2025 has been very short on movies that crossed $1 billion worldwide. The four major superhero movies, Superman, The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Captain America: Brave New World, and Thunderbolts*, didn’t come close. Jurassic World Rebirth made $868.6 million, making it the only one of the four Jurassic World films to fall short of the mark. A Minecraft Movie came quite close ($957.9 million) but still didn’t quite nab $1 billion. In fact, throughout the first 10 months, only two films managed to achieve the feat: Lilo & Stitch and Ne Zha 2 (which only really had a presence overseas as it only made $23.3 million domestically).
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However, there’s a better than good chance that number of two will inflate up to three, four, or even five by the time the year has wrapped up (or January, considering one of them opens in December). What are those three movies with some serious potential? Let’s find out.
3) Wicked: For Good
There’s only one week to go until Wicked: For Good, the second and final part of John M. Chu’s adaptation of the hit stage musical, hits theaters. So, as far as box office prognostications go, the ones out there are probably the most solid on this list. Right now, it’s expected to open in the range of $130 million to $155 million which, even on the low end, would outdo the $112.5 million domestic opening of the 2024 film.
There’s good reason to believe that will be exactly the case, just as there’s good reason to believe this film will have similarly strong legs. Specifically, Wicked more than quadrupled its opening by the time it left domestic theaters. Toss in $283.4 million from overseas venues and it netted about $756.6 million. Wicked: For Good is being released just shy of one year after the original, so that hit is still very fresh in audiences’ minds. Even more importantly, it was as well-liked by audiences and critics as it was a financial success (it also received substantial awards season clout).
That hasn’t gone away, as it has continued to do well as a digital rental and via its time streaming on Peacock and, now, Prime Video. It’s still very much in the public consciousness, so even more people will be hungry to see its follow-up in theaters. A $250 million increase over the first movie’s worldwide haul is a tall order, but far from impossible. This is especially true considering the marketing has been sure to show Dorothy, the Tin Man, Scarecrow, and Cowardly Lion. Any further connection to The Wizard of Oz is a guarantee for a bump.
Stream Wicked on Prime Video.
2) Zootopia 2
Considering it is scheduled for release in two weeks, estimates regarding Zootopia 2‘s performance over its five-day Thanksgiving debut are starting to roll in. Eyes are on a $125 million debut, which would certainly be a promising start for a long run through December.
There is a question mark hanging over the film in regard to the nearly decade-long gap between the sequel and its predecessor. But there are reasons not to be too concerned with that. Primarily, the original Zootopia had amazing multiples, even for an animated film (which tend to have higher multiples than live action, given how families can’t always just rush out on opening weekend). The reason it had amazing multiples was that it was a poignant film, one with themes that were better understood by adults than children. It was a multi-quadrant hit, and the fact that a sequel wasn’t hurried into production is actually a good sign.
Stream Zootopia on Disney+.
1) Avatar: Fire and Ash
Back in 2009, James Cameron’s Avatar became a pop culture juggernaut and box office sensation with a worldwide total of nearly $3 billion. 13 years later, Avatar: The Way of Water hit theaters and netted a grand total of just over $2.34 billion. It went to show that, while the wait between films was notoriously long, there was still substantial interest in visiting Pandora and the Na’vi. It wasn’t as gargantuan a pop culture sensation, because some of the novelty had worn off (both due to the audience having visited this world before and because there was over a decade of increased special effects capabilities witnessed in other films), but the interest in the IP was still very much there.
The question is just how well Avatar: Fire and Ash will do. There isn’t a decade-plus of anticipation working in its favor and, on the whole, The Way of Water wasn’t quite as well-liked by audiences as the original film (which itself was, admittedly, enjoyed but not adored). Quite a bit is riding on it, considering there are two more of these movies coming. Either way, even if it experiences another 20% drop, that will put Fire and Ash at about $1.88 billion. That total doesn’t seem unlikely at all, and considering its budget is an estimated $250 million, it would make for another major win for the franchise (and more than enough to ensure the fourth and fifth films).
Stream Avatar and Avatar: The Way of Water on Disney+.
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