The sands of time may be ever-changing, but for the second year in a row it’s a part deux that sits atop the Letterboxd narrative feature charts at the midway point of the year. Following in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’s blockbusting 2023 footsteps, Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi epic Dune: Part Two arrived in February this year to stake its place on the leaderboard—and hasn’t wavered since. In fact, when looking at the current highest-rated films of all time, spicy beats Spidey (Paul Atreides and company are in 24th place, while Miles Morales and his Spider-punks are 30th).

Could this be the third straight year where our midway number one is a sci-fi extravaganza that takes it all the way to the end of Paul Charman have anything to say about it, Dune: Part Two’s got the goods all the way. Having logged the film a whopping 34 times already, Paul declares, “We have reached the pinnacle of cinema. It’s all downhill from here. At least, until Dune: Messiah.”

But there are Hundreds of Beavers hot on the sandworms’ tails. Self-released by director Mike Cheslik and team, the low-budget ($150,000, compared to Dune’s $190 million) black-and-white silent comedy has recently climbed to a 4.2 average rating out of five—an occasion to break out the applejack. “We made this movie over four years with a lot of blood, sweat and frostbite,” say Team Beavers. “We are still pinching ourselves that our little indie made in Wisconsin is getting this much love and we promise we’ll keep working hard to make more.” In celebration, the filmmakers have shared an exclusive behind-the-scenes breakdown of their special effects process.

Sometimes when playing doubles, your best partner is… well, yourself, as Zendaya proves by following up Dune with a volley that serves her amorous Challengers right into the number four slot. Like her second run as Chani, Challengers made quick work of landing in Letterboxd’s One Million Watched Club, thanks to the enthusiasm of such as Jay, who saw Luca Guadagnino’s sexy tennis shenanigans 25 times in theaters alone. The Reznor/Ross score just bopped harder than anything on the big screen. If you’re taking a break between sets with Challengers’ thirsty throuple, check out some complementary features in Dylan’s list, Two Gay Guys and a Bad Bitch.

Speaking of things that play best when you see them large and loud, RRR took international appeal all the way to the Oscars a couple years back, but Indian cinema has always been much loved by the Letterboxd community. We’re seeing that more than ever this year, as the midway selection highlights a record-breaking seven Indian features (compared to two in 2023, and three in 2022).

The top 25 inevitably has some late-breakers nudging their way in. Animation got a boost thanks to the efforts of Ultraman: Rising (streaming on Netflix now) and Inside Out 2 (storming across theaters worldwide to boffo box-office). Outside of a last-minute entrance from ’s The Count of Monte-Cristo, there’s an unusually low European turnout in the top 25 compared to previous years. This has opened the doors for a broader representation across continents, with films from Thailand, Australia, Georgia, Japan and the Philippines all taking the spotlight alongside the US and India.

Pat Boonnitipat’s debut feature How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies has gone as far as to nestle itself right between those Beavers and Challengers as our third highest-rated film. It’s the story of a grandson (heartthrob Putthipong Assaratanakul, going full dork) looking for an easy inheritance, who instead finds something far more meaningful. And it should come with a warning for those who have official business pending. “The next day I had to take a pic for my port but I cried too much the day before so my eyes were super tiny in the photo and now it doesn’t look like me,” Nita happily complains.

Boonnitipat was elated at the news of his film’s high placing, telling us: “It’s far beyond my expectation. As a filmmaker and also as a cinephile, growing up I always liked to watch movies from smaller countries and smaller film industries. It gave the feeling that everything is so new and so fresh.” Encouraging more Letterboxders to check out Millions, he adds, “It might have some unusual taste, but I hope you like it.” (Also, call your grandma.)

Always on the mark, Film at Lincoln Center’s New York Asian Film Festival has programmed Millions in its 23rd edition, taking place in NYC this month. Also in the fest is the Tagalog-language, animated sci-fi treasure The Missing, which is number 22 on our halfway list. Director Carl Joseph E. Papa tells us, “It’s crazy to hear that! But I was thankful for all those people who have seen it. One of the goals when we created the film was to have it seen with the hopes of possibly encouraging people to speak up and tell their truths. So people reacting positively to the film—I hope it means that it’s resonating with them and I hope that they carry the message of hope and love with them.”

The Missing is one of two films featuring Dolly de Leon, who also plays a key role in bringing Ghostlight’s lead character, Dan, back from the brink of despair via an age-inappropriate staging of Romeo and Juliet. Leaping into sixth place out of nowhere, Ghostlight comes from Saint s filmmaker-partners Alex Thompson and Kelly O’Sullivan, and though it beats with the same indie heart, Letterboxd reactions suggest the film and its real-life acting family, the Mallen-Kupferers, will be in the awards conversation. (Not to mention perhaps drive a few more people into the craft. As Jared writes: “Goddamn I love Shakespeare. This made me wanna a community theater.”)

Beyond the narrative

The highest-rated documentary of the year is Bray Wyatt: Becoming Immortal, a heartfelt profile of the late wrestler Windham Rotunda, an instantly iconic heel who ed away much too soon last August at the age of 36. Close behind is Butterfly in the Sky, a tear-jerking of LeVar Burton’s educational series Reading Rainbow. Lucky Letterboxd who attended Tribeca Film Festival all the way back in 2022 (where we first spotlighted it) got an early look at this one that’s finally arrived on Netflix and it’s even nabbed a spot on our all-time top docs list! One to keep an eye out for during the rest of the year is Daughters, which has been surging since its premiere at Sundance this year and will be releasing on Netflix in August.

While Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s chilling new terror (especially for anyone with tinnitus!) Chime is just long enough at 45 minutes to squeak into our features list, the highest-rated short film is Snoopy Presents: Welcome Home, Franklin. It’s on the longer end of the short spectrum at 40 minutes total. Released on Apple TV+ for Black History Month, the film focuses on Franklin, the first Black character in Charles M. Schulz’ beloved cartoon who was introduced way back in 1968.

Our highest-rated narrative miniseries is also animated and not much longer: Émile Tronche’s French-language Samuel, a black-and-white scribbly peek into the diary of its titular ten-year-old. Spreading its 84 minutes across 21 episodes, Samuel is designed to reach its young target audience through platforms like TikTok in bite-sized chunks. Quibi could never.

For the top documentary miniseries, Letterboxd member Lance Oppenheim reins supreme with his three-part HBO series Ren Faire. With a track record including horny seniors at a Florida retirement village, and the back-door sperm economy, Oppenheim’s newest doc series charts the dramatic power struggle that ensues after the king of America’s largest renaissance festival announces his retirement.

A firm member of this community, Oppenheim says, “I just wanna say thank you to every single person who has watched Ren Faire, who has logged it… Even those who didn’t like it and gave it a one-star, I appreciate it. That’s a big deal to me and every single person who worked on it. The people that are in it actually read Letterboxd reviews, which may or may not be good for them. I tell them not to do so, but sometimes it gets the best of me, too. What are ya gonna do? That’s life!”

YouTuber Conner O’Malley beats Jacqueline Novak and Alex Edelman to the punch for the year’s highest-rated comedy special so far by self-releasing his Stand Up Solutions directly to his fans—a high concept set that sees O’Malley in character as Richard Eagleton equipped with a PowerPoint presentation. Of course, the highest-rated anything on Letterboxd so far this year is a concert film, a recurring trend. The battle right now is between Kendrick Lamar’s The Pop Out—recorded for Juneteenth and famously concluding with Lamar’s new diss track ‘Not Like Us’ five times in a row—versus Madonna’s proof that she still has Brazil in the palm of her hand with The Celebration Tour in Rio.

Topping the music documentaries, fresh from theaters and now streaming on Prime, is I Am: Celine Dion, which takes fans behind the scenes of the ‘My Heart Will Go On’ singer’s recent struggle with stiff-person syndrome. That doc narrowly edged out the superstar-studded The Greatest Night in Pop, which documents the legendary recording of the 1985 charity single ‘We Are the World’, including footage of poor sweet Bob Dylan lost in a sea of extroverts.

Bubbling under

Films are eligible for our halfway top 25 if they have a minimum of 2,000 ratings, had a first national release (anywhere) between January 1 and June 30, 2024 and had at least a limited theatrical, streaming or video-on-demand run this year. These guidelines mean there are many more films worth your time that haven’t yet made it into the top 25, and it’s worth getting some of those onto your watchlists.

Among the titles rated high enough but without quite enough ratings to make the cut, we’ve got Dying, a three-hour German feature which picked up the Best Screenplay Silver Bear prize at this year’s Berlinale. There’s also Tatami, co-directed by Shayda and Holy Spider actress Zar Amir Ebrahami. Her debut behind the camera, Ebrahami also stars as Maryam, an Iranian judo coach bringing star athlete Leila (Arienne Mandi) to the Judo World Championships, where they’re faced with an impossible ultimatum.

Some unseen titles we’ve got our eyes peeled wide for include Robert Eggers’ long-awaited take on most anticipated films by Letterboxd . There’s also Nightbitch, which teams up director Marielle Heller (Can You Ever Forgive Me?, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood) with star Amy Adams for the story of a woman who believes she is turning into a dog. Could this be the one that finally six-time nominee Adams her first Oscar gold? Heller’s got a good track record.

Luca Guadagnino worshippers who were dismayed at having to wait for the strike-delayed release of Challengers will be happy to know that means we’re expecting two Guadagninos in one year. Queer is heavily rumored for a Venice debut, with the director and Challengers scribe Justin Kuritzkes linking back up for this story of an insecure man, played by Daniel Craig, dealing with heroin withdrawal. Speaking of Brits, Steve McQueen is back in narrative-theatrical form with Blitz, starring Saoirse Ronan. (Watch out Amy Adams, another oft-nominated actress is in the running!)

Of course, all roads at Letterboxd inevitably lead back to our beloved Peruvian bear. We’ve waited, and waited, and waited, and we will wait some more. At least a trailer has arrived. It’s real, folks. Paddington in Peru is not far away, and while its staggered release means some territories won’t be getting to see our furry bestie up to his ol’ shenanigans until 2025, there will be more than enough ratings to assess the Paddington power by the time our Year in Review hits in January. Is the marmalade muncher the only one who can potentially stand up to the might of the Bene Gesserit? Time will tell.

Bringing it all back to the people whose activity surfaces all these movies—you!—we’ll let Lance Oppenheim have the last words: “Thank you to Letterboxd for creating such a great community for everyone. I feel like it’s weird, the internet now. A lot of things are decentralized and yet Letterboxd, the community, is so strong and rich and there’s so many interesting people writing so many interesting things—not just on Ren Faire but on a lot of other movies, like Vanilla Sky, which is my favorite movie of all time. Look at Vadim Rizov’s review. Great review, great movie.”