TIFF audience favorites: 21 films
Weekly collection in the app for the week of September 11, 2026.
The Toronto International Film Festival's best-known prize is voted by its audience, and the People's Choice Award has become one of the most reliable early signs of an Oscar run. Eighteen of these 21 films won it, from Chariots of Fire in 1981 to Nomadland in 2020; three 2023 favorites, Past Lives, Anatomy of a Fall and The Holdovers, complete the list.
These 21 films ran as the weekly theme in the I Like Movies Discover tab for the week of September 11, 2026, featuring Past Lives and timed for the festival. Seven of the People's Choice winners here went on to win the Oscar for Best Picture.
The collection
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Past Lives 2023 Song Two childhood friends, separated when her family emigrates from Seoul, meet again in New York twenty-four years later, when she is married; Celine Song's debut about the lives we might have lived. Cast: Greta Lee, Teo Yoo, John Magaro -
Slumdog Millionaire 2008 Boyle A young man from the Mumbai slums, one question away from winning India's Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, is accused of cheating, and each answer flashes back to how he learned it; winner of eight Oscars including Best Picture. Cast: Dev Patel, Freida Pinto, Madhur Mittal -
The King's Speech 2010 Hooper The future King George VI works with an unconventional Australian speech therapist to master his stammer as Britain heads toward war; Colin Firth won Best Actor and the film won Best Picture. Cast: Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, Helena Bonham Carter -
12 Years a Slave 2013 McQueen Solomon Northup, a free Black man from New York, is kidnapped in 1841 and sold into slavery in Louisiana; Steve McQueen's film of Northup's memoir won Best Picture. Cast: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Lupita Nyong'o -
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri 2017 McDonagh A mother rents three billboards outside her small town to call out the police chief over her daughter's unsolved murder, and the town turns against her; Frances McDormand won Best Actress. Cast: Frances McDormand, Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell -
Green Book 2018 Farrelly In 1962 a Bronx bouncer is hired to drive the Black classical pianist Don Shirley on a concert tour through the segregated South, guided by the Green Book travel guide; winner of Best Picture. Cast: Viggo Mortensen, Mahershala Ali, Linda Cardellini -
Jojo Rabbit 2019 Waititi A lonely boy in the Hitler Youth, whose imaginary friend is a buffoonish Adolf Hitler, discovers his mother is hiding a Jewish girl in their home; Taika Waititi's satire won the Oscar for Adapted Screenplay. Cast: Roman Griffin Davis, Thomasin McKenzie, Scarlett Johansson -
Nomadland 2020 Zhao After losing her job and her husband, a woman in her sixties takes to the road in a van, working seasonal jobs across the American West among real-life nomads; Chloé Zhao won Best Director and the film Best Picture. Cast: Frances McDormand, David Strathairn, Linda May -
Chariots of Fire 1981 Hudson Two British runners, a devout Scottish missionary and a Jewish Cambridge student driven to beat prejudice, compete at the 1924 Paris Olympics; Vangelis's synthesizer score became one of the most famous film themes. Cast: Ben Cross, Ian Charleson, Cheryl Campbell -
The Princess Bride 1987 Reiner A grandfather reads his sick grandson the story of a farm boy turned pirate who must rescue his true love from an evil prince, with sword fights, a giant and a six-fingered man along the way; Rob Reiner's fairy-tale comedy. Cast: Cary Elwes, Robin Wright, Mandy Patinkin -
Anatomy of a Fall 2023 Triet When a writer's husband is found dead below their chalet in the French Alps, she is put on trial and their visually impaired son becomes the key witness; Justine Triet's courtroom drama won the Palme d'Or. Cast: Sandra Hüller, Swann Arlaud, Milo Machado-Graner -
Hotel Rwanda 2004 George During the 1994 Rwandan genocide, a hotel manager in Kigali shelters more than a thousand refugees inside his hotel; Don Cheadle as Paul Rusesabagina. Cast: Don Cheadle, Sophie Okonedo, Nick Nolte -
The Holdovers 2023 Payne Over Christmas 1970 at a New England boarding school, a cranky classics teacher is stuck minding a student with nowhere to go, alongside the school's grieving head cook; Da'Vine Joy Randolph won Best Supporting Actress. Cast: Paul Giamatti, Dominic Sessa, Da'Vine Joy Randolph -
Silver Linings Playbook 2012 Russell A former teacher out of a psychiatric hospital moves back in with his parents and strikes a deal with a young widow: she helps him reach his estranged wife if he partners her in a dance competition; Jennifer Lawrence won Best Actress. Cast: Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro -
Precious 2009 Daniels In 1987 Harlem, a pregnant, illiterate teenager abused by her mother gets a chance at an alternative school; Mo'Nique won Best Supporting Actress. Cast: Gabourey Sidibe, Mo'Nique, Paula Patton -
The Imitation Game 2014 Tyldum Mathematician Alan Turing leads the wartime team at Bletchley Park trying to break Germany's Enigma code while hiding that he is gay; Benedict Cumberbatch in a film that won the Oscar for Adapted Screenplay. Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode -
Room 2015 Abrahamson A five-year-old boy has spent his whole life in one locked shed with his mother, held captive by her kidnapper, until she plans their escape; Brie Larson won Best Actress. Cast: Brie Larson, Jacob Tremblay, Joan Allen -
Where Do We Go Now? 2011 Labaki In an isolated Lebanese village, Christian and Muslim women scheme to keep their husbands and sons from fighting each other as sectarian violence flares nearby; Nadine Labaki's comedy-drama, with songs. Cast: Claude Msawbaa, Leyla Hakim, Nadine Labaki -
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon 2000 Ang Lee A legendary sword is stolen in Qing-dynasty China, and two warriors who have never declared their love track the young noblewoman behind the theft; Ang Lee's martial-arts film won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. Cast: Chow Yun-Fat, Michelle Yeoh, Zhang Ziyi -
Life Is Beautiful 1998 Benigni A Jewish bookseller in 1930s Italy uses his imagination to shield his young son from the horror of a Nazi concentration camp, convincing him it is all a game; Roberto Benigni won Best Actor. Cast: Roberto Benigni, Nicoletta Braschi, Giorgio Cantarini -
American Beauty 1999 Mendes A suburban father in a midlife crisis quits his job, takes up weightlifting and becomes infatuated with his daughter's friend while his family comes apart; Sam Mendes's debut won Best Picture. Cast: Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening, Thora Birch
Keep your place
Festival favorites pile up fast on a watchlist. Save this collection in I Like Movies, mark each film as you see it, and rate it so the app learns which kind of prestige film actually works for you. A new themed collection arrives in the Discover tab every Friday.
Questions people ask
What is the TIFF People's Choice Award?
It is the Toronto International Film Festival's best-known prize, chosen by audience vote. Because the festival runs in September, just as awards season starts, its winner is often an early Oscar contender: Slumdog Millionaire, The King's Speech, 12 Years a Slave, Green Book and Nomadland all won it before winning Best Picture.
Which TIFF People's Choice winners won Best Picture?
Among the films here, seven: Chariots of Fire, American Beauty, Slumdog Millionaire, The King's Speech, 12 Years a Slave, Green Book and Nomadland.
The week before: Movie musicals: 21 essential films. The week after: Latin American cinema: 21 essential films. See every weekly theme, or browse every guide, watch order and comparison.