Top 20 Best Movies of 2025
#20: “Wicked: For Good”
Finishing the story that began with its gravity-defying predecessor, the second half of the “Wicked” story is just as emotionally enthralling and alive with wonder. With Elphaba and Glinda now torn apart after the former’s climactic stance against the Wizard, “Wicked: For Good” reaffirms their eternal bond through its staggering musical performances. Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande remain just as praise-worthy, delivering a knockout punch to naysayers with their powerful vocals and even greater emotional range. Even as the arrival of a certain girl from Kansas brings us closer to a more familiar version of Oz, “Wicked: For Good” remains defiantly over its own rainbow. It rounds things out as a musical adaptation unlike any other, and one that’s changed us…ok, say it with us!
#19: “Thunderbolts*”
After years of diminishing returns following 2019’s epic “Avengers: Endgame”, the Marvel Cinematic Universe bounced back in a big way with “Thunderbolts*”. Incorporating characters from several previous Marvel projects, director Jake Schreier’s film assembles a ragtag group of superpowered misfits against their will to combat a deadly new threat of seemingly unspeakable power. “Thunderbolts*” returns the flagging franchise to its roots, delivering the sheer thrills of the “Captain America” movies, combined with the dark humor of “Guardians of the Galaxy”. Anchored by Oscar nominee Florence Pugh’s three-dimensional performance as a conflicted Black Widow, “Thunderbolts*” is the rare superhero movie that not only excites, but has something bigger on its mind, too.
#18: “Final Destination Bloodlines”
“Mission: Impossible” wasn’t the only long-running franchise that came back strong in 2025. Coming nearly 15 years after “Final Destination 5”, “Bloodlines” tells a new story within the series’ wider universe — one that pushes the boundaries of what we’ve come to expect from “Final Destination”. Using the franchise’s central conceit to explore themes of intergenerational trauma, “Bloodlines” puts its pedal to the smashed, twisted metal from minute one and never lets up. Sure, it doesn’t do much to switch up “Final Destination’s” tried-and-true formula, but it hardly needs to. Most of all, “Bloodlines” serves as a touching farewell to series mainstay (and “Candyman” star) Tony Todd, explaining just enough about his mysterious mortician without totally giving everything away.
#17: “Mickey 17”
From the start, “Mickey 17” seemed to have everything going for it. It had a multiple Oscar-winning writer-director in Bong Joon Ho, and an all-star cast that included such heavy-hitters as Robert Pattinson and Oscar nominees Mark Ruffalo, Steven Yeun, and Toni Collette. The sci-fi comedy also garnered positive reviews that praised its messaging, versatility, and deft satire. Unfortunately, despite its considerable pluses, “Mickey 17” flopped hard at the box office, reportedly costing Warner Bros. as much as $80 million in losses. As such, we can only hope that, with time, “Mickey 17” rises to the status of becoming a cult favorite, and that future audiences give the film its due as one of 2025’s best.
#16: “Warfare”
Just under a year after the release of his action thriller “Civil War”, writer-director Alex Garland followed that film up with the harrowing “Warfare”. The newer project focuses on a platoon of Navy SEALs in the aftermath of the Battle of Ramadi in 2006, a relatively little-known part of the wider Iraq War. “Warfare” stars an impressive ensemble of up-and-coming Hollywood leading men, including Joseph Quinn, Will Poulter, Charles Melton, and Michael Gandolfini. This is in addition to Emmy nominee D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, who plays a fictionalized version of Ray Mendoza, who co-wrote and directed “Warfare” alongside Garland. A deeply disturbing journey executed in nailbiting real time, Garland and Mendoza’s film is highly effective in proving the old adage: war is, indeed, Hell.
#15: “The Long Walk”
2025 was a fantastic year for Stephen King adaptations, but “The Long Walk” makes it farther than the rest. A simple yet brutal thriller, it realizes one of King’s most disturbing premises: a group of young men participate in a televised competition where they walk until one remains. “The Long Walk” courageously drops us into this frightening scenario without much explanation, but backs everything up with gut-wrenching performances. The undeniable bromance between Cooper Hoffman and David Jonsson is just the tip of the iceberg as the ensemble’s natural chemistry makes each departure hurt just as badly as the last. Despite the novel’s parallels to the Vietnam War, this “Long Walk” more broadly underscores the futility of conflict and the kinship required to stand against it.
#14: “Black Bag”
If even Cate Blanchett, Michael Fassbender, and Oscar-winning director Steven Soderbergh can’t put butts into movie theater seats, then what does that say about the state of Hollywood in 2025? A good, old-fashioned spy thriller that, notably, isn’t based on any pre-existing source material, “Black Bag” was critically acclaimed, boasting a virtually unheard-of 98% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Unfortunately, Soderbergh’s latest was almost totally overlooked by audiences, grossing just $39 million on a reported budget of up to $60 million. As such, we feel that Soderbergh was justified when he publicly posed the question of “What's gonna happen to the person behind me who wants to make this kind of film?”
