2025: a year noted for, perhaps more so than in recent years, the acclaim of original films, and success of them over franchise titles. That certainly seems to be the case with the audience top ten this year, where original titles dominated the voting process – although there are notable franchise titles and adaptations in the mixture as well.
While one film may have ran away with the vote for first place, those that followed were close together, and over the two weeks or so that voting was open original films, and indie hits, were shown plenty of love. This is the first year since perhaps starting these audience top tens that the MCU, or a superhero movie for that matter (despite some love for Superman), hasn’t made the list. Favour was shown towards British films, particularly comedies with an emotional vein such as Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy and The Ballad Of Wallis Island, while awards contenders for both 2025 and 2026 races – Frankenstein and, somewhat surprisingly considering its mid-January release, A Real Pain especially.
The final audience top ten has a good deal of variety in terms of both genre and release date here in the UK. And so, let’s see what’s joining the recent likes of Wicked, Oppenheimer and Glass Onion to be named the Just A Little Bit Random audience best film of the year, alongside the rest of the top ten.
10. A Complete Unknown
One of the few stars today who can seemingly open a film, Timothée Chalamet received much praise, and awards love, for his portrayal of Bob Dylan when he went electric. A Complete Unknown was a hit with fans of Dylan and general audiences with a traditional feel that still appeared to stand out amongst the growing cliché of many music biopics – something which 2025’s Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere was criticised by some for.
But, with the switch to electric, of course, comes a focus on the music, and that may well have been what audiences were hoping for from this film. Providing just that it showed itself to be a hit in multiple ways. Especially in regards to Chalamet’s performance, and those around him such as Edward Norton, Monica Barbaro and Elle Fanning. Music, lyrics and the connection we can have with them lead the film and may have served as reminders to many about just what they love about Dylan’s work, reconnecting with it through the film as we see him defiantly stick to what he wants to do in the wake of pressure from the folk scene to stick to tradition and his roots. Captured in that 1965 Newport Folk Festival set that starts to round off the film.
9. Wicked: For Good
After one of the world’s longest marketing campaigns, effectively beginning over a year and a half ago in the build-up to the first film (named the audience film of 2024) and seemingly continuing a month-and-a-half after the release of the follow-up, mixed with an awards campaign, Wicked: For Good had a lot to live up to. The stage musical has largely been said to have a weaker, stranger second act without the same level of hits that act one has, yet still remains a beloved, highly popular production. This film adaptation of that second act seems to have succeeded in capturing some of that stage magic that people loved so much, and effect of the first film, is still present in this second half of the Glinda-Elphaba story.
Transporting audiences back to the visual detail of Oz, with more being shown of it amongst the musical numbers (including Jeff Goldblum having a great time performing Wonderful, a highlight of the film). The film seems to have especially worked for those who have double billed the pair together, something which seems to have been done many times by many people, boosting For Good beyond what many have said when viewing it alone. And that may be what’s helped it reach this year’s audience top ten, alongside a general love for the musical and simply film on its own.
8. 28 Years Later
Another return enjoyed by voters, although to a much darker place then Oz, 28 Years Later saw a long-awaited view of Britain under the Rage virus. A return to the zombie franchise that tackles ideas in the wake of a post-COVID world and rise of nationalism, there’s much tackled in this third entry in the franchise, and first of a trilogy, that audiences recognised and connected with. All amongst the expected chaos of a ‘they’re-not-called-zombies-but-they’re-absolutely-zombies’ outbreak.
Fear and dread were ramped back up, even back in the unsettling island community that young protagonist Spike (Alfie Williams) finds himself brought up in the safety, at least from the mainland, of. All before delving into a more restrained and emotionally-based story surrounding grief and the illness faced by Spike’s mother (Jodie Comer), as they seek Ralph Fiennes’ possibly mad doctor who is believed to still be alive on the mainland after all this time. Through this director Danny Boyle and writer Alex Garland, returning after working together on 28 Days Later 23 years prior, brought in poignancy and a set of events that unexpectedly affected a good number of people, and created a more weighty film than was already present in this follow-up made with something of a zombified reflection that audiences truly connected with.
