10 Upcoming 2025 Action Movies That Could Blow The Doors Off The Box Office

2025 is shaping up to be a bonkers year for action movies, with many heavy-hitters slated to release in theaters going into the second half of the 2020s. Box office takes for huge action movies are going up all the time, although 2024 had some major box office surprises when it came to previously reliable franchises struggling to keep up. However, if there’s one year that could turn things around for the future of action movies, it’s 2025.

Plenty of long-standing giants at the box office will be returning to theaters in 2025, not to mention a few brand-new contenders that could see big returns. While name recognition is always a huge part of theatrical haul projections, fan anticipation is rife for a handful of upcoming movies in particular for the new year. From acclaimed directors to prominent movie franchises, 2025 will feature something for every type of action movie fan.

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Jurassic World Rebirth

Releasing July 2nd, 2025

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Roaring into the middle of the valuable Summer blockbuster season, Jurassic World Rebirth could begin the next era of dominance for the prehistoric franchise. Ever since Stephen Spielberg’s beloved Jurassic Park, the series of the same name has enjoyed wave after wave of success well into the modern day. Though the reboot continuity has struggled critically, the latest entry, Jurassic World Dominion, smashed the box office as the third-highest grossing movie of the year it was released, 2022.

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The plot of the new movie will introduce a new crop of perspective characters, moving away from Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas-Howard as well as legacy stars like Jeff Goldblum, Laura Dern, and Sam Neill. Instead, recognizable stars like Scarlett Johansson and Mahershala Ali will lead a story detailing the pursuit of a potentially life-saving cure for illness hidden within the genome of the few remaining living dinosaurs. Between the hot streak of the franchise and the fresh infusion of talent, Jurassic World Rebirth could tower over other releases.

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Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning

Releasing May 23rd, 2025

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One of the earlier releases for big action movies in 2025, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning could live up to its name by taking the lofty crown of 2025’s biggest action movie hit. The Mission Impossible films have always drawn out big crowds, with the allure of a great ensemble cast and Tom Cruise’s increasingly deadly and unbelievable practical stunts risking life and limb for the sake of entertainment. The most recent Mission Impossible film, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One was one of the most expensive films ever made.

That is, if the confusing lack of a “Part Two” in the title for the sequel doesn’t confuse prospective moviegoers.

This hefty price tag managed to break even, but only barely, overshadowed by the surprise hit that was the “Barbenheimer” phenomenon of 2023. Hoping to circumvent competition such as this with an earlier release date, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning could be the breakout hit studios envisioned from the previous entry. That is, if the confusing lack of a “Part Two” in the title for the sequel doesn’t confuse prospective moviegoers.

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Captain America: Brave New World

Releasing February 13th, 2025

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The Marvel Cinematic Universe was shockingly quiet in 2024, with only a single new film releasing during the year, something that hadn’t happened since the release of The Avengers back in 2012. That being said, their sole film for the year, Deadpool & Wolverine, was a smash hit, breaking records as the highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time. This was a win the series desperately needed after diabolical flops like The Marvels and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania in recent history.

With a little bit of momentum taken back, the fourth Captain America-focused film, Captain America: Brave New World, has the potential to cook up a savory box office performance. Audiences might be hungry to return to the universe after so much time away, particularly with the Captain America franchise, and additions of new talent like Harrison Ford and Giancarlo Esposito combined with returning deep cuts like Liv Tyler and Tim Blake Nelso could make all the difference. The presidential theme of the movie will also be quite on-the-nose for such a turbulent year in American politics, as well.

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Superman

Releasing July 11th, 2025

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After the movies of the DCEU went out with a quiet shudder with the release of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom in 2023, DC fans have spent an entire year anticipating the first true-blooded film in the DCU reboot series. Directed by DCU creative director and lauded comic book movie filmmaker, James Gunn, 2025’s Superman will re-introduce the world to both the Man of Steel and the idea of a DC movie continuity.

The hype for the film’s release is already quite palpable.

As a character, Superman has always made for some high-performing films, with the original Christopher Reeve movie in 1978 crossing the 1 billion dollar mark when adjusted for inflation. The hopeful tone of the advertising and eagerness to return to an optimistic Superman after years of Zack Snyder’s brooding misunderstanding of the character could draw eyes far outside the typical comic book movie sphere. Not only that, but the chance to finally see the DCU realized in a big-budget live-action movie for the first time is a tantalizing one indeed.

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Fantastic Four: First Steps

Releasing July 25th, 2025

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Superman won’t be the only superhero movie hearkening back to a simpler, more earnest time in comic book movie filmmaking, duking it out in the July release schedule of 2025. Enter Fantastic Four: First Steps, the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s long-awaited crack at portraying the first superhero family after wrestling the movie rights to the team away from Fox studios. Said to be a retrofuturistic period piece, the film will evoke the days of 50s and 60s pulp science fiction so heavily associated with the aesthetic of The Fantastic Four in the comics.

