2025 saw the 4th annual WDYWW Fantasy Movie Game play out, with Ashley holding 2-1 record over Dylan. With the year over, let’s see how this years iteration of the game played out and who came out on top.

The Rules

The scores for each film are based on the Metacritic score. For every 1 above 60 a film gets, it gets one point. For every 1 below 60, it loses one point. If a movie isn’t released in the year, it is treated as getting a 60, and therefore 0 points.

There are also special rules to make certain points worth more or less. If a film scores above a 80, every 1 above 80 is worth two points instead of one. Meanwhile, for every 1 below 40, the loss of points is only half a point. 

Finally, there are bonus points based on the worldwide box office ranking from Box Office Mojo. The film ranked 1 for the year earns 20 points. Rank 2 earns 18 points and so on through to rank 10 earning 2 points.

Each Person selected 8 films and 2 wildcards at the start of the year and pick 3 more films and 1 wildcard in the middle of the year. 

Any negative critic scores for the wildcard entries don’t count.

Each person will also select two wildcard films from each of these four film festivals:

  • Sundance Film Festival
  • Cannes Film Festival
  • Venice Film Festival
  • Toronto International Film Festival

To be eligible, the film must not have been screened and reviewed before selection.

Whoever’s film picks net the most points wins.

Dylan’s Picks

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning

Release date: 17 May 2025

Directed by: Christopher McQuarrie
Starring: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Vanessa Kirby, Esai Morales, Pom Klementieff, Henry Czerny, Angela Bassett, Rolf Saxon

Metacritic Score: 67
Worldwide Box Office Rank: 11

Critic Points: 7
Box Office Points: 0
Total Points: 7

The Fantastic Four: First Steps

Release date: 24 July 2025

Directed by: Matt Shakman
Starring: Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Ralph Ineson, Julia Garner, Paul Walter Hauser, John Malkovich, Natasha Lyonne, Sarah Niles

Metacritic Score: 65
Worldwide Box Office Rank: 13

Critic Points: 5
Box Office Points: 0
Total Points: 5

Avatar: Fire and Ash

Release date: 18 December 2025

Directed by: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Joel David Moore, CCH Pounder, Giovanni Ribisi, David Thewlis, Oona Chaplin

Metacritic Score: 61
Worldwide Box Office Rank: 6

Critic Points: 1
Box Office Points: 10
Total Points: 11

Wicked: For Good

Release date: 20 November 2025

Directed by: Jon M. Chu
Starring: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Bowen Yang, Marissa Bode, Peter Dinklage, Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum

Metacritic Score: 58
Worldwide Box Office Rank: 12

Critic Points: -2
Box Office Points: 0
Total Points: 36

Elio

Release date: 19 June 2025

Directed by: Domee Shi, Madeline Sharafian
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Jameela Jamil, Brad Garrett, Zoe Saldaña, Remy Edgerly, Shirley Henderson

Metacritic Score: 66
Worldwide Box Office Rank: 32

Critic Points: 6
Box Office Points: 0
Total Points: 6

F1

Release date: 26 June 2025

Directed by: Joseph Kosinski
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Tobias Menzies, Javier Bardem, Sarah Niles

Metacritic Score: 68
Worldwide Box Office Rank: 9

Critic Points: 8
Box Office Points: 4
Total Points: 12

Zootopia 2

Release date: 27 November 2025

Directed by: Jared Bush, Byron Howard
Starring: Ginnifer Goodwin,  Jason Bateman, Ke Huy Quan, Fortune Feimster, Shakira

Metacritic Score: 73
Worldwide Box Office Rank: 2

Critic Points: 13
Box Office Points: 18
Total Points: 31

Weapons

Release date: 7 August 2025

Directed by:Zach Cregger
Starring: Josh Brolin, Julia Garner, Alden Ehrenreich, Austin Abrams, Cary Christopher, Toby Huss, Benedict Wong, Amy Madigan

