10 Great 2025 Movies That Nobody Talked About
2025 has been a great year for film. From fresh successes such as Paul Thomas Anderson‘s masterful One Battle After Another and Ryan Coogler’s acclaimed vampire drama Sinners to triumphant reboots and sequels, including the billion-dollar box office behemoth Lilo & Stitch and writer/director Rian Johnson‘s latest murder mystery in Wake Up Dead Man, there truly has been something for everyone.
However, as is the unfortunate reality of having so many high-profile success stories in cinema in any given year, many great movies fell under the radar. Despite finding critical acclaim and even a small, dedicated audience that would happily wax lyrical on social media, these praiseworthy projects have buckled under the intense weight of a saturated film market. So, with an eye for championing underrated titles today, here’s a look at 10 great 2025 movies that (almost) nobody talked about.
10
‘She Rides Shotgun’
2025 has seen several previously unknown names make breakout performances, with Ana Sophia Heger no exception. At just 12 years old, Heger starred alongside Taron Egerton in the action thriller She Rides Shotgun, a gripping, gritty tale of a man on the run with his young daughter from a dangerous gang and a conspiracy that is much bigger than they could’ve imagined.
This pulse-racing thriller might’ve found some small streaming success in recent weeks, but it still deserved much more recognition as one of the best in its genre this year. Featuring a stand-out, perhaps career-best central performance from an electric Egerton, it is Heger who steals the show, with the movie’s closing shot one of the most powerful of the entire year.
9
‘No Other Choice’
Three years after his romantic mystery movie Decision to Leave, the legendary Park Chan-wook returned with a comedy thriller that fell under far too many radars in 2025. No Other Choice follows Man-su (Lee Byung-hun), a man who, after dedicating his life to a paper company, is ruthlessly fired. With nothing to lose, he devises a brutal plan to find new employment.
Fresh off the back of dominating Netflix again this year with Squid Game, Lee proves he is one of the best actors working today yet again in No Other Choice. Thanks to superbly detailed direction and a biting script, the actor shines in one of his finest performances, even earning a Golden Globe nomination for his trouble. An intelligent satire with plenty of memorable moments, for this list, there was No Other Choice.
8
‘Hedda’
2025 has been a memorable year for female performances, so much so that the supporting and lead categories at the upcoming 2026 Oscars are stacked with potential winners. One person sadly destined to be snubbed is Tessa Thompson, who delivers an emotionally devastating titular turn in Nia DaCosta‘s Hedda, a queer reimagining of Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen’s famed play.
Chaotic, unpredictable, and utterly encapsulating, Thompson demands the screen in this gorgeous reworking of a stage classic. As eyes look forward to DaCosta’s 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, the director’s best feature yet was always at risk of being overlooked. Before the year ends, don’t miss out on Hedda.
7
‘Rebuilding’
Josh O’Connor‘s 2025 has been enormously successful, with the Challengers favorite continuing to prove himself as a sure-fire future Oscar winner. Given the huge immediate success of Wake Up Dead Man, another of the actor’s lead turns this year is receiving little discourse: Rebuilding.
Adding to the growing list of new movies following the bonding between a father and his daughter, Rebuilding sees O’Connor’s Dusty look to strengthen his relationship with his young daughter Callie (Lily LaTorre) after his ranch is destroyed in a devastating fire. Prepare tissues for any viewing of Rebuilding, as this is one of the most tear-jerking tales of the year. Heartfelt and mature, director Max Silver-Walkerman nails almost every beat.
6
‘Blue Moon’
Richard Linklater is the man behind some of the very best movies of the past 30 years, and his latest team-up with Ethan Hawke is worthy of much more attention. Blue Moon follows Hawke’s performance as Broadway lyricist Lorenz Hart, as he contemplates the highs and lows of his extraordinary life, as his longtime collaborator, Richard Rodgers (Andrew Scott), opens the hit musical Oklahoma! without him.
Where other movies thrive on spectacle, Blue Moon dazzles in the quiet, simpler aspects of storytelling. However, the film is far from elementary, with the dialogue woven with the sort of precision rarely seen in modern movies. Featuring a typically immersive lead performance from Hawke, this raw character piece is a 2025 gem.
