- The North American box office was flat YoY at $3.6B.
- Lilo & Stitch was the biggest domestic movie this year with $423M, Inside Out 2 the biggest movie of summer 2024 hit $650M.
- Summer 2024 had a second film go over $650M - Deadpool and Wolverine.
- Summer 2025’s box office was much more evenly spread between releases.
- The international box office continues to grow in importance.
- Superman and The Fantastic Four are the only 2 titles in the top 10 to not make at least as much overseas as they did in North America.
- Whereas Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning and F1: The Movie both made over two thirds of their global box office from international territories.
*Summer is defined as the first Friday in May to Labor Day weekend
Nostalgia
What is clear looking at the wide range of movies that released over summer 2025 is that nostalgia remains incredibly important, with Lilo & Stitch and How to Train Your Dragon live action remakes, a seventh Jurassic Park movie, the return of the 28 Days Later franchise, a new I Know What You Did Last Summer movie, and a sixth Final Destination.
Animation
Animation though seems to be having a wobble - you have to go down to #14 on the domestic summer rankings and Elio to find the first animated film. A huge disappointment for Disney but one that was also replicated by the latest Smurfs movie. The only movie to buck this trend is K-Pop Demon Hunters which made $18M one weekend, weeks after being available on Netflix.
Horror
Unexpected hit Weapons, and slightly earlier in the year Sinners, both proved to show that horror can work in the summer if done right and offering something new. At the same time ‘more of the same’ Final Destination: Bloodlines also did well. All three movies came from Warner Bros. so hopefully it’s a pattern they will continue.
Superheroes
One of the biggest stories of the summer box office though is the survival, if not come back, of the superhero movie. Thunderbolts, The Fantastic Four, Captain America: Brave New World all did OK business for Marvel, but they all felt a little bit like the franchise treading water in the lead up to Avengers: Doomsday next year. Superman’s $611M ($260M Int’l) did well domestically and in a few key international markets but didn’t resonate globally in the same way Man of Steel did, $670M ($379M Int’l). The new movie has done well enough though to give James Gunn and DC faith in their new direction, with Supergirl next out of the gate in June 2026.
Licensing
It will be interesting to see which films best translated to licensed product sales but the smart money is likely on Lilo & Stitch, with products featuring the original animated movie selling well from the beginning of the year. Superman and Jurassic World will have seen nice halos to their core business from the movie launches though.
2026
Next year is looking strong already - with animation likely to have a comeback with Toy Story 5, Minions 3 and a new PAW Patrol movie - all good news for licensing.
Can the Moana live action replicate the success of Lilo & Stitch or is it just too soon given the animated film is only 10 years old? With Disney’s Monster Jam movie also coming expect the toy shelves to be stacked with monster trucks.
The Mandalorian & Grogu movie will give Star Wars product sales a nice boost and it will be interesting to see what Masters of the Universe can do for product sales of the franchise that has never really hit the same heights from its original 1980s run. Spiderman will be the one to watch, the last big Marvel movie before Avengers Doomsday, it has a lot of heavy lifting and excitement building to do.
Could the most impactful factor on the summer box office next year actually be the FIFA World Cup though? This time around taking place across Mexico, Canada and the US. Could this be the year America finally falls for (soccer) football?
To keep up with all the latest film releases, as well as TV, video games, sporting events and anniversaries check out the Negosh Event Calendar.