The 10 Most Underrated Movies of 2025

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Movie ticket sales have been disappointing this year, suggesting one of two things: either the films released in 2025 were generally poor quality, or many worthwhile movies weren’t given a fair chance in theaters.

I prefer the second option. I noticed a lot of intriguing, amusing, unusual, and insightful movies from 2025 came out in theaters and on streaming services, but they didn’t really make a splash. They had their moment, then quickly disappeared – they stopped showing in theaters, faded from streaming platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, and were soon forgotten.

So many good movies fly under the radar, and these ten from 2025 definitely deserve more attention. I used to host a podcast where we had an annual award for films that didn’t get the recognition they deserved – movies that came out quietly or were unfairly criticized. I’m highlighting those kinds of films today.

This one article probably won’t completely change opinions, but hopefully it will encourage a few people to revisit films they missed or weren’t aware of when they originally came out. Luckily, because many streaming failures stay available, it’s easy to watch them now. These movies might not have gotten the attention they deserved initially, but it’s not too late to give them a chance.

The Most Underrated Movies of 2025

Ballerina

While the film Ballerina doesn’t actually feature a lot of ballet, that’s almost beside the point considering how many action-packed flamethrower battles it does have. Despite rumors of extensive reshoots and a story that feels a bit disjointed, this John Wick spin-off delivers incredible action—including what might be the most literal gunfight ever filmed. And the quirky European ski village setting in the final act has a fun, nostalgic vibe reminiscent of the classic film Gymkata.

Caught Stealing

Darren Aronofsky’s Caught Stealing was a delightful surprise. Released late in August – typically a dumping ground for bad movies – it’s a really entertaining and gritty thriller with a great, old New York City atmosphere. The story feels like After Hours, and it just keeps throwing unexpected twists at you. What struck me as most nostalgic wasn’t just seeing Shea Stadium or the old Kim’s Video, but the very fact that a mainstream studio made a smart, adult drama like Caught Stealing.

Good Fortune

It’s surprising that the recent comedy Good Fortune, starring Seth Rogen, Keanu Reeves, and Keke Palmer, and directed by and featuring Aziz Ansari, only made $16 million at the US box office. While movie theaters are struggling overall, comedies are particularly hard hit, even enjoyable ones like this, which showcases one of Keanu Reeves’ best performances. The film centers on a gig worker (Ansari) and a tech entrepreneur (Rogen) who accidentally switch lives thanks to a mix-up involving Reeves’ character – a somewhat clumsy guardian angel. Reeves excels in roles with a supernatural element, as he seems to exist on a different plane than the rest of us. It’s delightful watching his character experience simple pleasures like tasting a cheeseburger and feeling the sensation of eating for the very first time – truly a heavenly moment.

Highest 2 Lowest

If I had to choose the best movie performance of 2025, it would be A$AP Rocky in Spike Lee’s Highest 2 Lowest. While the film isn’t Lee’s best work – it starts slowly as Denzel Washington’s character enjoys his success – it truly comes alive when A$AP Rocky appears. He plays a mysterious figure who unintentionally kidnaps the driver’s son, disrupting everything. The scenes between these two actors are fantastic, and their intense confrontation in a recording studio is one of the most captivating moments in any film this year. Don’t take my word for it – go see it and judge for yourself.

Mickey 17

Bong Joon-ho loves to take well-known actors, often associated with heroic roles, and place them in bizarre, futuristic stories where their usual image is completely shattered. After portraying Captain America as a villain, he turned his attention to Robert Pattinson, known for playing Batman. In the film Mickey 17, Pattinson plays a character who, like Batman, lives a double life. He works as a disposable operative, completing dangerous missions vital for future space colonization. Each time he dies on a mission, a new clone is created – he’s currently on his 17th iteration. A mistake leads to an 18th clone appearing, creating complications. While Mickey 17 might not be as consistently strong as Bong’s Academy Award-winning Parasite, that inconsistency actually fits the story. With 18 nearly identical characters, each with slight personality differences, it’s natural for the movie itself to have some shifts in mood and tone.

