Back in January, Rolling Stone Australia opened up the polls so you could have your say about the best movies that enthralled you in the last year as we looked to discover Australia’s Favourite Movie of 2021.
Powered by AHEDA, the Australian Home Entertainment Distributors Association, the poll encouraged our readers to look back into their Digital, 4K UHD, Blu-ray and DVD collections to vote for their top three movies of last year.
That was no easy feat as 2021 ended up being an incredibly strong year for movies, despite the difficult impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Put simply, cinema proved to be just as vital and alive as ever before, and there was no shortage of great films premiering, both on the big screen and in homes, in 2021.
This is exactly why Rolling Stone Australia called upon you, the readers, to share your valuable opinions on your favourite movies of the last year and you responded in kind: over 10,000 votes were ultimately processed, leaving us with an incredible list of movies that act as perfect time capsules of the year that was. The polls officially closed on January 25th and over the last week, we’ve been counting down slowly to the winner, beginning with Ridley Scott’s historical epic The Last Duel in 25th place.
Now, the full list can be revealed and it’s perhaps no surprise which movie triumphed: Spider-Man: No Way Home slung its way to the top spot, with Rolling Stone Australia readers backing up the movie’s incredible box office return (it’s currently closing in on Avatar‘s long-standing U.S. domestic box office record).
That was closely followed by fellow MCU tentpole Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings in second place, with the Ryan Reynolds-starring action comedy Free Guy in third. Denis Villeneuve’s latest science fiction epic Dune dominated online discussion in a way few movies have done since the pandemic and that helped it to fourth in our list. Daniel Craig’s epic last outing as James Bond, No Time to Die, rounds out the top five.
You can view the full list of Australia’s Favourite Movies of 2021 here, and find out where you can rent or buy them on Disc or Digital
