These eight months have not yet defined whether 2025 will be a great year for film or if we’re looking at another bland one. With so many sequels and adaptations, original stories are few and far between. However, there was one film released this year that made a significant splash.
It’s Ryan Coogler’s vampire horror that seems most likely to be 2025’s golden egg. “Sinners” is currently one of the most popular and highest rated films of 2025, according to users on Letterboxd who’ve rated it 4.1 stars.
While many are calling “Sinners” their favorite film or even the best, award buzz is a different story. The Academy famously disregards films labeled horror for most categories. However, with the award-season success of 2024’s “The Substance,” The Academy seems more open than ever to celebrate the horror genre.
But Sinners wasn’t the only big horror hit of the summer. We also had some new entries in fan favorite franchises such as “28 Years Later” and “Final Destination Bloodlines.” And it would be remiss to not mention the summer’s other huge horror hit: Zach Creggar’s “Weapons.”
This film comes off the heels of Creggar’s “Barbarian” from 2022. Cregger, a former member of the comedy troupe “Whitest Kids You Know,” has captured audiences with a unique blend of horror and humor. “Weapons” has so far grossed $161 million, according to Box Office Mojo. With a rumored $38 million budget, the movie is a major success story for smaller budget films.
This summer also saw new installments in both the MCU and newly-formed DCU with “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” and “Superman.” However, this feels like the first time DC has had the upper hand against Marvel since Nolan’s “Dark Knight” trilogy, which ended back in 2012.
Not only has “Superman” grossed more than Marvel’s first family, but it’s also widely considered an honest-to-goodness great film. While the new DCU still has much to prove, Marvel’s recent moves have left fans less than optimistic.
2025 also brought some interesting new comedies.
“The Naked Gun” proves that real comedies can still be made – and still be made well – by embracing the more slapstick and off-the-wall humor of the 1980s.
“Friendship” also released to mostly-positive reviews. The A24 comedy by director Andrew DeYoung features Tim Robinson at his least likable, which is exactly what the film needs. “Friendship” delves into the deranged post-ironic humor Robinson is known for in his Netflix show “I Think You Should Leave.”
This summer also saw the resurrection of the “Happy Gilmore” franchise. “Happy Gilmore 2” is a straight-to-streaming legacy sequel that seems to fall in line with every bad Sandler movie – an excuse for Sandler to go on vacation.
Ultimately, the summer of 2025 will not be remembered in especially good graces. Still with no double-blockbuster rivaling 2023’s “Barbenheimer,” the only real breakout hit of 2025 has been “Sinners.”
This year, more than ever, has been stuffed with live action remakes, legacy sequels and cash grabs that are starting to bore audiences. This begs one question: why? When audiences and filmmakers alike have so openly expressed their opposition, why do we keep getting the same meal reheated to us every couple of years? When will it stop? Only time will tell.
2025 still has some big films on the horizon with new films from the Safdie brothers and a Jordan Peele-produced horror film. Only time will tell what the rest of the year holds.
