Nextgen Oscarwatcher: The Best Films of 2025

As we enter the final days of 2025 (or if you are reading this after New Year’s Eve, Happy New Year’s), it’s time to reminisce about the offerings cinema had in store for individuals over the past year.

Of course, many have already posted top-ten lists. There are a few blind spots that I need to cross off, including films from the likes of Bradley Cooper, James Cameron, Oliver Laxe, and Luca Guadagnino, and many others, but, having watched just north of 60 films (the most I have for a single year thus far in my life), it’s a fair share of films that one can comprise a top ten from.

Without further ado, here are my top ten films in 2025, starting with #10.

#10

No Other Choice

Dir: Park Chan-Wook

Park Chan-Wook is one of those filmmakers whose work is so ingrained in film culture, but his presence in Oscar Season has been to no avail (let’s hope that changes this year). What he has crafted in his darkly comedic portrait of AI and the Class System (the latter borrowing some aspects from the works of Bong Joon-Ho) is nothing short of mesmerizing. Lee Byung-hun is very much the connecting tissue to this web of corruption, deceit, and, at its darkest, carnage, but his performance truly resonates. The montage sequence(s) are remarkably constructed (editors Kim Ho-bin and Kim Sang-beom are the MVPS), and as it nears its conclusion. However, one might feel exhausted by the twists and turns. Its consistency in its messages and themes really let it resonate in its final minutes, letting the audience know that the family is front and center through all the madness. Whether or not AMPAS Voters hear the call and recognize Park Chan-Wook remains to be seen, but that should not detract from the work that he has constructed this year.

#9

Christy

Dir: David Michôd

Perhaps the most surprising presence on the list, the closing film at the Montclair Film Festival really did surprise me in its execution and narrative, all anchored by Sydney Sweeney’s central performance as the titular boxer, Christy Martin. Though very much a traditional biopic that hits familiar storytelling beats, it is very much one of a kind in its delivery, primarily due to the already-mentioned Sydney Sweeney and Ben Foster, whose roles are horrifying and full of malice. The last third of the film is incredibly daunting to watch, but the end is rewarding and a true ode to Christy Martin’s life, one worth telling and exploring in depth. For a year full of very auteur-driven work, having one that succeeds through a traditional lens is welcome.

#8

Weapons

Dir: Zach Cregger

Major studio horror movies tend to be hit or miss in what they express on screen, with many struggling for genuine thrills or substance. What Cregger pulled off in Weapons, a thriller about the disappearance of children in a small town told through many different perspectives, is really something to behold. A word-of-mouth hit that succeeded due to genuinely being scary and invigorating to witness, it would not be what it is without the ensemble at hand. Julia Garner and Josh Brolin lead a cast of flawed but well-developed characters, but it is Amy Madigan who steals the show in every scene she is in. A villain that hardly earns any sympathy but is very much a phenomenon of the year, it’s rewarding to see a veteran of her status enter the Award Season conversation again. With the possibility of a win becoming ever-present, it would be another sign of the Oscars recognizing work that is not only unique but appealing to the masses.

#7

One Battle After Another

Dir: Paul Thomas Anderson

A hot take that this isn’t in the top spots doesn’t take away from the work PTA has crafted for his tenth film. A tense and thrilling look at today’s political landscape, while still managing to throw in a dash of his personal life as a father attempting to connect with his children, this is a significant shift for the director. Though it occasionally veers off into absurdity or satire that doesn’t always land, it’s invigorating filmmaking.

The editing by Andy Jurgensen is astonishing, making a three-hour film feel shorter than most movies released this year; Jonny Greenwood’s inventive score is ever-present throughout; Michael Bauman’s work as DP always shines. It’s a masterful showcase of filmmaking.

The ensemble is incredible too, with Leonardo DiCaprio and Benicio Del Toro sticking out in more laid-back but just as original and memorable performances, amongst Chase Infiniti, Teyana Taylor, and Sean Penn (and many smaller roles that all feel personal and precise, a testament to Paul Thomas Anderson’s attention to detail). An audacious vision and adaptation of Pynchon’s Vineland, it’s a film that many can’t stop talking about, and it sticks with you long after the credits roll.

#6 Sinners

Dir: Ryan Coogler

A film that opened in April of this year and has achieved a modern classic status, Ryan Coogler’s ode to the Blues and the South of nearly a century ago is one of the finest of the past few years. A film about community, hardships, and finding the beauty in nature and the connections to others is also one that concerns death, bloodshed, and anger. Michael P. Shawver’s editing is precise, as is Autumn Durald Arkapaw’s cinematography, which makes itself known through the presence of day and night.

