As Avatar: Fire and Ash hit the big screen this monthThe theater owners held their breath.
In a bumpy year that featured two billion-dollar hits and a viral “chicken jockey” craze, but also disastrous first quarter The end of December, a near 30-year low for October box office receipts, was the last chance for theaters to catch up.
But even James Cameron and the Na'vi – the latest Avatar film has already grossed more than $472 million at the global box office – couldn't save 2025 from a disappointing end.
Box office receipts in the United States and Canada are expected to be $8.87 billion this year. up just 1.5% from last year's disappointing $8.74 billion.According to movie data company Comscore. Even more troubling, domestic box office revenue in 2025 is projected to be down more than 20% from 2019, before the pandemic changed movie-watching habits and boosted streaming to a degree that the exhibition industry is still struggling with.
Problem: Fewer and fewer people are buying movie tickets. Theater attendance is below last year's levels, with about 760 million tickets sold as of Dec. 25, according to media and entertainment data company EntTelligence. Last year, total ticket sales for 2024 topped 800 million.
Part of the decline in movie theater revenues and attendance lies in the films themselves.
Industry experts and theater owners say the quality and frequency of screenings has led to gaps in the calendar, putting further pressure on the release of other films. Once-reliable genres like comedies and dramas are having a much tougher time at movie theaters, and female moviegoers who flocked to Barbie in droves in 2023 have been left underserved in a year that has largely skewed toward male-leaning blockbusters.
“It’s fair to say that 2025 hasn’t quite reached the levels many of us expected at the start of the year,” Eduardo Acuna, chief executive of Regal Cineworld, said in a statement. “This is largely due to the lack of depth in the release schedule and the struggle of many smaller games to break through.”
Even big-name stars like Margot Robbie, Colin Farrell, Dwayne Johnson and Sydney Sweeney couldn't generate attendance for films like Sony Pictures' “Big Bold Beautiful Journey,” A24's “Crusher” and Black Bear Pictures' “Christy,” which all flopped.
And despite critical acclaim and an extensive cast list for Paul Thomas Anderson's One Battle After Another, the film stalled domestically with $71 million for a worldwide total of $205 million.
One Battle After Another had a budget of around $130 million, while Crash Machine reportedly cost $50 million and only grossed $21 million worldwide.
“The challenge facing Hollywood is how to reconcile the budgets of these films with how much they can earn in theaters and in the future, ultimately on streaming,” said Paul Dergarabedian, head of market trends at Comscore.
Universal Pictures' “Wicked: For Good” grossed more than $324 million, but it was one of the few major blockbusters aimed at women. (Taylor Swift's “Official Showgirl Party,” which grossed $50 million worldwide, there was one more.)
Although it's summer marked by a number of big filmsincluding Warner Bros.'s DC's “Superman,” Universal's “Jurassic World Reborn” and Apple's “F1 Movie,” most of which were aimed at male audiences.
There aren't a lot of films targeting women, said Jeff Bock, senior box office analyst at Exhibitor Relations, an entertainment data and research company. “Everyone who plays most of the time should have something, but there isn't.”
Of course, there were some positives in the industry, including success with young audiences.
“The Minecraft Movie” by Warner Bros. Pictures became the highest-grossing domestic film this year, grossing $423.9 million. Following closely behind was Walt Disney Co.'s adaptation of Lilo & Stitch, which grossed $423.8 million in the U.S. and Canada. a total of $1 billion worldwide.
Counting those two, five of the top ten highest-grossing films of the year were rated PG, including Wicked: For Good, Disney's animated film Zootopia 2 and Universal's live-action film How to Train Your Dragon.
“Overall, the good news of the year is that most of the big hits attracted young audiences,” said Tom Rothman, chairman and CEO of the Sony Pictures film group. “There's a little youth upheaval going on.”
Disney benefited from a strong year for family vacations.
The Burbank giant's global box office revenue recently topped $6 billion for the year thanks to billion-dollar hits Lilo & Stitch and Zootopia 2, marking the company's best year since 2019. The original animated film Elio misfiredlike the live-action film Snow White. who is mired in controversy.)
Another notable youth project was Demon Slayer: The Infinite Castle Kimetsu no Yaiba from Sony Pictures in collaboration with its anime banner Crunchyroll. In July, the film grossed a huge opening weekend of $70 million for a domestic gross of $134 million and a worldwide total of $715 million. highlighting the growing popularity of anime.
“The arrival of anime in theaters is a really big part of what's happened this year and a really good sign,” Rothman said. “You attract a younger audience.”
Not surprisingly, recognized intellectual property is Are there video games?well-known franchises, novels or comics, continued to top the charts this year, with nine of the top 10 domestic films tied to an existing title.
This exposure at the box office matters when moviegoers, especially families, are looking for films to watch. Viewers can be picky about how they spend their money and time, and won't always want to bet on a movie they've never heard of.
“Meaningful IP still has an advantage in getting people to the theater, although it's not the only way to do it,” said Adam Fogelson, chairman of the Lionsgate film group, which has found success this year with the film adaptation of Stephen King's “The Long Walk” as well as the “Now You See Me: Now You Don't” film franchise.
Horror films have also scared a lot of businesses in 2025. Warner Bros., in particular, has a string of wins for horror films, including Ryan Coogler's The Sinners, The Conjuring: Last Rites, Zach Cregger's The Gun and Final Destination Bloodlines.
With one notable exception, Blumhouse made a rare miss with “M3GAN 2.0,” the sequel to the 2022 cult favorite. In an interview with Gorod podcast, Blumhouse Productions CEO Jason Blum blamed the sequel's shortcomings on a change in genre from the original.
As 2025 comes to a close, industry insiders and theater owners are increasingly optimistic about next year's box office prospects.
Several major films are slated for release in 2026, including Christopher Nolan's highly anticipated “Odyssey,” Disney and Marvel Studios' “Avengers: Judgment Day,” Denis Villeneuve's “Dune: Part Three,” as well as Disney and Pixar's “Toy Story 5” and Universal, Nintendo and Illumination Entertainment's “Super Mario Galaxy Movie.”
This expectation is also clouded by uncertainty upcoming deal with Warner Bros. and what this will mean for film releases.
Many theater owners fear a Netflix takeover will limit or eliminate theatrical exclusivity for Warner Bros. films, although Netflix executives have said they will honor the company's current and future big-screen commitments. And if Paramount buys the company, movie distributors fear that the number of films will be reduced and they will have less content to show. (Paramount CEO David Ellison has said the company has no plans to release fewer films.)
Any deal is expected to take at least a year to complete.
In the meantime, Hollywood will wait to see how strong the 2026 field really is.
“There are a lot of great titles out there, and that’s why people are calling 2026 a return to form,” said Bock of Exhibitor Relations. “Even though 2026 is very promising, can Hollywood continue to deliver year after year?”
