It is that time of year, when I look back at the films of 2025 and see which ones left a lasting impression for better or for worse. I will begin with my favorite films of the year before diving into my least favorite films of 2025, which I will share in a separate post on Friday, December 26th.
Below are my personal picks for my favorite films of the year. As always, these titles reflect my personal experience, and I would love to hear your picks as well. Feel free to share your lists in the comments.
Before jumping to my top ten, here are five honorable mentions:
15. The Housemaid
This is probably the film I had the most fun watching in a theater in 2025. It is the kind of movie that audiences fully lean into and that genuinely sparks reactions from the crowd. The film has a little bit of everything, blending comedy, drama, and thrills in a way that keeps viewers engaged and constantly guessing what is going to happen next. Amanda Seyfried delivers a fantastic performance that elevates the entire project, showcasing her ability to be campy and completely psychotic at the same time. The Housemaid is an absolute blast.
14. Sarah’s Oil
I loved Sarah’s Oil and went into it knowing absolutely nothing beforehand. I found the story, which is based on a true event I had never heard of, genuinely fascinating, and the performances across the board are excellent. It feels like a film that was unfortunately overlooked, largely because Amazon MGM Studios released it while prioritizing After the Hunt. That is a real shame, because with the right campaign, this easily could have become one of those crowd pleasing awards films that connects strongly with both critics and audiences.
13. The Chronology of Water
Those who know me know that I am a massive supporter of Kristen Stewart. That said, it may come as a surprise that after hearing so many mixed reactions about The Chronology of Water, that I did not see it in a theater and instead watched it via a screener link the day before the press junket earlier this month. To my surprise, the film completely caught me off guard. I am not entirely sure what I expected going in, but what Stewart has created here is very much a work of art.
The film is deeply poetic and unquestionably not an easy watch. It is relentlessly depressing at times, and the characters themselves are not exactly likable or easy to root for. It is an undeniably dark film, but Imogen Poots is absolutely sublime. I genuinely do not understand how she was overlooked by both the Gotham Awards and the Independent Spirit Awards for this performance. This is the kind of role where an actor fully allows the material to take over their body, mind, and spirit. It is a powerhouse performance that will not appeal to everyone, but for viewers seeking a film that challenges them while taking them on a deeply unsettling emotional journey, this one is likely to leave them speechless. It is also a film that doesn’t feel quite like anything that we’ve seen before, which is a pretty impressive feat for a first time filmmaker.
12. Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere
I know I am very much in the minority on this one, but I loved Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere. The film plays like an anti music biopic, one that is rooted in sadness and stands in stark contrast to what most viewers typically want from a film about their favorite musical artist. Rather than celebrating triumph, it focuses on pain and introspection, which clearly was not what audiences or critics were looking for from a Bruce Springsteen biopic.
It seems evident that a Springsteen film centered on confronting childhood trauma was not the easiest topic to embrace, despite two outstanding performances from Jeremy Allen White and Jeremy Strong. I also found Scott Cooper’s direction to be genuinely impressive. Ultimately, I think the film suffered because it was simply not what people expected or wanted, and it paid the price for defying those expectations.
11. Twinless
My second favorite film from Sundance was Twinless, written and directed by James Sweeney. The film served as the opening night selection at the festival last year, but I initially missed it due to its placement as an online screening. After hearing such strong word of mouth, I made a point to catch the second or third in person screening so I could experience it with a crowd, and I am very glad I did.
I really connected with the film because of both the characters and the filmmaking. Dylan O’Brien, whose work has consistently been stellar, delivers a richly layered and multifaceted performance that is an absolute joy to watch. The dynamic between him and Sweeney feels genuinely unique, and their chemistry throughout the film is electric, giving Twinless a distinct energy that lingers long after it ends.
And now, my top ten favorite films of 2025:
10. Kpop Demon Hunters
If I am being completely honest, I avoided watching Kpop Demon Hunters for months. I did not believe the film would live up to the hype surrounding it, but when Netflix released it into theaters with a singalong component, I decided to take the opportunity to see it on the big screen. To my surprise, Kpop Demon Hunters more than lived up to the hype and is, without question, the best animated feature film of the year.
