Best Films of 2025

This is a list ranking all the films released in 2025 that I have seen.

★★★★★ – Favourite / Classic / Masterpiece
★★★★½ – Excellent / Deeply Rewarding Experience
★★★★ – Great Experience / Enjoyed all Elements
★★★½ – Very Good / Enjoyable Experience with Minor Flaws
★★★ – Good Experience with some Flaws
★★½ – Interesting Elements but Major Flaws
★★ – Disappointing / Attractive Project that Fails
★½ – Annoying Choices of Creative or Narrative Elements
★ – Soulless / Barely a Film
½ – Abysmal / One of the Worst Films Seen

The Secret Agent
(O Agente Secreto)
★★★★½
dir. Kleber Mendonça Filho
Historical Political Thriller
[Brazil / France / Germany / Netherlands, 2025]
Budget: $5 million

Sentimental Value
★★★★½
dir. Joachim Trier
Comedy Drama
[Norway / France / Germany / Denmark / Sweden / UK, 2025]

Afternoons of Solitude
★★★★½
dir. Albert Serra
Documentary
[Spain / Portugal / France, 2024]

April
★★★★½
dir. Dea Kulumbegashvili
Drama
[Georgia / Italy / France, 2024]
Budget: €2 million

Cover-Up
★★★★½
dir. Laura Poitras and Mark Obenhaus
Documentary
[USA, 2025]

All I Had Was Nothingness
★★★★½
dir. Guillaume Ribot
Documentary
[France, 2025]

Marty Supreme
★★★★½
dir. Josh Safdie
Sports Comedy-Drama
[USA, 2025]
Budget: $60–70 million

One Battle After Another
★★★★½
dir. Paul Thomas Anderson
Action Thriller
[USA, 2025]
Budget: $130–175 million

Sinners
★★★★
dir. Ryan Coogler
Horror
[USA, 2025]
Budget: $90–100 million

The Story of Souleymane
★★★★
dir. Boris Lojkine
Drama
[France, 2024]

Train Dreams
★★★★
dir. Clint Bentley
Period Drama
[USA, 2025]

Kill Bill The Whole Bloody Affair
★★★★
dir. Quentin Tarantino
Martial Arts
[USA, 2004]
Budget: $60 million

The White House Effect
★★★★
dir. Pedro Kos
Documentary
[USA, 2024]

Avatar: Fire and Ash
★★★½
dir. James Cameron
Epic Science Fiction
[USA, 2025]
Budget: $350–400 million

In die Sonne schauen
★★★½
dir. Mascha Schilinski
Drama
[Germany, 2025]
Budget: $5 million

Viet and Nam
★★★½
dir. Minh Quý Trương
Romantic Drama
[Philippines / Singapore / France / Netherlands / Italy / Germany / Vietnam / USA, 2024]

After the Hunt
★★★½
dir. Luca Guadagnino
Psychological Thriller
[Italy / USA, 2025]
Budget: $70–80 million

Wake Up Dead Man
★★★½
dir. Rian Johnson
Mystery
[USA, 2025]
Budget: $151.7 million

Bugonia
★★★½
dir. Yorgos Lanthimos
Black Comedy
[UK / Ireland / South Korea / USA, 2025]
Budget: $45–55 million

Black Bag
★★★½
dir. Steven Soderbergh
Spy Thriller
[USA, 2025]
Budget: $50–60 million

Predator: Badlands
★★★½
dir. Dan Trachtenberg
Science Fiction Action
[USA, 2025]
Budget: $105 million

The Assessment
★★★½
dir. Fleur Fortuné
Science Fiction Thriller
[UK / Germany / USA, 2024]
Budget: $8 million

Warfare
★★★½
dir. Ray Mendoza and Alex Garland
War
[UK / USA, 2025]
Budget: $20 million

Drop
★★★½
dir. Christopher Landon
Mystery Thriller
[USA, 2025]
Budget: $11 million

The Smashing Machine
★★★½
dir. Benny Safdie
Biographical Sports Drama
[USA, 2025]
Budget: $50 million

Heldin
★★★½
dir. Petra Volpe
Drama
[Switzerland / Germany, 2025]
Budget: €3.7 million

The Mastermind
★★★½
dir. Kelly Reichardt
Heist
[UK / USA, 2025]

House of Dynamite
★★★
dir. Kathryn Bigelow
Apocalyptic Political Thriller
[USA, 2025]

The Perfect Neighbor
★★★
dir. Geeta Gandbhir
Documentary
[USA, 2025]

F1
★★★
dir. Joseph Kosinski
Sports Drama
[USA, 2025]
Budget: $200–300 million

Ballerina
★★★
dir. Len Wiseman
Action Thriller
[USA, 2025]
Budget: $90 million

Night Always Comes
★★★
dir. Benjamin Caron
Crime Thriller Drama
[USA, 2025]

Sirāt
★★★
dir. Óliver Laxe
Drama
[Spain / France, 2025]
Budget: €6.5 million

Amrum
★★★
dir. Fatih Akin
Historical Drama
[Germany, 2025]

Miroirs No. 3
★★★
dir. Christian Petzold
Drama
[Germany, 2025]

I’m Still Here
★★★
dir. Walter Salles
Political Biographical Drama
[Brazil / France, 2024]
Budget: $9 million

Superman
★★★
dir. James Gunn
Superhero
[USA, 2025]
Budget: $225 million

Captain America: Brave New World
★★★
dir. Julius Onah
Superhero
[USA, 2025]
Budget: $180 million

Predator: Killer of Killers
★★★
dir. Dan Trachtenberg
Adult Animated Science Fiction Action Anthology
[USA, 2025]
Budget: $50 million

The Phoenician Scheme
★★★
dir. Wes Anderson
Espionage Black Comedy Thriller
[USA / Germany, 2025]
Budget: $30 million

Apocalypse in the Tropics
★★★
dir. Petra Costa
Documentary
[Brazil / USA / UK, 2024]

CHAOS: The Manson Murders
★★★
dir. Errol Morris
Documentary
[USA, 2025]

Grand Theft Hamlet
★★★
dir. Sam Crane and Pinny Grylls
Documentary
[UK, 2024]

Jurassic World Rebirth
★★½
dir. Gareth Edwards
Science Fiction Action
[USA, 2025]
Budget: $180–225 million

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning
★★½
dir. Christopher McQuarrie
Spy Action
[USA, 2025]
Budget: $300–400 million

Pathernope
★★½
dir. Paolo Sorrentino
Coming-of-Age Drama
[Italy / France, 2024]
Budget: €32.6 million

The Quiet Ones
★★½
dir. Frederik Louis Hviid
Crime Action Drama
[Denmark / Sweden / France, 2024]

The Woman in Cabin 10
★★½
dir. Simon Stone
Psychological Thriller
[UK / USA, 2025]

Frankenstein
★★
dir. Guillermo del Toro
Gothic Science Fiction
[USA, 2025]
Budget: $120 million

Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
★★
dir. Nick Park and Merlin Crossingham
Animated Comedy
[UK, 2024]

The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep
★★
dir. Kang Hei Chul
Adult Animated Fantasy Drama
[South Korea / USA / Poland, 2025]

The Ugly Stepsister
★½
dir. Emilie Blichfeldt
Satirical Black Comedy Body Horror
[Norway / Poland / Sweden / Denmark, 2025]
Budget: $4.2 million

Caught by the Tides
★½
dir. Jia Zhangke
Drama
[China, 2024]

Baby Invasion
★
dir. Harmony Korine
Experimental Thriller
[USA, 2024]