Metacritic Score: 81
Worldwide Box Office Rank: 22

Critic Points: 22
Box Office Points: 0
Total Points: 22

The Running Man

Release date: 13 November 2025

Directed by: Edgar Wright
Starring: Glen Powell, William H. Macy, Lee Pace, Michael Cera, Emilia Jones, Daniel Ezra, Jayme Lawson, Sean Hayes, Colman Domingo, Josh Brolin

Metacritic Score: 56
Worldwide Box Office Rank: 61

Critic Points: -4
Box Office Points: 0
Total Points: -4

Tron: Ares

Release date: 9 October 2025

Directed by:Fede Álvarez
Starring: Jared Leto, Greta Lee, Evan Peters, Jodie Turner-Smith, Hasan Minhaj, Arturo Castro, Gillian Anderson, Jeff Bridges

Metacritic Score: 48
Worldwide Box Office Rank: 37

Critic Points: -12
Box Office Points: 0
Total Points: -12

Predator: Badlands

Release date: 6 November 2025

Directed by: Dan Trachtenberg
Starring: Elle Fanning, Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi

Metacritic Score: 71
Worldwide Box Office Rank: 28

Critic Points: 11
Box Office Points: 0
Total Points: 11

Dylan’s General Wildcards

Jurassic World Rebirth

Release date: 3 July 2025

Directed by: Gareth Edwards
Starring: Scarlett Johansson, Mahershala Ali, Jonathan Bailey, Rupert Friend, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Luna Blaise, David Iacono, Ed Skrein

Metacritic Score: 50
Worldwide Box Office Rank: 5

Critic Points: 0
Box Office Points: 12
Total Points: 12

The Bride!

Release date: 5 March 2025

Directed by: Maggie Gyllenhaal
Starring: Jessie Buckley, Christian Bale, Penélope Cruz, Peter Sarsgaard, Annette Bening

Metacritic Score: N/A
Worldwide Box Office Rank: N/A

Critic Points: 0
Box Office Points: 0
Total Points: 0

Anaconda

Release date: 26 December 2025

Directed by: Tom Gormican
Starring: Paul Rudd, Jack Black, Steve Zahn, Thandiwe Newton, Daniela Melchior, Selton Mello

Metacritic Score: 44
Worldwide Box Office Rank: 45

Critic Points: 0
Box Office Points: 0
Total Points: 0

Dylan’s Sundance Wildcards

Together

Release date: 31 July 2025

Directed by: Michael Shanks
Starring:  Dave Franco, Alison Brie

Metacritic Score: 76
Worldwide Box Office Rank: 95

Critic Points: 16
Box Office Points: 0
Total Points: 16

The Alabama Solution

Release date: 10 October 2025

Directed by: Andrew Jarecki, Charlotte Kaufman
Starring: Robert Earl Council, Melvin Ray

Metacritic Score:90
Worldwide Box Office Rank: N/A

Critic Points: 40
Box Office Points: 0
Total Points: 40

Dylan’s Cannes Wildcards

Nouvelle Vague

Release date: 8 January 2025

Directed by: Richard Linklater
Starring: Guillaume Marbeck, Zoey Deutch, Aubry Dullin

RT Critic Average Rating: 76
Worldwide Box Office Rank: N/A

Critic Points: 16
Box Office Points: 0
Total Points: 16

Die, My Love

Release date: 6 November 2025

Directed by: Lynne Ramsay
Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Robert Pattinson, LaKeith Stanfield, Nick Nolte, Sissy Spacek

Metacritic Score: 72
Worldwide Box Office Rank: 169

Critic Points: 12
Box Office Points: 0
Total Points: 12

Dylan’s Venice Wildcards

Frankenstein

Release date: 12 October 2025

Directed by: Guillermo del Toro
Starring: Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elordi, Mia Goth, Christoph Waltz

Metacritic Score: 78
Worldwide Box Office Rank: N/A

Critic Points: 18
Box Office Points: 0
Total Points: 18

No Other Choice

Release date: 15 January 2026

Directed by: Park Chan-wook
Starring: Lee Byung-hun, Son Ye-jin, Park Hee-soon, Lee Sung-min, Yeom Hye-ran, Cha Seung-won.

