The 10 Best Movie Scenes Of 2025 (So Far)

Howard Hawks, the director of Golden Age Hollywood classics such as "Bringing Up Baby," "The Big Sleep,", and "His Girl Friday," was known for saying that if a movie had between three and five good scenes and no bad or annoying ones, it was a success. Individual standout sequences — gripping openings, cathartic endings, showcases for fights and songs and jokes — can make a movie stick in our memories and our hearts. Even a flawed film can redeem itself for the length of a great scene, and a good film can cross over into classic territory on the strength of its finest moments.

We're shining a spotlight on the standout scenes that took their respective 2025 films to the next level. Naturally, this list will involve discussing spoilers for every film listed, so approach with caution. We're only discussing scenes from movies that have been commercially released in the United States so far this year — though, thankfully, we've been treated to plenty of fantastic films already in 2025. With new films from the likes of Spike Lee, Paul Thomas Anderson, and Ryan Coogler, as well as some entertaining blockbusters and surprising streaming hits, there's been no shortage of great scenes this year. Here are the top ten.

Has there even been a more thrilling aspect ratio change than when the IMAX screen opens up in the middle of Sammie's (Miles Caton) performance of "I Lied to You" in "Sinners," Ryan Coogler's slick vampire flick? The "Black Panther" director blends southern gothic horror with cultural commentary to great effect here, and there are several memorable scenes in the film, but this one tops the lot. We're already enjoying the song as it's basically Sammie's defiant message to his blues-hating preacher father (Saul Williams), but now it's about to become something transcendent.

One of the big narrative conceits of "Sinners" is that especially gifted musicians are capable of summoning the spirits of ancestors and descendants. Sammie's performance achieves this, summoning ancient African musicians, a hip-hop DJ, and a George Clinton-style electric guitarist to accompany him as he figuratively burns down the house. The juke joint audience dances joyously alongside masked tribespeople, twerkers, Crip Walkers, a ballerina, and, for Grace (Li Jun Li) and Bo Chow (Yao), Chinese opera performers.

The scene gives the vampires going after the juke joint an understandable if not sympathetic motivation — of course, cursed souls cut off from seeing their ancestors in the afterlife would be desperate to experience this magic (the vampires' step-dancing scene plays as this one's evil twin). It also gives the film's composer, the Swedish musician Ludwig Göransson (who previously collaborated with Coogler on "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever"), the perfect in-universe excuse to score the ensuing vampire attacks with electric guitars.

Director Mike Flanagan made his name as a purveyor of horror with films like "Gerald's Game" and "Doctor Sleep," as well as his hit Netflix series "The Haunting of Hill House." His latest film, the genre-blending "The Life of Chuck," proves that he's got a lot more in his arsenal than creeping dread and jump scares. The film (which won the coveted people's choice award at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival before coming to theaters in June 2025) consists of three acts shown in reverse chronological order. "Act Three: Thanks, Chuck" is shown first. This is a bleak science fiction-tinged apocalyptic tragedy. "Act One: I Contain Multitudes" is shown last. This one is a sweetly sentimental coming-of-age drama. "Act Two: Buskers Forever" is the briefest act. This is more of a lengthy scene than a full "act" like the other two, but it's key to the film's cathartic balance of light and dark, and it's masterfully put together.

The scene takes place nine months before Charles "Chuck" Krantz (played by Tom Hiddleston here and by various child actors in other scenes) is going to die. Street drummer Taylor Franck (Taylor Gordon) isn't expecting a buttoned-up businessman to stop for her and show off his moves, but, inspired by memories the audience will see in full later in the film, Chuck decides to dance... and he's amazing at it. A whole crowd gathers to watch him, and he invites Janice (Annalise Basso), a woman in the crowd, to join him in the festivities. Choreographed by Mandy Moore of "La La Land" fame, the sequence is a blast of pure joy and entertainment, a poignant burst of life in the face of death. It's the best scene in the film and without a doubt one of the best scenes of 2025 so far.

As the first feature film in his newly established DC Universe, a lot was riding on James Gunn's "Superman." Luckily for viewers and Warner Bros. executives alike, Gunn proved once again that he's a safe pair of hands when it comes to superhero properties. The "Guardians of the Galaxy" director delivered a Man of Steel film that's both fun and substantial at the same time, giving DC fans the Superman they deserve. But what's the best scene in the movie?

