Another 12 months of cinema have come and gone, and it was undeniably a captivating year for cinema. There was the usual mix of superheroes, live-action remakes, reboots, and sequels. However, there were also plenty of original films with the potential to contend for awards in 2026. Before we dive into the madness of awards season, let’s take a look at the best films of 2025, in my opinion.
For a film to be eligible for inclusion on this list, I must have seen it within the calendar year of 2025. While I always strive to include films listed as 2025 releases on IMDb, some don’t receive a UK-wide release until well into the year. Furthermore, some films don’t get a wide release until 2026, but since I caught these at the London Film Festival, they are eligible for inclusion. Additionally, I haven’t watched every single film released in 2025, so if there’s a film you think should be included here, please let me know.
One more disclaimer. I haven’t reviewed every film here, but grades do not determine the rankings. This is my chance to celebrate the films that resonated with me the most over the last year. As usual, before we get into the main list, I do have some honourable mentions, films that I enjoyed but didn’t make the top 10:
Roofman (review). Every once in a while comes a film based on a true story, which seems completely implausible, that it couldn’t possibly be true. Yet, Derek Ciafrance’s hilarious film about the most polite criminal ever, who robs stores by cutting a hole in the roof to steal cash, and then evades police by hiding in a Toys R Us store, really has to be seen to be believed.
Kpop Demon Hunters. As a complete stranger to the K-pop genre, I had no idea what to expect with this. Coming from the same studio as the makers of the incredible Spider-Verse films piqued my curiosity. With its brilliant animation, innovative story (a trio of badass demon hunters who moonlight as a girl group!) and certified banger of a soundtrack, what is not to love?
F1 (review). A fundamental job for any sports film is to pull the viewer in, regardless of whether they’re a devout follower or have never watched said sport before. After blowing audiences away with Top Gun: Maverick, Joseph Kosinski swaps fighter jets for F1 cars to deliver another electrifying and pulsating spectacle that hits the chequered flag with flying colours.
The Brutalist (review). Filmed in glorious VistaVision, with one of the most impactful opening scenes of the entire year, Brady Corbet’s 215-minute epic is a towering, ambitious and timely story about the struggles of the immigrant experience looking to fulfil the promise of the American Dream, with an incredible Oscar-winning performance by Adrien Brody.
I Swear. A film as British as they come, but I defy anyone who fails to be uplifted by this truly inspiring story of John Davidson, who, after being diagnosed with Tourette’s syndrome as a youngster in 1980s Scotland, grew up to become a campaigner and activist to raise awareness of the disorder, with around 300,000 children and adults in the UK estimated to live with the condition. In what could have come across as a caricature, Robert Aramayo’s performance as Davidson is anything but, capturing the man with warm sincerity as well as a great deal of humour.
Honourable mentions honoured. Now, here comes the top 10…
10. The Voice of Hind Rajab
Ever since the Israel-Palestine conflict broke out with the appalling attacks by Hamas on Israel on October 7 2023, it has been impossible to ignore the horrors that the Palestinian people have endured over the last two years, with the UN declaring in September that a genocide is being committed by Israel in Gaza, after famine was declared in August. This powerful dramatisation tells the true story of Red Crescent volunteers who, in January 2024, received an emergency phone call from a young girl in Gaza trapped in a car under fire. This is a film I haven’t stopped thinking about since I saw it at the 2025 London Film Festival. A harrowing and deeply upsetting, but vitally necessary watch. Free Palestine.
9. The Long Walk
review
In a year that saw numerous Stephen King adaptations, both on the big and small screen, Francis Lawrence’s adaptation of the first novel the legendary author wrote powered its way to taking the crown as the best King adaptation of the year and one of the best ever made. To say this film, about the struggles and enduring financial hardship in an authoritarian United States, is timely would be an understatement. Lawrence leans into his experience of crafting a film centred on a competition where only one person shall emerge victorious to craft a gripping and intense thriller, with incredible performances from Cooper Hoffman and David Jonsson that will have you on the edge of your seat.
8. Thunderbolts*
review
Multiversal shenanigans have been in plentiful supply in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in recent years, with decidedly mixed results, but not the death of the MCU as some would have had you believe. Nevertheless, Thunderbolts* proved to be a refreshing and welcome change of pace to close out Phase Five, as it brought the franchise back down to earth with the fascinating story of a ragtag group of antiheroes forced to put aside their differences and work together to fight their common enemy. The film brought humour in the form of its central team of protagonists/antagonists (delete where appropriate), with personalities clashing just from being in the same room as one another, and was reminiscent of the gritty and grounded spy thriller found in the Captain America films. Not only that, but it also took the brave step of openly discussing mental health and the lasting impact that trauma can have on people forced to do bad things at some points in their lives.
