So many good movies come out every year that it's overwhelming, but I do my best to see all the biggest releases. Whenever something gets widespread critical acclaim, I will go out of my way to watch it, and I'm always seated for the latest entries in the big franchise films. 2025 had a solid mix of big-name franchise flicks and completely original projects, so if you are someone that thinks there's never anything new to watch at the theater, chances are you probably just aren't paying attention.
From blood-soaked horror movies to intense dramas, 2025 had all kinds of memorable movies, and so it was hard to narrow down my picks to just 10. Still, I'm happy with my selection and wholeheartedly recommend all 10 of these movies if you are looking for something to watch.
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Here are my 10 favorite movies of 2025. I watched basically everything that I wanted to this year, but it's definitely possible that something slipped under my radar. I'd also like to throw out an honorable mention to 28 Years Later, which proved to be a great new installment in the zombie franchise and had one of my favorite endings of the year.
10 Roofman
Where to Watch: Paramount+
Based on the life of Jeffrey Manchester, Roofman leverages its talented cast (Channing Tatum, Kirsten Dunst, LaKeith Stanfield, and Peter Dinklage) to deliver a crime movie that proves to be a near-perfect blend of comedy and drama. The movie has plenty of laughs, but also plenty of heartbreak, and if nothing else, it works as an incredible time capsule into the early 2000s. Seeing a Toys 'R Us filled with PS2, GameCube, and original Xbox games provides a heavy blast of nostalgia and Tatum's antics in the store alone makes the movie worth watching for millennials.
9 Warfare
Where to Watch: HBO Max
Another true story, Warfare recounts one of director Ray Mendoza's experiences in the Iraq War. Presented in real-time, the movie shows the horrors of war with no commentary, highlighting the terrible impact it has on the soldiers fighting in it, and the innocent people that are caught in the crossfire. It's the kind of movie that sticks with you long after the credits roll, and I think it will be remembered years down the line as one of the best war movies of the decade.
8 Companion
Where to Watch: HBO Max
Horror-comedy is my favorite genre, and so it's no surprise that Companion made my list. Starring Sophie Thatcher and Jack Quaid, Companion shows what could happen when things go wrong with an AI-powered companion robot. Going into too much detail will ruin the movie's more surprising moments, but rest assured that if you are a fan of horror-comedy movies, Companion has plenty of laughs and scares to go around.
7 Sinners
Where to Watch: HBO Max
Companion would have reached a higher level for me had I gone in completely blind, and the same is true for Sinners. Some may be shocked to see Sinners ranked below some of the other movies on this list, but it's largely because the trailers gave away basically the entire movie except for the last 40 minutes. So, while I was thoroughly entertained throughout most of Sinners and enthralled by Michael B. Jordan's performances as The Smokestack Twins, the trailers robbed me of being able to fully appreciate Ryan Coogler's vampire epic. That being said, it's a testament to how good it is that Sinners gave away so much in the trailers and still managed to be one of the best movies of the year.
6 KPop Demon Hunters
Where to Watch: Netflix
Going into 2025, if you told me one of my favorite movies of the year was going to be something called KPop Demon Hunters, I would have laughed. Sony must have felt the same, because instead of giving the movie a proper theatrical release, it sold the KPop Demon Hunters film rights to Netflix. And what a mistake that was.
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KPop Demon Hunters absolutely exploded in popularity, becoming the most popular Netflix movie of all time with 541,800,000 hours viewed and counting. The animation and action in KPop Demon Hunters are top-notch, but its soundtrack is what has ultimately made it a modern classic. I've personally been listening to "Golden" on repeat for months.
5 Superman (2025)
Where to Watch: HBO Max
When it comes to movies, DC is a damaged brand. Critical failures like Batman v Superman and Justice League paired with commercial flops like Wonder Woman 1984 and The Flash have soured many on seeing DC movies in theaters. Combine that with the DCEU's lack of focus and superhero fatigue in general, and it's clear James Gunn was always going to be fighting an uphill battle when launching the new DCU.
There was a lot riding on Superman, Gunn's first movie in the new DC universe, but it's safe to say that it not only lived up to expectations, it exceeded them. David Corenswet and Rachel Brosnahan knock it out of the park as Superman and Lois Lane, but really the whole cast does a great job, with Edi Gathegi's turn as Mister Terrific being one of the breakout performances. Superman laid the groundwork for an exciting new cinematic universe, and I can't wait to see what the sequel has in store when it drops in 2027.
4 Weapons
Where to Watch: HBO Max
Zach Cregger is quickly becoming one of my favorite directors. 2022's Barbarian was a blast, and so too was 2025's Weapons. In Weapons all the kids from one teacher's class disappear — except one — and the movie does a spectacular job of slowly unraveling the mystery. What really put Weapons over the top for me was its ending, and I highly recommend any and all horror fans give it a watch if they haven't already. After Barbarians and Weapons, I am 100% confident that Cregger's upcoming Resident Evil movie will be the best adaptation of Capcom's survival-horror franchise yet.
3 Bugonia
Where to Watch: Peacock
A remake of the South Korean film Save the Green Planet, Bugonia by Yorgos Lanthimos is a shocking thriller about a conspiracy theorist and his cousin kidnapping a CEO that they believe to be an alien from the Andromeda Galaxy. Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, and newcomer Aidan Delbis are all fantastic and ensure that Bugonia is one of the most powerful movies of the year.
2 Marty Supreme
Where to Watch: Currently in Theaters
If Josh Safdie's Uncut Gems gave you anxiety, buckle up for Marty Supreme. A movie about a narcissistic jerk who is willing to step on everyone in his way to achieve his dreams of being the world's greatest table tennis player, Marty Supreme features Timothee Chalamet in one of his greatest roles to date. Chalamet does a phenomenal job as the title character and making all the chaos happening around him seem believable. Marty Supreme is a more consistently entertaining movie than Uncut Gems, and Chalamet deserves serious recognition for what he accomplished here.
1 One Battle After Another
Where to Watch: HBO Max
For me, the movie that hit the hardest in 2025 was by far One Battle After Another. Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, One Battle After Another is the story of a paranoid, retired revolutionary played by Leonardo DiCaprio, who has been raising his daughter, played by Chase Infiniti, while hiding from the law. Sean Penn plays the despicable villain Colonel Lockjaw, who goes after DiCaprio and Infiniti and triggers a series of events that truly amount to "one battle after another." Even though the movie is 162 minutes long, it's one of those films where you don't feel a single second of the runtime. It's exciting, shocking, heartwarming, hilarious, and deeply disturbing all at once, and quite easily my top movie of the year.