Former President Barack Obama is closing out 2025 with his annual tradition of sharing his favorite movies, music and books of the year — and a Sundance film made the list.
What were Obama’s favorite movies of 2025?
“Train Dreams,” which debuted at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, made it on to Obama’s list of his 11 favorite movies of 2025.
The film tells the story of a logger who built railway lines as the country expanded westward and is based on a novella by Denis Johnson, as the Deseret News previously reported.
“Even though it’s a historical drama and it’s epic, it’s also really intimate and small in this story about one life and one person trying to make sense of the world,” John Nein, who has been a Sundance Film Festival programmer for over 20 years, told the Deseret News last year.
“Train Dreams” made its premiere at the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center in Salt Lake City, but is now available to watch on Netflix.
Other films that made Obama’s list include:
- “Hamnet,” based on the novel by Maggie O’Farrell
- “Jay Kelly,” starring George Clooney as an aging movie star
- “One Battle After Another,” an action thriller starring Leonardo DiCaprio
- The horror film “Sinners”
What were Obama’s favorite books and music of 2025?
Obama also shared his top music and books of the year — and his favorites were wide-ranging.
His favorite music included:
- “Luther” by Kendrick Lamar and SZA
- “Faithless” by Bruce Springsteen
- “Abracadabra” by Lady Gaga
- “The Giver” by Chappell Roan
- “Bury Me” by Jason Isbell
- “Ordinary” by Alex Warren
- “Nokia” by Drake
Meanwhile, among his favorite books were:
- “Mark Twain” by Ron Chernow
- “We the People” by Jill Lepore
- “The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny” by Kiran Desai
- “The Buffalo Hunter Hunter” by Stephen Graham Jones
- “Abundance” by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson
- “A Marriage at Sea” by Sophie Elmhirst
Obama also noted that one of his favorite books this year was “The Look” — written by his wife, Michelle Obama — though he added, “Obviously, I’m biased.”