The Numbers Business Report: 2025 at the box office, a mid-year recap

July 8, 2025

The latest issue of The Numbers Business Report marks the end of the first half of 2025 by checking in on the top-grossing films, leading studios, and trends among genres, production methods, film ratings, and more. Looking through the numbers, and being completely honest, the year so far has been something of a mixed bag.

On the upside, A Minecraft Movie and Sinners were major box office triumphs, drawing in very different audiences. Eight films released so far this year are on track to earn over $100 million domestically, up from six in the same period last year, spanning genres from family to horror to action and super hero. Our market strength index, launched in 2021, has hit an all-time high, reflecting a broadly healthy landscape.

But there have also been major misses, including Disney’s Snow White and Pixar’s Elio. Dramas and comedies continue to struggle, with the exception of Materialists, a bright spark for rom-coms. Overall, studios still aren’t producing enough titles to consistently fill theaters. However, the second half of 2025 brings promise, with a return to release calendars featuring multiple wide releases on a single weekend, a pattern not seen regularly in over a decade.

At the studio level, Disney currently holds the #1 spot, led by Lilo & Stitch (36.3% of its total), Captain America: Brave New World (18.07%), and Thunderbolts* (17.11%). Warner Bros. has had a standout year with Minecraft, which not only leads the domestic box office and had the year’s best opening ($162.75 million), but also accounts for 42.79% of the studio’s 2025 total so far. Sinners and Final Destination: Bloodlines further reinforce Warner Bros.’ position at #2 among distributors.

So far, adventure films lead the market (32.97%), live-action dominates (68.1%), kids fiction remains strong (32.6%), and original screenplays make up 35.35% of earnings. These numbers may shift significantly as the year continues, with F1: The Movie, Jurassic World Rebirth now performing strongly in theaters, and a number of potential big hits to come in the second half. Our top picks right now are Superman, The Fantastic Four: First Steps, The Bad Guys 2, Tron: Ares, Wicked: For Good, Zootopia: 2, Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, and Avatar: Fire and Ash.

Also in this edition...

We have our final pre-release predictions for all of June’s wide releases, including Superman and The Fantastic Four: First Steps (among many others), along with our full 2025 prediction.

Our domestic and international release schedules cover all films being released domestically over the next month, and all major international releases in 15 territories, organized by date and by movie.

For the home market, we have a monthly update on the theatrical window for new releases, including trend analysis. We’ve also added information on what films are available or coming soon to streaming services.

On the talent front, we include Bankability values for the top 250 creative talents in the business, expanding our unique perspective on the people in front of, and behind the camera.

Alongside The Business Report, we are publishing updated six-week predictions every week. Those have day-by-day predictions of the top 10 and the expected market size over the next 42 days. Unlock this addition through a subscription. Click here to subscribe.

Contact