Editorial Pick

Top 10 Films of the Year

Our editors’ definitive ranking of the best films reviewed on Movie Reviews Vault — updated regularly as new releases land.

Best of 2025

1

Conclave

Drama · Dir. Edward Berger · 2024

9.2 / 10

A taut, immaculately crafted thriller about faith, power, and secrecy inside the Vatican. Edward Berger delivers the best political drama in years with a cast that earns every beat.

2

A Complete Unknown

Drama / Biography · Dir. James Mangold · 2024

8.8 / 10

Timothée Chalamet disappears into Bob Dylan in a film that captures the restless ambition of a generation. One of the best music biopics ever made.

3

Nosferatu

Horror · Dir. Robert Eggers · 2024

8.7 / 10

Robert Eggers’ reimagining of the classic vampire tale is Gothic filmmaking at its most committed — overwhelming in atmosphere, unforgettable in image.

4

The Brutalist

Drama · Dir. Brady Corbet · 2024

8.6 / 10

A three-and-a-half-hour portrait of an immigrant architect in postwar America. Adrien Brody gives the performance of the decade in a film that demands your full attention.

5

Anora

Drama / Romance · Dir. Sean Baker · 2024

8.5 / 10

Palme d’Or winner and rightful Oscars frontrunner. Sean Baker’s most fully realised film — chaotic, moving, and impossible to look away from.

6

Dune: Part Two

Sci-Fi / Epic · Dir. Denis Villeneuve · 2024

8.4 / 10

Villeneuve completes his adaptation with extraordinary scale and intelligence. The best blockbuster of the year, and one of the great sci-fi films of the decade.

7

Queer

Drama · Dir. Luca Guadagnino · 2024

8.2 / 10

Daniel Craig at his most vulnerable in a hypnotic, formally daring adaptation of William S. Burroughs. Not for everyone, but undeniably the work of a filmmaker at the height of his powers.

8

The Substance

Body Horror / Satire · Dir. Coralie Fargeat · 2024

8.0 / 10

Relentlessly provocative and visually stunning. Coralie Fargeat’s body horror satire isn’t subtle — and that’s exactly the point. Demi Moore delivers a career-defining turn.

9

Gladiator II

Action / Epic · Dir. Ridley Scott · 2024

7.6 / 10

A more chaotic, less focused film than the original — but undeniably entertaining. Denzel Washington steals every scene he’s in and Paul Mescal more than holds his own.

10

Emilia Pérez

Crime / Musical · Dir. Jacques Audiard · 2024

7.4 / 10

A genre-defying cartel musical that shouldn’t work but somehow does. Jacques Audiard takes real creative risks, and the ensemble cast rises to meet him.