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2026 Box Office Predictions

December 29, 2025May 19, 2026 AdamLeave a comment

We are about to enter 2026 and because of that, I thought it would be fun to make some predictions on how I will think certain movies will do at the box office next year!

As we head into the second half of the 2020s, there is a LOT of uncertainty surrounding movie theaters and the film industry in general. From the emergence of A.I. to yet another massive company merger between Netflix (or Paramount), Hollywood is changing in ways that could dangerously affect filmmaking and entertainment in the immediate future.

However, there have been many analysts that predict that 2026 will be the biggest year at the box office since Covid happened. Because of that, many still believe that there could be a possibility that movie theaters will be seeing a MASSIVE comeback next year, proving to studios that there is still a large audience out there that do love going to movie theaters. While I can certainly understand the optimism, I do think certain people NEED to come back to reality in regards to their box office predictions for next year.

Yes, I do believe that there will be plenty of heavy hitters next year that will find its fair share of box office success but it’s simply not 2019 anymore! A market that consists of six to eight billion dollar grossers is just not sustainable in today’s economy. (And the less said about the inevitable A.I. bubble burst that could affect the already shitty economy in massive ways, the better!) Because of that, I still don’t see the box office in 2026 being on the same level as it was in a pre-covid world and I don’t think we ever will see that ever again!

Keep in mind, I DO hope there are many hits at the box office this year! I DO hope that we get as many billion dollar grossers as possible! I want the theater experience to continue being alive and well! I’ve been going to movie theaters for over the past two decades and I still make very fond memories of the theatrical experience every single year that I go! But since we are now entering the sixth year in a post-covid timeline, I have to be as realistic as possible with my predictions of how the movie will do in theaters for 2026 and for the foreseeable future! And I have to make those predictions based on the box office results that we have gotten for the past four to five years!

I decided I will give my predictions on 20 films that are currently set to be released in 2026! Ten of those movies will be what I believe will be the top 10 highest grossing films of 2026 worldwide! The other ten will be ranked based on release date and will contain films that I think will either surprise people in the best way or absolutely disappoint them in the worst ways at the box office!

And I promise I am NOT making these box office predictions for movies in any personal biased way. I am making the predictions strictly based on how I personally think these movies will do at the box office. So if you get mad at me, I’m sorry but I gotta go with what my gut feeling is on how I think each individual film will do in theaters next year!

Let’s not waste any more time and dive straight into what I believe will be the #1 highest grossing film of 2026!

1.) The Super Mario Galaxy Movie

Release Date: April 3rd

Box Office Prediction: $1.5+ Billion

That’s right! I have Mario winning it all in 2026! After the past few years and seeing what has ended up being the most successful films of the decade thus far, I think it might be time we stop UNDERESTIMATING animated family films and video game adaptations while stop OVERESTIMATING superhero flicks. The Super Mario Bros. Movie was able to gross over $1.3+ billion worldwide in 2023 and I expect this sequel to gross even more than that. It’s gotten only more popular on streaming and I imagine young kids are hyped as heck to see the sequel when it comes out!

With the inclusion of fan favorite characters such as Yoshi, Rosalina, and Bowser Jr. to adapting what is widely considered to be two of the best Mario games (if not the best video games) of all time in the Super Mario Galaxy series, I have little doubt that our beloved Italia….I’m sorry BROOKLYN plumbers will be able to make lightning strike twice once again! From what we’ve seen in the trailers, it looks like it will give the audiences what they enjoyed about the first movie and perhaps even more. Some might consider $1.5+ Billion to be a somewhat unrealistic number for a Mario movie sequel but then again, I’m pretty sure the same thing was said for the likes of Inside Out 2 and Zootopia 2, which I strongly believe will follow in similar footsteps.

With how animated family films and video game adaptations have been dominating at the box office in the 2020s just as superhero films dominated the box office in the 2010s, I have very little doubt that The Super Mario Galaxy Movie will take the crown as the highest grossing film of 2026! No amount of RDJ and Chris Evans returning to the MCU will be able to stop the inevitable that is Chris Pratt as Star Lor…..I mean Mario and Brie Larson as Captain Marv…….I mean Rosalina!

2.) Avengers: Doomsday

Release Date: December 18th

Box Office Prediction: $1.45+ Billion

Marvel is not the juggernaut it once was! It’s very unlikely they will ever be able to recapture that same consistent lightning in the bottle they were able to from 2012 to 2019! However, films like Deadpool & Wolverine have proven that audiences will still show up to these movies if it includes characters that they are deeply invested in and/or at least STRONGLY familiar with! And with the return of Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Ma…….I mean Doctor Doom, Chris Evans as Captain America, Chris Hemsworth as Thor, and the original X-Men from the Fox Marvel universe, Marvel will certainly be looking to capitalize on the familiarly and nostalgia of their past to make this the gigantic hit it will need to be!

The main question though is how much longer can they lean into that before audiences are sick and tired of it all together?! Will there be enough easter eggs, callbacks, and fan service cameos to overcome it’s messy and rushed development cycle and make back on what certainly will be an INCREDIBLY bloated budget?! Can they end this film in a way that will get audiences excited for Secret Wars in 2027 and whatever comes next for the MCU after that? The Russo Brothers have had a remarkable level of success with Marvel in the past but they might just have their work cut out for them here!

Still, if it does end up somehow sticking the landing on what has been an uneven as hell multiverse saga, I can see Doomsday doing Age of Ultron-level numbers (Remember when THAT was considered a box office disappointment for Marvel?) or right around the numbers of the first Avengers movie. If not, then I can see this being another Rise of Skywalker situation, in just BARELY making it past the billion dollar mark and putting this franchise on hold for several years, forced to several rethink their strategy for the future. While this will still do more than enough to be qualified as one of the highest grossing films of the year, whether or not this will change the “post-Endgame MCU bad” narrative remains to be seen!

3.) Spider-Man: Brand New Day

Release Date: July 31st

Box Office Prediction: $1.2+ Billion

Even in an era where superhero fatigue is at an all-time high, Spider-Man will ALWAYS be a box office draw no matter what! Him and Batman have proven themselves constantly to be perhaps the lone superhero IPs that can still draw box office hits in the most uncertain times of the genre based on their names alone, at least if the success of No Way Home ($1.9+ billion), The Batman ($772+ million), and Across the Spider-Verse ($690+ million) is anything to go by.

And NO, this will NOT be a No Way Home box office juggernaut but that should be expected considering this will (likely) not have the nostalgia of the good old days with William Dafoe and Tobey Maguire attached to it. A more reasonable comparison should be that of Far From Home, which was able to successfully ride the cocktails of Avengers: Endgame with $1.1+ billion. I expect similar numbers to that, if not a bit more.

Between the additions of fan favorite Marvel characters such as The Punisher, Hulk, and whoever the heck Sadie Sink is suppose to be playing along with there being a decent amount of time since the last Spider-Man movie came out to generate hype (No Way Home turns HALF a decade old this year btw!), Brand New Day will act like the golden era of Marvel never left and should very easily be a success for Sony and Marvel.

4.) Michael

Release Date: April 24th

Box Office Prediction: $950+ Billion

Now, THIS is one that I can see being a global phenomenon. Michael Jackson is no doubt the most popular musician of all time. With the high trailer numbers and the multiple generations of fans that MJ has gained throughout the course of several decades, there should be no reason to doubt his annual biopic will be a huge theatrical success. Except for one thing: his controversial backstory.

And I’m not just talking about the supposed made-up rumors of his past that have been debunked numerous times! I’m talking more of what’s come out recently with his connections to a certain someone that shall not be named because I don’t want to get banned from this website! Although MJ still has yet to be proven guilty of any particular involvement, I do wonder if more info comes out of of that before the film’s release, could that possibly affect the box office numbers for this movie and the overall reputation of Mr. Jackson?

If not, then I could easily see Michael topping Bohemian Rhapsody as the highest grossing musical biopic of all time, possibly hovering around or even reaching the billion dollar mark. This seems like the kind of film that will get people who don’t go to theaters anymore off their couches, similar to the likes of Top Gun: Maverick and Barbenheimer. Even though this film will be released in April, this will likey be seen as the true kick-off to the summer movie season of 2026!

5.) Toy Story 5

Release Date: June 19th

Box Office Prediction: $900+ Million

Toy Story is back…….again! For the supposed final (?) time……again! Yeah, as much as we all love to complain about Disney and Pixar making nonstop sequels, we all know why they get made! Because they are basically the only thing that makes Mickey Mouse and Woody a butt load of money nowadays! Just look at the box office numbers of Inside Out 2 and Zootopia 2 compared to Wish and Elio! However, I do think it will fall short of the billion dollars that Disney and Pixar expect this to make!

To compare the box office numbers of the last two Toy Story movies, Toy Story 4 made $1.073+ billion about nine years after Toy Story 3, which made around $1.066+ billion. That’s less than a seven million dollar increase between these two films despite being nearly a decade apart! Thrown in the negative scrutiny that has hit Toy Story 4 since its release in 2019 and the overall fatigue of this franchise (Remember the spectacular bomb that was Lightyear?!) and I can see this missing the billion dollar mark this time around!

There will still be plenty of kids and families that will go see this film in drones to make it at least flirt with the billion dollar mark but I do expect Toy Story 5 to take a bit of a nosedive from previous films when it comes to box office numbers! It should still do strong, just not the best!

6.) Minions 3

Release Date: July 1st

Box Office Prediction: $850+ Million

I may not understand the appeal of these films but there’s no denying that this is a very consistent franchise at the box office! Since 2010, Illumination Animation has been able to crack the code on how to make crowd pleasing animated flicks for young kids, forcing their parents to take them to the movie theaters every other summer to see the newest Despicable Me and Minions movie that comes out.

In regards to the installments that have come from this franchise post-covid, Minions: The Rise of Guru was able to make $940+ million in 2022 and Despicable Me 4 made $971+ million in 2024! Due to a much more crowded summer than in 2022 and 2024, having to compete with other family flicks such as Toy Story 5 and Moana (2026), I do expect this one to take a decline as well, in a similar way to Jurassic World: Rebirth was with Universal’s other money making franchise. Much like the latest installment last summer in the dino-verse, this will do strong and have more legs compared to other big franchises out there but not nearly enough to break all-time records or shock the world in amazement!

Between Minions 3 and The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, Illumination Animation will definitely be eating GOOD for 2026! Somewhere, Disney must be sweating!

7.) Moana (2026)

Release Date: July 10th

Box Office Prediction: $800+ Million

This is the one that I’m probably gonna get the most hate for but I have my reasons to NOT put this among the potential billion dollar grossers of the year! Moana is undoubtedly one of the most popular Disney brands right now, with the original animated film being the most streamed movie ever on Disney Plus and its sequel making a billion dollars just a year ago! What will likely hold this film back other than the crowded family summer movie season is its lack of nostalgia factor!

