{"id":251421,"date":"2025-12-25T22:16:30","date_gmt":"2025-12-25T22:16:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/251421\/"},"modified":"2025-12-25T22:16:30","modified_gmt":"2025-12-25T22:16:30","slug":"5-things-we-learned-about-movie-stars-at-the-box-office-in-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/251421\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Things We Learned About Movie Stars at the Box Office in 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

The \u201cmovie star question\u201d has been top of mind for many in Hollywood over the last few years: Do \u201cmovie stars\u201d really exist anymore? Can attaching an incredibly popular actor actually draw significant ticket sales, or are those days over?<\/p>\n

This year offered several interesting data points to this specific topic, with new movies from Scarlett Johansson, Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, Julia Roberts, Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Pattinson hitting theaters, as well as new films from buzzy new stars like Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell.<\/p>\n

So what\u2019s the verdict? As ever, it\u2019s a mixed bag \u2014 there\u2019s data to suggest that some of these aforementioned actors still have enough juice to lure people to theaters, but there\u2019s also ample evidence that a movie star alone cannot open a film anymore. Especially a drama.<\/p>\n

But the data was enough to come away with a few big takeaways. As we close the book on 2025, here\u2019s what we can definitively say about movie stars based on this year\u2019s box office.<\/p>\n

\"jurassic-world-scarlett-johansson\"Scarlett Johansson stars in \u201cJurassic World Rebirth.\u201d (Credit: Universal Pictures)<\/p>\n

A movie star + IP is the winningest formula<\/p>\n

The year\u2019s top domestic box office hits paired a piece of IP with a recognizable \u2013 and bankable \u2013 star. \u201cA Minecraft Movie\u201d leaned hard on Jack Black ($424 million domestic), \u201cJurassic World: Rebirth\u201d<\/a> was anchored by Scarlett Johansson ($340 million), \u201cMission: Impossible \u2013 The Final Reckoning\u201d brought Tom Cruise back one last time ( $191 million) and \u201cF1: The Movie\u201d put Brad Pitt in the driver\u2019s seat ($190 million).<\/p>\n

Verve agent David Boxerbaum told TheWrap that mixing classic IP with smaller original projects is key to a movie star\u2019s viability.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s really smart,\u201d he said. \u201cYou could do a couple of originals, but then you go do a huge piece of branded IP and it puts you right back in the zeitgeist.\u201d<\/p>\n

It doesn\u2019t always work \u2013 \u201cTron: Ares\u201d was one of the year\u2019s biggest flops with $73 million domestic, but that film\u2019s performance put into question the viability of both the \u201cTron\u201d franchise and Jared Leto.<\/p>\n

\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"jared-leto\"\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

Conversely, Johansson is one of the most bankable stars when it comes to mixing IP with a respected name.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Over 70% of U.S. adults say they\u2019re a fan of Johansson, approximately 118 million people, according to Greenlight Analytics data shared with TheWrap. Her popularity paired with the \u201cJurassic\u201d franchise resulted in an 84% awareness for \u201cRebirth,\u201d higher than \u201cJurassic World: Dominion\u201d (68%), \u201cAvatar: The Way of Water\u201d (75%) and even \u201cSpider-Man: No Way Home\u201d (76%).<\/p>\n

It\u2019s no surprise that the actress has already been tapped to anchor a new \u201cExorcist\u201d movie<\/a> for Universal and filmmaker Mike Flanagan and is in talks <\/a>to switch from Marvel to DC with a key role in \u201cThe Batman: Part II.\u201d And in between all this, she released her directorial debut this year, \u201cEleanor the Great.\u201d There\u2019s that mix.<\/p>\n

\"jennifer-lawrence-robert-pattinson\"Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Pattinson starred in \u201cDie My Love\u201d (Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Even the buzziest publicity tour can\u2019t turn out audiences for a drama<\/p>\n

Celebrity culture is alive and well, but viral social media videos of co-stars getting cuddly or being funny does not necessarily translate to butts in seats \u2013 especially for a drama.<\/p>\n

Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Pattinson flooded social media<\/a> and late night shows<\/a> in the run-up to the release of their marital drama \u201cDie, My Love,\u201d and despite the fact that their off-screen chemistry was buzzy, the film bombed opening weekend with just $2.6 million on nearly 2,000 screens. The domestic total for the Mubi release stands at $5.6 million.<\/p>\n

Awareness never rose above 16% for the film over eight weeks, according to Greenlight Analytics data. No amount of YouTube videos of Lawrence and Pattinson cracking each other up could convince consumers at large to buy a ticket to a very serious film about post-partum depression and a marriage falling apart.<\/p>\n

\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\""Christy"\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

Even among those who were interested in seeing \u201cDie My Love,\u201d there was a major gap that emerged between Theatrical Intent (29%) and Willingness to Pay (40%), according to the Greenlight data.<\/p>\n

On the flip side, Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt\u2019s A24 sports drama \u201cThe Smashing Machine\u201d<\/a> achieved massive awareness \u2013 93% \u2013 but only 16% of those aware planned to see it opening weekend. The film grossed just $11 million domestically, a far cry from the blockbusters Johnson is used to opening.<\/p>\n

