| # |
Article |
Class |
Views |
Image |
Notes/about |
Peak
|
| 1 |
Deaths in 2025 |
 |
49,670,489
|
|
Between the link on the main page and being one of the certainties in life – along with taxes, which get much less attention on Wikipedia – readers are always checking the recently deceased. And in this weird year, there was even a week that the death list was the most viewed article. Normally this only happens with the departed themselves, with 13 people topping their weeks, whether young and unexpected (Diogo Jota crashing his car at 28, our #32 having health issues at 39, and the murder of a 31 year old right below this entry, which was so surprising that it led to 15 million views in a single day) or older with much legacy (mostly artists in #10, #17, #42, David Lynch, Brian Wilson, Graham Greene, Robert Redford, Dharmendra and Brigitte Bardot, but also the prominent world figure at #12), a category which also includes two more entries of our list in the actors at #30 (which only didn't reach number one because of people seeking the real life horror story at #4) and #36 (who was found dead the same day as #32). Rather than just list more of the people who left us in 2025, to keep the Top 25 Report's tradition of just discussing this through song lyrics: "It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right. I hope you had the time of your life."
|
Jul. 24 (Hulk Hogan dies)
|
| 2 |
Charlie Kirk |
 |
46,493,112
|
|
Kirk was an American conservative political activist, author and media personality, who co-founded Turning Point USA. He was one of the most prominent voices of the MAGA movement and a key ally of US president Donald Trump. Some of Kirk's opinions have garnered criticism and controversy, such as his comments on Black Americans and Martin Luther King Jr., opposition to abortion and gun control, and promotion of COVID-19 misinformation, the Great Replacement conspiracy theory, and climate change denial.
On September 10, Kirk was addressing an audience at an outdoor event at Utah State University when he was killed by a single rifle shot to the neck. A 22-year-old suspect was arrested on September 12, having been convinced to turn himself in by his father. At the time of writing, the motive remains unknown. The killing triggered widespread bipartisan condemnation and international messages of condolences. Multiple high-ranking officials in the US government vowed to punish people who celebrated Kirk's death or otherwise disparaged his legacy. Most prominently, Matthew Dowd, an analyst for MSNBC, was fired after he commented on-air that Kirk was "one of the most divisive [...] younger figures [...] hateful thoughts lead to hateful words, which then lead to hateful actions", and Jimmy Kimmel had his show suspended for a week for a monologue commenting about Trump and his supporters' reaction to the murder.
|
Sep. 10 (died)
|
| 3 |
ChatGPT |
|
43,040,152
|
|
Two years ago, ChatGPT was the most viewed article of the year, with over 52 million pageviews in 2023. The year after that, it fell dramatically to a bit less than 19 million views. When I wrote the ChatGPT entry for last year, I speculated on what had caused this drop. I came to the conclusion that, while ChatGPT had started as a fascinating novelty, in the space of one year it had become normalized, the type of thing people aren’t reading up on. This year, however, the page received over 43 million views; less than 2023 but a lot more than 2024. Why could this be?
In a way, this increase in views may be due to an even greater amount of normalization. So many people are now using AI that a significant number of people are typing “ChatGPT” into a browser and accidentally clicking on the Wikipedia page instead of the chatbot itself. This has happened before. The Wikipedia page for Facebook, formerly the dominant social media platform, featured on the annual Top 50 report every year from 2008 to 2018.
Next year, the views could go up again, as even more people use AI for every question that comes to mind. Those views could decrease if ChatGPT loses popularity to another AI brand. Its current popularity is mostly due to it being the first widely available chatbot, so if something comes out in 2026 with more features it might take over the market. When asked for its thoughts, ChatGPT predicted 32,047,182 views next year.
|
Jun. 4 (outage)
|
| 4 |
Ed Gein |
|
33,000,749
|
|
If you go entirely by the classic horror icons his crimes inspired (Norman Bates in Psycho, Leatherface in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and Buffalo Bill in The Silence of the Lambs) you will come away with three notions about Ed Gein: first, that he was a serial killer; second, that he liked to wear women's clothing, and third, that he liked to wear human skin. The first is debatable, given that he is only known to have killed two people; the second is false, a distortion of Gein's confession, and the third is probably true. Valid or not, Gein's reputation as a depraved transsexual has coloured views of transgender people across decades, and it is a reputation Ryan Murphy's Netflix series Monster: The Ed Gein Story revels in, even as it attempts to distance itself by imagining an utterly fictional debate between Gein and Christine Jorgensen, one of the first people in the US to undergo sex reassignment surgery, in which she pointedly claims he is not transgender but gynophilic. Truth is he was very likely neither, and Monster's historical distortions don't end there. It not only significantly ups Gein's body count, including his own brother among them, grants him a relationship with one of his victims, and accuses his girlfriend Adeline Watkins of being his accomplice (an assertion for which there is no evidence) but also grants him a Hannibal Lecter-style consulting role in the aprehension of Ted Bundy, which he never had. It also needlessly draws in Anthony Perkins and the making of Psycho, which happened when Ed Gein was already in a mental institution, a fact which drew withering criticism from Perkins's son, horror director Osgood Perkins. Still, the show became Netflix's third to pass a billion viewing hours. Legend is always more impactful than history.
|
Oct. 5 (2 days after Netflix show)
|
| 5 |
Donald Trump |
|
27,489,965
|
|
Can you believe we're only a fourth of the way through Trump's second presidency? He's already signed more than 200 executive orders, attempted to unilaterally dismantle and rename government agencies, initiated mass ICE deportations, deployed federal forces to at least five cities, caused a stock market crash due to his sweeping international tariffs (that may or may not be legal), ended "eight wars" (but didn't get the Nobel Peace Prize), razed the East Wing of the White House complex for a larger East Wing containing a ginormous ballroom, and, at long last, (sort of) released the Epstein Files. "And we're just gettin' started."
|
Jan. 20 (inauguration)
|
| 6 |
Pope Leo XIV |
|
22,884,665
|
|
Leo XIV. Leone XIV. León XIV. Those are three alternative ways to refer to Robert Francis Provost, who assumed the papacy (i.e. leadership of the Catholic Church) and became ruler of sovereign Vatican City upon the death of #12 as Leo XIV. Among other facts, Leo is the first Bishop of Rome (i.e. pope) with citizenship in either #14 or Peru.
More tangentially, Leo XIV's ascension to the Vatican "throne" marks one of five times this decade, and the first of three times in 2025 alone, a European monarchy has seen a change in leadership. (Contrary to some perceptions, a monarchy is simply a country where a head of state governs for life. This ruler need not be a member of a royal family.) In chronological order, the other instances were:
- On September 8, 2022, the death of Elizabeth II occurred. Elizabeth was succeeded by her eldest son, Charles III.
- For those interested in Top 25/50 Report history, Elizabeth was #5 in the 2022 report, and Charles was #8. And this was how her death unfolded on Wikipedia.
- On January 14, 2024, the abdication of Margrethe II, Queen of Denmark, occurred. Margrethe was also succeeded by her eldest son, King Frederik X.
