With the Academy Awards just weeks away, it’s time to list my top 10 films of the year. Some didn’t do that well during their theatrical run, but financial success isn’t always an indication of quality. Case in point? “Transformers” grossed more than $300 million. Last year saw a record box-office performance of close to $10 million.

The Top Ten

10. “Stardust”

This adult fairy tale starring Claire Danes was a welcome late-summer surprise. The film’s plot – involving flying ships, falling stars and evil witches – is pretty detailed for a special-effects-heavy movie. But director Matthew Vaughn holds it all together, and Robert De Niro’s small part elevates the movie to an entirely new level. “Stardust” was a box-office disappointment but garnered favorable reviews and has done well on DVD.

9. “Grindhouse”

Directors Robert Rodriguez (“Desperado,” “From Dusk Till Dawn”) and Quentin Tarantino’s (“Pulp Fiction,” “Kill Bill Vol. 1 and Vol. 2”) dream project – filming two 90-minute movies and releasing them in a back-to-back package called “Grind house” – ended up bombing at the box office. Blame the marketing, because the process itself yielded a decent product. If there was any fault, it was making Rodriguez’s action-packed “Planet Terror” the first film in the one-two combo. The explosions and gunplay in “Terror” get your adrenaline pumping from the first shot, while Tarantino’s slower-moving but equally engrossing “Death Proof” takes time to get started. The last 30 minutes of “Death Proof” contain some of the most breathtaking stunts on film.

8. “28 Weeks Later”

In his list of the top movies of the year, Stephen King said “28 Weeks Later” was “scary as h-, one of the best two or three zombie movies ever.” King was spot on. This sequel to 2003’s “28 Days Later” upped the ante by increasing the population of the affected area-thereby increasing the number of potential victims. “28 Weeks Later” boasted great acting from Scottish actor Robert Carlyle as a failed husband and father; and the exceptional performances of the two main children make this a zombie flick to remember. Most horror movies attempt to make viewers fear the dark. This one flawlessly succeeds in one of the most viscerally terrifying opening scenes in recent memory.

7. “Superbad”

Juvenile-humor expert Judd Apatow (“Knocked Up,” “The 40 Year Old Virgin”) produced this teen comedy, a $20 million flick that eventually made more than $120 million at the box office. The plot revolves around best friends Seth and Evan as they attempt to survive 24 hours of partying, sex and crazy cops. Seth Rogen (star of “Knocked Up”), who also shares credit for the script, and Bill Hader are hilarious in their roles as cops. The audience’s response to the movie was incredible-I haven’t heard equal levels of sustained laughter in a theater since Halle Berry donned a leather suit and bombarded us with bad acting in “Catwoman.”

6. “The Bourne Ultimatum”

Matt Damon reprised his role of the amnesiac spy in the best action flick of the year. In one of the most consistently engaging film trilogies of this past decade, Bourne’s attempts to find out who he once was – and how he became what he is now – makes for some of the most imaginative action scenes in a long time. This last installment is arguably the best with amazing fight choreography and truly satisfying story closure. How a cast of such magnitude was assembled, I’ll never know. Albert Finney, Julia Stiles, Joan Allen, Scott Glen and David Strathairn all are aboard. Some found the handheld camera to be a distraction, but I found it to be a great method of echoing the sense of chaos on screen.

5. “Ratatouille”

Pixar Animation Studios went eight for eight with their release of last summer’s “Ratatouille,” a wonderful concoction of culinary facts and finely crafted characters. The magic of Pixar is in its methods. Instead of casting famous stars to voice its characters, whomever is appropriate is cast. With “Finding Nemo,” it was Ellen DeGeneres and Albert Brooks; in “Monster’s, Inc.” it was Billy Crystal and John Goodman; here, it’s Janeane Garofalo, Brad Garrett (“Everybody Loves Raymond”) and Peter O’Toole as the sinister critic Anton Ego. What Pixar is doing now is equivalent to Disney’s streak 15 years ago with its traditional 2-D animation movies. Let’s hope their dominance continues.

4. “3:10 to Yuma”

“Walk the Line” director James Mangold successfully revives the western genre with this heartfelt and action-packed remake. Russell Crowe (“Gladiator”), as the sinister but charming Ben Wade, and Christian Bale (“Batman Begins”), with his shameful limp and sense of familial duty, give classic performances.

The strength of the supporting cast is just as prominent. Peter Fonda, pushing 70, gives a gutsy performance as an elderly-but-tough bounty hunter, and Ben Foster almost steals the show as Wade’s right-hand man, Charlie Prince. The aged plot, a pretty straightforward yarn about getting a prisoner from point “A” to point “B,” still manages to incorporate some very 21st-century topics, such as torture and patriotism. And the unconventional ending only adds to the allure of “Yuma.”

3. “Lars and the Real Girl”

Judging by the box office returns – a paltry $6 million – almost no one saw this movie. But reviews were glowing and writer Nancy Oliver was rewarded with an Oscar nomination for her original screenplay, which concerns a man so disconnected with the world that he dates a life-sized doll. The premise sounds like something out of an Adam Sandler seminar, but Ryan Gosling (“Remember the Titans”) gives a sincere performance that points the movie toward quirky humor instead of more common toilet-themed fare. The casting is impeccable, showing the advantage of hiring talented actors who just look like ordinary people. All the laughs are earned. This is what smart dialogue is all about.

2. “No Country for Old Men”

The Coen brothers (“Raising Arizona,” “Fargo”) return from an almost decade-long drought of middling movies to adapt and direct this gritty tale of greed and vengeance. A trio of brilliant performances propel the film to greatness. Tommy Lee Jones is never flashy as an intelligent but-aging sheriff, but he still commands respect. As an avenging “angel of death,” Javier Bardem lights up the screen with an inhumanly deep voice and spectacularly bad hair. Josh Brolin, as an ordinary man whose impulsive greed endangers his family, is tragic to watch. The carnage and sheer chaos of the drug trade in and around Mexico during the 1980s is conveyed impressively, resulting in some graphic but stunning sequences of barbaric violence.

1. “Juno”

The surprise winter hit from first-time writer Diablo Cody and gifted director Jason Reitman (“Thank You For Smoking”) is a perfect example of what happens when a good movie gets the word of mouth it deserves. Fueled by an impressively subtle performance by Ellen Page (“Hard Candy”), “Juno” is a great film all around-the writing is smart, the cast is pitch-perfect and the soundtrack is the best of the year. If all was right in Hollywood, small-budgeted movies like “Juno” would be released much more frequently.

Some argue movies like “Juno” don’t make back much money for the movie studios. But this film had a budget of $7.5 million dollars and has made more than $115 million to date. That’s a return ratio of 13 to 1, much higher than any blockbuster released last summer. No more excuses, studios. Put more faith in your art-house branches like Fox Searchlight, and the profits, while maybe not as steady as with films such as “Transformers,” will still come-at a much cheaper price.