Which Movies Lived Up to the Hype in 2021?

Using Ranker voting data, we can tell you how movies in 2021 stacked up to audience expectations.

The movie industry never took a break throughout 2020, but it certainly struggled to find its footing as the COVID-19 pandemic made theater attendance an impossibility. Things slowly began returning to normal in 2021, with many of the year’s biggest films released exclusively in theaters. Hollywood’s hype machine is still adjusting to a world that still can’t decide if it wants to see films in theaters or at home. Which films did it successfully sell to audiences this year, which ones did it overhype, and which ones were far better than their marketing campaigns would have indicated?

We can examine the difference between marketing fantasy and cold, hard reality by examining the results of two key Ranker lists. A look at our list of The Most Anticipated Movies Of 2021 (21K votes) features the films audiences were most excited for before their release, while our list of the The Best Movies Of 2021 (11K votes) shows which of those films were actually favored by the people who saw them. By comparing the results of both lists, we can find out which movies lived up to the hype this year — and which ones ended up falling short.

These rankings were tallied on November 30, 2021 — rankings may have shifted since this blog post’s publication.

Which Movies Exceeded Expectations?

Free Guy

Ryan Reynolds’ action comedy about a non-playable character inside a video game was a surprise hit among Ranker voters. The movie shot up 31 places to become the #2 movie of 2021 so far, and did so despite initially being released exclusively in theaters. It’s also high on lists that go beyond the last year, ranking at #7 on The Best New Comedies Of The Last Few Years and #19 on The Best New Action Movies Of The Last Few Years.

• Ranking on “Most Anticipated Movies of 2021”: #33

• Ranking on “Best Movies of 2021”: #2

• Climbed 31 spots

The Green Knight

This genre-bending movie about a knight’s quest to find his destiny won positive reviews from critics and exceeded the expectations of Ranker voters, allowing it to crack the Top 25. The Green Knight had only 35% upvotes on the most anticipated films list, but got an impressive 58% upvotes on the list of overall best movies this year. The movie’s success earned it a spot on our list of The Biggest Pop Culture Surprises Of 2021, though at #19 out of 24, not everyone was caught off guard.

• Ranking on “Most Anticipated Movies of 2021”: #60

• Ranking on “Best Movies of 2021”: #15

• Climbed 45 spots

Cruella

This Disney origin story may not have blown away the critics, but according to our calculations, it ended up impressing audiences anyway. Cruella was in this year’s Top 10, as far as Ranker voters are concerned. Unlike the other high performers mentioned thus far, Cruella was released both in theaters and via streaming on-demand. Despite all this, Cruella is far from a favorite among Disney fans: the movie is in the bottom half of The Best Disney Live-Action Remakes Of The Last Few Years, Ranked, a list where it has more downvotes than upvotes.

• Ranking on “Most Anticipated Movies of 2021”: #36

• Ranking on “Best Movies of 2021”: #6

• Climbed 30 spots

The Mitchells vs. the Machines

Netflix’s animated comedy hadn’t built up much buzz ahead of its release, but once people started seeing it, word apparently traveled fast. The Mitchells vs. the Machines jumped a total of 41 spots from one list to the other, more than any movie was able to accomplish this year. Not only that, it’s also ranked #25 on The Best New Kids’ Movies Of The Last Few Years.

• Ranking on “Most Anticipated Movies of 2021”: #53

• Ranking on “Best Movies of 2021”: #12

• Climbed 41 spots

Which Movies Fell Short?

Eternals

While the movie is still relatively new and will likely climb a few more spots on The Best Movies Of 2021 list before January 2022, it’s hard to ignore the numbers here: Eternals didn’t live up to its high expectations. That goes for Marvel fans as well as the general movie-viewing public: Eternals is ranked #25 out of 28 on The Best Movies In The Marvel Cinematic Universe, Ranked. Unlike other Marvel movies such as Black Widow, Eternals has so far been released exclusively in theaters.

• Ranking on “Most Anticipated Movies of 2021”: #12

• Ranking on “Best Movies of 2021”: #106

• Fell 94 spots

Black Widow

Again, the MCU’s Phase 4 failed to deliver for fans in 2021 (with the exception of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, which is currently #1 on The Best Movies Of 2021). That’s not to say people hated Black Widow: 52% of the votes for it on our Best Movies list are upvotes. Still, when you consider the overwhelming 73% positive rating it got on our Most Anticipated list, you understand why this still positively received movie should be considered a disappointment.

• Ranking on “Most Anticipated Movies of 2021”: #3

• Ranking on “Best Movies of 2021”: #47

• Fell 44 spots

Fast & Furious 9

Is the greater viewing public finally tired of Fast & Furious movies? Ranker voters seem to think so: the movie is near rock bottom on our list of Movies That Need Sequels. Helen Mirren wasn’t able to stop the latest installment in this franchise from falling hundreds of spots from one list to the other, sitting closer to the bottom of The Best Movies of 2021 list than the top.

• Ranking on “Most Anticipated Movies of 2021”: #20

• Ranking on “Best Movies of 2021”: #344

• Fell 324 spots

Candyman

This reboot of a horror classic did well for itself financially in August, succeeding in a month that is notoriously harsh at the box office. But despite premiering at #1 in theaters, it currently sits at #334 on our list of The Best Movies Of 2021.

• Ranking on “Most Anticipated Movies of 2021”: #16

• Ranking on “Best Movies of 2021”: 334

• Fell 318 spots

For years now, Hollywood has relied on the assumption that huge franchises and A-list stars are bound to win over moviegoers, but these results suggest that strategy may be running out of gas. For example, Fast & Furious 9 brought plenty of popular stars to a beloved film series, but none of that translated into positive engagement from Ranker voters. Black Widow was an even more sharp example of this phenomenon, given how dedicated fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe tend to be. Meanwhile, movies that got middling or negative rankings on our Most Anticipated list like The Green Knight and Free Guy managed to surprise audiences without the help of hugely popular intellectual property.

That’s not to say that blockbuster franchises are no longer profitable, of course. But it could be a sign of fatigue among film audiences: how often will people pay to see overhyped movies that fail to deliver? Only time will tell, but if this trend holds up, Hollywood’s output in the coming years could start to get a lot less predictable.

These stories are crafted using Ranker Insights, which takes over one billion votes cast on Ranker.com and converts them into actionable psychographics about pop culture fans across the world. To learn more about how our Ranker Insights can be customized to serve your business needs, visit insights.ranker.com, or email us at insights@ranker.com.

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