In a time of significant political, technological, and cultural transformation, contemporary cinema grapples with the challenge of channeling, reflecting, or alleviating our collective anxieties. What occurs when the world around us begins to crumble? Do we resist, reconcile, or retreat into our own corners? Like Ryan Coogler’s bold, code-sharing Black vampire film Sinners, many of the finest films of 2025 delve into the limits of control — what we can change, what we must accept, and how embracing adversity can empower us and our surroundings.
2025 was an exceptional year for global cinema. Screen Rant’s Top Ten films of 2025 join the ranks of previous years’ works that broaden our imaginations, worldviews, expectations, and empathy. Paul Thomas Anderson’s tenth feature One Battle After Another powerfully dramatizes the divide between the American political left and right; French-Spanish filmmaker Oliver Laxe’s vibrant Sirāt sets a growing global crisis — and like Anderson’s film, a father’s desperate search for his daughter — to a rhythm more suited for a dancefloor.
Others on our list encourage us to maintain faith even when it seems impossible. Comedian Eva Victor’s directorial debut Sorry, Baby skillfully navigates the line between despair and hope following profound personal trauma; Josh Safdie’s unconventional sports film delivers the year’s most thrilling — and frustrating — portrayal of ambition in Marty Supreme. Rian Johnson concludes the Knives Out trilogy with Wake Up Dead Man, which bravely confronts the struggle between truth and principle while acknowledging the complexities of our current sociopolitical landscape.
Other remarkable works, though not quite the best of the year, receive honorable mentions at the end of this article. Amidst a genocide, it was a landmark year for Palestinian cinema as The Voice of Hind Rajab, Palestine ’36 and All That’s Left of You made the Best International Oscar shortlist. Major studio comedies made a resurgence with Akiva Schaffer’s The Naked Gun reboot and Jim O’Hanlon’s satire on British aristocracy, Fackham Hall. Texas’ cinematic poet laureate Richard Linklater released two films this year, both exploring the cost of artistic devotion.
With a future as uncertain as ever before, one thing is clear: contemporary cinema is prepared to reflect the changes its audiences are ready to face through uncomfortable recreation, incisive examination, or providing relief. As Roger Ebert famously stated, “the movies are like a machine that generates empathy, and the product of that machine feels more vital than ever right now.”
As determined by its staff of film critics, journalists, and editors, here is Screen Rant’s Top Ten Films of 2025.
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10. Black Bag (Steven Soderbergh)
Soderbergh seems to find filmmaking so effortless these days that he has to gamify it just to keep things interesting. With Black Bag, which plays like Edward Albee’s seminal play Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? set within the sleek halls of the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), Soderbergh and frequent collaborator David Koepp continue their recent fascination with surveillance and personal isolation. It stands as one of their most tightly executed thrillers, expertly mining spy iconography for immense entertainment.
A former favorite to portray James Bond (Michael Fassbender) faces off against a former Bond (Pierce Brosnan), a current favorite to become the next Bond (Regé-Jean Page), and one of Bond’s former associates (Naomie Harris), all while engaging in psychosexual gamesmanship with his wife (Cate Blanchett). Yet it is also distinctly not Bond: a raw, angry reflection on the franchise’s coyness, especially when it turns a polygraph test into a BDSM fantasy. Black Bag is a sexy, sensual delight. – Gregory Nussen
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9. Bugonia (Yorgos Lanthimos)
The brilliance of Bugonia, adapted from the Korean film Save the Green Planet!, lies in its ability to subvert expectations — both those of the audience and its own — at every turn. Greek provocateur Yorgos Lanthimos collaborates once again with Emma Stone in what may be the endlessly versatile actress’s finest performance in a film that challenges notions of class conflict while reveling in their ensuing violence.
The script by Will Tracy evokes the rising prevalence and absurdity of extremist conspiracy theories that emerge from disempowered groups attempting to navigate a society whose leaders are transparently corrupt: Even when their theories are incorrect, their anger remains justified. The film is misanthropic and melancholic but also bleakly humorous due to Lanthimos’ direction. Both Stone and her co-star Jesse Plemons deliver flawless performances, while Adrien Dabis serves as an extraordinary moral center for the film. – Gregory Nussen
More than simply delivering 2025’s most accomplished feature filmmaking debut, writer-director-star Eva Victor captures an indescribable yet relatable tone. Many films and TV shows have previously tackled the complex emotional and interpersonal issues surrounding sexual assault, but none have done so with such intimacy — especially infused with humor. In front of and behind the camera, Victor makes several striking choices from assembling a non-linear episodic structure to finding gallows humor in such an extreme — yet personal — violation. Each shift in sensation from shame to incredulity feels utterly authentic regardless of how discordant they may seem.
Sorry, Baby stands out for its emotional intelligence in both writing and performance. This film portrays individuals in all their messy complexity who believe in each other despite their potential to inflict lasting pain. This is evident in Victor’s scene with John Carroll Lynch’s Good Samaritan – showing someone your scars only to be met with understanding is profoundly beautiful. Here’s hoping this marks the beginning of a long career filled with films like this one. – Alex Harrison
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The prospect of creating an “impossible murder,” however intriguing, isn’t Johnson’s primary aim — we all know Blanc will ultimately prevail. Instead, Johnson focuses on Josh O’Connor’s young priest character while exploring how he becomes involved in this mystery. Alongside showcasing his stars’ extraordinary talents, Johnson reveals that this series is more adaptable than its murder-mystery format suggests. Just when you think you know what you’re getting into, it reinvents itself while familiar genre thrills gain new dimensions. – Alex Harrison
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Sirat(Oliver Laxe)
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The narrative follows a father searching for his lost daughter across Southern Morocco’s harsh terrain as director Oliver Laxe recreates both tension and serpentine paths reminiscent of Clouzot’s classic thriller The Wages of Fear.. Sergi López (Pan’s Labyrinth) portrays the desperate parent dragging his child (a remarkable Bruno Núñez Arjona) along with their family dog in an inadequately equipped compact van through brutal landscapes. However, it’s the ensemble of eccentric characters leading them in their recreational vehicles equipped with enough speakers to start a party anywhere they stop that ensures much more than just sand is disturbed along their journey.
Laxe’s chronicle injects humor and tenderness into what is inevitably a tragic story while alternating between cruelty and poetry. Kangding Ray’s pulsating score serves more as a heartbeat than mere soundtrack blurring lines between composition and immersive sound design. Laxe’s relentless subversion of expectations places him among contemporary international filmmakers’ elite ranks. – Todd Gilchrist.
The social thriller drops characters into gripping moral dilemmas asking what one would do if they believed they found someone who ruined their life but couldn’t be sure? For Vahid, this means seeking out fellow political prisoners who could confirm whether his captive was indeed their torturer or not…
This emotional complexity reflects real-life intricacies through its mostly non-professional cast while maintaining humor amidst heavy themes making it accessible yet profound…
The ending remains one of this year’s best leaving lasting impressions as characters grapple with consequences stemming from their choices… – Alex Harrison…
This social thriller drops characters into gripping moral dilemmas asking what one would do if they believed they found someone who ruined their life but couldn’t be sure? For Vahid…
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