We’ve once again punched our calculator buttons and lovingly computed for you the fourth-annual Letterboxd Year in Review. It’s a representation of our community’s combined ratings as at January 1, 2016, and we’ve spent the past couple of weeks compiling and fine-tuning the review based on this data. Some rankings may have changed over the intervening period, but we do not adjust the review retrospectively (at the time we published the 2014 review, the highest-rated film had already been replaced by Whiplash based on January ratings, but this is not the case for 2015).
Methodology
We use the same method each year to calculate the results: to be included, films must be feature-length (mini series The Jinx and Making A Murderer both rated extremely well but were excluded for this reason) and must have had at least a limited theatrical run in the US during 2015.
As on the site, we differentiate between popular films (a measure of the amount of activity a film receives regardless of rating) and highly rated films.
Rankings in the “Highest Rated” categories are based on the same weighted average we use on the site (the weighted part refers to a mechanism that ensures a more accurate average rating for films with a low number of ratings). The only section in which the aforementioned release window rule does not apply is “Ones to Watch”, which notes the highest-rated films seen by a smaller number of .
The Review
For 2015 we’ve given the three highest-rated films a page each and added full-screen video backdrops—use a desktop computer for the best experience. But enough with the pleasantries, here it is:
The 2015 Letterboxd Year in Review
On devices with keyboards, we recommend using the up/down arrow keys to navigate between pages. As for previous years, we’ve compiled longer lists for the main categories and published these under the yir2015 tag.
Our thanks and appreciation to the Patron who provided on this year’s review over the past couple of days, and to Mike D’Angelo, whose exhaustive list of NYC theatrical releases proved to be an invaluable resource. Enjoy!
