Best of 2025

The best movies of the year, voted by our audiences

More than 2,500 people have participated in our 2025 Yorck Audience Poll. All films that hat an official German release between 20.12.24-11.12.25 qualified.

We're thrilled by your large interest and are grateful to everyone who voted!

Don't miss a special episode of our podcast Yorckcast,
where we discuss the winners of our Staff ranking.

Select films will be back on the big screen at Odeon Kino from January 1!

#10
The Brutalist

”Weil er eine persönliche Geschichte mit Weltgeschichte verbindet und obwohl fiktional wie ein Biopic wirkt“ ”Beeindruckend inhaltlich. Von Erzählweise, Ästhetik, genialer Hauptdarsteller, zutiefst bewegend und wichtig in dem, wovon er erzählt. Toller Film” ”Es ist ein sehr guter Film, gutes Drehbuch, gute Regie, auf Film gedreht, gute Schauspieler, gut inszeniert und originell.”

#9
Sirât

”I've never been so shook by a movie, the storytelling, landscape, art direction, world building, everything was out of this world! Accompanied by the most haunting and beautiful soundtracks!“ ”Mutig! Setting in Parallelgesellschaft vielseitig interpretierbar. Auswahlv versehrter Darsteller so nie zuvor gesehen. Lopez wie stets meisterlich. Großartige Bilder, Sound. Filmende passt zur Atmosphäre des Films. Zwei meiner schlimmsten Schockelemente im Kino!!!” ”Außergewöhnlicher Film in vielerlei Hinsicht: Setting, Musik, Thematik, Schauspieler*innen. Einfach großartig und wirkte noch lange nach!”

#8
Flow

“So expressive, so moving, animation at its absolute finest. GenAI can suck it - this is how it's done!!“ “I'm a big animation fan, and I think this is such a unique one. We're so used to animation films where animals are given human traits in order to have an arc and a plot, and here animals behave like animals and it's their inner life that gives them an arc and a story. It's so beautiful and works so well. I also love the animation style!“ “It is a beautiful adventure movie, even more engaging considering the lack of dialogue“

#7
The Secret Agent

”Amazing visuals and love for the city/country its set in. Fantastic music throughout and hilarious too!”“Unbelievable production, pacing, intensity, and realism. Very memorable film I'm still thinking about often since I saw it.“ “Relevant, stylish and yet told in a very personal way“

#6
Sinners

“Its world building, characters, look, acting and ultimately thematic elements are the strongest and most enjoyable of the year“ ”Wonderful storytelling, it evoked exciting feeling an emotion, the music is fantastic, we need more stories like this” ”OMG a nuanced exploration of racism in music AND a vampire movie. Hands down best movie in years.”

#5
Sound of Falling

”The most unique film I saw in a while, great sound design, it stuck with me for a while and I hope it'll become part of the German film canon” ”First movie to capture and depict the experience of being a woman and a girl , so so so well.“ “Its sensibility isn't comparable to that of any other movie released this year (and Anna Von Hausswolff's "Stranger" being on the soundtrack multiple times also got me!).“

#4
Bugonia

”It had something to say. Great music. Great performances. Weird & funny.” ”I already loved the original "Save the Green Planet", but Yorgos Lanthimos managed to surprise me. One of my favourite remakes of all time.” ”Culturally relevant, brilliant acting, visually stunning, and a perfect mix of dread and humor” ”Interesting message, great acting and music, nice visuals, niche style. Saw it three times”

#3

Sentimental Value

”It might be recency bias, but I can't stop thinking about it. Everything about the movie felt lived in and real and almost voyeuristic to witness. The relationships rang true and layered. It wrecked me and somehow I can't wait to see it again just to celebrate that achievement” ”I love Joachim Trier and Renate Reinsve and the movie made feel a lot. It also made me think about my family and it gave me some reasurance. I love how Joachim Trier is able to portray complex human relationships with amazing visual, script, and acting” ”Incredible writing, directing, and acting here. So thoughtfully made and told and swept me off my feet as a film.” “I love Joachim trier's work. His characters feel very sincere and real and he has one of the best (if not the best) character development among the directors, that are currently active and a very beautiful story, that can be touching and personal for many or everyone. Renate Reinsve and Stellan Skarsgård's acting was cherry on top.“ “It's a masterpiece. Well done, the depth of the characters, the performance, the emotional atmosphere, the script. It's a dense drama but it's so well done that it really strikes a chord“

#2

Amrum

“Eine so eindrucksvoll erzählte Geschichte über die Verführungskraft einer verbrecherischen Ideologie und die Möglichkeit, sich ihrem Einfluss durch menschlichen Anstand zu entziehen.““Der Film kommt sehr leise daher, hat starke Momente, einen fantastischen Hauptdarsteller, spielt in einer Zeit, die nur aus persönlichen Bkickwinkeln und tolle Naturaufnahmen. Außerdem bin ich Fan von Fatih Akin. Ganz wunderbar alles.““Ein wunderschöner Film. Und es hat mich tief berührt, dass Hark Bohm den Film kurz vor seinem Tod noch gesehen hat.““Weil der Film so vielschichtig erzählt - und wegen der Schlusseinstellung mit Hark Bohm.“

#1

One Battle After Another

“Singularly, truly, one of the greatest films ever made. Absolutely riveting on every front, managing an unprecedented tonal range while being breathtakingly virtuosic on all areas, from the shooting to the editing, sound, music, acting. Three incredible sequences. Original filmmaking. And that's all without going into how relevant the movie is and how perfectly it captures the temperature of our current day. It's the Dr Strangelove of our time, thematically. I've never watched a film quite like this one. Truly original, groundbreaking cinema. One for the ages.““Watched it three times in theaters. Wonderful pacing, music, spirit. Great performances, unique taste to it (action meets arthouse)““The most thematically and visually rich film of the year““Speaks to the moment, superbly directed and performs, endlessly entertaining““Breathtaking cinematography, Jonny Greenwood's pulsating score, and a hilarious, intense Leonardo DiCaprio performance, despite its nearly three-hour runtime, it never bores for a single moment thanks to relentless twists and momentum““It's incredibly current, serious, funny, sweet, exciting, well shot with great acting and great music.“ “It was a real cineasmic experience to see this amazing film in 70mm, the pacing, acting and the fine mix of drama and comedy made it perfect.“ “Amazing film which I saw twice at the cinema and enjoyed even more the second time around. Paul Thomas Anderson's best film since Boogie Nights in my opinion!“ “Paul Thomas Anderson made a movie for now, that's why.“