- On May 31, 2025, Joan Enric Vives i Sicília's "reign" as Bishop of Urgell, and by extension Co-Prince of Andorra, ended. His successor: Josep-Lluís Serrano Pentinat (who #12 appointed as Bishop of Urgell).
- On October 3, 2025, the abdication of Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, occurred. Henri was also succeeded by his eldest son, Guillaume V, Grand Duke of Luxembourg (who received congratulations from Leo XIV himself).
|
May 8 (elected)
|
| 7 |
Zohran Mamdani |
|
21,805,460
|
|
He was born in 1991 in Uganda. He lived in South Africa. He went to college in Maine. He has rapped and produced a film soundtrack. He started his political career in the New York State Assembly. His mother is a filmmaker. His father is a university professor. His wife is a professional artist. He speaks Arabic, English, French, Hindi, Luganda, Spanish, and Swahili. And above all, on January 1, 2026, he will become the first (Shia) Muslim and Asian American to serve as Mayor of New York City. Who is he? Zohran Kwame Mamdani!
As an aside, despite identifying as a democratic socialist, not all socialists are pleased with Mamdani. For example, see this article by the World Socialist Web Site, of the Trotskyist variety.
|
Nov. 5 (wins election)
|
| 8 |
Elon Musk |
|
21,462,898
|
|
So, this guy. The last four Annual Reports had his entry going "I don't wanna talk about Elon Musk anymore!", and this year didn't help matters. He started the year being hired by the government as a Special Advisor, and right away didn't endear himself by greeting an inauguration celebratory rally extending his arm, as if the current administration didn't get compared to the Third Reich enough. Musk created the Department of Government Efficiency (named after the memecoin Musk is known to champion) to supposedly cut government expenditures and raise productivity, although all the dismissals caused by DOGE might actually cost the taxpayers a lot of money. Once his special government employee's 130 day deadline expired, Musk departed the administration amicably only to spend over a week throwing insults and accusations at Trump, including that he was on the Epstein list. And continuing his documented grudge against Wikipedia he started Grokipedia, which is mostly our content only with AI rewriting some pages to align with Musk's political views. In the meantime, people show their discontent with Musk taking on Tesla, whether selling their cars and stock or downright vandalizing their dealerships – and that's not counting everyone who continues to depart The Website Formerly Known As Twitter. We definitely need a break from this sort of Musk news in 2026.
|
Jan. 21 (defends his salute)
|
| 9 |
Sinners (2025 film) |
|
19,072,494
|
|
Gamey as a grouse and almost as subtle as a hammer to the head, Ryan Coogler's gorgeous, woke and omnistic take on From Dusk Till Dawn managed not only to astonish audiences (making $367 million on a $90 million budget) but also thrum a melodious riff on the complex interplay of racial tensions that underlie the history not only of America, but of American folk music. It did not, however, perform as well internationally, suggesting its impact may be limited to the English-speaking world. If so, it is a mark of just how strong that impact was that it remains the most Wiki-ed film of the year, while the highest-grossing English language movie of the year, Disney's Lilo and Stitch remake, did not break the top 80. That impact was especially felt by critics; with 97% on Rotten Tomatoes and 84 on Metacritic, Sinners is the most acclaimed big-budget American film this year, but has become almost as renowned for its backstory, in which Coogler, post-Creed and Black Panther, was able to secure a very favorable deal from the studio prior to release. The Hollywood trades were notably silent on the film's subsequent success, leading many to suspect they were downplaying it in case anyone else tried to follow in Coogler's immensely profitable footsteps.
|
Apr. 20 (finishes opening weekend with $108 million)
|
| 10 |
Ozzy Osbourne |
|
18,490,296
|
|
I'm just a rock 'n' roll rebel
I'll tell you no lies
They say I worship the devil
They must be stupid or blind
I'm just a rock 'n' roll rebel
John Michael Osbourne helped create heavy metal music as the singer of Black Sabbath and followed that with an equally successful solo career and all sorts of endeavours, including showcasing the peculiarities of his family in the reality show The Osbournes. It was a downright miracle that he survived for decades taking every drug in existence (scientists even analyzed his genome and found mutations that allowed him to process substances easier!), but eventually Parkinson's disease and various injuries slowed him down, to the point he decided to call his retirement through a massive charity concert in his native Birmingham that had all sorts of rock stars playing before it closed on an Ozzy set and then one with a reunited Sabbath, with him in a throne to show the Prince of Darkness hadn't lost his majesty even if he could no longer walk. Ozzy's goodbye from stages turned out to be very timely, as 17 days later he died at 76, leaving behind an extensive body of work (counting just studio albums, 7 with Sabbath and 13 solo!), 6 children and many grandchildren.
|
Jul. 22 (died)
|
| 11 |
Superman (2025 film) |
|
17,703,390
|
|
It's been a long, strange trip, but James Gunn is now in charge of DC's live action universe. And with Marvel winding down in popularity, it may be just the right time. Just like last time, they started with their best-known property, and struck gold, with a 5x return on a $125 million budget. With an 83% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 68 on Metacritic, it's clear critics found the film overwhelmingly OK. But at least this movie remembered that Superman is a: fun and b: impossible without John Williams.
|
Jul. 13 (day after release)
|
| 12 |
Pope Francis |
|
15,610,627
|
|
In 2013, Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected Pope following the resignation of Benedict XVI.He was the first Pope to be a Jesuit, as well as the first from the Americas and first from outside of Europe in over 1200 years. He was also the first Pope since the 900s to choose a completely new papal name, choosing Francis to honor Saint Francis of Assisi’s treatment of the poor. Over the course of his papacy, Francis was often considered more liberal than his predecessors. He approached the position with less formality, often wearing simpler clothes than was typical of prior Popes, and promoted a higher degree of inclusivity to women and people in same-sex relationships. He was also a firm opponent of the death penalty in all cases, and promoted safe practices and vaccinations during the COVID-19 pandemic.
When he was elected Pope at the age of 76, he was seen to be in relatively good health. Over the last few years of his life, he suffered from respiratory infections, leading to hospital stays in March 2023 and February 2025. His last public appearance was to give his Easter Sunday address at St. Peter’s Square before passing away in the morning of Easter Monday.
He appointed 163 new cardinals from 76 countries, including 25 countries that had never previously had a cardinal. The 110 of these cardinals under the age of 80 made up over 75% of the voters at the 2025 conclave where they elected Robert Francis Prevost, who had been appointed cardinal by Francis in 2023. Prevost, who took the name Leo XIV (#6), has been seen as having broadly similar views to Francis.
|
Apr. 21 (died)
|
| 13 |
Jeffrey Epstein |
|
15,214,143
|
|
The deceased child sex offender and "New York financier Jeff Epstein" continues to be a major influence on American politics from beyond the grave, with his friendship with current president Donald Trump and other high-profile figures continuing to attract widespread public scrutiny. Epstein, a well-known investor, had an elite social circle comprising many prominent public figures who often frequented his private island in the Caribbean. That island has now become a symbol of Epstein's activities there after he was arrested on suspicion of sex trafficking minors by law enforcement in July 2019. After over a month in custody, Epstein died in his prison cell under suspicious circumstances, with authorities later ruling it a suicide. Public interest in the case has persisted, with 2025 bringing in new images and files released by the government in response to public protests and dissatisfaction of Trump's handling of the case, with critics arguing that his administration has not followed through on previous commitments.
