The best movies of 2025 so far

As is so often the case, the first half of 2025 had some serious highs and lows. There were major box-office hits, like "Sinners," which is poised to be one of the highest-earning horror movies of the past decade, along with some colossal disappointments, like Disney's universally panned live-action "Snow White," which is expected to lose the studio $115 million.

While the early months of the year are generally slower in Hollywood, the summer season is where things really pick up. Looking ahead, there are still plenty of notable films on the horizon. Moviegoers will be treated to a ton of hotly anticipated sequels, including "Freakier Friday" on Aug. 8 and "Wicked: For Good" on Nov. 21.

Several family-friendly movies are also on the way, like the beloved children's show spin-off "Gabby's Dollhouse: The Movie" on Sept. 26 and "Zootopia 2" on Nov. 26. And who could forget surefire hits like "Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale" and "The Long Walk," both of which premiere on Sept. 12?

While there's much to look forward to, we shouldn't overlook the gems that have already hit theaters. Stacker rounded up the best movies of 2025 so far, ranked by Metacritic scores. To qualify for the list, these movies must have been released and distributed in the United States by July 12, 2025, and have at least seven reviews by critics. Any ties were broken by Metacritic's internal weighting system. IMDb user ratings are provided for popular reception context.

From timely documentaries to animated comedies to gripping foreign films, these are the films from 2025 (so far) most deserving of your attention.

#20. Blue Sun Palace

- Directors: Constance Tsang

- Metascore: 83

- IMDB user rating: 8

- Run time: 1 hour, 40 minutes

In the wake of a tragedy, two Chinese immigrants in Queens form an unexpected bond that helps them navigate their grief and hold on to the dreams that brought them across an ocean. Slow-moving and lyrical, the movie brings a perceptive subtlety to a classic immigrant story, according to critics. New York Times film critic Alissa Wilkinson praised the movie for creating "a whole world inside [its neighborhood] and its inhabitants, while letting us discover along with them what lies beyond."

#19. Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl

- Directors: Merlin Crossingham,

- Metascore: 83

- IMDB user rating: 7.5

- Run time: 1 hour, 22 minutes

In "Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl," an old nemesis—Feathers McGraw, the penguin who first made his debut in the 1993 short "The Wrong Trousers"—returns to challenge the title pair with an assist from some AI-infused gnomes. While delightfully entertaining for younger audiences, with chase scenes and laugh-out-loud jokes galore, the film will keep older viewers engaged with its insightful criticisms of technology and its place in our consumer society.

The movie nailed the vibe of a "nostalgia sequel," according to Forbes senior contributor Dani Di Placido, "keeping the spirit of the animated series alive while paying tribute to the claymation duo's best moments." "Vengeance Most Fowl" was nominated for Best Animated Feature at the 2025 Academy Awards.

#18. Meeting with Pol Pot

- Director: Rithy Panh

- Metascore: 83

- IMDB user rating: 6.4

- Run time: 1 hour, 52 minutes

In 1978, a small group of Western journalists was allowed into Cambodia for the first time since the Khmer Rouge took power three years earlier. The film dramatizes the book "When the War Was Over," which was written by one of the journalists in the delegation.

Variety praised the film for the way it frankly depicts the "emotional disconnect and compartmentalization" required to live in a world where disinformation abounds. "The result is a hauntingly timeless depiction of power and its mechanisms, filtered down to an intimate tale of journalistic integrity," Siddhant Adlakha writes.

#17. Afternoons of Solitude

- Director: Albert Serra

- Metascore: 83

- IMDB user rating: 7.3

- Run time: 2 hours, 5 minutes

RogerEbert.com's Glenn Kenny called "Afternoons of Solitude" "visually beautiful, emotionally unnerving, and—arguably—intellectually confounding." Director Albert Serra's first feature-length documentary, the movie follows Spanish bullfighter Andrés Roca Rey. There is no commentary, no narration, and no interviews with those involved. Instead, the film offers a two-hour observation of the sport, in all of its gore and glory.

#16. Misericordia

- Director: Alain Guiraudie

- Metascore: 83

- IMDB user rating: 6.8

- Run time: 1 hour, 44 minutes

At the start of "Misericordia," a man arrives at a village in rural France to attend the funeral of his former boss. The widow, vaguely aware of the man's affair with her late husband, invites him to stay, only to see tensions arise between her new houseguest and her son.

RogerEbert.com described the thriller as "a morbid comedy of errors" and "a metaphysical, character-driven drama about the mysteries and absurdities of human attraction." It's exactly the Hitchcockian rollercoaster for which writer-director Alain Guiraudie, who made 2013's "Stranger by the Lake," has become known.