Live-action remakes like The Lion King (2019) and Lilo & Stitch (2025) were able to be the billion dollar grossers they did BECAUSE of the nostalgia attached to those films, which gave kids enough time to grow up, become nostalgic for the original animated Disney classics, and have raised kids of their own to share the theatrical experience with! Moana (2026) will be coming out at a time where the original animated film won’t even be fully 10 years old yet and just a year and a half after its animated sequel came out! Nostalgia only works when you give the kids enough time to actually grow up and become nostalgic for something.

It will still be a solid success since the Moana brand is still strong and has grown even stronger in recent years but I’m just not sure there will be enough support from kids and families this time around to watch a (likely) inferior live-action version of an original animated film they already love to guarantee a billion dollars!

8.) The Odyssey

Release Date: July 17th

Box Office Projection: $750+ Million

I feel like I need to defend myself here when I really shouldn’t! To be sure, a film like this making at least 750 million dollar signs in this day and age should be seen as a MAJOR accomplishment! There is no other filmmaker working today other than Christopher Nolan that could generate this level of excitement with a project such as The Odyssey! When you have people pre-ordering their tickets for a film that won’t even be out in a year, you know you have a big hit on your hand!

However, I don’t see this being on the same level as Oppenheimer (which made $975+ million) as it won’t have the “Barbenheimer” hype attached to it and will have to compete against much stronger films throughout the summer compared to what Nolan had to compete against in 2023. Not to mention, the potential loss of its IMAX screens after it’s first two weeks due to Spider-Man: Brand New Day could greatly affect repeated viewings for its theatrical release!

This will still certainly be in the top 10 highest grossing films of the year! Christopher Nolan is perhaps the one director working today to where his name attached to a film alone will guarantee box office success (Every film that Nolan has directed since The Dark Knight has been able to achieve this mark, even Tenet during the covid year!). However, the road to doing Oppenheimer level numbers will be much tougher for Mr. Nolan this time around!

9.) Dune: Part Three

Release Date: December 18th

Box Office Prediction: $650+ Million

To make some clarifications, this prediction is NOT because I actually think Warner Bros is gonna stick with that December release date alongside Avengers: Doomsday! Despite what it’s been reported, I’m more than confident that the release date will be pushed up to October, switching with one of the other films that WB has planned for the fall, probably with either Tom Cruise’s Digger or M. Night Shyamalan’s Remain. Mr. Villeneuve likely wants to move on from this film ASAP so he can focus on the James Bond film he is currently attached to that’s set for release in 2028. And also NO, this is NOT based on the Netflix and Warner Bros merger because a.) I don’t even think the merger will be 100% complete by then and b.) WB still has films contracted to be in theater screens through 2029, which Netflix MUST respect if they want to avoid lawsuits. This prediction alone is based on the book which this third chapter is based on, Dune Messiah.

Not to give too many spoilers but Messiah was a rather divisive story that has been constantly debated among fans since the book was published back in 1969. It follows up the story of Paul Atreides in rather unexpected and subversive ways, which many people deemed to be very unsatisfying and unfulfilling to his story. And following the negative reactions to a film like Joker Folie A Deux, a whole “pull the rug from underneath” approach to storytelling can be quite alienating to common moviegoers!

I still do trust Denis Villeneuve to find some way to make the conclusion to Paul’s story satisfying in ways that will leave most audiences satisfied! But at its worst, I wouldn’t be surprised for Dune: Part Three to fall short of its predecessor similarly to how Wicked: For Good did (which is currently set to make at least 200 million dollars LESS than it’s predecessor). I guess there can be a price to pay for sticking too closely to the source material! Just ask Edgar Wright!

10.) Jumanji 4

Release Date: December 11th

Box Office Prediction: $600+ Million

Did you know that a new Jumanji movie is coming out next December? You don’t?! Well, there is! After a seven-year absence (that seems to be quite a trend), Sony is bringing back the Jumanji crew once again with a 4th installment that has still yet to be officially titled!

Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle was able to gross nearly a billion dollars worldwide back in 2017 at a total finish of $962.5 million! The Next Level took a dip in 2019 but still grossed a strong $800+ million! Considering how much time has passed between the last installment and how much the theatrical landscape has changed since then, I do expect the next installment to make less than the last two. If the budget is in check, it should be considered a modest hit that should satisfy the higher ups at Sony and at least FLIRT with the idea of a fifth one.

The only question is here is whether or not Avengers: Doomsday and (at least at that moment) Dune: Part Three will kill any sort of legs and momentum this film could contain, just like how Barbenheimer was able to successfully bury Mission: Impossible- Dead Reckoning during the summer of 2023! Time will tell but considering how well-received the last two installments were, this should do just fine!

And now here are predictions for ten other films that are currently set to be released in 2026! This is not in order of box office success but by the current release dates.

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple

Release Date: January 16th

Box Office Prediction- $100+ Million

28 Years Later was able to gross $150+ million during the summer last year but its divisive reception could sink this one a bit down. If The Bone Temple is able to finish what its predecessor started in a satisfying way, it might push a bit higher. If not, then I expect quite a decrease from it, possibly putting a potential third movie in peril.

Scream 7

Release Date: February 27th

Box Office Prediction-$150+ Million

It’s nice to see Neve Campbell return after her brief hiatus in Scream VI along with all the members of the cast from the original Scream but Paramount’s firing of Melissa Barrera and the absence of Jenna Ortega has put quite a rain cloud above this installment. It should still do fine as I imagine most mainstream audiences are unaware of the behind the scenes drama here. However, the controversy surrounding Scream 7 among the fanbase will likely cause it to make less than the previous film.

Hoppers

Release Date: March 6th

Box Office Prediction-$350+ Million

I’m higher on this one than most people. The fact that this latest Pixar film will involve a talking furry animal of some sort will attract some international markets this time around (Just ask Zootopia 2!), unlike their latest flop in Elio. Plus, it will have the benefit of acting as the sole theatrically released animated kids film until Mario comes out the next month. That being said, original animated films are a TOUGH sell nowadays. Between Hoppers, Disney’s Hexed, DreamWorks’s Forgotten Island, and Sony’s Goat, western animation studios will have to work hard to get their latest original animated films to be successes.

Project Hail Mary

Release Date: March 27th

Box Office Prediction-$575+ Million

I’m surprised more people aren’t talking about this being a modest box office hit! The Martian was able to gross $630+ million in 2015 and I can see this doing similar numbers to that. It’s got a likable lead in Ryan Gosling, an extremely talented directing duo in Phil Lord & Chris Miller (Their first film they’ve received full director credit for since 2014’s 22 Jump Street!) and is based off a very popular book from the same author as The Martian. If the cast and crew are able to work their magic, I can see Project Hail Mary fighting for a spot in the top 10 highest grossing films both domestically AND worldwide! Word of mouth will have to carry this one but if it does, this should be easily Amazon MGM’s most successful film at the box office to date!

The Devil Wears Prada 2

Release Date: May 1st

Box Office Prediction- $525+ Million

Here’s another box office hit that I think will be a delightful surprise. The original Devil Wears Prada has certainly earned a cult following since its release in 2006 and I truly believe fans of the original will show up to support Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway once again 20 years later. Between this, Barbie, and Wicked, it seems like Hollywood has finally got the memo that women will show up to movies if you actually make movies that cater to them!

Mortal Kombat II

Release Date: May 15th

Box Office Prediction-$200+ Million

The first Mortal Kombat film was a flop when it came out in 2021 but that was during a time when there was so much uncertainty surrounding Covid and Warner Bros were releasing their films on streaming on the same day as theaters. With the sequel getting a more proper theatrical release and the trailers indicating this will deliver the goods that fans wanted from the first film, I can see this doing quite well this time around, at least around on par with the Five Nights At Freddy’s movies.

The Mandalorian & Grogu

Release Date: May 22nd

Box Office Prediction- $400+ Million

Whoever at Lucasfilm thought that the first Star Wars movie released in seven years should be an extension of a Disney Plus show that ended three years ago deserves to be banned from Hollywood! The recognition of Mando & Baby Yoda will (hopefully) get this one to cross the 400 million dollar mark but that’s it! Whatever momentum that Star Wars gained last year with the theatrical re-release of Revenge of the Sith and the second season of Andor will be GREATLY swiped away here!

Supergirl

Release Date: June 26th

Box Office Prediction- $375+ Million

I will definitely get tomatoes thrown at me for this one but there are PLENTY of reasons for concern here. While Superman (2025) did fine overall and just enough to land in the top 10 of the year, its international numbers have shown that audiences overseas are just not into (most) superhero movies the way they were over a decade ago. Also, being sandwiched in between Toy Story 5 and Minions 3 along with being followed up by Moana (2026), The Odyssey, and Spider-Man: Brand New Day certainly doesn’t help either. Perhaps good reviews and word-of-mouth might get this over $400+ million but I can’t help but feel like Supergirl will be 2026’s Furiosa/Ballerina, a well-received female-led film in a mostly male dominated genre that general audiences couldn’t be bothered to go see in theaters. Just like what Supergirl said in the trailer, Superman might see the good in everything but I see the truth!

Clayface

Release Date: September 11th

Box Office Prediction- $200+ Million

I don’t know who in the world was asking for a Clayface movie but if it is has a tight budget and is a satisfying crowd pleaser, this will be another successful story in the horror genre!

The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping

Release Date: November 26th

Box Office Prediction- $500+ Million

Here’s a sequel that I can see doing much better than the last film! With a much more expansive cast (including the return of Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson) and being based on a critically acclaimed book, there’s little doubt in my mind that this Hunger Games prequel will top the previous film in just about every way! May the odds be forever in MY favor!

Ranking The Billion Dollar Club Movies (Updated w/Avatar: Fire & Ash)

December 28, 2025 AdamLeave a comment

Avatar: Fire & Ash is now out in theaters and it is absolutely CRUSHING it at the box office, just passing over one billion dollars worldwide. With that, there are now a total of 61 movies to have made a billion dollars at the box office. Regardless if inflation or re-releases also helps with that (which they both do), a movie has made a total of over seven bills at least 61 times throughout cinema history. Because of that, I decided to go ahead and do a ranking of every single one of these since I’ve actually seen all of these movies at least one time.

This will make for a rather complicated list, even more so than other lists I make on here. This will be a fine mix between what I believe is the best movie from an objective standpoint, what I believe is the best from a subjective standpoint, and the impact each one has had on pop culture for better and worse. I’ve thought about this for quite awhile now so it’s time for me to rank them.

If you disagree with this list, then by all means disagree but please don’t be a jerk about it. We have enough of those on the internet. I really don’t take much pride in these lists and rankings other than to have some fun. Opinions change everyday and this ranking is just how I feel at the exact moment that I’m publishing this list.

Also, since it’s going to be 61 movies, I’m not gonna go into detail on any one of those and just show the number I have ranked for each movie. I’ll just say which movie is ranked where and show off a trailer for it because why not? I might even update the list once another movie comes around that makes a billion dollars and see how much of my opinion on this list has changed since then.

Let’s not waste anymore time and get right down to it.