Metacritic Score: 87
Worldwide Box Office Rank: 96

Critic Points: 34
Box Office Points: 0
Total Points: 34

Dylan’s Toronto Wildcards

Eternity

Release date: 4 December 2025

Directed by:David Freyne
Starring: Elizabeth Olsen, Miles Teller, Callum Turner

RT Critic Average Rating: 58
Worldwide Box Office Rank: 87

Critic Points: 0
Box Office Points: 0
Total Points: 0

Dust Bunny

Release date: TBD

Directed by: Bryan Fuller
Starring: Mads Mikkelsen, Sophie Sloan, Sheila Atim, David Dastmalchian, Sigourney Weaver

Metacritic Score: 73
Worldwide Box Office Rank: N/A

Critic Points: 13
Box Office Points: 0
Total Points: 13

Ashley’s Picks

Superman

Release date: 10 July 2025

Directed by: James Gunn
Starring: David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, Nicholas Hoult, Edi Gathegi, Anthony Carrigan, Nathan Fillion, Isabela Merced, Skyler Gisondo

Metacritic Score: 68
Worldwide Box Office Rank: 10

Critic Points: 8
Box Office Points: 2
Total Points: 10

Mickey 17

Release date: 17 April 2025

Directed by: Bong Joon-ho
Starring: Robert Pattinson, Steven Yeun, Naomi Ackie, Toni Collette, Mark Ruffalo

Metacritic Score: 72
Worldwide Box Office Rank: 41

Critic Points: 12
Box Office Points: 0
Total Points: 12

Thunderbolts*

Release date: 1 May 2025

Directed by: Jake Schreier
Starring: Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan, David Harbour, Wyatt Russell, Olga Kurylenko, Lewis Pullman, Geraldine Viswanathan, Chris Bauer, Wendell Edward Pierce, Hannah John-Kamen, Julia Louis-Dreyfus

Metacritic Score: 68
Worldwide Box Office Rank: 18

Critic Points: 8
Box Office Points: 0
Total Points: 8

underbolts

Lilo & Stitch

Release date: 22 May 2025

Directed by: Dean Fleischer Camp
Starring: Chris Sanders, Sydney Agudong, Zach Galifianakis, Billy Magnussen, Hannah Waddingham, Courtney B. Vance, Tia Carrere, Amy Hill, Jason Scott Lee

Metacritic Score: 53
Worldwide Box Office Rank: 3

Critic Points: -7
Box Office Points: 16
Total Points: 9

Sinners

Release date:17 April 2025

Directed by: Ryan Coogler
Starring: Michael B. Jordan, Hailee Steinfeld, Jack O’Connell, Wunmi Mosaku, Jayme Lawson, Omar Benson Miller, Delroy Lindo

Metacritic Score: 84
Worldwide Box Office Rank: 19

Critic Points: 28
Box Office Points: 0
Total Points: 28

One Battle After Another

Release date: 25 September 2025

Directed by: Paul Thomas Anderson
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Regina Hall, Sean Penn, Alana Haim, Teyana Taylor, Wood Harris, Benicio del Toro

Metacritic Score: 95
Worldwide Box Office Rank: 23

Critic Points: 50
Box Office Points: 0
Total Points: 50

Ballerina

Release date: 5 June 2025

Directed by: Len Wiseman
Starring: Ana de Armas, Anjelica Huston, Gabriel Byrne, Lance Reddick, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Norman Reedus, Ian McShane, Keanu Reeves

Metacritic Score: 59
Worldwide Box Office Rank: 39

Critic Points: -1
Box Office Points: 0
Total Points: -1

 

Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery

Release date: 27 November 2025

Directed by: Rian Johnson
Starring: Daniel Craig, Josh O’Connor, Glenn Close, Josh Brolin, Mila Kunis, Jeremy Renner, Kerry Washington, Andrew Scott, Cailee Spaeny, Daryl McCormack, Thomas Haden Church

Metacritic Score: 80
Worldwide Box Office Rank: N/A

Critic Points: 20
Box Office Points: 0
Total Points: 20

A Big Bold Beautiful Journey

Release date: 18 September 2025

Directed by: Kogonada
Starring:  Margot Robbie, Colin Farrell, Kevin Kline, Phoebe Waller-Bridge.

Metacritic Score: 43
Worldwide Box Office Rank: 112

Critic Points: -17
Box Office Points: 0
Total Points: -17

The Smashing Machine

Release date: 2 October 2025

Directed by: Benny Safdie
Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt, Ryan Bader, Bas Rutten, Oleksandr Usyk

Metacritic Score: 65
Worldwide Box Office Rank: 117

Critic Points: 5
Box Office Points: 0
Total Points: 5

Black Phone 2

Release date: 16 October 2025

Directed by: Scott Derrickson
Starring: Mason Thames, Madeleine McGraw, Jeremy Davies, Ethan Hawke

Metacritic Score: 61
Worldwide Box Office Rank: 42

Critic Points: 1
Box Office Points: 0
Total Points: 1

Ashley’s General Wildcards

A Minecraft Movie

Release date: 3 April 2025

Directed by: Jared Hess
Starring: Jason Momoa, Jack Black, Emma Myers, Danielle Brooks, Sebastian Hansen, Jennifer Coolidge

Metacritic Score: 45
Worldwide Box Office Rank: 4

Critic Points: 0
Box Office Points: 14
Total Points: 14

M3GAN 2.0

Release date: 26 June 2025

Directed by: Gerard Johnstone
Starring: Allison Williams, Violet McGraw, Ivanna Sakhno, Jemaine Clement, Amie Donald, Jenna Davis

RT Critic Average Rating: 54
Worldwide Box Office Rank: 82

Critic Points: 0
Box Office Points: 0
Total Points: 0

The Long Walk

Release date: 11 September 2024

Directed by: Francis Lawrence
Starring: Cooper Hoffman, David Jonsson, Garrett Wareing, Tut Nyuot, Charlie Plummer, Ben Wang, Roman Griffin Davis, Josh Hamilton, Judy Greer, Mark Hamill

Metacritic Score: 71
Worldwide Box Office Rank: 63

Critic Points: 11
Box Office Points: 0
Total Points: 11

Ashley’s Sundance Wildcards

The Wedding Banquet

Release date: 8 May 2025

Directed by: Andrew Ahn
Starring: Bowen Yang, Lily Gladstone, Kelly Marie Tran, Han Gi-chan, Joan Chen, Youn Yuh-jung.

Metacritic Score: 68
Worldwide Box Office Rank: N/A

Critic Points: 8
Box Office Points: 0
Total Points: 8

 

Opus

Release date: 27 August 2025

Directed by: Mark Anthony Green
Starring: Ayo Edebiri, John Malkovich, Juliette Lewis, Murray Bartlett, Amber Midthunder, Tatanka Means, Young Mazino, Stephanie Suganami, Tamera Tomakili, Tony Hale

Metacritic Score: 42
Worldwide Box Office Rank: N/A

Critic Points: 0
Box Office Points: 0
Total Points: 0

Ashley’s Cannes Wildcards

Sentimental Value

Release date: 25 December 2025

Directed by: Joachim Trier
Starring: Renate Reinsve, Stellan Skarsgård, Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, Elle Fanning

Metacritic Score: 86
Worldwide Box Office Rank: 137

Critic Points: 32
Box Office Points: 0
Total Points: 32

 