7. Flow
Dialogue, a staple of the majority of films we see nowadays. However, it is not always necessary to tell a touching or powerful story about the devastation caused by a biblical-like apocalypse and the will to survive. Case in point, Gilts Zilbalodis’s beautiful film, made on a shoestring budget ($3.5million), defied expectations to win Best Animated Feature at the 97th Academy Awards, gazumping the likes of Disney and Dreamworks in the process. The little cat film that could, and did indeed, swim its way into the hearts of audiences everywhere.
6. Predator: Badlands
Since taking the reins of the franchise with 2022’s Prey, Dan Trachtenberg has breathed new life into a franchise that seemed to have been hunted down and put out of its misery following Predator (2018). We have seen Predators hunting humans for sport numerous times, so Trachtenberg makes a refreshing switch-up by framing it from the perspective of a young Yautja warrior, who, after being scorned and dismissed by his father due to being a runt, travels to an extremely hostile planet to embark on a hunt to defeat a deadly creature on an incredibly perilous planet to prove himself, while striking up an unlikely alliance with a severely damaged Weyland-Yutani android (Elle Fanning). Please keep these movies coming!
5. Weapons
review
I will be the first one to tell you I am not a horror fan. So, when a film in this genre really gets people talking, it compels me to go out of my comfort zone, and I am so glad I did because Zach Creggar’s sophomore feature more than lived up to the expectations I had set based on the chatter. The central and disturbing mystery hooks you in from the off, masterfully maintains the suspense and tension throughout, and builds to a crescendo in a third act that I will not be forgetting in a hurry. All the cast were firing on all cylinders, but the standouts were by far Amy Madigan’s Aunt Gladys (you will be inherently suspicious of anyone you meet called Gladys ever again) and Julia Garner as Justine Gandy, the poor teacher caught in the middle of this nightmare. Between this and the next film on this list, 2025 was an incredible year for Garner.
4. Fantastic Four: First Steps
review
Marvel’s First Family have had numerous attempts to do them justice on the big screen, yet every time an adaptation has been attempted, it has either been majorly flawed or just an outright disaster of gargantuanly Galactus-sized proportions. Yet, finally, with the team now back with their rightful owners at Marvel, fans got a film truly befitting of the team’s name. Impeccable chemistry between the team, a fun retro-futuristic setting away from the main MCU timeline, and a formidable threat in the shape of the planet-eating entity Galactus and his herald, the Silver Surfer (another excellent Julia Garner performance). Fantastic by name, fantastic by nature.
3. Hamnet
review
Ever since the COVID pandemic hit, we have seen no shortage of films about the power of the arts, and indeed cinema, to act as a healing process in the face of adversity or devastating tragedy. Yet, what none of those other films did was to do so through the lens of Shakespeare and to explore the tragic backstory of his personal life that led him to write the play many consider to be his masterpiece, Hamlet. After dabbling with the machine of the MCU, Chloé Zhao once again proves that she is a master at finding the humanity of those who find themselves isolated from society, with brilliant and emotionally devastating performances from Paul Mescal and especially Jessie Buckley. A film that captures the unimaginable heartache no parents should have to endure, yet is simultaneously positively life-affirming at the timeless power of the arts as a mechanism to process our grief. To be or not to be, that is the question, indeed.
2. Frankenstein
review
Films about monsters and Guillermo del Toro have so often been a match made in cinematic heaven throughout the distinguished Mexican auteur’s career. It should therefore come as no surprise that an adaptation of Mary Shelley’s iconic novel has long been a passion project for him, and it is easy to see why, as the source material could not be more aligned with del Toro’s skills as a filmmaker. Del Toro magnificently channels his passion for Shelley’s work, while imprinting his own unique style on the dangers of hubris by humanity in the pursuit of scientific discovery and the perils of what can happen when people try to play God. Some of the most beautiful cinematography of the year, immaculate costumes and production design, and incredible performances from Oscar Isaac and a career-best from Jacob Elordi as the misunderstood Creature. The legend of Frankenstein is reborn for a brand new generation.
Drumroll, my favourite film of 2025 is..
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1. Sinners
review
What is there to say about Ryan Coogler’s magnum opus that hasn’t already been said? The praise this movie has received ever since its release in April is fully justified, and for a film not based on any existing franchise or IP to have grossed $367m at the worldwide box office is an incredible achievement and speaks volumes to what can happen when filmmakers such as Coogler are given the space to realise their vision and to craft something truly special.
This is not just a vampire movie; it is so, so much more than that. It is a wondrous blend of genres, a celebration of blues music, the power of music to connect the past and the future (that scene is hands down the coolest scene of the entire year). As soon as I saw it in April, I knew right then and there that not only would it feature in this list, but that it would top the lot, and so it proved. Films like this are why we go to the cinema, and why it is imperative to see films on the big screen where they belong.
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And that brings the curtain down on my list of the best the big screen had to offer in 2025. Thank you for reading, especially if you read all the way through! What were your favourite films of 2025? Let me know in the comments below, or you can find me on the following platforms: Bluesky, Facebook or Letterbox’d.
Through the Silver Screen 