There sure are a lot of IP movies coming out in 2025. You might be thinking ‘sure Sophie, but what else is new?’. First of all, it’s Stacey, and secondly, I understand this is not particularly rare. But it is a year when a lot of the major IP movies have a much higher flop factor than normal, and it’s interesting to consider what could happen to blockbuster cinema if too many slump.
In2023, we saw more weirdo IP do well. Barbie and Wonka were technically IP - one being arguably the most commercialised product to ever exist - but they were both so off-kilter that they didn’t feel like your standard name brand first, story second movies. 2024 seemed,I wrote last year, to be a little more auteur-led, with Jordan Peele, Bong Joon-ho, Robert Eggers, and even Matthew Vaughn’s movies leading with the director’s name.
Two delays, one unreleased at the time of writing in mid-December, and one flop later, that was the year that wasn’t. Denis Villeneuve and George Miller had my back at least. But while I thought the IP movies would be overlooked in 2024, I actively fear for them in 2025. There are so many movies executives probably expect to be cast iron, and I’m just not so sure…
Should Be Okay
Avatar: Fire & Ash
This is the one I’m least concerned for, mainly because I had the same fears for the second film and itcleared two billion at the box office. I believeAvatarhas more fans than those who like to loudly deride it for having ‘no cultural impact’ claim. I’m not sure it has as many as these numbers suggest.
The first time it was a technological gimmick, or more kindly, a marvel. The second time, after so long away from cinemas, there was curiosity to see what had changed. What gets people back in seats the third time around?
Saw 11
I think any movie with 11 in the title is at risk of fatigue. And while Saw X (AKA 10) was one of the better ones, that came after The Final Chapter (AKA a lie, AKA 7), Jigsaw (AKA 8), and Spiral (AKA 9) ranked amongst the worst. It will depend a lot on a fortunate release window and word of mouth more than the Saw name I suspect. Then again, if the eleventh Saw movie flops, I’m not sure what that tells us about the state of blockbuster cinema in 2025.
28 Years Later
It feels harsh to include this here, with Danny Boyle likely considering thisa Proper Film and not just spit content. However, it’s the third movie in the franchise and aiming to launch a trilogy. What Mr. Boyle has on his hands is IP. Reliable IP, I would suggest, but IP nonetheless, and at risk of falling short of high expectations.
Mission: Impossible: The Final Reckoning
Another movie I’m being harsh on, this is the end ofthe most iconic action series ever to grace the screen. Surely this won’t tank? I still have faith, but it’s part two (despite not being called that) of a more narratively complex movie that underperformed after losing a fistfight to Barbenheimer. It’s not as safe as you’d think, though it still might be safe.
Probably Okay
Superman
From an end to a beginning.Supermanwill launch the new DC universe when it’s not a bird or a plane in cinemas next year. I trust James Gunn to start off on the right foot, though whether it sustains through cinematic universe complications remains to be seen. It’s the first of the Probably Okay because, well, it will probably be okay. But if this fails, it has the biggest ramifications of any movie here.
Ballerina
TheJohn Wickfilms peaked with 4, so I know there is potential for this prequel. And dare I sayAna de Armas' Paloma was the best thing to come out of the entire Craig Bond era?But it’s an action spin-off trapped in between two existing movies, and Furiosa (and Atomic Blonde before it) showed that studios don’t seem to know how to market female-led action movies. Of all the movies here, this is the one I’m most rooting for.
Minecraft
This will be terrible andevery child on Earth will still want to see it. What do you even say about aMinecraftisekai movie?
Getting Nervous
Megan 2.0
Megan was great. I think this movie failed the second it didn’t follow M3GAN with MEG4N, which would have set up MEGAN5 (with twins) and then ME6AN. 2.0 is boring, and doing the killer doll thing twice is, too. Unless it keeps its budget down,viral marketing needs to come in clutch again.
Now You See Me 3
I liked the first movie, but the second was all smoke and mirrors. Permit me to launch into a merry dance off stage to some vaudeville music now.
I just don’t think it has threequel juice.
Jurrassic World: Rebirth
Speaking of numberquel juice, I love Jurassic Park but does it really have a seventh movie in it? A new cast is a solid shakeup, and the previous World trilogy did well despite woeful reviews, so this one is very difficult to predict.
Tron: Ares
The only reason I’m not extremely worried about a Tron sequel coming 14 years later and starring Jared Leto after years in development hell is because we know nothing about it. Surely if it was bad they’d have just killed it… right?
Mortal Kombat 2
The first one made $80 million off a $50 million budget. Sure, it was during the pandemic, but why did it get a sequel?
The Fantastic Four
I’m just not convinced you can make a good movie about these guys.
Extremely Worried About
The Electric State
This is aNetflixmovie starring Millie Bobby Brown and directed by the Russo Brothers. This means three things: it was very expensive to make, it will be advertised everywhere for months, and it will not be very good. It’s hard to quantify what a ‘flop’ is for streaming, but I doubt this one is worth the cost.
Snow White
Most of theDisneylive action remakes have looked bland and served little artistic purpose.Snow White has overcorrected, and is sickeningly saturated. That’s not why I fear for it though. It has seen a couple of delays, and with leads Gal Gadot and Rachel Zegler both controversial to different crowds for vastly different reasons, you wonder if this one has any hope of cutting through the noise. More to the point, you wonder if you want it to. Why are we even doing these movies?
Captain America: Brave New World
Massive red warning light flashing now. TheMCUhas been teetering for a while, seemingly going nowhere after Endgame. Kang was supposed to offer direction, but Jonathan Majors' domestic abuse case saw the character written out entirely. Speaking of writing out, Brave New World is still undergoing reshoots, in part because the movie (again, calledBrave New World) is built around Sabra, who is a Mossad agent - or was, in the original script, which has been hastily and likely messily rewritten. At a reported budget of $400 million, this could be the year’s biggest failure.
