Arrival poster

Arrival

Ride or Die Struggles in semis, clutch in finals
2016 · Drama, Science Fiction, Mystery · Denis Villeneuve

Arrival looks beatable until it isn't. The semi-final struggles drag the 58% overall rate down — but final-round performance tells a different story. A first-contact film built to work on a delay, its early scenes quietly rearranged by what the alien language turns out to mean. That structure gives it a second life after the credits that most opponents, spent in a single sitting, simply don't have.

Synopsis

Taking place after alien crafts land around the world, an expert linguist is recruited by the military to determine whether they come in peace or are a threat.

Round 1
75%
Where it thrives
Semifinals
33.8%
The ceiling
Finals
63.7%
232/364

The semifinals at 34% are where casual support gets tested — and mostly fails. But the final at 64% is a different story: the voters still choosing Arrival at that stage are the ones who mean it.

At 53%, the matchup with Incendies is the tightest in Arrival's record — close enough to go either way. Arrival owns Prisoners at 75% but Dune: Part Two flips the script entirely: just 32%.

Closest Rival
Dominates
Dune
71.9%
Kryptonite

Best of Denis Villeneuve: Arrival clears Prisoners in the opening round and dispatches Dune at 72% in the final. A convincing start-to-finish run.

Arrival is one of Denis Villeneuve's strongest bracket performers — #3 of 8, trailing only Dune: Part Two (77%).

Dune 65.4%
Sicario 38.7%
Prisoners 26.8%
Incendies 15.8%
Enemy 5.4%
BingeBracket Record
58%
Win Rate
#17 of 104 in Drama #10 of 54 from the 2010s #3 of 8 Denis Villeneuve films
Scores based on real fan votes in head-to-head brackets. 50% = wins as often as it loses — perfectly average.
Featured Tournament

#3 of 8 in Best of Denis Villeneuve.

Think it deserves the gold? Cast your vote now.

Dune: Part Two #1
Dune #2
Arrival #3
Blade Runner 2049 #4
Sicario #5
Prisoners #6
Incendies #7
Enemy #8
Vote Now
About These Rankings

BingeBracket ranks films through head-to-head matchups in 8-film brackets — no star ratings, no reviews, just direct comparison. Browse tournaments, try Discovery mode, or explore the leaderboards. You can also .

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