AARP’s Movies for Grownups’ 17 Favorite Films of 2025

Why you should watch the enchanting ‘Frankenstein,’ profound ‘Sinners’ and poignant ‘Train Dreams’

Chris Nashawaty and Tim Appelo,

AARP

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Published December 17, 2025

a collage with scenes from the best movies of 2025

(From left) Tom Cruise, Simon Pegg and Hayley Atwell in “Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning,” Pamela Anderson in “The Naked Gun,” Michael B. Jordan and Miles Caton in “Sinners,” Adam Sandler and George Clooney in “Jay Kelly,” and Jeff Goldblum and Cynthia Erivo in “Wicked: For Good.”

AARP (Courtesy Everett Collection, 5)

That’s a wrap! Another year at the movies is fading to black, which can only mean one thing: It’s time to announce our Movies for Grownups picks for the Best Films of 2025. It was a banner year for stars and audiences over 50. And now, with the Oscar race heating up, we’re taking a moment to look back and celebrate the cinematic triumphs from the past 12 months. From dramas to comedies to documentaries, these are the 17 movies that moved us the most this year.

Brad Pitt revs up the thrills and adrenaline in “F1.”

Warner Bros./Courtesy Everett Collection

F1

The ageless Brad Pitt (well, 61, actually) shows us why he’s one of Hollywood’s last true movie stars in this high-octane thriller that takes us behind the scenes and into the cockpit of Formula 1 racing. Pitt plays a washed-out daredevil driver who’s brought in to share his hard-won behind-the-wheel wisdom with a talented but cocky young star (Damson Idris). We’ve all seen that formula play out on screen before, but Top Gun: Maverick director Joseph Kosinski, 51, gives the film a dizzying sense of adrenaline and danger.

Where to watch: F1

jacob elordi in a scene from frankenstein

Jacob Elordi brings Mary Shelley's monster to vivid life in “Frankenstein.”

Netflix/Courtesy Everett Collection

Frankenstein

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Mexico’s maestro of the macabre, Guillermo del Toro, 61, turned out to be the perfect interpreter of Mary Shelley’s timeless Gothic tale about a slightly mad scientist (Oscar Isaac) and his monstrous reanimated creation (an excellent Jacob Elordi). Del Toro had previously enchanted us with the big-screen bogeymen of Pan’s Labyrinth and The Shape of Water, but his Frankenstein feels like a deeper and darker exploration of horror. Plus, the movie is pure eye candy — you could pause any frame and hang it on a museum wall.

Where to watch: Frankenstein

jacobi jupe and paul mescal in a scene from hamnet

Jacobi Jupe and Paul Mescal duel with devastating grief in “Hamnet.”

Focus Features/Courtesy Everett Collection

Hamnet

It’s remarkable that more than 400 years after Shakespeare’s death we’re still wrestling with his life and work. Director Chloé Zhao’s intimate period drama chronicles the love story between the celebrated playwright (Paul Mescal) and his wife, Agnes (Jessie Buckley), as they welcome the birth of their son, Hamnet, only to lose him at a tragically young age. As William channels his grief through his masterpiece Hamlet, you’ll be reduced to a sobbing mess, in a good way. If there’s a more devastating movie from this year, we haven’t seen it. Plus, it’s a best-picture nominee for this year’s Movies for Grownups Awards.

Where to watch: Hamnet

rebecca ferguson in a scene from a house of dynamite

Rebecca Ferguson tracks a rogue missile headed for the U.S. in “A House of Dynamite.”

Netflix/Courtesy Everett Collection

A House of Dynamite

Kathryn Bigelow, 74, the Oscar-winning director of The Hurt Locker and Zero Dark Thirty, proves once again why she’s the master of the contemporary political thriller. This Movies for Grownups Awards best-picture nominee is a nod to such classic Cold War nail-biters as 1964’s Fail Safe, with Bigelow weaving a harrowing cautionary tale about a stray missile that’s been launched at the United States. Idris Elba, 53, is excellent as the U.S. president, but the real brains inside the war room belong to Rebecca Ferguson.

Where to watch: A House of Dynamite

riley keough and george clooney in a scene from jay kelly

Riley Keough and George Clooney reflect on life and regret in “Jay Kelly.”

