Best Movies of 2025

10. If I Had Legs I’d Kick You

127 LISTS | 5 TOP SPOTS
Mary Bronstein | 113 mins | Psychological Drama
Rose Byrne | Conan O'Brien | Danielle Macdonald | Delaney Quinn

“Rose Byrne has always been a reliable character actor, mastering drama (in TV’s Damages) and stealing every scene in studio comedies (“Bridesmaids,” “Spy” and “Neighbors”). In Mary Bronstein’s tense, claustrophobic, and darkly funny “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You,” Byrne gets the role of a lifetime as Linda, a mother of a medically complex child, who is unraveling under the unique pressures of motherhood. What’s great about Bronstein’s film is how unjudgmental it is towards Linda, who doesn’t always do the perceived right thing as a mother. The film and its ensemble are all great, but Bryne stands out in one of the top performances of the year.” —Matthew Passantino, Big Picture Big Sound

9. Train Dreams

141 LISTS | 13 TOP SPOTS
Clint Bentley | 102 mins | Drama
Joel Edgerton | Clifton Collins Jr. | Felicity Jones | Alfred Hsing

“In a year when we got so many pseudo-fantasies about people trying to make a difference, Clint Bentley’s film presented something truer and more relatable: a deeply moving portrait of an unremarkable life. Based on a slender Denis Johnson novella, Train Dreams drifts through the existence of a logger and railroad worker (played beautifully by Joel Edgerton) in the early years of the 20th century as he labors in the great forests of the Pacific Northwest, finds domestic bliss and loses it, and struggles to go on, living his life as best he can. Along the way, he is haunted by the faces of the persecuted immigrants he failed to help, tormented by the family he lost, and unnerved by a sense that the earth keeps score of the evils done to it.” – Bilge Ebiri, Vulture

8. The Mastermind

142 LISTS | 2 TOP SPOTS
Kelly Reichardt | 110 mins | Heist
Josh O'Connor | Sterling Thompson | Alana Haim | Jsper Thompson

“The title of Kelly Reichardt’s ’70s-set thriller is wryly ironic, of course: James (Josh O’Connor) may fancy himself an intellectual heavyweight, but it becomes clear that he’s not nearly as smart as he thinks he is. In fact, he’s a rebel without a clue, and the same oblivious, social-climbing hubris that motivates our antihero to risk his neck—and his cozy status as a suburban family man—on a smash-and-grab museum robbery pervades the film even after James is forced to go on the lam. The farther he gets from the scene of the crime, the more it’s clear he’s his own worst enemy. Reichardt excels in such running-on-empty scenarios, and O’Connor comes through with an excellently unsympathetic performance, effectively inverting and weaponizing his very real charisma against itself. (It’s the flip side to his terrific work in Wake Up Dead Man, in which he believably essays a role as a man of faith.) In lieu of salt-of-the-earth humanism, we get salt-in-the-wound satire, culminating in a wry final twist that comes out of nowhere only if, like James, you haven’t been paying attention.” – Adam Nayman, The Ringer

7. Weapons

155 LISTS | 3 TOP SPOTS
Zach Cregger | 128 mins | Mystery Horror
Julia Garner | Josh Brolin | Alden Ehrenreich | Amy Madigan

“The premise is simple, the execution (key word) anything but. One night in the fictional, all-American town of Maybrook, Pennsylvania, a group of young children separately rise from their bedrooms, walk downstairs, open the front doors to their family homes and disappear into the darkness. And they all do so at precisely 2:17am. It’s a chilling prospect, though this turns out to be just a taste of the horror that’s set to unfold in Barbarian director Zach Cregger’s magnum opus of the macabre. The questions come thick and fast – how come all the kids were members of the same school class – and why did one lad (Cary Christopher) not disappear? Josh Brolin and Julia Garner wow as, respectively, a heartbroken father and an implicated teacher, while Cregger’s non-linear narrative keeps the devilish reveal at bay. No spoilers, but that reveal is so fucked up and freaky it’s inspired an upcoming spin-off.” – Jordan Bassett, NME

6. The Secret Agent

180 LISTS | 10 TOP SPOTS
Kleber Mendonca Filho | 158 mins | Historical Political Thriller
Wagner Moura | Carlos Francisco | Tania Maria | Roberio Diogenes

“Armando, the man on the run played by a sad-eyed, magnetic Wagner Moura, isn’t really an agent, secret or otherwise. Every aspect of this strange, beguiling masterpiece from Kleber Mendonça Filho is more complicated than it first appears, down to the Recife apartment building run by Dona Sebastiana, which is both a bustling community and a shelter full of people who have their own varied reasons to fear the powers that be, whether it’s the Brazilian military dictatorship or their own families. The Secret Agent isn’t about resistance so much as it is about how authoritarianism makes everyone a potential target. That includes Armando himself, an academic who ran afoul of a corrupt minister in his previous life, and the gay men targeted in outrageous news stories about a reanimated severed leg as a way to distract the public from unrest. Filho’s film takes the shape of a thriller, but is something more mournful and strange — an elegy for a dark stretch of the past and for all the history and relationships it severed.” – Alison Wilmore, Vulture

