Top Movies of Summer 2025

[JasonEvans]

Agree with JE. Gunn has a great track record of a good story with humor and relatable characters. Of course Superman is the toughest to do because, sans kryptonite, he’s basically unbeatable. Hard to make a compelling storyline. Only one that makes sense is a bad Superman, except then nobody could stop him. And The Boys has basically done that. All that said, I didn’t pick it in my Top 5. Probably a mistake.

Not sure I agree with this take about Superman being unbeatable. That is the Superman we are mostly used to, but I think it is clear that Gunn is going to give us a Superman who is vulnerable, which is perfectly fine. In the comics, Supes doesn't always take every punch without even flinching. He gets hurt plenty of times when facing a truly powerful opponent. He is not invulnerable. The most highlighted scene that Gunn has released so far makes it abundantly clear that this Superman will bleed.

But, perhaps more importantly, Superman is not about being the strongest dude on the block. He is about "truth, justice, and the American way." Now, the "American way" stuff is a little outdated in our modern, global society, but I firmly believe James Gunn understands that Superman is about being good and honorable. Luthor will likely force him to face moral quandaries that are not easy to answer (who can forget the question of save Lois or save Hackensack, NJ?).

I could not be more confident that this film will be in our Top 5, that is how much I trust James Gunn.

 

[Kdogg]

But, perhaps more importantly, Superman is not about being the strongest dude on the block. He is about "truth, justice, and the American way." Now, the "American way" stuff is a little outdated in our modern, global society, but I firmly believe James Gunn understands that Superman is about being good and honorable. Luthor will likely force him to face moral quandaries that are not easy to answer (who can forget the question of save Lois or save Hackensack, NJ?).

I could not be more confident that this film will be in our Top 5, that is how much I trust James Gunn.

DC changed that motto years ago. It's now "Truth, Justice, and a Better Tomorrow." It won't be Gunn that made the change. It was already done by the DC writers. Comic book writers have an understated ability to front run social shifts. Also Sups rogue's gallery as plenty of characters as powerful as him but it's always been a point of notice that his biggest enemy is a human without power.

 

[Kdogg]

Of course Superman is the toughest to do because, sans kryptonite, he’s basically unbeatable. Hard to make a compelling storyline. Only one that makes sense is a bad Superman, except then nobody could stop him. And The Boys has basically done that. All that said, I didn’t pick it in my Top 5. Probably a mistake.

And magic. Completely vulnerable.

 

[CameronBornAndBred]

Agree with JE. Gunn has a great track record of a good story with humor and relatable characters. Of course Superman is the toughest to do because, sans kryptonite, he’s basically unbeatable. Hard to make a compelling storyline. Only one that makes sense is a bad Superman, except then nobody could stop him. And The Boys has basically done that. All that said, I didn’t pick it in my Top 5. Probably a mistake.

The Boys has done it to an extent, but not like Brightburn. (Which is a good movie to check out if you haven't.)

 

[JasonEvans]

The Boys has done it to an extent, but not like Brightburn. (Which is a good movie to check out if you haven't.)

And to take this full circle, Brightburn was produced by James Gunn and written by two of his brothers. He was heavily involved in making it.

And I agree that it is a really interesting take on the "Superman as a bad guy" idea (though the main character it not actually Superman).

 

[Udaman]

I liked Brightburn. Also thought Eternals handled it in an interesting way (though the movie itself was pretty terrible).

Worst depiction was Justice League. Once Superman showed up he just annihilated the bad guy with such ease that it wasn't any fun. It also made me think Batman was right in wanting to kill Superman because if he ever turned bad, he could literally just kill everyone on Earth (or enslave them, or whatever he wanted. At least that version of Superman).

By the way, one thing I like about Invincible (which is great, if you haven't seen it), is how non-invincible the character truly is.

 

[elvis14]

I liked Brightburn. Also thought Eternals handled it in an interesting way (though the movie itself was pretty terrible).

Worst depiction was Justice League. Once Superman showed up he just annihilated the bad guy with such ease that it wasn't any fun. It also made me think Batman was right in wanting to kill Superman because if he ever turned bad, he could literally just kill everyone on Earth (or enslave them, or whatever he wanted. At least that version of Superman).

By the way, one thing I like about Invincible (which is great, if you haven't seen it), is how non-invincible the character truly is.

I mean, the main character in Invincible is a 30 year old bar tender who play football with his drinking buddies and tries out for the Eagles....

 

[JasonEvans]

I mean, the main character in Invincible is a 30 year old bar tender who play football with his drinking buddies and tries out for the Eagles....

You deserve a beating for that...

 

[JasonEvans]

The fact that Thunderbolts has more votes than Fantastic Four...

Let's just say I don't think the boxoffice will turn out that way.

 

[Kdogg]

I liked Brightburn. Also thought Eternals handled it in an interesting way (though the movie itself was pretty terrible).

Worst depiction was Justice League. Once Superman showed up he just annihilated the bad guy with such ease that it wasn't any fun. It also made me think Batman was right in wanting to kill Superman because if he ever turned bad, he could literally just kill everyone on Earth (or enslave them, or whatever he wanted. At least that version of Superman).

