Best Movies of 2025: All Major Critics' Lists in One Place

Empire Magazine's Best Movies of 2025

Empire's staff-voted top 20 always feels like a fun mix of crowd-pleasers and critical darlings – I love how they celebrate big genre films alongside arthouse standouts. Paul Thomas Anderson's epic topped their list, but there are some surprising popcorn picks in there too.

1. Sinners (2025) - Ryan Coogler  
2. One Battle After Another (2025) - Paul Thomas Anderson  
3. Weapons (2025) - Zach Cregger  
4. The Ballad Of Wallis Island (2025) - James Griffiths  
5. Flow (2025) - Gints Zilbalodis  
6. Bring Her Back (2025) - the Philippou brothers  
7. Predator: Badlands (2025) - Dan Trachtenberg  
8. 28 Years Later (2025) - Danny Boyle and Alex Garland  
9. I Swear (2025) - Kirk Jones  
10. Pillion (2025) - Harry Lighton  
11. Nickel Boys (2025) - RaMell Ross  
12. Hard Truths (2025) - Mike Leigh  
13. F1 (2025) - Joseph Kosinski  
14. Bugonia (2025) - Yorgos Lanthimos  
15. The Naked Gun (2025) - Akiva Schaffer  
16. Black Bag (2025) - Steven Soderbergh  
17. A House Of Dynamite (2025) - Kathryn Bigelow  
18. Frankenstein (2025) - Guillermo del Toro  
19. The Brutalist (2025) - Brady Corbet  
20. Warfare (2025) - Alex Garland and Ray Mendoza

Entertainment Weekly’s Best Movies of 2025

EW went alphabetical this year with their 10 picks, which I appreciate because it avoids the ranking drama. It's a solid snapshot of the films that got everyone talking, heavy on star power and emotional punches.

• Bugonia (2025) - Yorgos Lanthimos  
• Hamnet (2025) - Chloé Zhao  
• The Housemaid (2025) - Paul Feig  
• If I Had Legs I'd Kick You (2025) - Mary Bronstein  
• KPop Demon Hunters (2025) - Maggie Kang  
• Marty Supreme (2025) - Josh Safdie  
• One Battle After Another (2025) - Paul Thomas Anderson  
• Sinners (2025) - Ryan Coogler  
• Sirāt (2025) - Oliver Laxe  
• Weapons (2025) - Zach Cregger

The Hollywood Reporter Critics' Best Films of 2025

THR's team (David Rooney, Jon Frosch, and Sheri Linden) always brings that insider Hollywood perspective. Their ranked list leans into bold storytelling and standout performances – perfect if you're into films with real edge.

1. One Battle After Another (2025) - Paul Thomas Anderson  
2. Sinners (2025) - Ryan Coogler  
3. Marty Supreme (2025) - Josh Safdie  
4. The Secret Agent (2025) - Kleber Mendonça Filho
5. Sentimental Value (2025) - Joachim Trier  
6. Rebuilding (2025) - Kelly Reichardt 
7. No Other Choice (2025) - Park Chan-wook  
8. One of Them Days (2025) - Lawrence Lamont  
9. Caught by the Tides (2025) - Jia Zhangke  
10. Black Bag (2025) - Steven Soderbergh

TIME’s Best Movies of 2025

TIME's top 10 is super thoughtful, with a great balance of mainstream hits and international gems. Ryan Coogler's vampire thriller took the crown here, and I totally get why – it's one of those movies that stays with you.

1. Sinners (2025) - Ryan Coogler  
2. Blue Moon (2025) - Richard Linklater  
3. One of Them Days (2025) - Lawrence Lamont  
4. Rebuilding (2025) - Kelly Reichardt  
5. Train Dreams (2025) - Clint Bentley  
6. Nouvelle Vague (2025) - Richard Linklater  
7. Presence (2025) - Steven Soderbergh  
8. Hamnet (2025) - Chloé Zhao  
9. Warfare (2025) - Alex Garland and Ray Mendoza  
10. It Was Just an Accident (2025) - Jafar Panahi

Rolling Stone’s Best Films of 2025

Rolling Stone went big with a top 20, blending rock 'n' roll energy with deep cuts. PTA dominated again, but I adore how they spotlight quirky indies and bold voices that might fly under the radar.

