2025 was a big year for movies, as many fan favorites dropped in theatres, ranging in all genres. From lighthearted comedies to thrillers to romances, this year proved to be a box office success for studios.
Mufasa: The Lion King
Rated as #18 by The Numbers, this story follows the unknown tragedy of Mufasa, better known as the father of Simba in the original The Lion King (1994) films. The movie takes place during his childhood, showcasing not only him, but also his tribe and history with Scar, the villain from the original story. While a musical drama, it incorporates heavy themes of love, longing, and betrayal. Released in December 2024, the movie sat at #1 for five consecutive weekends, earning $126,423,748 in total gross revenue.
Captain America: Brave New World
Brave New World is a superhero movie set in the Marvel universe, following Captain America as he defends his people from President Thaddeus Ross. It touches the themes of heroism, holding responsibilities, and the complexities of leadership. Released in February of 2025, the movie jumped to the top of the charts for the first three consecutive weekends following its release. It accrued $200,500,001 in total gross revenue.
A Minecraft Movie
Based on the popular game franchise of the same name, this is the movie all Minecraft fans have been waiting for. Following popular character Steve (Jack Black) and his band of players, portrayed by Jason Momoa, Sebastian Hansen, and Emma Myers, these heroes fight against a nefarious plot that threatens the Overworld, while also touching on heartwarming themes such as self-discovery, finding creativity, and freedom in the later stages of life. This movie quickly became a global hit, having the highest weekend turnout of 2025, and made about $424,087,780.
Zootopia 2
The follow up movie to the original Zootopia that came out in 2016, has Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps back on the job with the case of Gary De’Snake who comes across as a mysterious new character they need to investigate. The returning voice actors of Jason Bateman as Nick, Ginnifer as Judy and featuring new characters like De’Snake voiced by Ke Huy Quan, and Pawbert Lynxly voiced by Andy Samberg. According to Rotten Tomatoes the movie is at 91% for Rotten Tomatoes, meaning the show has attracted audiences enough to give it such a good rating and bringing in $337,903,155 to the box office.
Weapons
For the horror department, there were a couple notable hits for the year but one of them was Weapons. A movie about a mystery for a town when a class of 17 kids disappear at night with security footage showing them leave at 2:17am to seemingly the same place. The teacher of the class started her own investigation to find the kids and where they went. This movie was loved by horror fans who were awaiting its arrival. Jillian Romeo, a sophomore adds on, “It was confusing at first but ended in a way where you didn’t understand what happened at the beginning but it makes you get these big connections in the end. I would say it’s enjoyable but you really have to watch it all through.” The film raked in a grossing total of $151,572,492.
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Just released into theaters, the third installment in the Avatar franchise, Avatar: Fire and Ash, was projected to pull in between $95 and $115 million in its domestic debut, according to SlashFilm.com. So far, after being released on the 19 of December, it’s taken place as the 10 most popular movies. It has made $250,353,869 so far and those numbers are continuing to rise as tickets are still being bought.
The first movie in this series, Avatar, was released in 2009, making almost 3 billion, and the sequel, Avatar: The Way of Water (2022), made 2.3 billion. Fire and Ash is doing well with its anticipated release of being able to shift around the grossing list. With the other movies making billions, it’s predicted that soon enough the new release will end up catching up.
