Every year, The Black List functions like a Hollywood mood ring—part wish list, part power-broker flex, part “please let someone greenlight this already.” The 2025 edition was compiled from the suggestions of nearly 500 film executives (each naming up to ten favorite feature scripts tied to 2025 that haven’t started principal photography this year), and you needed at least 10 mentions to make the cut. And, as the organization always underscores, it’s not a “best of” list so much as a “most liked” one.
At the top: “Best Seller,” Matisse Haddad’s New York literary-scene psychodrama with 48 mentions—about a struggling writer, a famous novelist husband, and a viral tell-all that detonates into seduction and betrayal—backed on the producing side by Peter Rice and Jason Reitman. Close behind are the high-stakes, control-and-capital thriller “Equity” (35 mentions) and the revenge-infiltration frat saga “Rush” (34 mentions), which already reads like it was engineered to ignite debate in a screening room.
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The rest of the list sketches a pretty clear portrait of what’s animating the town right now: big genre hooks (“Blackout,” “Infestation,” “Frostbite”), sleek studio-ready thrillers (“Fixation,” “Nick Of Time”), comedy-forward character traps (“Let’s Be Friends,” “Guys With No Friends”), and a few spicy, title-as-logline provocations (“Untitled Erotic Teen Fan Fiction Movie,” anyone?). And yes, the corporate fingerprints are there too—Netflix pops up, A24 shows up, Apple shows up, Warner Bros. shows up—because “most liked” in Hollywood is still often a marriage between a killer premise and a viable path to packaging.
The 2025 Black List:
“Best Seller” (48)
Writer: Matisse Haddad
Logline: In New York’s literary scene, a struggling writer, pressured by her famous novelist husband to have a baby, pens a tell-all article that goes viral. This sparks a dangerous battle of seduction, manipulation, and betrayal in the public and private spheres.
Studio: N/A
Producers: Peter Rice, Jason Reitman
“Equity” (35)
Writer: Ward Kamel
Logline: After an ambitious pharma founder sells a portion of himself to a charismatic billionaire magnate, his world spirals into a high-stakes battle to buy back control of his company, his future, and his life.
Studio: N/A
Producers: Killer Films, Vertigo
“Rush” (34)
Writer: Read Masino & Cassidy Alla
Logline: When a college student is sexually assaulted by a frat guy who faces no consequences, she and her best friend rush his fraternity undercover to get revenge – only to become the unlikely stars of Delta Iota Kappa’s pledge class and get in way too deep.
Studio: N/A
Producers: Berlanti/Schechter Films
“Untouchable” (30)
Writer: Julian Silver & Reiss Clauson-Wolf
Logline: The true exploits of Eliot Ness during his hunt for the “Torso Murderer,” a serial killer whose bloody reign terrorized 1930s Cleveland.
Studio: N/A
Producers: N/A
“Minnow” (27)
Writer: Zach Strauss & Chris Silber
Logline: When her sister goes missing, Minnow, a seemingly troubled woman, goes to extreme lengths to hunt down the mysterious man who took her. The disturbing truth goes beyond just one missing girl, and nothing–including Minnow–is as it seems.
Studio: N/A
Producers: Thunder Road, Parallel 42
“Fixation” (25)
Writer: Siena Butterfield & Erika Vazquez
Logline: A couples therapist is drawn into a dangerous triangle of lust, lies, and manipulation when she begins an affair with a stranger–who turns out to be the husband of her new client.
Studio: New Regency
Producers: Made Up Stories
“Building Bowie” (23)
Writer: Alan Fox
Logline: In a near-future obsessed with AI generated nostalgia, a repressed droid wrangler is assigned to build a David Bowie replica — but as the droid begins evolving beyond its programming, the wrangler must confront the creative dreams she buried, and decide whether to protect her job or risk everything to reclaim her voice.
Studio: N/A
Producers: A/Vantage Pictures
“Leverage” (23)
Writer: Joe Ferran
Logline: After a high-profile murder threatens a multi-billion dollar hostile takeover, an embattled Wall Street titan emerges as the prime suspect and must win a war of perception in order to protect her empire at all costs.
