The best movies of 2025 so far
As is often the case, movie releases in 2025 have included some serious highs and lows. There were major box-office hits, like “A Minecraft Movie,” which brought in more than $423 million at the box office and set the record as the most successful game-to-film adaptation of all time, along with some colossal disappointments, like Disney’s universally panned live-action “Snow White,” which is expected to lose the studio $115 million. And for every critically adored film like “Sinners,” there was an unmitigated disaster like “Bride Hard.”
As we move toward awards season, plenty of buzz-worthy films are getting ready to hit screens in the last quarter of the year. “Hamnet” (Nov. 27), “Marty Supreme” (Dec. 25), and “Wicked: For Good” (Nov. 21) are all being tossed around as possible Oscar contenders, while “A House of Dynamite” (Oct. 10) and “The Secret Agent” (Nov. 6) have garnered some serious buzz for their actors and directors.
Several family-friendly movies are also on the way, like “The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants” on Dec. 19 and “Zootopia 2” on Nov. 26. And who could forget hotly anticipated sequels like “Tron: Ares” on Oct. 10 and “Avatar: Fire and Ash” on Dec. 19?
While there’s much to look forward to, we shouldn’t overlook the gems that have already hit theaters. Stacker rounded up the best movies of 2025, ranked by Metacritic scores. To qualify for the list, these movies must have been released and distributed in the United States by Sept. 15, 2025, and have at least seven reviews by critics. Metacritic’s internal weighting system broke any ties. IMDb user ratings are provided for a popular reception context.
From timely documentaries to indie comedies to gripping foreign films, these are the films from 2025 (so far) most deserving of your attention.
#20. Viet and Nam
– Director: Minh Quy Truong
– Metascore: 83
– IMDB user rating: 6.3
– Run time: 2 hours, 9 minutes
Two coal miners dream of a better future in this LGBTQ+ romantic drama. Banned in its home country of Vietnam for its “gloomy, deadlocked and negative” views of the nation and its people, the movie wrestles with the effects of the Vietnam War, the difficulties of immigration, and the realities of being in a same-gender relationship in a country where that is still widely regarded as taboo.
Chicago Reader’s Savannah Hugueley described the expressionistic movie as “abstract” and “dreamlike.”
#19. Jazzy
– Director: Morrisa Maltz
– Metascore: 83
– IMDB user rating: 6
– Run time: 1 hour, 26 minutes
Set in the same universe as director Morrisa Maltz’s debut film, “The Unknown Country,” “Jazzy” is a coming-of-age drama that follows a young Oglala Lakota girl. The movie is based on the real-life experiences of Maltz’s goddaughter, Jasmine Bearkiller Shangreaux, with the narrative following Jazzy and her best friend over six years as they navigate crushes, life’s twists and turns, and the challenges of friendship.
Variety’s Tomris Laffly called the film “scrappy,” “loose-limbed,” and “meditative.” It beautifully encapsulates those messy adolescent years.
#18. Preparation for the Next Life
– Director: Bing Liu
– Metascore: 83
– IMDB user rating: 6.3
– Run time: 1 hour, 55 minutes
Based on an Atticus Lish novel of the same name, “Preparation for the Next Life” follows an Uyghur migrant and a U.S. Army veteran falling in love in New York City. Variety’s Carlos Aguilar says that the “character-driven humanism” of the movie makes the exploration of topics like mental health among veterans and the dehumanization of undocumented people feel more “experiential” than “superimposed on a narrative,” helping viewers connect with these important but weighty issues. In his review for The Hollywood Reporter, critic David Rooney also notes that Fred Hechinger and Sebiye Behtiyar’s emotional performances stand out.
#17. Eephus
– Director: Carson Lund
– Metascore: 83
– IMDB user rating: 6.7
– Run time: 1 hour, 38 minutes
Set in the ’90s, “Eephus” centers on two amateur baseball teams playing one last game in their home stadium before it gets demolished. Subtle, slow-moving, and without the overtly emotional arc central to most sports films, the movie still manages to be a touching and funny tribute to America’s national pastime.
Writing for WBUR, Sean Burns called it “the best baseball movie since ‘Bull Durham’—or maybe ‘Bad Lieutenant’—because it explores this sport’s peculiar ability to bend and distort time.”
#16. Souleymane’s Story
– Director: Boris Lojkine
– Metascore: 83
– IMDB user rating: 7.6
– Run time: 1 hour, 33 minutes
In “Souleymane’s Story,” we follow an African immigrant in Paris who delivers food on his e-bike by day and prepares his asylum application by night. The lead role is played by a nonprofessional, Abou Sangaré, and his performance makes the film shine.
The Berkshire Edge’s Leonard Quart called the movie “an unexpected discovery,” praising its refusal to idealize the global migrant experience and instead examining it through a raw and unfiltered lens.