Netflix/Courtesy Everett Collection

Jay Kelly

Talk about stretching for a role: George Clooney, 64, really steps out of his comfort zone to play a dashing and charismatic Hollywood movie star who travels to Europe with his devoted manager (Movies for Grownups 2025 Career Achievement Winner Adam Sandler, 59) to be feted in style. But the honor has an unintended effect, sending Clooney’s Jay spiraling into a spiritual crisis where he’s forced to take a closer look at his life and his regrets. Directed by Marriage Story’s Noah Baumbach, 56, this is a bittersweet gem about forgiving yourself and righting wrongs before it’s too late.

Where to watch: Jay Kelly

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timothee chalamet in a scene from marty supreme

Timothée Chalamet is a scheming table tennis phenom in “Marty Supreme.”

A24/Courtesy Everett Collection

Marty Supreme

It’s official: Timothée Chalamet is the best actor of his generation. If you aren’t already convinced, you will be after watching this fizzy, fast-paced film set in 1950s New York. Chalamet is sensational as an ambitious table tennis prodigy who’s out to win the world’s respect for both his talent and his sport. Gwyneth Paltrow, 53, is stunning in her first big-screen star turn in nearly seven years as the woman who can see right through Marty’s scheming, motormouth charm.

Where to watch: Marty Supreme

tom cruise in a scene from mission impossible the final reckoning

Tom Cruise hangs on for dear life in “Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning.”

Paramount Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection

Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning

Granted, it’s impossible to find a ton of surprises in the grand finale of the Mission: Impossible franchise. The president (Angela Bassett, 67) tasks agent Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise, 63) with preventing an AI menace called the Entity from causing World War III. Can he save the world one last time? Duh. The final act pays off big time, with Hunt clinging by his fingernails to the wings of a biplane. There’s even a hint of wisdom in his otherwise age-defying character.

Where to watch: Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning

chase anderson and liam neeson in a scene from the naked gun

Chase Steven Anderson and Liam Neeson investigate lots of laughs in “The Naked Gun.”

Paramount Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection

The Naked Gun

Skeptics had every right to question the wisdom of making a new Naked Gun movie without the late, great Leslie Nielsen. But Liam Neeson, 73, turns out to be the perfect man for the job as the gruff and oblivious cop Frank Drebin Jr. The plot is hardly worth describing, but the puns, sight gags and one-liners come at a fast and furious clip. Pamela Anderson, 58, turns out to be a bona fide comedy revelation as the sultry siren who’s every bit Frank’s equal in the cluelessness department. Hands down, the most pleasant surprise of 2025.

Where to watch: The Naked Gun

leonardo di caprio in a scene from one battle after another

Leonardo DiCaprio is a man on a mission in “One Battle After Another.”

Warner Bros./Courtesy Everett Collection

One Battle After Another

In this best-picture nominee in the Movies for Grownups Awards, director Paul Thomas Anderson, 55, hits the satiric bull’s-eye with this smart and shaggy screwball comedy about an off-the-grid political radical (Leonardo DiCaprio, 51) who comes out of hiding to save his kidnapped daughter (the year’s biggest discovery, 25-year-old Chase Infiniti). Anderson first burst onto the scene as the wunderkind behind 1997’s Boogie Nights. But with this cockeyed look at the bong residue of the counterculture, he proves that he’s matured into one of our most talented — and thrilling — filmmakers.

Where to watch: One Battle After Another

stellan skarsgard and renate reinsve in a scene from sentimental value

Stellan Skarsgård and Renate Reinsve work to heal their strained relationship in “Sentimental Value.”

Neon/Courtesy Everett Collection

Sentimental Value

That Scandinavian director Joachim Trier, 51, was reuniting with the breakout star of his 2021 import, The Worst Person in the World, was reason for celebration. That it’s just as dazzling as that earlier film is gravy. The luminous Renate Reinsve steals the screen as the estranged daughter of a famous Norwegian filmmaker (Stellan Skarsgård, 74) who wants to make amends by putting her in his latest movie. Sentimental Value isn’t concerned with making its characters likable, but they don’t need to be when they’re as charismatic and compelling as these two are.

Where to watch: Sentimental Value

michael b jordan as twin brothers in a scene from sinners

Michael B. Jordan plays identical twins Smoke and Stack in “Sinners.”

