26 2025 Movies I Will Absolutely See In Theaters No Matter What
There is no question that the modern age has changed the way that audiences watch movies – with developments including the advancement of streaming and studio features being made available earlier and earlier for digital rental and purchase. That being said, nothing will ever be able to replace the experience of going to a theater and catching a film on the big screen, and as I look ahead at the 2025 movie release calendar, there are a great number of titles that I know for certain that I won’t be missing during their theatrical run.
The 2025 calendar is far from set in stone, as new films will be added and others rescheduled, but there are currently 26 titles that I register as must-sees for the silver screen, and I’ve put together this feature to both highlight them and explain why.
Wolf Man (January 17, 2025)
In the early months of 2020, Leigh Whannell proved with The Invisible Man that he had the skill and passion to reinvent one of the Universal Classic Monsters, and there are high expectations that his vision for Wolf Man will be a terrifying delight on the big screen.
Captain America: Brave New World (February 14, 2025)
Captain America: Brave New World, heading to theaters in February, is said to stylistically echo the spectacular Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and anyone who remembers experiencing that film in theaters back in 2014 should hope to replicate it with the latest chapter in the intra-franchise Marvel series.
The Monkey (February 21, 2025)
Comedy and horror always make for great theatrical experiences, as it’s a blast to laugh and scream along with a large audience – and in that respect, the release of The Monkey should be a two-for-one deal, as the trailer for the upcoming Stephen King movie makes it look both extremely gory and hilarious.
Sinners (March 7, 2025)
Ryan Coogler has been recognized as one of the most talented and exciting filmmakers in the industry since the premiere of Fruitvale Station in 2013, and his venture into the horror genre with Sinners is expected to be a spellbinding delight full of remarkable imagery that needs the silver screen to get full appreciation.
Mickey 17 (April 18, 2025)
Being the recipient of three Academy Awards for his phenomenal film Parasite, Bong Joon-ho got a huge budget to make Mickey 17 ($150 million, per Variety), and all signs suggest that he has used that money to make a thrilling science-fiction blockbuster with a delightfully wry sense of humor.
Thunderbolts* (May 2, 2025)
Between its ensemble of sketchy characters and that mysterious asterisk in the title, Thunderbolts* appears to be a movie that is hiding a lot of secrets – and if spoilers are to be evaded, a big screen watch is an absolute must.
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning (May 23, 2025)
Does any franchise demand the big screen experience more than Mission: Impossible? Tom Cruise’s extreme antics as Ethan Hunt demand the largest possible projection you can find, and the trailer for Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning suggests that the new film will fit into the blockbuster series’ tradition in that respect.
The Life Of Chuck (May 30, 2025)
This is kind of a cheat, as I’ve actually already seen The Life Of Chuck on the big screen – but given that I most certainly will see this heartwarming, beautiful Stephen King film from writer/director Mike Flanagan again when it goes to theaters, I am still counting it for this feature.
28 Years Later (June 20, 2025)
Danny Boyle and Alex Garland teamed up to utterly terrify audiences in 2002 with 28 Days Later and the idea of sprinting, rage-filled zombies, and I am overflowing with excitement for what has come of the world in the canon nearly 30 years later. If it ends up being as scary as the trailer for 28 Years Later suggests, it should be a blast to experience this one with a crowd.
F1 (June 27, 2025)
In 2022, director Joseph Kosinski helped reinvigorate big screen movie-going with the Tom Cruise-led adventure Top Gun: Maverick, and there is hope that the filmmaker will recreate that special energy with F1 – albeit this time on the ground with extremely fast cars and a different A-lister in the lead (namely Brad Pitt).
M3GAN 2.0 (June 27, 2025)
Audiences got into the antics of M3GAN in a big way in 2023, as the dangerous A.I. became a viral sensation months before her big screen debut arrived in theaters, and one expects that energy to carry over into the release of M3GAN 2.0 in summer 2025.
Jurassic World: Rebirth (July 2, 2025)
While the quality of the Jurassic World era of the Jurassic Park franchise has been sketchy at best, there remains something special about seeing dinosaurs come to life on the silver screen, and that alone is going to maintain my anticipation for Jurassic World: Rebirth as we get closer to its release.
