10. The Mastermind

167 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

9. Sorry, Baby

171 LISTS | 13 TOP SPOTS
Eva Victor | 103 mins | Black Comedy-Drama
Eva Victor | Naomi Ackie | Louis Cancelmi | Kelly McCormack

“From the “A Star Is Born” Dept.: Writer-director-actor Eva Victor instantly establishes herself as a multihyphenate to be reckoned with this semi-fractured, sometimes harrowing, and often hilarious tale of a college professor dealing with a longstanding trauma. It would have been enough for Victor to translate an already pointed comic voice, honed through improv shows and viral tweets, to the screen. Yet her debut knows when to go for deadpan laughs and when to knock you flat with emotional haymakers; occasionally, as in a visit to a doctor whose bedside manner leaves something to be desired, the movie delivers both at once. The temptation is to compare Victor to Phoebe Waller-Bridge, especially since the movie gives off heavy Fleabag vibes (minus the fourth wall-breaking). But while they may be kindred spirits, this Brooklyn-by-way-of-San-Francisco artist is mining a wit and pathos that’s all her own. Throw in solid supporting performances from Naomi Ackie, Lucas Hedges, and Louis Cancelmi, and you have a keeper. ” – David Fear, Rolling Stone

8. Train Dreams

198 LISTS | 19 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

7. Weapons

208 LISTS | 5 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

236 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

249 LISTS | 13 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. It Was Just An Accident

290 LISTS | 12 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

3. Marty Supreme

300 LISTS | 24 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

2. Sinners

463 LISTS | 71 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

578 LISTS | 168 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:

Rank	Film	Lists	#1	Avg Rating	L%	#1%
1	One Battle After Another	578	168	2.75	68%	28%
2	Sinners	463	71	4.17	54%	12%
3	Marty Supreme	300	24	4.43	35%	4%
4	It Was Just an Accident	290	12	5.31	34%	2%
5	Sentimental Value	249	13	5.02	29%	2%
6	The Secret Agent	236	10	5.29	28%	2%
7	Weapons	208	5	5.73	24%	1%
8	Train Dreams	198	19	5.52	23%	3%
9	Sorry, Baby	171	13	5.63	20%	2%
10	The Mastermind	167	2	5.72	20%	0%
11	Hamnet	165	15	4.72	19%	2%
12	If I Had Legs I'd Kick You	156	5	5.84	18%	1%
13	No Other Choice	142	6	5.42	17%	1%
14	Blue Moon	139	2	6.31	16%	0%
15	Frankenstein	137	4	5.67	16%	1%
16	Sirat	136	15	5.03	16%	2%
17	Bugonia	127	0	6.86	15%	0%
18	Eddington	112	6	5.69	13%	1%
19	Black Bag	109	3	6.24	13%	0%
20	The Shrouds	107	8	4.80	13%	1%
21	28 Years Later	106	5	5.90	12%	1%
22	Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery	97	3	6.38	11%	0%
23	Misericordia	96	9	5.19	11%	1%
24	Afternoons of Solitude	88	13	4.16	10%	2%
25	Caught by the Tides	84	7	4.83	10%	1%
26	Eephus	82	2	6.54	10%	0%
27	Superman	79	4	6.41	9%	1%
28	Resurrection	75	9	4.71	9%	1%
29	Nouvelle Vague	73	4	6.13	9%	1%
30	Peter Hujar's Day	69	4	5.73	8%	1%
31	The Testament of Ann Lee	67	2	5.76	8%	0%
32	F1	65	2	6.21	8%	0%
33	The Phoenician Scheme	59	1	6.85	7%	0%
34	Sound of Falling	56	4	5.19	7%	1%
35	KPop Demon Hunters	54	0	6.38	6%	0%
36	Jay Kelly	53	3	6.32	6%	0%
37	The Naked Gun	53	0	7.06	6%	0%
38	Cloud	52	0	5.79	6%	0%
39	On Becoming a Guinea Fowl	48	0	6.48	6%	0%
40	Die My Love	47	3	5.85	6%	0%
41	My Undesirable Friends: Part I - Last Air in Moscow	46	5	4.66	5%	1%
42	Twinless	46	2	6.61	5%	0%
43	The Perfect Neighbor	43	1	6.81	5%	0%
44	Friendship	40	1	7.54	5%	0%
45	The Life of Chuck	34	7	5.71	4%	1%
46	Materialists	34	2	5.82	4%	0%
47	April	34	1	5.04	4%	0%
47	Familiar Touch	34	1	5.95	4%	0%
49	Highest 2 Lowest	34	0	7.23	4%	0%
49	A House of Dynamite	34	0	6.79	4%	0%
51	Magellan	33	2	5.92	4%	0%
52	The Long Walk	33	1	6.04	4%	0%
52	Bring Her Back	33	1	6.10	4%	0%
54	The Voice of Hind Rajab	32	4	5.23	4%	1%
55	BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions	32	3	5.05	4%	0%
56	Grand Tour	32	2	4.93	4%	0%
57	Rental Family	32	1	5.21	4%	0%
58	Warfare	32	0	6.43	4%	0%
59	Avatar: Fire and Ash	31	0	5.82	4%	0%
60	Wicked: For Good	30	1	6.25	4%	0%
61	By the Stream	29	3	4.91	3%	0%
62	Hedda	28	0	6.00	3%	0%
62	Caught Stealing	28	0	6.38	3%	0%
64	The Ballad of Wallis Island	27	2	5.06	3%	0%
65	Henry Fonda for President	27	1	4.89	3%	0%
66	Father Mother Sister Brother	27	0	7.13	3%	0%
67	Final Destination: Bloodlines	25	0	7.75	3%	0%
68	Splitsville	24	0	7.33	3%	0%
68	Happyend	24	0	6.07	3%	0%
68	Dracula	24	0	6.83	3%	0%
71	Pillion	23	1	6.73	3%	0%
72	Invention	22	2	6.55	3%	0%
73	One of Them Days	22	1	6.33	3%	0%
73	Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk	22	1	6.07	3%	0%
75	Predator: Badlands	22	0	7.35	3%	0%
76	Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning	21	1	7.25	2%	0%
77	Mickey 17	21	0	6.92	2%	0%
77	Thunderbolts*	21	0	6.14	2%	0%
77	Zodiac Killer Project	21	0	7.30	2%	0%
77	Predators	21	0	7.07	2%	0%
81	The Ice Tower	20	2	5.11	2%	0%
81	Direct Action	20	2	4.69	2%	0%
81	Souleymane's Story	20	2	5.93	2%	0%
84	Zootopia 2	20	0	7.27	2%	0%
84	My Father's Shadow	20	0	6.00	2%	0%
84	Roofman	20	0	5.77	2%	0%
87	Lurker	18	2	6.55	2%	0%
88	Reflection in a Dead Diamond	18	0	6.42	2%	0%
89	Vulcanizadora	17	1	7.30	2%	0%
89	The Ugly Stepsister	17	1	7.50	2%	0%
91	The Love That Remains	17	0	7.14	2%	0%
92	Dreams	16	3	4.85	2%	0%
93	Eternity	16	2	5.67	2%	0%
94	Companion	16	1	5.93	2%	0%
95	Is This Thing On?	16	0	6.67	2%	0%
96	Left-Handed Girl	15	1	6.38	2%	0%
97	Cover-Up	15	0	6.60	2%	0%
98	Song Sung Blue	14	0	4.83	2%	0%
98	Pee-Wee as Himself	14	0	5.50	2%	0%
100	Universal Language	13	2	5.00	2%	0%

Lists Included 851

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