As much as theaters are humming right now, with “Wicked” and “Moana 2" bringing moviegoers by the droves, it's been a fairly bruising movie year. In between the blockbusters, though, the challenge of not just capturing the attention of audiences but of simply getting to the screen feels more perilous than ever.

From body-horror satires to sci-fi blockbusters, animated buddy dramedies to a force of nature named Anora — these were the films that made our year.