The real plot twists in 2025 didn’t happen on screen — they happened at the box office. This was the year pixelated blocks out-earned superheroes, a Chinese animated epic towered over Hollywood tentpoles, and Disney discovered that nostalgia alone can’t guarantee a happily-ever-after. Anime became mainstream, horror stayed mighty, auteurs swung big, and studios learned — sometimes painfully — that audiences are choosier than ever. Some gambles paid off spectacularly. Others? Not so much. Here’s who won, who lost, and who rewrote the rules of theatrical success this year.
Winner: Asian films go global — and dominate the box office
‘Ne Zha 2’CMC Pictures/Everett Collection
One of the clearest storylines of 2025: Asian films didn’t just compete — they conquered. In fact, the single biggest movie on the planet this year wasn’t a Hollywood superhero epic or a legacy sequel. It was a Chinese animated juggernaut.
Ne Zha 2 became the top-grossing film worldwide, soaring to a staggering $2.1 billion and proving once again that homegrown blockbusters in China can match — and often outpace — anything coming out of the U.S. Meanwhile, Japanese animation continued its pop-culture reign. Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle sliced through the competition with $134 million domestic and $716 million worldwide, turning a once-niche franchise into a full-blown mainstream theatrical event.
Even more impressively, the success story wasn’t limited to animation. Japan’s Oscar submission, Kokuho, quietly became an arthouse powerhouse, grossing over $117 million worldwide while steadily building word-of-mouth momentum. Its awards profile only grew after Tom Cruise hosted a Hollywood screening, publicly endorsing the film ahead of its U.S. theatrical rollout. And then there was KPop Demon Hunters, which pulled off one of the wildest hybrid success stories of the year — earning nearly $25 million at the U.S. box office and becoming the most-watched Netflix movie ever. Streaming dominance plus theatrical demand? That’s a new kind of win.
Loser: Biopics that bombed — and took Oscar dreams down with them
‘The Smashing Machine’; ‘Christy’A24; Black Bear Pictures
For years, biopics were viewed as the cheat code to awards glory. But in 2025, three high-profile true-story vehicles face-planted so hard they dragged their Oscar narratives down with them. Jeremy Allen White’s Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere stalled at $22 million domestic, far below expectations. Dwayne Johnson’s dramatic pivot in The Smashing Machine failed to ignite despite festival buzz, and the biggest wipeout belonged to Sydney Sweeney’s Christy, which crawled to just $2 million. Turns out Oscar bait isn’t always audience bait.
Winner: A24’s Marty Miracle
‘Marty Supreme’A24
While some high-profile biopics struggled, A24 and Timothée Chalamet pulled off an indie miracle. Marty Supreme exploded into wide release this December, earning $28 million in its debut and setting a record for the highest per-theater average for an A24 debut. It proves that the “Chalamet Effect” is the most bankable force in independent cinema today — and the star remains in prime position to take home his first Oscar.
Loser: The MCU’s Fall from Grace
‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’Marvel Studios
2025 will be remembered as the year the Marvel Cinematic Universe finally lost its grip on the top 10. For the first time since 2011, Marvel Studios failed to land a single movie in the global top 10 for the year. The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Captain America: Brave New World, and Thunderbolts* were all profitable, but they lacked the must-see cultural gravity that the brand used to guarantee.
Winner: 🎬 Warner Bros. — the studio that dominated 2025
‘A Minecraft Movie’Warner Bros.
No studio flexed harder this year than Warner Bros. In a theatrical marketplace still figuring itself out, Warner Bros. delivered hit after hit across family blockbusters, horror thrillers, and glossy awards contenders — ultimately scoring nine different films that hit No. 1 at the domestic box office.
Sitting at the very top was North America’s biggest hit, A Minecraft Movie, which didn’t just click — it detonated. The film became 2025’s biggest domestic release with $423.9 million, turning a once-risky IP bet into a full-on cultural event. But Warner Bros.’ dominance wasn’t a one-movie story. The studio became the first in Hollywood history to release seven consecutive films that each opened above $40 million domestically:
- A Minecraft Movie ($162.7 million)
- Sinners ($48 million)
- Final Destination: Bloodlines ($51.6 million)
- F1 ($57 million)
- Superman ($125 million)
- Weapons ($43.5 million)
- The Conjuring: Last Rites ($84 million)
By the time the dust settled, the studio had also successfully launched Paul Thomas Anderson‘s One Battle After Another ($205 million globally), giving the auteur the highest-grossing hit of his career. Between that prestige win, a successful DC reset with Superman, and pushing global horror grosses past the $1 billion mark, Warner Bros. proved they have the most diverse hit-making machine in the business.
Loser: Tron: Ares — Run Off the Grid
‘Tron: Ares’Disney
Disney’s attempt to revive the digital frontier was the year’s most expensive “game over.” With a production budget that reportedly hit $220 million, Tron: Ares flickered out with a dismal $142 million worldwide. It remains one of the largest financial write-offs in the studio’s sci-fi history.
Winner: The safe-bet sequels
‘Zootopia 2’Disney
Three massive franchise continuations proved that certain source material is bulletproof. Zootopia 2 raced to a staggering $1.42 billion worldwide, becoming the second-highest-grossing film of the year and the clear king of the family market. Not far behind, Jurassic World: Rebirth stomped its way to $869.1 million, proving the brand still has plenty of bite.
Universal also scored a major victory with Wicked: For Good, the epic conclusion to the Oz saga. Despite more polarized reviews than its predecessor, the film cast a massive spell on the holiday box office, opening to a record-breaking $150 million domestically and crossing the $500 million global mark by year’s end. It proved that audiences were more than willing to follow Elphaba and Glinda to the end of the yellow brick road.
Loser: Disney’s $250 Million “Meh”
‘Snow White’Disney
Few movies arrived with more cultural baggage than Disney’s live-action Snow White. Despite the power of Disney’s brand, the family film led by the controversy-embroiled Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot crawled to just $87.2 million domestic — a stunning collapse for a remake that cost over $250 million to produce. While Disney saw massive wins elsewhere, Snow White remained a poisoned apple.
Winner: James Cameron’s unshakeable legs
‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’20th Century Studios
Never, ever bet against James Cameron. While the industry panicked over the “soft” $89 million opening of Avatar: Fire and Ash, Cameron reminded everyone why he owns the holiday season. The film showed incredible staying power, dropping a mere 28 percent in its second weekend. It is currently nearing the $1 billion mark, proving that while audiences may be tired of some sequels, they are still addicted to Pandora.
Loser: The Stephen King slump
‘The Life of Chuck’Neon
In a year where horror was a powerhouse, the Master of Horror hit a rare wall. The Life of Chuck, despite critical raves, failed to find a mainstream pulse. The long-awaited The Long Walk managed only $35 million domestically, and Edgar Wright’s The Running Man failed to outrun the ghost of the 1987 original.