#15. From Ground Zero

- Directors: Aws Al-Banna,

- Metascore: 83

- IMDB user rating: 7.9

- Run time: 1 hour, 52 minutes

One of the most urgent works on this list, "From Ground Zero" is a collection of 22 different short films, ranging in style from documentary to animation, shot by nearly two dozen Palestinian directors over the past year in Gaza. Through true stories, the movie does a powerful job of humanizing the people of Gaza as they witness the destruction of their homes and the killing of their loved ones by the Israeli military.

"From Ground Zero" was shortlisted for Best International Feature at the 2025 Academy Awards, though it didn't make the final cut. RogerEbert.com critic Matt Zoller Seitz called it "a rare work for which superlatives are not only inadequate but useless," writing that the film "shows that, after a catastrophe, art is not only still possible but necessary—and that digital technology makes it possible for people to continue to preserve and share their stories even after they've lost almost everything else."

#14. Jazzy

- Director: Morrisa Maltz

- Metascore: 83

- IMDB user rating: 6.1

- Run time: 1 hour, 26 minutes

Set in the same universe as director Morrisa Maltz's debut film, "The Unknown Country," "Jazzy" is a coming-of-age drama that follows a young Oglala Lakota girl. The movie is based on the real-life experiences of Maltz's goddaughter, Jasmine Bearkiller Shangreaux, with the narrative following Jazzy and her best friend over six years as they navigate crushes, life's twists and turns, and the challenges of friendship. Called "scrappy," "loose-limbed," and "meditative" by Variety's Tomris Laffly, the film beautifully encapsulates those messy adolescent years.

#13. Eephus

- Director: Carson Lund

- Metascore: 83

- IMDB user rating: 6.7

- Run time: 1 hour, 38 minutes

Set in the '90s, "Eephus" centers on two amateur baseball teams playing one last game in their home stadium before it gets demolished. Subtle, slow-moving, and without the overtly emotional arc that's central to most sports films, the movie still manages to be a touching and funny tribute to America's national pastime. Writing for WBUR, Sean Burns called it "the best baseball movie since 'Bull Durham'—or maybe 'Bad Lieutenant'—because it explores this sport's peculiar ability to bend and distort time."

#12. Viet and Nam

- Director: Minh Quy Truong

- Metascore: 83

- IMDB user rating: 6.3

- Run time: 2 hours, 9 minutes

Two coal miners dream of a better future in this LGBTQ+ romantic drama. Banned in its home country of Vietnam for its "gloomy, deadlocked and negative" views of the nation and its people, the movie wrestles with the effects of the Vietnam War, the difficulties of immigration, and the realities of being in a same-gender relationship in a country where that is still widely regarded as taboo. Chicago Reader Assistant Managing Editor Savannah Hugueley described the expressionistic movie as "abstract" and "dreamlike."

#11. Universal Language

- Director: Matthew Rankin

- Metascore: 84

- IMDB user rating: 6.9

- Run time: 1 hour, 29 minutes

"Universal Language" is an absurdist comedy set in a reimagined Canada where Persian and French are the official languages. The film contains three separate yet seemingly unconnected narratives. Reminiscent of the Iranian New Wave cinematic movement, the movie may be too bizarre for some (the action is interspersed with asides, like a faux '80s-style commercial selling turkeys). But for those willing to get on its wavelength, the film delivers a story that is "familiar and strange to us, welcoming but odd, funny, and tender," per RogerEbert.com critic Monica Castillo.

#10. Sinners

- Director: Ryan Coogler

- Metascore: 84

- IMDB user rating: 7.7

- Run time: 2 hours, 17 minutes

Michael B. Jordan plays twins in this horror movie set in the Mississippi Delta in 1932. "Sinners" follows the two brothers, Smoke and Stack, as they return to their hometown hoping for a fresh start, only to find that a supernatural evil is lurking in the shadows. "Vibrant and richly acted," the movie is a "rare mainstream horror film that's about something weighty and soulful," according to Variety film critic Owen Gleiberman. Its thematic depth and stunning aesthetic are two of the reasons it's made over $350 million worldwide, making it the biggest original horror movie since 2018's "A Quiet Place."

#9. I'm Still Here

- Director: Walter Salles

- Metascore: 85

- IMDB user rating: 8.2

- Run time: 2 hours, 17 minutes

Based on journalist Marcelo Rubens Paiva's memoir of the same name, "I'm Still Here" tells the story of a mother and activist trying to cope with the forced disappearance of her husband amid Brazil's military dictatorship. Starring Oscar nominee Fernanda Torres, the movie was also nominated for Best Picture and won the Academy Award for Best International Film. The urgency of the story, as well as the quietly emotional performances, are among the driving factors behind the film's acclaim.

