Most Anticipated Films of 2025...Still To Come

Long time no blog post, but as we had the lull of the end of awards season and going into a period of films at the cinema which are not breaking the box office - I have not been seeing many movies and have been patiently waiting for the year's biggest release's to the light up the big screen. To get even more excited, I want to present my most anticipated films to you now and tell you why I am looking forward to them gracing the screen and making the cinema once again the place to be this summer. 

First, this is the latest instalment, and judging by the title, it may be the last in the incredible Mission Impossible franchise. The franchise is constantly reinventing the action genre, and its main star, Tom Cruise, is pushing the boundaries of what an action star can do on the big screen. The film titled Mission Impossible - The Final Reckoning reunites director Christopher McQuarrie and all the franchise's top stars for another mission should they choose to accept it. The Mission films are heart-pounding, adrenaline-filled adventures which capture the audience's attention in every sequence that unfolds on screen - this makes it a must-watch and coming out at the beginning of May, it starts the summer blockbusters off in a big way!

Towards the end of May, the live-action Lilo and Stitch finally comes out to much delight of families everywhere who fell in love with these characters so long ago and have been waiting for a live-action retelling for some time. They have pulled the big guns with this adaptation with an all-star voice cast featuring Zach Galifianakis and the original creator of Lilo and Stitch, Chris Sanders, reprising his role as the voice of Stitch, warming fans of the original movies. Live-action Disney films can often be decisive, with either the film's being box office hits or failing to capture the hearts of the new audience it is in front of - with the reaction from the first trailers for Lilo and Stitch it promises to be a treat for families. 

This is a complete change in genre from the last two films I have discussed, but M3GAN 2.0 is my most anticipated horror film of the year as the first film sparked a cultural movement online, and everyone was in a trance at the M3GAN doll. The first film ended with the promise that she would return, and since 2022, I have been eagerly awaiting the return of her to the screen. Everyone is set to reprise their roles, even the director and its main stars, and if the plot of the first one is an indicator of the second one - we are promised a camp, scary slasher which is a staple of the summer season at the cinema. 

Another instalment of a beloved action franchise will grace our screens with Jurassic World: Rebirth, which is set five years after the last film and features a brand new cast with Scarlett Johansson, Mahershala Ali and Jonathan Bailey teaming up as the covert ops team tasked with extracting life-saving DNA from the world's deadliest dinosaurs. These films define the summer, with all of it's previous instalments being released around this time, and providing what you go to the cinema for - action-packed sequences, humour and a good story!

I have put this on my list as one of my most anticipated films coming out as I am excited to see these characters return to the screen again, but I am apprehensive of it and feel it may bomb at the box office, and that is the Freaky Friday Sequel - Freakier Friday. This film was meant to be a straight-to-streaming release on Disney Plus, but as the first film is so beloved, Disney felt it should be put on the big screen and celebrated. However, when the first trailer was released, it looked like a Disney Plus film and didn't have the big production value that garnered a cinema release. However, the first film is a classic and seeing these characters reunite on screen again is enough for me to purchase a ticket and be there on opening night. 

Finally, towards the end of the year, Wicked: For Good is released, being the most anticipated film of the year for me as the first film was my favourite film of last year. Ever since last year, when people saw the title card appear as Wicked Part One, they have been eagerly anticipating the next part of this beloved story. It promises to be a spectacle on screen, with the first film winning both production design and costume design at the most recent Oscars and stunning vocals from its stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivio. Unlike the other films I have mentioned, we have yet to see a trailer, but a lot of behind-the-scenes photos have been released, which have only fuelled people's excitement to see this film grace the big screen. 

Overall, even though there is a lack of films at the cinema during the first couple of months of the year, later on, and in the summer, it proves that cinema is alive and well and these films will surely be both successes with the box office and cinema-
goers!