Best Films Of 2025: 17 Movies That Blew Us Away This Year |
Michael B. Jordan as Stack and Smoke in director Ryan Coogler's Sinners.
The year in moviegoing can, perhaps, be summed up by one fact: Sinners remains the only film in the Top 10 list of highest-grossing movies in the United States that isn’t based on existing IP and isn’t a part of a popular franchise.
On its own, this would be enough reason for the Ryan Coogler-directed film to make this list, which is full of other wholly original movies. The Southern Gothic horror set in the Jim Crow South was one of the most talked-about films this year, down to the very last minute, as it racked up coveted nominations for the 2026 awards season and was left off a few big best-of lists.
That doesn’t mean there weren’t some worthy adaptations that held our attention, like One Battle After Another, Hamnet and Wicked: For Good. But there’s something special about several of the lesser-known films on this list that deserve your attention, too.
In this year-end roundup, HuffPost US’ staffers talk about their favourite films of the year, including popular animated movies, gripping documentaries and captivating scripted dramas. Be sure to add these to your watchlist if you haven’t seen them yet.
Bring Her Back
Talk about a film that scared the absolute daylights out of me. Bring Her Back takes grief to a whole different level with Sally Hawkins’ bone-chilling portrayal of a foster mom still mourning the death of her daughter. After taking in two siblings alongside a troubled orphan she already cares for, Laura (Hawkins) secretly and sinisterly summons a demon to carry out a resurrection ritual to bring her daughter back to life.
I probably cringed and squirmed through the better half of this film because it was just that disturbing. I still wince whenever I think about that brutal knife-eating scene. But as grisly and unsettling as the movie is, all the gore serves well in portraying the all-consuming emotions that the loss of a loved one brings, and in desperate times, what it could drive one to do. — Njera
Elio
Elio feels like one of the more slept-on Pixar films in the last decade – yet the film is smart, heartwarming and relatable for both kids and adults.
The animated tale tells the story of 11-year-old Elio (Yonas Kilbreab), who’s being raised by his Aunt Olga (Zoe Saldaña) after both of his parents die. Elio becomes obsessed with life in outer space, and then, he finally gets abducted by aliens. He meets Glordon (Remy Edgerly), a worm-like alien with a bunch of teeth who is being pressured to become a warlord like his father. Elio and Glordon become fast friends because they both feel misunderstood.
At the end of a long adventure, they both realise a lesson: Sometimes you can find connection in the most unexpected places. — Erin
Hamnet
Hamnet is one of the most devastating films of the year, replete with knockout performances from its cast; Jessie Buckley, Paul Mescal, Jacobi Jupe, Joe Alwyn, Olivia Lynes and Noah Jupe will bring you to tears. While Buckley is dominating the female lead nominations for the 2026 awards season, it is Jacobi Jupe’s heartwrenching performance that isn’t being talked about enough.
The Chloé Zhao-directed film is an adaptation of author Maggie O’Farrell’s novel Hamnet, a fictional 16th-century tale of William Shakespeare’s son, Hamnet, his death from the plague – and how it inspired the play Hamlet. This movie will shatter you, but it is one of the best things you’ll watch all year. — Erin
If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
Masterful storytelling and acting is the best way to describe what writer-director Mary Bronstein and Rose Byrne achieve in If I Had Legs I’d Kick You.
This intense yet brilliantly honest portrait of a Grade A maternal crashout didn’t make as much noise as the blockbusters that dominated film discourse this year, but it surely deserves all the praise.
Byrne’s outstanding performance as Linda, a burned-out mother and therapist losing control of her life, impressively juggles dark humor and drama........