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Deadline film critics Pete Hammond and Damon Wise have released their much anticipated Top 10 Films of 2025 lists, offering a wide ranging snapshot of a year packed with ambition, risk taking, and major Oscar contenders. Drawing from festival premieres, prestige studio releases, and international standouts, their selections reflect both personal taste and a broader view of where cinema stood in 2025.
Whittling the year down to just ten films was no easy task. Hammond notes that many worthy titles narrowly missed his final list, including Black Bag, Weapons, The Long Walk, Wicked For Good, Avatar Fire And Ash, and Train Dreams. Wise also left several acclaimed films on the sidelines, such as Wake Up Dead Man A Knives Out Mystery, Nouvelle Vague, Die My Love, and The Testament of Ann Lee. The depth of these near misses speaks to how crowded and competitive the year was.
Pete Hammond’s list, presented alphabetically, celebrates both established auteurs and bold storytelling. He praises Yorgos Lanthimos’ Bugonia as a sharp and sinister satire, anchored by Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons in fearless performances. Guillermo del Toro’s long dreamed of Frankenstein earns a place for its craftsmanship and thematic relevance, while Chloé Zhao’s Hamnet is highlighted for its emotional power and intimate look at grief and creativity.
Hammond also singles out Noah Baumbach’s Jay Kelly as a deeply human story about fame and regret, with George Clooney delivering one of his finest performances. Richard Linklater appears twice through a shared slot for Nouvelle Vague and Blue Moon, showcasing his versatility and love of film history and music. Other standouts include the gripping historical drama Nuremberg, Paul Thomas Anderson’s kinetic One Battle After Another, and the cross cultural pairing of Rental Family and Kokuho, both rooted in Japanese life and tradition.
Rounding out Hammond’s list are Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value, a moving family drama, and Ryan Coogler’s Sinners, a genre bending period film that blends crime, music, and horror into something uniquely resonant.
Damon Wise’s Top 10 reflects a more experimental and international sensibility, though there is overlap. He places Kleber Mendonça Filho’s The Secret Agent at the top, praising its layered storytelling and Wagner Moura’s central performance against the backdrop of Brazil’s dictatorship. Mascha Schilinski’s Sound of Falling stands out as a hypnotic and abstract meditation on time and memory, while Sentimental Value again earns acclaim for its emotional depth and performances.
Wise also champions One Battle After Another, Eddington by Ari Aster for its provocative satire, and Train Dreams for its quiet reflection on loss and isolation. Sinners appears once more, recognized for its innovative use of music and world building. Kelly Reichardt’s The Mastermind, Oliver Laxe’s Sirāt, and Mary Bronstein’s If I Had Legs I’d Kick You complete Wise’s list, each praised for mood driven storytelling and striking lead performances.
Together, these lists offer a thoughtful portrait of cinema in 2025. They highlight a year where filmmakers took creative risks, blended genres, and explored personal and political themes with confidence. Whether audiences agree with every choice or not, Hammond and Wise provide a compelling guide to the films that defined the year.