While I agree with the general consensus that the soundtrack is absolutely phenomenal, filled with several undeniable bangers, I was equally surprised by how much I connected with the story, the characters, and the animation. I am typically not the biggest fan of anime, but this film fired on all cylinders. It deserves every ounce of love and attention it has received so far this year, especially when it comes to awards season.
9. Eddington
As a fan of Hereditary, mixed on Midsommar, and outright despising Beau Is Afraid, I did everything in my power to avoid seeing Eddington at press screenings. I simply did not want to put myself in a position where I would have to field follow-up questions from publicists about my reaction to the film. However, after one of my close friends saw it and told me that I wouldn’t hate it, I decided to check it out at my local theater and give it a whirl.
While the film is far from perfect given its bloated runtime and an over the top third act, I did genuinely appreciate the social commentary it presented, and Joaquin Phoenix delivered yet another knockout performance. The subject matter explored in the film is undeniably controversial, but I admired that Aster resisted taking a clear side when exploring the COVID-19 pandemic. That neutrality allowed the film to provoke conversation rather than spell everything out to the viewer, which ultimately made it a far more compelling film than I expected. It is also the kind of film that has stood with me throughout the year and one that I tend to think about often. I like films that challenge the audience but manages to do so in an entertaining way, and Eddington manages to do that.
8. Sorry, Baby
I first saw Sorry, Baby at the Sundance Film Festival in January, where it was my favorite film of the festival by a fairly wide margin. Since I had not revisited it since Sundance, I recently went back to see it on the big screen at an FYC screening, and the film held up incredibly well. It is seriously impressive what Eva Victor was able to accomplish with her feature film debut, especially considering she wrote, directed, and starred in the film.
The film is quite funny, but there is also a real darkness and sadness beneath the surface. It is an exceptionally confident and accomplished work of art, both from a storytelling and filmmaking perspective. I also think that Eva Victor as an actress really commands the screen and is a talent that is going to be around for a very long time. Seriously, I cannot wait to see what Victor does next, particularly her upcoming project with everyone’s favorite actor, Pedro Pascal.
7. Rental Family
I am not going to sugarcoat it. I love Brendan Fraser. He is one of those rare actors who consistently comes across as kind, humble, and deeply sincere, qualities that translate effortlessly to the screen. The moment I saw the trailer for Rental Family, I knew it was going to be my kind of film.
Directed by HIKARI, the film explores Japan’s rental family culture through both an outsider’s perspective and a rotating ensemble of individuals performing carefully constructed roles in other people’s lives. While Brendan Fraser is as charming as ever, it is the emotional core of the film that truly resonated with me. The concept of playing a meaningful role in someone else’s life while knowing you are not meant to be there for the long haul is fascinating and also quite heartbreaking. It is a foreign concept in the United States, but seeing it portrayed as a real and normalized practice in Japan provided a surprisingly deep reflection on loneliness and unlikely connections.
Rental Family is the kind of small, human story that often gets overlooked nowadays at the mutliplex, and that is a real shame. This film deserves to be remembered as one of the most underappreciated gems that 2025 had to offer.
6. Sinners
Ryan Coogler is one of those filmmakers whose work consistently impresses me. Sinners, an original concept brought to life by Coogler, has been widely praised as one of the best films of the year, and I would absolutely echo that sentiment. While I did not go into the film expecting to love it as much as I did, I was ultimately blown away by every aspect of it, from the filmmaking and performances to the score and production design.
Sinners is a character driven film that also confidently embraces multiple genres, including action and horror. It is thoroughly entertaining and plays exceptionally well on the big screen. I saw it twice in a theater, and being surrounded by a full audience only heightened the experience. I also think the film’s end credit sequence is one of the most memorable moments of the year. It is completely unexpected and adds an entirely new layer to the storytelling. After Sinners, Coogler has firmly cemented himself as one of the most exciting and visionary voices working in the entertainment industry today.
5. Roofman
A movie based on the true story of a man who breaks out of jail and lives inside a Toys “R” Us store did not sell me based on the trailer alone. However, Roofman ultimately became one of my favorite films of the year and a standout highlight from the Toronto International Film Festival. What truly sells the film is that everything about it simply works. The story works. The direction works. The performances work.