The Phoenician Scheme

Release date: 28 May 2025

Directed by: Wes Anderson
Starring: Benicio del Toro, Mia Threapleton, Michael Cera, Riz Ahmed, Tom Hanks, Bryan Cranston, Mathieu Amalric, Richard Ayoade, Jeffrey Wright, Scarlett Johansson, Benedict Cumberbatch, Rupert Friend, Hope Davis, F. Murray Abraham, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Willem Dafoe, Bill Murray

Metacritic Score: 70
Worldwide Box Office Rank: 84

Critic Points: 10
Box Office Points: 0
Total Points: 10

Ashley’s Venice Wildcards

Jay Kelly

Release date: 20 November 2025

Directed by: Noah Baumbach
Starring: George Clooney, Adam Sandler, Laura Dern, Billy Crudup

Metacritic Score: 67
Worldwide Box Office Rank: N/A

Critic Points: 7
Box Office Points: 0
Total Points: 7

 

Bugonia

Release date: 30 January 2025

Directed by: Pablo Larraín
Starring: Angelina Jolie, Pierfrancesco Favino, Alba Rohrwacher, Haluk Bilginer, Stephen Ashfield, Valeria Golino, Kodi Smit-McPhee

Metacritic Score: 72
Worldwide Box Office Rank: 79

Critic Points: 12
Box Office Points: 0
Total Points: 12

Ashley’s Toronto Wildcards

John Candy: I Like Me

Release date: 10 October 2025

Directed by: Colin Hanks
Starring: Andrew Alexander, Dan Aykroyd, Mel Brooks, Chris Columbus, Macaulay Culkin, Robin Duke, Tom Hanks, Don Lake, Eugene Levy, Andrea Martin, Steve Martin, Bill Murray, Conan O’Brien, Catherine O’Hara, Kelvin Pruenster, Martin Short, Dave Thomas

Metacritic Score: 69
Worldwide Box Office Rank: N/A

Critic Points: 9
Box Office Points: 0
Total Points: 9

 

Roofman

Release date: 16 October 2025

Directed by: Derek Cianfrance
Starring: Channing Tatum, Kirsten Dunst, LaKeith Stanfield, Juno Temple, and Peter Dinklage, with Ben Mendelsohn, Uzo Aduba,  Jimmy O. Yang

Metacritic Score: 66
Worldwide Box Office Rank: 89

Critic Points: 6
Box Office Points: 0
Total Points: 6

FINAL SCORES

DYLAN: 248

ASHLEY: 234

Dylan wins his 2nd WDYWW Fantasy Movie Game by the slimmest margin yet and in the highest-scoring edition of the game so far. Interestingly, if we were to go off the score just from the films picked at the start of the year, Ashley would have won 150-93 on the back of the highest-scoring pick of the year in One Battle After Another, as well as high scoring films Wake Up Dead Man and Sinners. Of Dylan’s initial selections, only Zootopia 2 earned more than 20 points, although he did have a slight handicap with the delay of The Bride to 2026.

It was Dylan’s choices among the Festival Wildcard pick which won him the game, out scoring Ashley 149-84, with No Other Choice and The Alabama Solution scoring highly. Ashley only had Sentimental Value scoring over 20, and only three of his picks scoring above 10, compared to Dylan having 7 out of 8 scoring about a 10. The mid-years selections saw little movement with Ashley’s selection of A Big Bold Beautiful Journey and Dylan’s picks of The Running Man and Tron: Ares cancelling out any gains leading to a result of 6-0 for Dylan.

Of the 110 box office points available, Dylan lead 44-32 with 7 of the top 10 grossing films of the year worldwide selected among the pair.

Here’s hoping the 2026 WDYWW Fantasy Movie Game is just as close a contest.

Check out our 2026 WDYWW Fantasy Movie Game Draft & 2025 Results episode here: