10 Best Streaming Movies Of 2025, Ranked

The phrase "TV movie" once meant that you could expect to see something fairly humble and low-budget, but the arrival of the streaming era shook things up. A battle for subscribers was compounded by the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic, and there was a flurry of movies with mega-budgets being produced for the small screen. The big spending frenzy has since been reined in (Netflix's astronomically expensive "The Electric State" notwithstanding), but there's still plenty of premium cinema being made for ... well, not the cinema.

Now that 2025 has hit 100% completion, it's the perfect time to look back over the best streaming movies the year had to offer, including some gems that you may have missed. Some of these films also received a limited release in theaters, but they were all made primarily for streaming platforms, and that's where you can watch them right now. 

Whenever documentaries about influential celebrities come around, there's typically something unsavory that gets revealed. But when it comes to "John Candy: I Like Me," perhaps the only unfortunate revelation about the beloved star of "Planes, Trains & Automobiles," "Uncle Buck," "The Great Outdoors," and more is that one of the nicest people in Hollywood was always worried about his own mortality. It drove him to drink, smoke, and worry endlessly, but it never turned him into a monster.

Directed by Colin Hanks and produced by Ryan Reynolds, this film talks to pretty much all of Candy's famous friends (including a miraculous appearance by the unpredictable Bill Murray) and family to paint a loving portrait of a legendary star of film, television, and the stage. Every stone unturned reveals something else wonderful about the man who got his start at Second City and rode that wave into comedy history. And there are plenty of tears to be shed too, whether it's from Dan Aykroyd's astoundingly beautiful eulogy after Candy's death in 1994, or a surprising detail about the funeral procession that followed the service and gave the actor an honor previously only afforded to presidents and popes. 

John Candy was a force of nature and the rare man who truly lived up to his sterling reputation. "John Candy: I Like Me" is a lovely tribute to his life and legacy. (Ethan Anderton)

Nick Park's and Merlin Crossingham's "Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl" slipped surreptitiously onto Netflix in January of 2025, sadly hidden among the glut of 2024 awards season hype. This is a pity, as "Vengeance Most Fowl" is just as delightfully twee as any of the previous entries in the "Wallace & Gromit" film series. The titular inventor is back, this time voiced by Ben Whitehead, impeccably replacing the late Peter Sallis. Gromit is still by his side, and they still live in suburban bliss in their quaint British home, drinking tea and eating copious amounts of cheese.

But a figure from their past is seething with resentful thoughts of vengeance. Feathers McGraw, the penguin museum thief from "The Wrong Trousers" (1993) is still in prison, and he has concocted a way to free himself and frame Wallace for a serious crime. Feathers' plan will involve hacking into the electronic brain of a robotic garden gnome — Norbot (Reece Shearsmith) — that Wallace has recently invented. The resulting adventure is just as whimsical as you can imagine. It's a fun callback to the original short, but with cleaner, slicker animation.

Aardman Animation used to stand astride the world, but fell out of the public eye at some point. This was unfair, as their films "The Pirates!," "Early Man," and "Shaun the Sheep Movie" are all comedy classics. "Vengeance Most Fowl" is just as witty, energetic, and clever as one has come to expect from the studio. (Witney Seibold)

Director Nia DaCosta, known for tentpole films like the 2022 "Candyman" remake and Marvel Studios' "The Marvels," went a little smaller in scale with her 2025 film "Hedda," released on Prime Video. Based on Henrik Ibsen's legendary play "Hedda Gabler" — a titular role that any stage actress would die to play, particularly as they age — DaCosta smartly makes her Hedda, played by the incomporable Tessa Thompson, younger and biracial ... but keeps the original play's queer subtext and makes it text. Married to an academic star who's secretly in a ton of debt — Tom Bateman's George Tesman — Hedda lives a deeply unhappy life but is drawn out of her misery when she finds out that her former lover Eileen Lovborg (Nina Hoss) is attending a party she and George are throwing at their home.

