in the Russian N.Y.C. enclave of Brighton Beach. One night at her club, she finds a client (and romantic interest) in Vanya (Mark Eydelshteyn), the son of a Russian oligarch facing deportation. When he asks Ani to marry him, the Cinderella story is threatened by Vanya's family.
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'Babygirl'
In this erotic drama from director Halina Reijn, Nicole Kidman plays Romy, a high-powered CEO who appears to have a perfect life with her husband and teenage daughters. However, when she strikes up a forbidden affair with a new intern (Harris Dickinson) at her company, she's turned on by the transgression that could destroy her life.
In theaters on December 25, 2024
'The Bikeriders'
This crime drama follows the rise and fall of a midwestern motorcycle club, the Vandals MC, over the course of a decade as it "evolves from a gathering place for local outsiders into a more sinister gang, threatening the original group's way of life," per the film's description. The saga is shown through the eyes of the long-suffering wife (Jodie Comer) of one of the members (Austin Butler), who embodies the club's original ethos.
'Bob Marley: One Love'
Barbie star (and former Ken) Kingsley Ben-Adir portrays the musical legend in this biopic, which covers Marley's life and celebrates his revolutionary music. (The icon's children Ziggy and Cedella and widow Rita Marley served as producers.)
'The Brutalist'
Don't let the three-hour-thirty-five-minute runtime deter you, critics have been raving about Brady Corbet's ambitious, epic saga on the American Dream. (Also, there's a 15-minute intermission built into the film.) Holocaust survivor and Brutalist architect László Tóth (Adrien Brody) arrives in America determined to rebuild his life but finds making it in the country difficult until a wealthy benefactor changes everything.
In theaters on December 20, 2024
'Challengers'
Zendaya plays Tashi, a former tennis prodigy turned coach for her husband Art (Mike Faist), in this dramedy from Call Me By Your Name director Luca Guadagnino. After Art ends up on a losing streak, he is forced to play against his childhood best friend and Tashi’s ex-boyfriend (Josh O’Connor), rekindling a tense love triangle.
'A Complete Unknown'
Timothée Chalamet brings Bob Dylan's life and career to the screen in this biopic helmed by Walk the Line director James Mangold, which is getting rave early reviews. It follows the legendary singer-songwriter as he rises to fame in the '60s Greenwich Village folk music scene, with Elle Fanning co-starring as Sylvie Russo (a role inspired by activist Suze Rotolo) and Monica Barbaro as Joan Baez.
In theaters on December 25, 2024
'Conclave'
One of this year's films that the internet can't stop talking about (after Challengers and The Substance but before Wicked in terms of online buzz), Conclave takes place amid a power vacuum in the Vatican. After the Pope dies, Cardinal Thomas Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes) juggles secrets, scandals, and power plays as he organizes a papal conclave to elect a new head of the Catholic Church.
'The Fire Inside'
This sports drama based on the real-life boxer Claressa "T-Rex" Shields boasts an impressive filmmaking team, with Moonlight's Barry Jenkins serving as screenwriter and Black Panther cinematographer Rachel Morrison in her directorial debut. Ryan Destiny will portray Shields, a Flint, Michigan, native who at the 2012 London Olympics made history as the first woman to win an Olympic gold medal in boxing.
In theaters on December 25, 2024
'His Three Daughters'
This tense family dramedy follows the titular sisters, who reunite during their ailing father's final days. Per Netflix, "As they wait at his bedside, old resentments rise to the surface, and the sisters’ relationships face new strains. Will their father’s imminent death bring them closer together—or push them apart for good?"
'Housekeeping for Beginners'
This loving dramedy follows an unconventional family living in North Macedonia. Social worker Dita (Anamaria Marinca) never wanted to be a mother, but circumstances forced her to raise her partner Suada's (Alina Serban) rebellious daughters Mia (Dzada Selim) and Vanesa (Mia Mustafi). "As their individual wills clash, a heartwarming story unfolds about an unlikely family's struggle to stay together," per the film's description.
'How to Have Sex'
Molly Manning Walker's directorial debut follows 16-year-old besties Tara (Mia McKenna-Bruce), Skye (Lara Peake), and Em (Enva Lewis) as they go on a rite-of-passage holiday for what should be the best summer of their lives. In the middle of it all, Tara (the only virgin of the three) feels pressured to keep up with her more experienced friends.
'It Ends With Us'
All of its behind-the-scenes drama aside, It Ends With Us is a gripping adaptation of the Colleen Hoover novel of the same name, which includes depictions of domestic abuse. Lily Blossom Bloom (Blake Lively) thinks that she's found a happily ever after with neurosurgeon Ryle Kincaid (Justin Baldoni), but when his anger issues evolve into emotional and physical abuse, Lily has to grapple with her lifelong trauma and how to move forward.
'Janet Planet'
This indie flick centers on the shifting relationship between 11-year-old Lacy and her mother Janet, during the summer of 1991 in Western Massachusetts. Per the official description, "As the months pass, three visitors enter their orbit, all captivated by Janet and her spellbinding nature. In her solitary moments, Lacy inhabits an inner world so extraordinarily detailed that it begins to seep into the outside world."