1. One Battle After Another (2025) - Paul Thomas Anderson  
2. Hamnet (2025) - Chloé Zhao  
3. Black Bag (2025) - Steven Soderbergh  
4. Train Dreams (2025) - Clint Bentley  
5. Nouvelle Vague (2025) - Richard Linklater  
6. It Was Just an Accident (2025) - Jafar Panahi  
7. No Other Choice (2025) - Park Chan-wook  
8. Sorry, Baby (2025) - Eva Victor  
9. Marty Supreme (2025) - Josh Safdie  
10. Sentimental Value (2025) - Joachim Trier  
11. Peter Hujar’s Day (2025) - Ira Sachs 
12. Eddington (2025) - Ari Aster  
13. Universal Language (2025) - Matthew Rankin  
14. Best Wishes to All (2025) - Yûta Shimotsu  
15. Orwell: 2+2=5 (2025) - Raoul Peck  
16. On Becoming a Guinea Fowl (2025) - Rungano Nyoni  
17. The Phoenician Scheme (2025) - Wes Anderson  
18. Caught by the Tides (2025) - Jia Zhangke  
19. Frankenstein (2025) - Guillermo del Toro  
20. Weapons (2025) - Zach Cregger

NPR’s Best Movies of 2025 (Justin Chang's Top 10)

Fresh Air critic Justin Chang's list for NPR is one of my personal favorites – it's poetic, international-heavy, and full of films that make you think. So many poetic, under-the-radar masterpieces here.

1. Sirāt (2025) - Oliver Laxe  
2. It Was Just an Accident (2025) - Jafar Panahi  
3. Resurrection (2025) - Bi Gan  
4. Caught by the Tides (2025) - Jia Zhangke  
5. My Undesirable Friends: Part I — Last Air in Moscow (2025) - Julia Loktev (documentary)  
6. The Secret Agent (2025) - Kleber Mendonça Filho  
7. Presence (2025) - Steven Soderbergh  
8. One Battle After Another (2025) - Paul Thomas Anderson  
9. Sinners (2025) - Ryan Coogler  
10. Black Bag (2025) - Steven Soderbergh

The Independent’s Best Movies of 2025 (Clarisse Loughrey)

Clarisse Loughrey's top 15 for The Independent feels refreshingly opinionated and diverse. She champions films with real heart and social bite – PTA on top again, but with some powerful global stories mixed in.

1. One Battle After Another (2025) - Paul Thomas Anderson  
2. Black Bag (2025) - Steven Soderbergh  
3. It Was Just an Accident (2025) - Jafar Panahi  
4. The Brutalist (2025) - Brady Corbet  
5. From Ground Zero: Stories from Gaza (2025) - Rashid Masharawi (anthology)  
6. Sinners (2025) - Ryan Coogler  
7. Marty Supreme (2025) - Josh Safdie  
8. No Other Choice (2025) - Park Chan-wook  
9. Nouvelle Vague (2025) - Richard Linklater  
10. Hamnet (2025) - Chloé Zhao  
11. Weapons (2025) - Zach Cregger  
12. Rebuilding (2025) - Kelly Reichardt  
13. Sentimental Value (2025) - Joachim Trier  
14. Caught by the Tides (2025) - Jia Zhangke  
15. Frankenstein (2025) - Guillermo del Toro

The New York Times’ Best Movies of 2025

The NYT gives us two separate top 10s from Manohla Dargis and Alissa Wilkinson, which I love because it shows how tastes can differ even among pros. Dargis went bold and mainstream-leaning, while Wilkinson dives deeper into experimental and documentary vibes.

Manohla Dargis's Top 10

1. Sinners (2025) - Ryan Coogler  
2. One Battle After Another (2025) - Paul Thomas Anderson  
3. Marty Supreme (2025) - Josh Safdie  
4. It Was Just an Accident (2025) - Jafar Panahi  
5. BLKNWS (2025) - Kahlil Joseph
6. My Undesirable Friends: Part I — Last Air in Moscow (2025) - Julia Loktev  
7. Sorry, Baby (2025) - Eva Victor  
8. The Secret Agent (2025) - Kleber Mendonça Filho  
9. Caught by the Tides (2025) - Jia Zhangke  
10. The Mastermind (2025) - Kelly Reichardt

Alissa Wilkinson's Top 10

1. One Battle After Another (2025) - Paul Thomas Anderson  
2. It Was Just an Accident (2025) - Jafar Panahi  
3. My Undesirable Friends: Part I — Last Air in Moscow (2025) - Julia Loktev  
4. Marty Supreme (2025) - Josh Safdie  
5. The Testament of Ann Lee (2025) - Mona Fastvold  
6. Predators (2025) - David Osit
7. Put Your Soul On Your Hand and Walk (2025) - Sepideh Farsi
8. Sinners (2025) - Ryan Coogler  
9. Eephus (2025) - Carson Lund
10. The Voice of Hind Rajab (2025) - Kaouther Ben Hania

BBC Culture’s Best Movies of 2025

BBC Culture critics Nicholas Barber and Caryn James compiled this collective top 25 list of the best films of 2025. The films are presented in an unranked order (the numbers are just for clarity, not rankings), with a diverse mix of international arthouse, bold Hollywood entries, and even animation.