The Epstein Files Transparency Act was eventually passed in November, becoming widely criticised due to extensive redactions in the documents. Epstein’s connections also continued to have repercussions abroad. His friendship with the British Prince Andrew led to Andrew being stripped of his royal styles in October, renewing public discussions about the former Prince's status within the royal family. The British Ambassador to the United States Peter Mandelson was also removed from his position following new information on his association with Epstein. Together, these new developments in the deeper controversy surrounding Epstein illustrate his continued shadow over Western political discourse well into the 2020s.
|
Dec. 20 (after first release of Epstein files)
|
| 14 |
United States |
|
14,851,017
|
|
The number one contributor to the English Wikipedia, and its most linked-to article, has maintained a consistent ranking in views over the years, despite almost never appearing in the weekly chart. This position, much like the Deaths in... articles, appears unaffected by outside affairs, changes in technology, or the US's current reputation (which, according to an annual survey of G7 nations, took a nosedive this year, falling 18 slots on a list of 60). Important does not have to mean liked.
|
Jan. 20 (Trump inauguration)
|
| 15 |
Severance (TV series) |
 |
14,457,583
|
|
The tech giant's streaming service released another acclaimed season as it competes with the streaming giant. This science fiction psychological thriller series created by Dan Erickson; and executive produced and primarily directed by Ben Stiller; follows employees at Lumon Industries, a biotechnology corporation, that have undergone "severance"—a procedure that splits a person's memories between work and their personal life. This creates two separate identities for employees: the "innie", who has no knowledge of the outside world, and the "outie", who lives their life outside without any knowledge of their job. Main cast headed by Adam Scott and Britt Lower returned for the second season along with some new character additions. The second season consisting of 10 episodes, aired an episode every Thursdays from mid-January to mid-March 2025. It received positive reception and acclamation as well as 10 Primetime Emmy nods and 17 Primetime Creative Arts Emmy nods, from which it won 8 awards as of this report. A third season has been confirmed and announced it won't take as long as the second season which was delayed due to the WGA strike and SAG-AFTRA strike.
|
Feb. 21 (after episode 6)
|
| 16 |
2026 FIFA World Cup |
|
14,037,618
|
|
Whether you refer to this popular sport as soccer or football, I presume that you know what FIFA World Cups are. However, what you may not know is that Canada (where #8 holds citizenship), #14, and Mexico (on whose goods #5 and #21 have imposed tariffs) will be jointly hosting the 2026 edition of this event. This is the first trio of FIFA World Cup host countries.
To avoid repeating more information in the article, I present you with the tallest completed buildings in each host country, ranked from tallest to shortest:
- United States: One World Trade Center (541 meters/1,776 feet) in New York City (governed by #7)
- Mexico: T.OP Tower 1 (305 meters/1,002 feet) in Monterrey
- Canada: First Canadian Place (298 meters/978 feet) in Toronto
|
Dec. 5 (groups drawn)
|
| 17 |
Rob Reiner
|
|
13,955,892
|
|
The son of director and comedian Carl Reiner carved out a name for himself in Hollywood in the 80s and early 90s, when, over the course of nine years, he directed some of the most beloved films of all time: This Is Spinal Tap, The Sure Thing, Stand By Me, The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally..., Misery and A Few Good Men, which provided breakthroughs for John Cusack, Robin Wright, Aaron Sorkin, Billy Crystal, Meg Ryan, River Phoenix, Kiefer Sutherland and Kathy Bates. Then he made North, a childhood fantasy so monumentally misguided that Roger Ebert's review of it became legendary: "I hated this movie. Hated hated hated hated hated this movie. Hated it. Hated every simpering stupid vacant audience-insulting moment of it. Hated the sensibility that thought anyone would like it. Hated the implied insult to the audience by its belief that anyone would be entertained by it." Those words apparently, became something of a curse because, aside from the success of The American President (which Sorkin, who wrote the screenplay, has described as essentially the pilot for The West Wing) and The Bucket List, Reiner never attained his prior level of respectablility again. Admittedly, his decline must have been at least partially due to his troubles with his son, Nick, whose struggles with mental health and drug addiction became the subject of his film Being Charlie, which Nick co-wrote. Unfortunately, it seems his son's demons finally won, as, on the 14th of December, 2025, he was arrested for the murder of both of his parents, for reasons currently unknown.
|
Dec. 15 (day after death)
|
| 18 |
Dhurandhar |
|
13,525,394
|
|
Just like last year's Pushpa 2; this film also released in the year-end managed to storm its way through to both the Top 50 Report and all-time Box Office rankings bringing the list together (#47) as well. This film is the first of a two-part film series with the second film which was shot together is titled Dhurandhar: Part 2 – Revenge and is set to release on 19 March 2026. Now the events of this film follows an Indian intelligence mission unfolding over ten years as an undercover agent enters Karachi's criminal and political world to dismantle dangerous cross-border terror networks. The story draws inspiration from real-life events involving geopolitical tensions: the 1999 Indian plane hijack, 2001 Indian Parliament attack, 2008 Mumbai attacks, and Operation Lyari conducted by Pakistan's authorities to crack down on gangs and criminal syndicates.
The main cast includes: Ranveer Singh as Hamza Ali Mazari (which is revealed as an undercover alias of Jaskirat Singh Rangi); Akshaye Khanna as Rehman Dakait, leader of the Baloch Gang and founder of the People's Aman Committee; R. Madhavan as Ajay Sanyal, Director of the Intelligence Bureau (IB) (based on Ajit Doval); Sanjay Dutt as Superintendent Chaudhary Aslam Khan of Lyari Task Force, Sindh Police; Arjun Rampal as Major Iqbal of Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) (based on Ilyas Kashmiri); Sara Arjun as Yalina Jamali, Jameel's daughter and Hamza's love interest; Rakesh Bedi as Jameel Jamali, a senior politician from Pakistan Awami Party (PAP) and a Member of the National Assembly of Pakistan (based on Nabil Gabol); along with Naveen Kaushik as Donga, Rehman's right-hand-man; Manav Gohil as Sushant Bansal, Deputy Director of IB; Danish Pandor as Uzair Baloch, Rehman's cousin and second-in-command of Baloch Gang; Gaurav Gera as Mohammad Aalam, IB agent in Lyari; Raj Zutshi as General Shamshad Hassan; and Saumya Tandon as Ulfat Hasin, Rehman's wife, Uzair's sister-in-law and Babu's daughter-in-law.
