Introducing the Country Movie World Cup: 214 Nations, One Champion

I watched a film from every country on Earth. Now it is time to find out which one wins in a head to head knockout tournament.

The Country Movie World Cup is a single knockout tournament of all 214 countries and territories on the site, drawn completely at random into one bracket. For each tie I watch the most-watched film on Letterboxd from both countries (ones I have not reviewed before) and the better film advances. No seeding, no mercy for the big film nations: the draw can hand you Bahrain against Uruguay in the first round, and a country that makes one feature a decade can knock out a country that floods the world with them.

There is only one fixed rule. Each nation is represented by its most popular film on Letterboxd that I have not already covered. I went with popularity rather than critical rating on purpose, it levels the field, leans on the films people actually seek out, and means every tie adds a fresh review to the site instead of repeating the every-country map.

The numbers, for the bracket-watchers: 214 countries in, 42 random first-round byes to make the maths work, 86 opening ties, then a clean run down through 128, 64, 32, 16, the quarters, the semis and a final. 213 ties until one country lifts the trophy.

It runs alongside the 2026 World Cup - kicking off in June, when the football does (11 June to 19 July) - but the only cup on offer here is for cinema. New ties land on TikTok and YouTube throughout, each with a short, honest review and the verdict on the night.

The full bracket lives on its own page, updating as results come in: see the draw and follow along. Pick your dark horse, back a minnow, and tell me when I have called one wrong.