61.) Transformers: Age of Extinction

60.) The Lion King (2019)

59.) Jurassic World: Dominion

58.) Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

57.) Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom

56.) Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

55.) Minions

54.) Alice In Wonderland (2010)

53.) Beauty and the Beast (2017)

52.) Despicable Me 3

51.) The Fate of the Furious

50.) Lilo & Stitch (2025)

49.) Moana II

48.) Aladdin (2019)

47.) Star Wars: Episode 1- The Phantom Menace

46.) Transformers: Dark of the Moon

45.) The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

44.) Jurassic World

43.) Captain Marvel

42.) Frozen II

41.) Incredibles 2

40.) The Super Mario Bros Movie

39.) Spider-Man: Far From Home

38.) Avatar: Fire & Ash

37.) Avengers: Age of Ultron

36.) Aquaman

35.) Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

34.) Finding Dory

33.) Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead’s Man Chest

32.) Toy Story 4

31.) Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

30.) Star Wars: The Force Awakens

29.) Joker

28.) Deadpool & Wolverine

27.) Furious 7

26.) Avatar: The Way of Water

25.) Avatar

24.) Frozen

23.) Zootopia 2

22.) Ne Zha 2

21.) Iron Man 3

20.) Captain America: Civil War

19.) Star Wars: The Last Jedi

18.) Barbie

17.) Harry Potter & The Deadly Hallows Part II

16.) Spider-Man: No Way Home

15.) Avengers: Infinity War

14.) Inside Out 2

13.) Zootopia

12.) Skyfall

11.) The Dark Knight Rises

10.) The Avengers

9.) Black Panther

8.) Titanic

7.) Top Gun: Maverick

6.) The Lion King

5.) Avengers: Endgame

4.) Jurassic Park

3.) The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King

2.) Toy Story 3

1.) The Dark Knight

Will Jared Bush Save Disney?

November 24, 2025November 24, 2025 AdamLeave a comment

Disney’s next feature film, Zootopia 2, is expected to hit theaters this upcoming week! And if early box office projections are anything to go by, this film is about to become the MASSIVE hit that both Disney and movie theaters desperately need for the Thanksgiving weekend and for the remainder of 2025! In China alone, the hype to the sequel of Disney Animation’s 2016 billion dollar grosser is UNMATCHED, the kind of hype that Hollywood hasn’t seen from them with one of their own movies since before the Covid-19 pandemic happened. It is currently tracking to make at least $200+ million in it’s opening weekend in China ALONE. Combined that with the $150+ million domestically and perhaps another $150+ million in other international areas, Zootopia 2 could make up over half a billion dollars in it’s opening weekend alone, which would make it the best opening weekend for an animated film of all time! If that is true, Disney will most certainly be able to end what has been quite an uneven year for them on the highest note possible with Zootopia 2 and Avatar: The Way of Water later next month, making up for their financial losses this year with films such as Snow White (2025), Thunderbolts*, Elio, and Tron: Ares. Right before we see Zootopia 2 come out in theaters, I want to turn our attention to the main behind the camera for Disney’s highly anticipated animated sequel, that man being Jared Bush.

For those who don’t know, Jared Bush has been a highly respected animator and artist who has worked for the Walt Disney Company since 2014. Since he’s been there, he has been responsible for some of the most beloved Disney films released for over the past decade. He wrote and co-directed the original Zootopia, he wrote the screenplay for the original Moana and it’s sequel, Moana 2, and wrote and directed Encanto. Even those that have been very critically of Disney for the past decade would admit that at least three of the four films I’ve mentioned are among Disney’s very best films in recent memory, some of which that stands proudly among Disney’s all-time best work in animation!

However, he now has a bit more power this time around with the company! Last year, it was confirmed that he was promoted to being the chief creative officer for Walt Disney Animation Studios after the previous CCO Jennifer Lee stepped down in order to put her focus on upcoming Frozen sequels, one of which is currently due for a release date in November 2027. This was a move clearly done to course corrected after the absolute mess that Disney has become since the brief era with former CEO Bob Chapek began.

Outside of the instant modern classic Encanto (which again was written and directed by Jared Bush himself) and the record-breaking smash hit that was Frozen II (which was co-written and co-directed by Jennifer Lee herself), the last five years have not been too kind to Mickey Mouse and friends whatsoever. That’s not to say the likes of Raya and the Last Dragon, Strange World, and even Wish don’t have their fans but those films were either completely forgotten about entirely from the general public by the time they came out or straight up IMPLODED at the box office in laughable fashion, resulting in over hundreds of million dollars lost for the higher ups at Disney! Because of that, they needed to make major chances with their main animation division and that starts with putting the man who has been largely responsible for the company’s most successful work in animated form that did not come for Pixar since 2014, that man again being Jared Bush!

And his tender has gotten off to a pretty good start, at least if box office numbers are anything to go by. While garnering mixed reviews at the time of release, Moana 2 ended up being a smash hit when it came out last November, grossing over a billion dollars in 2024, become the third highest grossing film that year and Disney Animation’s first billion dollar hit since Frozen II. Originally envisioned as a miniseries for Disney Plus, the follow-up to 2016’s Moana was reworked into being a feature length film, as a response to the multiple financial bombs and hundreds of million dollars lost that put a large dent in the company’s stock in 2023, the 100th year anniversary for Walt Disney, an anniversary that I’m sure everyone and their mother would love to forget about!

The next big film we have in Bush’s tenure is Zootopia 2, the film that I imagine he put the majority of the work in while he was the the current CCO for Disney Animation Studios and was given complete control over with little to no interference from the higher ups due to his solid track record. Because of that, I fully trust him to deliver an exceptional sequel that builds upon the original Zootopia in ways that are organic and respectful. Considering Zootopia 2 was always plan to be a feature film from the start, I imagine Jared had a much more creative vision for what he wanted a follow-up to Zootopia to be like, more so than he likely would have for a Moana follow-up before that got turned into a movie.

With both sequels to Moana and Zootopia being potential billion dollar grossers and then some, I don’t think Iger and company could not ask more from Jared Bush to start off his run as the main man in charge of Disney Animation Studios if they tried. He’ll be able to deliver the financial results that the company desperately wants and needs alone with continuing to expand some of the most beloved Disney brands throughout the past decade that will pave ways for future sequels and merchandise. Oh, and also keeping the movie theater going experience alive also helps too!

That really begs the question that I put on the title of this piece: Will Jared Bush save Disney? Is he the man that Disney has been looking for? Is he the creative consultant that the company needs to present themselves much more positively among the general public? Is he the one that can kickstart a brand new golden area for Disney, the era that matches the Renaissance era of the late 1980s to 1990s or even their box office juggernaut era of the previous decade? While I do think personally that Jared Bush is a very talented animator that can help guide the next generation of animators in ways that Disney legend Ron Clements is currently trying to do with the company, I still need to see more consistency and a greater look of his overall vision for me to make such a claim.

While Moana 2 was a big hit and I’m sure Zootopia 2 and future Frozen sequels will follow suit, I need to see more how he will help guide more original Disney projects for the future, being able to successfully launch brand new IPs instead of just banking on what has already worked and milking it until the cow is completely dry. While Bush has been successful in that regard in helping Zootopia and Moana becoming the successful IPs they have been since the 2010s along with making the lone 2020s Disney modern classic in Encanto, I need to see how other folks will fair in that regard under his supervision. While he was able to create new original Disney classics by himself, let’s see how he will fare in guiding others to do the same thing.

For me, the first big test with Mr. Bush will be with Hexed, Disney Animation’s next feature animated film that is expected to arrive for the holiday season in 2026. The premise we have gotten thus far for the film involves an awkward teenage boy and his Type-A mom discovering that what makes him unusual, might just be his magical powers that will turn their lives and a secret world of magic, upside down. This is set to be directed by Josie Trinidad (writer for Zootopia and Ralph Breaks The Internet) and Jason Hand (director of Moana 2). While the premise itself sounds like an interesting departure from recent Disney films, particularly with a strong emphasis on a relationship between a mother and son being the potential driving force, I will need to see more info on that to be fully convinced.

And as much as certain folks claim that original animated films don’t sell anymore and that’s why Disney has to constant rely on animated sequels and live-action remakes to keep themselves afloat, the success of K-Pop Demon Hunters this year proved otherwise. It showed that people will indeed watch original animated films if it’s done exceptionally well. Despite having only a handful of theatrical screenings, that Korean animated flick was able to set the whole on FIRE when it hit streaming during the summer this year, breaking viewings records for Netflix and selling out merchandise left and right in ways that no one saw coming. That animated musical left such an impact on pop culture throughout 2025, with it being beloved by both girls AND boys all around the world, selling out Halloween costumes with boys and girls all around the world dressing up as their favorite member of the Huntrix or the Saja Boys. I can’t recall seeing an original animated film musical that left such a massive impact on pop culture since Frozen in 2013. K-Pop Demon Hunters was the kind of original animated films that Disney used to be able to do in their SLEEP but haven’t been able to wide AWAKE in recent memory.

The reason that films like Strange World, Wish, and Elio were massive bombs had nothing to do with the fact that they were original animated films, it was because they weren’t particularly good original animated films or ones that Disney themselves had any faith in. Those three films put such a stain on the company’s reputation and left such a sour taste in many people’s mouths, making them look at Disney in a completely different way than they have prior. It also didn’t help that the behind the scenes drama for these films were so disastrous and the marketing was so lackluster that you have to wonder if Disney was purposely trying to sabotaged them in order to justify their recent creative and business decisions. Those original animated films failed because Disney had no faith in them, not because they were original animated films.

However, if Disney actually has full faith in Hexed and other future original animated films going forward and Jared Bush is giving full reign to deliver in high quality films and stellar box office results like he’s done so far, then I will be happy to claim that the man did in fact save Disney and should be deserving of the majority of the credit for the company’s resurrection. All they have to do is find the right people for the job and not allow studio executives to butt in and mess their whole film up and they might be successful in launching original animated films and kickstart brand new franchises with fully original IPs.

To answer the question for this piece, while I do think we need to see how Jared Bush does settling into his new role as CCO and seeing how his overall vision for the company plays out in the next few years, I do believe he is the right man to lead the charge to get Disney back on top for the foreseeable future. The man has been solely responsible for the company’s greatest work since he joined them in 2014 and I fully expect him to continue delivering great work as both director and CCO. He may have some stumbles along the way but I think if everything comes together in the next 3-5 years once he’s comfortable in the full driving seat, Jared Bush might just put his name out there as being not just an exceptionally animator but as the man that saved Disney.

Let’s hope he puts just as much focus on creating new stories as much as the company will be demanding him to put focus on upcoming sequels and remakes. Let’s hope that he allows Jennifer Lee to take her time on Frozen III and IV so it doesn’t become a rushed mess like Frozen II was (I already have a whole piece about the history of that film). Let’s hope he’s able to usher in the next generation of animators that he will be able to pass the baton to successfully once he retires. More importantly, let’s just hope he is able to lead Disney to become the animation company that we all remember them being from our childhoods. As much as I can’t guarantee that any of this will happen, given his recent track record, Jared Bush does at least give me some faith that he will be one day be referred to as the man that saved Disney.

