As 2025 comes to a close, we’ve taken the time to compile the best films that the year had to offer.

The year boasted a great variety of films, representing a vast array of genres from Nollywood dramas to action-packed adventures to faith-based animation. Our top three films are a prime example of variety, kicking off with the animated epic Light of the World (Salvation Poem Project), the action-fueled Predator: Badlands (20th Century Studios), and the soul-stirring documentary The Alabama Solution (HBO Documentary Films).

Here are the Top 25 films of 2025 from THE PEACH REVIEW®:

1. Light of the World

Not since DreamWorks Animation’s Prince of Egypt has there been such a powerful biblical portrayal through animation. The story of Jesus has been told countless times, but what makes Light of the World so special is that it’s presented through the eyes of John, one of his apostles, and in 2D animation.

Directed by Tom Bancroft and John Schafer, Light of the World follows a young boy named John (Benjamin Jacobson) as he struggles to comprehend the suffering among his people. Only wanting to help his family, a grave misstep by John lands his family on the radar of a tax collector. With all hope seemingly lost, he crosses paths with a man, Jesus (Ian Hanlin), who shows him kindness and encouragement. Not long after their encounter, Jesus shares his plans and invites John and his loved ones to follow him. They didn’t know it at the time, but the invitation would change their lives forever.

Read Light of the World review.

2. Predator: Badlands

Violence never looked so good! Following the success of the animated film Predator: Killer of Killers, Predator: Badlands arrived just in time for Thanksgiving and to shake up awards season. The latest from Dan Trachtenberg sees a hunter going for the ultimate kill to earn respect and avenge the death of a loved one.

The film wastes no time in getting to the violence. On Yautja Prime, it’s two brothers battling one another for honor and respect. The pacing was intentional, giving enough backstory to set the tone of the film without crossing the line into boredom. After a brief conversation, their father, the leader of the clan, arrives and is immediately disturbed by the sight of his youngest son, whom he deems weak. Defying his father’s direct order to kill his younger brother, Kwei (Michael Homick) locks him in his ship and sends him away to Genna – The Death Planet.

Read Predator: Badlands review

3. The Alabama Solution

The documentary’s title comes from a phrase used by Alabama’s governor Kay Ivey, claiming that an Alabama problem needs “An Alabama Solution.”

In 2019, filmmakers visited an Alabama prison to film a revival meeting. Off camera, incarcerated men whisper a message: “terrible things are going on here and being kept secret.” This sparked a six-year investigation to discover the reality behind the walls of one of the nation’s deadliest prison systems, with the men risking their very lives to share the truth.

Watch The Alabama Solution on HBO MAX

4. Slumlord Millionaire

Before you feast your eyes on the highest levels of greed and corruption with little respite, you must first address the depth of the film’s title. It’s not just a play on words from the 2008 film, Slumdog Millionaire, but shares more similarities than the titles would suggest. While that film was set in urban slums in Mumbai, India, this film (Slumlord) is set in urban neighborhoods in New York City. In the 2008 film, the main protagonist, Dev Patel, achieved wealth from the slums, whereas in Slumlord, landlords and developers achieve wealth from the slum’s tenants.

Directed by Steph Ching and Ellen Martinez, Slumlord Millionaire follows a handful of renters in New York City who heroically contested their horrifying living conditions and predatory landlords. The documentary serves as a powerful call to action, exposing the level of greed and corruption that tenants are forced to endure.

Read Slumlord Millionaire review

5. Out of the Nest

Similar to the way the Bancroft Brothers (Tom and Tony) had left Disney and later launched a film of their own (Light of the World), Pixar mainstay Andrew Gordon and Disney alum Arturo A. Hernandez debuted their joint project, Out of the Nest, which landed U.S. distribution by Well Go USA Entertainment. Loaded with fresh ideas and unique insights, the film is an entertaining triumph in family-fun animation.

In the Kingdom of Castilia, there’s no higher honor than being a royal barber to the Emperor. A young apprentice and delivery boy named Arthur the Goat (Cory Yee) hopes to achieve such a position one day. But his dreams of being a top-class stylist are put on hold after a surprise attack by the Order of the Claw forces him from home. Fleeing for his life with precious cargo (the unhatched offspring of the Emperor), Arthur has to decide if he’s going to let his fears hold him back or be courageous and rise to the occasion.

Read Out of the Nest review

6. Satisfied

Satisfied is not just a documentary; it’s a journey into the pursuit of one’s deepest desires. Renée Elise Goldsberry, already an established actor who had met the love of her life, seemingly “had it all.” Yet, Goldsberry had an appetite for more, not just in her career, but in her personal life. Directed by Chris Bolan and Melissa Haizlip, the documentary offers a poignant look into the sacrifices that come with chasing your dreams.

