2025 Summer Movie Preview!
Who will rule the summer box office?
Feels like just a few weeks ago I was typing the first part of 2025 movie schedule and now here we are already at the summer movie season! The 2025 year got off to a very slow start both commercially and critically, but April brought us the box office juggernaut A Minecraft Movie and the incredibly well reviewed from critics and audiences alike, Sinners(!). So here is to hoping that is a sign of things to come as we turn the calendar this upcoming week to the summer season! So without further ado, here is what you have to look forward to this summer on the big screen:
Thunderbolts* (May 2nd)- Just as April brought a very welcome saving for the theatrical experience/box office, Disney and Marvel have to be hoping May brings them a similar fate. After the complete train wreck that was Captain America: Brave New World, the studio now sends out their next feature in Thunderbolts*. A team of anti-heroes forming a new group to save the day in the MCU. They have done a really nice job with the trailers I think on this one. And I would be willing to bet every dollar I have or ever make that it will at least be better than the previous entry, Captain America.
It is hard to trust the early buzz out of Marvel movies because they are all the same, best MCU entry yet, game changing post credit scenes. Hopefully this time it’ll be somewhat true. But audiences have been burned the past few times out in the comic book world, so while I am sure this will do fine at the box office, I don’t think Marvel will be returning to their pre-Endgame heights with this one. I would say it’ll top out at 500 million dollars, which is a step in the right direction, and also be critically well received.
Friendship (May 9th)- A box office juggernaut Friendship will certainly not be, but this could be the best movie of the summer. At least for me and my tastes. A24 already debuted this film at last years Toronto Film Festival to high reviews, currently standing at a 91% on Rotten Tomatoes. So I think critically we can already assume that this is a going to be good. But this is for all the weirdos out there, The Tim Robinson/Nathan Fielder type of guys and gals. Hitting that cringe comedy where you aren’t sure if you should be laughing or sighing at the actions you are seeing on screen. I am here all day, everyday for that kind of energy, and twice on Sundays. So A24 can certainly consider my ticket bought! And speaking of Nathan Fielder, season 2 of his show, The Rehearsal, premiered this past week on HBO/Max and it is peak Fielder, so check it out if you have either of those services.
Final Destination Bloodlines (May 16th)- When you think of the iconic horror movie franchises in the history of film, stuff like Halloween, Friday the 13th, Scream, or The Exorcist series are probably what come top of mind. But the Final Destination franchise is a pretty reliable one. Costs always remain pretty low on them and they can usually gross around 150 million dollars. At CinemaCon a few weeks back this was one of the top premiering trailers of the whole week. When the trailer was released online, it was the second most watched horror trailer of all time (behind IT).
Now I certainly don’t think that this is going to be the second biggest horror movie of all time, but I think it will perform better than any previous entry in the franchise (187 million is the current champion) and be a nice little horror hit this summer. These movies are pretty critic proof too, you either like what they are putting down, or these movies just aren’t for you.
Hurry Up Tomorrow (May 16th)- Since his series, The Idol, was so well received on HBO, The Weekend, decided to make a feature film as well. Lucky us! I don’t even feel the need to write a bunch about this, I doubt it is going to make much money at the box office, maybe can crack 25 million(?). And critically this is going to be the worst movie of the summer, so we can hurry up and move onto the next movie.
Mission: Impossible- The Final Reckoning (May 23rd)- The assumed final entry in the long running Tom Cruise action series. The main question going into all of these movies is how will Cruise be able to amaze us with whatever death defying stunt he is doing? If this is the last mission impossible it looks like he is going out with a bang based off the trailers. Once these movies were re-energized in the early 2010’s, they have all been great films, each one improving on the last. This will certainly be no exception here and will most definitely, take it to the bank, be one of the best films not just of the summer, but of the year. It even managed to be selected for the very prestigious Cannes film festival.
Now box office wise, that is another story. These movies always seem to make between 700-850 million dollars globally, which is not too shabby at all. The problem is just that these last two, due to Covid and strike related delays mainly have had their budgets ballooned. This movie needs to hit 900 million dollars I think in order to break even during its theatrical run, which is just insane. But come on Tom Cruise lovers, let us all unite and send Mr. Cruise in his most iconic role out on a high note.