Studio: N/A
Producers: Empirical Evidence, Imagine
“Untitled Erotic Teen Fan Fiction Movie” (23)
Writer: Morgan Lehmann
Logline: Delaney Pitts is a nerdy, teenage virgin who has a secret online life as an erotic fan fiction author. But when a publisher tasks her with writing a book about her (non-existent) high school love life, she’s forced to team up with a top expert in the field: the slutty quarterback of the football team.
Studio: A24, Ley Line
Producers: Fruit Tree, Ley Line
“Alpha” (22)
Writer: Hal Ozsan
Logline: A mild-mannered American analyst climbs the ranks of a ruthless London investment firm, only to discover a horror more frightening than the industry itself: the insatiable monster awakening within him.
Studio: Netflix
Producers: Aperture Entertainment, Safehouse
“West Coast Living” (22)
Writer: Sam Lifshutz
Logline: When a mysterious van settles outside a middle-class couple’s home, a simple noise complaint unleashes a relentless campaign of psychological warfare and escalating violence.
Studio: N/A
Producers: CatchLight Studios
“Et Al” (20)
Writer: Paul Levitt
Logline: When a husband and wife research team — along with their dangerously charming old college friend — venture into the Congo Jungle in search of a brand new species, the expedition quickly unravels into one of paranoia and terror.
Studio: N/A
Producers: Mortal Media
“Do It Yourself” (18)
Writer: Liv Auerbach & Daisygreen Stenhouse
Logline: Tom and Helen Hempel, hosts of a wildly popular home renovation show, are America’s favorite couple. When Tom dies in his mistress Melody’s bed, polar opposites Helen and Melody decide to move his body home to conceal the scandal. What could go wrong?
Studio: N/A
Producers: PictureStart
“Incidents” (18)
Writer: William Gillies
Logline: A woman searches for answers after surviving a mysterious abduction.
Studio: Fox Searchlight
Producers: House Productions
“Riding Hurt” (18)
Writer: Buck Bloomingdale
Logline: A former rodeo star, caught between his criminal past and a fragile shot at redemption, is drawn into a dangerous run of heists and betrayals while trying to find a way back to his family.
Studio: N/A
Producers: Range Media Partners, Teton Ridge
“Unicorn” (18)
Writer: Grady Wood
Logline: When a tech mogul and his wife invite a third into their marriage for a weekend away, their sexually charged celebration devolves into a cat and mouse game of deception.
Studio: N/A
Producers: Artists First
“Wild Palms” (18)
Writer: Ellis Bahl
Logline: An ambitious grifter and a seasoned reptile hunter form an unlikely partnership to exploit Florida’s exotic wildlife for profit, but their risky black-market ventures lead them into a world of danger, betrayal, and life-altering consequences.
Studio: N/A
Producers: Iconoclast, Alejandro De Leon, David M. Helman
“Blackout” (17)
Writer: Kevin Yang
Logline: When eco-terrorists attack Los Angeles’ power grid and orchestrate a cascading citywide blackout, a jaded former Secret Service agent and a brilliant but unassuming engineer must fight their way across the metropolis – in the dark – to restore power before the city collapses.
Studio: N/A
Producers: N/A
“Lettered Men” (17)
Writer: Cole Maute
Logline: A group of fraternity brothers wake up after a night of partying nobody can remember, to find a dead body in the basement. It’s the fraternity president’s ex-girlfriend. Each of the brothers has equal cause, evidence stacked against them, and lack of alibi.
Studio: N/A
Producers: Rough House
“Alter” (16)
Writer: S.K. Dale
Logline: In a secret military lab, a neuroscientist uses cutting-edge technology to rewire the mind of a psychopathic killer, forcing her own memories onto him in the hopes to trigger empathy. But as their minds intertwine, buried truths claw to the surface, plunging them both into a psychological battle where the boundaries of sanity begin to blur.
Studio: N/A
Producers: N/A
“Early Action” (16)
Writer: Sophie de Bruijn
Logline: Two parents go to extreme lengths to get their son into his dream college – even if it means manufacturing a traumatic experience for him to write about in his admissions essay.
Studio: Apple
Producers: The Walsh Company
“Flamer” (16)
Writer: Greg Levine
Logline: In his final week at wilderness camp, fifteen-year-old Aiden faces bullies, shifting friendships, and an overwhelming crush in a turbulent reckoning with his identity. Based on the acclaimed graphic novel of the same name.