5
‘On Becoming a Guinea Fowl’
The Cannes Film Festival is often the best showcase of the most underrated movies of any given year, with On Becoming a Guinea Fowl one of the best to come out of the 77th edition in 2024, with the film released theatrically in the U.S. in 2025. The movie follows young Shula (Susan Chardy) as she terrifyingly stumbles across her uncle’s body on an empty road. As funeral preparations begin, she and her cousins unravel secrets hidden deep in their family.
An electric, affecting tale of familial secrets and societal expectations, On Becoming a Guinea Fowl is perhaps the best to come from a relatively quiet year for A24. Written and directed by Rungano Nyoni, who won the Cannes Film Festival’s Un Certain Regard — Best Director prize for the movie, this is a vibrant story that reflects the detailed effort of all involved.
4
‘Is This Thing On?’
Bradley Cooper’s work as a director has delivered mixed results thus far. Although finding recognition from the Academy, many believe that his first two efforts (A Star Is Born (2018) and Maestro (2023)) lacked the detailed flair of a top director. Thankfully, his third is his best yet, and most certainly his most under-discussed.
Is This Thing On? follows Alex (Will Arnett) in the midst of a difficult separation from his wife, Tess (Laura Dern). Looking for solace, he finds it in the most unlikely of places as he stumbles across his calling in a stand-up comedy bar. A heartwarming tale featuring a “career-best performance” from Arnett, according to Collider’s Nate Richard in his review, Is This Thing On? has the capacity to age like a fine wine.
3
‘If I Had Legs I’d Kick You’
Unlike the aforementioned Thompson, who is unlikely to find her way into the Best Actress Oscars race, the same cannot be said for Rose Byrne, who delivers her finest performance to date and one likely to earn Academy recognition in If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, the tale of a mother’s exasperation as she and her daughter ill with a pediatric feeding disorder are forced to move from their house after a ceiling caves in.
Pulling from her humorous roots for this dark comedy but delivering most notably in the dramatic department, Byrne is the most impressive cog in a brilliantly crafted machine, weaving a tale both desperately frustrating and utterly relatable. Of all the many great movies of 2025, there really is nothing else like Mary Bronstein‘s If I Had Legs I’d Kick You.
2
‘The Ballad of Wallis Island’
At such a divisive time, both socially and politically, it’s understandable that movies like One Battle After Another, soaked in the cultural zeitgeist, would find the most recognition. However, it’s also important to take time away from the chaos, with that no better experienced than in Tim Key and Tom Basden‘s The Ballad of Wallis Island.
The film follows the widowed Charles (Key) as he uses his lottery winnings to stage a concert on his quiet Welsh island. However, he is the only audience member, and his only act is a reunion between Herb McGwyer (Basden) and Nell Mortimer (Carey Mulligan), two former friends and musicians about to rekindle buried feelings. For most of this touching, beautiful film, the tale of Herb and Nell captures the audience. However, bubbling under the surface is a detailed story of grief and acceptance that, when it finally and ever-so-gently boils over, leaves its viewers in pools of joyous tears.
1
‘The Secret Agent’
Sure, The Secret Agent might not technically be a movie nobody is talking about, considering its place in Academy Awards discourse, but, as perhaps the very best film of 2025, it has still flown under far too many radars. The film follows the ever-brilliant Wagner Moura’s Armando, a technology expert who finds himself with the wrong enemies and in hiding during the Brazilian dictatorship.
A perfect spiritual and contextual successor to 2024’s I’m Still Here, The Secret Agent is the second Brazilian film in as many years to demand Academy attention. Featuring Moura in one of his best roles, supported by a stunning ensemble, this historical thriller is both pensive and bloody, weaving between genres and even finding time for an offbeat and thematically excellent ode to horror B-movies.
- Release Date
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November 6, 2025
- Runtime
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158 minutes
- Director
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Kleber Mendonça Filho
- Writers
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Kleber Mendonça Filho