#13: “Marty Supreme”
Benny and Josh Safdie are masters at crafting adrenaline-pumping movies that make us nervous in the most exciting ways. That’s still the case when the brothers go solo, and Josh completely outdoes himself with the frantic sports epic “Marty Supreme.” Starring Timothée Chalamet in yet another awards-worthy performance, the movie follows the titular Marty on a madcap quest to prove he’s the world’s best ping pong player. Between his performance, Safdie’s exhilarating direction and the movie’s relentless pace, “Marty Supreme” has earned comparisons to other studies in decadence, like “The Wolf of Wall Street” and “Catch Me if You Can.” Though still very much a Safdie flick, only time will tell what kind of standards it will set for the sports genre as a whole.
#12: “28 Years Later”
In an age of revisiting dormant franchises through legacy sequels, “28 Years Later” represents everything great about this trend. Director Danny Boyle returns alongside writer Alex Garland, and the pair shows no sign of merely repeating the same steps of their iconic original outing. Instead, by shifting focus to a community just outside the quarantined British Isles, “28 Years Later” matches its enhanced action and makeup work with thought-provoking, and naturally contemporary, ideas. While the Rage virus refuses to slow down, the movie is often at its best in quiet, contemplative moments that probe the connection between self-preservation, identity, and mortality. The committed performances, especially that of newcomer Alfie Williams, guide us through a world that, even if it's beyond saving, isn’t entirely beyond hope.
#11: “Sentimental Value”
If “Final Destination” has proven that intergenerational trauma remains a fruitful theme for the horror genre, then “Sentimental Value” confirms that it still works for an intimate domestic drama. Here, Stellan Skarsgård stars as filmmaker Gustav as he reconnects with his estranged daughters while developing a movie about their family’s complicated history. Oldest daughter Nora is particularly resistant to Gustav’s efforts, especially after he offers a part initially written for her to an American movie star. It makes for a multifaceted portrayal of how artistic expression inevitably intersects with personal memories. Fueled by hard-hitting dialogue and devastating performances, “Sentimental Value” takes a difficult but honorable road by questioning if creative pursuits are the best way to come to terms with the past.
#10: “Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery”
With his third foray into the world of Benoit Blanc, writer-director Rian Johnson solidifies the “Knives Out” franchise as one of the most reliable in recent memory. “Wake Up Dead Man” remains true to its predecessors’ spirit by providing the detective another scintillating mystery with a scathingly satirical edge. Centering around a murder at a small-town church, Blanc is joined by yet another terrific cast of A-listers, though Josh O’Connor’s fiery performance as a troubled minister makes for an easy standout. “Wake Up Dead Man” keeps the franchise as fun and politically charged as ever, crafting an intricate web of secrets that lay bare the shortcomings and hypocrisies of organized religion. In short, it just might be the perfect whodunit for a year like 2025.
#9: “Superman”
Aside from the “Spider-Verse” franchise, few of today’s superhero outings manage to evoke the experience of seeing a comic book come to life. That’s precisely what makes James Gunn’s “Superman” a breath of fresh air, as it doesn’t so much adapt the character as it does the comics that give him meaning. Bypassing an origin story and the building of a team, “Superman” provides us a DCU that’s already alive with three-dimensional characters. Moreover, it’s a highly relatable take on the Man of Steel, with David Corenswet arguably coming closer than anyone to matching Christopher Reeve’s humble charisma. That humility is also evident in how the movie tells its own story without resorting to Easter eggs or cheap set-ups in order to tease future installments.
#8: “The Naked Gun”
Given the rise of IP-based blockbusters, few mainstream movies feel content to just make audiences laugh, but “The Naked Gun” more than delivers on that simple goal. This continuation sees Liam Neeson take the reins as Frank Drebin, Jr., and the actor’s gruff, deadpan delivery makes each joke more absurd than the last. Although it follows the formula of the Leslie Nielsen-led trilogy to a T, it keeps its focus squarely on staging one outrageous gag after another. “The Naked Gun” is simultaneously a refreshing diversion for audiences and a nostalgic callback to a simpler time at the movies. It’s the most purely funny movie of the year, and a display of courage that will hopefully make way for theatrical comedies to make a comeback.
