Top 10 Most Anticipated Films of 2025
These are the ten movies I'm looking most forward to next year
Every year, I like to make a list of my most anticipated films of the upcoming year. I think it’s interesting to look back on and reflect on later. Will these films I am anticipating from the year be some of my favorites? Or will they be massive disappointments. We will only know this time next year. What surprises will there be in 2025 for me to discover? My favorite film of last year The Holdovers was barely on my radar until I saw the first trailer.
My rule for this list is that the film has to have a confirmed 2025 release date. There’s plenty of films in production I could list that could come out this year but haven’t been announced yet, so I will keep them off the list for the time being. With all of that being said, let’s do the countdown.
10. Elio
I love Pixar. They are the sole reason I’m even pursuing the arts and their original slate of films are still some of my all time favorite movies. A lot of people argue that Pixar isn’t what it used to be and while it is hard to beat their original run of films, I think the studio still comes out with strong quality work on a consistent basis. Films like Luca and Soul are some of my favorite films of the decade so far - and it seems like Elio is taking a similar route to those films. I love movies about the deep vastness of space, I love coming of age movies and I love Pixar - this one seems to be really up my alley.
Fantastic Four: The First Steps
I’m not a Marvel hater by any means and have enjoyed a lot of their films, but lately their slate of movies have failed to impress me. Outside of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, I’ve been antagonistic towards what feels like a lack of screenwriting structure in favor of hamfisted fan service and shoddy storytelling. However, with everything I’ve heard about Fantastic Four, I’m optimistic this is going to be one of their best films. I’m in love with the 60’s retrowave aesthetic in the preproduction art and Micheal Giacchino’s score he performed at D23 was gorgeous. It already gave the film a personality akin to Tomorrowland in Walt Disney World. It already breathes more personality than the vast majority of the MCU movies do and I’m excited to see this one. I’m really hoping that it stands out and breathes new air into a franchise that desperately needs it.
How to Train Your Dragon
Call my cautiously optimistic. I understand peoples issues with this movie being made and I channel them as well. There’s no reason to make a live action adaptation of How to Train Your Dragon, especially if you are gonna make something that is shot for shot from the original like this trailer is. However, this franchise means a lot to me so I can’t help but be excited to see a reimagining to me. Call my a hypocrite since I roll my eyes when Disney announced four of these a year. As much as I love Beauty and the Beast or Aladdin, I don’t hold the same type of emotional connection with them as I do with the How to Train Your Dragon franchise. This was my franchise growing up, I listened to the score all the time I could name off all the dragons and their species. So this movie could really hurt me if it doesn’t pan out well. What I was impressed about with the trailer is that it felt like a movie with real scale. The cinematography in the trailer reminded me of David Lowery’s The Green Knight, the highest compliment I can give a movie in all honesty. So if we have a more mature and nuanced look at this franchise, this might end up being something incredibly cool. Maybe I’m just being optimistic, I’m still worried about it but I think it could end up being something special. If anything, hearing Jon Powell’s sweeping score played through Dolby Atmos will be worth it alone.
7. Shelby Oaks
If you guys haven’t heard of Shelby Oaks, it could change the face of film distribution forever. YouTube movie critic turned director Chris Stuckmann got Shelby Oaks made through one of the most successful Kickstarter campaigns of all time. The film then got noticed by The Haunting of Hill House director Mike Flannigan. He attached himself to the film as a producer and the film got picked up at the Fantasia Film Festival. It was then picked up by the studio Neon, who have most recently distributed such titles as Anora, Parasite and Longlegs. If Shelby Oaks is successful, the way us content creators get films made and distributed could change forever. This grass roots marketing campaign has already taken the film to new heights. So when this movie comes out, I implore everyone go see it so more stories can get told without going through the Hollywood system. Also, I’ve been watching Chris Stuckmann on YouTube for over ten years now- I used to binge his reviews until late at night in High School so to see him succeed in this fashion is nothing short of astonishing.
6. Mother Mary
Not much is known about Mother Mary yet, except for the fact that it’s an upcoming A24 film directed by David Lowery. I mentioned him earlier when I was talking about How to Train Your Dragon, he’s easily one of my favorite filmmakers working right now. He could make a movie about anything and I’m sold. Plus, the music for the film is being provided by Jack Antonoff and Charlie XCX, so to say I’m curious about this one would be putting it lightly. I need to know what they are cooking up here.
The Battle of Baktan Cross
When Paul Thomas Anderson announces he’s making a movie, you better believe I’ll be there. While no plot is out about the film yet, we do know it is by far and away the biggest budget he’s ever had (being reported up to 175 million dollars, distributors at Warner Bros are giving him Marvel amounts of money to make this project). It stars Leonardo DiCaprio and it is said that the film is much more commercial than the directors more arthouse pictures. There’s a lot of action and car chases, something PTA hasn’t dealt with much of before so I’m incredibly curious to see how this one turns out.
4. Frankenstein
Guillermo Del Toro is another one of my favorite filmmakers working right now and making monster movies has been this man’s passion project. He’s directed two of the best monster movies ever made, Pan’s Labyrinth and The Shape of Water and he’s now doing his take on a beloved Universal monster. This feels like the thing he’s wanted to make his whole career, so I’m expecting a film filled with passion and love for creatures and filmmaking. I will be there opening night.
3. Superman
I believe James Gunn is one of the few filmmakers left who makes films on a huge budget that still feel like they have an auteur behind the camera. I believe his Guardians of the Galaxy series are some of the best comic book films ever made. Volume two in particular is one of my all time favorites. I think his take on Suicide Squad is one of the best mainstream blockbuster films of the last ten to fifteen years. I love his aesthetic sensibilities in capturing comic books, his treatment of layered characters and his witty screenplays. I think he’s about to give us one of the best Superman movies ever made and I’m so excited to see his take on this universe. He’s promising something hopeful and optimistic and unlike anything he’s done with his grittier Suicide Squad and I think it’s gonna be incredible.
2. Paddington 3
A part of my brand as a person is how much I love Paddington bear. He’s one of my comfort characters. I love how sweet and polite he is and how he sees the best in everyone, I strive to be more like Paddington. I believe Paddington 2 is one of the best films of the 2010’s and it’s genuinely one of my all time favorite movies. I even own a giant bus shelter poster for the sequel given to me by a movie theatre chain I used to work for who gifted it to me because they knew how much I talked about the movie. It’s going to be impossible to live up to the sequel, but I’m still so excited to see this third film. I know it will feel like a warm hug to see Paddington and the Brown family go on adventures again. This movie is my Avengers Endgame.
Mickey 17
What could possibly be above Paddington 3? Mickey 17 is the newest film from acclaimed director Bong Joon-Ho, who’s last masterpiece Parasite became one of the biggest phenomenons in recent movie history - being the first foreign film to win the coveted Best Picture Oscar at the Academy Awards. His next film, Mickey 17 couldn’t be more for me. It’s about existentialism, the vastness of deep space and it’s a quirky comedy. It also stars Robert Pattison, who’s arguably my favorite actor working right now. I need this movie like right now, even just typing about it gets me all excited!
Those are my ten most anticipated movies of the year! What are yours? Comment below and let me know!