7. KPop Demon Hunters
The word-of-mouth Netflix hit that turned into a chart sensation and a box office smash (twice), KPop Demon Hunters is undoubtedly one of the biggest, most talked about films of the year. And deservingly so. Not just another showcase of strong visuals from Sony Animation, after the likes of the Spider-Verse films and The Mitchells Vs The Machines there’s a truly entertaining film to be found here. Backed by a great soundtrack full of equally enjoyable earworms – Golden has been just one of the tracks on a loop in many households since the film started to grow its audiences around halfway through the year.
Proving a longevity, and entertainment for all ages, the film is still being talked about and the soundtrack played all these months later, with little sound of people being tired of it. Perhaps because, especially in a year with little in the way of notable animated films (instead we had a shot-for-shot remake of How To Train Your Dragon or a live-action take on Lilo And Stitch that faltered under the weight of the studio wanting to keep as much the same as possible), it showed just so much creativity in both its style and what it chose to do with its narrative. Making for a fun, entertaining and humorous adventure.
In a year where Ne Zha 2 was the biggest box office hit, Disney managed to cross the billion dollar mark with Zootropolis 2, Captain Underpants spin-off Dog Man was perhaps one of the funniest films of the year and anime continued to fill cinema screens via the likes of Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle and Chainsaw Man: The Movie, KPop Demon Hunters appears to be the film that came from almost nowhere, defied expectations from the title and sprinted ahead of them all.
6. Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery
From the first instalment the Knives Out films have quickly become consistently enjoyable audience favourites. Some of the most discussed films of the year, they’ve become actively anticipated and enjoyed by many, particularly with re-watches. Knives Out was named the third best film of 2019 while Glass Onion, as mentioned above, was crowned the best of 2022. Wake Up Dead Man continues the series’ placement in audience top tens by making it into the best of 2025 with a more serious, yet still humorous, locked-door mystery. One where it seems the murder was impossible, with no one nearby who was able to do it.
Another starry ensemble is assembled for Daniel Craig’s thickly-accented Benoit Blanc to scan over and question as he tries to work out whodunnit when it seems that nobody could have possibly dunnit. A murder mystery against the background of faith, possible spiritual forces at play and a hostile, tight-lipped church congregation, there was as much a guessing game at play here as before. All made with the usual glee that Rian Johnson displays in his writing and directing as the mystery unfolds with as much delight each time we watch it. With the level of quality maintained, it seems that many welcome more Knives Out films for years to come, as long as Johnson and Craig are prepared and happy to keep making them, as and when they’re ready.
5. Weapons
One of the most acclaimed films, and original stories, of the year. In a year that had plenty of love directed towards horror films, Weapons was one of the ones that stood out the most. Covering an array of themes that could well differ with each viewing, if there weren’t already some before Amy Madigan appears chills were certainly felt by audiences by the time her character becomes a proper presence in the darkness of Weapons. A film that many found delight in from going in to knowing very little, and has had such an effect that little has been given away about it in the months since the films release. With audiences letting other see the film as fresh as possible for the first time instead of leaping to openly analyse every shot and detail online.
The image of children running out into the dark in the middle of the night, arms stretched out like the shadows falling behind them in the dim glow of the street lights, is one of the most effective of the year. Itself a chilling image to match the concept of the film, especially when kicking things off with the backing of George Harrison’s Beware Of Darkness – one of the best needle drops of the year. Weapons has proved itself as a film that has had almost everyone taking something different from it, and pretty much all of them are right in what they’ve seen. Regardless of what people have seen it’s certainly got under the skin of many who watched it and believed it to be one of the best films of the year.
4. The Choral
Each year the audience top ten features of a British drama such as The Choral, but usually towards the lower end of the list but this particular film did consistently well in the poll. Whether it was the emotionally affecting nature of the performance that almost everything builds up to, or the simple touch of writer Alan Bennett, there’s clearly something that created a lasting impact with a good number of people who saw the film.