Now, if only he could stop that live-action Moana remake from happening (which he is writing btw).

Yeah, Disney is screwed!

(FYI, did you know that the original Moana won’t be even 10 years old by the time this remake comes out?!)

(No joke! The live-action remake is coming out in July 2026 next year whereas the original animated film came out in November 2016!)

(Not even 10 full years and they are ALREADY making a live-action remake of Moana! Even before they get around to doing a live-action Tangled with Sabrina Carpenter as Rapunzel or a live-action Frozen with Anya-Taylor Joy as Elsa!)

(I guess this is our punishment for not showing up to the theaters for Black Adam!)

(Curse you Dwyane Johnson and your “hierarchy of power”!)

(Bro actually thought he was cooking there?!?!?!)

(I surely can’t wait until he finally gives up on acting and wrestling and becomes our president in 10 years!)

(That’s actually gonna happen, isn’t it?!)

(Just like Sonic predicted!)

(And that will be our punishment for not showing up to theaters for The Smashing Machine!)

(We’re all f**ked!)

Every (Mostly) Edgar Wright Film Ranked

November 17, 2025 AdamLeave a comment

Edgar Wright is perhaps one of the more “under the radar” type of directors working in Hollywood today. He’s not really so much well known by mainstream audiences with the likes of Steven Spielberg, Christopher Nolan, James Cameron, Martin Scorsese, and Quentin Tarantino but more of someone that’s mostly beloved by hardcore film buffs. There’s a reason why Baby Driver, a film which made only $227 million at the time of it’s release (which is still good btw), is his most successful film at the box office and the only hit which you can call a genuine crowd pleaser.

Even so, he still has a very dedicated fanbase and cult following and I was say I qualify on both ends. Although some of his recent films haven’t “wowed” me the way his earlier films did, he is still a director that I always await his next big feature film because he’s one of the few directors left that knows how to leave his own personal stamp on a film. Because of that, it’s time for me to rank (most) of his films from worst to best!

And the reason why I say most is because there is two main film exceptions I am leaving off the list: A Fistful of Fingers and The Sparks Brothers. That is strictly because I haven’t seen any one of those films and I have yet to find anywhere which gives me full access to both films. So to anyone that is actually a die hard fan of either one of those movies and actually viewed them as being the absolute best of Edgar Wright, then I deeply apologize for that!

For everyone else, let’s get to rank Edgar Wright’s other seven films, the ones that the majority of the human population acknowledge, from worst to best!

7.) The Running Man (2025)

Wright’s weakest film to date is unfortunately the one that just got released in (mostly) empty theaters. There were plenty of ingredients for a 2025 incarnation of The Running Man to be a success. You got a director that’s skilled with blending action, drama, humor, and chaos in Edgar Wright, you got an up and coming A-list actor in Glen Powell, and updating the 1987 film in a way where we are now basically on the doorstep of living in the kind of future that Stephen King tried to warns us all about nearly 40 years ago seems like this should be an instant classic that’s relevant to our times. While there’s some fun set pieces scattered throughout, Glen Powell is as awesome as he always is, and the first 2/3rds work well enough as a mildly entertaining action flick, The Running Man (2025) gets bogged down by the end of it’s own messaging, not knowing how to properly convey it without shouting it directly to the audience and not knowing which of the three or four endings they wanted to stick with. It’s ironic how the film goes on about how bad monopoly corporations are when they have all the wealth and power in entertainment to manipulate it’s audience when this film is literally made by Paramount of all companies. This also can’t help but feel like the least felt Edgar Wright film to date, with his style and attention to aesthetics feeling distractingly absent here. Is there entertainment to be had in The Running Man (2025)? Sure! But, this 2025 Stephen King adaption is one of the rare cases where a film being too closed to it’s source material can actually be a bad thing!

6.) Last Night In Soho

This is easily Edgar Wright’s most polarizing film to date. Many felt that Wright was too in love with his own style and that let it get in the way of the substance of the story. Last Night in Soho made for a rather unique, mesmerizing, and at times very uneven experience. This psychological thriller sees a young woman out on her own for the first time ever and having to experience the toxic and stressful nature of being out of your own bird’s nest along with the pressure of becoming the person that you are just not. Edgar Wright always brings his A-game behind the camera but he goes all out this time around with his beautiful cinematography, stellar costume designs, chilling score, and haunting imagery and performances that will stick with you even after the credits roll. Thomasin McKenzie and Anya Taylor-Joy are terrific here showing the two sides of the same coin of a woman’s poignant experience of being out on her own in a world full of troubled men. I just wish this film sticked with me on repeat viewings and didn’t have me asking more questions than it answers by the end, especially when all the big reveals come into play. Last Night in Soho is not an experience I guarantee you’ll love but if you are willing to take a chance, it’s worth watching to see if it works for you or not.

5.) The World’s End

While there are people out there that call this the weakest of the Cornetto trilogy, this is still a very satisfying end to these successful trio o films. Maybe it has to do with the fact that this one is looser and more ambitious while not relying as much on the humor as his previous work but I do think The World’s End stands strongly as it’s own unique thing. It’s still constantly funny the whole through, filled with an incredible amount of energy and manages to be as layered as the previous Cornetto films, if not more so here, the action sequences are still great fun to watch, and the cast arguably hit their new level of peak here (Simon Pegg is just a national treasure!) Also, the best cut to black credits of all time period! Maybe it’s because I admire the way that Edgar Wright continues to try and top himself with every single new film that he makes but I just believe The World’s End deserves a tiny bit more credit than it actually gets. It may not be quite the very best of the Cornetto trilogy or Edgar Wright as a whole but man is it ALWAYS bun to watch Edgar Wright try to top himself!

4.) Baby Driver

Yes, I know the casting for this movie has aged worse than sour milk that has lasted for as long as the development of GTA 6 but man, I still can’t help but have an absolute blast with Baby Driver every time that I watch it. Making a heist movie that is based around the concept of a young man motivated by his love for music and being able to one day ride into the sunset with his girlfriend is a concept that fits perfectly in Edgar Wright’s wheelhouse. The action scenes are thrilling, the pacing is breakneck, the cast (their offscreen behavior aside) is a lot of fun, and I don’t think there’s been any recent big movie that’s NOT Guardians of the Galaxy where a director was able to perfectly showcase just how good of taste they have in music. It definitely plays out more conventional than most of Edgar Wrights films and I most CERTAINLY could’ve used some more Jon Bernthal here (Although, his final line is pretty funny!) but even with some minor grips, Baby Driver is an absolute thrill ride that might just be the most “fun” and crowd pleasing film that Edgar Wright has made to date.

3.) Scott Pilgrim vs The World

While it was certainly unfortunate that Edgar Wright was not able to make the Ant-Man movie that he wanted with Marvel Studios, we should all be grateful he was able to make magnum opus of his own within the comic book movie genre with Scott Pilgrim Vs The World. This was quite simply a comic book movie that Edgar Wright was born to make! His directing style and visuals fit masterfully in the world of Scott Pilgrim himself, the whole cast is perfect and fit their roles like a glove, the soundtrack is incredible, the aesthetics are off the charts, it’s perfectly respectful towards the source material it’s based on, and don’t get me started on those kick-ass and creative as hell fight sequences, the kind that you usual don’t get with these kind of movies! Even if we are living in a time of superhero fatigue and the best that the subgenre as had to offer for the past 25 years is easy to forget about now Scott Pilgrim Vs The World is one of the comic book movie standouts that is not Marvel or DC related that is absolutely worth your time!

2.) Hot Fuzz

Edgar Wright was looking to make lightning strike twice following the major success of Shaun of the Dead and he was able to do exactly just that. Wright is somehow able to perfectly translate from the zombie horror genre to the buddy cop genre in a very smooth way here with Hot Fuzz, with Simon Pegg and Nick Frost just having as much good chemistry as a duo that on paper seems unlikely but in reality is a stroke of genius. The plot delivers plenty of twists and turns that will have you thinking even with repeat viewings, this is easily the FUNNIEST film of the trilogy and that Edgar Wright has made, and the ensemble cast all around is able to flawlessly fit in the intriguing world that Edgar Wright has created. The only thing that prevents this from being at #1 is a slightly drawn out climax and there being a couple of moments that feels more forced and only there because it’s what everyone loved about Shaun of the Dead! Aside from those mild nitpicks, Hot Fuzz is still excellent and more than worthy middle chapter to the Cornetto trilogy!

1.) Shaun of the Dead

But yeah, I still don’t think that any Edgar Wright film has been as good as the film that put his name in Hollywood than with Shaun of the Dead! Regardless of what way you look at it, Shaun of the Dead works in every way that it possibly can! It works as a straight-up horror movie, it works as a screw-ball comedy, it works as an incredibly meta and social commentary of the genres it is delighted to be a part off, it works as a family drama, it works as a coming-of-age tale, and it even works as a straight up zombie slasher flick. There is very few films I can think that is able to masterfully combine action, drama, horror, and comedy all at the exact same time but Edgar Wright is able to perfectly control himself behind the camera the whole way through, being able to masterfully execute every single element of the genres that he is paying great respect too. Perfectly paced, perfectly written, perfectly acted, perfectly directed, and having the perfect amount of rewatch value, Shaun of the Dead is simply a masterwork and the best thing to come out of Edgar Wright to this day! Maybe it’s time to bring back Simon Pegg and Nick Frost for the next film!

Ranking The Predator Franchise (w/Predator Badlands)

November 9, 2025 AdamLeave a comment

Well, here we go! There’s a new Predator movie out and it’s time to refresh this list! Let’s get right into it!

9.) Alien vs Predator: Requiem

The second Alien vs Predator showdown is not only the worst of anything related to the Predator franchise, it’s one of the worst franchise entries in the 21st century thus far. What should be a simple premise of just taking these two well known and iconic monsters and have them punch each other for an hour and a half is bogged down by some of the worst lighting and editing choices ever put in a theatrical released film. It also doesn’t help that it has writing, acting, and directing that wouldn’t even be passable for a Patron funded fan film. Alien vs Predator: Requiem is not only just as bad as franchise movies can get, it’s just as lazy as they come. It literally brings a new definition of unwatchable because well…….you literally can’t watch it because you can’t see jacks*it that’s happening on screen. It’s not strictly a film that is infamous for certain story choices it makes or contradicting previously established lore in any way but because of how objectively poor the filmmaking is on display. That in of itself makes this more than worthy of being the worst Predator related film ever made!

8.) The Predator

I can’t recall a big franchise film that has disappointed me more in recent memory than 2018’s The Predator. Bringing in Shane Black, the godfather of action comedies and buddy cop flicks (while even staring in the original Predator film himself), to helm a Predator director seems like a perfect recipe to return the Predator franchise back to it’s traditional roots. Unfortunately, about all of that potential is squandering from both a directing and writing standpoint here. The plot is a disjointed mess, so many characters and subplots are introduced that go nowhere, the pacing is too breakneck and non-existent, the editing is some of the worst put to any major studio released film in the past decade, and the dialogue and banter, which Mr. Black has constantly nailed in the past, fall flat in every sense of the word here. I don’t know if it’s Shane Black having to deal with studio meddling or him just not being a right fit for the franchise but The Predator is a perfect example of how everything can go wrong for a major blockbuster in a long-running franchise. And don’t get me started on the unconvincing gore and the god AWFUL action scenes that gives you a headache! What an absolute dumpster fire!