Studio: N/A
Producers: Julie Oh
“Frostbite” (16)
Writer: Michael Jones
Logline: There are 300 frozen bodies on the way to the summit of Mt. Everest. For blind climber Lucas Mills, he can still hear them. A survival horror experience on Everest.
Studio: N/A
Producers: N/A
“Out Of The Hollow” (16)
Writer: Zak Rizzo
Logline: In need of funds to pay for his father’s medical care, Danny Locascio enlists his mercurial best friend Rusty in a series of jewel store robberies. However, the pair soon find themselves in the crosshairs of both the FBI and local organized crime, all while old secrets unravel and threaten to change their lives forever.
Studio: N/A
Producers: Range Media Partners
“The Parole Officer” (16)
Writer: Mike McGrale
Logline: A parolee looking to stay on the straight and narrow is seduced by a mysterious woman into a drug-fueled one-night stand, violating the rules of his parole. That woman turns out to be his newly appointed parole officer, who unleashes a plan to blackmail him into committing an escalating series of crimes or else he’ll be sent back to prison for the rest of his life.
Studio: N/A
Producers: Imagine Entertainment, HalleHolly
“The Waffle House Index” (16)
Writer: Andrew Nunnelly
Logline: The following three things are true: 1. The WAFFLE HOUSE INDEX is a metric used by FEMA to measure the severity of a natural disaster. 2. Jane works the graveyard shift at her local Waffle House. 3. There’s a storm coming.
Studio: N/A
Producers: Plan B
“Bad Memories” (15)
Writer: Julian Simpson
Logline: An infamous investigator of the unexplained phenomena and a highly skilled audio repair engineer work together to solve a very perplexing case file.
Studio: N/A
Producers: N/A
“Don’t Do 72” (15)
Writer: Kryzz Gautier
Logline: A night janitor is warned never to clean the 72nd floor of a corporate high-rise, but when a coworker disappears, she breaks the rule…only to discover something ancient and watching, lurking just beyond the glass.
Studio: N/A
Producers: N/A
“Geezers” (15)
Writer: Richard Martin
Logline: After surviving a prom night massacre over 50 years ago, Alice’s golden years are interrupted by a copycat killer terrorizing her small retirement community…
Studio: N/A
Producers: N/A
“Let’s Be Friends” (15)
Writer: Mia Karr
Logline: An awkward 30-something woman on a quest for new friends thinks she’s hit the mother lode when she’s invited on vacation by a seemingly perfect group of lifelong besties – but she instead finds herself on the beach weekend from Hell, as the group’s co-dependent dysfunction becomes the least of their worries.
Studio: N/A
Producers: Premeditated
“Liana” (15)
Writer: Cesar Vitale
Logline: An overly ambitious young woman’s obsession with a notorious hedge fund manager leads to her increasingly disturbing behavior in a quest to get close to, and ultimately take down, her idol.
Studio: N/A
Producers: Roth/Kirschenbaum
“Pinfall” (15)
Writer: Sean O’Reilly
Logline: Lola, a former wrestler turned manager, finally sees her chance for a big break when she discovers a once-in-a-generation talent–only to risk not just her shot at success, but the people she cares about most, when the brutal world of professional wrestling begins to take its toll.
Studio: N/A
Producers: Temple Hill
“Revenge Body” (15)
Writer: Devon Kerr
Logline: Inspired by the COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO by Alexandre Dumas. Fifteen years after a high school prank ruined his life, a now-unrecognizable personal trainer sets his sights on destroying the lives of the group of former students responsible.
Studio: N/A
Producers: N/A
“The Milkman” (15)
Writer: Lucas Kavner & Dylan Dawson
Logline: After his beloved cow is senselessly killed, a peaceful dairy farmer becomes a vengeance-obsessed one-man wrecking crew, setting out through our modern, curdled world to take on a corrupt conglomerate and the violent enforcers who protect it.
Studio: N/A
Producers: Davis Entertainment
“The Texan” (15)
Writer: Kevin Arnovitz
Logline: When a self-made Houston mogul takes a young, ambitious West Texas striver under his wing, he ignites psychological warfare between mentor and protégé over fortune, family, reputation, and life-and-death.
