With critics’ lists now rolling in thick and fast, it feels like the right moment to take a step back and see where consensus is truly forming this year. By compiling ballots from a wide range of UK critics, we’ve aggregated every individual vote into one definitive snapshot of the films that defined 2025. The only criteria was that each movie had to have been released in the UK this year.
The rules were simple: every appearance of a film on a list counts as one vote. Rankings were ignored to reflect overall enthusiasm rather than individual ordering. What emerges is a clear picture of which films critics returned to again and again – and one title, in particular, that towers above the rest.
After counting all votes, one film stands out as the clear winner.
Sinners is officially HeyUGuys’ Critics’ Film of the Year, topping the chart with 37 votes. Ryan Coogler’s film not only appeared on more lists than any other title, but did so across an impressively broad range of outlets, from mainstream publications to specialist film writers, signalling rare cross-critical agreement.
Close behind is One Battle After Another, which amassed 31 votes and remained in contention right to the final count. Together, the two films dominated the conversation throughout the year and formed a clear top tier, with a noticeable gap opening up before the rest of the field.
Here’s how the top end of the chart shakes out.
Check out the full breakdown below.
The Top Ten
1. Sinner 37 votes
2. One Battle After Another 31 Vote
3. Weapons 19 Votes
4. 28 Years Later / The Brutalist 15 Votes
6. Bugonia / Sorry, Baby /The Ballad Of Wallis Island 14 Votes
9. A Real Pain 12 Votes
10. Frankenstein/ Marty Supreme / Pillion 11 Votes
The Best of the Rest
13. Train Dreams / Sentimental Value
15. Nosferatu / The Long Walk
17. Die My Love / Superman
19. I Swear/ Bring Her Back
21. Black Bag
22. It Was Just An Accident
23. Mickey 17
24. Nickel Boys
25. The Mastermind
26. Wake Up Dead Man
27. A Complete Unknown
28. A House of Dynamite
29. Blue Moon
30. Flow
Beyond the top 20, the depth of the longlist is striking. More than 100 individual films received at least one vote, ranging from studio releases and awards contenders to smaller independent titles and bold passion picks. That breadth speaks to a year defined not just by consensus favourites, but by genuine variety and risk-taking across cinema.
While Sinners takes the crown, the closeness of the race near the top – and the sheer diversity further down the list – makes this one of the most interesting critical years in recent memory.
Finally, we would like to thank all those who were kind enough to send their top 10s through. Here is a list of all those who took part and the movies they voted for (in no particular order).
| David Sztypuljak – @daveszt / Editor, HeyUGuys
Avatar Fire and Ash Tron Ares F1 Movie How to Train Your Dragon Jurassic World Rebirth Fantastic 4 First Steps The Woman in Cabin 10 Superman The Bad Guys 2 Minecraft |
Jon Lyus – @jonlyus / Editor, HeyUGuys
One Battle After Another Train Dreams Bugonia If I had Legs I’d Kick You Weapons 28 Years Later The Life of Chuck Sinners The Brutalist Nosferatu |
| Stefan Pape – @stefanpape29 / Interview Editor HeyUGuys
Memoir of a Snail Friendship Pillion Sentimental Value Nickel Boys The Brutalist Urchin Blue Moon The Ballad of Wallis Island One Battle After Another |
Linda Marric – @Linda_Marric / Head Critic & Editor at Large HeyUGuys
Marty Supreme One Battle After Another Train Dreams The Brutalist Weapons Sinners 28 Years Later Sentimental Value Sirat Pillion |
| Scott J. Davis
The People’s Movies, HeyUGuys Sentimental Value Sinners It Was Just An Accident One Battle After Another Bugonia Superman Lollipop The Long Walk Together Die My Love |
Karen Krizanovich
London Critics’ Circle Sinners Frankenstein Marty Supreme Sentimental Value Bugonia Superman The Smashing Machine Cover-up Wicked For Good Christy |
| Ben Robins
