No bemoaning the agonies of list-making this year; there are too many good films to celebrate. Fretting about the strictures imposed by lists seems self-indulgent. The lists here – and more online – offer guideposts to lots of excellent viewing.

Apart from Mad Max: Fury Road, the No. 1 film on our combined critics’ Top 10 list, none of the films below are sequels, prequels, reboots, or do-overs. I fear for 2016, however, after Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens raked in a billion dollars in record time. This year’s top 10 domestic box-office earners comprise 35% of all ticket sales, according to Variety. That’s up 10% from last year. Perhaps reflecting the income inequality in U.S. society, the majority of box-office wealth is increasingly concentrated among the top few. What this likely means for the future is fewer original movies and more knockoffs of proven quantities.

So in the meantime, enjoy the still-fresh 2015 crop. The future promises lots of GMOs.

The Austin Chronicle‘s Top 10 Films of 2015

1) Mad Max: Fury Road

2) Son of Saul

3) Spotlight

4) Victoria

5) Inside Out

6) TIE: Carol and The Tribe

8) Phoenix

9) The Diary of a Teenage Girl

10) Chi-Raq

This article appears in 2015.

A note to readers: Bold and uncensored, The Austin Chronicle has been Austin’s independent news source for over 40 years, expressing the community’s political and environmental concerns and supporting its active cultural scene. Now more than ever, we need your support to continue supplying Austin with independent, free press. If real news is important to you, please consider making a donation of $5, $10 or whatever you can afford, to help keep our journalism on stands.

SUPPORT US

Marjorie Baumgarten is a film critic and contributing writer at The Austin Chronicle, where she has worked in many capacities since the paper's founding in 1981. She served as the Chronicle's Film Reviews editor for 25 years.