#8. Black Bag

- Director: Steven Soderbergh

- Metascore: 85

- IMDB user rating: 6.7

- Run time: 1 hour, 33 minutes

Cate Blanchett, Michael Fassbender, and Pierce Brosnan lead the cast of this spy thriller, which follows a British intelligence officer who is tasked with investigating a list of possible traitors. One of the names on that list? The wife he's deeply devoted to.

"Black Bag" has tonal similarities to a James Bond movie but with a subtler, more darkly comedic approach. RogerEbert.com's Monica Castillo called the Steven Soderbergh effort "absolutely delicious, a svelte piece of entertainment that feels like a vintage yarn yet very much represents our own current anxieties, questions of sustaining trust in relationships and high-stake careers."

#7. A Nice Indian Boy

- Director: Roshan Sethi

- Metascore: 85

- IMDB user rating: 7.4

- Run time: 1 hour, 36 minutes

In this rom-com, an Indian American doctor brings his fiancé, a white man adopted by Indian parents, to meet his ultra-traditional family. Karan Soni and Jonathan Groff star in roles that are played with "exceptional heart and sensitivity," as described by RogerEbert.com contributing editor Nell Minow. The movie is heartwarming as it engages with classic genre tropes, but it has also earned praise for its gentle wisdom and the tender way it treats family and community.

#6. April

- Director: Dea Kulumbegashvili

- Metascore: 86

- IMDB user rating: 6.4

- Run time: 2 hours, 14 minutes

In this timely drama, a Georgian obstetrician who provides abortions to her patients despite the country's prohibitions must defend herself after being accused of negligence. Gripping and, at times, unbearably tense, the movie is a must-watch in the current political climate. Just be aware that it may leave you feeling unsettled, with IndieWire Reviews Editor David Ehrlich calling it a "remarkable and shudderingly unresolved film."

#5. On Becoming a Guinea Fowl

- Director: Rungano Nyoni

- Metascore: 87

- IMDB user rating: 7

- Run time: 1 hour, 39 minutes

"On Becoming a Guinea Fowl" opens with the main character stumbling across the body of her dead uncle, lying on the road in the middle of the night. As her extended Zambian family prepares for Uncle Fred's funeral, long-held family secrets begin to come to light and force a reckoning. A mix of dark comedy and serious drama, the movie has plenty to say about the challenges of processing complex emotions and the temptation to live in denial.

#4. To a Land Unknown

- Director: Mahdi Fleifel

- Metascore: 87

- IMDB user rating: 7.3

- Run time: 1 hour, 45 minutes

"To a Land Unknown" follows two Palestinian refugees attempting to make their way from Greece to Germany, and acquiring the money in any way they can. Gritty and tense, the movie doesn't shy away "from the lasting damages that exile can cause, whether one makes it out or not," Hollywood Reporter contributing film critic Jordan Mintzer writes.

Alci Rengifo, CounterPunch film critic and filmmaker, said the movie "is one of those enveloping cinematic experiences that feel so real as to transcend the idea that it is fiction," an assessment that makes perfect sense when you consider that this is documentary director Mahdi Fleifel's first narrative feature.

#3. Caught by the Tides

- Director: Zhangke Jia

- Metascore: 87

- IMDB user rating: 6.7

- Run time: 1 hour, 51 minutes

During the pandemic, Chinese director Jia Zhangke began sorting through the decades of archival documentary footage he had captured over the years. The end result of that project was "Caught by the Tides," a fictional drama about a driven woman who lives for herself, composed almost entirely of the director's existing footage interspersed with silent scenes featuring Zhangke's frequent collaborator (and real-life wife) Zhao Tao. A true arthouse project, NPR film critic Justin Chang praised the way the movie tells the story of a country and a film industry that are both in flux.

#2. Familiar Touch

- Director: Sarah Friedland

- Metascore: 88

- IMDB user rating: 7.2

- Run time: 1 hour, 30 minutes

In "Familiar Touch," we follow an octogenarian as she enters an assisted living facility, contending with the loss of her independence and the arrival of cognitive decline. The Santa Barbara Independent called it "a sensitive, moving, humor-speckled, and ultimately humane portrayal of the transitional process." Because aging is so infrequently addressed in cinema—at least not with this level of frankness and optimism—"Familiar Touch" is a must-watch.

#1. Sorry, Baby

- Director: Eva Victor

- Metascore: 88

- IMDB user rating: 6.7

- Run time: 1 hour, 51 minutes

A dark comedy-drama, "Sorry, Baby" follows a college professor as she wrestles with the aftermath of a sexual assault. Told out of chronological order, the movie works to dismantle many of the assumptions around how victims of sexual violence should react to the trauma they've endured. NPR film critic Justin Chang wrote that the movie's thesis—"that pain and healing come in many different forms [so] our stories should, also"—is made all the more poignant by Victor's thoughtful performance and sharp writing.

Story editing by Louis Peitzman. Copy editing by Meg Shields.