The Naked Gun

While critics generally liked The Naked Gun and it performed decently in cinemas, its box office numbers—around $50 million domestically and $50 million worldwide—were underwhelming considering the hype. Many saw it as a test of whether comedies could still succeed in theaters, and those results weren’t a huge success. That’s surprising given how funny the reboot was—it delivered 85 minutes of constant laughs with clever visual gags, silly jokes, and smart satire, making it one of the best updates to a classic franchise we’ve seen in recent years.

Nouvelle Vague

Critics loved both of director Richard Linklater’s 2025 films, giving both Nouvelle Vague and Blue Moon a Rotten Tomatoes score of 90. However, while Blue Moon, starring Ethan Hawke and Andrew Scott, had a traditional theatrical release and generated Oscar buzz, Nouvelle Vague premiered on Netflix and seems to have quickly disappeared into the platform’s vast library. This is unfortunate, as both films are excellent and complement each other nicely, telling mirrored stories about influential artists. Blue Moon focuses on a great artist in decline, while Nouvelle Vague portrays the rise of filmmaking genius Jean-Luc Godard.

A groundbreaking film like Godard’s Breathless might deserve a similarly innovative making-of film, but Nouvelle Vague is actually a fairly standard biography (even more so than Blue Moon, which tells the story of lyricist Lorenz Hart through a single difficult night). Still, a boxy, black-and-white French-language film released on Netflix that makes the French New Wave seem incredibly cool – and potentially introduces a new generation to classic cinema – feels like a quietly heroic effort. Just be aware that if you’re inspired to watch the original Breathless, you’ll need a separate HBO Max subscription.

One of Them Days

While The Naked Gun earned around $100 million worldwide, the comedy One of Them Days brought in $51.8 million. The film follows roommates Keke Palmer and SZA, whose rent money is lost by SZA’s unreliable boyfriend, leading to a frantic effort to pay before they’re evicted. This creates a sense of urgency and keeps the story moving, aided by a clever and funny script by Syreeta Singleton. With a little luck, this could be the start of a successful series of buddy comedies starring Palmer and SZA.

Tron: Ares

Jared Leto is perfectly cast as a self-aware app trying to figure out humans, considering how unique he is. While he plays the lead in the new Tron, the film’s real strengths are its stunning visuals and incredible soundtrack by Nine Inch Nails. The music adds a powerful, almost epic feel to the story – which, admittedly, is a bit wild. It involves the digital world of “The Grid” spilling into our reality through the use of 3D printers! Don’t expect high art, but if you’re looking for dazzling Tron vehicles, lightcycles, and a seriously cool warrior played by Jodie Turner-Smith, all set to a Nine Inch Nails beat, this movie delivers.

You’re Cordially Invited

I was genuinely shocked by the negative reaction to You’re Cordially Invited. It’s a funny and charming romantic comedy directed by the creator of Forgetting Sarah Marshall, starring two well-known comedic actors in a clever story: two weddings are accidentally double-booked at the same small location, leading to hilarious complications. The film has strong comedic moments and great chemistry between the leads. Yet, it received poor reviews and, according to Rotten Tomatoes, audiences really didn’t like it (it currently has a 33% rating, even lower than the recent Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey!). Several times this year, I’ve felt disconnected from popular culture when seeing good movies get dismissed, but the response to You’re Cordially Invited was particularly baffling – I just don’t understand it.

The Best Movie Posters of 2025

Bugonia

I absolutely adore this poster, even with its slightly tricky title font. It actually makes you pause and really work to decipher the letters in Bugonia. And that’s brilliant, because while you’re doing that, the striking image of Emma Stone—is it wax covering her? Or blood? Maybe both?—really sinks in. Once it’s in your mind, it stays there. I’m convinced that even when I forget most of the plot details of Bugonia, I’ll still be able to vividly picture this poster in my head.

Dangerous Animals

Great shark movies have always had memorable posters, and the new film Dangerous Animals fits right in. It earns extra credit for hinting at the shark without being overly dramatic. Both the image and the tagline cleverly suggest this isn’t your average shark attack movie, without revealing too much.