HeyUGuys One Battle After Another Sorry Baby Weapons Sister Midnight Sinners The Toxic Avenger Saturday Night Heart Eyes Splitsville |
Fatima Sheriff
Little White Lies, Take One Cinema, FILMHOUNDS Nickel Boys Sinners A Real Pain Train Dreams Left-Handed Girl Sorry Baby Hedda 28 Years Later Brides Die My Love |
| Clarisse Loughrey
The Independent Frankenstein Nickel Boys Sorry Baby The Brutalist It Was Just an Accident Die My Love The Shrouds One Battle After Another Nosferatu Bugonia |
Matt Maytum
The Movie Wingman, SFX, NME Nosferatu The Ballad of Wallis Island Bring Her Back Weapons The Brutalist Warfare Bugonia Sinners One Battle after Another On Falling |
| Alex Clement
HeyUGuys Captain America Brave New World Fantastic Four The Thursday Murder Club, Bridget Jones Mad About the Boy Freakier Friday Jurassic World Rebirth, Karate Kid Legends, House of Dynamite, The woman in cabin 10 Nonnas |
Jo Berry
Movies4Kids, Digital Spy, Radio Times online, OK! One Battle After Another Marty Supreme Pillion Sinners Life of Chuck Jay Kelly Bugonia Mickey 17 Weapons A Real Pain |
| Katie Smith-Wong
Flickfeast, Movie Marker, New Scientist, Digital Spy Sinners Black Bag K-Pop Demon Hunters The Long Walk Marty Supreme It Was Just An Accident Sorry Baby Left-Handed Girl Frankenstein Ne Zha 2 |
Paul Klein
FILMHOUNDS Magazine Sinners The Life of Chuck The Long Walk Frankenstein Sorry, Baby Is This Thing On? 28 Years Later Weapons Thunderbolts* Wake Up Dead Man |
| Liam Macleod
HeyUGuys, Film Stories Sinners The Brutalist Frankenstein A Real Pain 28 Years Later Die My Love Weapons Superman The Ballad of Wallis Island One Battle After Another |
Anton Bitel
ProjectedFigures.com, Sight and Sound, Little White Lies, SciFiNow, DMovies.org The Ice Tower Freaky Tales Black Bag Bring Her Back Sorry, Baby Weapons Sinners The Surfer The Monkey One Battle After Another |
| Marc Burrows
HeyUGuys, Big Issue The Ballad of Wallis Island Nosferartu Wake Up Dead Man Fantastic Four: First Step Chainsaw Man Superman The Running Man Thunderbolts* Pavements A Real Pain |
Jason Best
TV & Satellite Week, TV Times, What’s On TV, What To Watch One Battle After Another Sound of Falling The Secret Agent It Was Just an Accident Marty Supreme Nouvelle Vague The Mastermind The Ice Tower Weapons 28 Years Later |
| Bella Madge
High On Films, Little White Lies, Film Hounds, The Film Magazine, Picturehouse cinemas, Flickering Myth, Filmotomy, The Indepiendent Sinners One Battle After Another Frankenstein F1 The Naked Gun Steve Sorry Baby Jurassic World: Rebirth Good Boy I Swear |
Freda Cooper
The People’s Movies, HeyUGuys, Picturehouse podcast, BBC Surrey The Brutalist Nickel Boys One Battle After Another Train Dreams Blue Moon A Real Pain Sinners September 5 Memoir Of A Snail Sorry Baby |
| Latoya Austin
Freelance Sinners Hamnet Hedda Sorry Baby The Voice of Hind Rajab My Father’s Shadow Twinless All That’s Left of You One Battle After Another Marty Supreme |
James White-Aldworth
Meet Me In The Foyer & Cinema Paradisco Novocaine Mickey 17 Companion Superman The Salt Path The Ballad of Wallis Island Islands Caught Stealing I Like Me Thunderbolts |
| Thomas Alexander
HeyUGuys Frankenstein Train Dreams Sinners Bob Trevino Likes It The Long Walk Weapons Bugonia A Real Pain Restless One Battle After Another |
Euan Franklin
notesonculture.substack.com Sinners A Real Pain Nosferatu The Brutalist 28 Years Later Mickey 17 Weapons Eddington One Battle After Another Frankenstein |
| Van Connor
BBC, OffScreen Sinners I Swear Pillion One of Them Days F1 Bugonia Novocaine Play Dirty Companion Babygirl |
Tom Huddleston
Freelance Critic One Battle After Another The Mastermind 28 Years Later Sirat It Was Just An Accident My Father’s Shadow Sinners The Secret Agent Sentimental Value Pillion |
| Tom Beasley
Voice Magazine, Yahoo UK, GamesRadar, The Guardian Weapons Bugonia Final Destination: Bloodlines We Live in Time Memoir of a Snail The Long Walk Deep Cover Bring Her Back Sinners Companion |
Matthew Turner