And Amazon MGM\u2019s college-set drama \u201cAfter the Hunt\u201d<\/a> tumbled with just $3 million domestic despite mixing movie stars both classic (Julia Roberts) and new (Andrew Garfield).<\/p>\n

Even Sydney Sweeney, the trending-est of all trending celebrities in 2025, bombed at the box office with one of the lowest opening weekends for a wide release ever for her boxing biopic \u201cChristy.\u201d The Black Bear Pictures film opened to just $1.3 million and its domestic total never cracked $2 million. Ouch.<\/p>\n

The key to making a drama succeed at the box office, it appears, is adding a genre element. Which brings us to\u2026<\/p>\n

\"AmyAmy Madigan as Aunt Gladys in \u201cWeapons\u201d (Credit: Warner Bros.)<\/p>\n

Horror gets a boost from great performances<\/p>\n

Horror had a great year in 2025, but films like \u201cSinners\u201d<\/a> and \u201cWeapons\u201d succeeded in part thanks to the buzz created by outstanding performances.\u00a0<\/p>\n

With Warner Bros.\u2019 \u201cSinners\u201d ($280 million domestic), Michael B. Jordan\u2019s dual lead roles offered a meaty hook. For \u201cWeapons\u201d ($152 million domestic), Amy Madigan\u2019s terrifying turn as Aunt Gladys sparked Oscar buzz and created a new Halloween costume.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But both films also had a strong conceptual draw. Warner Bros. leaned into the mystery surrounding the central premises of \u201cWeapons\u201d and \u201cSinners,\u201d not revealing too much in the marketing campaigns. Buzz after their strong opening weekends fueled consistent performance.<\/p>\n

\u201cAudiences love discovery,\u201d Boxerbaum said. \u201cAudiences love being told a whisper campaign \u2014 \u2018Have you seen it? Have you heard about it? Did you watch it?\u2019 That\u2019s usually what gets people really out of their seats.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Jayme\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\""Thunderbolts*"\u201cThunderbolts*\u201d (Credit: Marvel Studios)<\/p>\n

Lower-tier Marvel characters don\u2019t cut it anymore<\/p>\n

Whether superhero fatigue is real or not, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is in a rut. This year\u2019s three Marvel movies \u2014 \u201cCaptain America: Brave New World\u201d ($200 million domestic), \u201cThunderbolts\u201d ($190 million) and \u201cThe Fantastic Four: First Steps\u201d ($274 million) \u2014 all underperformed relative to the franchise\u2019s prior heyday of $500 million+ grossers, despite packing each film with recognizable stars.<\/p>\n

\u201cCaptain America\u201d had Harrison Ford, \u201cThunderbolts\u201d leveraged the fandom for Florence Pugh and David Harbour and \u201cFantastic Four\u201d starred the Internet\u2019s boyfriend Pedro Pascal. And yet, each film floundered.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Awareness on release week for \u201cThunderbolts,\u201d which utilized the least well-known characters of the three films, was 54%, far below MCU counterparts (\u201cFantastic Four\u201d at 77%, \u201cDeadpool & Wolverine\u201d at 69%).<\/p>\n

\"a-minecraft-movie\"\u201cA Minecraft Movie\u201d (Warner Bros.)<\/p>\n

IP is the biggest movie star of all<\/p>\n

You knew it was coming. The biggest movie star of 2025? IP.<\/p>\n

Look no further than the success of \u201cA Minecraft Movie\u201d ($424 million domestic), \u201cLilo & Stitch\u201d ($424 million), \u201cHow to Train Your Dragon\u201d ($263 million) and, of course, \u201cSuperman\u201d ($354 million). Each of these films was fueled primarily by recognizable IP, and it worked \u2014 awareness for all four films was over 74%, with Disney\u2019s live-action \u201cLilo & Stitch\u201d topping with 78% awareness.<\/p>\n

Warner Bros. and DC\u2019s \u201cSuperman\u201d<\/a> is perhaps the most interesting use case here. Ahead of release, there was chatter about the film\u2019s lack of star power. But the promise of a new, colorful take on an iconic character was enough to draw audiences in and endear them to relative unknown David Corenswet.<\/p>\n

Men over 35 were the strongest demo for \u201cSuperman,\u201d according to Greenlight Analytics data, and while the film wasn\u2019t as four-quadrant as Warner Bros. hoped, its massive awareness (77%) and supercharged demo pushed the film to success. DC hopes for similar but different results with next year\u2019s \u201cSupergirl,\u201d starring Milly Alcock, for which they\u2019ll likely attempt to activate the female demographic.<\/p>\n

\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"David\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The \u201cmovie star question\u201d has been top of mind for many in Hollywood over the last few years:…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":251422,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[263],"tags":[77988,18,117,19,17,68839,5846,327,11751,21008,928,34703],"class_list":{"0":"post-251421","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-movies","8":"tag-die-my-love","9":"tag-eire","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-ie","12":"tag-ireland","13":"tag-jennifer-lawrence","14":"tag-jurassic-world-rebirth","15":"tag-movies","16":"tag-robert-pattinson","17":"tag-scarlett-johansson","18":"tag-superman","19":"tag-wrappro"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/115782522777595135","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251421","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=251421"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251421\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/251422"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=251421"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=251421"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=251421"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}