2019 was a good year for movies, especially genre fare, which always plays well with fans who love to vote on their favorite films on IMDb. From Marvel movies to Disney live-action films, the Walt Disney Corp dominated fans' hearts in 2019, but there were more to the year's favorites than just flicks from the Mouse House.
A critically acclaimed horror movie, underappreciated horror sequel, and even a rare DC movie made the list of favorite films by filmgoers this year. While many of the year's critically acclaimed award-nominees are not on this list, the more entertaining films of the year made the cut.
Here are the top 10 movies of 2019, according to IMDb. Please note, this list is not based on IMDb's user scores but the actual page views and popularity of the films, which is determined by data provided by IMDbPro.
US
Jordan Peele delivered one of the best original horror movies in years with Get Out in 2017. His follow up would always struggle to match up. However, while Us was not the true masterpiece that his debut horror film was, it was still a wholly original idea and one of the most popular movies of 2019, according to IMDb.
Us told the story of the Wilson, who is on vacation when their doppelgangers show up and try to kill them. The entire attack ties into an incident with the mother, Adelaide, when she was a child, and then the whole world starts to go crazy.
ALADDIN
Disney is still going full force with their live-action remakes, and 2019 saw the arrival of Aladdin. The film had a lot to live up to with the 1992 Disney animated film a beloved classic and Robin Williams masterful as Genie in that film. The new movie replaced Williams with Will Smith as Genie.
IMDb's data shows that Aladdin was among 2019's top movies. While it received lukewarm reviews, there was a lot of love for the technical aspects of the film, from the music and costumes to the set pieces, and Smith was able to make Genie his own while paying homage to Williams' outstanding performance as well.
ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL
Movie audiences seemed to ignore Alita: Battle Angel but those who did go to the theaters to see it loved it. Not only that but like many Robert Rodriguez films, Alita found a lot of success on DVD and digital sales, gaining even more fans. While the film was not a massive success, there are people who are begging for a sequel.
Rodriguez did watch the film bring in over $400 million worldwide, his biggest success, but with producer James Cameron onboard, it was seen as a letdown. That doesn't matter, as it stands as one of the most thrilling movies of 2019.
SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME
There had been six live-action Spider-Man movies and an animated theatrical film, but the popular web-slinging superhero had never seen a film reach the $1 billion mark. That all changed in 2019 when Spider-Man: Far From Home passed that mark to keep the MCU success rate intact.
The fan support helped make it a success, and the fans also might have played a role in Sony and Disney choosing to make a third movie together after publically divorcing following this film's release. The movie had Spider-Man in a European battle with giant monsters while helping a man who claims to have come from a parallel Earth named Mysterio.
THE LION KING
The second Disney live-action remake on this list is The Lion King. However, to be honest, this was not a live-action remake at all, but a movie animated differently. Directed by Jon Favreau, who had previously directed The Jungle Book, this remade the beloved 1994 Disney animated film.
Based on the story of Hamlet, The Lion King had a lion prince go on the run after his uncle kills the King and takes over the Pride Lands himself. It is then up to Simba to become a man and return to save his kingdom. The film made over a billion dollars and IMDb fans loved it.
IT CHAPTER TWO
Based on critical reviews, It Chapter Two was a disappointment compared to the first movie in the series. According to IMDbPro, this sequel garnered a lot of interest in 2019. The child actors that made It Chapter One so great were mostly gone in this film, as it takes place years after the events of the first movie.
However, thanks to some nicely paced flashbacks, the kids returned to remind fans why they were so great. The adults were also solid in their roles, with Jessica Chastain and James McAvoy providing the star power as the once victorious children now face Pennywise one more time.
CAPTAIN MARVEL
When it comes to Captain Marvel, this MCU movie faced an uphill battle. As the film's pre-release marketing brought the project some backlash, Captain Marvel was subject to quite a bit of criticism prior to its debut. This tactic resulted in Rotten Tomatoes changing how people could vote on films.
It didn't matter in the end. All the complaints in the world did nothing to stop Captain Marvel from bringing in over $1.1 billion. The story of a former Air Force pilot who becomes a Kree Warrior and one of the universe's most powerful heroes ranked among the most sought after films of 2019, according to IMDb.
AVENGERS: ENDGAME
It seems like a no-brainer that the most successful action movie of all-time would end up very high on a list of the best of whatever year it came out. The fact that Avengers: Endgame only ranks third is where things get surprising. This was the second part of a story where Thanos wiped out half the universe, and The Avengers fight to bring everything back.
The film earned $2.797 billion worldwide and ended up as the highest-grossing movie of all-time, breaking Avatar's previous record.
ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD
Ranking second on the list of the top films of 2019 is the latest from Quentin Tarantino. The cast, as expected from a Tarantino movie, was uniformly excellent. However, the combination of Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio brought even more viewers than Tarantino's usual audience.
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood took place around the same time that the Charles Manson murders took place, but, like Inglourious Basterds, it was revisionist history and played out well.
JOKER
In a year where three Marvel movies ended up as part of the top 10 films of 2019, according to IMDb, it might be somewhat of a shock to know that a DC movie took the top spot. However, that is what happened. Todd Phillips' Joker finished the year as the number one movie according to IMDb.
Joaquin Phoneix is garnering a lot of awards attention for his portrayal as Joker, and people praise the films look at mental illness and its effects on society when left untreated. The film has its problems, but not enough to sway people from calling it their favorite movie of 2019.