Studio: N/A
Producers: N/A
“Alex Alert” (14)
Writer: Donald Diego
Logline: Alex O’Hara is struggling through a divorce when everyone in Los Angeles County starts receiving emergency alerts on their phones, revealing the details of Alex’s depressing life. Unable to stop the alerts from coming, Alex decides to lean in and try to use the newfound accountability to turn his life around.
Studio: Sony/Columbia
Producers: Big Name, The Detective Agency, The Walsh Company
“American Midnight” (14)
Writer: Connor McIntyre
Logline: When several bodies are found along the highways of the American Midwest, a divorced state trooper and her estranged FBI husband must work together to find a trucker murdering young women for his sick wife… a vampire.
Studio: Netflix
Producers: Vertigo
“Capable People” (14)
Writer: Matthew Stewart
Logline: While hosting a fundraiser for an election with a razor thin margin, a morally conflicted congresswoman and her staff desperately try to contain a ballooning scandal that threatens to destroy her career, her marriage, and the balance of power in Washington D.C.
Studio: N/A
Producers: Range Media Partners
“Cut Outs” (14)
Writer: Isaac Louis Garcia
Logline: A detective whose mind is deteriorating after a tragic misstep becomes obsessed with an unexplainable case: unrelated people keep claiming that their bodies have been stolen from them, and they’ve been left stranded as someone else.
Studio: New Line Cinema
Producers: BoulderLight Pictures
“Infestation” (14)
Writer: Chris Freyer
Logline: A suburban family’s life spirals into horror after their young son is bitten by a strange beetle, and begins transforming into a monstrous insect. As a massive infestation simultaneously infects their family home, the father realizes he must confront the darkness lurking in his past in order to save his son.
Studio: N/A
Producers: N/A
“Trace” (14)
Writer: Jackson Kellard
Logline: A forensic sketch artist’s life is upended when her latest composite of a serial killer looks identical to her husband of 6 years.
Studio: N/A
Producers: Blinding Edge Pictures, Range Media Partners
“House Of Time” (13)
Writer: Tommy White & Miles Hubley
Logline: When an eccentric billionaire invites five guests to an extravagant weekend at his secluded chateau, what starts as an elaborate time-travel game quickly turns deadly real. Or so we think…
Studio: N/A
Producers: Jo Henriquez, SK Global
“Lords Of The Dance” (13)
Writer: Greg Wayne
Logline: When a 35-year-old Chicago ditch digger gets the opportunity of a lifetime to represent his ancestral homeland at the world’s biggest music competition, he unleashes a blockbuster dance phenomenon that will make Ireland a global superpower and finally set his people free. Based on the true story of Riverdance.
Studio: N/A
Producers: Mutiny
“Mr. Blackburn” (13)
Writer: Alex Kavutskiy & Ryan Perez
Logline: A passionate inner city high school teacher discovers that he’s accidentally inspired his former students into a life of meaningless minimum wage work and insurmountable student loan debt. Together, they pick up a life of crime to pay off their debts and realize the American dream he had once promised them.
Studio: N/A
Producers: Hyperobject
“Nick Of Time” (13)
Writer: Patrick Pittis
Logline: While defending an unscrupulous billionaire in a landmark antitrust lawsuit, a tenacious young attorney begins to question his sanity as he unravels a time-bending secret – something from the past that could threaten his future.
Studio: N/A
Producers: N/A
“Oh Yoko!” (13)
Writer: Allison Lee
Logline: Born in war-torn Tokyo, Yoko Ono forges her path as a groundbreaking modern artist in New York, but her life changes forever when she dives into a whirlwind romance with John Lennon — and becomes known as the “witch” who broke up the Beatles.
Studio: N/A
Producers: N/A
“Capricorn” (12)
Writer: Edwin Cannistraci
Logline: A married couple spice things up by starting a sexual relationship with a mysterious young woman, and it entangles them in a web of deception and danger.
Studio: N/A
Producers: Talking Pictures
“Renegotiate” (12)
Writer: Mark Townend
Logline: A troubled FBI crisis negotiator finds himself stuck in a time loop, re-living the events of a suicide bombing and struggling to stop it before time runs out.