#7: “KPop Demon Hunters”
Perhaps the most surprising hit of 2025, few were expecting a romp about a girl group moonlighting as demon hunters to go as above and beyond as it does. And we aren’t just talking about its infectious, zero-skip banger of a soundtrack. “KPop Demon Hunters” not only matches its incredible music with impeccable animation, but with a genuinely moving depiction of guilt and self-acceptance. Much like its demonic antagonists who hide in plain sight, looks are deceiving in more ways than one with this movie. “KPop Demon Hunters” is animated and scored with unbridled affection for the culture it depicts. Even K-pop’s most vocal critics will be surprised by how willing it is to make its musical sequences such an involving part of the story.
#6: “Frankenstein”
The timeless novel by Mary Shelley has cast such a large shadow over so many genres, while the 1931 Universal adaptation has played a key role in giving horror a visual identity. And yet, nearly a century later, Guillermo del Toro’s retelling of “Frankenstein” seemingly taps into something that so many other adaptations have missed. Always one to sympathize with a monster, del Toro finds the perfect fit for his compassion in Jacob Elordi, whose miraculous transformation is just the tip of the movie’s grand technical iceberg. “Frankenstein” is an undeniable visual feast worthy of del Toro’s best work. But thanks to Elordi’s gentle and layered performance, the director keeps the story fresh by reminding audiences what it means to truly experience life.
#5: “Bugonia”
“Bugonia” sees a pharmaceutical CEO kidnapped by two conspiracy-obsessed men who are convinced she’s an alien. The fact that we’re living in a moment in which that premise doesn’t sound completely ridiculous is a sign of its chilling timeliness. Emma Stone reunites with director Yorgos Lanthimos after their Oscar-winning collaboration on “Poor Things,” and while “Bugonia” isn’t as visually extravagant, it has just as much on its mind. Taking on topics like capitalistic greed and Internet radicalism, it’s a film that implores us to laugh so that we don’t lash out against the world. With each passing laugh, we’re forced to question if those in power are simply misusing it, or if we forsake our own power by looking for answers in the wrong places.
#4: “Weapons”
Taking cues from the likes of “Magnolia” and “Prisoners,” Zach Cregger’s sophomore feature is horror at its most ambiguous and confrontational. And we love it all the more for it. Spinning a variety of perspectives together, “Weapons” centers around the mysterious disappearance of a classroom of children, who all leave their homes on the same night. It’s an unsettling premise on its face, and, like any great mystery, each new revelation provokes a strange mix of shock and uncomfortable laughter. It’s a thematically well-rounded story that explores the dark underbelly of an idyllic community with disturbing imagery, particularly once Amy Madigan’s Gladys gets involved. Incredibly, “Weapons” resists a definitive meaning, encouraging the audience to draw their own conclusions about what it’s all supposed to mean.
#3: “Hamnet”
Another heartbreaking and powerfully acted movie about art’s connection to trauma, “Hamnet” pulls back the curtain on one of the most famous tragedies of all. Though heavily fictionalized, this look at William Shakespeare and his wife Agnes is an excruciatingly real portrayal of grief in its rawest form. Paul Mescal and especially Jessie Buckley turn in career-best performances as a couple processing the loss of their son, tapping into unimaginable sorrow with both ferocity and tenderness. We wouldn’t be surprised to see both of them land Oscar nominations alongside the movie itself, which transcends its historical setting as a cathartic piece of storytelling. It’s not easy for a film to be both unbelievably sad and daringly optimistic, but “Hamnet” makes that emotional balance look easy.
#2: “Sinners”
Yeah, maybe you saw this one coming. But could you blame us? “Black Panther” and “Creed” director Ryan Coogler reteamed with Michael B. Jordan to deliver one of the most original, most purely entertaining blockbuster films in years. A masterful blend of horror, Western, and musical elements, “Sinners” wowed audiences to the tune of $357.2 million. That was on a budget of $90 million, which surely gave Warner Bros. something to smile about after “Mickey 17”. Starring Jordan as twins “Smoke” and “Stack” Moore, “Sinners” elevates its genre trappings to thoughtfully explore how racism ultimately hurts all of us.
#1: “One Battle After Another”
A comedic thriller of the highest order, no movie captures the singular blend of chaos, paranoia, and unfettered hope of 2025 like “One Battle After Another.” Leonardo DiCaprio and Sean Penn lead a top-notch cast as an ex-revolutionary and the military man pursuing him and his daughter. Thematically challenging and visually resplendent, it’s also the first time in a while that Paul Thomas Anderson has set a film in the present day. But through his action-packed direction, phenomenal performances, and the movie’s precise alignment with the current political climate, “One Battle After Another” continues his streak as one of modern cinema’s absolute best. It’s the kind of movie destined to leave an indelible mark, and could very well be the signature movie of the 2020s.
What was your favorite movie of 2025? Is there one we forgot to mention? Let us know in the comments down below!
