'The Karate Kid' joins National Film Registry. See 25 new inductees.
"The Karate Kid" and "The Wrecking Crew," a 2008 documentary about a group of esteemed studio musicians, have joined a revered band of movies – the latest 25 films selected for the National Film Registry .
Since 1988, the National Film Preservation Board has selected 25 "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant motion pictures to preserve in the National Film Registry, which is part of the Library of Congress, if not already preserved in some fashion.
Other films selected for the 2025 class include favorites such as Pixar's "The Incredibles" (2004) and "Clueless" (1995), along with Christopher Nolan's "Inception" (2010) and Wes Anderson's 2014 film "The Grand Budapest Hotel."
Film historians will likely celebrate the inclusion of six silent films, including two from 1926: "Sparrows", starring Mary Pickford, and the 1926 silent film "Ten Nights in a Barroom", which starred an all-Black cast.
More than 7,550 films were considered to join the registry in 2025; however, the following 25 will be added to the list, which already includes "The Godfather", "The Searchers", "Cabaret", "Star Wars", "Casablanca", "The African Queen", "North By Northwest" and two versions of "Ben-Hur", the 1959 film starring Charlton Heston and the 1925 silent film.
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Filmmaker Ken Burns regularly uses the Library of Congress holdings when making documentaries. Now, his 1981 doc "Brooklyn Bridge," which is among the inductees, will be part of the library's film registry.
"When I think about the National Film Registry and all the films that are contained in it, I think of it as a giant mirror of the United States, reflecting back all of the complexity, all of the intimacy, all of the variety of the people and ideas and forces and movements that have taken place over our history. And you realize what an extraordinary repository it is," Burns said in a statement.
TV special honoring films to air March 19
Turner Classic Movies will host a television special on Thursday, March 19, starting at 8 p.m. ET, to honor the films joining the registry.
"It is very meaningful that the National Film Registry is adding six silent film titles, showing the range of topics and styles in the earliest years of American filmmaking," National Film Preservation Board Chair Jacqueline Stewart said in a news release. "And it is especially exciting to see that the top title nominated by the public for this year, 'The Thing,' has been added to the National Film Registry, along with 'The Truman Show' and 'The Incredibles' which also had very strong public support."
What 25 films are joining the National Film Registry?
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"The Tramp and the Dog" (1896)
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"The Oath of the Sword" (1914)
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"The Maid of McMillan" (1916)
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"The Lady" (1925)
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"Sparrows" (1926)
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"Ten Nights in a Barroom" (1926)
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"White Christmas" (1954)
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"High Society" (1956)
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"Brooklyn Bridge" (1981)
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"Say Amen, Somebody" (1982)
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"The Thing" (1982)
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"The Big Chill" (1983)
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"The Karate Kid" (1984)
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"Glory" (1989)
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"Philadelphia" (1993)
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"Before Sunrise" (1995)
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"Clueless" (1995)
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"The Truman Show" (1998)
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"Frida" (2002)
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"The Hours" (2002)
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"The Incredibles" (2004)
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"The Wrecking Crew" (2008)
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"Inception" (2010)
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"The Loving Story" (2011)
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"The Grand Budapest Hotel" (2014)
How to nominate movies to the National Film Registry's list
The public can submit nominations throughout the year on the Library of Congress' website , but movies will only be considered until Aug. 15, 2026. Cast your vote at loc.gov/film.
Last year's selections included noteworthy movies from "Uptown Saturday Night" and "Dirty Dancing" to "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" and "No Country for Old Men."
Mike Snider is a national trending news reporter for USA TODAY. You can follow him on Threads, Bluesky, X and email him at mikegsnider & @mikegsnider.bsky.social & @mikesnider & msnider@usatoday.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'The Karate Kid' among 25 National Film Registry inductees. See list.
