Written by Shayan Mukherjee
As Paramount and Netflix battle over the purchase of Warner Bros., and we march inexorably towards a future where the latest Nolan epic is consumed on an Apple Watch with ad-breaks, it felt like a good moment to stop and take stock. Specifically, to look back on what has been a surprisingly fruitful year for cinema. Who knows– at the rate we’re going, it might just be one of the last.
In the spirit of optimism (or perhaps denial), this article aims to take a more “glass half-full” approach. Because for all the industry naysaying, 2025 was packed to the brim with genuinely fantastic stories that managed to mesmerise audiences across genres. Taking a brief trip down memory lane was a timely reminder that the year gone by delivered some truly powerful moments on the big screen. If the years ahead are even half as good, there may yet be hope for us all.
Before we get into the list, a quick clarification on the rules of engagement. This top five is limited to standalone, live-action films released theatrically in 2025. That means no streaming exclusives, no franchise or IP-driven entries, and no animation. Adaptations are allowed, provided the source material itself is standalone. So, for example, a film adapted from a single novel (like Bong Joon Ho’s Mickey 17) qualifies for consideration, whereas something like The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping does not, on account of being part of a larger franchise.
At the time of writing (December 19th, 2025), there are still a few films yet to be released this year (such as the Timothée Chalamet-starrer Marty Supreme), which, regrettably, must miss the cut. Tragic.
With that out of the way, let’s begin.
5. Eternity
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Studio: A24
Director: David Freyne
Starring: Elizabeth Olsen, Miles Teller, Callum Turner
Heart-wrenching and quietly provocative, Eternity takes well-worn rom-com tropes and gives them an existential makeover by relocating its central love triangle to the afterlife. It’s a fascinating, innovative premise that allows the film to explore love and loyalty from a retrospective angle: these characters can draw on the full weight of their lived experience, reflecting on their past choices with newfound maturity, while still making decisions that carry real, emotional consequences.
Miles Teller and Elizabeth Olsen are superb, convincingly portraying characters significantly older than themselves by infusing their performances with wisdom and understanding. The film deftly balances weightier questions about what constitutes a life well lived with a more intimate dilemma: is it fair to revisit a long-lost love at the expense of reliability and stability? While most rom-coms frustrate audiences with baffling decision-making, Eternity avoids this trap. Every choice feels earned, every character’s motivations are clear, and the result is an ending that’s both deeply satisfying and lingeringly thought-provoking.
You’ll come out of this movie reflecting on your own choices and on the infinite, fragile possibilities that underpin every relationship we hold dear.
4. Roofman
Genre: Comedy/Drama
Studio: Paramount Pictures
Director: Derek Cianfrance
Starring: Channing Tatum, Kirsten Dunst, Peter Dinklage
Made with a 17-million-dollar budget, good vibes, and a whole lot of heart, Roofman is a deceptively simple story about how people with the best intentions make the worst decisions when backed into a corner. The film follows a thief forced to rob convenience stores to provide for his three young children. Amid the chaos of his family life, he finds himself stranded in a Toys“R”Us, where he meets a store worker grappling with similar financial pressures but viewing them through a very different moral lens.
Channing Tatum and Kirsten Dunst share electric chemistry, playing a man slowly learning what it means to do the right thing and a woman more than willing to meet him halfway there. As Jeffrey Manchester’s remarkable journey unfolds, you’re left uncomfortably torn between sympathising with his motives and condemning his actions.
Roofman grapples with weighty themes, exploring whether someone’s actions can diminish their worthiness of love, while casting a lens on the supposed “criminals” of our world. And the fact that it’s all based on a true story? Unreal.
3. F1
Genre: Sport/Action
Studio: Warner Bros., Apple Original Films
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Javier Bardem
I can already picture the cinephiles sharpening their knives at the mere sight of this pick, dismissing it with a haughty eye-roll as nothing more than a “popcorn movie”. To them, I say: forgive the indulgence. Cinema exists to make us feel, and F1 does just that.
This adrenaline-fuelled, high-octane action drama gets the blood pumping and the engines revving as Brad Pitt rage against age, technology, and the unrelenting pressure of the spotlight. Full disclosure: I’m not an F1 fan in the slightest. But, as a general sports obsessive, I was struck by how effectively Kosinski captures the tension of the big stage, plunging the viewer into the mindset of an athlete with everything on the line.