2025 was a year with many films that looked into the idea of art as therapy and escape. Certainly there are a handful in the awards race for this year (such as Hamnet, a 2026 release in the UK, and Sentimental Value, released on 26th December so perhaps a bit late for some when it came to voting, although Marty Supreme received a couple of votes; but had a bigger release. The theme is central to The Choral, against the backing of the First World War, with multiple members of the titular choir preparing to be called up to fight at any moment. Done in a calm and traditional British vein, this was a drama that audiences appeared to give a warmer reception to than the critical one, which generally seemed to be fairly lukewarm, although not without praise. But, its depiction of escape and release through music and song, whilst maintaining something of a stiff-upper-lip attitude, was enough to push it to a place as the fourth best film of 2025 in this audience top ten.
3. Sinners
Before Weapons came along, and after it, Sinners was the original 2025 horror, and really just original film in general, that took the box office, and audiences by storm. Outperforming expectations and too-quick-to-jump doomsayers the film proved to be a word-of-mouth hit that retained an audience thanks to the pure acclaim that it received. Showing that there is demand for fresh, original genre filmmaking in this day and age. And Sinners pushes itself with all three of those boxes. With both the largely unadvertised first half and the second half where everything ramps up into a fiery battle, although the heat is present long before, after the appearance of vampires led by Jack O’Connell.
Far beyond a musical sequence which acts as one of the best scenes of the year, capturing the blend and drive within Sinners as a whole, there’s plenty of force and flair throughout the film. Whether in the dual lead performance of Michael B. Jordan – perhaps the most acclaimed in a year that also saw some from Elle Fanning and Roberts Pattinson and De Niro – or acclaimed supporting turns from Wunmi Mosaku, Miles Caton, Hailee Steinfeld or Delroy Lindo, or technical aspects such as the music and visuals. The celebration that kicks off the juke joint set up by Jordan’s twin brothers descends into a dark, musically-tinted actioner with blood, sweat and fear. A big all-round success in 2025.
2. I Swear
A true British crowdpleaser, in the UK I Swear built up an audience through preview and mystery screenings and found success through its true-life-tale leanings and word-of-mouth acclaim. A dramedy with plenty of heart, and praise in the build-up to its release, there was plenty of humour, it’s acknowledged in the opening scene that ‘it’s ok to laugh’, to be found amongst the emotional punches in the story of Tourette’s advocate John Davidson (Robert Aramayo).
Much of the aforementioned heart comes through moments of kindness and understanding, whether from Peter Mullan’s character or Maxine Peake’s standout turn. Breaking up the struggle faced by Davidson through acceptance. Pushing him to become an advocate and teach people about Tourette’s syndrome so that there’s more awareness and understanding around it. A film that took a good number of people by surprise with just how much they responded to it, perhaps that understanding and aforementioned kindness is what really allowed the film to strike the right chord and resonate in the way that it did. Making for a film that appeared in many best of the year conversations, and had enough love to appear as the second best film of 2025 according to the audience poll.
1. One Battle After Another
In previous years the gap between first and second, and even third, in the audience poll has been very close, with the lead often changing. However, this year One Battle After Another took the crown early and continued to storm ahead with a particularly strong showing compared to any other film. Little was known about Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest in the build-up to release, with the marketing keeping much under wraps, but once in cinemas the acclaim was unleashed and from there it’s barely calmed down; looking at becoming an awards sweeper in the next couple of months.
Almost every element of the film has been praised, especially the thrills of the third act with its dizzying hill-based car chase. One Battle After Another is undoubtedly one of, if not the, most acclaimed films of the year. While it might not have been the biggest box office success there was still plenty of discussion around it and the performances of the ensemble cast in the constantly moving dramatic thriller. One with constantly shifting thematic layers which provided particular, if not entirely intended, resonance against their political backdrops. In some ways boosting the thrills and tension on display in the various chase aspects that make up the narrative at hand.
Regardless of what it was in particular, if just one thing, that clicked with people, One Battle After Another has been named the Just A Little Bit Random audience’s best film of 2025.
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