'Kinds of Kindness'
Less than a year after Poor Things took home several Oscars, director Yorgos Lanthimos and star Emma Stone returned with their third collaboration. Per the official description, the new film is "a triptych fable, following a man without choice who tries to take control of his own life; a policeman who is alarmed that his wife who was missing-at-sea has returned and seems a different person; and a woman determined to find a specific someone with a special ability, who is destined to become a prodigious spiritual leader."
'La Chimera'
This Italian film directed by Alice Rohrwacher follows a group of eccentric tombaroli (“grave robbers”) who search for precious artifacts from the Etruscan era. They're led by Arthur (Josh O'Connor), a British archaeologist grieving the loss of his great love, following his release from prison.
'Lee'
This biopic chronicles a "pivotal decade" in the life of Lee Miller (Kate Winslet), the famed photojournalist and war correspondent whose "singular talent and unbridled tenacity resulted in some of the 20th century's most indelible images of war, including an iconic photo of Miller herself, posing defiantly in Hitler's private bathtub," per the film's description.
'Mufasa: The Lion King'
Disney's live-action (a.k.a mostly computer-generated) Lion King is getting a prequel film, directed by Oscar winner Barry Jenkins. The story of young Mufasa (Aaron Pierre) and young Scar (Kelvin Harrison) is narrated by Rafiki (John Kani), as he tells Kiara (Blue Ivy Carter)—daughter of Simba and Nala—the story of her grandfather. (Of course, with Timon and Pumbaa offering color commentary.)
In theaters on December 20, 2024
'Nickel Boys'
RaMell Ross's adaptation of Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel is a truly unique cinematic experience that shows a story of injustice through a survivor's eyes. Elwood Curtis (played in two timelines by Ethan Cole Sharp and Daveed Diggs) is a kind and intelligent teenager who accidentally runs afoul of the law while growing up under Jim Crow in Tallahassee, Florida. He's sent to the abusive "reform school" Nickel Academy, where he befriends the cynical repeat student Turner (Brandon Wilson).
In theaters on December 14, 2024
'Omni Loop'
Mary-Louise Parker and Ayo Edebiri lead this thoughtful dramedy with a sci-fi twist. Here's the film's official synopsis: "A quantum physicist (Parker) finds herself stuck in a time loop, with a black hole growing in her chest and only a week to live. When she meets a gifted student (Edebiri), they team up to save her life—and to unlock the mysteries of time travel.”
'Origin'
Ava DuVernay wrote and directed this fictional movie based on Isabel Wilkerson's 2022 non-fiction book Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents. The moving drama follows Wilkerson (played by Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor) in the wake of several personal tragedies, as she travels the world researching the thesis that will become Caste.
'The Piano Lesson'
After the success of 2021's Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, it seems Netflix and Denzel Washington are committed to bringing every play from August Wilson's Century Cycle to the big screen. For The Piano Lesson, the legendary Oscar-winner is on as a producer, with his son Malcolm as director/co-writer. It's even more of a family affair as John David Washington stars oppositeTill star Danielle Deadwyler, as they play two siblings battling over whether to sell or keep their family’s precious heirloom of a piano.
'The Promised Land'
This Danish historical drama stars Mads Mikkelsen as a retired military captain who seeks to conquer the uninhabitable Danish heath in the name of the King. All that stands in his way is the merciless local ruler (Simon Bennebjerg) who believes the land belongs to him. The two men become locked in a ruthless battle of revenge, in this 18th-century tale.
'A Real Pain'
Eisenberg serves as writer, director, and star for this dramedy film that sees himself and Culkin as cousins with very different personalities who reunite for a trip to Poland, gifted to them by their recently deceased grandmother. As the neurotic Dave (Eisenberg) and outgoing Benji (Culkin) tour Holocaust memorials and cemeteries, they grapple with both their family's dark history and their estrangement.
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'Rez Ball'
LeBron James and Reservation Dogs co-creator Sterlin Harjo teamed up for this sports drama about the Chuska Warriors, a high-school basketball team based in Chuska, New Mexico, rooted in Native American heritage. Per the official description, "After the loss of their star player, the team must unite like never before to keep their dreams of a state championship alive."
'Scoop'
In 2019, the U.K.'s Prince Andrew sat down for a televised interview with BBC's Newsnight, where he spoke on his friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein for the first time. This Netflix film depicts the lead-up to the infamous appearance, following the daring female journalists who made it happen.
'Shirley'
Regina King made her welcomed return to the big screen in John Ridley's biopic of Shirley Chisolm, the first Black female congressperson in the United States and the first Black woman to run for president. The film focuses on Chisolm's groundbreaking presidential campaign, with the help of exclusive behind-the-scenes details provided by the politician's estate, per Netflix.
'Sing Sing'
This emotional drama—which is based on a real-life rehabilitation program in the titular New York penitentiary and features formerly-incarcerated actors—follows a prison theater troupe as they stage their latest production while their, John “Divine G” Whitfield (Colman Domingo), is seeking parole.
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'Sometimes I Think About Dying'
Fran (Daisy Ridley), a socially awkward office worker in a small coastal town, lives an isolated day-to-day life that's broken up by intrusive fantasies of what it would be like to die. When a new employee shows up in the office and attracts her interest, she wonders if she's suited for living this way or if there's something else to life that she's been missing.
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