"Superman" is filled with high-flying, super-powered action, so it's all the more striking that its best scene is one with no special effects — just an especially intense conversation brought to life by two great actors. We're talking about the scene where Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan) interviews Superman (David Corenswet) while he's out of costume as Clark Kent. The interview tests both the Man of Steel's temper and his ability to keep his personal relationship to his interviewer off the record.

Lois asks tough questions about Superman's decision to intervene in the war between Boravia and Jarhanpur. Her points about the risks of messing in global politics as an individual are completely reasonable, but the same is also true of Superman's humanitarian empathy for the Jarhanpurians and his desire to use his powers for good where the United States government has failed. It's a difficult conversation between two people who love each other but are unleashing their frustrations with one another. As viewers, we can see both sides of the argument, and that's what makes the scene so compelling.

We've already had a couple of song and dance sequences on this list, and any of the big musical action scenes from Netflix's hit animated movie "KPop Demon Hunters" would also be reasonable to include here. The main draw here is the joy of seeing the girls from the group HUNTR/X (who live double lives as musicians and demon hunters) literally slay to bouncing K-pop tunes. However, the other big key to how "KPop Demon Hunters" become Netflix's most-watched movie ever is its sense of humor, and how much of that humor is delivered through incredibly expressive animation. As such, we're choosing to highlight the visual gag that made us laugh the most.

We're talking about the scene where the HUNTR/X girls first see the Saja Boys, and Zoey has a particularly intense reaction. First her eyes turn into hearts. Glancing at the glistening abs of Abby Saja, the heart eyes turn into abs, which multiply into corncobs. As a button pops off Abby's shirt, Zoey's corn-eyes get buttered, and as Abby's shirt opens up entirely, the corn-eyes turn into a leaking stream of popcorn tears, which Mira starts snacking on while hiding her own popcorn-ing eyes behind glasses. It's only a 20-second gag (with a fitting callback later in the film's climax), yet it's the moment that sticks out for the sheer commitment to the bit.

The funniest movie of 2025 so far, Akiva Schaffer's new version of "The Naked Gun" reaches peak insanity in the love montage between Frank Drebin Jr. (Liam Neeson) and Beth Davenport (Pamela Anderson). Set to "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" by Starship, it first appears to be a straightforward parallel of the "I'm Into Something Good" montage from the 1988 original before quickly turning into its own crazy thing once the couple takes out a book of spells to magically bring a snowman to life.

A dark magic Frosty the Snowman joke would be funny enough. Bringing the snowman into the bedroom to undress together and eat its hands, only to leave it romantically rejected and jealous of their hot-tub, is extra funny. The snowman chasing the couple with a gun and attempting to kill Frank by stealing his inhaler during an asthma attack until Beth decapitates it with a sword? That's just the icing on the cake.

Like Jordan Peele before him, Zach Cregger has gone from a sketch comedian to an A-list horror director, bursting onto the scene with "Barbarian" in 2022 before cementing his position as a new master of the macabre with 2025's "Weapons," a gruesome and unsettling crowdpleaser. The comedy-to-horror pipeline works so well because the line between funny and scary is often very thin while playing in the realm of the absurd. "Weapons" embraces that gray area between tones gleefully, most memorably in its climax.

You might laugh at the somewhat ridiculous image of a classroom of children, turned into "weapons" by the evil witch Gladys (Amy Madigan), chasing their former victimizer through the suburbs and eating her alive. Alternatively, you might scream in terror, or be disturbed and disgusted by all the gore, or even feel a little sad thinking about how this act of vengeance still can't get back all that was taken from these kids. However you respond, you're going to get some sort of catharsis out of the conclusion. It's the pièce de résistance, finishing off the eerie, mysterious film with a set piece that feels like something out of a Brothers Grimm fairy tale.

Spiker Lee's "Highest 2 Lowest" (which is a loose remake of Akira Kurosawa's "High and Low," one of his best films) is a bit inconsistent, but this New York-set crime thriller about a record company founder whose family is targeted by kidnappers does contain several stand-out scenes. The film's central suspense sequence, in which music mogul David King (Denzel Washington) takes the subway from Borough Hall to Yankee Stadium to pay the ransom on his driver's son (who has been mistakenly snatched instead of his own son), is so much fun that it singlehandedly justifies Lee's decision to do this remake in the first place.

