Every year I sit down to write one of these lists and every year I realise I am wildly unqualified to rank anything. Not because I do not watch films. I do. I love them. I inhale them. But 2025 has been one of those strange years where instead of keeping up with the latest releases like a responsible entertainment enthusiast, I have spent most of my free time rewatching old comfort movies like a gremlin stuck in a nostalgia loop. Ask me about the cinematic masterpiece that is Paddington 2 and I will talk for an hour. Ask me about three quarters of the new films that came out this year and I will stare blankly while Googling the trailers.
Before we go any further, let me address the obvious. There are two big films that are not on this list. No Weapons. I know everyone is talking about it. I know it is the one everyone expected to appear. I simply hated it. Could not stand it. Zero percent chance it appears here. And no Frankenstein or One Battle After Another because I have not seen them yet. Maybe they are brilliant. Maybe they would have topped this list. Maybe they would have made me cry like a child. Who knows. I will get to them when I get to them.
All that said, I still managed to scrape together seven films that I genuinely loved in 2025. Some of them are big blockbusters. Some are strange little passion projects. One is a re release that absolutely should not count but I am putting it in anyway because this is my list and you cannot stop me. So let us get into it.
7. Hamilton (re release)
Yes. A re release. On a top movies of the year list. I know what you are thinking. This is cheating. This is blasphemous. This is not how lists work. And to that I say the following. I do not care. Hamilton was back in cinemas and I loved every minute of it. If I can justify it to myself then it belongs here.
Seeing Hamilton on the big screen again reminded me why people lost their minds over it the first time. The performances are electric. The writing is razor sharp. The whole thing just slaps in every direction. And honestly, 2025 needed a bit of musical theatre energy because half the films this year seemed to be allergic to colour and joy. Hamilton walked into the room like a man kick opening the door and yelling I am not throwing away my shot. And I respected it.
So yes. It is a re release. Yes. It should not be here. But fuck you. It is my list.
6. Thunderbolts
Thunderbolts surprised me. I went in expecting another Marvel entry that would leave me shrugging and checking my phone halfway through. Instead, I got a messy but charming character driven team up that felt more interested in having fun than setting up nine different future plot threads.
I know some people came out of it saying it felt uneven. I get that. But for me the highlight was the actual team dynamic. Watching this group of morally confused idiots try to hold themselves together was more entertaining than half the superhero films of the last few years. It was not perfect, but it had heart and personality, and sometimes that is all I want from a popcorn film.
Plus, there is something strangely refreshing about a movie where everybody is slightly bad at their job. It makes me feel represented.
5. Lilo and Stitch
Look. I know we have had enough live action remakes to last a lifetime. I know half the internet had a meltdown the moment the first trailer dropped. I know people complained about design changes like it was a matter of national security. But none of that mattered to me the moment I sat down and watched this with my daughter.
We loved it. She smiled the entire way through. I had a genuinely great time. And sometimes that is the only metric that matters. People can whinge online about whatever they want. I am too busy enjoying a heartfelt story about a chaotic blue alien learning what family means.
So for anyone who wants to argue with its placement on this list I repeat with absolute sincerity. Fuck you.
4. 28 Years Later
The 28 franchise returned swinging harder than I expected. After so many years, it could easily have ended up feeling like a tired retread. Instead, 28 Years Later came out of nowhere and punched me right in the face with tension, atmosphere, and some genuinely fantastic performances.
It is grim. It is bleak. It is everything you want from a follow up to 28 Days and Weeks. What I loved most is that it did not try to reinvent the wheel. It just did what this series does best. Angry infected people sprinting like Olympians while everyone else makes terrible decisions under pressure.
There is something extremely comforting about the franchise sticking to its roots. Comforting in a horrifying, anxiety inducing way.
3. Kpop Demon Hunters
This film is the definition of pure chaos and I mean that in the best possible way. Kpop Demon Hunters is stylish, unhinged, vibrant, funny, heartfelt and one of the most energetic films of the year. It feels like someone blended anime, musical theatre, a Kpop concert and a supernatural action movie and decided the resulting mixture was safe for human consumption.
The choreography is insane. The visuals are wild. The tone swings between comedy and emotional sincerity like it is doing parkour. And somehow it all works. I left the cinema feeling like I had drunk three energy drinks and been drop kicked by a glowstick.
I want more films like this. Films that swing big and refuse to apologise for being weird.
2. Sinners
Sinners absolutely floored me. Dark, violent, stylish and packed with some of the most intense character moments of the year. It is one of those films where you spend the first half assuming it is just a gritty thriller before realising halfway through that it has been digging its claws into you without you noticing.
The performances are unreal. The writing is sharp. The whole story spirals in a way that feels both inevitable and devastating. I came out of the cinema feeling like someone had scooped out my insides and replaced them with emotional rubble.
This is the kind of film that sticks to your brain for days whether you want it to or not.
1. Superman
You know what. Superman earned this. After years of grimdark interpretations, tonal confusion, and a general feeling that DC did not know what the hell it wanted to do with the character, 2025 finally delivered a Superman film that understood the assignment.
It is hopeful. It is fun. It is heartfelt. It actually lets Superman be Superman without treating optimism like a disease. The action is great. The cast is fantastic. The whole thing feels like a genuine reset for the character. I walked out of the cinema feeling better about life which is not something I expected to say about any superhero movie in the year 2025.
It is not just a great Superman film. It is a great film full stop. And the fact that it stands out in a year packed with heavy hitters says a lot.