Counting ticket sales and how much movies make at the box office in 2025 has begun, and with a whole year of releases ahead, it’s time to predict what the 10 highest grossing movies of the year will be. For the third consecutive year, I’m taking my shot at projecting what the biggest box office hits will be, with a lot of crossover coming from films featured in ourmost anticipated movies of 2025. This is thanks to the coming year including the return of several franchises that typically do well at the box office, likeJurassic WorldandAvatar.
The results of predicting the year’s biggest box office hits have varied over the years.2024’s highest grossing movie predictionsare the best yet, with seven of ten movies correctly predicted, including only being $1 million off onDune: Part Two’s total. That’s a lot better than2023’s predictions, where only four of the 10 films finished the year in that grouping as some big titles underperformed and theBarbenheimercraze massively changedBarbieandOppenheimer’s totals. The 2025 box office should be quite bountiful for many films based on our projections.
Captain America: Brave New Worldhas a chance to stake its claim among 2025’s highest grossing movies early on. With its February 14th release, Anthony Mackie’s first Marvel Cinematic Universe movie as Captain America has all the makings of a box office hit. TheCaptain Americafranchise has a great track record financially, with the previous three films having a $746 million average total. Harrison Ford’s addition as Red Hulk should help keep interest high, especially as Phase 5 kicks into high gear withAvengers: Doomsdayapproaching.
Every MCU Franchise Ranked By Box Office
The MCU is built on franchises and sequels, but Marvel’s various heroes haven’t all found the same level of individual financial success.
Whilethe MCU’s box office results have been more volatile in Phase 5,Captain America: Brave New Worldshould perform comfortably well. It’s a proven franchise with a known lead character and a villain audiences have waited over a decade to see. Changing the leads from Chris Evans' Steve Rogers to Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson makes this a slight reboot for the franchise, so there is not an expectationBrave New Worldwill outperform earlier sequels.Captain America: Brave New Worldcould make $650 million worldwide, having a small drop for the franchise’s and Phase 5’s average.
2025 is finally the year that the Fantastic Four officially join the MCU, and there are some grand box office expectations that come with that. Although the quartet of Marvel heroes might be among their most iconic with comic readers, the fact remains that they’ve never truly delivered a major financial hit. Between the three perviousFantastic Fourmovies, they only average a final box office total of $267 million. That’s well belowthe MCU’s average of $916 million per film, as well as Phase 5’s average gross of $716 million.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania(2023)
$476,071,180
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3(2023)
$845,555,777
$206,136,557
Deadpool & Wolverine(2024)
$1,338,071,348
I believe that Marvel Studios will pull out all the stops to makeThe Fantastic Four: First Stepsa much bigger box office hit than previous films with these characters. With them all already confirmed to return inAvengers: DoomsdayandAvengers: Secret Wars, this movie is the beginning of Phase 6 and is important for the conclusion of the Multiverse Saga. There could even be a Robert Downey Jr. Doctor Doom cameo here to really amp up audience interest. Still, I’m comfortable predictingThe Fantastic Four: First Stepswill make $680 million at the box office.
Michael Jackson is getting the biopic treatment in 2025, and as one of the most recognizable and iconic pop artists of all-time, interest inMichaelshould not be discounted. There are several recent examples of how well musician-focused biopics can fare at the box office, such asElvismaking $288 million andStraight Outta Comptonmaking $201 million.The best performance in history came in 2018 withBohemian Rhapsodyas the Queen/Freddie Mercury movie grossed $910 million.
Michaelhas the support of Michael Jackson’s family, with his nephew even playing the music icon, and Antonie Fuqua steps into the director’s chair. With the film’s portrayal of Michael Jackson and having full access to his music catalog, there’s a clear path for the biopic to become a major box office hit. It’s October release date should help too as there’s minimal competition around it. IfBohemian Rhapsodycan come so close to $1 billion,Michaelshould make $700 million if it delivers.
Hype forMission: Impossible - The Final Reckoningis mounting as it could be Tom Cruise’s final time playing Ethan Hunt. TheMission: Impossiblefranchise has a consistent track record of delivering at the box office, even ifDead Reckoningunderperformed based on expectations and its inflated budget. That step backwards afterMission: Impossible - Falloutshould be a blip on the series' radar. With Paramount marketingThe Final Reckoningas the end (even if it ultimately isn’t), there are more reasons to see this in theaters than just Cruise’s next epic stunts.
$457,696,391
$546,388,108
$398,479,497
$694,713,380
$682,716,636
$791,657,398
Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning(2023)
$570,635,383
IfTop Gun: Maverickwas able to rally audiences around Cruise’s return as Maverick,The Final Reckoningcan generate more support thanDead Reckoningdid with the final installment narrative. It also helps that it isn’t billed as a “Part One” or “Part Two,” although there’s still plenty of history attached to the eighth installment of a franchise. Ultimately, I thinkMission: Impossible - The Final Reckoningwill make around $710 million at the box office, finishing as the second highest grossing film in Cruise’s franchise.
DreamWorks is givingHow To Train Your Dragonthe live-action treatment in 2025, with the clear hopes of a significant box office haul. Disney has made a fortune from doing the same with its beloved animated films over the years. DreamWorks and Universal are betting onHow To Train Your Dragonto do the same, even if it looks pretty close to a shot-for-shot remake of the animated film. That should not fully stop the film from making a franchise record amount at the box office.
