DIDN’T I SEE THIS BEFORE 2025????
Another year means a lot more movies that seem very familiar. Especially since last year the top 10 movies at the box office were all sequels/prequels/part 2/reboots/remakes/spinoffs/etc. It looks like 2025 will have a lot of horror/thriller sequels as well as 3 live action/CGI movies that are remakes of animated movies.
JAN
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl (sequel) – It’s been 20 years since “Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit” (2005) but now that Netflix has the movie franchise I’m sure another movie will be coming in less than 20 years.
Den of Thieves 2 (aka Den of Thieves: Pantera) (sequel) – the sequel to the 2018 movies was the first movie to be #1 at the domestic box office for this year. Writer/director Christian Gudegast and stars Gerald Butler and O’Shea Jackson Jr return for the sequel.
Wolf Man (reboot) – Every decade or so there seems to be a remake or reboot of a classic creature movie like Dracula, Frankenstein, and the Wolf Man. This is one of the reboots that will come out in 2025.
FEB
Captain America: Brave New World (sequel/spinoff) – The first Marvel movie of 2025 has a new Captain America and a new actor playing Thaddeus Ross.
Paddington in Peru (sequel) – The 3rd film in the Paddington franchise was very successful when it opened in the UK at the end of 2024.
Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy (sequel) – The 4th movie in the Bridget Jones franchise might not play in movie theaters since it’s listed as a “Peacock” movie.
MAR
Snow White (remake) – Disney’s part live action and part CGI remake of the classic animated movie. Also, the first of two coming out this year.
APR
The Accountant 2 (sequel) – Sequel to the 2016 movie with the director and writer of the first movie returning as well as Ben Affleck returning as the accountant.
MAY
Thunderbolts* (spinoff) – Second Marvel movie of the year with characters from several other Marvel movies joining together.
Final Destination: Bloodlines (sequel) – The 6th movie in the “Final Destination” franchise which started 25 years ago.
Lilo & Stitch (remake) – The second part live action part CGI movie from a Disney animated movie.
Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning (sequel/part 2) – The eighth movie in the Mission Impossible franchise and part 2 of the 2024 release “Mission Impossible Dead Reckoning Part 1” although they didn’t name this new movie “Part 2”.
Karate Kid: Legends (sequel/spinoff) – Bringing together Jackie Chan (from “The Karate Kid” (2010) reboot and Ralph Macchio (from the original “Karate Kid” movies from the 1980s and the recent “Cobra Kai” TV series which is a spinoff of the movies) for the first time.
JUNE
Ballerina (aka “From the World of John Wick: Ballerina”) (spinoff) – a character seen briefly in a previous John Wick movie has her own movie in this franchise spinoff.
How To Train Your Dragon” (remake) – A part live action and part CGI remake of a animated movie. This time it’s a Dreamworks animated movie.
28 Years Later (sequel) – First there was “28 Days Later” (2002). Then there was “28 Weeks Later” (2007). Now the writer and director of the first movie returns for the 2nd sequel.
M3gan 2.0 (sequel) – Sequel to the 2022 thriller
JULY
Jurassic World Rebirth (sequel) – First there was the “Jurassic Park” trilogy. Then there was the “Jurassic World” movies. This is the 7th movie of the whole franchise and the 4th in the “Jurassic World” movies.
Superman (reboot) – Every year or so there’s another superhero reboot movie. The Superman character is one of the most popular from DC comics. This movie is supposedly the start of a reboot of the entire DC movie franchise at Warner Bros.
I Know What You Did Last Summer (sequel or reboot) – I believe this is a sequel to the two movies that came out in the 1990s because Jennifer Love Hewitt starred in those movies and stars in this one, but it could be a reboot and Jennifer Love Hewitt could play a minor character in this new movie.
The Smurfs Movie (reboot) – The Smurfs is another franchise that has had a few movies made – both live action (2011) and animated (2017). This time the animated movie is a musical.
