Announcing the Top 20 Movies That Got People Talking on note in the First Half of 2025!

We've entered the second half of July, and the heat is gradually becoming more intense. On days when you don't want to go outside, it's nice to stay indoors and watch movies while cooling off.

Now, many movies were released in the first half of 2025, but were there any that left a lasting impression on you? This past March, we asked you to share your #MovieReviews.

We have finished tallying the results, and the top 20 movies that got people talking on note in the first half of the year have been decided. The movie ranking created by everyone is finally here!

2025 First Half Movie Ranking Top 20

Taking the number one spot for the first half of the year was "National Treasure", which is currently in theaters. Although it was only released in June, giving it a short period to be counted, the number of articles about it continued to grow at a rapid pace, vaulting it to the top. In second place was "1ST KISS", which also had a long run in theaters. Coming in third is "Wicked", which won the Academy Awards for Best Costume Design and Best Production Design.

There are many masterpieces from fourth place onwards, but did the movies you watched or your favorite films make the list?

From here on, we will introduce the works from first to fifth place along with your movie reviews.

1st Place: "National Treasure"

A grand biography depicting the life of the protagonist, Kikuo, who was born into a family of chivalrous outlaws and threw himself into the world of Kabuki, dedicating his life to mastering the art. The original work is a novel by Shuichi Yoshida, and the passionate performances by Ryo Yoshizawa and Ryusei Yokohama became a hot topic.

On note, there have been many voices praising their acting. There were also many articles discussing and analyzing the theme of "lineage and talent" as well as the women who supported them.

2nd Place: "1ST KISS"

Married for 15 years. After her husband, whom she was supposed to divorce, dies in an accident, Kanna unexpectedly gains the ability to travel back in time. Reunited with her younger husband, she falls in love with him again and struggles to change their fate—.

It is a love story with a screenplay by Yuji Sakamoto, and it seems many people were thrilled by the cute interactions between the leads, Takako Matsu and Hokuto Matsumura. Reviews were also submitted comparing it to past Yuji Sakamoto works like "We Made a Beautiful Bouquet."

3rd Place: "Wicked"

A film adaptation of the Broadway musical that was a massive hit around the world. It is a prequel to "The Wizard of Oz," depicting the student days when Elphaba, who would later become the Wicked Witch of the West, and Glinda, the Good Witch, fostered their friendship.

In addition to reviews that empathized with the pain of Elphaba, who had green skin and lived in loneliness, there were many that touched upon analyses connecting it to real-world society and the brilliance of the songs sung by Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande.

4th Place: "Conclave"

A mystery focusing on the behind-the-scenes of the "conclave" to decide the new Pope after the death of the supreme leader of the Catholic Church. Set in the Vatican, where power and conspiracy swirl, it thrillingly depicts the maneuvering and secrets revealed by the cardinals.

There was news of the Pope's passing while the movie was in theaters, so many people likely headed to the cinema after seeing that news. On note, posts were made expressing admiration for the clever plot development and providing explanations to deepen understanding of the work.

5th Place: "Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX -Beginning-"

The latest installment in the "Mobile Suit Gundam" series, which was released as a theatrical version by editing several episodes ahead of its television broadcast starting in April. It is a story about Machu, a high school girl living in a "space colony" floating in space, who meets a refugee girl named Nyann and gets caught up in "Clan Battles," illegal gambling matches using mobile suits.

After its release, many spoiler-filled analysis articles were posted by Gundam fans who were shocked by the content.

That concludes our introduction of the works from 1st to 5th place.Thisarticle contains more detailed analysis, so please take a look if you are interested.

We could feel the high level of passion in every review submitted this time, and it was clear that you are not only enjoying watching movies but also engaging with the works again by talking about them, thereby enjoying the films repeatedly.

Thank you to everyone who posted a movie review!

We will also be accepting submissions for "#MovieReview" for the second half of 2025!

At the end of the year, we plan to announce the full-year ranking for 2025. As with this time, posts that include both "#MovieReview" and a hashtag of the work's title" will be counted, so please don't forget to include both.

When writing a review, we also recommend using the following features.

If you want to touch on the core of the story but are worried about whether it is okay to post spoilers, you can add the hashtag "#Spoiler" when publishing your article. This will display a warning at the top of the article, letting readers know in advance that it contains spoilers.

Also, many of you likely compile your movie reviews on movie review sites. On note, you can embed reviews written on Filmarks directly into your articles. If there is anything more you would like to talk about, or thoughts that didn't fit into your review, why not write them down on note?

When you are struggling with a header image for your article, we recommend "Everyone's Photo Gallery". Sometimes official movie accounts provide images, so please try searching by the title of the work in the gallery's search box. Among the works that ranked this time, "The Bullet Train" and "Kakukaku Shikajika" have provided scene photos from the films.

For those who watch movies via streaming, the Netflix embedding feature is also recommended. When you embed information about a Netflix movie or drama into your article, you can watch the trailer right there, so please give it a try.

We look forward to your movie reviews in the second half of the year as well!