2025 Movies

Looking back at 2025, there were many lackluster elements about it (almost as many as there were “what the fuck?” elements). But most noticeably when it came to the film offerings of the year. Perhaps yet another sign that the movie industry—and movies as “the culture” once knew them—really is taking a dive. That much has been made apparent in the ever-waning box office receipts that made 2025 stand out as one of the worst years for “weekend success.” This included the weekend of Halloween, from October 31st to November 2nd, with Regretting You, of all things, somehow claiming the number one spot…which should say something about the limited offerings on hand. With Black Phone 2 being the only strong contender during a weekend that marked what Gold Derby described as “the weakest showing for the month in twenty-seven years outside the pandemic shutdowns,” this was the “monetary nadir” in film that best summed up the nature of 2025. A year during which the proverbial studio seemed more determined than ever to make a return on its investment by releasing nothing but remakes, reboots and sequels, not getting the message that audiences truly do want to see something new.

For roughly the first two months of the year, there was little to “write home about” (as the saying goes, though no one really gets it anymore as letter-writing is a lost art as well), not even anything in the aforementioned categories. But then March came along and Bong Joon Ho’s Mickey 17 arrived, making it seem like things at the cinema were finally getting interesting again. So what does it tell you that Mickey 17 is counted among the biggest box office flops of the year, losing Warner Bros. upwards of eighty million dollars. What’s more, it almost looked as if the studio was actively working against any financial success Mickey 17 might have had by altering its release date not one, not two, not three, but four times and then not exactly going out of their way to promote it. This likely due to two key reasons: 1) Bong Joon Ho clashed with the studio about the ending, with the former getting final say on it and 2) the similarities between the Kenneth Marshall (Mark Ruffalo) character and a certain Orange demagogue might have prompted the studio to want to “bury” it. So it was that Mickey 17 barely spent any time in the theater.

March plodded along with a few other theoretically “promising” offerings, like A24’s Opus and Death of a Unicorn (with Holland and The Friend also pretending to be somewhat “promising” but failing as well), but it wasn’t until April rolled around that cinema seemed promising again, with Sinners at the forefront of the new releases. Indeed, it would turn out to maintain its title of being “one of the most exciting movies of the year” as the months wore on, and the year proved to offer little else in the way of “worthy box office draws.” And yes, it was surprising how “blockbuster-y” it was considering that such fare usually isn’t unleashed by studios until May. At which time the release of Thunderbolts (on May 2nd) marked the shift toward the “summer blockbuster” at the movies (and this was also before Lily Allen rendered David Harbour as basically unwatchable). Too bad Thunderbolts would be deemed one of the biggest financial flops of the year (along with Snow White, I Know What You Did Last Summer, Megan 2.0 and Christy).

Luckily, there were other “major” movies unleashed the same month to mitigate the feeling that even the biggest of budget offerings still couldn’t tantalize audiences to come out in droves as they once did. This included a smattering that ranged from Final Destination: Bloodlines to Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning to Karate Kid: Legends. All of which reemphasize the abovementioned “Hollywood problem”: an unwavering devotion to remakes, reboots and sequels. None of which can seem to “enchant” audiences as they once did (if they ever did at all). Well, except 28 Years Later, which was released in June, along with less satisfying blockbuster-classifiable movies like F1 and Megan 2.0. With more “indie” choices like Materialists and Sorry, Baby (both A24 movies, further indicating just how prolific that studio was in ‘25) thrown in for good measure.

By July, the blockbuster was in full swing as Jurassic World Rebirth, Superman, I Know What You Did Last Summer, Eddington and The Fantastic Four: First Steps were all rolled out over the course of the month. Even if a “little” film like Together seemed to be what many people were more interested in, never mind the accusations of plagiarism that caused a bit of a stir—and perhaps only helped to further spur interest in the project.

As for The Naked Gun, released in August, interest in that project was spurred by the supposed romance between Liam Neeson and Pamela Anderson that had heads turning for most of their press tour. The same month, another dredged-up IP offering was Freakier Friday, marking the first time that Lindsay Lohan had actually been allowed to star in a movie that would be released in a theater instead of directly to streaming. As August drew to a close, the only film in sight that could truly manage to delight on both a critical and audience enjoyment level was Darren Aronofsky’s Caught Stealing…even though The Roses was supposed to be a bright spot as well. But, of course, one should never assume that about a remake.

Mercifully, there was a glut of original material released in September, most notably James Sweeney’s Twinless and Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another (among the few truly memorable films released to theaters in 2025). This wasn’t to say there weren’t still plenty of sequels to be had. But one that was worth it—and has now become retroactively bittersweet due to the grisly murder of Rob and Michele Singer Reiner by their own son—is Spinal Tap II: The End Continues. In truth, the Reiners’ untimely end in mid-December seemed like an eerily “poetic” way to mirror the death of cinema itself. For there were few living directors more passionate about film and going to the movies than Reiner.

Commencing the “fourth quarter,” October saw the arrival of the nothing-else-quite-like-it horror movie, Good Boy, which centers on the horror in question from the perspective of a dog named Indy (also the dog’s name in real life). And yes, it’s a film that continues to prove that animal actors should be entitled to an Oscar category as well. Or perhaps even be allowed into the human categories of Best Actor/Actress and Best Supporting Actor/Actress. Elsewhere in October, the return of Derek Cianfrance with Roofman proved to be something of a disappointment in that the fundamental message of it turned out to be that Jeffrey Manchester (based on the real-life “Roofman” robber of the same name) was just a man who had a bout of “bad financial luck” and was forced to resort to crime. Not that, say, capitalism played any part in what he was reduced to doing. Fortunately, October had a spate of other worthwhile films to see, like After the Hunt, If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, Blue Moon, The Mastermind, Bugonia, Anniversary and Nouvelle Vague (meanwhile, everyone forgot that the Jennifer Lopez-starring remake of Kiss of the Spider Woman also came out in October—which is to her benefit).

November brought a few glimmers as well, like Edgar Wright’s The Running Man (another remake), Osgood Perkins’ Keeper and Noah Baumbach’s Jay Kelly (though it wasn’t released in theaters). And as the month drew to an end, studios pulled out a mix of more “big budget” and “quiet movie” fare in the form of Wicked: For Good (with the excitement this time around being much more tamped down than it was for Wicked at the end of 2024), Zootopia 2, Wake Up Dead Man (again, not released in theaters), Hamnet and Eternity. And then, with just one month left to make any kind of impression on audiences, the studios at large opted to provide the following by way of “standout” movie releases: Avatar: Fire and Ash, The Housemaid, Is This Thing On?, Anaconda, Song Sung Blue, Marty Supreme and The Testament of Ann Lee.

Although most of these are marked improvements (even Anaconda—another remake) from some of what was being distributed earlier in the year, by and large, 2025 has been the year of no ostensible “memorable movie.” And maybe not since 2023 (with Barbie and Oppenheimer equaling “Barbenheimer”) has there been a “cultural moment” in terms of films that could create enough excitement to generate a “monoculture”-like effect. Of the sort that used to happen when moviegoing was considered an essential experience by those with leisure time. But then, who can blame audiences for staying at home based on what the studios are selling? Sadly, what’s left of the “studios” (all merged at this point with some “parent” company) is probably offering better than what will come of the inevitable Netlflix-Warner Bros. “merger” (read: takeover), with the latter company determined to eradicate what was once conventional moviegoing altogether. So maybe one should enjoy the schlock they still can see at the theater. Because, before long, it might not even be a possibility.