The train ransom scene in Kurosawa's "High and Low" is a masterclass of tension, but Lee's remix keeps the intensity while upping the ante of sheer chaos. To cause maximum trouble, the kidnapper arranges for the exchange to take place on a day when the Yankees are playing the Red Sox and when the Puerto Rican Day Parade is blocking the streets, giving his men cover to hide from the cops above ground. The Puerto Rican Day Parade salsa orchestra performance led by Eddie Palmieri, who sadly died shortly before the film's release, is a joyous, energetic accompaniment to the action.

Due to all those online leaks that got the film pulled from the Sundance Film Festival's online selection, more people have probably seen the sex scene between Rocky (Dylan O'Brien) and Dennis (writer-director James Sweeney) in "Twinless" than have seen the full movie. That's a real shame, because this scene is even better in context — it hits differently when the truth about Dennis is revealed.

"Twinless" starts from the perspective of Roman (also Dylan O'Brien), a heterosexual himbo mourning his dead gay identical twin brother Rocky. He meets Dennis at a twin bereavement support group. 20 minutes in, the film goes back in time to show what Dennis was up to before meeting Roman. It's here we find out about his steamy hook-up with Rocky and get our first hints that Dennis isn't actually a twin at all but rather someone who fetishizes the idea of twins.

At first, "Twinless" seems like the kind of sweet and insightful dramedy that Sundance attendees often eat up. Before long, however, the film reveals itself to be something a lot darker, and the twists only get wilder from there. It may not be among the best psychological thrillers in movie history, but it's certainly the best psychological thriller of 2025 so far, and the elements of dark comedy thrown in only make it more absorbing.

"One Battle After Another" features one great scene after another. As such, picking out the best part of Paul Thomas Anderson's latest and arguably greatest movie is subjective and will depend on what aspect of the film you wish to highlight the most: the action, the humor, the political commentary, the father-daughter drama. There's no wrong answer. The film really does deserve all the plaudits it's getting because rarely is a modern Hollywood movie pretty much perfect from start to finish. By the time we reach the finale we're utterly glued to the screen, which is why we've chosen the film's climactic car chase as the best of the bunch

In this unforgettable scene, Willa Ferguson (Chase Infiniti) makes her escape from the white supremacist Tim Smith (John Hoogenakker) while her hapless dad Bob (Leonardo DiCaprio) makes his way to reunite with her. That high-speed first person VistaVision perspective shot going over the rolling hills is a serious contender for the best single shot of the year — on a large format screen, it feels like you're right there in the chase, which is no doubt what Anderson and cinematographer Michael Bauman intended.

Not only does this scene look great, it's also clever. Car chases have been done to death on the big screen, but the way in which Willa defeats Smith — stopping her car in a blind spot atop the hill and causing his car to crash — is creative and awesome. The immediate aftermath of the chase, where she shoots Smith after he fails to give the French 75's countersign before having an emotional reunion with her father, shows that this 16-year-old girl is ready to continue the far-left revolution that her parents dedicated their lives to.

As a film about depression in the aftermath of a sexual assault, "Sorry, Baby" is a difficult watch at times, and it's supposed to be. That won't come as much of a surprise to anyone who has read the synopsis — it's the story of someone trying to put their life back together after being sexually assaulted by a literature professor. However, what did surprise several viewers is that it's actually sort of a comedy. Somehow, first-time writer-director Eva Victor pulls off this complicated balancing act with a movie that's sad and honest yet also darkly funny without turning offensive.

The most memorable scene comes when the main character, Agnes (played by Eva Victor), is meeting with the college's administrators. Because the professor who assaulted Agnes has already been put on leave, the college is left unable to investigate or take any action against him, but amidst this bureaucratic nightmare, the administrators keep trying to assure Agnes of their empathy by repeating the phrase, "We are women." Agnes is understandably baffled by these comically empty platitudes. A later scene revealing that Agnes doesn't wholly identify as a woman makes the awkward moment even more darkly humorous in retrospect.

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).