Rolling Stone lists the 20 Best Movies of 2025
www.rollingstone.com
2025 was a year that posed a lot of questions for movie lovers: Did the success of Sinners prove that there was still a mass audience hungry for original (read: non-IP) stories on a blockbuster level? Does Ryan Coogler’s historic deal to have the film rights revert back to him in 25 years change how Hollywood deals with creative talent? How would James Gunn’s reboot of Superman transform the fate and fortunes of the DC cinematic universe? What was the ideal format to see One Battle After Another? Which would be the bigger existential threat to the medium — the continuing atrophy of the traditional theatrical experience or the introduction of the first AI “star”? Would Hamnet make you cry two gallons of tears, or three? Was Brad Pitt really driving those Formula 1 cars in F1? What the hell, exactly, is a KPop Demon Hunter?
It was also a truly great year for great movies, period. We had to kill a number of darlings to get the following best-of-2025 down to 20 films. And between the various film-festival premieres, brief Oscar-qualifying runs, streaming-only standouts, and a number of left-field surprises, we could have easily doubled this list. (Special shout-outs to: Blue Moon, F1, Is This Thing On?, One to One: John & Yoko, My Undesirable Friends, The President’s Cake, The Secret Agent, Sinners, Sirat, and The Voice of Hind Rajab.) A number of name-brand auteurs reminded us why they’ve earned the title. Several newcomers released the sort of knockout debut features that made the future of film seem brighter. We got not one but two backstories behind the making of not one but two very different masterpieces, set centuries apart. For every major disappointment, there were two or three big swings that connected in ways that inspired audiences, instigated conversations, and instilled hope in a way that the world outside of the theater did not.
These 20 titles aren’t just the highlights of the last 12 months. They’re the ones we’ll likely be going back to year after year. From an epic tale of resistance to a personal reimagining of a gothic horror classic, welcome to the best movies of 2025.
The 20 Best Movies of 2025
From an epic of political resistance to a personal take on a literary classic, 'Hamnet' to 'Weapons' — the best of a very good year for movie lovers.
www.rollingstone.com
2025 was a year that posed a lot of questions for movie lovers: Did the success of Sinners prove that there was still a mass audience hungry for original (read: non-IP) stories on a blockbuster level? Does Ryan Coogler’s historic deal to have the film rights revert back to him in 25 years change how Hollywood deals with creative talent? How would James Gunn’s reboot of Superman transform the fate and fortunes of the DC cinematic universe? What was the ideal format to see One Battle After Another? Which would be the bigger existential threat to the medium — the continuing atrophy of the traditional theatrical experience or the introduction of the first AI “star”? Would Hamnet make you cry two gallons of tears, or three? Was Brad Pitt really driving those Formula 1 cars in F1? What the hell, exactly, is a KPop Demon Hunter?
It was also a truly great year for great movies, period. We had to kill a number of darlings to get the following best-of-2025 down to 20 films. And between the various film-festival premieres, brief Oscar-qualifying runs, streaming-only standouts, and a number of left-field surprises, we could have easily doubled this list. (Special shout-outs to: Blue Moon, F1, Is This Thing On?, One to One: John & Yoko, My Undesirable Friends, The President’s Cake, The Secret Agent, Sinners, Sirat, and The Voice of Hind Rajab.) A number of name-brand auteurs reminded us why they’ve earned the title. Several newcomers released the sort of knockout debut features that made the future of film seem brighter. We got not one but two backstories behind the making of not one but two very different masterpieces, set centuries apart. For every major disappointment, there were two or three big swings that connected in ways that inspired audiences, instigated conversations, and instilled hope in a way that the world outside of the theater did not.
These 20 titles aren’t just the highlights of the last 12 months. They’re the ones we’ll likely be going back to year after year. From an epic tale of resistance to a personal reimagining of a gothic horror classic, welcome to the best movies of 2025.