5. Sentimental Value

183 LISTS | 10 TOP SPOTS
Joachim Trier | 133 mins | Comedy-Drama
Renate Reinsve | Stellan Skarsgard | Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas | Elle Fanning

“The ghosts of the past and things unsaid linger in cracks and floorboards of the quiet home at the heart of Joachim Trier’s latest, a textured and mature portrait of family, grief, forgiveness and the loneliness of a life in the arts. With a moving turn from Stellan Skarsgård as an acclaimed filmmaker trying to reconnect with the daughters he cast aside for his career, it’s also surprisingly funny in its deft exploration of how difficult it can be to express love to those who matter most, even for artists.” – Lindsay Bahr, Associated Press

4. Marty Supreme

212 LISTS | 14 TOP SPOTS
Josh Safdie | 150 mins | Sports Comedy-Drama
Timothee Chalamet | Gwyneth Paltrow | Odessa A'zion | Larry 'Ratso' Sloman

“Josh Safdie (“Uncut Gems”) serves up a Pynchonesque fever dream set amid the smoke and schemers of 1950s New York, following a hustler turned ping-pong prodigy who spins through life faster than his own serve. Timothée Chalamet, channelling equal parts Jay Gatsby, Bugs Bunny and whirling tornado, gives a performance that’s as slippery as it is hypnotic. The film moves with strange manic energy — I wanted to slap Marty as well as applaud him — yet the racket rarely drops thanks to sly supporting turns from Gwyneth Paltrow, Odessa A’zion and Canada’s Kevin O’Leary, plus Daniel Lopatin’s nervy synth score and some hilariously misplaced ’80s needle drops. You may leave exhausted, but the ball keeps bouncing long after the credits roll.” – Peter Howell, Toronto Star

3. It Was Just An Accident

230 LISTS | 11 TOP SPOTS
Jafar Panahi | 103 mins | Thriller
Vahid Mobasseri | Mariam Afshari | Ebrahim Azizi | Hadis Pakbaten

“Panahi knows well the havoc that autocratic regimes can wreak on artists: He’s spent most of his career restricted or imprisoned by his own government in Iran but making movies anyway. This Palme d’Or-winning masterpiece of tragicomedy, the first he’s directed since his release from prison in 2023, is about how being treated with cruelty tends to make humans lash out cruelly — and how, for powerful people who want to keep their power, that’s the whole point.” – Alissa Wilkinson, New York Times

2. Sinners

327 LISTS | 48 TOP SPOTS
Ryan Coogler | 131 mins | Period Drama Horror
Michael B. Jordan | Jack O'Connell | Hailee Steinfeld | Delroy Lindo

“One of the most exhilarating movies of the year, “Sinners” defies expectation at every turn. Set largely in Jim Crow Mississippi in the 1930s, it draws from different genres for a uniquely American horror story about race and resistance, art and community that’s anchored by twins (both played by Michael B. Jordan) whose world is threatened by white vampirism. As darkness descends, the story’s horizons open to incorporate the sweep of American history, one whose soundtrack is the blues. If the big studios want a sustainable future, they need to make room for more filmmakers like Coogler.” – Manohla Dargis, New York Times

1. One Battle After Another

432 LISTS | 119 TOP SPOTS
Paul Thomas Anderson | 161 mins | Black Comedy Action Thriller
Leonardo DiCaprio | Sean Penn | Benicio Del Toro | Chase Infiniti

“After making five period pieces in a row, Paul Thomas Anderson returns to the present day for the first time since 2000’s Punch-Drunk Love, and it’s hard to imagine a studio film more attuned to the dynamics of living in the United States in 2025. The movie follows an ex-revolutionary (Leonardo DiCaprio) who desperately tries to reunite with his teen daughter (Chase Infiniti) after an old enemy (Sean Penn) reemerges to tie up some unfinished business. Anderson pits his heroes against white supremacists, immigration raids, right-wing militias, and crappy cell phones as they struggle to reconnect. It’s a propulsive, timely thriller in which every performance is memorable, every scene is wildly entertaining, and every character is driven by a distinct balance of love and ideology. Life! ” – Wesley Stenzel, Entertainment Weekly

Full List:

