By James Gunn Superman to Jurassic World Rebirththere are some really big movies that are scheduled to hit theaters during the summer 2025 blockbuster season. Jaws became the highest-grossing film ever made in the summer of 1975, Hollywood studios have been releasing their high-concept tentpole films in the summer, hoping to regain their success. Summer tends to be when the highest-grossing films of a given year appear. This year, it was Inside Out 2 and Deadpool and Wolverine. Last year it was Barbenheimer. In the previous year, it was Top Gun: Maverick.
The summer blockbuster season typically starts in May (although summer itself doesn’t start until June) and runs until September. The summer 2025 blockbuster season looks to be excellent. Marvel Studios is releasing not one, but two highly anticipated superhero films. Liam Neeson is inheriting the role of Frank Drebin from the late, great Leslie Nielsen. The Smurfs are back, Gunn is finally launching his DC Universe, and Tom Cruise is making what could be his final appearance as IMF agent Ethan Hunt. The summer of 2025 has a lot of exciting movies lined up.
10
Rays*
May 2
Marvel Studios’ next big-screen offering launches early next year with Captain America: Brave New World on February 14th. Marvel’s first blockbuster release of the summer will be Rays* on May 2nd. Rays* is essentially Marvel’s take on DC Suicide Squad franchise, with a band of anti-heroes being brought together to carry out secret missions that the government does not want to be officially recorded. The cast doesn’t have a wide array of superpowers – they’re mostly just strong, hyper-capable mercenaries – but it has plenty of A-list stars.
Florence Pugh is leading the way as Yelena Belova, supported by Sebastian Stan, David Harbor and Wyatt Russell, all reprising their MCU roles. THE Rays* the trailers have been exciting, promising a more semi-grounded action thriller than your average Marvel film. It will be more Mercenaries what Avengers.
9
The Smurfs movie
July 18
The Smurfs will return to the big screen next summer in the aptly titled film The Smurfs moviescheduled to hit theaters on July 18, 2025. This will be a musical — it was even called The Smurfs musical at one point – and will mark the first Smurfs film since 2017 Smurfs: The Lost Village. Rihanna leads a star-studded cast as Smurfette, and she is also producing the film and co-writing and recording the songs.
With Puss in Boots director Chris Miller and South Park writer Pam Brady, has some serious animation talent working behind the scenes. It’s shaping up to be an amazing reboot. Next summer is full of great films, but The Smurfs movie was supposed to fill the family film void that was filled by Inside Out 2 and Despicable Me 4 last summer.
8
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning
May 23
Paramount recently released the trailer for the new title Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning. This will follow the evil AI/missing submarine storyline introduced in Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One. Although it is not explicitly described as such, the purpose of the title seems to suggest that this will be the last Mission: Impossible movie (or at least the last one with Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt).
Reckoning, part one disappointed with the box office — that was largely why Paramount decided to pull out.”Part Two” From the title of this. But this can mostly be attributed to the release date; arrived shortly after Barbenheimer, the cultural phenomenon no one could have predicted. Teasing one last ride, The final reckoning It could still be a huge hit when it releases on May 23, 2025.
7
Craziest Friday
August 8
More than 20 years after the original, Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis are reuniting for a sequel to Crazy Friday. Entitled Craziest Fridaythe sequel will see Anna Coleman – now also a mother – once again switching bodies with her mother, Tess. While it was initially speculated that it would be a straight-to-Disney+ release, the studio has confirmed that the film will be released in theaters on August 8, 2025 (and stream on Disney+ shortly after).
There were four different versions of Crazy Fridaybut this is the first time either of them has gotten a sequel. The nostalgia of the 2003 remake of Crazy Friday is strong, so this sequel could be a huge box office hit. Fans who grew up with this film will now, like Anna, have children of their own that they can take to see the sequel.
6
F1
June 27th
Brad Pitt’s F1 film, with the inspired title F1is set to be released in theaters on June 27, 2025. The plot revolves around a failed Formula 1 driver, played by Pitt, coming out of retirement to mentor a rising rookie. Top Gun: MaverickJoseph Kosinski is directing the film and promising the same immersive cinematic action offered by that film: cameras placed inside speeding cars, placing the audience right there on the race track.
