Despite a relatively quiet year, a new film that underperformed commercially, and a busy personal life, Leonardo DiCaprio has still been named TIME magazine’s Entertainer of the Year 2025, while remaining a strong contender in the upcoming awards season.

TIME recently announced DiCaprio as the recipient of the prestigious title, a decision widely considered well-deserved thanks to his powerful performance in One Battle After Another — one of the few projects the actor appeared in during the year.

In the film, DiCaprio portrays Bob Ferguson, a former revolutionary haunted by paranoia and emotional collapse after years of substance abuse. Bob lives in isolation with his daughter Willa, played by Chase Infiniti.

Sixteen years after stepping away from his revolutionary past, Bob is forced to reunite with former allies to search for his missing daughter and confront a dangerous adversary, Colonel Steven J. Lockjaw, portrayed by Sean Penn.

A box-office loss praised by critics
Released in September, One Battle After Another earned just over $200 million worldwide, a figure widely regarded as disappointing and insufficient to break even. However, the film became the highest-grossing title of director Paul Thomas Anderson’s career and received widespread critical acclaim, particularly for DiCaprio’s performance.