RankFilmLists#1Avg RatingL%#1%
1One Battle After Another4321192.8166%26%
2Sinners327484.2550%11%
3It Was Just an Accident230115.2435%2%
4Marty Supreme212144.4832%3%
5Sentimental Value183105.1628%2%
6The Secret Agent180105.1127%2%
7Weapons15535.7524%1%
8The Mastermind14225.6122%0%
9Train Dreams141135.7821%3%
10If I Had Legs I'd Kick You12755.5819%1%
11Sorry, Baby12685.7919%2%
12Sirat120154.9718%3%
13Hamnet119134.6518%3%
14Blue Moon11216.2617%0%
15No Other Choice11055.4017%1%
16The Shrouds9874.8415%2%
17Frankenstein9535.4214%1%
18Eddington8955.4614%1%
19Misericordia8895.0613%2%
20Bugonia8706.8113%0%
2128 Years Later8245.8912%1%
22Afternoons of Solitude81124.2712%3%
23Caught by the Tides7974.8112%2%
24Black Bag7236.1211%1%
25Eephus6426.5510%0%
26Peter Hujar's Day5935.419%1%
27Resurrection5874.419%2%
28Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery5735.889%1%
29Nouvelle Vague5635.788%1%
30Superman5426.588%0%
31The Testament of Ann Lee4815.867%0%
32Sound of Falling4735.247%1%
33The Phoenician Scheme4616.807%0%
34Cloud4605.967%0%
35KPop Demon Hunters4506.307%0%
36F14416.507%0%
37My Undesirable Friends: Part I - Last Air in Moscow4254.816%1%
38Jay Kelly4226.356%0%
39On Becoming a Guinea Fowl3906.056%0%
39The Naked Gun3906.926%0%
41Die My Love3815.856%0%
42Friendship3617.485%0%
43The Perfect Neighbor3517.085%0%
44Twinless3416.545%0%
45April3215.125%0%
46Grand Tour3124.925%0%
47Magellan3025.915%0%
48By the Stream2934.914%1%
48BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions2935.164%1%
50Familiar Touch2815.844%0%
51The Voice of Hind Rajab2735.504%1%
52Henry Fonda for President2714.894%0%
53Warfare2706.354%0%
54The Life of Chuck2656.104%1%
55Bring Her Back2606.474%0%
56Father Mother Sister Brother2407.504%0%
57Highest 2 Lowest2307.003%0%
58Materialists2225.233%0%
59Happyend2206.213%0%
59Caught Stealing2206.083%0%
61Invention2126.503%0%
62Wicked: For Good2116.823%0%
63Avatar: Fire and Ash2105.573%0%
63Hedda2105.733%0%
63Dracula2106.943%0%
63Final Destination: Bloodlines2108.083%0%
63Rental Family2105.503%0%
68A House of Dynamite2006.673%0%
69Direct Action1914.933%0%
69One of Them Days1916.183%0%
69Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk1916.673%0%
72The Long Walk1906.383%0%
72Splitsville1907.733%0%
72The Ballad of Wallis Island1905.603%0%
75The Ice Tower1825.003%0%
76Zodiac Killer Project1806.753%0%
76Pillion1806.923%0%
78Vulcanizadora1717.303%0%
79My Father's Shadow1705.913%0%
79Roofman1706.093%0%
81Lurker1626.302%0%
82Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning1617.082%0%
83Predators1607.332%0%
84Souleymane's Story1525.802%0%
85Zootopia 21507.752%0%
85Predator: Badlands1508.102%0%
87Dreams1434.732%1%
88Cover-Up1406.442%0%
88Reflection in a Dead Diamond1406.782%0%
88Thunderbolts*1407.002%0%
88The Love That Remains1407.272%0%
88Mickey 171407.292%0%
93Pee-Wee as Himself1305.002%0%
93Is This Thing On?1306.222%0%
957 Walks With Mark Brown1233.292%1%
96Castration Movie Anthology II: The Best of Both Worlds1224.602%0%
97Companion1215.302%0%
98Viet and Nam1134.302%1%
99Left-Handed Girl1115.602%0%
100The Ugly Stepsister1015.202%0%
100Fire of Wind1015.332%0%

Lists Included 659

R Rank
L Total number of lists where the film was selected as one of the top 10 films of the year
AR Average position on ranked top 10 lists
#1 Total number of lists where the film was selected as the best film of the year
L% Percentage of total lists where the film was selected as one of the top 10 films of the year
#1% Percentage of mentions where the film was selected as the best film of the year
TCL Number of times that the film was selected as one of the top 10 films of the year on top critics’ lists
TCL1 Number of times that the film was selected as the best film of the year on top critics’ lists
TCL% Percentage of times that the film was selected as one of the top 10 films of the year on top critics’ lists
TCL1% Percentage of lists where the film was selected as the best film of the year on top critics’ lists