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25 Best Underrated Movies of the 2010s
Phenomenal films that slipped through the cracks.
Updated March 23, 2026 · ThumbScore Editorial
The 2010s were packed with incredible movies that never got the attention they deserved. While franchises dominated the box office, these 25 films quietly earned some of the highest audience approval ratings of the decade. If you missed any of them, now's the time to catch up.
1Sing Street (2016)A teenager in 1980s Dublin starts a band to impress a girl
2The Nice Guys (2016)Shane Black's hilarious 1970s LA detective buddy comedy
3Nightcrawler (2014)Jake Gyllenhaal is terrifyingly great as a crime videographer
4Wind River (2017)A chilling murder mystery on a Wyoming reservation
5Prisoners (2013)Denis Villeneuve's gripping kidnapping thriller
6Upgrade (2018)Low-budget sci-fi action with one of the best twist endings
7The Guest (2014)Dan Stevens is magnetic in this stylish action-thriller
8Good Time (2017)Robert Pattinson's electrifying one-night crime odyssey
9Bone Tomahawk (2015)A Western-horror hybrid that's not for the faint of heart
11Green Room (2015)A punk band trapped in a neo-Nazi compound — pure tension
12Coherence (2013)A micro-budget sci-fi mind-bender about a dinner party gone wrong
13The Invitation (2015)Slow-burn thriller where a dinner party feels deeply off
14The Handmaiden (2016)Park Chan-wook's gorgeous, twisting erotic thriller
15Blindspotting (2018)A raw, powerful look at race and gentrification in Oakland
18Paddington 2 (2017)One of the most purely delightful sequels ever made
19Edge of Tomorrow (2014)Groundhog Day meets alien invasion — endlessly rewatchable
20Annihilation (2018)Alex Garland's haunting, surreal sci-fi expedition
21Swiss Army Man (2016)The farting corpse movie that's secretly profound
24First Reformed (2017)Ethan Hawke's devastating performance as a pastor in crisis
25Eighth Grade (2018)Bo Burnham captures the anxiety of growing up online
Why These Movies Deserve a Second Look
Every film on this list earned strong audience approval but underperformed at the box office or flew under the mainstream radar. Whether they were buried by poor marketing, limited releases, or just bad timing, these are the movies people rave about once they finally discover them.
From micro-budget sci-fi like Coherence to Taika Waititi's pre-fame gem Hunt for the Wilderpeople, the 2010s were a goldmine for anyone willing to look beyond the blockbusters.
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