The summer movie season is upon us, and as always, there are several titles looking to make a big splash in theaters. A movie can make a ton of money at any point in the year (see: Project Hail Mary and The Super Mario Galaxy Movie performing well in the spring), but these are the months where studios release projects they hope will become major global blockbusters. If a movie is scheduled to come out in the middle of summer, it’s a vote of confidence in its potential to connect with general audiences, and there are some heavy hitters that should do just that.
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At the outset of summer, we’re taking a look at the upcoming slate to see if we can predict the highest-grossing blockbusters for the next few months. To give you an idea of how stacked this summer is, there are a few high-profile titles, such as Steven Spielberg’s Disclosure Day, that didn’t make the final cut of this list.
7) Supergirl
One year after James Gunn’s Superman kicked the DC Universe’s film slate off in style ($618.7 million worldwide, the highest-grossing comic book film of 2025), the franchise is returning to theaters with Supergirl. Ahead of that movie’s June release, the marketing campaign is in full swing, teasing a wild and emotional cosmic adventure revolving around Kara Zor-El’s quest to save Krypto’s life. The latest Supergirl trailer also showcased Superman’s cameo to build additional buzz.
This isn’t to say that Supergirl is in danger of being a bomb. It could very well be a hit in its own right, but even if it’s successful in a vacuum, it’s going to have a hard time topping some of the other big titles on this list. While Supergirl has been a staple of DC Comics for decades, she isn’t as popular as Superman, so it remains to be seen if that will impact its box office prospects. Supergirl‘s release date is also sandwiched between two massive animated movies that could easily hit the $1 billion mark (more on those later). Granted, Supergirl has a different target demographic, but it’ll have stiff competition.
6) The Mandalorian and Grogu
Seven years after Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, the long Star Wars movie hiatus is finally over. The galaxy far, far away returns to theaters with a continuation of the flagship Disney+ series. Originally, Jon Favreau was going to move forward with The Mandalorian Season 4, but then Lucasfilm shifted its priorities and decided to make a film instead. The Mandalorian and Grogu kicks off a new slate of Star Wars films, with Star Wars: Starfighter on deck for next year.
As exciting as it’ll be to see Star Wars back on the big screen, The Mandalorian and Grogu is poised to have a soft opening weekend this Memorial Day (at least, relative to the Star Wars franchise). The film has seemingly faced an uphill climb for months thanks to questionable early marketing materials (including a baffling Super Bowl spot) and concerns that it may not be “cinematic” enough for people to come out in full force. However, more recent trailers have been much more effective and Grogu remains as popular as ever. That, combined with Star Wars’ return to theaters, could be enough to fuel a solid, if unremarkable, run.
5) Moana
When Snow White bombed last year, the trend of Disney producing live-action remakes of its hit animated films seemed over. But then, Lilo & Stitch put together a wildly successful box office run, soaring past the $1 billion mark last summer. That bodes well for this year’s Disney remake, Moana, which reimagines the iconic 2016 movie. A takeaway from Lilo & Stitch is that Disney remakes based on more modern animated films can still be a draw.
Moana has emerged as one of the Mouse House’s most valuable properties. In 2024, the animated Moana 2 grossed $1.059 billion worldwide, so this is a very popular and beloved brand. There’s a reason why Disney decided to give Moana the live-action treatment. This July is going to be quite crowded, but the combination of the Moana IP and Dwayne Johnson’s star power should be enough to push it into the top five.
4) The Odyssey
Christopher Nolan is one of the few directors working today who can sell general audiences on anything with just his name. Oppenheimer, a three-hour biopic about the creation of the atomic bomb, grossed $975.8 million worldwide. Whenever Nolan makes a new film, it instantly becomes one of the year’s biggest cinematic events, and The Odyssey is no different. Cinephiles have been anticipating this film since it was first announced. For proof, tickets for IMAX screenings sold out a full year in advance.
The Odyssey would be a draw with or without premium formats, but those showings will give it a nice boost at the box office. Over the past handful of years, IMAX has become much more prevalent and is a major part of the moviegoing experience. People seek those theaters out because they deliver something that can’t be replicated at home, and they make a point to see big-scale productions on the biggest screens possible. The Odyssey is tailor-made for movie theaters, and the combination of Nolan, an all-star cast, and legendary source material will make it one of the summer’s biggest hits.
3) Minions & Monsters
The final three films on our list could be interchangeable since all of them should be huge successes that realistically could hit $1 billion globally. Of this trio, we have Minions & Monsters taking the bronze medal. The film is the latest installment of the Despicable Me franchise, which has been Illumination’s trademark IP since it launched back in 2010. The Minions emerged as the breakout stars and have carried their own spinoff series to great effect. 2015’s Minions earned $1.159 billion, while Minions: The Rise of Gru made $940.2 million.
It’s hard to call $940.2 million “diminishing returns,” but it’s a fact the second Minions spinoff grossed less than the first, so it’ll be interesting to see if Minions & Monsters (which has the entertaining hook of paying homage to monster movies) will continue the trend. Additionally, Minions & Monsters arrives just a couple weeks after another highly anticipated animated sequel, meaning there may not be as much demand for another family film. Still, Minions & Monsters should be the main draw this Fourth of July weekend.
2) Toy Story 5
Illumination isn’t the only animation studio with a new installment in a flagship series this summer. Pixar is back with Toy Story 5, which sees Woody reunite with his old friends to help them deal with Bonnie’s new favorite toy, a tablet named Lilypad. In 2022, spinoff Lightyear became the rare Pixar movie to bomb at the box office, but that shouldn’t be interpreted as waning interest in the Toy Story brand. Lightyear was a unique case that even Pixar admits didn’t work. Toy Story 5 is a much easier sell for general audiences.
Since the pandemic, Pixar’s box office track record has been a bit mixed, but it’s notable that Inside Out 2 was a mega hit two summers ago, earning $1.698 billion worldwide. Pixar’s original movies may not be making as big of an impact as they once did (though, Hoppers was a step in the right direction on that front), but their sequels are as popular as ever. The last two mainline Toy Story movies cleared $1 billion, so with the franchise’s cross-generational appeal, it wouldn’t be a shock to see Toy Story 5 get there as well.
1) Spider-Man: Brand New Day
Marvel Studios is not the box office juggernaut it once was, but it’s still more than capable of delivering a record-breaking blockbuster. Just two summers ago, Deadpool & Wolverine was a huge hit, trailing only Inside Out 2 with $1.338 billion. We seem to be in an era where the most recognizable and popular superheroes will still be huge draws, which is a great sign for Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Spider-Man is arguably the best-known character Marvel has under its umbrella, and there is much excitement to see Tom Holland’s iteration back in action nearly five years after Spider-Man: No Way Home.
It’s unlikely Brand New Day approaches No Way Home‘s $1.9 billion figure, but odds are it will be the biggest movie of the summer. Holland’s solo Spider-Man movies have always been successful; in 2019, Far From Home actually outgrossed Toy Story 4 worldwide, indicating the web head has a built-in edge over Woody and Buzz. Arriving at the tail end of July also puts Brand New Day in an advantageous position, since it should be able to have strong legs through August against weaker competition. Plus, being the first new Marvel movie in a year doesn’t hurt. Demand will be sky high.
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