By the way, one thing I like about Invincible (which is great, if you haven't seen it), is how non-invincible the character truly is.

Have you meet Alan?

 

[Udaman]

Sigh.

Looks like 76% of us are already out, because Thunderbolts isn't making the Top 5. Friday morning, before I went to go see it, I almost swapped it out for Superman. I was worried that the main people (other than Bucky) were in what I considered to be terrible Marvel movies - especially Black Widow. Should have listened to my gut. In the end, it's going to make about $160M. That will be $$30M plus away from whatever ends up #5.

 

[JasonEvans]

Sigh.

Looks like 76% of us are already out, because Thunderbolts isn't making the Top 5. Friday morning, before I went to go see it, I almost swapped it out for Superman. I was worried that the main people (other than Bucky) were in what I considered to be terrible Marvel movies - especially Black Widow. Should have listened to my gut. In the end, it's going to make about $160M. That will be $$30M plus away from whatever ends up #5.

Yeah, uhhh, I think you are wildly wrong. Thunderbolts had a really nice hold in its second weekend, only falling 56% (which is really good for a Marvel movie). Word of mouth is strong as evidenced by the 94% audience score on RT. It is already at $130+ million.

I think it has a truly excellent chance to reach $200 million and will be at least mildly surprised if it does not get there. your $160 mil projection is certain to be far from accurate. Heck, it is fairly likely reach $160 mil in the next week.

Whether it makes the top 5 is still a big question. MI8 will be a strong contender with amazing stunts (but a really clunky story and a laborious runtime -- I saw it Monday night). Elio (count out Pixar at your own peril) is going to be a contender, I think. So will the HTTYD live-action remake (live, but with digital dragons, of course). I think it is going to come down to Thunder vs. Dragons. Anyone who tells you they know which will win is lying.

 

[bigperm13]

Yeah, uhhh, I think you are wildly wrong. Thunderbolts had a really nice hold in its second weekend, only falling 56% (which is really good for a Marvel movie). Word of mouth is strong as evidenced by the 94% audience score on RT. It is already at $130+ million.

I think it has a truly excellent chance to reach $200 million and will be at least mildly surprised if it does not get there. your $160 mil projection is certain to be far from accurate. Heck, it is fairly likely reach $160 mil in the next week.

Whether it makes the top 5 is still a big question. MI8 will be a strong contender with amazing stunts (but a really clunky story and a laborious runtime -- I saw it Monday night). Elio (count out Pixar at your own peril) is going to be a contender, I think. So will the HTTYD live-action remake (live, but with digital dragons, of course). I think it is going to come down to Thunder vs. Dragons. Anyone who tells you they know which will win is lying.

Saw MI8 last Monday as well. The beginning was a little heavy on the exposition but the stunts were great and I loved the ending.

 

[JasonEvans]

In the end, it's going to make about $160M.

Thunderbolts* made $16.5 mil over the weekend and now sits at $155.4 million. I am losing some confidence it will find its way to $200 million, but something in the $180+ kind of arena is pretty much assured. We need to see a lot more of summer to have a good sense whether that kind of number is going to be good enough to get into the top 5.

Final Destination: Bloodlines made a really strong $51.0 mil, an amazing start for a horror franchise. It doesn't have a realistic shot at our top 5 (horror movies don't tend to hold up well after the opening weekend) but props to it for a far better than expected start.

Lilo and Stitch (which is pretty much a lock to be in our top 5) and MI8 get their starts on Friday this week.

 

[CameronBornAndBred]

Thunderbolts* made $16.5 mil over the weekend and now sits at $155.4 million. I am losing some confidence it will find its way to $200 million, but something in the $180+ kind of arena is pretty much assured. We need to see a lot more of summer to have a good sense whether that kind of number is going to be good enough to get into the top 5.

I read that it cost 150M to make, and another 100M to market. So it's close to breaking even*, which is good news to someone at the studio worried about getting fired.

*counting in global box office

 

[Phredd3]

I read that it cost 150M to make, and another 100M to market. So it's close to breaking even*, which is good news to someone at the studio worried about getting fired.

*counting in global box office

Yeah, that's maybe not so true. Disney's goal isn't to break even.

 

[JasonEvans]

Yeah, that's maybe not so true. Disney's goal isn't to break even.

The ancillary value of these things on Disney+ is a pretty big deal. The Marvel and Star Wars libraries are a big, big part of Disney+ keeping subscribers for their streaming platform.

 

[Kdogg]

The ancillary value of these things on Disney+ is a pretty big deal. The Marvel and Star Wars libraries are a big, big part of Disney+ keeping subscribers for their streaming platform.

Not just Disney+. It will have a third life on cable on FX. They will be getting ad revenue and a justification of the carriage fee.

 

[JasonEvans]

I just realized... the poll votes are not public. We cannot see who voted for what, can we? Argh!!!

So that means I cannot mock the 8 people who did not pick Lilo and Stitch. Whoever you are...

 

[JasonEvans]

I just realized... the poll votes are not public. We cannot see who voted for what, can we? Argh!!!

I voted for Thunderbolts, Lilo, Jurassic, Superman, and Fantastic Four.