2019 Was The Best Movie Year Ever According To Rotten Tomatoes

Summary Rotten Tomatoes ranks 2019 as the best movie year ever with 11 films, but not everyone agrees with their methodology.

The list includes hits like Parasite and Avengers: Endgame, showing a mix of genres and commercial successes.

While 2019 had great films, longevity and cultural impact are factors that should be given more weight in determining the best year in movie history.

Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes' publication of its definitive ranking of the 300 "best movies of all time" has thrown up some surprising results, including the revelation that – according to this particular metric – 2019 is the best year in movie history. While the list was intended to focus on the movies themselves, instead of anything more wide-ranging like years or genres, it's still possible to extrapolate some interesting conclusions from the compilation. However, while it's hard to argue that 2019 wasn't an impressive year, there is more to the debate than these results suggest.

As with any attempt to quantify the best movies ever made, Rotten Tomatoes' specific criteria are central to the final list. According to the website, the final 300 are based on a selection of "Certified Fresh" films, which are then subjected to a "recommendation formula, which considers a movie’s Tomatometer rating with assistance from its Audience Score, illuminating beloved sentiment from both sides." This makes the list more nuanced than a ranking of movies based on their critical scores. However, while this process means that universal acclaim isn't the only factor, it does create some problems – typified by the number of 2019 movies included.

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2019 Has The Most Entries On Rotten Tomatoes' Best Movies Of All-Time

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Although there are many ways to assess the best years in movie history, Rotten Tomatoes' methodology has resulted in more movies from 2019 making the final 300 than any other year. In total, 11 2019 films made the cut – putting it comfortably ahead of its nearest competitors (2016 and 2017), both of which have nine films included. Impressively, this means that a little over 3.5% of the whole list is dominated by 2019 movies – a major proportion considering the list includes over a century of cinema. A closer look at the movies included makes it easy to see why they were selected.

2019 Films On Rotten Tomatoes' "Best Movies" List Ranking Movie Rotten Tomatoes Score 5 Parasite 99% 41 Knives Out 97% 43 Toy Story 4 97% 68 Portrait Of A Lady On Fire 97% 133 The Farewell 97% 142 Avengers: Endgame 94% 147 Little Women 95% 160 The Peanut Butter Falcon 95% 164 A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood 95% 192 Marriage Story 95% 202 Ford v Ferrari 92%

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Among the most high-profile movies chosen are the likes of Parasite (which famously became the first foreign-language movie to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards), Little Women (itself nominated for six Oscars), and Avengers: Endgame (at one point the highest-grossing movie of all time and the culmination of over a decade of Marvel movies). This diversity, supplemented by commercial hits like Knives Out and Toy Story 4, as well as more independent features like Portrait of a Lady on Fire, not only makes 2019 one of the most successful years in movie history, but arguably one of the most eclectic.

2019's Best Rotten Tomatoes Movie Record Highlights A Major Flaw In The List

There's no doubt that the movies included on Rotten Tomatoes' list are worthy of recognition. Not only did each film perform well with critics, but they also resonated with audiences, benefitting from positive word-of-mouth among moviegoers. And yet, while this aspect of the "recommendation formula" was essential in establishing the list, it also demonstrates a major problem with the movies selected.

Since viewers are naturally more likely to recommend a movie that they remember seeing in a cinema or dominating the social discourse, it's inevitable that more of them end up being selected.

Because active viewer recommendation forms a key part of choosing the 300 films, there is an inevitable bias towards movies released more recently. Since viewers are naturally more likely to recommend a movie that they remember seeing in a cinema or dominating the social discourse, it's inevitable that more of them end up being selected. While many viewers may recognize Citizen Kane as an all-time great movie, it's impossible to understand the impact it had on contemporary audiences from a distance of 80 years. Therefore, many older movies are underestimated by the Rotten Tomatoes list, skewing its assessment of the best movie year ever.

How 2019 Compares To Other Great Movie Years

Although 2019 boasts some incredible films, it is far from the only great year in cinema history. Even judging on the basis of Rotten Tomatoes' own flawed list, it's clear that there is plenty of competition. From recent memory, both 2016 and 2017 score highly, with each year contributing nine films to the list. Going further back in time, 2015 has eight movies featured, while 2008, 1993, and 1957 all boast seven apiece. While none can match the quantity of 2019, it's clear that there are plenty of other consistent years.

Rotten Tomatoes' Best Movie Years Year Number of Movies 2019 11 2017 9 2016 9 2015 8 2008 7 1993 7 1957 7

Even this assessment, however, ignores the fact that the Rotten Tomatoes' methodology is far from the best way of analysing the best years in film history. For starters, the list was never intended to definitively say which years are the greatest – just assess the merits of individual films. As a result, 2019's supremacy is a by-product rather than a deliberate outcome. After considering all the factors at play, it's clear that there is a real problem with saying for certain that 2019 deserves the top spot.

Why 2019 Is Not The Best Year In Movie History

A key reason why it's impossible to say for certain that 2019 is the best year in movie history is also why it features so prominently on Rotten Tomatoes' list in the first place. While the whole concept of "greatness" is a matter of debate, a major factor in achieving such a term has to be longevity. Just five years on from 2019, it's impossible to say with certainty which films from that year will go on to have a lasting cultural impact, in the way that older movies from Rotten Tomatoes' list clearly have.

While it seems inevitable that films like The Godfather will always rank among the best ever, it's less likely that Knives Out will command the same reverence in the years to come.

While it seems inevitable that films like The Godfather will always rank among the best ever, it's less likely that Knives Out will command the same reverence in the years to come. For this reason, it's reasonable to suggest that older movies that have stood the test of time should carry more weight than those from the recent past since they have both made an impact on contemporary audiences and continued to appeal to later generations. This disparity is something Rotten Tomatoes' "Best Movies" list fails to reflect.

There's also the fact that, in most circles, 2019 doesn't tend to figure in the conversation around great movie years. While every film fan has their own opinion, consensus tends to consolidate around era-defining years like 1939 (The Wizard of Oz, Mr. Smith Goes To Washington, Stagecoach), 1975 (Jaws, Dog Day Afternoon, One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest), and 1999 (The Matrix, Magnolia, Fight Club). While Rotten Tomatoes' choice of 2019 may come to be held in the same regard, it's fair to say that it hasn't reached these heights yet.