6 Best AFI Movie of the Year Selections

By Vlad Zakh · April 3, 2026

The American Film Institute’s yearly list of the best movies has been a good early sign of which films will last. This selection runs from Argo and 12 Years a Slave to Spotlight, Green Book, Nomadland and Oppenheimer, more than a decade of serious American filmmaking in six titles. Oppenheimer leads, tracing the physicist behind the atomic bomb as he reckons with what he built.

Oppenheimer (2023)

IMDb ★ 8.2 RT 93% Metacritic 90

The physicist behind the atomic bomb grapples with the moral weight of his creation.

Directed by Christopher Nolan · 3h 01m · Rated R

Won 7 Oscars370 wins & 378 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: Peacock Premium, YouTube TV, Peacock Premium Plus · Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Nomadland (2020)

TMDB ★ 7.3

A woman embraces a nomadic life on the road after losing everything in the Great Recession.

Directed by Chloé Zhao · 1h 48m · Rated R

Where to watch

Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Green Book (2018)

IMDb ★ 8.2 RT 77% Metacritic 69

A Black pianist and his working-class white driver tour the segregated Deep South together.

Directed by Peter Farrelly · 2h 10m · Rated PG-13

Won 3 Oscars58 wins & 125 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads · Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, FlixFling · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Spotlight (2015)

IMDb ★ 8.1 RT 97% Metacritic 93

A team of investigative journalists exposes decades of institutional cover-up within the Catholic Church.

Directed by Tom McCarthy · 2h 09m · Rated R

Won 2 Oscars124 wins & 146 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: fuboTV · Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, FlixFling · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

12 Years a Slave (2013)

IMDb ★ 8.1 RT 95% Metacritic 96

A free Black man is kidnapped and sold into slavery in the pre-Civil War South.

Directed by Steve McQueen · 2h 14m · Rated R

Won 3 Oscars244 wins & 338 nominations

Where to watch

Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Argo (2012)

TMDB ★ 7.7

A fake movie production is used as cover to smuggle six Americans out of revolutionary Iran.

Directed by Ben Affleck · 2h 00m · Rated R

Where to watch

Stream: fuboTV, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential, Paramount+ Amazon Channel, Paramount+ Roku Premium Channel · Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Streaming availability data from JustWatch, via TMDB. Availability changes often, so check the service before you plan a movie night.

Vlad Zakh

Founder, Movieix

Founder of Movieix. He started the site because most recommendation pages felt like noise. Here, lists are sorted by who's in the film, where it's from and what mood you're in tonight.

6 Best AFI Movie of the Year Selections

Oppenheimer (2023)

Nomadland (2020)

Green Book (2018)

Spotlight (2015)

12 Years a Slave (2013)

Argo (2012)

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