Netflix placed four films among a critic’s favorite 2025 movies, underscoring streaming’s rising cinematic clout.
Standout Netflix titles include Frankenstein, Jay Kelly and Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery.
2025 movies showed strong variety: streaming dramas, franchise blockbusters and awards-season contenders.

Netflix narrows the gap with theatrical releases

As critics compiled their favorite 2025 movies, Netflix emerged as a major winner. The streaming giant landed four films on one notable year-end list, demonstrating that streaming platforms are increasingly producing cinematic, awards-worthy work that competes with traditional theatrical releases.

Which Netflix films made the list

Three Netflix titles stood out in the roundup: Frankenstein, Jay Kelly and Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery. Each reflects a different ambition from the streamer — a literary adaptation, a star-driven dramedy and a blockbuster-style whodunit.

Frankenstein, adapted by Guillermo del Toro and featuring Oscar Isaac, drew praise for its poetic, tragic approach to Mary Shelley’s novel. Jay Kelly paired George Clooney and Adam Sandler under Noah Baumbach’s direction, blending humor and melancholy in a bro-dramedy that critics found alternately funny and thoughtful. Rian Johnson’s return to Benoit Blanc in Wake Up Dead Man brought a familiar detective energy that appealed to fans of the franchise.

Streaming joins a diverse 2025 movie landscape

While Netflix enjoyed prominent placement, the list also reflected a broad year for cinema. Early highlights included Stephen Soderbergh’s Black Bag and Ryan Coogler’s Sinners, which became both a critical darling and cultural conversation piece. The summer delivered franchise fare — from Mission: Impossible’s conclusion to Superman’s reboot — while fall and the holidays yielded awards hopefuls like Hamnet and Marty Supreme.

Other critical favorites named in the roundup included Chloé Zhao’s Hamnet, Disney’s Zootopia 2, Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another, and F1 — a craftsmanship-heavy racing drama. The variety showed that 2025 movies offered something for mainstream audiences and cinephiles alike.

What this means for 2026

Industry observers say Netflix’s strong year signals a shift: streamers will continue to invest in star talent and auteur-driven projects, and may play a larger role in awards-season conversations. Netflix’s reported interest in buying Warner Bros. Discovery assets also hints at consolidation that could reshape how big films are financed and distributed.

For moviegoers, 2025 proved rewarding. Whether a film streamed in a living room or premiered on a big screen, critics found memorable performances and ambitious filmmaking across the board — and streamers like Netflix were squarely part of the conversation.

Image Referance: https://www.beaconjournal.com/story/entertainment/movies/2025/12/26/best-movies-2025-streaming-makes-inroads/87723362007/