After a few days of critics’ groups weighing in on the 2025 year in film, the American Film Institute (AFI) unveiled their list of the top ten films of 2025. Comprised of critics, industry insiders, and creatives, the AFI jury’s selections are typically considered to be one of the strongest precursors of the ultimate Best Picture top ten. Typically, at least seven films overlap between the two groups. The most significant difference is the typical exclusion of foreign language films.
The AFI eligibility rules state “Stories need not be presented in the English language if incontrovertibly American.” That means a film can originate from outside of the United States, but it must contain “significant creative and/or production elements from the United States.”
This year’s list for film includes the following titles:
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Avatar: Fire and Ash (20th Century Studios)
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Bugonia (Focus Features)
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Frankenstein (Netflix)
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Hamnet (Focus Features)
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Jay Kelly (Netflix)
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Marty Supreme (A24)
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One Battle After Another (Warner Bros.)
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Sinners (Warner Bros.)
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Train Dreams (Netflix)
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Wicked: For Good (Universal Pictures)
AFI did present a Special Award to Jafar Panahi’s It Was Just An Accident.
This year’s list for television includes the following:
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Andor (Disney+)
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Adolescence (Netflix)
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Death by Lightning (Netflix)
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The Diplomat (Netflix)
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The Lowdown (FX/Hulu)
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The Pitt (HBO Max)
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Pluribus (Apple TV)
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Severance (Apple TV)
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The Studio (Apple TV)
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Task (HBO)
The juries for film and television included Lily Gladstone, Lauren LeFranc, Patton Oswalt, and Thomas Schlamme. Film scholars Mark Harris and Leonard Maltin in addition to participants from Syracuse University, UCLA, USC, and UC Santa Cruz as well as critics Ann Hornaday, Janet Maslin, and Peter Travers also made up the panels. Finally, members of the AFI Board of Trustees served on the juries.
The AFI Awards ceremony will take place on January 9.
