From chilling horror to witty romcoms and inventive dramas, 2025 has already given audiences a diverse slate of standout films. BBC film critics Caryn James and Nicholas Barber have listed their top 16 picks of the year so far. Here’s a breakdown of the highlights:
1. Weapons
Zach Cregger’s follow-up to Barbarian is a chilling, multi-character horror that begins with 17 schoolchildren vanishing into the night. With its mix of surrealism, gore, humour and small-town realism, Weapons has been hailed as a new kind of horror film.
2. Highest 2 Lowest
Spike Lee reimagines Kurosawa’s High and Low with Denzel Washington as a music mogul caught in a kidnapping dilemma. With vibrant visuals, a powerful soundtrack and a subway chase through New York, the film has been praised as classic Lee — urgent, gripping and socially aware.
3. Bring Her Back
Danny and Michael Philippou, the duo behind Talk to Me, deliver an intense horror-drama about siblings sent to live with an unsettling foster mother. Balancing emotional depth with demonic possession, it cements their reputation as top genre filmmakers.
4. Materialists
Celine Song (Past Lives) offers a modern, witty take on love and money. Dakota Johnson plays a matchmaker torn between her struggling ex (Chris Evans) and a billionaire (Pedro Pascal). Fresh, funny and smart, it’s been called a “delightful almost-romcom.”
5. The Ballad of Wallis Island
This British comedy, starring Carey Mulligan alongside writer-actors Tom Basden and Tim Key, tells of a folk duo forced back together. Warm, funny and big-hearted, it’s been praised for its sharp dialogue and rewatchable humour.
6. Lurker
Alex Russell’s debut film is a tense psychological thriller about fandom gone toxic, as a shop assistant’s bond with a pop star spirals into obsession. Savvy and unsettling, it’s a sharp commentary on fame in the social media age.
7. Companion
Drew Hancock’s indie surprise mixes sci-fi, satire and dark comedy as a young couple’s getaway takes bizarre turns. With ingenious twists and a sharp critique of toxic masculinity, it’s been described as one of the year’s sharpest indie films.
8. Sinners
Ryan Coogler’s genre-blending epic combines 1930s Mississippi racism, blues music and vampires. Michael B Jordan plays twins Smoke and Stack in a film rich with history, fantasy and supernatural vengeance.
9. Art for Everybody
Miranda Yousef’s documentary re-examines Thomas Kinkade, the polarising “Painter of Light.” Exploring fame, faith and hidden darkness, it questions who defines “real” art and why his kitschy works struck a cultural nerve.
10. Warfare
Alex Garland teams up with veteran Ray Mendoza for a raw, real-time war drama that plunges viewers into combat with Navy Seals. Stripping away politics, it focuses on fear, endurance and the human cost of battle.
11. Bring Them Down
Barry Keoghan and Christopher Abbott star in this bloody Irish rural thriller about stolen sheep, revenge and generational trauma. Beautifully shot and emotionally powerful, it reframes crime drama as tragedy.
12. Misericordia
Alain Guiraudie’s French film shifts fluidly between drama, comedy and thriller, exploring desire, secrets and a mysterious disappearance in a small village. Both quirky and suspenseful, it has earned multiple César nominations.
13. Holy Cow
Louise Courvoisier’s debut follows a scruffy teen who turns to cheese-making after his father’s death. Rooted in the French countryside, it’s a heartfelt coming-of-age story about resilience, youth and responsibility.
14. The Friend
Naomi Watts stars in this moving adaptation of Sigrid Nunez’s novel, about grief, love and the unexpected bond with a Great Dane left by a late friend (Bill Murray). Tender and witty, it’s been called a gem of 2025.
15. Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
Aardman brings back the beloved duo and their old foe Feathers McGraw in a stop-motion adventure mixing nostalgia, humour and timely fears of artificial intelligence.
16. On Becoming a Guinea Fowl
Rungano Nyoni’s Zambian-set drama confronts family secrets and the trauma of abuse. Mixing realism with surreal imagery, it’s a powerful meditation on cultural conflict and memory.
