Each year, ranking the Oscar Best Picture nominees based on how depressing they are is a fascinating exercise, as it offers up a wide-angle view on not just the slate of films nominated, but the year as a whole. For, after a year like 2025, it’s perhaps not a shock that the 10 movies competing at the 98th Academy Awards are less genocide-heavy than years past, with many featuring messages of hope and inspiration. As if there was a collective need for projects that might be considered more uplifting, in stressful times.
Another theme also emerges: The power of art to connect and heal us all. Okay, this doesn’t apply to every movie nominated (it’s definitely a stretch for Bugonia). Yet whether it be an audience of one standing amongst the groundlings at the Globe, a father and daughter finding common ground on a film set, or a juke joint full of folks hoping to dance the night away, celebrating creative spaces was central to this collection of nominees.
It’s a nice collection of movies overall, with some sunshine to balance out the sadness. One note: While a sincere effort has been made to avoid specific plot details in describing the below, due to the nature of this ranking, there are going to be implicit spoilers about the endings of these movies. Read accordingly.
Previous Rankings: 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025
10. F1
F1 (Warner Bros.)
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The fact that F1 is a big loud fun summer sports blockbuster starring Brad Pitt doesn’t guarantee a happy ending. However… It’s a big loud fun summer sports blockbuster starring Brad Pitt, so the odds were always pretty good that Joseph Kosinski’s ode to very fast cars would pack in the positive vibes. It does end on a more muted note than expected — because for Pitt’s Sonny, it’s all about what comes next. Still, it’s without question the happiest ending of the ten.
Watch F1: The Movie now on Apple TV+ or on VOD via Apple TV and Amazon.
09. Marty Supreme
Marty Supreme (A24)
The titular Marty (Timothée Chalamet) has a dream, and boy does he go after it in this occasionally quite stressful blend of sex, crime, mayhem, and ping pong. Does Marty get everything he’s ever wanted? Absolutely not. But he does achieve real satisfaction by the movie’s conclusion, a journey that feels earned.
That said, Marty Supreme‘s spot in this ranking wildly depends on how one feels about the protagonist. This humble critic was charmed by his rapscallion nature (not just because it means I get to use the word rapscallion in print). Anecdotally, though, ol’ Marty Mauser is a character who more than a few people have reported finding pretty grating, and so if you’re watching the movie in the hopes that he might experience a grand comeuppance… Yeah, it probably belongs lower down on the list for you, in that case.
Marty Supreme is in theaters now.
08. One Battle After Another
One Battle After Another (Warner Bros.)
It’s fun to look back on Paul Thomas Anderson’s all-too-timely opus and realize just how upbeat an ending it has: While the Christmas Adventurers still lurk in the shadows of this world, the film’s main villain meets a wonderfully humiliating end, and the heroes continue to fight the good fight. The revolution will not be televised, but it will continue thanks to the next generation, and that’s the inspiring note Anderson leaves us with.
Watch One Battle After Another now on HBO Max or on VOD via Apple TV and Amazon.
07. Sentimental Value
Sentimental Value (NEON)
Joachim Trier investigates some heavy themes with his slightly meta depiction of an aging filmmaker attempting to get a new project off the ground, mental health and suicide chief among them. However, at its core Sentimental Value is about a family reconnecting, and it’s so apt that the relationship between Nora (Renate Reinsve) and her father Gustav (Stellan Skarsgård) eventually culminates in them finally collaborating on a project. Not just any project, but a movie so personal it transcends time.
Watch Sentimental Value now on VOD via Apple TV and Amazon.