7.) Alien vs Predator

On paper, an Alien vs Predator movie should amount for the perfect amount of shlock blockbuster popcorn entertainment anyone would expect. And the moments that it does just that, AVP makes for a pretty good time that gives you exactly what you want and expect out of this fun premise. Just a shame that the film puts way too much focus on the human characters, only for to become a complete footnote the moment the two titled monsters jump on the screen. It also doesn’t help that it tries to set up lore and world building that it has little interest in actually exploring. Still, the effects and production design is top notch and when the alien and predator actually show up and start fighting, it’s entertaining enough. Back in the day, you would have to slug through Alien vs Predator to get to the good stuff, similar to how folks had to slug through The Phantom Menace to get to anything involving a lightsaber, but because we have the internet now, you can just look up the fight scenes for this movie on YouTube and be satisfied all the same.

6.) Predator 2

Predator 2 has seen it’s fair share of reappraisal over the years and it’s easy to see why. Danny Glover makes for a fine action star that helps carry the picture along with the rest of the cast, it’s got a campy and weirdness vibe to it that’s easy to get into, and it’s able to end on a strong note that makes the bumpy ride worth trip. However, problems lie in the tone being completely all over the map, the new setting not carrying that same weight as the jungle from the original, and the backdrop of the LA heat wave/drug wars being completely unexplained and utterly baffling. This is a sequel that seems to want to have it’s cake and eat it too with hitting the same beats as the original while also trying to do it’s own thing at the same time. I can commend the effort but the end results could have certainly been much stronger here.

5.) Predators

Predators is a sequel that is clearly trying to recapture the same spark as the original. You have a jungle setting, the mystery of the predators, and the characters who have no motivation other than desperate need for survival. What makes things stand out different here is that the main characters themselves are treated just as antagonistic as the predators they are fighting and have become prey for these hunters. It may not deliver on the bizarre premise of playing the hunting game but on an alien planet but it does have a right sense of tension and dread throughout with it’s own stand out action sequences and intense atmosphere. For as thin as the script and characters can get, the actors are clearly having a good time here and make them standout through their performances, even if the writing can’t match up to the level of their acting. Still no where near up to par with the original but 2010’s Predators does have enough entertainment value to warrant a watch if you are a fan of the franchise.

4.) Predator: Killer of Killers

After successfully reviving the Predator IP in 2022 with Prey, director Dan Trachtenberg is able to make lighting strike twice in the form of animation with Predator: Killer of Killers! We see three new characters with their unique stories of their own, forced to come together and take on the monstrous predator as swiftly as they can! Each of the three stories carries wonder of their own, the animation is creative and stunning, the action is fast paced and fun, and who knew after so many installments, we are still able to find new and exciting ways to see human characters kill a bunch of predators! Perhaps if the resolution had not been a tad rushed with obvious sequel set up bait and the narrative didn’t at times come off as three episodes of a mini series, this might’ve been even higher! Killer of Killers proves that not only Predator still works in live-action but it can even work in animation too!

3.) Predator: Badlands

I don’t know how the man keeps doing it but Dan Trachtenberg is now 3 or 3 when it comes to making Predator movies! On paper, Predator: Badlands sounds like the dumbest thing ever and exactly what you would expect with a Predator movie giving the Mickey Mouse treatment! An installment which puts the focus on the Predator as the main character but goes on an adventure where he teams up with a quirky cyborg sidekick and cutesy animals, has to resolve daddy issues, and learn the power of friendship along the way! And yet somehow, someway…..none of that is a negative for the film! In fact, it’s an absolute positive! With a perfectly balanced tone, well crafted action, clever expansion of the Predator lore, and a shockingly well done emotional core throughout, Dan Trachtenberg is able to take the ideas that have bogged down previous Predator installments but manages to makes it work here! I could’ve done with less quips and a few more surprises to the story but there’s nothing big that breaks this movie down! Please go see this one in theaters if you are a fan of the series so we can see a continuation of this story!

2.) Prey

After a handful of inconsistent installments, the Predator franchise was at long last able to find a return true to form with Prey, the first Predator film released under the Disney/Fox umbrella. This is a sequel that understands the appeal of Predator and what made the original stand out for as long as it has. It’s not the contrived lore to the predators themselves nor the need to makes us all feel sympathetic for these monsters (even if Dan Trachtenberg was able to make that all *surprisingly* work three years later). It’s the action, it’s the tension, it’s the suspense, it’s the subversive genre, it’s the haunting atmosphere, and it’s just the plain badassery from the main characters that are likable, fun to watch, and easy to care about. Amber Midthunder is a revelation as Naru and the whole “back-to-basics” approach is exactly what the franchise needed after a handful of sequels that couldn’t quite reach the mark as well as this did. Prey is exactly what you wan out of a Predator movie and was able breath new life into the franchise. My only regret is that this could not get a wide release in theaters.

1.) Predator

For as awesome and badass as Amber Midthunder was in Prey, nothing can top the pure awesome and badassery as Arnold Schwarzenegger in the original Predator itself, able to make yet another iconic action role stand apart from playing an evil A.I. cyborg. This is yet another classic that was able to get it right on it’s first try and able to use it’s simplistic yet effective premise to it’s fullest effect. This is a film about survival, performing break-neck maneuvers at the most crucial time, and the difference between those who thrive on the battleground and those who die trying. Most important of all, it’s about one of the most famous monsters in cinema history and our main characters during everything in there power to stop it. There might be some effects that don’t hold up to modern day standards, but no doubt, for it’s time and even now, no other Predator was able to capture that special lightning in a bottle the way the original with Arnold did. Even for how good the last several installments have been, the original is still the best Predator film ever made and likely always will be.

Summer 2025 Box Office Breakdown

October 13, 2025 AdamLeave a comment

Movie theaters are in trouble! That’s at least what I’ve been hearing ever since Covid! Ever since that disastrous turn of events that shut down the whole world for a year or two, movie theaters all around the world has seen a significant decline in ticket and concessions sales. That hasn’t stopped Hollywood from doing everything in their power to keep the movie theater going experience alive. Even in the age of streaming, pirating, and Tik Tok, this is a battle that the movie making folks in southern California are willing to fight until they suddenly can’t.

And I don’t think there has been a period of time that has determined just how “well” movie theaters are going throughout the 2020s than this year’s lineup of summer blockbusters. Five years removed of movie theaters being shutdown and two years of infamous strikes, this is probably the most “back to normal” feeling that Hollywood has felt since pre-Covid. If this summer saw yet another underperforming two to three months, then there must come serious questions as to how long movie theaters have before they go extinct.

However, now that summer has come and gone, it’s time to see the results of how all the main feature films did in movie theaters everywhere. And the results are…….complicated.

In case you are wondering how I am judging it, I am gonna look at each major wide release that came out at the start of May to the middle of August. I’m gonna list the film’s budget, how much the film made at the box office, what the projected break even point likely was, how much the film gain in profit, and whether or not it should been seen as a success, flop, or break even point for the studios.

I’m only gonna use math that most tend to use when judging how a film does at the box office. Mostly by taking the budget, times that by 2.5X to cover the whole budget surrounding production and marketing, and seeing how much money it made or lose as a result.

Again, that is not the case for EVERY single one of these movies and this is NOT a direct result as to how the studios view each film from a financial standpoint. This is just my personal guess and opinion as to how each one of these films should be viewed as.

Plus, it’s also worth mentioning that ever since Covid, the definition of “success” is now quite different in the eyes of many producers in Hollywood. Who’s to say that just because a film didn’t do so great in it’s opening two weeks in theaters that the studios sees it as a failure when it became a big hit on digital and streaming? That alone could make it a “success” in the minds of studios.

It is worth remembering that a film’s overall success isn’t just determined based on how it did in theaters but also how it fared in terms of digital, streaming, and physical media sales. Just because not enough people showed up in theaters to give the film profit doesn’t mean people didn’t show it’s support when said film became accessible to all of our home media.

Regardless, I hope you all enjoy this analysis and gives you a good indication of how films are still thriving/struggling in movie theaters!

Thunderbolts*

Budget: $180 Million

Box Office: $382.4 Million

Break Even Point: $450+ Million

Gain/Lose: -$67.6+ Million

Verdict: Flop

Despite the mostly positive reception from fans and critics alike, this could not have been a bigger disappointment at the box office if it tried. Regardless if it has to do with the film starring around D- list MCU characters that most people aren’t familiar or superhero/Marvel fatigue in general, Thunderbolts* most certainly had to pay the price for previous sins surrounding these kind of films. It may have done solid ratings on Disney Plus and did at least kick of the summer movie season better than say…..The Fall Guy last year, but it did follow the tread that most MCU films post-Endgame have suffered from in underperforming box office returns. Between this, Brave New World, and another film to be mentioned later, 2025 has not been so kind to the Marvel Cinematic Universe from a box office standpoint.

Final Destination Bloodlines

Budget: $50 Million

Box Office: $313.9 Million

Break Even Point: $125+ Million

Gain/Loss: +$188.9+ Million

Verdict: Success

The first installment from this long-running franchise since 2011 more than certainly succeeded expectations. Final Destination Bloodlines acted as a nice love letter to the franchise while also acting as a bittersweet epilogue to the amazing career of the late great Tony Todd. I wouldn’t be surprised if we end up getting a sequel 2-3 years time (although hopefully no A.I. Tony Todd is needed). If there is one thing that 2025 has taught theatrically released films, it’s that if you have a low enough budget and give plenty of breathing time in the theaters before dumping it to digital and streaming, you will indeed see some promising theatrical profit in return.

Lilo & Stitch (2025)

Budget: $100 Million

Box Office: $1.037+ Billion

Break Even Point: $250+ Million

Gain/Loss:+$787+ Million

Verdict: Success

Despite all the discourse online about this one and what the true meaning of “ohana” is, it shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone that the 2025 live-action incarnation of Lilo & Stitch was able to be the most successful film of the summer along with Hollywood’s only billion dollar grosser thus far. There was an entire generation of millennials that grew up with the original animated classic and they all most certainly showed up during Memorial Day weekend to take their kids to experience the inferior version of one of Disney’s very best films in their history. At least it’s not……whatever the hell Snow White was. It’s because of this, I wouldn’t be surprised if Disney changes their mind on bringing Rapunzel and Elsa to the live-action screens in the near future.