As of 2026, the film has grossed over has grossed ₹1,143 crore (US$140 million) becoming only the 9th Indian film to cross the ₹1,000 crore (US$120 million) mark and currently ranks as the highest grossing Indian film of 2025, 3rd highest grossing Hindi film of all time, and 7th highest grossing Indian film of all time (#47). This commercial success has set high bars of hope for its direct sequel set to be released in March 2026. Also another interesting fact, the film was banned in Gulf Cooperation Council countries due to its anti-Pakistani theme, but it reportedly received 2 million pirated digital downloads in Pakistan alone, where all Indian films have been banned since 2019.
|
Dec. 14 (completes 2 weeks atop box office)
|
| 19 |
Thunderbolts* |
|
13,203,209
|
|
That asterisk was meant to indicate that they're really the Avengers, but seeing it hanging there can't help but put an "allegedly", or "for now" in one's mind. Marvel are not what they used to be. The buzz is long gone; too many underwhelming streaming shows. Too much toxic discourse. Plus there's the simple fact that the story they've been telling since 2008 ended definitively with Avengers: Endgame six years ago. A combination of the pandemic, shifts in viewing habits and at least one arrest for assault left Marvel scrambling to rebuild, with little to show for it so far. The odd thing is, were Thunderbolts* in any other franchise, it would be considered a success: A $390 million gross on a $180 million budget is, more or less. a 2.5x return, the definition of a hit. But Thunderbolts* isn't in another franchise. And the franchise it is in needs to get its mojo back before Avengers: Doomsday serves as its epitaph.
|
May 5 (new title revealed)
|
| 20 |
Weapons (2025 film) |
|
12,684,066
|
|
Among a rising crop of hungry horror directors (Ti West, Robert Eggers, Ari Aster, Osgood Perkins), Zach Cregger seems to have established an early lead (at least as far as profitability is concerned) with the same combination of disjointed narrative and genre mashing he displayed in his previous film Barbarian, only at a much higher level, with an emotionally yanking mix of horror, comedy and psychological drama, backed by superb performances. With a global box office of $270 million, a 93% on Rotten Tomatoes and and 81 on Metacritic, Weapons struck more of a chord with both audiences and critics than any horror movie this year not named Sinners.
|
Aug. 8 (released)
|
| 21 |
JD Vance |
|
12,339,381
|
|
The new Vice President of the United States has done a lot in his first year in office: he went to Greenland and repeated Trump's interests in purchasing the island, gave a controversial speech at the Munich Security Conference that was considered a declaration of "ideological war" against the United States' European allies, antagonized Volodymyr Zelenskyy as the Ukrainian president visited the White House, and most notably if only for the jokes, visited #12 hours before the Pope died.
|
Jan. 20 (inaugurated)
|
| 22
|
Cristiano Ronaldo |
|
12,290,689
|
|
Ronaldo is one of those people who makes it into the Top 50 Report without having done anything special (he's only missed out once in the last twelve editions).
But let's take a look at some of the bigger news stories around Ronaldo from this year. By far the biggest story was when he helped Portugal claim their second UEFA Nations League. Ronaldo scored the most goals (8) throughout the tournament, including in the quarter final, semi final and final.
Other key events in Ronaldo's year included: winning the 2024–25 Saudi Pro League golden boot, a three-month ban and one-year probation for elbowing a player in the back, and confirmation that he will play in his sixth FIFA World Cup, but will retire within the next two years.
|
Jun. 8 (won Nations League)
|
| 23 |
MrBeast |
|
12,012,142
|
|
In June of last year, Jimmy Donaldson surpassed the Indian record label T-Series as the owner of the most subscribed YouTube channel in the world with 267 million subscribers. Later that year, he became the first to pass 300 million, and this year he passed 400 million, currently sitting at 458 million subscribers. When MrBeast became the most subscribed channel, it was seen by many as emblematic of a new era of YouTube. T-Series, a massive corporation, had been surpassed by a 26-year old from North Carolina. However, as his reign has continued, his public image has shifted. At MrBeast headquarters, over 300 employees work to perfect every aspect of videos and other endeavors to maximize viewership and retention. At the beginning of his tenure as most subscribed, Wikipedia considered MrBeast an individual channel. It is now classified as a brand channel: a brand built around one person, but a brand nonetheless.
As for those other endeavors, the MrBeast team has been very busy over the past year. Filmed last year and airing at the beginning of this year, he collaborated with Amazon to put on Beast Games, the largest reality show ever, featuring 1000 contestants and a $10 million grand prize, with another $15 million going to other contestants. Despite the scale, it received mostly negative reviews from critics, and production was marred with allegations of poor treatment of contestants, resulting in a currently ongoing lawsuit. Late in the year, he created a temporary amusement park in Saudi Arabia, a country known for using flashy events to distract from its human rights record. Despite these controversies, the MrBeast brand continues to grow. The YouTube channel is likely to hit half a billion subscribers next year, and Beast Games has already filmed its second season, with a third on the way.
|
Jan. 20 (expresses interest in buying TikTok)
|
| 24
|
World War II |
 |
11,913,039
|
|
This article needs no introduction. This is another article with multiple appearances in the Top 50 Report. This article appeared in the first nine additions of this report. Since then its appearance are less frequent, but it returns for a second consecutive year. This year, viewership figures were boosted with it being the 80th anniversary since the war ended, with many events held around the world to remember this tragic moment in our recent history.
|
May 8 (80th anniversary of VE Day)
|
| 25 |
Adolescence (TV series) |
|
11,884,240
|
|
One of the bigger TV series this year. The series is about a 13 year old boy, Jamie, who is accused of murdering a girl from his school. The first episode explores his initial arrest, ending with CCTV footage of him comitting the crime. Episode 2 explores the motives behind the murder through talking to some of the other students at the school. Episode 3 explores Jamie's own psychology, with episode 4 focussed on the effect of the murder on Jaime's immediate family. The series recieved high praise both for its excellent story telling, acting and direction but also for how it tackled the themes of knife crime, violence against girls by boys and, more broadly, the effect of the manosphere, with Andrew Tate being explicitly named by characters.
|
Mar. 23 (10 days after release)
|
| 26 |
KPop Demon Hunters |
 |
11,856,384 |
 |
While one anticipated Netflix show didn't live up to its expectations, and another one smashed it, this unprecedented release set off another worldwide Netflix phenomenon. Produced by Sony Pictures Animation for Netflix, this animated musical urban fantasy made-for-streaming film was released to Netflix on June 20, while a sing-along version of the film received limited theatrical releases from August 23–24 and October 31 – November 2. It became the most-watched original title in Netflix history with 325 million views, and its sing-along theatrical release bacame the Netflix film first to top the box office in the US and went on to become eliglble for the Oscars but couldn't get to BAFTAs.
The film's soundtrack achieved similar success as well: highest debut on the Billboard 200 chart for 2025 soundtracks at 8th, highest-charting animated film's soundtrack album on the chart since Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, and first Netflix soundtrack to reach number one on the Top Soundtracks since Stranger Things 4. The fictional in-film K-pop groups Huntrix and the Saja Boys – with "Golden" and "Your Idol" respectively – topped the US Spotify chart with Huntrix becoming the highest-charting female K-pop group surpassing Blackpink, and the Saja Boys becoming the highest charting male K-pop group surpassing BTS. The soundtrack went on to get GRAMMY nods as wells as VMA nods.