Ludwig Görransson’s score and music is incredible, really taking the audience by surprise in how perfectly put together it all is. The ensemble is incredible as well, with Wunmi Mosaku and Miles Caton being the biggest standouts. However, this film wouldn’t be what it is without Ryan Coogler’s direction and writing, a film that feels both timeless and timely. It’s very much a defining film of the decade so far.

#5

The Testament of Ann Lee

Dir: Mona Fastvold

If you have read my prediction pieces or listened to the podcast, you would know how fascinated I was in what Brady Corbet and Mona Fastvold would craft next following The Brutalist. With Fastvold at the helm, a musical about the Shaker Founder and Leader seemed like no easy task to pull off, and for some, it won’t be.

However, it’s an audacious vision: the music numbers less like songs and more like exercises in emotion and feeling, led by Amanda Seyfried’s luminous performance that feels both foreign and entirely human to the audience. William Rexer’s incredible cinematography, matched with Daniel Blumberg’s score and songs, allows this film to be both a companion piece to Corbet’s The Brutalist and stand on its own as a work of art. It’s a difficult film to articulate, but an absorbing experience all around.

#4

Hamnet

Dir: Chloé Zhao

Attending the world premiere of Chloe Zhao’s follow-up to Eternals (or Nomadland, considering Eternals was filmed first) was a truly unforgettable experience in Telluride, Colorado. A film that is firing on all cylinders, emotionally, cinematically, and of anything humanly possible, it’s an experience that will crush one’s heart, and, though it’s no easy task, very much puts it back together in its final ten minutes. Max Richter’s compositions and Łukasz Żal’s immersive cinematography, Zhao essentially crafted a Terrance Malick interpretation of Shakespeare in Love, but with incredible, real performances by Jesse Buckley and Paul Mescal that make it feel raw and difficult to experience, but necessary nonetheless.

#3

Train Dreams

Dir: Clint Bentley

Akin to looking forward to what the follow-up would be from the Corbet and Fastvold duo, seeing what Bentley and Kwedar had in store for the audience, with the former now at the director helm, was another big anticipation of mine.

Though not as emotionally raw or real as Sing Sing, the adaptation of Denis Johnson’s novella is somber, tragic, and challenging to describe, but rewarding to experience, with Joel Edgerton at the helm, one is very much experiencing his devastating moments alongside him, with difficulty in processing it all, but seeing this character attempt to find redemption and meaning in a life seemingly devoid in it for so long is fulfilling. Adolpho Veloso’s cinematography is gorgeous, adding to the vision as a whole and crafting something that feels both spiritual and down-to-earth.

#2

Marty Supreme

Dir: Josh Safdie

A film currently dominating conversations in theaters, Safdie’s vision of a destructive table tennis player in Marty Mauser is as stressful as it is invigorating. Akin to One Battle After Another, it’s nearly three hours’ runtime zooms by thanks to propulsive editing by Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie (whose work in Uncut Gems is felt here more than it is in any film since then). Daniel Lopatin’s electronic score is memorable and unique, as is Darius Khondji’s cinematography.

However, it really is the ensemble, from Kevin O’Leary to Odessa A’zion, to Gwyneth Paltrow, and most of all, Timothée Chalamet, who make Marty Supreme what it is. An American picture that is both timeless (it’s a film that has all the makings of a 1970s or 80s adventure comedy) and somehow still feels modern in its approach, it’s a film that is truly masterful in its cinematic expression. The ending hits hard, Chalamet’s central performance carrying the entire story.

#1

Sentimental Value

Dir: Joachim Trier

Trier’s follow-up to The Worst Person In The World might not be as funny or entertaining as that said project, but its raw depiction of family bonds and connections will very much hit close to home for everyone who has seen it. Led by incredible performances from Renate Reinsve, Stellan Skarsgård, Elle Fanning, and Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, Sentimental Value is the best film of the year for its grounded storytelling, which connects the arts and personal feelings perfectly.

Perfectly paced and perfectly acted, it’s a film for everyone that works because of its focus on human emotions, with the connection between Reinsve and Skarsgård ever present from beginning to end. Since Telluride, it has not left my #1 spot, and it won’t years from now.

Oscar Predictions for Week of December 29^th, 2025

Not much has changed, with just two noticeable ones

• Timothèe Chalamet back in #1 spot in Best Actor over Leonardo DiCaprio, but it’s close
• Hedda in Costume Design over The Testament of Ann Lee

Best Picture
1. One Battle After Another
2. Sinners
3. Hamnet
4. Marty Supreme
5. It Was Just An Accident
6. Frankenstein
7. Sentimental Value
8. Bugonia
9. The Secret Agent
10. Train Dreams

Alts: F1, Wicked: For Good, Jay Kelly, Weapons, Blue Moon, No Other
Choice, The Testament of Ann Lee, Avatar: Fire and Ash