Untitled Trey Parker / Matt Stone / Kendrick Lamar / Dave Free Project (July 4, 2025)
It has been over 20 years since Trey Parker and Matt Stone made a film for the big screen (Team America: World Police in 2004), so there is no way that I am missing the theatrical release of their latest comedy.
Superman (July 11, 2025)
James Gunn’s Superman will be the first film released as part of DC Studios’ vision for the DC Universe. That alone makes it a must to see under the best conditions possible – but also not to be discounted is Gunn’s history making audacious blockbusters with the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps (July 25, 2025)
Marvel fans have been waiting years and years for a proper big screen version of the Fantastic Four, and hopes are high that the team’s introduction to the Marvel Cinematic Universe with The Fantastic Four: First Steps will finally deliver. As far as theatrical experiences in 2025 are concerned, it’s a must.
The Naked Gun (August 1, 2025)
If the reboot of The Naked Gun starring Liam Neeson can properly capture the comedic magic of the original film starring Leslie Nielsen, the 2025 movie should be an uproarious feature and wonderful to watch with a packed crowd.
Nobody 2 (August 15, 2025)
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Nobody wasn’t as big a theatrical hit as it might have been had it been released under normal circumstances – but it’s cool that audiences will get another shot to see Bob Odenkirk kicking ass when Nobody 2 arrives in cinemas next August.
The Bride! (September 26, 2025)
The character portraits officially released for The Bride!, starring Jessie Buckley and Christian Bale, suggest that writer/director Maggie Gyllenhaal has quite a vision in store for her version of Frankenstein/The Bride Of Frankenstein, and there are high hopes that it will be a theatrical treat arriving in the heart of Spooky Season.
Saw XI (September 26, 2025)
Saw X successfully reenergized the gore-centric horror franchise with the return of Tobin Bell as John Kramer a.k.a. Jigsaw, and there is a lot of hope and expectation that the thrills of the series will carry over to the next installment and the arrival of Saw XI in September 2025.
Tron: Ares (October 10, 2025)
Visual spectacle and cutting edge computer effects have been a cornerstone of the Tron series from the beginning, and regardless of anything else the film has going on, there will be no better way to experience what Tron: Ares has to offer movie-goers than by seeing it in theaters.
Good Fortune (October 17, 2025)
While not much has been publicly revealed about Aziz Ansari’s Good Fortune, I got a preview of the new film at CinemaCon 2024, and with a cast that includes Keanu Reeves, Seth Rogen and Keke Palmer in addition to Ansari, it looks like a comedy that will fill cinemas with the sound of roaring laughter.
Mortal Kombat 2 (October 24, 2025)
Like the aforementioned Nobody, the last Mortal Kombat movie from 2021 didn’t get a proper opportunity for the big screen experience due to the pandemic, but Mortal Kombat 2 is on the way in 2025 to deliver what its predecessor couldn’t.
Predator: Badlands (November 7, 2025)
It’s unfortunate that Dan Trachtenberg’s Prey was only a streaming release, but the Predator franchise is pivoting back to big screen adventure in 2025 with Predator: Badlands, and it will hopefully affirm that this is a series that’s a must for the theatrical experience.
The Running Man (November 21, 2025)
Edgar Wright’s films are always sensory delights, and while his upcoming adaptation of Stephen King’s The Running Man will likely have a very different tone than what we’re used to seeing from the filmmaker, the only proper way to absorb it all will be via the big screen.
Zootopia 2 (November 26, 2025)
Walt Disney Animation Studios created an incredibly rich world with Zootopia… so much so that it still feels like there is a great deal to explore. Thankfully, Zootopia 2 is on the way in 2025, and one expects that seeing it in large format will only enhance appreciation of the vast cinematic creation.
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery (Release Date TBA)
Glass Onion only got a brief release in theaters, which was a regrettable decision by Netflix. We don’t know what the distribution plans will be for Wake Up Dead Man, the next Benoit Blanc mystery, but if it goes to the big screen for any amount of time, it will be a priority.
Stay tuned here on CinemaBlend for all of the latest updates about these movies and more in the weeks and months ahead.