So in a nutshell, Netflix delivered yet another pop culture phenomenon, and Sony continues its animation victories, but live-action not exactly—will it change?
|
Jun. 22 (2 days after release)
|
| 27 |
Karoline Leavitt |
|
11,813,280
|
|
Karoline Leavitt worked for the White House during the last years of Trump's presidency, followed that with a failed campaign to be elected as a representative for New Hampshire and more work for Trump, first in his Super PAC MAGA Inc. and then his 2024 campaign. With the re-election, Leavitt was appointed as the youngest White House Press Secretary ever at the age of 27, so she served as a spokesperson for the administration across the year, with a few bad moments (her very first press conference had Leavitt falsely say that $50 million in taxpayer dollars had been intended for use in funding condoms in the Gaza Strip), serving as a defendant in the lawsuit regarding the Associated Press having its journalists barred simply because they don't call the Gulf of Mexico "Gulf of America", and having to juggle work with newfound motherhood, being photographed working while feeding her son and ending the year announcing she was pregnant again.
|
Jan. 28 (first press conference)
|
| 28 |
Sydney Sweeney |
|
11,484,277
|
|
With the formidable curves and glimmering locks of an 80s teen movie bombshell and a penchant for shedding her clothing, Sydney Sweeney singlehandedly kickstarted Gen-Z's collective sexual awakening. She even managed to obtain critical acclaim, earning Emmy nominations for her work on Euphoria and The White Lotus, and box office clout in the 2023 hit Anyone But You. She showed admirable moxie by producing the modest horror hit Immaculate, and artistic ambition by playing whistleblower Reality Winner in the drama Reality. Not since Angelina Jolie have Hollywood's doors opened so wide and so soon for one so young. In a sane world, Sweeney would be following Jolie on the path to enduring stardom. But this not a sane world and, unlike Jolie, who rode initial horror at her BDSM admissions and repeated homewrecking scandals all the way to the top, Sweeney's offscreen actions may yet derail a promising career.
It all began with, of all things, an ad for American Eagle Outfitters. There are many who would decry the current state of "woke culture": that people are oversensitive and make a fuss about nothing. But I grew up in the 80s. I have an entire mental library of jokes I can't tell anymore. And speaking as an ambassador from that time, I can say with certainty that a commercial stating that a blonde, blue-eyed registered Republican has "great jeans" (har har) would have caused commotion even then. Perhaps more so. Remember, my little Back to the Future cultists: the 80s were as far from the Holocaust as they are from now. And as far from segregation as you are from Iron Man. That said, advertisers do stupid things all the time. It could have blown over. But again, insane world, and the right-wing media ecosystem exploded in response, far more intensely than the initial outcry had been, turning what had been a minor cultural blip into a political firestorm, to the point that the President of the United States commented on it, calling it "the HOTTEST ad out there", because apparently we live in a simulation crafted by a toking frat lounger. Subsequently, some would argue as a result, her two next films, the boxing drama Christy and the crime drama Americana, bombed. Still, her latest film, the domestic thriller The Housemaid, opened to a respectable $19 million, so perhaps the madness has passed.
|
Aug. 4 (Trump comments on ad)
|
| 29 |
The Fantastic Four: First Steps |
|
11,460,518
|
|
In 1986, Marvel sold the rights to their most iconic team as they teetered on the brink of bankruptcy, leading to four (apropos) underwhelming if not downright terrible screen adaptations. And one good one if you count The Incredibles. Only in 2019 did Marvel regain the rights, though it cost Disney $70 billion. To be fair, they got a rash of other IP with it; though given that the performances of former Fox propterties since the deal, such as Alien and Predator, have proven just OK, a lot was riding on the success of Marvel's first family once they finally returned home. And again, it proved... OK. With a budget of $200 million and a final gross of just over $500 million, Fantastic Four: First Steps broke even in theatres. But that clearly wasn't what Disney were expecting, given that they used the movie to set the stage for Avengers Doomsday. With a Rotten Tomatoes score of 86% and a Metacritic score of 65, this film appears to have a similar critical consensus to Superman, that is, OK. But DC can take OK. Marvel can't.
|
Jul. 25 (released)
|
| 30 |
Diane Keaton |
|
10,913,909
|
|
When your second film role is a lead in The Godfather, it's fair to say you will be remembered. And if that and her even more intense turn in The Godfather, Part II were all Diane Keaton ever did, her legacy would be secure. But she also secured a longstanding working (and occasionally more-than-working) relationship with Woody Allen, with whom she made eight films, including the title role in the Oscar-winning Annie Hall. Beyond Allen, in the 80s she starred in underrated films like Gillian Armstrong's Mrs. Soffel and Alan Parker's Shoot the Moon, and had a modest hit to call her own in the working comedy Baby Boom. But it was in the 90s and 2000s that her career really blossomed. At an age when many actresses of previous generations would have retired, Keaton saw a string of hits with Father of the Bride, The First Wives Club, Something's Gotta Give and The Family Stone. And when she finally died this year, at the age of 79, she still had three projects in the pipeline.
|
Oct. 11 (died)
|
| 31 |
Bob Dylan |
|
10,733,399
|
|
Robert John Zimmerman has had a truly impressive oeuvre over his long (and still ongoing!) career, but what propelled him into this list was not any work of his own, but the Oscar-nominated biographical film A Complete Unknown starring the nigh-omnipresent Timothée Chalamet. It covers his life from 1961 to 1965, including his rise in the folk scene, his interactions with other prominent musicians such as Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, and Joan Baez, and his exploration with electric instruments and rock music—much to the dismay of some.
Of course, it's a biopic, not a documentary; people and events are added, removed, changed, and composited throughout. Director James Mangold fully states that the film is "not a Wikipedia entry". Perhaps that's a good thing; his Wikipedia entry is already one of the best. Dylan's artistic process was actually quite wiki-ish itself: he ravenously listened to and took (often heavy) inspiration from many other folk musicians during his rise, and conversely was awed and inspired by covers of his songs such as the Byrds' "Mr. Tamborine Man" or Jimi Hendrix's "All Along the Watchtower", and this attitude cemented him not only as a great musician, but as a great contributor to the musical canon. And in this turbulent world (see... most of the other entries), his poetic verse still finds resonance with us.
|
Mar. 3 (day after Oscars)
|
| 32 |
Michelle Trachtenberg |
|
10,715,729
|
|
There is frustratingly little known about the sudden and tragic death of this former child star at the age of just 39. Despite her having acted since the age of three, her death appears unconnected to the standard child star meltdowns or excesses. It just... happened. Last year, she required a liver transplant, and it seemed that diabetes formed as a result, which played a role in her death. Due to their Jewish faith, her family refused an autopsy.