This is Apple’s latest attempt to break into the blockbuster business after the box office disappointment of Argyle and Fly me to the moon. With the director of Top Gun: Maverick in command, F1 is demanding to be seen on the big screen. If it’s as good as Superior weapon sequel, then it could very well be a smash hit.
5
The naked gun
August 1st
The naked gun the franchise is returning to the big screen with a reboot on August 1, 2025. Liam Neeson is replacing Leslie Nielsen as star, playing Frank Drebin Jr. Pamela Anderson will play his love interest and Paul Walter Hauser will play his captain, Ed Hocken. Plot details are being kept under wraps, but it will likely be another ridiculous and absurd police procedural parody.
ONE Naked Weapon rebooting without Nielsen may seem iffy, but there’s a lot of talent behind the camera in this one: The Lonely Island’s Akiva Schaffer is directing the new film from a story by Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane. There haven’t been many great comedy films in recent years. If The naked gun reboot is a success, so it may finally bring back the comedy genre.
4
The Battle of Baktan Cross
August 8
Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest film, The Battle of Baktan Crossis set to hit theaters on August 8, 2025. It is Anderson’s most expensive film to date, with a blockbuster budget that is twice the lifetime gross of Anderson’s highest-grossing film. But it’s also being described as his most popular film to date, with lots of action, explosions and car chases. For now, this is all just speculation – but it looks exciting.
Leonardo DiCaprio leads the cast and Warner Bros. counts on his star power to make the film a success. The new PTA film is rumored to be a contemporary adaptation of the Thomas Pynchon film Vinlandupdating Reagan-era satire for the current US political climate. If that’s the case, The Battle of Baktan Cross it could be extremely polarizing (but it could also be a really interesting film).
3
The Fantastic Four: Getting Started
July 25th
A few months later Rays* is released, on July 25th, Marvel Studios will release its third film of 2025: The Fantastic Four: Getting Started. An MCU Fantastic Four The reboot has been in development since Disney acquired 21st Century Fox in 2019, but it’s been a few years in the making. Set in a retro-futuristic world inspired by the 60s, First steps will see the Fantastic Four fighting to defend Earth from Galactus and his herald, the Silver Surfer.
Kevin Feige has assembled a star-studded cast to bring Marvel’s first family to life: Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards, Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm, Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm. The bar was quite low for an excellent Fantastic Four film. If First steps It could surpass what came before, it could be a huge success.
2
Jurassic World Rebirth
July 2
There never was a Jurassic Park or Jurassic World film that underperformed at the box office. Even the most recent, Jurassic World Dominionwhich was widely panned by critics, grossed more than $1 billion at the box office. Although this film is seen as the end of the Jurassic saga, there was no way Universal would let this franchise end. On July 2, 2025, the studio will release Jurassic World Rebirth.
Scarlett Johansson and Mahershala Ali lead the cast, so Jurassic World Rebirth There’s a lot of star power behind it. GodzillaGareth Edwards is in the director’s chair and original Jurassic Park writer David Koepp wrote the screenplay. Jurassic World Rebirth will be a success regardless of its quality, but this one looks like it could actually be a return to form.
1
Superman
July 11
It’s been more than two years since James Gunn and Peter Safran were announced as co-presidents and co-CEOs of the newly formed DC Studios. Warner Bros. tasked them with demolishing the DCEU and building a new cinematic universe based on DC Comics from the ground up. Next summer, on July 11th, the renamed DC Universe will finally launch with a new Superman reboot, written and directed by Gunn and starring David Corenswet as the Man of Steel.
Instead of recalling the character’s overly familiar origin story, Gunn’s story Superman the film will see Clark Kent trying to reconcile his Kryptonian heritage with his adopted upbringing in Smallville, Kansas. Based on the initial images and leaked set photos, Gunn’s Superman looks much brighter and happier than the version seen in the SnyderVerse. At a time when audiences desperately need hopeful stories and joyful escapism, Superman could do a lot of good.