Mission: Impossible- The Final Reckoning

Budget: $300-400 Million

Box Office: $598.8+ Million

Break Even Point: $750+ Million to $1+ Billion

Gain/Loss: -$151.2-$401.2+ Million

Verdict: Flop

There was a lot going against Tom Cruise’s last hurrah with his nearly three decade long action franchise and unfortunately, The Final Reckoning was no match for it. Suffering from a bloated budgeted, going head-to-head with Lilo & friends on Memorial Day weekend, and being part of a franchise that arguably peak seven years ago with Mission: Impossible- Fallout, it’s clear that audiences are ready to move on from Tom Cruise damn near killing himself for our amusement. I guess we’ll have to see if Top Gun 3 will be able to replicate the success of Maverick. If not, then we might have to accept that Tom Cruise is not the “Hollywood Jesus” that his ego claims himself to be and that the G.O.A.T. may indeed be washed.

Karate Kid Legends

Budget: $45 Million

Box Office: $115.8+ Million

Break Even Point: $112.5+ Million

Gain/Loss:+$3.3+ Million

Verdict: Broke Even

You all COMPLETELY forgot this movie came out, didn’t you? As a matter of fact, most of you probably didn’t even know this movie existed. This odd culmination of the Karate Kid franchise up to this point clearly failed to set the world on fire but thanks to it’s shocking low budget, it might’ve done just enough to not be a complete failure. And it most certainly probably was able to pick up any remaining losses with it’s digital release. I don’t know what this means for the future for this franchise but at least Karate Kid: Legends can rest easily knowing it’s far from the biggest failure to come out this summer, even if it’s easily among the most forgettable movies of the year.

Ballerina

Budget: $90+ Million

Box Office: $137.2+ Million

Break Even Point: $225+ Million

Gain/Loss:-$87.8+ Million

Verdict: Flop

2025 has not been so kind to Lionsgate and Ballerina was certainly no exception. Despite the presence of Keanu Reeves himself and the positive response from critics and fans, this John Wick spin-off failed to impress at the box office. Perhaps had the budget remain closer to the original John Wick than John Wick: Chapter 4, this could’ve managed to squeeze a profit (similar to a similar female-lead action flick in Atomic Blonde) but not with it’s 90+ million dollar budget (which a good chunk of it most certainly stemmed from reshoots). Whether it’s due to the franchise finally running on fumes or audience suffering from “girl boss” fatigue, Ballerina fell way below expectations, to the point where future John Wick spin-offs and perhaps even a John Wick 5 itself might just be up in the air.

How To Train Your Dragon (2025)

Budget: $150 Million

Box Office: $635.5+ Million

Break Even Point: $375+ Million

Gain/Loss:+$260.5+ Million

Verdict: Success

DreamWorks has finally threw their hat in the ring with live-action remakes and just like with Disney themselves, while the quality may not talk the talk, the box office results can certainly walk the walk. How To Train Your Dragon (2025) was able to capture the hearts of families and mainstream audiences in similar ways that the original animated version did back in 2010 along with the better live-action remakes from Disney (or at least the ones that were able to make a billion dollars). With the success of this film and a sequel in the works, I wouldn’t be surprised to see our favorite ogre and kung panda warrior getting their live-action treatment in the near future. But hey, if it helps cover for any potential loss that The Bad Guys 2 might have, then it might certainly be worth it!

Materialists

Budget: $20 Million

Box Office: $103.5+ Million

Break Even Point: $50+ Million

Gain/Loss:+$53.5+ Million

Verdict: Success

And who says original rom-coms are dead?! Despite the rather mixed audience response, Materialists was able to act as the most successful rom-com in recent memory that does NOT start Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney. And as much as everyone and their mother claim to be sick and tired of seeing Pedro Pascal everywhere, he can certainly help carry an original project such as this, along with Chris Evans and Dakota Johnson of course. Not much to say here than yeah, this did quite well at the theaters for this kind movie and A24 should most certainly see this as a success.

28 Years Later

Budget: $60 Million

Box Office: $151.2+ Million

Break Even Point: $150+ Million

Gain/Loss:+$1.2+ Million

Verdict: Broke Even

This divisive sequel/part one of a two-part story did just enough to break even at the box office but not much else. Perhaps had 28 Years Later been more positively received from mainstream audiences and/or it wasn’t relying on the two-part gimmick, this could’ve done much better. But nevertheless, it did at least enough to justify a Part Two getting made, which can hopefully pick up any sort of financial slack that this film might’ve left behind.

Elio

Budget: $150-200+ Million

Box Office: $154+ Million

Break Even Point: $375 to $500+ Million

Gain/Loss: -$221 to $346 Million

Verdict: Flop

Just a summer after Inside Out 2 gave Pixar the smash box office hit they desperately needed, Elio took any sort of momentum that Pixar might’ve possibly gained and COMPLETELY tripped over itself. From a combination of lackluster marketing, trouble from behind-the-scenes/development, a bloated budget, and Disney doing everything in their power to erase this movie from existence, is it any surprised this film ended up being perhaps the biggest flop of the the summer and possibly the year? Maybe I should’ve known better after doing my summer box office movie predictions but I thought after Inside Out 2, people were ready to hop back on board with Pixar with seeing their film in theaters. Looks like I was dead wrong in that regard and man…….I wish I wasn’t!

Budget: $200-300+ Million

Box Office: $626+ Million

Break Even Point: $500-750 Million

Gain/Loss:+$126+ to -$124 Million

Verdict: Success

There are probably many folks out there that are shocked to see this as being labeled as a success due to the film’s massive budget but F1‘s “success” or “failure” is much more complicated than most. First off, this is a partnership between Apple+ and Warner Bros. Apple was the one that funded the movie and would take credit for the success when the film arrives on digital and streaming, while Warner Bros was able to gain the profit from theater showings. Plus, this wasn’t so much about helping out theaters than it was about promoting the sport of F1 racing all across the world! Take all those factors in mind along with the fact that a movie in 2025 was able to make $600+ million that is NOT a superhero film, live-action remake, video game adaption, or an anime, F1 was most certainly a breakout success that helped add to a terrific year that Warner Bros has had in theaters!

M3GAN 2.0

Budget: $15-25+ Million

Box Office: $39.1+ Million

Break Even Point: $37.5-62.5 Million

Gain/Loss:+$1.6 to -25 Million

Verdict: Flop

This has to be the most BAFFLING failure of this summer! Not because it’s a shock that it bombed because the movie itself lacking quality compared to the first but because some of the most baffling decisions made from a business standpoint. From dumping the movie in the middle of summer when the original did just swell in January 2023 to advertising it as a sci-fi comedy instead of sci-fi horror, it’s like Blumhouse was doing everything in their power to ensure this would be a failure. If that was the case, then they MORE than certainly succeeded.

Jurassic World Rebirth

Budget: $180-225+ Million

Box Office: $867+ Million

Break Even Point: $450-562.5+ Million

Gain/Loss:+$305-418+ Million

Verdict: Success

Here is what was wildly considered the most surprising box office success story of Summer 2025 and…..I don’t necessarily know why. While the Jurassic Park franchise might’ve no longer be the billion dollar juggernaut that previous installments were, Rebirth did prove that people still love seeing dinosaurs on the big screen. And this time around they got to see dinosaurs AND Scarlett Johansson on the big screen! What better winning combo than that! Even if this franchise should’ve ended by now, don’t be surprised if Universal wants to keep the Jurassic ball rolling after the monster smash hit of the summer. Again, this might’ve not been a billion dollar gross but it did more than enough to be considered a success!

Superman (2025)

Budget: $225+ Million

Box Office: $615.7+ Million

Break Even Point: $562.5+ Million

Gain/Loss:+$53.2+ Million

Verdict: Success

Welp, here’s the most hotly debated success/failure story of the summer! Even though Superman (2025) has gained at least $53+ million based on traditional projections (or more according to Variety), there has been a serious argument that James Gunn’s take on Superman actually underperformed and even a failure. If we look at it through the mindset of Warner Bros back in 2013, you might have an argument. But in 2025, if we take the words from CEO David Zaslav and crew, it seems like they have much more manageable expectations and just needed to do enough to make a profit and do well in digital and physical sales to be considered a success. They know they can’t turn everything around in one movie like they thought they could a decade ago and are willing to be more patient in regaining the mainstream audience trust. Looking it that way, Superman (2025) was indeed a success. Sorry Snyder cult!

I Know What You Did Last Summer (2025)

Budget: $18+ Million

Box Office: $64.7+ Million

Break Even Point: $45+ Million

Gain/Loss:+$19.7+ Million

Verdict: Success

This might’ve been controversial among die-hard fans and mainstream audiences but thanks to a super low budget of just 18 million dollars, I Know What You Did Last Summer (2025) did good enough to at least guarantee it to be a success. Once again, the lower the budget, the easier it is for your film to be a profit in theaters. More studios should take notes on that, especially with what has come from the horror genre this year!

Smurfs (2025)

Budget: $58+ Million

Box Office: $120+ Million

Break Even Point: $145+ Million

Gain/Loss:-$15+ Million

Verdict: Flop

No one was asking for a new iteration of the Smurfs in 2025! Not kids! Not families! Not anyone! And they were ESPECIALLY not asking for a new iteration with Rihanna, James Corden, or Jimmy Kimmel (Although, PRO-FREEDOM OF SPEECH!)! Literally no one but Paramount should be shocked at the fact that this bombed! And even then, I think deep down they aren’t shocked at all either!

The Fantastic Four- First Steps

Budget: $200+ Million

Box Office: $521.5+ Million

Break Even Point: $500+ Million

Gain/Loss:+$21.5 Million

Verdict: Broke Even

This might’ve been the highest grossing MCU film of the year but it still disappointed greatly, compared to the highest grossing MCU films of prior years. This will likely mark the first year that an MCU film does NOT make it to the top 10 highest grossing overall films of the year since 2011. The Fantastic Four has certainly been more appealing to die-hard Marvel and comic fans than it did the mainstream audience but you can’t help but wonder how much better this would’ve done pre-2019. If adjusted projections are to go by, The Fantastic Four-First Steps will likely be the one MCU film to break even in 2025…..but that’s it. And for Marvel Studios standards, that’s quite underwhelming!

The Naked Gun (2025)

Budget: $42+ Million

Box Office: $102+ Million

Break Even Point: $105+ Million

Gain/Loss: -$3+ Million

Verdict: Broke Even

If we are talking about how much the 2025 incarnation of the The Naked Gun did in theaters, it might’ve fell just short of reaching it’s break even point. However, with making up any potential revenue loss with it’s release to digital and soon streaming, I would believe Paramount was more satisfied with how this one did than say……Mission: Impossible. I don’t think this did enough to “save” comedies or resurrected a genre of films that Hollywood has been quite picky to tackle for the better part of a decade but for what it’s worth, I believe this did just fine.

The Bad Guys 2

Budget: $80+ Million

Box Office: $225+ Million

Break Even Point: $200+ Million

Gain/Loss:+$25+ Million

Verdict: Broke Even

This one is quite a tongue twister. Largely impacted by a slew of summer movie competition along with pulling the trigger to the digital release so quicky, The Bad Guys 2 is more likely unable to match the success that the original did. However, due to working at a sizable budget and having solid digital sales thus far, it seems like it did just enough to match it’s break even point. While we might still get a third movie sometime in the future, I don’t think The Bad Guys franchise has become the success story that DreamWorks had envisioned it being, especially compared to the likes of Shrek, Kung Fu Panda, and How To Train Your Dragon. In that regards, it’s quite a same because this has been a damn good animated series of films thus far! Fingers crossed that a third movie gets made!