#15. Universal Language
– Director: Matthew Rankin
– Metascore: 84
– IMDB user rating: 6.9
– Run time: 1 hour, 29 minutes
“Universal Language” is an absurdist comedy set in a reimagined Canada where Persian and French are the official languages. The film contains three separate and seemingly unconnected narratives. Reminiscent of the Iranian New Wave cinematic movement, the movie may be too bizarre for some (the action is interspersed with asides, like a faux ’80s-style commercial selling turkeys). But for those willing to get on its wavelength, the film delivers a story that is “familiar and strange to us, welcoming but odd, funny, and tender,” per RogerEbert.com critic Monica Castillo.
#14. To a Land Unknown
– Director: Mahdi Fleifel
– Metascore: 84
– IMDB user rating: 7.4
– Run time: 1 hour, 45 minutes
“To a Land Unknown” follows two Palestinian refugees attempting to make their way from Greece to Germany, and acquiring the money in any way they can. Gritty and tense, the movie doesn’t shy away “from the lasting damages that exile can cause, whether one makes it out or not,” Hollywood Reporter contributing film critic Jordan Mintzer writes.
Alci Rengifo, CounterPunch film critic and filmmaker, said the movie “is one of those enveloping cinematic experiences that feel so real as to transcend the idea that it is fiction,” an assessment that makes perfect sense when you consider that this is documentary director Mahdi Fleifel’s first narrative feature.
#13. Sinners
– Director: Ryan Coogler
– Metascore: 84
– IMDB user rating: 7.6
– Run time: 2 hours, 17 minutes
Michael B. Jordan plays twins in this horror movie in the Mississippi Delta in 1932. “Sinners” follows the two brothers, Smoke and Stack, as they return to their hometown hoping for a fresh start, only to find that a supernatural evil lurks in the shadows.
Variety film critic Owen Gleiberman said the movie was “vibrant and richly acted,” calling it a “rare mainstream horror film about something weighty and soulful. ” Its thematic depth and stunning aesthetic are two reasons it’s made over $365 million worldwide, making it the biggest original horror movie since 2018’s “A Quiet Place.”
#12. I’m Still Here
– Director: Walter Salles
– Metascore: 85
– IMDB user rating: 8.2
– Run time: 2 hours, 17 minutes
Based on journalist Marcelo Rubens Paiva’s memoir of the same name, “I’m Still Here” tells the story of a mother and activist trying to cope with the forced disappearance of her husband amid Brazil’s military dictatorship. Starring Oscar nominee Fernanda Torres, the movie was nominated for Best Picture and won the Academy Award for Best International Film. The urgency of the story, as well as the quietly emotional performances, are among the driving factors behind the film’s acclaim.
#11. Black Bag
– Director: Steven Soderbergh
– Metascore: 85
– IMDB user rating: 6.7
– Run time: 1 hour, 33 minutes
Cate Blanchett, Michael Fassbender, and Pierce Brosnan lead the cast of this spy thriller, which follows a British intelligence officer tasked with investigating a list of possible traitors. One of the names on that list? The wife he’s deeply devoted to. “Black Bag” has tonal similarities to a James Bond movie but with a subtler, more darkly comedic approach.
RogerEbert.com‘s Monica Castillo called the Steven Soderbergh effort “absolutely delicious, a svelte piece of entertainment that feels like a vintage yarn yet very much represents our own anxieties, questions of sustaining trust in relationships and high-stake careers.”
#10. A Nice Indian Boy
– Director: Roshan Sethi
– Metascore: 85
– IMDB user rating: 7.4
– Run time: 1 hour, 36 minutes
In this rom-com, an Indian American doctor brings his fiancé, a white man adopted by Indian parents, to meet his ultra-traditional family. Karan Soni and Jonathan Groff star in roles played with “exceptional heart and sensitivity,” as RogerEbert.com contributing editor Nell Minow described. The movie is heartwarming as it engages with classic genre tropes, but it has also earned praise for its gentle wisdom and the tender way it treats family and community.
#9. Afternoons of Solitude
– Director: Albert Serra
– Metascore: 85
– IMDB user rating: 7.3
– Run time: 2 hours, 5 minutes
RogerEbert.com‘s Glenn Kenny called “Afternoons of Solitude” “visually beautiful, emotionally unnerving, and—arguably—intellectually confounding.” Director Albert Serra’s first feature-length documentary follows Spanish bullfighter Andrés Roca Rey. There is no commentary, narration, or interviews with those involved. Instead, the film offers a two-hour observation of the sport in all its gore and glory.