With an all-star lineup of valuable names to play the Four, including Joseph Quinn, Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach, the team is in great shape to draw plenty of eyes. In particular, The Fantastic Four has not had a good track record when it comes to movie adaptations, so hope that the MCU will finally be able to do the superhero team justice at long last could be strong enough to contend with Superman. July of 2025 will be one of the craziest wars for dominance at the box office in a long time.

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Mickey 17

Releasing March 7th, 2025

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Despite not being a part of a pre-existing recognizable franchise, Mickey 17 has a shot of being a surprise action movie hit in 2025. The movies of Bong Joon-ho were underrated for a long time, but the astounding critical success of Parasite in 2019 resulted in the film becoming the first foreign language movie to win the coveted Best Picture Academy Award. His upcoming film Mickey 17 promises to tell the story of an expendable worker who is brought back to life via a cloning process every time he’s killed by his dangerous work environment.

The fact that Mickey 17 will be the first film by Bong since the release of Parasite back in 2019 could even further build anticipation.

Mickey 17 won’t be Bong Joon-ho’s first time working with famous English-speaking actors, having collaborated with Tilda Swinton and Chris Evans in the past. But his increased profile as a director has brought his science fiction worldbuilding to new heights alongside a cast sure to draw attention, including Robert Pattinson, Steven Yeun, and Mark Ruffalo. The fact that Mickey 17 will be the first film by Bong since the release of Parasite back in 2019 could even further build anticipation.

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Tron: Ares

Releasing October 10th, 2025

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Even though Tron: Legacy made money, it wasn’t quite the smash financial hit Disney had hoped for back in 2010. After all, the first Tron isn’t exactly a household name, however groundbreaking it might have been for special effects in the science fiction genre, so it stands to reason that the film didn’t reach quite as wide of an audience. Over time, Tron: Legacy has accumulated enough good will and positive buzz for Disney to go all-in on a sequel a full decade-and-a-half later, Tron: Ares.

The world of Tron presents opportunities for a unique neon vision that other films simply can’t match in terms of visuals, making Tron: Ares a potentially once-in-a-generation opportunity for moviegoers. Jared Leto’s attachment is another huge sell for the film, and the plot of a sentient A.I. interacting with humanity for the first time has only become more prescient as real A.I. systems continue to advance. After the enduring success of Daft Punk’s work in the previous film’s score, many might flood seats for the soundtrack alone.

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Predator: Badlands

Releasing November 7th, 2025

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The Predator franchise has always been a big box office draw, even if the straight-to-streaming release of Prey was unable to capitalize on the series’ historic success. After the successful return of the Xenomorphs in 2024 with Alien: Romulus, their alien counterpart rivals are set-up for a massive box office win in 2025. That could very well happen with Predator: Badlands, a unique Predator film that will take place in a sort of post-apocalyptic future.

Prey was a criminally overlooked film that impressed critics, proving the legs of a formula in which the Predator is dropped into different genres and settings. With Predator: Badlands, a post-apocalyptic environment could be just the wild card the franchise needs to explode back into popularity among action movie lovers. The new proof of rated R films being able to make more money than previously thought possible could also open up opportunities for the typically bloody alien invasion series.

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Avatar: Fire and Ash

Releasing December 19th, 2025

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Few cinematic names can hope to stand up to a franchise as titanic as James Cameron’s Avatar films. The original Avatar utterly annihilated previous box office records despite having no I.P. recognition, proving James Cameron’s wizardry with blockbuster engineering. To this day, Avatar and Avatar: The Way of Water hold the number 1 and 3 spots for highest-grossing movies of all time, respectively, and Avatar: Fire and Ash could very well pull off a hat trick of epic proportions with its release.

The new film is slated to introduce the new Fire and Air-themed tribes of Na’vi, further expanding the intriguing science fiction world engineered by Cameron all those years ago. This time, Cameron will be able to strike while the iron is hot, releasing only 3 years after Avatar: The Way of Water compared to the agonizing decade-plus-long wait following the first film. This could mean that Avatar: Fire and Ash could pull even more staggeringly absurd numbers while the franchise is still fresh in audiences’ minds.

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Ballerina

June 6th, 2025

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Opening up 2025’s Summer blockbuster season with a deafening gunshot, Ballerina could sneak in with a shockingly high box office placement for the year. Fully titled From the World of John Wick: Ballerina, the film will further explore the mythos of the John Wick movies after the supposed retirement of Keanu Reeves’ beloved hitman following John Wick: Chapter 4. This time around, the subject is Ana de Armas’ Eve Macarro, a ballerina who is just beginning her journey as an assassin of the Ruska Roma in the wake of her father’s murder.

Ballerina will be a true sink-or-swim moment for the John Wick franchise. While Keanu Reeves is confirmed to reprise his old role as more of a supporting character, moving the spotlight to a new protagonist could make or break the universe. But considering that the films have only devoured a bigger and bigger chunk of the box office with each successive film, it stands to reason that Ballerina will fare no differently as an action movie.