Got yourself a fantastic option from our list of the best Dolby Atmos soundbars – or, better yet, a full-scale Atmos home theater system? Then, like me, you’re probably always looking for something new to show it off, even if it’s just to yourself.
Our testing of the best soundbars and speakers means I get to listen to a lot of different movies on great systems, as well as just the stuff I watch at home on my own setup. I have previously covered great Dolby Atmos movies from all ages, and my pick of the top Dolby Atmos movies with a music focus, but this time out I’m focusing just on new movies released in Dolby Atmos this year.
As ever, I recommend watching these on physical media, using one of the best 4K Blu-ray players, for the best experience – the widest dynamic range, the sharpest detail – but however you watch them, they’re great for making you feel your system was worth the money and effort.
1. Sinners
Given how central music is to the themes of this movie, it’s no surprise that it’s one of the best-sounding films of the year – and all presented in glorious Dolby Atmos, naturally.
The movie follows two brothers who return to their 30s small town to open a juke joint – a bar and dancing hall – and take on a young protégé. But the bar attracts unwanted attention, from humans who don’t want to see Black people enjoying their own space in the Jim Crow-era South, but also from non-humans who actually are very much into the bar scene.
There are lots of great Dolby Atmos details in the early parts of the movie, where we’re being introduced to the town and local world, and then later when the movie starts to fill up with action. But the stand-out section is the song I Lied to You, performed in the juke joint.
The film has a few things to say about the power of music, and in particular, this section is about the ability of songs to act like time machines, bridging from now into both the past and future – and all in an incredibly powerful modern music mix.
2. Warfare
From a movie focused on beautiful music mixing to one focused on the horrific nightmare sounds of war – but as a demo of the power and spatial positioning of Dolby Atmos, I’m not sure there’s any better option this year.
Warfare follows a unit of US soldiers and their local translators in the middle of an ongoing battle during the Iraq War. The movie is based on the real-life recollections of co-director Ray Mendoza, and it takes place essentially in real-time, as the soldiers invade the home of some civilians, hunker down to monitor the situation, and then find themselves under attack from every direction.
When things become dangerous, the sound is incredibly intense – it’s as dynamic as it can be (a good reason to get this on Blu-ray rather than streaming, since dynamic edges can be sanded off in the latter), and it comes from all directions.
There’s one notable explosion scene that provides a great showcase of what your system can do, and when it comes to the surround effects, the lengthy scene of a team moving through the streets in a constant firefight is hardcore demo material.
3. Final Destination: Bloodlines
Am I including this just because this movie rocks? Not entirely… but definitely a bit. Final Destination: Bloodlines is surely the best movie in the long-running series, in no small part because of just how meta it’s become.
It’s the usual Final Destination setup: some people have survived death due to a premonition, and now death is pulling out some very elaborate tricks to kill them one by one. The twist here is that the characters we’re following didn’t cheat death themselves – they’re the descendants of people who did, and death still wants to tidy its mess.
The huge opening disaster set piece is a big Dolby Atmos showcase in itself, as a tower collapses and wrenches itself apart around us.
But even if the rest of the movie doesn’t go that big, Atmos is still used to great effect just in the general tone-setting the movie’s doing. The reason the film is so much fun is that it knows we’re looking out for clues to the ridiculous deaths that are inevitably coming – and so it shows us close-ups of barbecues burning and point garden forks rattling in the wind, using the 3D soundscape to hammer that home and build the tension.
4. The Wild Robot
I’ve covered a lot of grim and violent movies so far, so let’s go with something a little more family-friendly. This movie is a colorful visual treat, but that’s not what we’re here for – so it’s good news that the sound is absolutely engrossing as well.
The movie is about a robot that becomes stranded on a remote island, where it starts to build a relationship with the local wildlife over time. It makes full use of the positional effect of Dolby Atmos, not just to surround you with detailed animal sounds, but also to make you feel the power of storms and rain.
It’s a great new demo showcase of your system, and is a much less stressful watch than the other movies so far. Well, mostly a less stressful watch – as you might expect from a movie about an adorable robot befriending nature, it can be a tearjerker.
5. Kingdom of Heaven
This is not a new movie from 2025, but the 4K Blu-ray with Dolby Atmos soundtrack only arrived this year, so I’m calling it a 2025 release. Gladiator II was the runner-up for this spot on the list, as our ‘Ridley Scott-directed, historical drama epic’ pick – but having tried both movies in our test rooms, this one delivers the more impactful demo material.