Warner Bros./Courtesy Everett Collection

Sinners

In the year’s least expected $350 million hit, director Ryan Coogler and star Michael B. Jordan (whose Creed and Black Panther flicks earned billions) try their hand at a vampire movie. Jordan plays two roles, twins on the run from Chicago gangsters who return to their hometown of Clarksdale, Mississippi, and open a juke joint that summons the spirits of Black musical geniuses past and future. From there, the movie seamlessly shifts into a vampire flick that doubles as a meditation on race. It’s an action film, an art film, a musical and a profound examination of Jim Crow America and the Great Migration — easy to see why it’s a Movies for Grownups Award best-picture nominee.

Where to watch: Sinners

felicity jones and joel edgerton in a scene from train dreams

Felicity Jones and Joel Edgerton try to build a family amid changing times in “Train Dreams.”

Netflix/Courtesy Everett Collection

Train Dreams

Aussie actor Joel Edgerton, 51, is quietly hypnotic in this poignant period drama based on a beloved 2011 Denis Johnson novella. The episodic story unfolds in the Pacific Northwest at the dawn of the 20th century. Edgerton plays Robert Grainier, an introspective day laborer who, in a sense, is our guide to the natural beauty of a region being shoved into modernity. It’s a wistful, introspective look at a way of life that’s quickly coming to an end. The always welcome Felicity Jones is wonderful as Grainier’s wife and fellow dreamer. Train Dreams is a moving character study that finds wonder in the smallest of details. This best-picture nominee for the Movies for Grownups Awards will remain with you long after it’s over.

Where to watch: Train Dreams

daniel craig in a scene from wake up dead man a knives out mystery

Daniel Craig returns as private investigator Benoit Blanc in “Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery.”

Netflix/Courtesy Everett Collection

Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery

Rian Johnson, 52, is making a case for being the Agatha Christie of the 21st century. The merry-prankster writer-director assembles another star-studded cast of suspects for his third cinematic whodunit featuring the Southern-dandy sleuth Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig, 57). This time around, the mystery unfolds in upstate New York, where the local fire-and-brimstone monsignor has been murdered in the Lord’s house. The cast is a who’s-who ensemble that includes the scene-stealing Josh O’Connor and the deliciously eccentric Glenn Close, 78, who won the 2024 AARP Movies for Grownups Career Achievement Award. Wake Up Dead Man is a welcome reminder that movies can be smart and fun.

Where to watch: Wake Up Dead Man

ariana grande and cynthia erivo in a scene from wicked for good

Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo conjure up some cinematic magic in “Wicked: For Good.”

Universal Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection

Wicked: For Good

Christmas arrived early this year thanks to the second (and final?) part of director Jon M. Chu’s big-screen adaptation of the Broadway musical. Every bit as infectious as its blockbuster predecessor, Wicked: For Good seems designed to be more of a showcase for Ariana Grande’s Galinda (by the way, she’s incredible!), but Cynthia Erivo makes the most of her Elphaba moments thanks to a powerhouse singing voice that gives you goose bumps. A stunning encore.

Where to watch: Wicked: For Good

promotional images from the documentaries john candy i like me pee wee as himself and sly lives

(From left) “John Candy: I Like Me,” “Pee-Wee as Himself” and “Sly Lives!” were 2025's top documentaries.

Courtesy Prime; courtesy HBO Max; Hulu/Courtesy Everett Collection

Documentaries of note

Is grouping three films together a bit of a cheat? Sure it is. But when it comes to deep-dive celebrity documentaries, 2025 may go down as the best year in recent memory. For Pee-Wee as Himself, John Candy: I Like Me and Sly Lives!, three very different but equally groundbreaking entertainment icons — Paul Reubens, John Candy and Sly Stone — were all remembered for their artistry with unflinching honesty and a feast of archival clips. In the process, they remind us of each performer’s unique genius. All of these docs are great on their own. Together, they’re an embarrassment of riches.

Where to watch: Pee-Wee as Himself, John Candy: I Like Me, Sly Lives!

About Movies for Grownups

AARP’s advocacy work includes fighting ageism in Hollywood and encouraging the entertainment industry to tap into the unique perspectives and talents that actors, writers and producers who are 50 or older bring to their work. AARP’s annual Movies for Grownups Awards, telecast on PBS, celebrates the achievements of the 50-plus community in film and television. View this year’s nominees here.

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