Paul Thomas Anderson’s sprawling epic One Battle After Another has topped Sight and Sound Magazine’s 2025 poll of the year’s best films.
“F**k yeah! It takes my breath away a bit, honestly,” Anderson said in a written statement of the honor. “I remember reading Sight and Sound, as we all do, from when I was so young, and now to have a film that they called the best film of the year… It’s amazing. I can’t wait to see what it looks like in print. My first response was “F**k yeah!”, and I stand by that!”
Sight and Sound’s Best Films of the Year poll is voted for by the magazine’s pool of more than 100 international critics, who each choose their top ten films of the year. The full list features 50 films.
Ryan Coogler’s box office hit Sinners landed at number two on the list. Both Sinners and One Battle After Another will return to UK cinemas on 70mm prints via the BFI IMAX on December 12.
Kelly Reichardt’s crime caper The Mastermind landed at number three, Oliver Laxe’s Sirat follows in fourth place, and Kleber Mendonça Filho rounds out the top five with The Secret Agent. The Top 50 features ten British films, including Pillion at 16, Rose of Nevada at 22, My Father’s Shadow at 32, and On Falling at 33.
Check out the top ten below:
The full Top 10 in Sight and Sound’s Best Films of 2025 poll are:
1. ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER (Paul Thomas Anderson)
2. SINNERS (Ryan Coogler)
3. THE MASTERMIND (Kelly Reichardt)
4. SIRĀT (Oliver Laxe)
5. THE SECRET AGENT (Kleber Mendonça Filho)
6. IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT (Jafar Panahi)
7. SORRY, BABY (Eva Victor)
8. WEAPONS (Zach Cregger)
9. DRY LEAF (Alexandre Koberidze)
10. RESURRECTION (Bi Gan)