Kingdom of Heaven follows a blacksmith-turned-warrior who finds himself at the center of other people’s ambitions during the Crusades, leading to a huge siege in Jerusalem. A lot more happens along the way, but good lord, this is a complicated movie, I can’t cover it all.
The important thing here is the powerful soundtrack, which is capable of really giving your woofers a workout. The chaotic sound of battle comes from all around you, with precision to the sword clashes and yells, while the thundering of hooves from a horse charge hits you right in the gut.
6. A Complete Unknown
There’s always got to be something music-focused on this list, and in 2025, that’s the Bob Dylan biopic and its impressive recreation of the ’60s folk world.
It follows Dylan from his arrival in New York and breaking out as a performer, up to the moment he went electric in 1965 and split with the folk community he’d risen to fame with. It’s got a range of performances, and explores his relationship with the likes of Joan Baez and Pete Seeger.
This isn’t the most prominent Dolby Atmos mixing for positional sound, but it really leans into the ‘atmos’ side of things, fleshing out the clear and crisp mixing of the songs with the gentle sounds of the open-air festivals, or the movement in a club.
There’s great dynamic range to the music, so if you’ve got a system with a lot of headroom, it can still have some fun – but in its quieter moments, it really makes the most of the detail your system can muster too.
7. Nosferatu
![NOSFERATU - Official Trailer [HD] - Only In Theaters December 25 - YouTube](https://i0.wp.com/img.youtube.com/vi/nulvWqYUM8k/maxresdefault.jpg?w=1320&ssl=1)
From the gentle to the dreadful. (As in, full of dread. I didn’t love this movie, but I wouldn’t describe it that harshly.) Nosferatu has a few moments that really seize on the 3D sound of Dolby Atmos, but it’s another one that’s more about the atmosphere – and even more specifically about the bass.
This remake of the 1922 film mixes the plot of the original with elements more directly taken from Dracula (of which the original is a thinly-veiled knock-off), so we follow Thomas, a gentle soul who leaves his wife, Ellen, to take care of the sale of a decrepit mansion in… I’m just checking my notes here… Transylvania!? Uh oh.
The soundtrack and score are hugely important to the menacing foreboding tone here (though the darkness-ridden cinematography is also a great visual showcase for the best OLED TVs), and you’ll really get to feel the impact of a great sub – not in big bassy impacts, but the constant, unnerving thrum of the guttural voice of Count Orlok’s presence.
Other scenes really show off both the energy and subtlety in the soundtrack, though – the wolf chase being a particular stand-out.
8. The Last Voyage of the Demeter
I’m pulling a Dracula double! This is another movie where Atmos is used to build growing tension, but with a little more focus on the positional sound side of things.
The film is based on the story of Dracula stowing away aboard the sailing ship Demeter, to make his way from Europe to dreary old England. In Bram Stoker’s novel, this is all told through the ship’s logs in retrospect – so the movie aims to show it directly.
We’re trapped on the ship with the crew, living not only with the general creaking and unnerving groans that come with being on a wooden ship, but also the extra creepiness of something else moving in the dark around the decks, or the ambiguity of sound ringing out into the quiet sea air.
Sometimes the air isn’t so quiet, though – there’s also great moments of driving rain and waves crashing around you. It’s not exactly an amazing movie, but it makes for a cool sound showcase.
9. F1: The Movie
Okay, let’s forget these subtle, atmosphere-building positional effects and let’s throw some big engine sounds from side to side. F1: The Movie has some of the most incredible racing footage ever captured, and the sound to go with it.
The film follows Sonny Hayes, a talented-but-wasted race driver who meanders from competition to competition. When his old Formula 1 teammate, and now owner of a failing F1 team, offers him a seat to race the rest of the season, he gets a chance to show up the younger drivers and more established teams. It’s Top Gun: Maverick in cars, from the director of Top Gun: Maverick – don’t overthink it.
Big, loud cars whip from left to right across your sound system, engines fire up suddenly, shocking sudden crashes boom out – this is a movie built to overwhelm and awe when the racing cranks up.
It also draws you into the cockpit, positioning the engine behind you, and the click of controls and the whir of the wheels where they should be. It’s a great demo for a dynamic system with great surround skills.
10. Honorable Mention – From the World of John Wick: Ballerina
I haven’t seen this yet at home, but I’ve seen a few people say that it has a great Dolby Atmos soundtrack, full of sharp, precisely positioned gunshots and sound that moves with the action. And given how great the sound is on the other John Wick movies, I don’t doubt it.
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