The Best Films Of 2025 lists are trickling in, with Cahiers du Cinéma and John Waters already supplying their choices. Now it’s Sight and Sound’s turn, and their list plays more to the general favorites cinephiles will expect most critics to champion.
So, with that said, is it any surprise that Paul Thomas Anderson‘s “One Battle After Another” tops Sight and Sound’s list, and Ryan Coogler‘s “Sinners” clocks in as runner-up? Those two movies have dominated online discourse since their respective releases, and for good reason: both are bombastic, politically minded crowd-pleasers made by auteurs with capital-S Something to say. It’s the rest of the BFI list that may come as a surprise, however, so let’s get to their more controversial choices.
Granted, there are only two movies in the list’s top 10 that may raise some eyebrows: Zach Cregger‘s “Weapons” at #8 and Alexandre Koberidze‘s “Dry Leaf” at #9. Why? Well, Cregger’s “Weapons” was fun but by no means excellent. And for the latter, “Dry Leaf” will be an unfamiliar title despite screenings at TIFF, NYFF, and BFI London, as well as winning a Special Mention prize at its world premiere at Locarno. Shot on an old phone, Koberidze’s three-hour film follows a grieving father in Georgia searching for any trace of his daughter, who vanished years before while photographing soccer fields. Sight and Sound calls the film a “magic-realist road movie [that] follows in the tradition of Antonioni’s metaphysical mysteries,” so check it out if that description strikes your fancy.
Elsewhere on the list are three big hit from Cannes: Palme d’Or winner “It Was Just An Accident” at #6; Kleber Mendonça Filho‘s “The Secret Agent” at #5, which also made Cahiers du Cinéma’s list at #4; and Oliver Laxe‘s “Sirāt” at #4, where Waters also ranked the film on his list. Bi Gan‘s “Resurrection,” another Cannes 2025 premiere, also made Sight and Sound’s top 10 at #10.
That leaves two films left: Kelly Reichardt‘s “The Mastermind” at #3 and Eva Victor‘s Sundance favorite “Sorry, Baby” at #7. Neither film’s ranking so high for Sight and Sound comes as a surprise, as they’re two sly, formidable films made by women directors.
Check out Sight and Sound’s complete list here (their ranking is basically comprehensive, with fifty total titles). And stay tuned for coverage of best-of lists from other publications as 2025 draws to a close.
1. One Battle After Another
2. Sinners
3. The Mastermind
4. Sirāt
5. The Secret Agent
6. It Was Just An Accident
7. Sorry, Baby
8. Weapons
9. Dry Leaf
10. Resurrection