Before Hamilton was the game-changing musical that changed the world, it was an experiment. After receiving a call from her agent about the project, Goldsberry was reluctant to audition. She explains in her own words her thought process behind the matter and what ultimately led to her auditioning. Through interviews and archival footage, we hear from Renée herself, her husband, Alexis Johnson, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Ariana DeBose, Audra McDonald, and many others.

Read Satisfied review

7. Aso Ebi Diaries

Directed by Biodun Stephen, the film chronicles the emotional trials, fun times, and dramatic events that center around Elizabeth Gomez, a woman whose life of wealth and glamour was derailed by a public scandal. Along with her friends Chizzy and Temi, Elizabeth battles through emotional setbacks and poor choices while reinforcing the importance of having a strong community. With plenty of drama and loads of laughs, Aso Ebi or “family cloth” is the literal foundational fabric of the film.

Aso Ebi is a Yoruba term that signifies unity and solidarity through fashion, where family and friends wear matching outfits to celebrate a special occasion. In the film, we see the unique fabric on display at various parties, including one for an engagement. In American culture, seeing an engagement party of this size and stature would outperform most weddings on this side of the hemisphere.

Read Aso Ebi Diaries review

8. The Phoenician Scheme

Zsa-zsa Korda (Benicio del Toro) is one of the richest men in Europe. A businessman who has built a reputation for hustling, swindling, and cheating his way to an empire. Also known as “Mr. 5%”, his biggest and boldest venture yet catches the attention of the U.S. government. Using all the resources available, he has to get his daughter, Liesl (Mia Threapleton), onboard with his plans before one of the countless assassination attempts is successful.

Benicio del Toro puts on one of the best performances of his career as Zsa-zsa Korda. The highly intelligent, business-minded Korda knows only money and progress. What is love? A semblance of love is represented by the nearby home that houses his nine sons. His eldest child, Liesl, his only daughter, is a nun and is chosen to be the sole heir to his fortune. Their wit, dry humor, and candor work exceptionally well when paired together, making their onscreen chemistry irresistible.

Read The Phoenician Scheme review

9. F1 the Movie

Filming in IMAX is something special. Lately, it’s starting to sound almost like a gimmicky trend to advertise a movie with, “filmed in IMAX.” But similar to the blockbuster Sinners, F1 the Movie lives up to the hype surrounding it and blazes a new path, combining the worlds of film and racing and boasting a glorious result.

Directed by Joseph Kosinski, the film follows a former Formula One driver named Sonny Hayes (Brad Pitt) who faded into racing obscurity after a life-altering crash during a race. Now, he spends his time racing for the thrill of it whenever and wherever he can. His fortunes change after a visit from an old rival, Ruben (Javier Bardem), who owns a racing team and is in dire need of an experienced driver. Presented with an offer of a lifetime, Sonny reluctantly accepts and charts a new course, not just on the racetrack, but for his life.

Read F1 the Movie review

10. Ballerina

If you’ve ever wondered, “How many ways are there to kill someone?” that question gets answered in this film. There’s fighting, and then there’s fighting in this movie. Between this and The Phoenician Scheme, I’m expecting every film for the rest of the year to feature grenades in either a humorous or vengeful capacity.

Directed by Len Wiseman, From the World of John Wick: Ballerina takes place during the events of John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum. The film follows the life of Eve Macarro (Ana de Armas), beginning with her tragic backstory before she ultimately joins the Ruska Roma, a highly trained group of assassins. Everything seems to be going as planned until a failed attempt on her life exposes her to an organization linked to her father’s death. After getting the first lead since her father died, now she’ll stop at nothing to find his killer and quench her thirst for revenge.

Read Ballerina review

11. Worth the Wait

Tubi has raised the bar with its original programming. Boarders and We Got Time Today are just a sample of a handful of shows that rightfully earned a following. The same is sure to be said of Worth the Wait, the hilarious new romantic comedy coming straight to Tubi.

Directed by Tom Lin, Worth the Wait follows the lives of four different families whose lives fatefully cross. Curtis (Sung Kang) is a rideshare driver and raises his niece, Riley (Ali Fumiko Whitney), on his own. Unbeknownst to Curtis, Riley has been secretly dating Blake (Ricky He), with the pair planning their futures together.

Read Worth the Wait review

12. Death by Numbers

Written by Sam Fuentes and directed by Kim A Snyder, Death By Numbers takes audiences through the emotional toll and experience of a school shooting. On Feb. 14, 2018, Nicolas Cruz killed 14 students and three staff members at Marjory Stoneman Douglass High School in Parkland, Florida. It was one of the deadliest shootings in the country’s history. Cruz was sentenced to life in prison in 2022, with no chance of parole. Sam Fuentes was part of the process.

