I saw 70 films in theaters this year. Here are my best movies of 2025. |
2025 was a terrifying year to live through, which might’ve been why I chose to spend so much of it in movie theaters. The one place where I’m immune to doom-scrolling, I found myself setting an all-time personal record for moviegoing, attending 70 films in theaters, including brag-worthy jaunts to Sundance, Cannes and the Toronto International Film Festival (also shout-outs to SFFILM Festival, Mill Valley Film Festival and Frameline). I didn’t necessarily see everything this year (the most notable absence being “Hamnet”), but for the first time in my years writing about movies, I felt I’ve seen enough to weigh in with a list of favorites.
As far as a wide-angle view of the industry is concerned, the trends you’ve heard about continued to gather steam. Hollywood is in all sorts of financial trouble, especially when it comes to original concepts — 23 of the 25 top box office films of the year built off established IP (“A Minecraft Movie,” “Lilo & Stitch” and “Superman” taking the top three honors). But for those willing to look beyond the blockbusters, 2025 held a wealth of fantastic films. Here are my 10 favorites, plus another 10 honorable mentions.
Honorable Mentions: “Wake Up Dead Man,” “Rental Family,” “Fairyland,” “Materialists,” “Marty Supreme,” “Twinless,” “Weapons,” “Sly Lives! (aka the Burden of Black Genius),” “Mission: Impossible — Final Reckoning,”