Visually, this may be the most aesthetically pleasing film of the year, with cinematography that delivers an almost unprecedented level of immersion. Following Top Gun: Maverick in 2022, Kosinski has clearly perfected the art of elevating rugged, seasoned protagonists. Pitt’s trademark suaveness and pragmatism anchor the drama beautifully, dovetailing with Damson Idris’ youthful exuberance. The explosive climax, and the quietly resonant ending that follows, feels entirely earned.
Bolstered by a star-studded soundtrack and a pulsating score from the legendary Hans Zimmer, F1 provides the defining cinematic experience of 2025.
2. Weapons
Genre: Horror/Mystery
Studio: Warner Bros.
Director: Zach Cregger
Starring: Julia Garner, Josh Brolin, Alden Ehrenreich
Weapons opens with a chilling hook: a group of children, all from the same class, willingly leave their homes in the dead of night and vanish into the darkness without a trace. The class is taught by Mrs Gandy (Julia Garner), and the film follows her, a grief-stricken parent (Josh Brolin), and the one child who didn’t run (Cary Christopher) as they attempt to make sense of the impossible.
Zach Cregger pushes far beyond standard horror tropes, crafting a harrowing, tightly wound narrative that grips you early and refuses to let go. The non-linear, multi-perspective Rashomon-style structure heightens the unease; seeing an incident from one character’s point of view and jumping back in time to observe how another individual experienced the same incident was deeply provocative, effectively highlighting how perception reshapes reality.
Beneath the mounting dread, Weapons grapples with themes of loneliness and the loss of childhood innocence, while dialing up the terror through genuinely frightening supernatural elements: witchcraft, possession, and unnerving puppetry. Original, imaginative, and relentlessly engaging. Watch it at night at your own risk.
1. Sinners
Genre: Horror/Action
Studio: Warner Bros.
Director: Ryan Coogler
Starring: Michael B. Jordan, Hailee Steinfeld, Miles Caton
Set in the 1930s Mississippi delta, Sinners pulls from the very best of multiple genres to deliver a soulful and potent cultural reckoning. Through its portrayal of the long, fraught relationship between religious belief and blues music, the film interrogates themes of cultural appropriation, freedom of expression, and the cost of artistic liberation. At its centre is a young, ambitious man with an otherworldly connection to music, hell-bent on making the world feel his sound, no matter the consequences.
Coogler crafts a powerful commentary on the importance of honouring your roots, protecting your community, and preserving culture in the face of forces that seek to exploit it. His depiction of Black history feels deeply authentic, with music that doesn’t just accompany the film but moves through it. The juke joint sequence, culminating in the burning building, is a work of art in itself. You feel the notes vibrating in your bones, surging through your veins; it’s little wonder the instruments catch fire.
The film’s supernatural elements are deployed with thrilling precision, and Michael B. Jordan delivers a masterclass in dual performance, differentiating the twin brothers so distinctly that their contrast becomes the emotional backbone of the story. As the juke joint’s patrons battle both literal and emotional demons, Coogler poses profound questions about the place of music, art, and religion in society.
Easily the best film of the year and among the very best of the 21st century.
Honourable mentions:
- Bugonia. Absurd, yet unsettlingly real. The trippiest theatre experience I’ve had in a long time. Check out my separate review here, where I attempt (and largely fail) to explain what actually happened.
- The Roses. Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Coleman unleash their full dramatic arsenal, taking it upon themselves to remind us what an actual relationship looks like.
- One Battle After Another. Earns its spot almost entirely on the back of Leonardo DiCaprio’s hilariously unhinged turn as a washed-up stoner chaotically chasing down his kidnapped daughter.
The fact that this list spans romantic comedies, action blockbusters, intimate dramas and full-blown horror says a lot– either about how varied and consistently strong this year’s cinematic output has been, or about my complete lack of viewing discipline. Possibly both. Either way, 2025 marked a genuine global return to theatres, with audiences rediscovering just how special that shared cinematic connection can be. I’d urge you to seek out as many of these films as possible; not because they’re definitive, but because they resonated deeply with me and reminded me why going to the movies still matters.
