Fri. December 26, 2025
By Jerry Nunn
The year 2025 was a good year for queer cinema and a step in the right direction. The LGBTQ+ community followed the yellow brick road straight to the box office once again for the second act of Wicked.
There were creative foreign films like the Thai haunted vacuum cleaner caper A Useful Ghost and powerful documentaries such as Come See Me in the Good Light about the poet Andrea Gibson.
Queer-centric television series continued to expand the small screen and content didn't shy away from showing sex. From the comfort of their living rooms at home, viewers were recruited into the Marine Corps for Boots and scored high points with Heated Rivalry. Schools ruled with representation at every level with Abbot Elementary, English Teacher and Overcompensating.
Claire Danes piloted sapphic territory in The Beast in Me and so did Rhea Seehorn in the smash hit Pluribus.
Award-winning reality competition shows such as RuPaul's Drag Race, Survivor and Project Runway displayed a wide range of diversity this year.
Straight-identifying performers played multifaceted queer roles and gay identifying actors portrayed straight characters across the board. Some thespians have not yet publicly said how they identify. Josh O'Connor starred in four movies that premiered in 2025, including The History of Sound. The story of two men in love with music and each other rang true for viewers thanks to tender moments and folk songs.
Sydney Sweeney took punches in and outside the ring for Christy and Ethan Hawke nailed the talkative Lorenz Hart with his part.
Wicked: For Good brought the house down for one more trip to Emerald City and Ariana Grande may have wept her way to a big prize.
Newcomer Tonatiuh deserved a trophy for standout performance of Luis Molina in Kiss of the Spider Woman and Jennifer Lopez showcased some of the best costumes of the year in the musical's title role.
Ponyboi stampeded through strife in the story of an intersex sex worker with a heart of gold. A Nice Indian Boy took audiences back to the sentimental journey of Ang Lee's 1993 project, The Wedding Banquet. The newest version traveled new territory and didn't capture the comedy as well as Sorry, Baby did. Eva Victor was a breath of fresh air as a star and director. The same can be said for another A24 offering, Twinless, with James Sweeney doing double duty. Dylan O'Brien demonstrated a wide range of characterization in both Twinless and Ponyboi of this queer top 10.
The dynamic Tessa Thompson and the powerhouse Nina Hoss took viewers back to the classics with Hedda. The reimagining of Hedda Gabler benefited from a queer perspective that filmmakers should take note of in the future.
10 The History of Sound
9 Christy
8 Blue Moon
7 Wicked: For Good
6 Kiss of the Spider Woman
5 Ponyboi
4 A Nice Indian Boy
3 Sorry Baby
2 Twinless
1 Hedda
Cheers to more queer movies in 2026 and the future reflects a rainbow of talent. The Chronology of Water with Imogen Poots from Hedda kicks off the new year in January and Alexander Skarsgård hopes to dominate with Pillion in February. Forbidden Fruits sprouts up in the spring and the Drag Race team revs up for a late May release of Stop! That! Train!
Anne Hathaway prays that her sister act in Mother Mary hits all the right notes in April and Hunter Schafer is not only in that film but also in Anne Rice's Cry to Heaven in the fall.
For the complete article (non-reader view with multimedia and original links),
Tap here.
Head to the local LGBTQ news, events, directory and people network at ChicagoPride.com