Lilo & Stitch (May 23rd)- Memorial Day weekend could bring us the next Barbenheimer with Mission Impossible and Lilo & Stitch. I think the monstrous success that Minecraft has had at the box office in April has shown us that there is an insane market out there for the right kids movie. This is something I would consider the right kids movie for sure. Young kids of today are going to go and see it because Stitch is adorable and they want in on the action. Generations older are going to want to see it as well because unlike with Snow White, this is actually an IP that does resonate with younger people. Look at how well Inside Out 2 did last year.
Similar story here, as I am sure this will be well received, but pale in comparison to the OG animated movie. But like Inside Out 2 proved, if you can even hold a torch to the original you can carry it all the way to the bank cashing those checks of moviegoers all around the world. This could actually at the end of the day outperform Mission Impossible at the box office. Stitch might just be the one thing Tom Cruise couldn't outrun.
Fountain of Youth (May 23rd on Apple TV+)- There will be a few streaming movies peppered in here and there. This article is to mainly champion the theatrical going experience and those movies, but the people deserve to know what is coming out. Unfortunately, just based off the trailer it look as if this could give Hurry Up Tomorrow a run for its money at the top of the race for worst summer movie. I like Guy Ritchie, but he is just pumping them out at this point and they seem to all be pretty disposable and forgettable films. At times some of his recent movies have at least been entertaining, but this doesn't look like it’ll be one of them.
Karate Kid: Legends (May 30th)- I will be honest, until going down the list of what was coming out this summer, I didn’t even know this was. To me Karate Kid seems like one of those kind of useless IP’s. I don’t really know who out there is clamoring for a new entry in this franchise, but hey, prove me wrong here Karate Kid and go make some money. The last movie made 360 million dollars worldwide I guess, but that was 15 years ago. Jackie Chan is at least in it too, so maybe I am talking myself into this not being the financial bomb of the summer.
That said, I would be surprised if this did top 200, let alone 300 million at the worldwide box office. Critically I personally don’t care about these movies in the slightest so I don’t even care to guess or look up the current buzz around this. I think the fact that 15 minutes ago I found out this was even coming out should tell me all I need to know about it.
The Phoenician Scheme (May 30th)- Wes Anderson has made his appearance on the list! You either like Wes Anderson and his incredibly OCD aesthetic or you think it is the weirdest shit you have ever seen in your life. There is simply no in between with Wes. I am one who falls much more in the former as compared to the latter. I think his films are pretty delightful 90 minutes at the theater. This looks a little darker than the usual Wes Anderson film, but still dialed up to a symmetrical number like 11 on the Wes Anderson scale.
His movies also have a really devoted audience and they usually are a shoe-in to make at least 50 million dollars at the box office. It wasn’t in one of the huge theaters that seats like 100-200 people, but his last movie Asteroid City was one of the few movies I have seen in the post pandemic world that was completely sold out. I expect nothing less with this one and imagine it will make his usual 50-100 million dollars, exactly enough to green lit whatever he has cooked up next in that whimsical head of his!
From the World of John Wick: Ballerina (June 6th)- The John Wick cinematic universe has officially expanded into spin-offs. Ana de Armas leads the action flick that will hope to copy the success of the main franchise. There has been a lot of noise around this one of the years, with various delays and reshoots. Not always, but like with another Lionsgate film last year, Borderlands, that doesn’t always inspire confidence from a moviegoer perspective.
Similarly to Mission Impossible, this movie mainly due to the reshoots just cost so much damn money. So when this movie was greenlit at its original budget, it had an original cost it needed to cover. But this film had massive reshoots and now needs to cover for basically the film being shot twice. Lionsgate just seems to keep digging itself a bigger and bigger hold, intent on trying to come out the other side. I think they would be very happy with a small loss even on this one, but all eyes will be on it come June 6th and its opening weekend.
Predator: Killer of Killers (June 6th on Hulu)- Another streaming movie, this time in pretty big action franchise. It certainly can’t bode well in my opinion for the studios opinion on the film if Disney thinks it is better to release a Predator movie on streaming rather than in theaters. I am also super out on this franchise though, so maybe I am just looking for reasons to doubt it. Last year a movie they originally intended for streaming with Alien: Romulus they ended up releasing in theaters, and it made 350 million dollars, but hey what do I know?
