POLL: First Half of 2025 — The Best Films

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gwnyfilmcritics
(L to r) MICHAEL B. JORDAN as Smoke, WUNMI MOSAKU as Annie, HAILEE STEINFELD as Mary, MICHAEL B. JORDAN as Stack, MILES CATON as Sammie and OMAR BENSON MILLER as Cornbread in Warner Bros. Pictures’ “SINNERS,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release.

Our members were polled about their favorite films from 2025 thus far (released theatrically in the US between January 1st and June 30th). Each was asked to submit an unranked list of no more than ten films. Check out those individual submissions below to see what we think you should keep on your radar individually.

Here are the overall results:

Ryan Coogler’s Sinners (April 18th) leads the way with 8 votes from the twelve critics who submitted a list. Next is Steven Soderbergh’s Black Bag (March 14th) with 7 votes, followed by James Griffiths’ The Ballad of Wallis Island (April 11th), Andrew DeYoung’s Friendship (May 23rd), and Wes Anderson’s The Phoenician Scheme (June 6th) with 5 votes each. We’ve capped the list off there as a Top Five with the next thirteen(!) films each garnering 2 votes.

GWNYFCA Top Films from the First Half of 2025:

  • Sinners, directed by Ryan Coogler (8) (reviews)
  • Black Bag, directed by Steven Soderbergh (7) (reviews)
  • The Ballad of Wallis Island, directed by James Griffith (5) (reviews)
  • Friendship, Andrew DeYoung (5) (reviews)
  • The Phoenician Scheme, Wes Anderson (5) (reviews)
(L to R) Cate Blanchett as Kathryn St. Jean and Michael Fassbender as George Woodhouse in director Steven Soderbergh’s BLACK BAG, a Focus Features release. Credit: Claudette Barius/Focus Features © 2025 All Rights Reserved.

OUR MEMBER SUBMISSIONS (ALPHABETICAL):

2 Film Critics (Dianne Bennett & William Graebner) –

  • The Ballad of Wallis Island
  • Friendship
  • How to Train Your Dragon
  • Misericordia
  • On Swift Horses
  • Sinners
  • There’s Still Tomorrow

Will Bjarnar –

  • April
  • Black Bag
  • Caught by the Tides
  • Eephus
  • Familiar Touch
  • Materialists
  • The Phoenician Scheme
  • Sinners
  • Sorry, Baby
  • Who By Fire

Jordan Canahai –

  • Sinners
(L to R) Carey Mulligan as Nell Mortimer and Tom Basden as Herb McGwyer in director James Griffiths’ THE BALLAD OF WALLIS ISLAND, a Focus Features release. Credit: Alistair Heap/Focus Features ©2025 All Rights Reserved

Frank Housh –

  • Black Bag
  • Elio
  • Eric LaRue
  • The Phoenician Scheme

Jared Mobarak –

  • April
  • The Ballad of Wallis Island
  • Black Bag
  • The Encampments
  • Sinners
  • Sunlight
  • The Surfer
  • Tatami
  • The Teacher
  • Warfare

David Palmer –

  • 28 Years Later
  • Black Bag
  • F1
  • Friendship
  • Heart Eyes
  • Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning
  • The Phoenician Scheme
  • Sinners
  • The Surfer
  • Thunderbolts*

Steven Prusakowski –

  • The Ballad of Wallis Island
(L-R) Tim Robinson and Paul Rudd in FRIENDSHIP. Credit: Courtesy of A24.

Joe Reid –

  • 28 Years Later
  • Black Bag
  • The Friend
  • Friendship
  • On Becoming a Guinea Fowl
  • On Swift Horses
  • One of Them Days
  • The Phoenician Scheme
  • Sinners
  • Sorry, Baby

Christopher Schobert –

  • Black Bag
  • Friendship
  • Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning
  • The Shrouds
  • Sinners

Jordan Maelyn Smith –

  • Enigma
  • Grand Theft Hamlet
  • Pee-wee as Himself
  • The Phoenician Scheme
(L to R) Mathieu Amalric as Marseille Bob, Michael Cera as Bjorn, Benicio Del Toro as Zsa-Zsa Korda, Mia Threapleton as Liesl, and Jeffrey Wright as Marty in director Wes Anderson’s THE PHOENICIAN SCHEME, a Focus Features release. Credit: Courtesy of TPS Productions/Focus Features © 2025 All Rights Reserved.

Tessa Smith –

  • The Ballad of Wallis Island
  • Bring Her Back
  • Companion
  • Dangerous Animals
  • Elio
  • Final Destination: Bloodlines
  • Heart Eyes
  • How to Train Your Dragon
  • KPop Demon Hunters
  • The Life Of Chuck

Joel Woytila –

  • The Ballad of Wallis Island
  • Ballerina
  • Black Bag
  • F1
  • Friendship
  • The Life of Chuck
  • Mickey 17
  • Sinners
  • Thunderbolts*
  • Warfare

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