Imogen Poots and Kathryn Hunter shine in their respective roles as Eileen's new lover, Thea Clifton, and Bertie, the loyal servant of the Tesmans who doesn't much like Hedda herself. Adapting a play as important and vital as "Hedda Gabler" is no easy task, but DaCosta and her stars are more than up to the challenge. If you ever doubted Thompson's strength as a performer (and why would you?!), "Hedda" will prove you wrong in an instant. By letting Thompson and Hoss play in a sapphic sandbox as the entire situation crumbles around them — and even erupts in violence — DaCosta creates a modern classic. (Nina Starner)

We live in an increasingly contentious world. The United States and Russia are currently both attempting takeovers of other countries. All of humanity is on edge, and that anxiety is exacerbated by President Donald J. Trump's frighteningly eager willingness to use nuclear weapons, and President Vladimir Putin's regular threats to do so as well. And so, for the first time since the end of the Cold War, it has become necessary to educate the populace on what might happen if the U.S. must contend with a nuclear missile attack from a foreign adversary.

No filmmaker can put viewers in a tighter vise grip than Kathryn Bigelow, which makes her the perfect choice for this white-knuckler about the country's defense apparatus scrambling to respond to the launch of a single ICBM from an unknown country. "A House of Dynamite," which was made for Netflix, examines this predicament from multiple perspectives. It resets its narrative twice so as to give its audience a more in-depth look at the inner workings of the White House Situation Room and the U.S. Strategic Command, and, finally, how the President would respond. Tautly directed and expertly performed, the film is doubly unnerving because the competence on display cannot be counted on under the current administration. While "A House of Dynamite" received a brief theatrical run, it plays just as well at home. You can gasp in the company of friends and loved ones, and hope to god we never face such a scenario. (Jeremy Smith)

True crime has always been a fairly popular form of entertainment, though its popularity has ratcheted up exponentially in the years since podcasts like "Serial" and documentary shows like "The Jinx" turned almost every American into an armchair detective. There are dozens of new true crime documentaries and series streaming each year, of varying quality, but in 2025 the Netflix documentary "The Perfect Neighbor" did something completely different. Instead of re-enacting moments with performers and using interviews to piece together an event, "The Perfect Neighbor" happens almost in real time, its tragic story told by piecing together footage from police officers' body cameras.

The result is a harrowing experience because you know that the repeat complaining of "perfect neighbor" Susan Lorincz is going to lead to her eventually shooting and killing her innocent Black neighbor, Ajike Owens. After Owens is killed, the viewer is forced to witness as her children grieve, knowing that even if the courts deliver some kind of justice, they'll never get their mother back. "The Perfect Neighbor" is a brilliant example of what true crime documentaries should be, forcing us to contend with darkness so we can hopefully change it. Much like the equally crushing "Dear Zachary," "The Perfect Neighbor" is a rough watch, but hopefully it can enact some change. "The Perfect Neighbor" may push some viewers to question if true crime has finally gone too far, but it's a vital watch. (Danielle Ryan)

Clint Bentley's "Train Dreams," — which is now streaming on Netflix — tells a sweeping, yet intimate tale about loss. The life of Robert Grainier (Joel Edgerton) is laid out as America rushes towards progress, which unfolds like an abstraction as he experiences love and grief over the years. This meticulous character portrait makes us realize that we often don't understand our own lives until one defining, harrowing moment. Grainier's early years as a railroad worker are marked with passive guilt, as he's haunted by an instance of cruelty that happens to someone else. This guilt intensifies after a forest fire burns down his log cabin, closely linking the trajectory of personal lives with the destruction of natural ecosystems. When the world moves on too fast, Grainier clings to his bittersweet memories like a hopeful recluse.

The fact that such a hauntingly beautiful film topped streaming charts last year definitely bodes well for stories of a more meditative nature. "Train Dreams" is brilliantly understated in its storytelling and refuses to rush towards Grainier's final moments without letting us sit with the character's emotions. There's discomfort to be felt here as well; American history is steeped in racial violence and institutional corruption, which Grainier is a secondhand witness to. The weaving and dismantling of the American Dream is at the core of "Train Dreams" as it sifts through all the hopes and sorrows Grainier has ever felt as a person. (Debopriyaa Dutta)

Oh, come on. Was there ever any question that Netflix's record-breaking 2025 animated movie would be on this list? Rumi (Arden Cho), Mira (May Hong), and Zoey (Ji-young Yoo) have been an ubiquitous presence on many family's TV screens ever since "KPop Demon Hunters" dropped on June 20, and its massive awards haul proves that its allure is decidedly for all ages.

Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans' film about, yes, a K-Pop girl group that moonlights as a demon hunter trio has a slick story that doesn't take itself too seriously but still manages to captivate and tug heartstrings. It has great action, killer tunes, plenty of comedic beats, and genuinely charming characters. Perhaps most importantly, it has a visual language that's unabashedly its own. Take your pick, and see if any single frame of this movie can't easily be recognized as "KPop Demon Hunters" and nothing else.

It remains to be seen how the uber-successful urban fantasy will fare in the inevitable pressures of franchise-building. For now, however, the girls of Huntr/x reign supreme. Critics love "KPop Demon Hunters." Audiences adore love "KPop Demon Hunters." We love "KPop Demon Hunters." Go rewatch "KPop Demon Hunters." (Pauli Poisuo)

While an argument could be made that "Predator: Killer of Killers" would've been well worth experiencing on the big screen, there's no two ways about it: This is exactly what we claim to want from our most popular franchises. Nestled comfortably between Dan Trachtenberg's stunning reinvention "Prey" in 2022 and the equally ambitious "Predator: Badlands" late last year, this animated curio might go down as Tractenberg's boldest and most under-the-radar contribution to the classic sci-fi property yet. If ever there was a movie that proved the phrase "straight to streaming" need not be a threat, and that even the most established IP can surprise us, this is it.

It'd be one thing if "Killer of Killers" were merely an anthology story told exceptionally well, split between a trio of different humans in their own unique time periods in Earth history and building towards an unforgettable crossover conclusion. But what Trachtenberg and co-director Josh Wassung's team at The Third Floor animation studio accomplished is something else entirely: a genuinely inspired collection of adventures backed up by some of the most dazzling, hard-hitting, and character-centric action in the entire series. 

When's the last time a blockbuster sequel/spin-off pleased so many different fans at once? "Predator" purists delighted in the deep-dive expansion into Yautja lore. Animation enthusiasts couldn't have been more thrilled by the visuals on display. And for us Trachtenberg loyalists, this was yet more evidence of his genre prowess. "Killer of Killers" is currently streaming on Hulu. (Jeremy Mathai)

The "Knives Out" movies have all been some degree of great but director Rian Johnson somehow managed to outdo himself, even against a very high bar that he'd already set, with last year's "Wake Up Dead Man." The third Benoit Blanc mystery once again introduces us to a new cast of characters, this time set against the backdrop of the Catholic Church, resulting in perhaps the best entry in the franchise to date.

In the latest mystery, streaming on Netflix, detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) teams up with a passionate young priest named Jud (Josh O'Connor) to investigate a seemingly impossible murder at a small-town church that he's being blamed for.

"Wake Up Dead Man" is unflinchingly political and a reflection of our modern times, but not loaded down with commentary that is distracting from the movie at hand. It's gorgeous to look at, which can't always be said of Netflix original movies. It also boldly shakes up the formula of the "Knives Out" movies, leaning heavily on Jud as the lead, with Blanc almost serving as a secondary character. But as is often the case, less can be more. And Jud is a remarkably wonderful character, thanks to O'Connor's Oscar-worthy performance.

Everyone is firing on all cylinders in this one. With a hugely resonant emotional core and a lot of humanity at its center, Johnson makes his latest epic mystery feel like a cinematic magic trick. It makes us want even more "Knives Out." (Ryan Scott)

Academy Award-winning director Guillermo del Toro has made a few films exclusively for Netflix, including his phenomenal stop-motion take on the classic children's tale "Pinocchio," but his adaptation of Mary Shelley's novel "Frankenstein" is truly something to behold. The film takes some serious liberties with Shelley's text to tell a story that's deeply personal to del Toro, and it's as heartbreaking as it is stunning. "Frankenstein" not only takes big swings that feel wildly audacious for a streaming exclusive, but its production values are out of this world. Serious money was spent on sets, costumes, and prosthetics, making for a rich visual experience that's deeply cinematic and feels almost too gorgeous to be watched on a phone, laptop, or even television screen. 

Starring Oscar Isaac as Victor Frankenstein, Jacob Elordi as the Creature he brings to life, and Mia Goth as their love interest Elizabeth, Guillermo del Toro's "Frankenstein" is a feast for the eyes, ears, and soul. It's not just one of the best movies to hit streaming in 2025 — it's also one of the best movies of the year, period. It's great that Netflix's deals with directors allow them to create this kind of art, but it's also a real shame that "Frankenstein" was only shown in select theaters, because this is one to truly appreciate on the big screen. (Danielle Ryan)