Which Movies Lived Up to the Hype in 2020?
Using Ranker voting data, we can tell you how movies in 2020 stacked up to audience expectations.
Photos: Warner Bros., Disney +
2020 was a difficult, bizarre year for pretty much everybody around the world, including the film industry. Big-budget films have had their release dates pushed back again and again, stalled by the conditions created by the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of the movies expected to win Oscar nominations this year haven’t been available to stream for quarantining viewers. All in all, almost nothing about the year could have been anticipated either by filmmakers or movie audiences.
But in spite of this unprecedented situation in which Hollywood now finds itself, plenty of highly-anticipated blockbusters did manage to find large audiences this year. A look at our list of the Most Anticipated Movies of 2020 (voted on by more than 3,000 film fans) features plenty of movies that viewers could stream on services like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Disney+. Our list of the Best Movies of 2020 (which has more than 15,000 votes) shows how those movies actually stacked up to expectations upon their release. 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 December 31st, 2020 — rankings may have shifted since this blog post’s publication.
Which Movies Exceeded Expectations?
Photo: Sony Pictures
Bad Boys for Life
The third installment of the Bad Boys franchise was apparently better than Ranker readers expected it to be. The #29th most anticipated flick ended up cracking the Top 10 movies of the year.
Ranking on “Most Anticipated Movies of 2020”: #29
Ranking on “Best Movies of 2020”: #9
Climbed 20 spots
Photo: Netflix
The Trial of the Chicago 7
Aaron Sorkin’s take on the events that followed the 1968 Democratic Convention was not expected to be a fan favorite. Its #38 position on our Best of 2020 list is more than respectable, especially for a historical melodrama.
Ranking on “Most Anticipated Movies of 2020”: #81
Ranking on “Best Movies of 2020”: #38
Climbed 43 spots
Photo: 20th Century Studios
The Call of the Wild
Call of the Wild was one of the most highly anticipated movies of the year, but it ended up being better received by Ranker voters than anyone could have predicted.
Ranking on “Most Anticipated Movies of 2020”: #21
Ranking on “Best Movies of 2020”: #3
Climbed 18 spots
Photo: Netflix
Extraction
This action movie from Netflix is the #1 movie of the year, beating out highly anticipated blockbusters like Tenet and cementing Chris Hemsworth’s status as an action movie legend.
Ranking on “Most Anticipated Movies of 2020”: #34
Ranking on “Best Movies of 2020”: #1
Climbed 33 spots
Which Movies Fell Short?
Photo: Disney +
Mulan
The premiere of Disney’s live-action Mulan reboot was pushed back by the COVID-19 pandemic in March of this year, and it didn’t become available to stream on Disney+ until September. That wait, plus the $30 fee charged to those hoping to watch it, might have influenced the movie’s underperformance on our Best of 2020 list.
Ranking on “Most Anticipated Movies of 2020”: #8
Ranking on “Best Movies of 2020”: #289
Fell 281 spots
Photo: United Artists
Bill & Ted Face the Music
The Bill & Ted franchise has a respectable position on the Best of 2020 list, but given that it was the #1 most anticipated movie of the year, a #36 ranking just isn’t enough to save it from this year’s loser list.
Ranking on “Most Anticipated Movies of 2020”: #1
Ranking on “Best Movies of 2020”: #36
Fell 35 spots
Photo: Paramount Pictures
Sonic the Hedgehog
Despite the fact that Sonic was one of the few blockbuster movies that managed to premiere before COVID shut down movie theaters everywhere, it didn’t delight enough viewers to keep it anywhere close to the Top 20 of the year.
Ranking on “Most Anticipated Movies of 2020”: #16
Ranking on “Best Movies of 2020”: #49
Fell 33 spots
Photo: Warner Bros.
Tenet
Not even the best efforts of Tom Cruise could prevent this action movie from director Christopher Nolan from dropping out of the Top 20 of 2020.
Ranking on “Most Anticipated Movies of 2020”: #5
Ranking on “Best Movies of 2020”: 25
Fell 20 spots
