The film world was made a bit more interesting in 2025. What started out as a pretty barren wasteland filled with remakes, adaptations and sequels evolved into a beautiful landscape filled with films that felt different.
Amidst Spike Lee’s jarring “High and Low” remake, Celine Song’s misleading and misguided “The Materialists” and Tarantino directing a Fortnite short, this year was somehow able to produce some decade-defining films.
Auteurs were given the chance to be exactly that. Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another” has been received tremendously well. While receiving criticism from both sides of the aisle for its political signaling, the film is seen among general audiences and critics alike as one of the best of the year.
Bong Joon Ho’s “Mickey 17 “was as fun as it needed to be as the blank check Oscar film in response to 2019’s beloved best picture winner Parasite. Chloe Zhao’s “Hamnet” features the best child actor performance in Jacobi Jupe’s titular performance.
Wes Anderson’s “The Phoenican Scheme” walked away with positive reviews as well but there was an ominous trend among these highly anticipated auteur films — they all failed to live up to box office expectations. Coupled with Guillermo Del Toro’s “Frankenstein” and Rian Johnson’s “Wake Up Dead Man” failing to receive full length theatrical runs and Netflix’s current bid on Warner Bros, theaters are in more danger than ever. However, it’s not all doom and gloom, especially in the genre that specializes in doom.
Horror as a genre is finally getting its flowers with Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners” and Zach Cregger’s “Weapons,” receiving both financial success and critical acclaim. “Sinners” marks the first time since 2021’s Judas and the Black Messiah that Coogler’s been able to reach general audiences without the help of franchising. Discussions about Coogler no longer focus solely on his connection to Marvel’s “Black Panther” or the “Creed” franchise but about his future as a possible auteur.
In a similar vein, Creggar’s unique blend of horror and comedy is taking the world by storm. The “Whitest Kids U’Know” founder has amassed an almost cult following in his few years on the silver screen, but it’s not unprecedented. For years, we’ve been seeing comedians masterfully transition into the world of horror, with Jordan Peele being the best example. Peele’s connection to “Weapons” must be mentioned.
First reported by Deadline on Feb. 2, Peele fired his management team after their failure to procure the film. Instead, Peele produced Justin Tipping’s “HIM,” which failed both financially and critically. Similarly, Osgood Perkins released two films this year with little to no fanfare, however “The Monkey” was able to find some monetary success whereas “The Keeper” did not. The Philippou twins also reunited with A24 to bring audiences “Bring Her Back” which seemed to strongly resonate with fans of their 2022 film “Talk to Me.” But that’s not all from everyone’s favorite “indie” studio.
This year also A24’s favorite pair of directors break off and make their own projects, allowing audiences to get twice as many Safdie films. Benny Safdie’s “The Smashing Machine” and Josh Safdie’s “Marty Supreme” met opposite, yet equally compelling fates. After receiving a 15 minute standing ovation at the 82nd Venice film festival, “The Smashing Machine” received little marketing and ended up as a complete commercial flop. Stirrings about the Safdies’ talents as individual directors began to arise.
Perhaps what was gained in quantity was lost in quality or maybe Benny Safdie was simply the Ethan Coen in the Safdie brothers’ dynamic. This question was answered with “Marty Supreme.” Suddenly, it was clear who the favorite child was at A24.
With a massive marketing campaign, the film was seen as a major success. Critics and general audiences alike have praised the film and A24 never took their foot off the gas. Timothee Chalamet began trading his good will with the public to better push his awards campaign and at only 30 years old he’s already seen as deserving of a legacy Oscar. The craziest part of all is he might just get it.
2025 also saw the birth of DC’s newest universe. Spearheaded by James Gunn and starting theatrically with Superman, the new DCU is attempting to prove that audiences are not tired of superhero films but instead are tired of caped crusaders being shackled to weightless stories with no real world applications. “Superman” as both a character and a film takes a stance against genocide and fascism and focuses entirely on doing the right thing no matter what. Meanwhile, the MCU’s “Captain America: Brave New World” features a black Captain America, an Israeli superhero named after a massacre that occurred in Palestine and a president who turns red and destroys part of the white house in a film named after a book about a dystopian future plagued by technology that ends with an orgy spurred upon by the main character’s self-flagellation.
All of these factors combined, somehow lead to a film that says nothing about our current day. Sabra is almost entirely cut from the film, yet still specifically mentioned as being from Israel. President not-Trump is given a redemption arc. Perhaps worst of all, this is now the second project where Marvel Studios have shown they have zero hope for Anthony Mackie’s “Captain America” and with Chris Evans returning as Steve Rogers in “Avengers Doomsday,” it’s not looking like Disney will change their minds. The MCU has made their final preparations for Doom and only 2026 will tell if they survive.
Was 2025 a good year for film? Artistically, 2025 allowed many old directors to return to the screen while also allowing a standout batch of the next generation to step up. Eva Viktor made their directorial debut with their film Sorry, Baby which they also wrote and starred in. The film is indicative of a new generation of auteurs.
2025 is certainly not the weakest year for film this decade. A year from which film as a business is still recovering and unfortunately when the business struggles, it affects the art. Theaters are being jeopardized by streaming more and more every day and it’s starting to look like theaters will never return to pre-covid numbers without the help of inflation.
This is what makes 2025 as a year so tricky. At the turn of the decade, film-making is only becoming more commercialized in an attempt to save theaters, selling artistry for longevity. However, all these efforts to appeal to masses in an attempt to remain profitable is causing us to lose film as an art form. Studios will always interfere with films to better accommodate their bottom dollar. “The Jurassic Park” franchise will never die. Yet, the light through the darkness of it all is that 2025 was not a dud. For all of the terrifying changes in the industry and trends towards consumerism, a lot of great movies came out this year. Not just great movies, but great theatrical experiences.
It is unfair to call 2025 a bad year out of fear for the future. 2025 was a good year and I hope 2026 is even better.