The 33-minute documentary short made headlines after its Oscar nomination and is hoping to seal the deal in two weeks. Writing through the eyes of a survivor, Fuentes teamed up with Peabody award-winning filmmaker Kim A Snyder to set this project in motion. The film offers a personal and intimate look at Sam’s journey, delving into her emotional and psychological struggles after the tragedy.

Read Death by Numbers review

13. Warfare

It’s not a coincidence that the most intense war film I’ve ever experienced was written and directed by an Iraq War veteran. Ray Mendoza teams up with Alex Garland to deliver Warfare, the most realistic and dramatic war operation you’re going to see on film.

The film embeds audiences with a platoon of American Navy SEALs on a surveillance mission gone wrong. For sight and sound, it’s an absolute must-see experience in IMAX. The SEALs are staked out in Ramadi, Iraq, seemingly commandeering whichever residence would give them an advantage. After their location is compromised, it’ll take every soldier working on one accord to survive the oncoming assault and make their way to safety.

Read Warfare review

14. The Gorge

Directed by Scott Derrickson, The Gorge is the latest win from Skydance, the unsung heroes of entertainment lately. The studio behind hit series like The Big Door Prize and Reacher and the animated success Spellbound, has delivered another big “W” project for all to enjoy.

Retired Marine Levi (Miles Teller) is a skilled sniper who periodically takes jobs in the private sector. When Bartholomew (Sigourney Weaver) offers a unique opportunity, the down-and-out veteran finds a new purpose and direction the next year. Opposite Levi is Drasa (Anya Taylor-Joy), a European operative who proves in the film’s opening scene how deadly a shot she is. Sedated without a sense of direction, they’re taken (separately) by helicopter to the gorge. With Levi stationed at the west tower and Drasa in the east, the two are contracted to guard the gorge for a year and are barred from contacting each other. But a lack of communication becomes the least of their problems once a disturbance from the ravine causes chaos for the pair.

Read The Gorge review

15. Heads of State

Heading straight to Prime Video, Heads of State is one of the best action-comedies I’ve seen in recent memory. John Cena and Idris Elba are the comedic duo I didn’t know I needed in my life. Along with Priyanka Chopra Jonas, the film boasts a hilarious cast and loads of action that fans won’t be able to resist.

Directed by Ilya Naishuller, UK Prime Minister Sam Clarke (Idris Elba) and U.S. President Will Derringer (John Cena) have been at odds, and the public knows it. Neither one of them respects the other, and neither side has found a way to remedy the situation. During an attempt at reconciliation, they become targets of a foreign adversary that wants to see them both dead. Unable to trust those around them, they’re forced to rely on each other for support and find a way to thwart a global conspiracy that poses a threat to the entire world.

Read Heads of State review

16. One of Them Days

One of Them Days was the first A+ comedy of 2025 and one of the best comedies I’ve seen in years. Directed by Lawrence Lamont and written by Syreeta Singleton, it follows two best friends who are about to go through “one of them days.”

Besties Dreux (Keke Palmer) and Alyssa (SZA) experience one of the most unpredictable days of their lives. Anything that could go wrong does, and at one point, their very lives were at risk. The catalyst for their declining day was a theft by Alyssa’s bum boyfriend, who spent their rent money on clothes. The pair goes to some hilarious extremes in an attempt to recoup their money in a single day. With a literal clock winding down to the second, they risk eviction, and the ladies will do almost anything to get their rent paid and keep a roof over their heads.

The story feels like Friday, but for women. It’s authentically LA, even with the duo housed up in “The Jungles,” which tends to be a So Cal favorite for these kinds of films. The casting was perfect as Palmer and SZA had a natural cohesion that didn’t appear forced in any capacity.

Read One of Them Days review

17. Frankenstein

From director Guillermo del Toro comes the definitive retelling of Mary Shelley’s genre-defining novel of life and death — an epic drama about what it means to be human, to crave love, and seek understanding. Oscar Isaac plays the brilliant but tortured scientist Victor Frankenstein, who embarks on an ego-driven quest to bring new life into the world, resulting in The Creature (Jacob Elordi), whose very existence provokes questions about what it means to be human and what it really means to be a monster.

This epic takes audiences from the remote reaches of the Arctic to the bloody battlefields of 19th-century Europe, as Frankenstein and his Creature go on their own search for meaning in a world
that can seem quite mad. Also starring Mia Goth and Christoph Waltz, the film tells the age-old story in a way that’s never been told before.

Watch Frankenstein on Netflix

18. Rental Family

Set in modern-day Tokyo, Rental Family follows an American actor (Brendan Fraser) who struggles to find purpose until he lands an unusual gig: working for a Japanese “rental family” agency, playing stand-in roles for strangers. As he immerses himself in his clients’ worlds, he begins to form genuine bonds that blur the lines between performance and reality. Confronting the moral complexities of his work, he rediscovers purpose, belonging, and the quiet beauty of human connection. The film also stars Takehiro Hira, Mari Yamamoto, Shannon Gorman, and Akira Emoto.