At its core, Roofman is very much an indie film, one that centers on Channing Tatum’s portrayal of Jeffrey Manchester and how his kindness and natural charisma allow him to do what he does throughout the film. Tatum has never been better, delivering one of the strongest performances of his career, and Kristen Dunst is equally excellent. Unfortunately, the film was a tough sell for modern audiences, as this type of character driven, mid budget storytelling, similar to Rental Family, no longer draws people to theaters in large numbers. That is a real shame, because Roofman is, for the most part, a genuine crowd pleaser, and had it been released in the early to mid 2000s, it likely would have been a box office hit.
4. Bob Trevino Likes It
While I first saw Bob Trevino Likes It at South by Southwest in 2024, the film was not officially released in theaters until this year. Along with the three films below, this film can easily be swapped in and out as my favorite film of the year. This year truly felt like the year of the great performance and the return of strong writing in cinema. Over the past few years, I felt filmmaking struggled from a storytelling perspective, where I admired individual elements of many different films but did not feel fully invested in them. Bob Trevino Likes It feels deeply personal and emotionally authentic. Writer and director Tracie Laymon has crafted a small indie darling that, despite a limited release, has become a favorite among both critics and audiences alike.
The story, while simple on the surface, is easily the most emotionally powerful of any film I have seen this year. The script carefully builds and shapes its characters, particularly Lily, played by Barbie Ferreira, and Bob, played by John Leguizamo, two unlikely friends who accidentally find each other at a moment when both are yearning for something new in their lives. The characters are so richly developed that it is impossible not to become fully immersed in their world and root for them. The film’s ending delivers a devastating emotional punch. The last time I cried this hard during a movie was CODA. This film is a gift, and one that leaves you feeling hopeful about humanity as the credits begin to roll.
3. Sentimental Value
In my tweet after seeing Sentimental Value at the Telluride Film Festival, I called the film the best written film of the year with some of the best performances of the year. I stand by both of these statements. Sentimental Value might not be the flashiest movie of the year but if you are looking for a film that tells a rich and emotional story with some damn good dialogue and phenomenal performances, you can’t really ask for a better film in 2025 than Sentimental Value.
I am not typically a fan of Joachim Trier as a filmmaker but this movie made me one. The way that he uses the house as a character in this story is so impressive and the way the characters are perfectly woven into the source material is the work of a true artist. All of the actors in this film, which include Renate Reinsve, Stellan Skarsgård, Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, and Elle Fanning, all deserve Oscars for their performances in this film. It is so unfair to watch a film like this knowing that while all four of these performances are very likely to be nominated for a SAG Award and Oscar, that all of them cannot win. That is how good these performances are and how strong the script is by Trier and Eskil Vogt.
2. Marty Supreme
I will admit that I struggled not to make Marty Supreme my favorite film of the year. However, upon a second viewing, I felt the second act needed to be condensed in order for the film to truly reach masterpiece status. While slightly overstuffed, the film is absolutely electric, and there is no better performance this year, or in recent memory, than Timothée Chalamet as Marty Mauser.
The film hooked me from the opening moments and never let go until the end credits. It is a story about passion, but also about the messiness of life. Marty Supreme weaves together multiple genres and manages to do so in a way that is consistently captivating and engaging. Its only real drawback is that it occasionally becomes overindulgent, at times feeling as though too much is happening at once. Even so, its ambition and energy make it one of the most thrilling cinematic experiences of the year.
1. Wicked: For Good
I am choosing Wicked: For Good as my favorite film of 2025 because it completes Wicked. Taken together, the two films, while not without their flaws, capture the full magic of the Broadway show and, in many ways, manage to improve upon both the stage version and the book in which it is based. The casting of Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande was initially met with skepticism by many including me, but after seeing them together, it is nearly impossible to imagine these films without them.
While both films struggle with pacing and runtime, their highs deliver everything fans of this franchise were hoping for and yearning to see on screen. The performances, combined with the extraordinary craftsmanship on display from the editing and costumes to the production design and visual effects, are absolutely sublime. Wicked and Wicked: For Good deserve to be celebrated and embraced for becoming a true global phenomenon that helped drive audiences back into movie theaters around the world. While Wicked is existing IP, the fact that a Broadway musical has evolved into an iconic film franchise is no small achievement. Jon M. Chu, along with the entire cast and crew, should be incredibly proud of what they have created, as these films have brought joy and happiness to millions of people worldwide.
