End of year polls are some of my favorite, so without further adieu here’s the top 25 movies of 2025, voted by our readers!
25. The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie (dir. Pete Browngardt)
“A great reminder of how much fun these movies used to be before they abandoned any sense of craft”
24. How to Train Your Dragon (dir. Dean DeBlois)
23. Warfare (dir. Ray Mendoza and Alex Garland)
“As stripped down, direct, and realistic as any war film I have ever seen. Warfare really makes you feel like you are there.”
22. 28 Years Later (dir. Danny Boyle)
“Terrifying, violent, exhilarating. A terrific metaphor for modern England (whether the filmmakers intended that or not).”
21. Bugonia (dir. Yorgos Lanthimos)
“Lanthimos gives an insane look at the cost of being terminally online and the dangers of nihilism in what should be an easy Best Actor Academy Award for Jesse Plemons.”
20. Black Bag (dir. Steven Soderbergh)
“An extremely well written, acted and directed twist on the spy genre, love stores and mystery films. Every character is well developed, the twists and turns come together well and a surprisingly positive depiction of marriage.”
19. Friendship (dir. Andrew DeYoung)
“This movie was horrifying in the only way Tim Robinson can do it.”
18. Triumph of the Heart (dir. Anthony D’Ambrosio)
“This film immediately enters the canon of great Saint movies. The last stretch of the film was the most emotionally affected I’ve been in quite some time. It makes me want to take my fasting more seriously, love more fiercely, proclaim Christ more boldly. It is a blessing to have the Saints and to have art like this to make their lives come alive.”
17. One Battle After Another (dir. Paul Thomas Anderson)
“Certainly one of the less 'casual' big releases of the year; while I was not on board with all the political implications, the epic scope, great performances and one of the best car chases I have ever seen all led to me being impressed with this film.”
16. Marty Supreme (dir. Josh Safdie)
“Intense, vulgar, chaotic, sentimental, and heartfelt. Marty Supreme has a beautiful ending that brings order to the chaos of its world.”
15. The Ballad of Wallis Island (dir. James Griffiths)
“It's a fun, indie movie that honestly had a lot of heart.”
14. Train Dreams (dir. Clint Bentley)
“The filmmaking was beautiful, not just because it was capturing nature’s beauty, but authentic and subtle human actions and emotions.”
13. Wicked: For Good (dir. Jon M. Chu)
12. Thunderbolts* (dir. Jake Schreier)
“A welcome unconventional look at the superhero genre. Some great lead performances, a interesting take on the 'what if superheroes were very damaged people' concept and a more grounded visual tone all made this a standout in recent superhero fare.”
11. Sinners (dir. Ryan Coogler)
10. Avatar: Fire and Ash (dir. James Cameron)
“Builds on the previous entries incredibly well; easily has the best sights I have seen in movies since The Way Of Water. The big action set pieces are jaw dropping, the individual character arcs give the movie an epic sweep that few movies these days do, and the Ash People are awesome! No one these days even seems to be trying to attempt to do what James Cameron does!”
9. The Phoenician Scheme (dir. Wes Anderson)
8. KPop Demon Hunters (dir. Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans)
“The surprise hit of the year for me, KPop displays spiritual maturity that is becoming more mainstream thankfully.”
7. Weapons (dir. Zach Cregger)
“The year's most unique and insane film, Weapons strikes a chord that has not been struck for me by any other this year. Lives up to the rewatch and perfectly executed.”
“This was quite a ride. Cregger has a real talent for ratcheting up scenes of tension while also having cathartic moments of situational humor.”
6. Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning (dir. Christopher McQuarrie)
5. Superman (dir. James Gunn)
“It took me a while to see this and I wish I had seen it sooner. I was actually moved by this movie.”
4. The Fantastic Four: The First Steps (dir. Matt Shakman)
“This is a minor miracle for me on two levels: it's the first good Fantastic Four movie and it's the most pro-life, pro-family Hollywood film that I have seen in a while.”
3. F1 (dir. Joseph Kosinski)
“The feel-good summer movie with plenty of rewatchability; will stand the test of time as one of the best racing films.”
2. Frankenstein (dir. Guillermo del Toro)
“Meditation on vice, creation, the soul, and forgiveness with beautiful colors and Del Toro’s world building”
1. Wake Up Dead Man (dir. Rian Johnson)
“Thought provoking- centered on God’s Mercy which goes beyond reason- and a blast to watch.”
“Similar to the previous installment, I didn’t particularly care all that much about the plot and the crew of supporting characters was pretty universally blah, but a wonderful characterization of a good priest covers a multitude of sins for me. Josh O’Connor was excellent as Fr. Jud, depicting a priest who actually just loves Jesus and wants to serve Him by serving his flock.”
Pleasantly surprised to see WUDM at #1! Can’t wait to catch up on most of these in the new year
My #1 movies don't have much luck when it comes to these year polls (2015 and 2025). That's ok, though, because I think this is another superb list, despite the fact that I have only seen 10 of them. I will watch some more this year. 7 of my votes made it on the list.
I was pleasantly surprised to see Warfare (thank you for using my blurb) and the funny coincidence of it being next to 28 Years Later (Alex Garland co-directed the former and wrote the latter). The funniest coincidence is definitely Fantastic Four at #4! Thanks again for using my blurb for that movie too.