Every movie year inevitably invites comparisons to previous years. I’m a little more lukewarm overall on this year, even if I did ultimately have trouble narrowing down my top 10 films of 2025. Part of the year was marked by middling disappointments, and while there were good films to find since the beginning, I didn’t find myself as passionately enthusiastic about most of them. Nevertheless, 2025 found great movies across all genres, new and exciting voices, and returns from celebrated auteurs.

Another year in film has come and gone! While it may not have served up hits as consistently as 2024, there were enough treasures to go around if you knew where to look. With the future of the theatrical experience resting on tenuous ground, new layers have been added to the act of reminiscing on my 2025 movie-going experiences. How many of these films may not have even been greenlit in a consolidated distributor model? Which types of stories may no longer rise to prominence when a dwindling number of individuals control the narrative? Deep questions to ponder during the holiday season, but I remain hopeful that filmmakers will continue to be able to wow us with cinematic spectacle for years to come, even if the process of getting there may look different. Maybe that’s a topic to worry more about next year! For now, here are my top 10 favorite movies of 2025, along with some honorable mentions (because who can pick just 10?):

2025 has been an interesting year for the film industry. With every MCU film underperforming at the box office and Warner Bros. looking to sell to Netflix despite being the most successful film studio of the year, there aren’t many other years that turned out as unpredictable as 2025 was for films. Something that isn’t surprising is that there were a ton of excellent movies released in the calendar year. From blockbuster spectacle to indie dramas, so many films from this year are bound to make an impact on the future of filmmaking. There are some movies that could end up on this top ten list if I had seen them, including The Testament of Ann Lee, Resurrection, and The Voice of Hind Rajab. Out of the 200 movies I’ve seen in 2025, these ten made the biggest impact.

Was 2024 a bad year for movies? Not exactly. As you’ll see, I had no trouble picking my ten favorite films of the year. But for much of the year, that wasn’t the case, with many anticipated hits from celebrated filmmakers underwhelming. Call it a byproduct of last year’s strikes, or call it a simple ebb and flow after the boon of great films in 2023. Nevertheless, this is a list of films I could discuss endlessly, and which I’m excited to revisit down the road well past 2024.