Die My Love

Sometimes, a great movie poster simply needs a strong image of its star. The poster for Die My Love, featuring a striking photograph of Jennifer Lawrence, perfectly illustrates this idea.

Good Boy

The movie Good Boy has a fantastic idea: a horror film where the hero who survives is a dog, and we see everything through its eyes. It’s a clever concept that’s hard to show in a single image, but this poster does a great job of capturing it with style and artistry.

Materialists

Wow, these actors are incredibly attractive! The marketing for the movie Materialists promised something different than what the film actually turned out to be, and I was honestly a bit let down. However, the poster itself was fantastic! It really captured a mood, and now I’m hoping someone will remake Materialists with this same cast, but actually deliver on the vibe the poster suggests!

Jay Kelly

There’s a line in the movie – George Clooney’s character, Jay Kelly, says, “All my memories are movies.” And honestly, this poster just gets that. It’s a beautiful image that perfectly captures the feeling of the film. As a fan, I can’t picture a better piece of art to represent it.

Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning

The main purpose of a Mission: Impossible movie poster is to show off the incredible stunt Tom Cruise will perform. The poster for The Final Reckoning definitely does that – it features him clinging to the wing of a biplane as it spins through the air! And for those who’ve seen the movie, it absolutely lives up to the poster’s promise – and then some.

The Naked Gun

Among all the humorous posters created for The Naked Gun, my favorite was the one that playfully poked fun at the wave of strange AI-generated art that was popular online in 2025. It perfectly captured the silly, irreverent spirit of the original Naked Gun films. If ZAZ were still making these movies in 2025, this poster felt like exactly the kind of joke they’d make – maintaining the same tone and humor we loved before.

One Battle After Another

Paul Thomas Anderson has a dedicated fanbase who will see anything he directs, regardless of how it’s marketed. Warner Bros. could have advertised his new film, One Battle After Another, with something as mundane as a phone book and still filled every theater. But the actual promotional image – a pregnant Teyana Taylor firing a machine gun – really grabbed our attention. It went from piquing our interest to demanding it.

Send Help

This poster for Sam Raimi’s new horror movie is really effective. I especially like how the title, Send Help, contrasts with the image of Rachel McAdams covered in blood and holding a knife – she clearly doesn’t need rescuing! The tagline, “She’s the boss now,” gives you a good idea of what the movie is about, even before you’ve seen the trailer. It has the dark, quirky humor you’d expect from a classic Raimi film. If the movie itself is as good as this poster suggests, it’s going to be fantastic.

Supergirl

The marketing for Superman featured bright, hopeful images of David Corenswet as the hero, all with the slogan “Look Up.” But the new poster for Supergirl – which replaces “Look Up” with “Look Out” and shows Milly Alcock enjoying an Icee – makes it clear this film will have a much different, more edgy feel than the Superman movie.

Together

When it comes to movie posters, a surefire strategy is to create something intriguing and puzzling. The poster for this film does just that – it features Dave Franco and Alison Brie in a bizarre and unexpected way, immediately making viewers curious and wanting to know what the movie is about. The only way to find out is to watch it!

Tron: Ares

The detail of the lightcycle’s rear wheel forming the letter ‘O’ in ‘Tron’ is a clever addition, but the most striking part is the unusual perspective. It appears as though the ‘Tron’ rider is speeding up a vertical wall, when actually they’re on the ground – the camera is simply tilted on its side. This cleverly reflects how ‘Tron: Ares’ flips the traditional premise of the series by bringing digital characters into the real world, rather than the other way around.

Wake Up Dead Man

I think we need more movie posters that show the view from inside a coffin, looking up from an open grave.

Weapons

Large blocks of text usually don’t work well on posters, but the poster for Weapons is different. The image of children running with outstretched arms could be interpreted in many ways on its own. However, the text on the poster is crucial – it provides context that makes the image both unsettling and fascinating.

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2025-12-18 20:00