Freakier Friday

Budget: $42-45+ Million

Box Office: $152.3+ Million

Break Even Point: $105-112.5+ Million

Gain/Loss:+$39.8-47.3+ Million

Verdict: Success

I still don’t know why this was even made but thanks to it’s lower budget and modest box office projections, Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsey Lohan’s Disney team-up that was 22 years in the making was able to exceed expectations without breaking any new ground. I guess it helps to have a sizeable budget and leaving plenty of breathing room between theater showings and digital/physical releases. If only Disney can get that same memo with everything else they do in the way they did with Freakier Friday.

Weapons

Budget: $38+ Million

Box Office: $266.4+ Million

Break Even Point: $95+ Million

Gain/Loss:+$170+ Million

Verdict: Success

Similar to Sinners and Final Destination: Bloodlines, Weapons was able to prove once again that you can win big in horror by playing small. This genuinely scary crowd pleaser was able to make the best with it’s modest budget to craft a smash hit, standing alongside with plenty of original horror films in recent memory. Even with what was a rather crowded area of theatrically released films at the time it came out, this was able to stand out swiftly to be a nice success story. Now let’s just see if director Zach Cregger can say the same for Resident Evil next year!

Nobody 2

Budget: $25+ Million

Box Office: $39.4+ Million

Break Even Point: $62.5+ Million

Gain/Loss:-$23.1+ Million

Verdict: Flop

Here’s a movie that did so poorly in it’s time in theaters that the studios pulled it completely from the big screens after five weeks and just dumped it to digital. To be fair, this is a rare case that I actually can’t blame the studio for making that movie so quickly. Whether it’s because too much time has passed since the original or it just flew under the radar for a lot of people, the sequel to Bob Odenkirk’s action franchise just did not get the same love and support that the original did (and even then, that didn’t really set the world of fire either). Between Nobody 2, The Final Reckoning, and last year’s flops of Monkey Man, Boy Kills World, and The Fall Guy, perhaps there isn’t as much of a crave for “masculine” action heroes that conservatives and alt-right online influencers would have you believe.

When you take all the box office results into account with the ways that most film analysts use to determine if the movie is a success or failure, this summer has had a total of nine movies that were successes, seven movies that were failures, and about five movies that did enough to break even.

What that tells me is that movie theaters are still not in a great spot but they are NOT ready to die out quite yet. While it’s a shame that certain films like The Fantastic Four- First Steps and Mission: Impossible– The Final Reckoning didn’t become the smash hits that were expected and that other films like Thunderbolts* and Elio ended up being massive bombs, this summer did show that there is at least a want and need for plenty of variety within theatrically released films.

You have live-action remakes, you have dinosaur action, you have horror thrills, you have action-comedies, you have rom-coms, and you have sports films! All of which were able to gain an audience in theaters and many of which were able to take some of the spotlight away from the kind of films that have dominated theaters in recent memory, particularly superheroes and video game adaptions.

That’s why I’m not too worried about the fact that a superhero film might not crack the top 10 of the year or that anime and re-releases might be taken more theater screenings! It doesn’t mean one genre is dying, it means more genres are EMERGING! The more genres of films that is resurrected and emerged, the more demographics are eager to see film in theaters, and the more money studios and theaters make! If Hollywood wants to keep theaters alive, THIS is the way to do it!

Because of that and more, I still believe there is still hope for movie theaters! There are still plenty of changes that need to be made (lower ticket prices/concessions, longer theatrical windows, longer time waiting for films to come to digital/streaming, more movie subscriptions/clubs….etc.) but if studios keep going with this direction while being able to contain a sustainable budget with most big movies they released, there might still be hope for movie theaters yet!

Ranking The Spider-Man Shows

August 1, 2025 AdamLeave a comment

Today is National Spider-Man Day! Because of that, we now officially have 11 Spider-Man shows to date. Considering the excessive amount of films starting the beloved web swinger, it makes all the sense in the world to have a near equal amount of shows to go along with that. Even though history with each show can be seen as quite complicated, they are nevertheless all fascinating to talk about.

Because of all this and more, it’s time to rank each series involving Spider-Man at the forefront from worst to best! Time to stop wasting anymore time and web swing right in!

11.) Ultimate Spider-Man

The timing of Ultimate Spider-Man could not have been much worse. It was made right after the most beloved Spider-Man show to date in The Spectacular Spider-Man saw an abrupt end due to Disney buying Marvel and wanting to have a Spider-Man show of their own, aiming for a more lighthearted and kid-friendly tone attached to it. Despite the show lasting for four seasons and gaining over 100 episodes, this is seen as an absolute stinker to this very day. Ultimate Spider-Man abandons the traditional core themes that Spider-Man is always known for in favor of nonstop slapstick comedy, obnoxious four wall breaking, obvious merchandise placement, and having a Peter Parker that feels more in line with Deadpool than Spider-Man. Oh, and did I mention it has little to nothing to do with the Ultimate Spider-Man comics despite the title. The fact that Spectacular Spider-Man was cancelled in favor of this is the real salt on the wound. When taking all of those elements into affect, it easy to see just why this ranks as my least favorite Spider-Man show to date.

10.) Spider-Man & His Amazing Friends (2021)

Despite what the title may suggest, this has little in common with the Spider-Man series of the same name that released back in the 1980s. Instead of Ice-Man and Firestar, we see Peter Parker teaming up with Gwen Stacy (known as Ghost-Spider here) and Miles Morales (known as……Spin (?!) here) in their grade school kid incarnations. On one hand, this show does it’s job at offering Spidey tales for a clearly VERY young demographic. On the other hand, there is almost NOTHING to recommend her to any Spider-Man that is NOT part of the obvious pre-school targeted audience. It’s about as filler, substance free and “put something in the background to distract the kids” as they come. It may not be quite my least favorite Spidey show or the one I have the most gripes with but I can think of a Spidey show I would want to rewatch less than Spidey and His Amazing Friends (2021).

9.) Spider-Man (2017)

Disney’s 2nd attempt at making a Spider-Man cartoon is a mild improvement over Ultimate but still no where near good enough to do it’s title character justice. This does have the ingredients of a back-to-basics approach for Peter Parker, with a more emphasis on his personal life and connections to his friends/allies and having significant less pointless dumb down humor for the most brainless children. However, it tries to do justice to so many different storylines throughout Peter’s history that it’s unable to do almost any of them justice. It’s like the writers couldn’t make up their mind on what specific stories they wanted to tackle that they just threw whatever stories at the wall to see what sticks. Also, it’s quite bizarre to have Miles Morales in this version be of similar age to Peter Parker. And don’t get me started on it’s cheap as hell animation. It has solid voice acting and definitely has more ambition than the Spider-Man shows listed before but Marvel’s Spider-Man (2017) still showed Disney failing to crack the code on making a solid Spidey tale that works.

8.) Spider-Man (1967)/7.) Spider-Man (1981)

The two very first attempts at creating a stand-alone Spider-Man show more or less feel like perfect counterparts for one another. Both shows has the exact same titles, both shows are really hard to tell apart from the other, and both shows are remember more for their memes and iconic theme songs than they are of the actual quality and content in either show. These two shows do deserve a free pass for coming out during a time where Spider-Man was less known to the general public and it was harder than ever to make a successful cartoon due to it’s low budget. However, I can never feel the desire to ever go back and rewatch these shows in any way due to aging as well as a multiple decades supply of Spider-Milk. I still put these two shows this far on the list due to it’s undeniable impact on classic Spider-Man themes songs and meme culture.

6.) Spider-Man & His Amazing Friends (1981)

When it comes to classic Spider-Man cartoons of the late 1960s to early 1980s, this is the one that has aged the best and most consistent in quality. Here, we see Spider-Man informing his own superhero team for the first time ever, pairing him with heroes like Iceman and Firestar from the X-Men (for……some reason). It also has that traditional monster-of-the-week that became a stable for cartoons such as this, while fully utilizing Marvel villains normally not associated with Spider-Man but still finding ways to make it work. Stan Lee’s fingerprints is all over this show and it certainly did make for the better. It may not be a show that will appeal to the last few generations of Spider-Man fans, but Spider-Man & His Amazing Friends does at least offer a unique Saturday morning cartoon vibe that kids who grew up in that era can look very fondly upon, while being a nice blast for the past for those who miss their Saturday morning cartoons feeling very episodic with not much homework attached to it.

5.) Spider-Man: Unlimited

Spider-Man: Unlimited has to have the most bizarre concept of any Spider-Man show thus far. We see a Spider-Man that is fighting not for NYC but to free an alternate Earth from an evil ruler known as the High Evolutionary. This is clear an attempt to ape the success of Batman Beyond, with a much darker tone and a focus on a different iteration of Spider-Man. However, it never could keep the consistency that it’s 1994 predecessor have nor does it fully utilize Spider-Man 2099 very well. Thankfully, this version of Spider-Man did get his cameo in Across the Spider-Verse, opening up the doors for potential future stories with Miguel O’hara now that other Spider-folks that don’t have Peter Parker’s name attached to it can draw an audience. Unlimited may not be the winner it needed to be at the time it came out but it’s certainly one of the most unique Spider-Man shows released, which makes it worth giving at least one watch.

4.) Spider-Man: The New Animated Series

Believe it or not, MTV once took their shot at making a Spider-Man show back in 2003. Set in an alternate timeline after Sam Raimi’s first Spider-Man movie, Spider-Man: The New Animated Series offers a new, distinct, and downright mature take on the character, which led to many fans feel quite divided on the show. Similar to the newer released Spider-Man show, it has it’s own original animated art style, offers it’s own spin to the film franchise it’s based on, and makes bold choices to it’s cast of characters that may be off putting to certain people. Not to mention, that complete downer of an ending is still an all-timer! While there are certainly aspects that has aged poorly (particularly the 3D animation), Spider-Man: The New Animated Series deserves credits for being able to tell more adult-oriented stories of Peter Parker and his struggles to adapting to his college life as Spider-Man without sacrificing the gravitas of the character. Also, Neil Patrick Harris is pretty good here. Just a shame it didn’t get the ratings MTV wanted because I would have been curious to see how this version of Spider-Man went forward in the future.

3.) Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man

It might’ve took three times (four if you count the PBS-friendly Spidey And His Amazing Friends) but Disney has finally been able to crack the code on how to make a solid Spider-Man cartoon. Blending the traditional comic book panel traits of the character’s well-known origin while incorporating new distinct traits of it’s own, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is able to find the right balance of exploring the thrills of being Spider-Man and the chills of being Peter Parker, something which The Ultimate Spider-Man and Spider-Man (2017) failed to do. The newer cast of characters the show chooses to explore are (mostly) intriguing, it’s callbacks and references all feel earned, the theme song is dope as hell, and it’s able to use it’s alternate timeline and multiverse concept to not just reuse plot assets of the MCU or recurring fan favorite characters but also show how Peter’s life would’ve been different in the MCU if things play out a different way and he made all new friends and allies in the process. There are some strange creative decisions I’m not a fan of and the animation style won’t be to everyone’s taste but for the most part, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is a winner and is the best Spidey show for the past 15+ years. I’m definitely intrigued to see Season 2 and 3!