Though she starred in films, including modest hits like Ice Princess and Inspector Gadget, Trachtenberg was primarily known for her television roles. She made her breakthrough at the age of nine in the surreal Nickelodeon sitcom The Adventures of Pete & Pete, which likely led to her starring role in the Nickelodeon-produced film Harriet the Spy, and had a recurring role on Gossip Girl, but is likely best known as Dawn, the magically created sister of Buffy Summers in the final seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
|
Feb. 26 (died)
|
| 33 |
6-7 meme |
|
10,703,152
|
|
One of the most prominent so-called "brain rot" memes to emerge since the unfortunate rise of Skibidi Toilet in 2023, the latest internet craze left many parents and teachers confused as children began sniggering when the seemingly innocent numbers 6 and 7 were mentioned together. This phenomenon originates from the song "Doot Doot (6 7)" by drill rap artist Skrilla, released in February, and gained further notoriety when a YouTube video by creator Cam Wilder depicted a teenager yelling the phrase while watching a basketball game, leading to ironic (and later unironic) memes which only increased in popularity throughout the year. The boy, whose real name is Maverick Trevillian, has capitalised on his newfound fame (much like the "Hawk Tuah Girl" in 2024) by hosting fan meetups with the so-called "67 Kid". With memes beginning to remain popular for longer than a week again, the meme's rise is shown by the vast viewership to this article, which has made it into the Top 50 despite only being created in August. The meme's unprecedented invasion into every corner of the internet has probably caused irreparable damage to 6 and 7's reputation, with those two unlucky numbers likely to become nostalgic to the Gen Alphas as they reminisce about the good ol' days of the big '25.
|
Oct. 22 (CNN article)
|
| 34 |
Jannik Sinner |
|
10,600,212
|
|
At the beginning of 2024, Sinner won his first major title at the Australian Open, beating world number one Novak Djokovic along the way. He ended the year as the new number one, having won many more tournaments. Early in 2025, he defended his Australian Open title, but only came runner-up at the French Open, losing to his rival Carlos Alcaraz in the final. He rebounded less than a month later when he defeated Alcaraz in the finals of Wimbledon. A month later, Alcaraz struck back by beating Sinner in the finals of the US Open, putting him at first in the standings where he still remains. Despite his current number one status in tennis and competitive rivalry throughout the year, Alcaraz did not get a spot in the Top 50 of this report.
|
Jul. 13 (won Wimbledon)
|
| 35 |
Assassination of Charlie Kirk |
|
10,575,676
|
|
The American conversative political activist Charlie Kirk, best known for co-founding Turning Point USA and being one of the leading figures of the MAGA movement, was assassinated while speaking at a debate event at Utah Valley University on September 10. The event was the first of a planned tour of several campus debates organised by TPUSA, and was attended by a crowd of around 3,000 people. Kirk was debating a student on the subject of mass shootings in the United States when he was shot once in the neck from a sniper on the roof of a university building. He was rushed to hospital but was pronounced dead shortly after aged 31. A 33-hour manhunt resulted in authorities capturing the suspected gunman, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson from Washington, Utah, whose parents reportedly recognised him from CCTV footage of the alleged assassin. Robinson faces 10 charges in court, including one count of aggravated murder and one count of felony discharge of a firearm, with a preliminary hearing scheduled to begin on May 18. Prosecutors have announced that they will seek the death penalty for Robinson, citing aggravating factors alleging Robinson targeted Kirk based on his political beliefs and committed the crime in the presence of children. The assassination has been generally condemned by American politicians and other figures worldwide, with the public reaction's being much more polarised due to Kirk's controversial views.
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Sep. 10 (occurred)
|
| 36 |
Gene Hackman |
|
10,375,917
|
|
Another acting death emerged on the same day as #32, Gene Hackman, who moved away from the public eye to live in New Mexico after a health-related retirement in 2004 (thus his acting career ended in a forgettable if not shameful note, Welcome to Mooseport), and passed away in odd circumstances: Hackman's wife died suddenly of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, advanced Alzheimer's made him not notice she died or that their dog was in a nearby closet (leading him to starve to death), and six days later Hackman perished at 95 to a heart attack, but only 8 days later authorities broke into their home and found the bodies. An unusual end to a life that included serving in the Marines (he even narrated two documentaries on the Corps after retiring) before working a lot across five decades, with 101 credited acting roles! Highlights included two Academy Awards for The French Connection and Unforgiven and three more nominations, #11's archenemy Lex Luthor in three Superman films, techno-thrillers The Conversation and Enemy of the State, a brief and hilarious appearance in Young Frankenstein, and even voicing a villainous ant in Antz.
|
Feb. 27 (found dead the day before)
|
| 37 |
Jurassic World Rebirth |
|
10,191,595
|
|
In 1983 Michael Crichton conceived a screenplay about a pterosaur being cloned from fossil DNA, which he eventually developed into a novel which would release in 1990. Before the novel's release, Universal Pictures outbid Warner Bros., Columbia Pictures and 20th Century Fox for the rights to the novel. Thus the novel was adapted into a film directed by Steven Spielberg and released in 1993 which would set off a new cinematic era and become its own franchise. The film spawned a trilogy with The Lost World and Jurassic Park III. Then in 2015, Jurassic World introduced a new theme park built upon the ruins of the original park, and went on to spawn its own trilogy as well with Fallen Kingdom and Dominion. Although Dominion was marketed as "The End of the Jurassic Era", following the Jurassic World trilogy's success, a seventh film in the franchise was confirmed. Initially rumored to be a reboot of the franchise, it was revealed to be a continuation but with the subtitle "Rebirth" and a new cast including MCU alumnus Scarlett Johansson, to-be-MCU actor Mahershala Ali and Wicked star Jonathan Bailey.
The film received mixed reviews from critics, though some deemed it an improvement over previous entries. But, it grossed less than the previous Jurassic World films with $868 million worldwide against a budget of $180–$225 million while, all three previous films (including the worst received film in the franchise, Dominion) grossed over a billion dollars. This shows that how critics are very different from the real audience, or that those who didn't like the previous movies wouldn't give the franchise another shot. Meantime as of this report, there has been no official information about the future installments in the franchise but, there are rumours and speculations that a sequel to the film is in development with the cast returning and is expected to be released in June 2028...!
|
Jul. 6 (finishes opening weekend with $318 million)
|
| 38 |
Pete Hegseth |
|
10,148,750
|
|
As a South American who hates politics, this here writer wouldn't be writing so much about the U.S. government if he didn't want to complete this page. A Princeton graduate and Army National Guard veteran, Pete Hegseth worked for a decade on Fox News, mostly as a host of Fox & Friends Weekend, where his opinions often influenced Trump's policymaking during his presidency. So upon re-election he brought in Hegseth to become the Secretary of Defense, the second youngest after Donald Rumsfeld under Gerald Ford, even if there was questioning regarding his lack of experience, stories about alcoholism, and even a sexual assault allegation. And a few months into the government he already was criticized once a journalist was mistakenly added to a private Signal group chat where Hegseth discussed a pending airstrike on Yemen, and promptly made what he saw public. He was also accused of war crimes as the military started attacking vessels in the Caribbean Sea that were supposedly used for drug trafficking, which preceded a land strike on their country of origin just after the year turned.
|
Jan. 20 (assumed office)
|
| 39 |
List of presidents of the United States |
|
10,062,502
|
|
The 47th presidency started early on in 2025. Many of you will think I phrased that weirdly. And I did, but deliberatly so. Donald Trump is the 45th and 47th president of the United States, because non consecutive terms are given different numbers. Trump became just the 2nd president to have two presidencies, after Grover Cleveland (22nd president from 1885 to 1889 and 24th president from 1893 to 1897). Historically, presidents were not term limited, but after Franklin D. Roosevelt was president for four terms (the first and only president to have more than two), the Twenty-second Amendment to the United States Constitution limited presidents to just two terms. Among the many controversial things Trump has said that he intends to be president beyond two terms. Although considered unlikely, there are two possible legal routes to achieve this. One: have the 22nd ammendment repealed (that would require a Twenty-eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution). Two: Became a vice-president, have the actual "president" resign, promoting the "vice president" (Trump) to the presidency. Could Trump be the first president with three numbers?