See Rental Family in theaters now

19. Smashing Machine

I’ve never seen a role better fit for Dwayne Johnson than his performance in Benny Safdie’s The Smashing Machine. Portraying Mark Kerr, one of the founding fathers of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Johnson endured hours of makeup and facial prosthetics to pull off the look. Then, with the Brauma Bull unrecognizable, his talent shone in a way we’ve never seen before.

Mark Kerr was a larger-than-life fighter who employed a wrestling style of force against his opponents. The film opens with an audio clip from an interview where Kerr is responding to questions about violence with a soothing, gentle tone. In the same manner that you’d rock your kids to sleep with a lullaby, he would calmly address eye-gouging, head butts, and the unfamiliarity of losing. As his trajectory was trending upwards, his problems outside of the ring grew more prominent.

Read The Smashing Machine review

20. The Bad Guys 2

Ever since they saved the day, The Bad Guys are struggling to find trust and acceptance in their newly minted lives as good guys. Assimilating is harder than they first thought, with banks and local merchants rejecting their job applications left and right. It’s not that Wolf (Sam Rockwell), Snake (Marc Maron), Tarantula (Awkwafina), Shark (Craig Robinson), and Piranha (Anthony Ramos) are unqualified; it’s that they robbed the very places they were applying.

When the gang hits rock bottom, a trio of thieves blackmails them back into their past endeavors, putting all of their hard work at risk. What’s worse, if they don’t give in to their demands, the true identity of the mayor is at risk of being exposed. The film is a fun sequel that’s definitely worth watching and available to stream now.

Watch The Bad Guys 2 on Peacock

21. A Minecraft Movie

A mysterious portal pulls a group of misfits into the Overworld, a bizarre, cubic wonderland that thrives on imagination. To get back home, they’ll have to master the terrain while embarking on a magical quest with an unexpected crafter named Steve.

This was surprisingly more fun than I expected it to be. You can enjoy this without being a gamer or a fan of Minecraft. Jack Black and Jason Momoa are hilarious and are the tandem I didn’t know I needed in my life. Along with Sebastian Hansen, Emma Myers, and Danielle Brooks, the film is a hilarious adventure into creativity and hijinks.

Watch A Minecraft Movie on HBO MAX

22. Yadang: The Snitch

A fast-moving, drug-fueled thrill ride, Yadang: The Snitch explores the drug trade in Korea. With addicts everywhere in sight, a goal-driven prosecutor only cares about finding the sellers, not the users. In this fast-paced thriller from director Hwang Byeong-gug, a snitch ends up getting more than he bargained for, unraveling the balance between pleasing law enforcement and being the saving grace of arrested criminals.

Watch Yadang: The Snitch from Well Go USA

23. O’Dessa

Directed by Geremy Jasper, this film set the bar high for straight-to-stream projects for the year. Satyllite City is one of the last outposts of civilization. The people have fallen under the control of the mesmerizing Plutonovich. In the mountains, a prophecy is passed down about one who could stir souls with his guitar. This is the tale of the Seventh Son.

It only took three minutes before Sadie Sink serenaded me with an acoustic track, longing for the open road. As a 19-year-old dirt farmer, O’Dessa dreams of more than her remote desert environment. Before you have time to process her current state, she has two more song numbers in the blink of an eye. From the very beginning, every second of this film oozed authenticity. There’s been little hype behind this film, which I believe will work in its favor.

Read O’Dessa review

24. Zootopia 2

Officers Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) and Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman) are still fighting to be taken seriously as detectives. With Chief Bogo (Idris Elba) threatening to split them up, the pair chase one last lead: a mysterious snake seen near the crime scene.

Zootopia hasn’t seen a reptile in years, with many stating how much they fear them. So when Gary De’Snake (Ke Huy Quan) gets caught stealing an old journal, citizens are more startled by his presence than the actual theft. With a host of new characters and challenges in front of them, Hoops and Wilde have their work cut out for them. The film’s humor and close reflection of reality are what drew the film to make a billion dollars in theaters.

See Zootopia 2 in theaters

25. The Luckiest Man in America

The final film to round out THE PEACH REVIEW®’s best of 2025 is The Luckiest Man in America. In 1984, Michael Larson (Paul Walter Hauser), an unemployed ice-cream truck driver from Ohio, steps onto the game show “Press Your Luck” harboring a secret: the key to endless amounts of money. But his winning streak gets threatened when the executives in the control room start to uncover his real motivations.

Based on a true story, the film also stars Walter Goggins, David Strathairn, Shamier Anderson, Johnny Knoxville, Haley Bennett, and Maisie Williams. The drama starts in the control room when Larson starts winning “too much” and eventually lands in front of the camera.

Watch The Luckiest Man in America on Prime Video

You can read up on these films and others HERE