We’re shippers here at Fangirlish. We love love stories, and there are few viewing pleasures better than watching two characters get together or bask in a romance.
There seemed to be fewer romantic moments on the big screen this year than usual. However, besides kisses, there were scenes where filmmakers put romance front and center in one way or another. We need to celebrate them! These are moments where relationships got to shine this year.
In random order, here they are: the Best Movie Ship Moments of 2025!
Clark Says I Love You to Lois, Superman
Their mid-air kiss is iconic, but there are a lot of great ship moments to choose from in this superb superhero spectacle. I’m going with the quiet, meaningful scene where Clark (David Corenswet) tells Lois (Rachel Brosnahan) he loves her.
Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) has destroyed Superman’s public reputation and captured Krypto, and the last time Clark and Lois spoke, they fought. So this scene is fraught before it even begins. Director James Gunn creates visual interest with the Justice Gang fighting a monster outside the window behind Lois and Clark, but it’s the emotional beat here that is so important.
Clark says he’s going to turn himself in because it will help him find Krypto. (Yes, Clark would do that for a dog. Could he be any more wholesome?) When Lois hugs him, the love declaration spills out of him like he can’t stop it. He has internalized his feelings and must express them. This moment perfectly fits the storytelling of this version of Superman, and it makes this version of Lois and Clark one of the best comic book movie couples we’ve seen in years.
MORE: For more romance, enjoy our list of the Best Movie Kisses of 2025!
Drasa Jumps Into the Gorge to Save Levi, The Gorge
The Gorge was a fantastic surprise. Its blend of romance and action thrills was so entertaining, we’re still thinking about it all these months later.
The interactions between Levi (Miles Teller) and Drasa (Anya Taylor-Joy) are a shipper’s dream. They communicate for months with signs across the gorge full of creatures they’re guarding. Then Drasa is sad one night, telling him she wishes he were with her, and Levi takes action. He rigs up a zipline so he can cross the gorge for dinner with her.
After this romantic gesture comes what I think is the biggest ship moment.
On his way back over, Levi’s zipline is damaged and he falls in. Drasa doesn’t hesitate. She grabs weapons and a parachute and jumps into danger to save him. Neither the audience nor Drasa know everything about the creatures in the gorge yet, but Drasa does know Levi’s life is in jeopardy. She also knows that Levi is a good fighter, just like her, but she immediately acts to help him anyway. Because their connection is so strong.
This moment demonstrates in a tactile way that love is a leap of faith.
Mary Remembers Matthew, Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale
I’m cheating a bit with this moment but I have to include it.
Matthew (Dan Stevens) and Mary (Michelle Dockery) of Downton Abbey were a top-tier television ship for the first three seasons. Then Stevens left the show, so Matthew was killed off in a gut-wrenching scene. Downton continued for 3 more seasons and 3 films. This year, we got the final hurrah of the Crawley family on the big screen, with Mary finally taking over Downton Abbey after divorcing her second husband.
The final scene is when this ship moment takes place.
It’s a simple one, proving that complicated doesn’t always mean better. Mary says goodbye to Edith (Laura Carmichael) at the door, then looks around the entryway, where so many things have happened over the years. She recalls those she’s lost: her sister, her grandmother, and Matthew.
A recap like this was the only way we were going to see Matthew in a film, but we’ll take it. The Matthew/Mary ship was so glorious that even this brief montage is extremely emotional because it’s clear how much Matthew still means to Mary. It’s probably the most bittersweet ship moment of the year.
MORE: For romance on the small screen, read our list of the Best TV Kisses of 2025!
Naveen’s Movie Proposal to Jay, A Nice Indian Boy
A Nice Indian Boy is a small indie romantic comedy with a big heart.
Naveen (Karan Soni) is out to his family but has never brought a boyfriend home. That changes with Jay (Jonathan Groff). These two have a sweet romance, so the audience is invested in their relationship. Then the angst of the story kicks in when family drama ends their engagement. Naveen and Jay are both miserable without each other, though, so of course we know they have to come back together. Naveen decides on a creative course of action.
He proposes to Jay again by using video tricks to put himself into Jay’s favorite Bollywood film, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, and the result is funny and touching.
This moment is also meaningful in many ways. Both Naveen and Jay think the film is romantic, so it’s special to them. Also, Naveen putting himself out there like this is a big deal because he’s an introvert. All of this adds impact to their love story. Soni and Groff’s performances add even more emotion. A moment like this is the kind of scene that solidifies a ship and makes it stand the test of time.