Nerdly, NME, Next Best Picture, VODzilla One Battle After Another Sinners Left-Handed Girl Marty Supreme Little Trouble Girls Brides Die My Love Nouvelle Vague Materialists Bring Her Back |
| Kelechi Ehenulo
Empire Magazine, GamesRadar+, Digital Spy & Movie Marker Sinners Nickel Boys Sorry, Baby Marty Supreme The Brutalist KPop Demon Hunters Nosferatu One Battle After Another Mickey 17 28 Years Later |
John Bleasdale
Critic, Author Freelance Sinners House of Dynamite Train Dreams Sirat Weapons The Voice of Hind Rajab Mickey17 One Battle After Another Pillion The Things You Kill |
| Dan Goodwin
HeyUGuys HeyUGuys One Battle After another The Brutalist Memoir of a Snail Sinners 28 Years Later A Complete Unknown Weapons The Long Walk Saturday Night Flow |
Sarah Williams
Popcorn Chat Bugonia The Ballad of Wallis island Sorry baby Plainclothes The ugly stepsister Sinners Sentimental value Die my love Superman Christy |
| Lou Thomas
BFI Digital Production Editor/ Freelance Critic/ Member of LFCC One Battle After Another Little Trouble Girls Sinners The Mastermind Pillion Weapons Die My Love Relay The Naked Gun Blue Moon |
Adam Lowes
HeyUGuys One Battle After Another A House of Dynamite Bugonia Nosferatu Superman A Real Pain A Complete Unknown The Brutalist 28 Years Later Wake Up Dead Man |
| Ali Catterall
Filmmaker/ Critic Sinners Weapons One Battle After Another Pillion Bugonia Age of Disclosure I Swear Jurassic world Megan 2 |
Chris Connor
HeyUGuys One Battle After Another Marty Supreme Sentimental Value The Brutalist Flow The Ballad of Wallis Island Sinners Late Shift Left-Handed Girl A Real Pain |
| Hannah Wales
Pearl & Dean, Cover Media, Miss Flicks (missflicks.com)! Member of OAFFC, IFSC and Cherry Picks. Bugonia Wicked For Good Frankenstein I Swear Train Dreams The Ballad of Wallis Island Sorry Baby One Battle After Another Jay Kelly Predator Badlands |
Sarah Cooke
HeyUGuys Frankenstein Nosferatu Sorry Baby Pillion The Brutalist Thunderbolts Presence K Pop Demon Hunters Ballad of Wallis Island Sinners |
| Stephen Dalton
The Film Verdict/ Sight & Sound/ The Times/ Uncut/Eye For Film The Girl With The Needle A Real Pain Sister Midnight Hard Truths A Want in Her Sinners Flow The Seed of a Sacred Fig The Extraordinary Miss Flower Islands |
Tom Butler
Editor, Yahoo UK One Battle After Another The Ballad of Wallis Island A Real Pain Train Dreams 28 Years Later Bring Her Back The Long Walk KPOP Demon Hunters Warfare Black Bag |
| Jacob Stalworthy
Editor, The Independent Marty Supreme I Swear Bugonia One Battle After Another Sinners On Falling The Ballad of Wallis Island Blue Moon Little Trouble Girls What Does That Nature Say To You |
Francesca Steele
The i Paper Hamnet Marty Supreme Weapons Sentimental Value Jay Kelly |
| Cai Ross
HeyUGuys Zootropolis 2 Black Bag Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy A Complete Unknown The Phoenician Scheme Sinners The Ballad of Wallis Island The Brutalist Train Dreams One Battle After Another |
Rich Cline
Shadows On The Wall Sinners Sentimental Value Good One Sorry, Baby 2000 Meters to Andriivka Wake Up Dead Man Red Path A Complete Unknown Palestine 36 The Brutalist
|
| Kim Newman
Author/ Critic Black Bag Cloud Good Boy Hard Truths The Long Walk The Mastermind The Monkey Odyssey One Battle After Another Weapons |
Jordan King
Empire 28 Years Later Sinners Sentimental Value One Battle After Another Wake Up Dead Man Weapons Flow Hamnet The Ballad Of Wallis Island Frankenstein |
| Kim Taylor-Foster
Run Again Scarlet The Stimming Pool Wolf Man Die My Love Alpha Bring Her Back The Mastermind Sinners 28 Years Later |
Paul Heath
The Hollywood News Pillion Sinners I Swear A Real Pain Together The Ballad Of Walls Island Love + War Odyssey Train Dreams A House of Dynamite |
| Kat Hughes
THN 28 Years Later Pillion The Ugly Stepsister Dangerous Animals The Long Walk The Dead Thing Good Boy Wick is Pain Nosferatu Sinners |
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