Studio: Lionsgate
Producers: CineMachine, Range
“Sister” (12)
Writer: Lauren Kilbride
Logline: Sister Molly is not a Sister anymore – not after falling in love and leaving the convent behind. But two years later, when her relationship ends, she returns to the convent to figure out who she idolizes more: God, or her ex-boyfriend.
Studio: N/A
Producers: N/A
“Standby” (12)
Writer: Derek Steiner
Logline: On her final voyage as a flight attendant, a woman finds herself trapped on a trans-Pacific flight with a passenger who is adamant that they’re perfect together and will do everything he can to win her over.
Studio: N/A
Producers: Dog Ear
“The Black Echo” (12)
Writer: Peter Haig
Logline: After a hostage rescue mission goes wrong, an elite SWAT team is forced into a vast underground tunnel system – cut off and stripped of their tactical advantage by an enemy unlike any they’ve ever encountered, who’s turned the labyrinth into their killing field.
Studio: N/A
Producers: CineMachine, Parallel 42
“The Pirate” (12)
Writer: Will Dunn
Logline: On the storm-tossed seas of the 18th Century, a fisherman infiltrates a murderous pirate warship.
Studio: Amazon MGM
Producers: 87North, On The Roam
“Alts” (11)
Writer: Seth Worley
Logline: After years of consequence-free time travel, a man, Guy, discovers his reckless behavior has created dozens of alternate versions of himself who all want him dead.
Studio: N/A
Producers: N/A
“Crush” (11)
Writer: John Fischer
Logline: When a woman goes for a solo hike in the Everglades and falls, she wakes up with a massive snake curled around her ankles, ready to slowly kill her.
Studio: 20th Century Studios
Producers: 1201 Films, Temple Hill Productions
“Guys With No Friends” (11)
Writer: Deb Kaplan & Harry Elfont
Logline: When four friendless, middle-aged men are pushed into a ‘man date’ by their fed-up wives, they stumble into a night of misadventures that leaves them bruised, bonded, and forever changed.
Studio: Paramount
Producers: Safehouse Pictures
“Heartland Express” (11)
Writer: Trevor James
Logline: In rural Wyoming, a stressed-out single mom on the brink of an empty nest gets dragged into disastrous dates, honky-tonk nights, family blowups, and a new, possibly-fated romance – pushing her to discover that the hardest road to navigate is the one back to herself.
Studio: N/A
Producers: N/A
“Last Stop In The Desert” (11)
Writer: Noah Sellman
Logline: A disgraced journalist visits a hippie commune to rekindle an old flame, but when a body turns up in the middle of his first acid trip, he takes it upon himself to investigate — even as the trip turns his search for truth into a kaleidoscope of clues, visions, and lies.
Studio: N/A
Producers: N/A
“Object Permanence” (11)
Writer: Alessandra DiMona
Logline: A Berkeley professor’s wife mysteriously disappears immediately after he is wrongfully Me Too’ed. His life explodes into a spectacular comedy of errors as he races to find her and society rushes to convict him of murder.
Studio: N/A
Producers: Mariela Villa (Level Up)
“Peaches” (11)
Writer: Sarah Rothschild
Logline: Molly, a loveable mess, newly divorced, and drinking way too much, after one particularly reckless night, finds the unlikely lifeline she needs in Peaches, an enormous St. Bernard rescue dog.
Studio: N/A
Producers: Temple Hill
“Serpent Girl” (11)
Writer: Matthew Carnahan
Logline: When he wakes up naked by the highway, Bailey Quinn is only sure of a few things: He’s in a world of testicle pain, he’s tripping out of his head on peyote, and someone seems to have made a half-assed attempt at slashing his throat. He can’t for the life of him remember what happened–and then it all comes flooding back–the circus, the heist, the betrayal. And even though Bailey starts on a bloody bender for retribution, he winds up finding love and an unexpected state of grace.
Studio: N/A
Producers: N/A
“The Light From The Arcade” (11)
Writer: Derek Pastuszek
Logline: On a nostalgic hometown visit, a disillusioned dude is sucked into his favorite childhood arcade game, where he must team up with his teenage self to fight a horde of mind-bending monsters and find a way home…together, they’re forced to confront their past to save their future.