|
Jan. 20 (Trump's inauguration)
|
| 40
|
One Battle After Another |
|
9,929,720
|
|
Paul Thomas Anderson has one of the most acclaimed filmographies out there, so Warner Bros. gave him a blank check once he decided to take a stab at the action genre, filming with old VistaVision cameras many firefights and chases alongside the character work and black comedy that built Anderson's career. Leonardo DiCaprio is a retired revolutionary trying to raise the teenage daughter he had with a partner-in-arms (in a dynamic inspired by Thomas Pynchon's Vineland), only for her to be kidnapped by a colonel played by Sean Penn, who in previous brushes with the revolutionaries developed an obsession with the girl's mother, so he's forced to take up weapons again to rescue her. One Battle After Another opened at number one, but did not have legs at the box office (for instance, the following week had it fall to second behind Taylor Swift: The Official Release Party of a Showgirl — ironically, for all her success Ms. Swift is not in this list...) and the highest earnings of Anderson's career at $200 million were ultimately not profitable given it barely surpassed a big budget estimated at $130–175 million. But the important part is that the movie was one of the best reviewed of the year, so Anderson, DiCaprio, Penn and everyone involved will start many battles during the awards season.
|
Sep. 28 (finishes opening weekend with $48.5 million)
|
| 41
|
2024 United States presidential election
|
|
9,868,808
|
|
The Most Important Election of Our Lifetimes has come and gone yet again, though the 60th edition has proven itself to be more deserving of the title as #5's term continues. Some new light has been shed on the chaotic campaign since its conclusion, including from Democratic nominee Kamala Harris, who published a new memoir in which she vents her frustrations with Joe Biden and his costly decision to run for re-election, despite concerns about his age. A few key players in the election have also continued relevancy into the second Trump era: Democrat-turned-independent Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is now spearheading the infamous "Make America Healthy Again" movement as Trump's new Health Secretary; former VP candidate Tim Walz became a target of scrutiny from the MAGA crowd over reignited allegations of fraud; and Harris herself briefly flirted with the idea of running for governor of California, though ultimately decided against it. Don't be surprised if we end up seeing the same faces pop up in 2028 (if there even is a 2028...).
|
Feb. 8
|
| 42 |
Val Kilmer |
|
9,851,675
|
|
Few people start their careers with leading roles, and Val Kilmer got two already in the comedies Top Secret! and Real Genius. Afterwards he was propelled to stardom when he played the rival in Top Gun, leading to many hits (Batman Forever, Heat, The Prince of Egypt) and acclaimed performances (The Doors, Tombstone, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang). His career would stumble with some flops, getting out of shape, and a reputation of being difficult to work with. (While Kilmer made the infamous The Island of Dr. Moreau stressed by a divorce, his on-set behavior led director John Frankenheimer to declare "There are two things I will never do in my life. I will never climb Mount Everest, and I will never work with Val Kilmer again. There is not enough money in the world.") Kilmer would ultimately stop working due to a throat cancer in the 2010s that took away his voice, as shown in his last two film releases: the 2021 documentary Val, where Kilmer told about his life and career through home movies and narration spoken by his son Jack Kilmer; and a heart-wrenching scene returning to his breakout role in 2022's Top Gun: Maverick. Respiratory problems would also be what took Kilmer's life at the age of 65.
|
Apr. 2 (died)
|
| 43 |
Anora |
|
9,768,633
|
|
Writer-director Sean Baker told once again the story of a sex worker – in this case a stripper played by Mikey Madison who marries the son of a Russian oligarch, and once he runs away with the arrival of daddy's henchmen, she is forced to help them find him. The result got glowing reviews and recouped its modest budget many times over. Though Anora never managed to get the attention of the world at large until it emerged as the big winner of the Academy Awards, missing only Best Supporting Actor while scoring four major categories (Best Picture, Director, Actress and Original Screenplay) and Best Editing. Especially as, unlike previous Best Picture winners Everything Everywhere All At Once and Oppenheimer, it wasn't going that well against heavy competition in other awards (The Substance, The Brutalist, Wicked, Conclave, Dune, etc.), having won none out of 5 nods at the Golden Globes, and 2 out of 7 at the BAFTAs. So, soon the netizens were asking "Did Anora deserve all those Oscars?", and those who disagreed tended to say "This is just soft porn/a rehash of Pretty Woman!" or "Passing over Demi Moore for a younger actress just proves the point of The Substance!". Or that it's just another case of the Oscars being irrelevant, as – even if the nominations aren't mostly blatant Oscar bait with hollow storylines – AMPAS still has a big disconnect with actual filmgoers, not recognizing box office hits and giving Best Picture to movies the audience barely heard of, and it's reflected by the low viewership numbers of the ceremony. But it could be worse, as at least before voting, the Academy realized their mistake in nominating Emilia Pérez so much, and it's better to see debates on whether Anora was worthy than this getting all the awards...
|
Mar. 3 (day after Oscars)
|
| 44 |
Erika Kirk |
|
9,726,927
|
|
Uniquely for this list, her article was created on September 10, meaning it got all of its views in a bit under four months, ⅓ the time any other article got. This demonstrates the speed of Erika Kirk’s rise to prominence. On September 9, she was almost entirely unknown, but since the assassination of her husband, she has become a nationally recognizable political figure. She has taken over his role as CEO of Turning Point USA, and has spent the last several months promoting Republican politicians. Her most high-profile appearance was at the massive memorial service, which had over 90,000 in attendance. Appearing on stage to fireworks and accompanied by Donald Trump, she gave a speech saying she forgave the shooter, immediately before Trump’s speech where he blamed the shooting on the left and stated that he hates his opponents.
|
Sep. 10 (husband died)
|
| 45 |
Stranger Things |
|
9,720,440
|
|
The Duffer Brothers were rejected by 15 cable networks pitching their idea of a show that would revisit the 1980s with a combination of both Steven Spielberg-esque adventure films such as E.T. and The Goonies and Stephen King-esque horror of the decade. Netflix took a chance on it, and in 2016 we were introduced to a group of kids that stumbles upon a telekinetic girl and a monster from another dimension. Stranger Things quickly became one of the biggest streaming originals ever, so more horrors were inflicted upon the small town of Hawkins, Indiana in further seasons, albeit with an sporadic nature as it took 9 years for the show to get 5 seasons, leading many to mock how the teen cast grew up too much yet supposedly only 4 years passed in the story. In a way the journey of Stranger Things was parallel to our Top 50 Report, as the show was in both our first official edition in 2017 and the 2016 test run, the third season was four positions short of the 2019 list, only to double-down in 2022 as both the series and the fourth season entered, and this repeated with the final season down there at #50, making clear it's a show that resonates with Wikipedia readers.
|
Nov. 25 (day after season 5 starts)
|
| 46 |
Chhaava |
|
9,646,152
|
|
Bollywood epic historical action film; an adaptation of the Marathi novel Chhava by Shivaji Sawant, directed by Laxman Utekar and produced by Dinesh Vijan under Maddock Films. The film follows life of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj (who is played by Vicky Kaushal), the second ruler of the Maratha Empire, after his father Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's death in the final period of Mughal Empire. The cast also includes: Akshaye Khanna (who is also playing the main antagonist in #18) as Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb; Rashmika Mandanna as Yesubai Bhonsale, Sambhaji's wife, Maratha queen; Ashutosh Rana as Hambirrao Mohite, Soyarabai's brother and Sambhaji's loyal general; Divya Dutta as Soyarabai, Sambhaji's stepmother plotting to overthrow him from throne; Vineet Kumar Singh as Kavi Kalash, Sambhaji's friend and advisor; Neil Bhoopalam as Mughal Prince Muhammad Akbar, Aurangzeb's son; and Diana Penty as Zinat-un-Nissa Begum.