Fantastic Four: The First Steps (reboot) – There have been a few movies of the Fantastic Four from Marvel comics when the property was owned by 20th Century Fox. This is the first reboot where the Fantastic Four will be part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe at Disney.
AUG
The Naked Gun (reboot) – Reboot of the trilogy of movies that came out in the 1990s.
The Bad Guys 2 (sequel) – Sequel to the animated movie that came out in 2022.
Freakier Friday (sequel) – Sequel to the 2003 movie (which was a remake of the 1976 movie). Stars Lindsey Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis return for this sequel.
Nobody 2 (sequel) – Sequel to the 2021 action movie. Star Bob Odenkirk returns as the lead character
SEP
The Conjuring: Last Rites (sequel) – The 4th movie in the “Conjuring” series (if you don’t count the spinoff movies like “The Nun”, “Insidious”, and “Annabelle”).
Downton Abbey 3 (sequel) – The 3rd movie in the “Downton Abbey” film series which is based on the TV series.
Saw XI (sequel) – The 11th movie in the “Saw” horror movie franchise.
The Bride (remake) – The 2nd movie based on a classic creature movie. This one is based on “The Bride of Frankenstein”.
OCT
Tron: Ares (sequel) – The 2nd sequel to “Tron” which came out over 40 years ago (in 1982) and had its first sequel “Tron Legacy” 15 years ago in 2010.
The Black Phone 2 (sequel) – The sequel to the 2021 thriller movie.
Mortal Kombat 2 (sequel) – The sequel to “Mortal Kombat” (2021). That movie was actually a reboot of the first “Mortal Kombat” (1997) which also had a sequel movie “Mortal Kombat: Annihilation” in 1997.
NOV
The Running Man (reboot) – Reboot of the movie from 1987 movie (personally, I hope this is closer to the Stephen King book both movies are based on that the previous movie).
Predator: Badlands (reboot/spinoff) – I believe this is the first movie in the “Predator” franchise since Disney got the franchise when it acquired 20th Century Fox.
Wicked: For Good (part 2) – Part 2 to the “Wicked” movie that is still playing in theaters now.
Zootopia 2 (sequel) – Sequel to the Disney animated movie from 2016.
DEC
Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 (sequel) – Sequel to the thriller that came out in late 2023.
Avatar: Fire and Ash (sequel) – The 3rd movie in the billion-dollar franchise.
The Spongebob Movie: Search for Squarepants (sequel) – I believe this is a sequel to the 2015 live action/CGI movie, but it could be another sequel to the 2004 animated movie.
Anaconda (reboot) – A reboot of the movie from 1997. Another creature movie reboot (but not a “classic” create like Wolf man or Bride of Frankenstein).
UNDATED (coming out sometime in 2025)
Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 2 (part 2) – The second chapter only screened at the Venice film festival in 2024. It’s scheduled to come out in some foreign countries in 2025 and it will probably come out in the US sometime this year.
Happy Gilmore 2 (sequel) – Sequel to the 1996 movie. Netflix said it will be released this year but the exact date isn’t set yet. Some people predict July 2025.
Fear Street: Prom Queen (spinoff) – A movie in the “Fear Street” franchise based on books by R.L. Stine.
Frankenstein (reboot) – Another classic creature movie remade from director Guillermo del Toro is expected sometime this year.
Wake Up Dead Man (aka Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery) (spinoff) – The 3rd movie in the “Knives Out” franchise written and directed by Rian Johnson and starring Daniel Craig as Benoit Blac is expected sometime late 2025.
So far, there’s 45 of them probably releasing this year. It starts out slow but after May the average is one movie a week for the rest of the year. I’m sure there will be more added to the list (including the release date for the unscheduled movies). It’s looking like this year will be like last year with most or all the top 10 movies at the box office being sequels/prequels/part 2/reboots/remakes/spinoffs/etc.
LOS ANGELES FILM REVIEW 