1. Hamnet (2025) - Chloé Zhao  
2. Sorry, Baby (2025) - Eva Victor  
3. Is This Thing On? (2025) - Bradley Cooper  
4. One Battle After Another (2025) - Paul Thomas Anderson  
5. No Other Choice (2025) - Park Chan-wook  
6. The Secret Agent (2025) - Kleber Mendonça Filho  
7. The Voice of Hind Rajab (2025) - Kaouther Ben Hania  
8. Sentimental Value (2025) - Joachim Trier  
9. It Was Just an Accident (2025) - Jafar Panahi  
10. Marty Supreme (2025) - Josh Safdie  
11. Wake Up Dead Man (2025) - Rian Johnson  
12. Father Mother Sister Brother (2025) - Jim Jarmusch  
13. Weapons (2025) - Zach Cregger  
14. Highest 2 Lowest (2025) - Spike Lee  
15. Bring Her Back (2025) - Danny Philippou and Michael Philippou  
16. Materialists (2025) - Celine Song  
17. The Ballad of Wallis Island (2025) - James Griffiths  
18. Lurker (2025) - Alex Russell  
19. Companion (2025) - Drew Hancock  
20. Sinners (2025) - Ryan Coogler  
21. Art for Everybody (2025) - Miranda Yousef  
22. Warfare (2025) - Alex Garland  
23. Holy Cow (2025) - Louise Courvoisier  
24. Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl (2025) - Nick Park and Merlin Crossingham  
25. On Becoming a Guinea Fowl (2025) - Rungano Nyoni

IndieWire’s Best Movies of 2025

IndieWire's in-house top 25 (plus their massive critics poll) is critic-catnip – PTA swept both, but the list is packed with daring, innovative films that push boundaries. If you love cinephile deep dives, this one's for you.

1. One Battle After Another (2025) - Paul Thomas Anderson  
2. Marty Supreme (2025) - Josh Safdie  
3. Sinners (2025) - Ryan Coogler  
4. The Naked Gun (2025) - Akiva Schaffer  
5. Sorry, Baby (2025) - Eva Victor  
6. The Secret Agent (2025) - Kleber Mendonça Filho  
7. No Other Choice (2025) - Park Chan-wook  
8. Sentimental Value (2025) - Joachim Trier  
9. It Was Just an Accident (2025) - Jafar Panahi  
10. Presence (2025) - Steven Soderbergh  
11. Resurrection (2025) - Bi Gan  
12. Sirāt (2025) - Oliver Laxe  
13. Caught by the Tides (2025) - Jia Zhangke  
14. Hamnet (2025) - Chloé Zhao  
15. Rebuilding (2025) - Kelly Reichardt  
16. Train Dreams (2025) - Clint Bentley  
17. Nouvelle Vague (2025) - Richard Linklater  
18. Black Bag (2025) - Steven Soderbergh  
19. Warfare (2025) - Alex Garland and Ray Mendoza  
20. Weapons (2025) - Zach Cregger  
21. Misericordia (2025) - Alain Guiraudie  
22. Eddington (2025) - Ari Aster  
23. 28 Years Later (2025) - Danny Boyle  
24. The Ballad of Wallis Island (2025) - James Griffiths  
25. On Becoming a Guinea Fowl (2025) - Rungano Nyoni

Variety’s Best Movies of 2025

Variety's chief critics Peter Debruge and Owen Gleiberman highlight a mix of escapism and reality-biting dramas. Their combined standouts feel very "industry insider" but with real passion – some quirky international picks really stood out to me.

• One Battle After Another (2025) - Paul Thomas Anderson  
• Marty Supreme (2025) - Josh Safdie  
• Black Bag (2025) - Steven Soderbergh  
• It Was Just an Accident (2025) - Jafar Panahi  
• Dreams (2025) - Dag Johan Haugerud
• Souleymane's Story (2025) - Boris Lojkine 
• Sound of Falling (2025) - Mascha Schilinski
• 28 Years Later (2025) - Danny Boyle  
• Train Dreams (2025) - Clint Bentley  
• The President's Cake (2025) - Hasan Hadi

There you have it – my massive compilation of the best movies of 2025 according to the critics! Seeing the overlaps (hello, One Battle After Another and Sinners everywhere) and the unique picks makes me excited to catch up on anything I missed. What's your personal #1 of the year? Drop it in the comments – I read them all. Happy watching, friends!