'Atropia,' 'Twinless' top Sundance awards. Here are more movies we loved.

And just like that, a somewhat muted Sundance Film Festival has come to a close.

On Friday, the annual fest in Park City, Utah, announced the winners of its 2025 trophies: "Atropia," an Iraq War satire starring Alia Shawkat, walked away with the U.S. dramatic Grand Jury Prize. And James Sweeney's twisty dark comedy "Twinless," featuring a fantastic Dylan O'Brien as identical twin brothers, received the festival’s other top hardware, the U.S. dramatic audience award. "Seeds" and "André is an Idiot" led the documentary honors, while the NEXT Innovator Award went to "Zodiac Killer Project," a deconstruction of the true-crime genre.

In its heyday, Sundance was known for all-night bidding wars over hot new independent films that went on to become crossover box-office hits and major Oscar contenders. But many journalists agree that it’s been an off year for the snow-covered fest: Alison Brie and Dave Franco’s body horror movie "Together" was one of the only acquisitions. Highly anticipated films starring Ayo Edebiri ("Opus") and Dev Patel ("Rabbit Trap") fizzled with critics, and with the exception of Jennifer Lopez ("Kiss of the Spider Woman"), no A-listers were on hand to shut down the red carpets.

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Nevertheless, there were still many offerings we enjoyed. John Magaro is magnificent in the wrenching road-trip drama "Omaha," while Tom Blyth and Russell Tovey set off sparks in the scorching, suspenseful gay romance "Plainclothes." "The Wedding Banquet," a weepy update of the 1993 queer classic, is bolstered by understated turns from Lily Gladstone, Joan Chen and Oscar winner Yuh-jung Youn ("Minari").

Here are the five Sundance films that we loved the most:

'Kiss of the Spider Woman'

Thank God for Bill Condon. The "Dreamgirls" director has gifted us the best movie musical in years with "Spider Woman," a sumptuous and spellbinding adaptation of John Kander and Fred Ebb’s 1993 Broadway show. Evoking vibrant Old Hollywood musicals "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" and "Singin' in the Rain," Jennifer Lopez oozes glamour as the ravishing silver-screen goddess Aurora, with jaw-dropping song-and-dance numbers set inside the mind of a fanciful gay prisoner named Molina (newcomer Tonatiuh). The film tenderly explores gender identity and social responsibility, with tremendous performances from both Lopez and Diego Luna, playing Molina's firebrand cellmate Valentin. But it's the enchanting Tonatiuh who grabs your heart from the very first frame, giving the sort of star-making turn that we won't shut up about next Oscar season. – Patrick Ryan

'Oh, Hi!'

At a time in the year when romantic comedies begin to arise like the tired, trope-filled undead, Sundance gave us one that breaks the mold and ties it up in bed. In Sophie Brooks' genre send-up, Logan Lerman and an outstanding Molly Gordon play a young couple a mere four months into a relationship when they take their first romantic trip together. Love songs are sung, fancy dinners are made, sexy times are had. But when one comes clean to the other about how they really feel, that's when this thing goes off the rails – in a good way. Rom-coms often reek of sentimental nonsense, but this one proudly goes its own way melding the relatable with the absurd. – Brian Truitt

Ranked: The best movies we saw at Sundance Film Festival

'Sorry, Baby'

"Sorry, Baby" marks the arrival of a major new voice in Eva Victor, who wrote, directed and starred in the bruisingly honest traumedy. The film follows the quotidian life of a bitingly funny English professor named Agnes (Victor), who struggles to imagine a future for herself after enduring sexual assault. Victor’s script brilliantly oscillates between the awkward and profound, forcing the audience to sit in at times hilarious discomfort. Naomi Ackie and Lucas Hedges are extremely charming as Agnes' best friend and love interest, respectively, while Kelly McCormack is drolly deplorable as the worst classmate you’ve ever had. – Ryan

'Pee-wee as Himself'

If you were a kid who watched "Pee-wee's Playhouse" on Saturday mornings or "Pee-wee's Big Adventure" on a silver screen, you felt like you knew Pee-wee Herman. Turns out, we didn't really know him at all. That is, we didn't know Paul Reubens, the comedian who chose giving life to a bow-tied oddball over showing the world who he truly was. This fascinating documentary lets Reubens, who did 40 hours of interviews for the film before dying of cancer in 2023, finally tell his own story, of a cultural icon with a huge fandom, of a gay man labeled a pedophile by society, and of a mercurial genius who struggled to find a balance between his private and public lives. – Truitt

'Train Dreams'

Joel Edgerton is quietly staggering in this low-key American epic, playing a taciturn logger in the early 1900s Pacific Northwest who is struck by unfathomable tragedy. Gorgeous and surreal, the lyrical drama comes from the same filmmaking team as last year's "Sing Sing," a similarly gentle meditation on humanity and purpose. Felicity Jones, Kerry Condon and William H. Macy all shine in small yet stirring roles in the movie, which Netflix bought at Sundance for distribution. – Ryan

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Sundance winners: 'Twinless,' 'Atropia' top 2025 film festival