A Leaf For Elizabeth, Frankenstein
Though I prefer ships that eventually deliver a happy ending, as most viewers probably do, sometimes there is a moment from another type of ship that can’t be ignored. The latest film version of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein provides such a moment.
If you’ve read the classic novel, Victor Frankenstein’s (Oscar Isaac) treatment of his creation is just as terrible as you remember. When Frankenstein’s brother brings his fiancée, Elizabeth (Mia Goth), to visit, she finds the Creature (Jacob Elordi). This new human being is still adjusting to the world and has only known captivity and pain at the hands of his creator. Elizabeth’s kindness is the first positive thing he has known.
Elordi’s performance is magnificent. His fascination at seeing a woman for the first time is effortlessly conveyed, and when Elizabeth comes back, he goes even further. He gives her a leaf, and in return, she guides him toward speaking more. Elordi’s attempt to repeat her name when she leaves is an excellent piece of acting.
This moment shows how a ship can be emotionally unforgettable in a tragic way.
Jinu Sacrifices Himself For Rumi, KPop Demon Hunters
Netflix’s musical animated fantasy KPop Demon Hunters was a delightful surprise this year.
Rumi, voiced by Arden Cho, is the lead singer of KPop girl group Huntr/x. They have trained all their lives to hunt demons, and their music is a part of that. Things change when demon Jinu (Ahn Hyo-seop) and a boy vocal group of demons show up. Rumi realizes that demons are not all bad. That’s good because she was born part demon herself. Jinu’s presence in her life prompts Rumi to face the part of herself she has always had to hide.
They deny it at first, because they are natural enemies, but Rumi and Jinu affect each other deeply. They even get a duet together called “Free” and the lyrics are exactly what you think they would be. We know what that means in the world of musicals. The big moment comes at the climax of the fight against Gwi-Ma, the entity that controls the demons, when Jinu puts himself in the way to save Rumi.
“You gave me my soul back,” he tells her as he disappears. Jinu’s Derpy Tiger spirit messenger is still around at the end of the film, though, so I wouldn’t rule out his appearance in a sequel.
MORE: Want to read a review of one of the films on this list? How about our review of Black Bag!
Larry Gives Up Joan, Eternity
What’s that old saying? “If you love something, set it free.” Well, Eternity dramatizes that in one of the best ship moments of the year.
When Larry dies, he only has to wait a week in the afterlife for his wife of over 60 years to join him. Now played by Miles Teller and Elizabeth Olsen, Larry assumes Joan will choose to spend eternity with him. But he didn’t count on Luke (Callum Turner), Joan’s first husband, who died young in the Korean War, to be waiting on her, too.
Joan chooses neither of them. But only at first.
Larry realizes that because people’s looks in the afterlife return to when they were the happiest in life, Joan was happiest with Luke. So Larry tells her she should spend eternity with Luke. This moment is a touching representation of a character putting the person they love ahead of themselves. Isn’t that what love is really about? We don’t like love triangles, but this moment makes the conflict work narratively because it causes the audience to invest in a clear resolution.
We want Joan with Larry. And now we’re engaged in the final act of the film. Well done, Eternity.
George Tracks Kathryn, Black Bag
Steven Soderbergh’s fresh spy thriller Black Bag does something unique. It puts the usual action thrills of the espionage genre on the back burner in favor of interpersonal intrigue, which works largely due to the compelling couple at the center of the story.
Intelligence agent George Woodhouse (Michael Fassbender) is assigned to find the traitor in a group of colleagues that includes his wife, Kathryn (Cate Blanchett). The script is tight and sharp, with exceptional dialogue throughout. Best of all, George and Kathryn’s relationship is well-drawn.
During his investigation, Kathryn is sent out of the country to meet a contact. George has tech analyst Clarissa (Marisa Abela) clandestinely move a satellite so he can see what Kathryn is doing. Clarissa had asked earlier how George and Kathryn sustain their marriage in their line of work. Now, George answers. “I watch her and I assume she watches me,” he says. “If she is in trouble, even of her own making, I will do everything in my power to extricate her. No matter what that means.”
Clarissa responds, “That is so hot,” and the audience is in complete agreement. That kind of loyalty is what a ship is all about.