#8. April
– Director: Dea Kulumbegashvili
– Metascore: 86
– IMDB user rating: 6.5
– Run time: 2 hours, 14 minutes
In this timely drama, a Georgian obstetrician who provides abortions to her patients despite the country’s prohibitions must defend herself after being accused of negligence. Gripping and, at times, unbearably tense, the movie is a must-watch in the current political climate. Just be aware that it may leave you unsettled, with IndieWire Reviews Editor David Ehrlich calling it a “remarkable and shudderingly unresolved film.”
#7. A Little Prayer
– Director: Angus MacLachlan
– Metascore: 86
– IMDB user rating: 7.3
– Run time: 1 hour, 31 minutes
“A Little Prayer” had its world premiere at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, but didn’t get a wider release until 2025. For RogerEbert.com, Matt Zoller Seitz called the family drama about the crises of adult children “a beautiful hand-wrought sculpture” that’s “perfect just as it is.”
Per the glowing critical response, the movie shines in the way it focuses on the humanity of its characters, not forcing viewers to determine who’s right and wrong in complicated situations, but instead allowing them to see just how nuanced life and love can be.
#6. Caught by the Tides
– Director: Zhangke Jia
– Metascore: 87
– IMDB user rating: 6.7
– Run time: 1 hour, 51 minutes
During the pandemic, Chinese director Jia Zhangke began sorting through the decades of archival documentary footage he had captured. The result of that project was “Caught by the Tides,” a fictional drama about a driven woman who lives for herself. It is composed almost entirely of the director’s existing footage, interspersed with silent scenes featuring Zhangke’s frequent collaborator (and real-life wife) Zhao Tao.
An actual arthouse project, NPR film critic Justin Chang praised the movie’s telling of the story of a country and a film industry in flux.
#5. On Becoming a Guinea Fowl
– Director: Rungano Nyoni
– Metascore: 87
– IMDB user rating: 7
– Run time: 1 hour, 39 minutes
“On Becoming a Guinea Fowl” opens with the main character stumbling across the body of her dead uncle, lying on the road in the middle of the night. As her extended Zambian family prepares for Uncle Fred’s funeral, long-held family secrets come to light and force a reckoning. A mix of dark comedy and serious drama, the movie has plenty to say about the challenges of processing complex emotions and the temptation to live in denial.
#4. Familiar Touch
– Director: Sarah Friedland
– Metascore: 87
– IMDB user rating: 7.2
– Run time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
In “Familiar Touch,” we follow an octogenarian as she enters an assisted living facility, contending with the loss of her independence and the arrival of cognitive decline. The Santa Barbara Independent’s Josef Woodard called it “a sensitive, moving, humor-speckled, and ultimately humane portrayal of the transitional process.” Because aging is so infrequently addressed in cinema—at least not with this level of frankness and optimism—”Familiar Touch” is a must-watch.
#3. 2000 Meters to Andriivka
– Director: Mstyslav Chernov
– Metascore: 88
– IMDB user rating: 8.8
– Run time: 1 hour, 47 minutes
Filmmaker Mstyslav Chernov and journalist Alex Babenko follow a Ukrainian platoon as they set out to liberate the Russian-occupied village of Andriivka in this documentary. Called “bruisingly intimate” by New York Times writer Alissa Wilkinson, the film features real helmet-cam footage from the soldiers involved in the mission, alongside talking head reflections. The must-watch documentary is equal parts a treatise on the futility of war and a conversation about how we depict war for pure entertainment in video games and on TV.
#2. Sorry, Baby
– Director: Eva Victor
– Metascore: 89
– IMDB user rating: 6.7
– Run time: 1 hour, 51 minutes
A dark comedy-drama, “Sorry, Baby” follows a college professor as she wrestles with the aftermath of a sexual assault. Told out of chronological order, the movie works to dismantle many of the assumptions around how victims of sexual violence should react to the trauma they’ve endured.
NPR film critic Justin Chang wrote that the movie’s thesis—”that pain and healing come in many different forms [so] our stories should, also”—is made all the more poignant by Victor’s thoughtful performance and sharp writing.
#1. My Undesirable Friends: Part I – Last Air in Moscow
– Director: Julia Loktev
– Metascore: 96
– IMDB user rating: 7.9
– Run time: 5 hours, 24 minutes
Emerging at the top of the list is this grim but urgent documentary, which follows a group of independent journalists in the lead-up to Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. Rolling Stone critic David Fear calls the “marathon-length” film—”My Undesirable Friends,” which clocks in at 5.5 hours—a warning about totalitarianism and the suppression of free speech, demonstrating how stealthily these forces can operate.
Director Julia Loktev is currently working on a follow-up that’s set to follow the journalists as they deal with the aftermath of their work, and the repercussions of challenging a regime as powerful as Putin’s.
Story editing by Louis Peitzman. Copy editing by Paris Close.