15 Highest-Grossing DreamWorks Movies Ranked By Box Office
Most of DreamWorks' highest-grossing movies are from the studio’s most popular franchises, with some surprising box office underdogs mixed in.
The animatedHow To Train Your Dragonmovies made $545 million at the box office on average, withHow To Train Your Dragon 2holding the record at $621 million. The prime summer release date and franchise appeal should help the fantasy film draw in mass crowds. I’m predicting a $760 million box office haul for the live-actionHow To Train Your Dragon, which is right around whatMaleficentmade for Disney several years ago. Don’t be too surprised if it flies well past this mark and approaches $1 billion as four of Disney’s live-action remakes have done.
2024 proved thatWickedis a phenomenon that extends to the box office, with the first film sitting right around $650 million at the time of this writing. That’s a great sign for Universal considering the sequel,Wicked: For Good, is already shot and deep in post-production ahead of its November release. Now that audiences have experienced this version of Elphaba, Glinda, and Oz, the anticipation to return in 2025 is clear.
It is quitecommon throughout history for sequels to do better at the box office than their predecessors. And now that the second film has dropped the “Part Two” subtitle, the promise of a new installment will delight audiences.Wicked: For Goodcould make around $840 million at the box office if it has a 25 percent increase onWicked’s total box office numbers. That could be on the safer side of predictions ifWickedbecomes an Oscar-winning film and further props up the upcoming sequel.
There’s arguably more pressure onSupermanto be a box office hit in 2025 than any other movie coming out. The future of James Gunn’s DC Universe rests on David Corenswet’s broad shoulders and whether the reboot of DC’s iconic superhero delivers financially. That’s a risky prospect considering Warner Bros. andDC’s previousSupermanmovies only have an average gross of $366 million- includingBatman v Superman. The good news, though, is that this movie has James Gunn. Forgiving the circumstances aroundThe Suicide Squad’s poor performance, Gunn’sGuardians of the Galaxymovies averaged $827 million totals.
Superman Movies Ranked By Box Office, Adjusted For Inflation
The various Superman films have had differing levels of box office success, but how do they rank among each other when adjusted for inflation?
I tend to believe that Gunn will get audiences into seats more like he did with theGuardiansmovies than the averageSupermanmovie. The film’s record breaking amount of trailer views is a promising sign that the film will not disappoint at the box office and could finally see Superman fly to new financial heights. I’m predictingSupermanwill make $920 million, making it the highest-grossing film Superman has ever been in. That will assure James Gunn’s DC Universe continues on.
TheJurassicfranchise is back in 2025 with plenty of reasons to be excited. Original writer David Koepp penned the new film with Gareth Edwards (Rogue One) directing, and Scarlett Johansson headlines the completely new ensembleJurassic World Rebirthcast. TheJurassicmovies have almost always been huge hits at the box office. The prior six films have a $1 billion gross average overall, whiletheJurassic Worldtrilogy in particular averaged $1.3 billion per film. That’s a proven track record for interest in the dinosaur-driven series.
TheJurassic Worldtrilogy did have declining box office hauls with each installment
That makes it easy to predict thatJurassic World Rebirthwill make $1.1 billion. It could even go much higher thanks to having a proven box office star like Scarlett Johansson attached. Even if everything goes right, it probably won’t catchJurassic World’s franchise record $1.6 billion performance. But with its early July release, it has an opportunity to dominate the summer - possibly hurting films likeSupermanorThe Fantastic Four: First Stepsin the process.
It’s easy to forget that Disney delivered a huge hit in 2016 withZootopia, as the animated animal film made over $1 billion. With nine years separating the original film and the sequel, predictingZootopia 2’s box office really comes down to belief in the Mouse House. With some recent woes before 2024,it would be understandable to discountZootopia 2’s potential at the box officeand predict a major downfall. That could still happen, but that’s not what I think will happen.
Disney just proved that it can turn even a mediocre sequel into a near $1 billion hit withMoana 2. While Moana is a much more recognizable and beloved character than Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde,Zootopia 2should benefit from same Thanksgiving week release plan. WithEncanto’s directors taking the reins of the franchise with this installment, I predict a $1.2 billion performance at the box office. WithMoana 2andInside Out 2making near this total, Disney should have the top animated film of 2025 too.
If there is a newAvatarmovie coming out in any year, it’s only sensible at this point to predict that it will be the biggest movie of the year.Avataris the highest grossing movie of all-timeand easily sits atop the 2009 box office. Then,Avatar: The Way of Watertopped 2022’s box office charts as it became the third biggest film ever. James Cameron also delivered 1997’s biggest film withTitanic. WithAvatar: Fire and Ashcoming out in 2025, the same outcome is all but assured - leaving just the specific final amount worth predicting.
$2,923,706,026
Avatar: The Way of Water(2022)
$2,320,250,281
Looking at how the franchise has performed,Avatar: The Way of Waterstill made $2.3 billion despite making over $600 million less thanAvatar. That sizable drop would kill almost any other film’s box office prospects, butAvatar 3could still be okay if the same happened and it finished with $1.7 billion. With only three years separating the second and third films, a smaller drop makes more sense to me than another massive decline. That’s left me to believeAvatar: Fire and Ashwill make another $2 billion at the box office and finish 2025 in style.
