Film critics, cinephiles and casual movie fans were predicting a tough year for cinema in 2024. Coming off challenges like 2023’s Hollywood strikes, the continued dominance of streaming and a theatrical business still in recovery after the pandemic, the outlook was bleak.
But against all odds, it’s been a great year for movies. There were plenty of box-office juggernauts like Dune: Part Two, Deadpool & Wolverine and Inside Out 2 — as well as art-house gold, like Challengers, Love Lies Bleeding and Long Legs.
And with the year coming to a close, 2025’s slate looks even brighter. New films by acclaimed filmmakers like Bong Joon-ho and Ryan Coogler are on the way, as well as blockbusters from familiar franchises like Mission Impossible and Avatar.
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Let’s look ahead to the films we’re most excited to check out in 2025.
‘Mickey 17’
Coming off his Oscar-winning film Parasite, South Korean director Bong Joon-ho returns this January with Mickey 17. Returning to speculative science fiction (after other triumphs like Snowpiercer and The Host) Bong’s newest film stars Robert Pattinson as a disposable employee whose body is continually regenerated. After its release was delayed due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike, Mickey 17 hits theaters in early 2025.
Expected release date: January 31
‘Sinners’
Ryan Coogler and his muse Michael B. Jordan are teaming up again for the upcoming horror film Sinners. The details of the project were shrouded in secrecy until the trailer premiered in late September; Sinners follows twin brothers who return to their hometown only to encounter evil vampires.
Expected release date: March 7
Disney’s ‘Snow White’
Disney continues their new-ish tradition of creating live-action remakes of their beloved animated films with Snow White. The musical, co-authored by Barbie’s Greta Gerwig, stars Rachel Zegler in the titular role and Gal Gadot donning the crown as the Evil Queen.
Expected release date: March 21
‘Mission Impossible 8’
Tom Cruise’s missions are increasingly becoming quite possible, as he and director Christopher McQuarrie return for MI:8 (currently untitled). Billed as a direct sequel to 2023’s Missions Impossible — Dead Reckoning, the eighth installment’s plot details are being kept under wraps, but expect more action sequences in exotic locations as filming reportedly took place in Malta, South Africa and Norway.
Expected release date: May 23
’28 Years Later’
Off last year’s Oscar-winning performance in Oppenheimer, Cillian Murphy returns to his breakout character in 28 Years Later. A sequel to 2002’s 28 Days Later and 2007’s 28 Weeks Later, the post-apocalyptic horror film reunites Murphy with director Danny Boyle, who are teaming up, once again, to take on a world overrun by scary, infected British zombies.
Expected release date: June 20
‘F1’
With a rumored budget of $300 million (with $30 million being allocated to star Brad Pitt) and the dramatic rise in the sport’s popularity, F1 is undoubtedly one of the most anticipated films of the year. Pitt stars as Sonny Hayes, a Formula One driver who comes out of retirement to train a rookie phenom. From the looks of the full-throttle trailer and with Top Gun: Maverick director Joseph Kosinski at the helm, F1 could prove to be the blockbuster of the summer.
Expected release date: June 27
Superman
Superman has remained one of the more difficult characters to adapt to the big screen, but that hasn’t stopped DC Comics and Warner Bros. from trying! The Man of Steel is getting yet another reboot this summer with director James Gunn bringing a new iteration to life. Gunn promised the currently untitled Superman film will be the first of his new DC Universe and will star David Corenswet as Clark Kent / Superman.
Expected release date: July 11
Untitled Paul Thomas Anderson Film
Paul Thomas Anderson, the auteur behind contemporary classics like There Will Be Blood,
Magnolia and Boogie Nights, returns this August with a currently untitled new film. Details are being closely guarded, but last January Anderson was spotted filming outside a grocery store with a Big Lebowski-esque looking Leonardo DiCaprio. If rumors are true, the full cast is stacked with reported appearances from Regina Hall, Viggo Mortensen and Joaquin Phoenix.
Expected release date: August 8
‘The Bride!’
Maggie Gyllenhaal settles in the director’s chair for the second time in her career with The Bride! Dubbed as an adaptation/remake of the 1935 classic Bride of Frankenstein, the film stars Penélope Cruz, Christian Bale and Gyllenhaal’s husband Peter Sarsgaard. An early synopsis describes a film that takes place in 1930s Chicago, with Frankenstein’s creation occurring amid a “wild and radical social movement.” With another Mary Shelley reimagining on the way by filmmaker Guillermo del Toro, Frankenstein is apparently en vogue in 2025.
Expected release date: September 26
‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’
James Cameron’s opus continues late next year with the third installment in the Avatar series, Avatar: Fire and Ash. After the first film’s historic success (in which the epic sci-fi film became the highest-grossing movie of all time) Cameron announced a whopping four sequels, all to be shot simultaneously in New Zealand. Despite a 13-year gap between installments, audiences lined up for 2022’s Avatar: The Way of Water. The quick turnaround for the next sequel could have this newest Avatar film breaking box office records of its own.
Expected release date: December 19, 2025
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