Looking for your next streaming obsession? Netflix has delivered an impressive lineup of films in 2025, ranging from literary adaptations to supernatural thrillers. Here are the ten standout movies we'd like to recommend. Films that have captured both critical acclaim and audience attention this year.
Year: 2025
Main Stars: Documentary featuring Susan Lorincz, Ajike Owens (featured through archival footage), and Pamela Dias; Directed by Geeta Gandbhir
With an exceptional 99% critics rating and 81% audience score, this documentary has become one of Netflix's most talked-about releases. The film uses police bodycam footage to examine a neighborhood dispute in Florida that escalated into deadly violence, exposing the consequences of the state's "stand your ground" laws. Without narration or dramatic reenactments, the documentary lets the raw footage speak for itself, creating an unflinching look at systemic failures and the quiet terror embedded in American legal systems. The Perfect Neighbor demonstrates how racial tensions and unchecked grievances can turn fatal, making viewers confront uncomfortable truths about justice and accountability in America.
Year: 2025
Main Stars: Documentary featuring Gary Knight, Carl Robinson, Nguyen Thanh Nghe; Directed by Bao Nguyen
With a perfect 100% critics rating (based on 17 reviews), this documentary has emerged as one of the most critically acclaimed films of 2025. The film investigates one of the most iconic photographs of the Vietnam War—the "Napalm Girl" image showing children fleeing a napalm attack. When former Associated Press photo editor Carl Robinson reveals a secret he's carried for 52 years, acclaimed conflict photographer Gary Knight leads a two-year forensic investigation to uncover whether the photograph was wrongly attributed. The documentary uncovers not just the story behind one image, but exposes the systemic inequality faced by Vietnamese freelance photographers who worked for minimal pay during the war, their contributions largely erased from history. It's a gripping detective story with profound ethical implications about journalistic integrity, racial justice, and historical truth.
Year: 2025
Main Stars: Joel Edgerton, Felicity Jones, William H. Macy, Kerry Condon, Clifton Collins Jr.
Based on Denis Johnson's acclaimed novella, this beautifully crafted film has earned a 95% critics rating and 90% audience approval. The story follows Robert Grainier, a railroad worker and logger in early 20th-century Idaho, as he witnesses the transformation of the American West. Through personal tragedy including the loss of his wife and daughter, and the relentless march of industrial progress, the protagonist maintains his connection to a vanishing way of life. The film is a meditative exploration of solitude, resilience, and the bittersweet nature of change, brought to life with stunning cinematography that captures both the majesty and harshness of frontier life. Edgerton delivers a career-best performance in this intimate epic about finding meaning in an ordinary life.
Year: 2025
Main Stars: Arden Cho, Ahn Hyo-seop, May Hong, Ji-young Yoo, Yunjin Kim, Daniel Dae Kim, Ken Jeong, Lee Byung-hun (voices)
This wildly inventive animated film has earned an impressive 96% from critics and a near-perfect 99% audience score, making it one of the year's most beloved Netflix originals. The movie brilliantly combines the global phenomenon of Korean pop music with supernatural horror elements, creating something entirely fresh. The story follows a K-pop girl group, HUNTR/X, who lead double lives as demon hunters protecting their fans from supernatural threats while competing against a rival boy band of demons in disguise. It's a high-energy blend of spectacular musical performances, genuine thrills, and surprising emotional depth. The film became Netflix's most-watched animated original of all time, with its soundtrack achieving historic Billboard success and earning five Grammy nominations.
Year: 2025
Main Stars: Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elordi, Mia Goth, Christoph Waltz, David Bradley, Lars Mikkelsen
Guillermo del Toro's adaptation of Mary Shelley's classic has struck a chord with both critics (86%) and audiences (94%). Rather than retreading familiar ground, this version emphasizes the psychological horror and philosophical questions at the heart of Shelley's novel. Isaac plays Victor Frankenstein as a tortured, egotistical scientist with the charisma of a misunderstood artist, while Elordi brings unexpected vulnerability to the Creature. The film explores themes of creation, responsibility, fatherhood, and what it means to be human, while delivering a visually striking interpretation rendered with del Toro's signature Gothic sensibility. This is a Frankenstein adaptation that feels genuinely necessary, with stunning practical effects and emotionally resonant performances.