The film received mixed-to-negative reception and faced controversies and was threatened with a ₹100 crore (US$12 million) lawsuit for allegedly depicting historical inaccuracies and misrepresentation. The film also fueled religious hostility of the long-strained Islamic–Hindu relations in India. Right-wing Hindu groups condemned the glorification and threatening to demolish the Tomb of Aurangzeb, as they claimed it as "a reminder of centuries of oppression, atrocities, and slavery of Hindus during his [Muslim] rule", which even led to the 2025 Nagpur violence as well. Despite all this, the film managed to gross over ₹809 crore (US$96 million) to emerge as the 2nd highest grossing Indian film of 2025, 9th highest grossing Hindi film of all time, and 15th highest grossing Indian film of all time (#47).
|
Feb. 16 (finishes opening weekend with ₹157 crore)
|
| 47
|
List of highest-grossing Indian films |
|
9,463,733
|
|
Two biggest Indian films of the year, Dhurandhar (#18) and Chhaava (#46), both from Bollywood have made it onto the Top 50 list, as these two films went onto emerge as the 3rd and 9th highest-grossing Hindi films of all-time and as the 7th and 15th highest-grossing Indian films of all-time respectively. On an overall look, out of the top 10 grossing films, four came from Tollywood, with five from Bollywood but, out of the top five, three from Tollywood and only one from Bollywood. Although Kollywood has actors with international fandom, unlike the others, it couldn't make it past 17th place. At the end of 2025, the top three highest-grossing Indian films are Dangal (2016 – Bollywood film), Baahubali 2: The Conclusion (2017 – Tollywood film) and Pushpa 2: The Rule (2024 – Tollywood film).
Now there is a saying (in South Asia at least) that, "Indian cinema is the second biggest film industry in the world after Hollywood"; but is it true..? These are the only three non-US, non-UK cinema-related entries this as was last year (but with Pushpa 2 and Kalki) so, maybe, in terms of that. But in terms of box office, not yet; not even close.
Another interesting coincidence I must add: 2025 had three billion-dollar Hollywood movies (Zootopia 2, Avatar: Fire and Ash and Lilo & Stitch – none of which made the report), all from Disney! Meanwhile, the highest grossing Indian film of 2025, Dhurandhar (#18), was co-produced and distributed by Jio Studios whose parent company Reliance Industries co-owns JioStar – which was formed by their Viacom18 merging with Disney Star and is co-owned by Disney India as well. So, Disney everywhere...!
|
Dec. 26 (#18 passes ₹1000 crore)
|
| 48 |
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning |
|
9,434,191
|
|
Other entries here discuss how hard it is to define "box office success" lately, specially when film fans go around trying to paint everything as a failure as if they were studio shareholders. Case in point, the eighth installment of Mission: Impossible, which ends the story of spy Ethan Hunt, as even if Tom Cruise is quite spry for 63, he deserves a break from life-threatening stunts. The movie was very expensive, estimated in the $300–400 million range, as along with the usual epic scope (the climactic scene involves a biplane chase with Cruise dangerously holding onto the aircraft), there were many problems that led to five release date changes, most prominently the pandemic that started during the production of predecessor Dead Reckoning and the strikes that halted production for months. And unlike how Dead Reckoning underperformed because Barbenheimer opened right afterwards, The Final Reckoning was one half of a quite disparate opening weekend against the Lilo & Stitch remake (coincidentally, the original opened against another Tom Cruise movie), and in spite of the best opening of the franchise, it didn't beat its family-friendly competitor and finished its theatrical run just short of $600 million. Thus, it didn't double its budget and was labeled as a flop, but good video-on-demand numbers and the fact both critics and audiences had a positive response shows this is one movie that shouldn't be reduced to box office data.
|
Mar. 23 (finishes opening weekend with $204 million)
|
| 49 |
Melania Trump |
|
9,425,271
|
|
As mentioned above, Trump is the second U.S. president to serve non-consecutive terms, and this also means his wife follows Frances Cleveland in being a non-consecutive First Lady. Melania has kept a low profile since returning to the White House, with rare public appearances and barely using the Office of the First Lady of the United States that was demolished to build a ballroom, instead spending time in the Trumps' New York and Florida residences. She also decided to follow the footsteps of Michelle Obama in audiovisual production, producing a documentary on her last 20 days before the 2025 inauguration. And all the discussion regarding #13 ended up hitting her as well, with claims that Epstein introduced Melania to Trump, prompting her to threaten legal action against those who said so, and HarperCollins even removed offending passages in a biography of the former Duke of York to avoid problems with Melania.
|
Jan. 20 (husband's inauguration)
|
| 50 |
Stranger Things season 5 |
|
9,339,392
|
|
As already mentioned, Netflix released the final season of one of its most popular shows, and to do so chose quite an unusual scheme across the holiday season: 4 episodes the day before (American) Thanksgiving, 3 more on Christmas, and the extra long 2 hour finale on New Year's Eve. The season starts 19 months after the previous one, in 1987, with the city of Hawkins quarantined so the military can investigate the "Upside Down" attached to it, while the protagonists seek the villainous Vecna, who in turn orders the kidnapping of children, including the sister of Mike Wheeler, to empower himself and cause a merger of the dark dimension with Earth. It all culminates in an assault on the Upside Down, and Eleven thinking she should sacrifice herself instead of letting the army experiment on her again. Preceded by a marketing and merchandise barrage, the new episodes had huge viewership numbers (the first volume had Netflix's third most viewed debut, after seasons 2 and 3 of Squid Game – which were contentious enough to make that show drop from an astonishing 4th in our 2021 list to far from entering this year... – and both it and the final episode crashed the platform) that included over a million tickets sold for theatrical screenings of the series finale. While mostly positive, responses were all over the place, not helped by some review-bombing from those who disliked seeing Will Byers coming out (if only to match the sexuality of his actor). In any case, even as the show ended, Netflix had already expanded it with a play on Vecna's origins performed on West End and Broadway, and they don't seem ready to let this world go, as this year comes animated spin-off Stranger Things: Tales from '85.
|
Nov. 17 (day after Volume 1)
|
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