The Life of Chuck (June 6th)- Probably the smallest movie that will be covered on this list, but it won best film at last years Toronto Film Festival. So quality wise, at least we know there will be one winner released on June 6th! Based off a novella that Stephen King makes this an interesting play too. His horror fans really show up to his movies, but the success has been as prevalent when the movie is more of a straight drama. It is super surprising that this is being released in the summer and not positioned in the fall for more of an awards run. But hey quality summer entertainment is quality summer entertainment, so we will take what we can get.
How to Train Your Dragon (June 13th)- These live action remakes are in full force this summer. The How to Train Your Dragon animated trilogy is one of the better received trilogies this side of the 21st century. This movie premiered at CinemaCon actually and looks like it was pretty well liked. Similarly to Lilo & Stitch, the film didn’t quite reach the acclaim of the OG, but a good remake is still a good remake. I don’t want to just copy and paste everything I said about Lilo & Stitch down here, but the exact same thought process applies. Family film that applies to multiple generations of moviegoers who will probably be able to push this past 500 million at the worldwide box office.
The Materialists (June 13th)- Celine Song’s film Past Lives was one of the true revelations of 2023. So excited to see what she has in store for us with her sophomore feature. This looks like a real 1980’s romantic comedy in the vein of pure gems like Broadcast News. I’m not sure if commercially the audience is there for these films anymore, as they seem to be almost exclusively streaming. But I think wit everything going on in the world, people are ready to go to the movie and fall in love with a heartwarming love story.
The cast does have me personally concerned for this one. Love Dakota Johnson, she is the best. But her two leading men in this leave a lot to be desired for me. But sometimes all it takes is a great writer/director like a Celine Song to pull great performances out of actors who leave a little to be desired. Rooting for this one for sure, and will be there opening weekend to support!
Elio (June 20th)- Pixar had a tough go of it in the early part of the 2020’s but came roaring back with the number one movie of last year with Inside Out 2. Now they are back to original storytelling with Elio. Their last original movie Elemental, did very poor opening weekend, where the death of Pixar was written about to no end, but then quietly became a sleeper hit, earning 400 million dollars. That was a pretty well received movie critically though, and I personally have not heard the best things about Elio. There seems to be no awareness around it, and just like Pixar/Disney is not even trying to promote this at all. In Pixar we trust though and maybe they are just waiting for Lilo & Stitch to come out to put the full force marketing behind this one.
28 Years Later (June 20th)- You know it has to be bad when a zombie apocalypse is going on for 28 years. Lucky for fans of the zombie genre though, that means you will be getting more and more of these movies. Sony pre-bought and greenlit a whole new trilogy of 28 years later films and this will mark the first one to be released. They seem to be going Force Awakens on this and hiding Cillian Murphy from any of the promotional stuff to date. Maybe he will just be at the very end or not in it at all. Personally I think it is a mistake to not have the lead of your franchise in your expense new trilogy that you need to succeed but that is just me I guess.
Sony has a lot riding on this too, as the early word on the sequel to this 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is not strong. So they need this to come out the gate strong and get people invested or this trilogy might be as dead as the zombies they are hunting on arrival.
M3GAN 2.0 (June 27th)- The Terminator of dolls for little girls is back, but this time she seems to be teaming up with the young heroines. So I guess in sticking with The Terminator theme, we could call this the T2 of the Megan Universe. T2 is widely recognized as one the greatest sequels of all time, so I don’t want to put those expectations on this, but you never know I guess. The first film was also a huge commercial success, making 180+ million at the box office on only a 11 million dollar budget. Talk about return on investment, I am sure this will see an increase in budget, but with the first success I don’t see any reason to not see an increase in box office as well.
F1 (June 27th)- Brad Pitt racing a car. Not sure what else you need to get you into the theater other than that. Racing movies are always some of the more positive films in the sports genre. Ford vs Ferrari and Rush are both fantastic films. This is from the director of Top Gun: Maverick and you can tell. It looks technically amazingly shot and very similar in plot. Old veteran must take the young buck under his wing to win the race/save the day.
F1 is one of the most popular sports in the world, so I am sure this will do wonders at the worldwide box office. I have also heard very good things about this one, so right before heading into the heat of the July moviegoing season, looks like we could have a big time winner on our hands. Could be the first film on the list to flirt with the billion dollar club.
Stay tuned for part 2 later this week! Until then, THANKS for reading!!