Good films stand the test of time, but in most years, fall releases hog the attention. Not so for 2017: our top five titles all opened before summer’s end, searing themselves on balloters’ brains. And in this list, electric with energy, variety, and invention, our July/August cover film, Good Time , raced to the front. The poll, conducted among the magazine’s contributors and staff, is divided into 1) films that received U.S. theatrical runs and 2) those viewed in 2017 but have no announced plans for U.S. theatrical distribution. For each ballot, a first-place choice was allotted 20 points, 19 for second, and so on.

Readers’ Poll 2017:

Do you like movies and prizes? Enter our Best of 2017 prize drawing by visiting filmcomment.com/survey by February 20, 2018 and send us your ranked list of the year’s 20 best films (plus comments) with your name, address, and phone number. We also want to hear your thoughts about the magazine in our new survey, located on the same form! Prizes include an annual subscription and a signed copy of the magazine (Linklater! Cronenberg! Denis!), and more.

Peruse the poll results of yesteryear.

Listen to our podcast discussing the results.

Don’t see your favorite? Move on to the Best Undistributed Films of 2017 list.

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