3 Theatrical Film Slates to Watch in the Year Ahead

Theatrical film’s comeback on the back end of 2024 was nothing short of remarkable.

Last year’s domestic box office wrapped just 3.9% under 2023’s total, a largely unexpected improvement from around 10% by the end of the summer and well over 20% at the end of spring.

Record-shattering June and July hits “Inside Out 2” and “Deadpool & Wolverine” first triggered the reversal before fall standout “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” and a slew of holiday hits led by “Wicked” and “Moana 2” undid the year’s prior outlook.

One might think this optimistic turn from 2024’s strike-addled film slates will make 2025 a shoo-in for cinema’s best year since the pandemic.

But some distributors’ slates remain as unpredictable as ever.

DISNEY
Disney’s pair of summer blockbusters proved pivotal for obtaining the highest studio share of 2024 grosses and countering recent misfortunes of the years prior.

Still, “Inside Out 2” and “Deadpool & Wolverine” were both overdue sequels to characters that hadn’t been seen in a while, as opposed to Pixar’s new IP “Elio” in 2025 and two upcoming MCU films sporting superheroes new to that universe’s current iteration.

Likewise, the next “Captain America” film, which kicks off Disney’s slate in February, is the first to star Anthony Mackie after his character assumed the role of the titular hero, instead of Chris Evans. Marvel hasn’t seen recent success with new branches of its filmic universes, as Sony’s “Madame Web” and “Kraven the Hunter” bombed hard last year.

Plus, Disney hasn’t put its best foot forward with its live-action and photorealistic remakes of animated classics. “Mufasa: The Lion King” isn’t doing terribly at the box office but its performance pales in comparison to 2019’s “The Lion King.” Sean Bailey, the exec who spearheaded these live-action revisits, left Disney in February 2024, a sign the strategy behind such films could change after March’s “Snow White” and May’s “Lilo & Stitch.”

As for aging franchises, it’s tough to see how the return of “Tron,” which sees franchise newcomer Jared Leto in his first leading film role after Marvel dud “Morbius,” will stand out. Still, a new “Avatar” film will be crucial to offsetting any misfires.

WARNER BROS.
If major studios routinely face accusations that they try to play the hits too much, Warner Bros.’ 2025 slate is set to skirt that claim significantly.

Sure, James Gunn’s rebooted take on the DC Universe kicks off with “Superman” in July, but it will follow June’s high-octane original “F1” from “Top Gun: Maverick” director Joseph Kosinski.

The rest of the Warners slate holds firm with that pattern. New works from acclaimed directors Bong Joon Ho, Barry Levinson, “Black Panther’s” Ryan Coogler, Paul Thomas Anderson and Maggie Gyllenhaal dot out the calendar, alongside films from such established franchises as “Final Destination,” “The Conjuring” and “Mortal Kombat” complementing a cinematic take on gaming’s mammoth “Minecraft.”

With horror opener “Companion” and comedy “Animal Friends” added to the mix, that’s a whopping nine first-time film properties on the slate, including “Minecraft,” vs. just four established film franchises.

There is also a “Spinal Tap” sequel from original director Rob Reiner that has yet to receive a release date, as well as the next installment of Kevin Costner’s “Horizon: An American Saga,” which was removed from its August 2024 date and remains unscheduled.

Such a vote of confidence in non-franchise films is the work of Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy, the two film execs Warner Bros. Discovery plucked from MGM in 2022.

NEON
Speaking of non-franchise fare, you haven’t heard the last of Neon.

Horror film “Longlegs” stood out last summer as a modest hit that grossed $74 million stateside, the indie distributor’s best domestic hit ever. That benchmark resonated with the industry due to the film’s budget and marketing coming in under $10 million, a reminder of the genre’s dependable model in the right hands.

Neon still specializes in foreign and arthouse fare — it has released the last five Palme d’Or winners and is distributing 2021 winner Julia Ducournau’s next film — but its current 2025 schedule consists almost entirely of horror movies. That includes two films from “Longlegs” director Osgood Perkins in “The Monkey” and “Keeper,” haunted-house thriller “Presence” from Steven Soderbergh and “Hell of a Summer,” the debut film from “Stranger Things” and “It” star Finn Wolfhard.

Even the one non-horror film on the calendar, “The Life of Chuck,” is a Stephen King adaptation from horror maestro Mike Flanagan, whose last film, “Doctor Sleep,” was the follow-up to King’s classic frightfest “The Shining.” Perkins’ “The Monkey” is also adapted from a King story.

Coming off its best year yet at the box office, Neon’s new slate will truly test horror’s theatrical vitality.