Standout Films of 2025

Jacob Elordi (left) and Oscar Isaac on the set of Frankenstein (Source: The Scotsman) 

The following is a culmination of what I was able to see in theatres (or otherwise noted) in the year 2025. 

Before I get into my main list, I want to take a moment to commend Warner Bros for, this year, giving skilled filmmakers the kind of creative freedom that’s rarely seen in big studio productions. That, despite said releases being hard R-rated entries. These include Ryan Coogler’s genre-bending, period music-vampire crossover Sinners (which features Michael B. Jordan in convincing dual roles), Zach Cregger’s chilling mystery thriller Weapons (co-starring a seriously creepy Amy Madigan), and Paul Thomas Anderson’s dark political comedy One Battle After Another. For the latter, Leonardo DiCaprio leads what may be the most phenomenal cast of 2025 (including a standout Benicio Del Toro, in one of my favorite screen roles this year) in, of all things, a plaid bathrobe and shades. 

Second, I want to give props to the brothers Safdie (Benny and Josh), who each made their solo feature-length directorial debuts. Benny helmed the raw biopic The Smashing Machine, headlined by Dwayne Johnson in what is easily his most transformative and layered role to date, as UFC fighter Mark Kerr. Josh, meanwhile, gave us Marty Supreme, starring Timothée Chalamet as a loose portrayal of ping-pong champion and hustler Marty Reisman. This performance also reminded us why Chalamet is one of the defining actors of his generation. Another performance that stood out to me this year was Tom Hiddleston as the title role in Mike Flanagan’s adaptation of the Stephen King novella, The Life of Chuck, while Eva Victor made an impressive directorial debut with the quirky and heavy dramedy, Sorry, Baby. 

I should mention a few letdowns, such as Universal and Blumhouse's attempt to remake the Wolf Man, and what could have been a unique small tentpole from Mel Gibson but turned out to be his weakest with Flight Risk. Meanwhile, Tom Cruise's final outing as Ethan Hunt in Mission: Impossible—The Final Reckoning did have some impressive large-scale set pieces. (Seeing the megastar submerged in a giant sub and literally dangling off of an elevating biplane—in his early-60s—is certainly edge-of-your-seat.) But the concluding installment seemed to rely a third of its runtime on recapping the entire eight-film series rather than being a more-focused, singular narrative. But the one movie that likely generated the most negative publicity came from Disney. The studio’s attempt at a new version of Snow White proved that some animated classics just aren't worth the live-action treatment, especially if they're not handled correctly—or their marketing gets mishandled or distracting. 

On a more positive note, here are some notable mentions in what was otherwise a difficult year personally, but an extraordinary one for cinema. Alex Garland collaborated with Iraq war veteran Ray Mendoza for the immersive and physically-bruising Warfare. Filmmaker Clint Bentley and co-writer Greg Kwedar (the award-nominated team behind the great Sing Sing) adapted Denis Johnson’s novella Train Dreams into a poetic, sweeping, and melancholic story of life, loss, nature, and interconnectivity. Avatar: Fire and Ash solidified James Cameron’s sci-fi epic in cinema history, while helping the moviegoing experience to keep thriving. (For my family and I, this was one of the most incredible times we’ve ever had at the movies.) Disney Animation’s entertaining and worthwhile sequel Zootopia 2 did just as well over the holiday season. With The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Hollywood finally got Stan Lee & Jack Kirby’s superhero quartet (a.k.a. “Marvel’s First Family”) right, thanks, in part, to a terrific cast. (There were even genius cameos from the cast of the unreleased 1994 film.) On that same note, a couple of intellectual and artistic family-focused picks included Isaiah Saxon’s folklore tale The Legend of Ochi and Seth Worley’s fantasy-adventure Sketch. Lastly, two sci-fi franchises gave us new installments with Dan Trachtenberg’s subversive creature feature Predator: Badlands and Joachim Rønning’s cyberspace-meets-reality Tron: Ares.  

[As of this writing, a few “watchlist” entries I was not able to see or get to include Scarlett Johansson’s Eleanor the Great, James L. Brooks’ Ella McKay, Bong Joon Ho’s Mickey 17, Hikari’s Rental Family, Derek Cianfrance’s Roofman, Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value, and Michael Shanks’ Together. Ditto China’s record-breaking CGI, martial arts fantasy sequel Ne Zha 2, currently the highest-grossing animated film worldwide. Speaking of Asian cinema, this was a strong year for animé, with feature-length versions of fan-favorite franchises like Demon Slayer and Chainsaw Man bringing audiences out in droves. Ditto the Netflix/Sony Animation phenomenon KPop Demon Hunters. As a movie theatre employee myself, I can vouch for that.] 

Now, without further ado, here are (as of this writing) my picks for the standout films of 2025, ranked 10 to 1. (You can click on the film titles to read my full reviews.) 

10. The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie (dir. Peter Browngardt) 

9. Novocaine (dir. Dan Berk & Robert Olsen) 

8. F1 (dir. Joseph Kosinski) 

7. Superman (dir. James Gunn) 

6. The Naked Gun (dir. Akiva Schaefer) 

5. The Phoenician Scheme (dir. Wes Anderson)

4. Thunderbolts* (dir. Jake Schreier) 

3. Frankenstein (dir. Guillermo del Toro) 

2. Hamnet (dir. Chloé Zhao) 

1. Jay Kelly (dir. Noah Baumbach)