Year: 2025
Main Stars: Idris Elba, Rebecca Ferguson, Gabriel Basso, Jared Harris, Tracy Letts, Anthony Ramos, Moses Ingram, Jonah Hauer-King, Greta Lee, Jason Clarke
With a 75% critics rating and 77% audience score, Kathryn Bigelow's return to filmmaking delivers an intense geopolitical thriller. When a single, unattributed missile is launched toward the United States, the President and his administration have mere minutes to determine its origin and decide on a response. The film unfolds in real-time through multiple perspectives within the White House Situation Room, Pentagon, and other command centers, creating a nerve-wracking procedural that examines the machinery of crisis response. Elba anchors the ensemble as the President facing an impossible decision, while Ferguson stands out as the senior officer coordinating the response. The movie succeeds through powerful performances and Bigelow's masterful construction of unbearable tension.
Year: 2019
Main Stars: Orlando von Einsiedel (director and subject), featuring the von Einsiedel family
This deeply moving documentary has maintained its perfect 100% critics rating and strong 74% audience score since its release. Director Orlando von Einsiedel turns the camera on his own family as they embark on a walking journey across the United Kingdom, visiting landscapes that his brother Evelyn loved before taking his own life at age 22 following a schizophrenia diagnosis. Through intimate conversations during their trek, siblings come together to break a decade-long silence and process their collective trauma. What could have been an unbearably sad experience instead becomes a celebration of life, the healing power of honest communication within families, and a moving meditation on grief and remembrance.
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Year: 2025
Main Stars: Olivia Holt, Connor Swindells, Lucy Punch, Peter Serafinowicz
This holiday caper has earned a respectable 72% from critics, offering a fun twist on seasonal viewing. Set in London, the film follows Sophia (Holt), an American who moved to care for her ailing mother, and Nick (Swindells), a small-time thief with his own family struggles. Desperate for money, they team up to pull off an elaborate robbery at a posh department store on Christmas Eve. The film strikes an unusual balance for a Christmas movie, focusing more on the heist itself than traditional romance, with the two leads forming a compelling partnership driven by financial desperation rather than just holiday magic. While it doesn't reinvent the heist genre, the movie delivers entertaining thrills with festive London as a backdrop, blending tension, humor, and seasonal cheer into a refreshing take that offers something with a bit more edge for viewers seeking an alternative to traditional Christmas fare.
Year: 2025
Main Stars: Minka Kelly, Tom Wozniczka, Thibault de Montalembert, Sean Amsing, Flula Borg
With a 71% critics rating and 64% audience score, this romantic comedy-drama set in the lush vineyards of France explores the messy reality of modern relationships. Sydney Price (Kelly), an ambitious American executive, travels to Paris to acquire a renowned champagne house before Christmas. Her plans are upended when she falls for Henri (Wozniczka), who turns out to be the son of the estate's owner, creating both professional complications and romantic possibilities. Shot on location at actual châteaux in the Champagne region, the film serves up stunning visuals of Paris and French countryside alongside its story of competing business interests and burgeoning romance. The film avoids easy answers, instead examining love, ambition, and the courage it takes to be honest about what you truly want when business and pleasure collide during the most romantic season of the year.
Year: 2025
Main Stars: Alexandra Breckenridge, Ryan Eggold, Tia Mowry, Madison MacIsaac, Diana Maria Riva
While still building its critical consensus, this holiday romance offers a fresh twist on seasonal storytelling. Desperate single mother Taylor (Breckenridge) needs money to send her daughter to an elite snowboarding camp, so she disguises herself as an older man using prosthetics and padding to land a seasonal job as Santa at a luxury ski resort. Complications arise when she starts falling for Matthew (Eggold), the charming resort manager who has no idea who she really is. Directed by Mike Rohl (The Princess Switch franchise) and featuring the beloved Virgin River star in a physically demanding role that required full costume transformation, the film brings a Mrs. Doubtfire-style premise to the Christmas movie genre. Early viewer reactions suggest this is warmhearted, feel-good entertainment that balances physical comedy with genuine heart, perfect for those seeking lighthearted holiday viewing with an unconventional premise.