Studio: N/A
Producers: N/A
“The Stag And The Bull” (11)
Writer: Kelly Walker
Logline: Desperate to revive their marriage, a suburban couple invites a stranger into their bedroom only to discover that some fantasies can really kill the mood.
Studio: N/A
Producers: Barnstorm, Megamix, Mazo Partners
“Amphora” (10)
Writer: Greg Jardin
Logline: A dramatic thriller that takes place over two parts of a man’s life.
Studio: N/A
Producers: Temple Hill, Jason Baum
“Dead Man’s Island” (10)
Writer: Jordan Santacana
Logline: A pirate is marooned on a mysterious island, only to discover that he’s being stalked by a bloodthirsty creature.
Studio: N/A
Producers: Elliott Pictures
“Entertaining” (10)
Writer: Hannah Hafey & Kaitlin Smith
Logline: Cooking show superstar Celeste Bell and her upstart rival Josie Baker vie for food media’s most coveted broadcast – Thanksgiving – over the course of a decade.
Studio: N/A
Producers: N/A
“Handy Man” (10)
Writer: Teddy Schenck
Logline: When a frustrated stay-at-home father in Brooklyn feels increasingly threatened by the charismatic handyman hired by his wife, their simmering rivalry escalates into a volatile battle of wills that threatens to unravel their families.
Studio: N/A
Producers: N/A
“Kampf” (10)
Writer: Sang Kyu Kim
Logline: An actor from a hit medical show disappears for years before suddenly reappearing in history channel reenactments playing one role repeatedly: Joseph Goebbels. His reasons for such an odd professional choice remain unknown until he meets a young girl dying of cancer… through Make a Wish.
Studio: N/A
Producers: 10 by Ten Entertainment
“Place To Be” (10)
Writer: Aimee Pham & Kai Sampadian
Logline: James, a good dad who flies a bit too close to the sun, hasn’t seen his kids in 10 years… but not by choice. When he decides to make his grand return at his daughter’s destination wedding weekend but no one recognizes who he actually is, James must fight to win his family’s trust so he can walk his daughter down the aisle.
Studio: N/A
Producers: N/A
“Sugar Free” (10)
Writer: Kirill Baru
Logline: When their sugar daddy and sugar mommy dump them to be together, a self-absorbed gold digger and a loveable slacker join forces to break up their exes and get back on easy street.
Studio: N/A
Producers: Olive Bridge Entertainment
“Sunlight” (10)
Writer: Kit Steinkellner
Logline: A husband and wife’s marriage is tested when the husband is bitten by a bat and becomes a vampire.
Studio: N/A
Producers: Mood Bath Pictures
“The Survival List” (10)
Writer: Tom Melia
Logline: Against her wishes, highbrow reality TV producer Annie is assigned to a new show hosted by macho survival expert Chopper Lane. However, when a shipwreck strands the two of them on a deserted island, Annie discovers Chopper is a fraud and knows nothing about survival, leaving her in charge of keeping them alive. Forced to work together, the two soon discover an unlikely chemistry.
Studio: Lionsgate
Producers: Marc Platt Productions, Blake Lively
“The Valley Of Hinnom” (10)
Writer: Jacob Marx Rice
Logline: When a rudderless teenager in an extremist group goes undercover at a synagogue he’s plotting to bomb, he finds himself relying on the very people he is supposed to destroy.
Studio: N/A
Producers: N/A
“Vienna” (10)
Writer: Lindsay Michel
Logline: An interpreter at the US Embassy in Vienna must act quickly when she’s pulled into a late-night meeting between the American and Russian presidents and discovers that they are negotiating the outcome of a pre-planned nuclear war.
Studio: N/A
Producers: Persons Attempting
“With The 8th Pick” (10)
Writer: Alex Sohn & Gavin Johannsen
Logline: In the 1996 NBA draft, New Jersey Nets GM John Nash fights against his own organization and wants to take an untested high schooler named Kobe Bryant.
Studio: Warner Bros.
Producers: Star Thrower, Religion of Sports
Rodrigo Perez is the founder and editor-in-chief of The Playlist, which he launched in 2008. He has worked in entertainment journalism since 2000, including at MTV, and has written for SPIN, IndieWire, Pitchfork, Complex, Magnet, and various music, film, and entertainment publications over the past two decades.