Best Director

1. Paul Thomas Anderson, One Battle After Another
2. Jafar Panahi, It Was Just An Accident
3. Ryan Coogler, Sinners
4. Chloé Zhao, Hamnet
5. Guillermo Del Toro, Frankenstein

Alts: Josh Safdie, Marty Supreme,  Joachim Trier, Sentimental Value

Best Actress

1. Jessie Buckley, Hamnet
2. Rose Byrne, If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
3. Renate Reinsve, Sentimental Value
4. Chase Infiniti, One Battle After Another
5. Amanda Seyfried, The Testament of Ann Lee

Alts: Emma Stone, Bugonia Cynthia Erivo, Wicked: For Good, Kate Hudson,
Song Sung Blue

Best Actor

1. Timotheé Chalamet, Marty Supreme
2. Leonardo DiCaprio, One Battle After Another
3. Wagner Moura, The Secret Agent
4. Ethan Hawke, Blue Moon
5. Michael B. Jordan, Sinners

Alt: Joel Edgerton, Train Dreams

Best Supporting Actress

1. Amy Madigan, Weapons
2. Teyana Taylor, One Battle After Another
3. Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, Sentimental Value
4. Wunmi Mosaku, Sinners
5. Odessa A’zion, Marty Supreme

Alts: Elle Fanning, Sentimental Value, Ariana Grande, Wicked: For Good, Gwyneth Paltrow, Marty Supreme

Best Supporting Actor

1. Benicio Del Toro, One Battle After Another
2. Sean Penn, One Battle After Another
3. Stellan Skarsgård, Sentimental Value
4. Paul Mescal, Hamnet
5. Adam Sandler, Jay Kelly

Alt: Jacob Elordi, Frankenstein

Best Original Screenplay

1. Sinners
2. It Was Just An Accident
3. Sentimental Value
4. Marty Supreme
5. Sorry, Baby

Alts Weapons, The Secret Agent, Jay Kelly

Best Adapted Screenplay

1. One Battle After Another
2. Hamnet
3. Train Dreams
4. Bugonia
5. Frankenstein

Alts: No Other Choice, Wake Up Dead Man

Casting

1. One Battle After Another
2. Sinners
3. Hamnet
4. Marty Supreme
5. Weapons

Alts: Sentimental Value, The Secret Agent

Best International Feature

1. It Was Just An Accident
2. Sentimental Value
3. No Other Choice
4. The Secret Agent
5. Sirǎt

(Alts: The Voice of Hind Rajab, Left-Handed Girl, The President’s Cake)

Best Documentary Feature

1. The Perfect Neighbor
2. 2000 Meters to Andriivka
3. Mr. Nobody Against Putin
4. Come See Me In The Good Light
5. Cover-Up

(Alts: The Alabama Solution, Seeds or Cutting Through Rocks)

Best Animated Feature

1. Kpop Demon Hunters
2. Little Amélie or the Character of Rain
3. Zootopia 2
4. Arco
5. Elio

(Alts: Scarlet and A Magnificent Life)

Best Cinematography

1. Sinners
2. Hamnet
3. One Battle After Another
4. Train Dreams
5. Frankenstein

Best Editing

1. One Battle After Another
2. Sinners
3. Marty Supreme
4. F1
5. It Was Just An Accident

Best Production Design

1. Frankenstein
2. Wicked: For Good
3. Hamnet
4. Sinners
5. Marty Supreme

Best Costume Design

1. Frankenstein
2. Wicked: For Good
3. Sinners
4. Hamnet
5. Hedda

Makeup and Hairstyling

1. Frankenstein
2. Wicked: For Good
3. The Smashing Machine
4. Sinners
5. One Battle After Another

Best Sound

1. Sinners
2. F1
3. One Battle After Another
4. Avatar: Fire and Ash
5. Frankenstein

Best Visual Effects

1. Avatar: Fire and Ash
2. Superman
3. F1
4. Frankenstein
5. Sinners

Best Score

1. Sinners
2. One Battle After Another
3. Marty Supreme
4. Hamnet
5. F1

Best Song

1. Golden from KPop Demon Hunters
2. I Lied to You from Sinners
3. The Girl In The Bubble from Wicked: For Good
4. Dear Me from Diane Warren Relentless
5. Train Dreams from Train Dreams

Best Documentary Short

1. All the Empty Rooms
2. Armed Only with a Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud
3. Bad Hostage
4. The Devil is Busy
5. Children No More: Were and Are Gone

Best Animated Short

1. Snow Bear
2. Autokar
3. Butterfly
4. The Girl Who Cried Pearls
5. Forevergreen

Best Live Action Short

1. Ado
2. Beyond Silence
3. The Boy with White Skin
4. Butcher’s Stain
5. Butterfly on a Wheel

If you want to follow me on Twitter (x), the link is here

If you want to follow me on Letterboxd, the link is here

I’m also on the Awards Expert app, you can find me there.