I collected nearly 30 ‘best films of the year’ lists at the end of 2012 and compiled them all into one large list.  The results are below – every film on at least two of the original source lists.  The numbers in bold indicate the number of lists that contained that particular movie.  For films I’ve seen, I’ve added my personal rating on a 1-10 scale.

On 27 “Best Films of 2012” Lists
Zero Dark Thirty – Kathryn Bigelow (6/10)

On 25 Lists
Amour – Michael Haneke (9/10)

24
The Master – Paul Thomas Anderson (8/10)
Moonrise Kingdom – Wes Anderson (10/10)

20
Beasts of the Southern Wild – Benh Zeitlin (9/10)
Holy Motors – Leos Carax
Lincoln – Steven Spielberg (6/10)

14
Argo – Ben Affleck (8/10)

13
This Is Not a Film – Jafar Panahi (7/10)

10
The Deep Blue Sea – Terence Davies
Django Unchained – Quentin Tarantino
Silver Linings Playbook – David O. Russell (8/10)

9
Once Upon a Time in Anatolia – Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Magic Mike – Steven Soderbergh

8
The Dark Knight Rises – Christopher Nolan
The Turin Horse – Bela Tarr
Oslo, August 31st – Joachim Trier
Tabu – Miguel Gomes

7
Bernie – Richard Linklater (8/10)
The Gatekeepers – Dror Moreh
Rust and Bone – Jacques Auidard

6
How to Survive a Plague – David France (7/10)
Cosmopolis – David Cronenberg
Life of Pi – Ang Lee

5
Middle of Nowhere – Ava DuVernay
Skyfall – Sam Mendes
Killer Joe – William Friedkin
Anna Karenina – Joe Wright (7/10)

4
Almayer’s Folly – Chantal Akerman
Alps – Giorgos Lanthimos
The Comedy – Rick Alverson
Flight – Robert Zemeckis
Looper – Rian Johnson
The Grey – Joe Carnahan
Searching for Sugar Man – Malik Bendjelloul
The Loneliest Planet – Julia Loktev (8/10)
Barbara – Christian Petzold (9/10)

3
Footnote – Joseph Cedar (7/10)
The Cabin in the Woods – Drew Goddard
Pitch Perfect – Jason Moore
The Kid with a Bike – Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne (9/10)
Girl Walk / All Day – Jacob Krupnick
Starlet – Sean S. Baker
21 Jump Street – Phil Lord & Chris Miller
The Queen of Versailles – Lauren Greenfield
Haywire – Steven Soderbergh
Margaret – Kenneth Lonergan
Frankenweenie – Tim Burton
Killing Them Softly – Andrew Dominik
The Color Wheel – Alex Ross Perry
The Sessions – Ben Lewin (7/10)
The Perks of Being a Wallflower – Stephen Chbosky (7/10)
Take This Waltz – Sarah Polley (8/10)
Wuthering Heights – Andrea Arnold
Keep the Lights On – Ira Sachs

2
Monsieur Lazhar – Philippe Falardeau (7/10)
Beyond the Hills – Cristian Mungiu
The Avengers – Joss Whedon
The Amazing Spider-Man  – Marc Webb
Les Misérables – Tom Hooper (6/10)
Goodbye First Love – Mia Hansen-Løve
August and After – Nathaniel Dorsky
View from the Acropolis – Lonnie van Brummelen and Siebren de Haan
Damsels in Distress – Whit Stillman
The Invisible War – Kirby Dick
Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry – Alison Klayman (7/10)
Like Someone in Love – Abbas Kiarostami
Something in the Air – Olivier Assayas
Jeff, Who Lives at Home – Jay & Mark Duplass
The Imposter – Bart Layton
This is 40 – Judd Apatow
Chronicle – Josh Trank
Dark Horse – Todd Solondz
Neighboring Sounds – Kleber Mendonça Filho
Wreck-it Ralph – Rich Moore
Whores’ Glory – Michael Glawogger
Not Fade Away – David Chase
Bachelorette – Leslye Headland
Safety Not Guaranteed – Colin Trevorrow (8/10)
Marina Abramović: The Artist Is Present – Matthew Akers (8/10)
The Central Park Five – Ken Burns & Sarah Burns
The House I Live In – Eugene Jarecki
Elena – Andrey Zvyagintsev
Miss Bala – Gerardo Naranjo
Sister – Ursula Meier