More than 200 of you voted in the comments, and the results for top 10 films of 2025 at the halfway mark is more or less as I imagined. The key difference to our upcoming critics’ poll? The lack of indie and foreign films, including acclaimed fare such as “Misericordia,” “April,” and “Eephus.”
It’s no shock to see Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners” take the top spot — it remains the only clear Best Picture contender to emerge in 2025 so far. Steven Soderbergh also had a strong showing, landing two films in the top 10, with “Black Bag” securing the #2 position.
Since the poll was conducted just a week after its release, Danny and Michael Philippou “Bring Her Back” (#5) likely would have ranked even higher if readers had been given a few more weeks to catch up with it.
1) “Sinners” (Coogler) — 59 votes
2) “Black Bag” (Soderbergh) — 45
3) “Warfare” (Garland) — 41
4) “Friendship” (DeYoung) — 27
5) “Bring Her Back” (Phillipou) — 23
6) “Companion” (Hancock) — 16
7) “Mickey 17” (Bong) — 15
8) “Presence” (Soderbergh) — 12
9) “The Shrouds” (Cronenberg) 11
10) “Mission: Impossible 8” (McQuarrie) — 10
By the end of summer we might have a vastly different top 10, especially with “F1,” “Weapons,” “Caught Stealing,” “28 Years Later,” and “Superman” waiting in the wings. Not to mention buzzy festival darlings such as “Sorry Baby,” “Afternoons of Solitude,” and Souleymane’s Story.”
To refresh your memory, last year’s mid-year top 10 was both more eclectic and more competitive than this year’s comparatively tamer lineup.
1) “Challengers” (Guadagnino)
2) “Dune” (Villeneuve)
3) “Civil War” (Garland)
4) “Furiosa” (Miller)
5) “Love Lies Bleeding” (Glass)
6) “I Saw the TV Glow” (Schoenbrun)
7) “Hit Man” (Linklater)
8) “La Chimera” (Rohrwacher)
9) “The Beast” (Bonello)
10) “Late Night With the Devil” (Cairnes)
10) “Evil Does Not Exist” (Hamaguchi)