2.) Spider-Man: The Animated Series (1994)

Here’s the one Spidey cartoon that was so important at introduction Spider-Man to the mainstream media and pop culture entertainment. Spider-Man: The Animated Series (1994) stands proudly alongside the likes of Batman: The Animated Series and X-Men: The Animated Series as being classic 1990s superhero cartoons that help introduce iconic superheroes to new generations and beyond. Even though it’s targeted towards children, the core themes and characters that make Spider-Man so special is presented throughout the entire series. Whether it involves it’s solid storytelling, impactful character moments, or for hilarious memes, every Spider-Man fan of old and now should be well aware of this show’s existence. Let’s also not forget it’s killer theme song, faithful adaptions of the characters, and even go as far to have Madame Web at the end voiced by Stan Lee’s wife. You can definitely argue that it’s animation has aged to some degree and doesn’t have the most consistent pacing but that doesn’t change the fact that Spider-Man: The Animated Series (1994) is a true must see for any kind of Spider-Man fan.

1.) The Spectacular Spider-Man

The Spectacular Spider-Man is widely regarded by fans as one of the best, if not the best Spider-Man show that has ever been made and for PLENTY of good reasons! It’s a series that has enormous respects towards the character of Peter Parker and understands perfectly why Spider-Man is one of the most iconic and relatable superheroes in history. It’s able to greatly showcased these relatable aspects of Peter in his adventures as Spider-Man along with not being afraid to explore mature themes such as stress, relationships, balancing school and work, and even dark/sensitive topics such as gambling and drug addiction. Despite being targeted towards children, it’s able to deliver a quality superhero show that anyone of any age can understand or relate to without needing to dumb everything down. When it comes to the televisions show and streaming series involving our beloved web swinger thus far, there is not one series that gets as much right and finds the right balance for everything than The Spectacular Spider-Man! Filled with fantastic storytelling and character development along with some dope as hell action sequences, The Spectacular Spider-Man is an near perfect adaption of Spider-Man and one that is a must watch for any fan of the character!

Ranking All 90 Marvel Movies (2/2) (45-1)

July 25, 2025 AdamLeave a comment

Since I felt putting all 90 Marvel movies was a bit too much for one list, I decided to make a second post of it! That way, there’s most stability and this specific ranking doesn’t feel too clutter for one piece. My previous one was rankings from #90 to #46. This list will consist of #45 to #1!

No more time and filler! Let’s finish this MASSIVE movie ranking!

45.) Thor

44.) Spider-Man: Far From Home

43.) X-Men

42.) Avengers: Age of Ultron

41.) Ant-Man

40.) Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness

39.) Deadpool & Wolverine

38.) Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance

37.) Spider-Man 3

36.) Deadpool 2

35.) The Incredible Hulk

34.) Blade

33.) The Wolverine

32.) Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

31.) Thunderbolts*

30.) Big Hero 6

29.) Blade II

28.) Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

27.) Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

26.) Thor Ragnarök

25.) The Fantastic Four: First Steps

24.) X2: X-Men United

23.) Kick-Ass

22.) Men in Black

21.) Iron Man

20.) X-Men: First Class

19.) Captain America: The First Avenger

18.) Iron Man 3

17.) Captain America: Civil War

16.) Deadpool

15.) Spider-Man: No Way Home

14.) Kingsman: The Secret Service

13.) Spider-Man

12.) Avengers: Infinity War

11.) Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

10.) Avengers Endgame

9.) Black Panther

8.) The Avengers

7.) Captain America: The Winter Soldier

6.) X-Men: Days of Future Past

5.) Guardians of the Galaxy

4.) Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse

3.) Spider-Man 2

2.) Logan

1.) Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

Ranking The Marvel Cinematic Universe (W/The Fantastic Four- First Steps)

July 25, 2025 AdamLeave a comment

There has been no other franchise that has made as big of an impact on the film industry as the Marvel Cinematic Universe. You can debate whether or not it has impacted the industry for the better or for the worse but no doubt it has made an impact. With Thunderbolts* now out in theaters, I want to take the time to share my rankings of all 36 (!) films to be released in the Marvel Cinematic Universe thus far.

First off, a few disclaimers. I am ONLY counting the movies that were released to be a part of this cinematic universe and nothing else. Which is why you won’t see the Venom movies, Morbius, or any of the Spider-Man movies except for the ones with Tom Holland on this list. I’m also NOT including any of the Netflix or Disney Plus series as that would make the rankings on this list even more complicated than it already is. Lastly, this is all MY opinion. Considering there’s now 36 movies in this universe, there’s a good chance my rankings won’t match yours.

When doing this list, I mostly tried to find a good mix between the ones I find to be the best in terms of objective quality, the ones that I enjoy watching the most, and the ones that I believe serves a big purpose to not just the cinematic universe itself but also the superhero subgenre in general.

Anyways, here I go with the biggest ranking I’ve made on this site so far. Let’s rank the Marvel Cinematic Universe films!

37.) Captain America: Brave New World

If there is one MCU film that is the textbook definition of a nothing burger, look no further than Captain America: Brave New World. Anthony Mackie’s first ever film outing as the man in the stars and stripes could not have been more underwhelming if it tried. Instead of centering around an earnest adventure of Sam Wilson learning to step into the shoes as Captain America, Brave New World instead uses it’s plot for the sake of connecting tissues to prior (not so beloved) MCU installments such as The Incredible Hulk and Eternals. While it’s cool to see the MCU finally reference The Incredible Hulk as a legit thing and remember about the god from Eternals laying down in the ocean, I came to see a Captain America movie and….it doesn’t really deliver that here. Red Hulk is barely in it, the plot itself feels like a mismatch of the better parts of Winter Soldier and Civil War, it aims to be a political thriller without having ANYTHING to say politically that makes sense in the context of the MCU, and the reshoots could not have been more painfully obvious if it tries. When looking at it as a deposable action flick with espionage elements added to it, there’s nothing much here. When looking at through the current lenses of the MCU, there’s nothing much here. Even when talking about the post credits scene, there’s nothing much here! Brave New World is a film you can easily skip in your MCU marathon and you will miss NOTHING!

36.) Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania isn’t quite the worst movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe but it’s certainly knocking at that door. Despite the movie’s overall goal is to give everyone a clear direction as to where this next phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is going, it still has that feeling of inconsequentiality because of how little that will likely matter in the long run and how it barely progresses the characters and their stories here. It still hits the same beats you would expect from a Marvel movie but whether or not that will be enough to save the picture is entirely up to you. And if the box office results and fan/critical reception is anything to go by, it’s clearly not for most people. Jonathan Majors as Kang stands out well here (at least until Majors had to be an idiot and derail his own career and the MCU along with it) but very little else does, especially the mind numbing CGI.

35.) Black Widow

The original female Avengers FINALLY got her own movie to shine…….about six years too late! When looking at it like that and the timing of it’s release, Black Widow could not have came out at the worst possible place at the worst possible time. Even when looking at the movie as it’s own thing, there’s not much that stands out here aside from some decent family drama and the introduction of the impossible-not-to-adore Florence Pugh of Natasha’s highly energetic sister Yelena. And don’t get me started on what’s done with Taskmaster, the less than stellar CGI in the third act that everyone and their mother has made fun of, and the fact they waited until AFTER Natasha was killed off to give her her own movie. If we have gotten this film much sooner, this could’ve stood out among the MCU’s greatest heroes. But by 2021, that ship had already sailed! Thanks a lot, Ike!

34.) Eternals

If you were to ask me which MCU movie would have worked better as it’s own Disney Plus series than as it’s own individual film, my first answer will always go to Eternals. Despite having a lot of ambition and interesting ideas, this never quite works the way it desperately wants too. There’s just too much characters to focus on with so little time given to develop any one of them to make you care about them. Not to mention, it has themes that (while well intended) end up practically contradicting itself by the end of it. Chloe Zhao does what she can in given the film it’s own unique directing style that distances itself from the rest of the MCU but it’s still too much of an unengaging slog to give it a pass. Eternals may not work but I do hope the negative reception this movie has gotten doesn’t prevent Marvel Studios from trying films like this in the near future.

33.) Thor: The Dark World

The entry in this franchise that has aged the worst, especially in the wake of Thor: Ragnarok, remains among the weakest MCU installments to date. It still has it’s moments such as the powerful funeral scene and the moment where Thor and the main villain fights through the portals. However, it can never shake the feeling that it only exist just so Thor has a movie in Phase 2. The main problem is that it feels too inconsequential, complacent, and moves at such a fast clip that it’s hard to get invested into anything happen, even after characters supposedly “die”. The reshoots the movie have are quite obvious as it feels like a mix of multiple visions that never come together as a cohesive whole. Not to mention, the villain flat out sucks here (You can’t even remember his name, can you?)! On the bright, this did get a redemption arc later on down the road in Avengers: Endgame. It’s certainly a movie you can watch and get some entertainment out of (which says something about how even the very worst of the MCU is still watchable), but this is certainly one movie which critics of the MCU will find plenty of bullet points to support their arguments with.

32.) Iron Man 2

There are plenty of folks that claimed that Marvel Studios couldn’t miss in the Infinity Saga. Those people clearly didn’t watch Iron Man 2 (or Thor: The Dark World). Everything that worked well in the original Iron Man just falls flat here. The cast is still great and the effects are top-notch but the script lets it down with too much Marvel easter eggs, little to no character progression, and action scenes that are over before they even began. You could tell Marvel was still getting their footing in how to make these movies as this feels like it only exist to buy time for the other movies in Phase One. On the bright side, just like with The Dark World, it did at least get a bit of a redemption arc later on down the road in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. I guess that’s something.

31.) Captain Marvel

Marvel finally got around to making a female led superhero movie in 2019 with Brie Larson’s Captain Marvel. If you are able to separate the bizarre controversy that was attached to this film pre-release, there is some enjoyment to be had here. The first act is all over the place and some retcons to the universe are plain dumb (Fury losing an eye to a cat!) but it’s still works as a fun buddy cop flick/origin story on the most powerful superhero in the MCU. Brie Larson fits the roll very well and has great chemistry with the rest of the cast, the 90s setting is fun, Samuel Jackson and his CGI is perfection, and seeing Captain Marvel flying through and destroying ships in her super form is quite satisfying. If only this character was introduced a bit sooner and not just before Endgame that I think it would have been easier for others to accept Carol with the other Marvel heroes.

30.) Thor: Love & Thunder

On paper, Love & Thunder should be the best Thor flick to date, incorporating major comic elements such as Mighty Thor and Gorr the God Butcher. Unfortunately, it doesn’t end up reaching up to that potential, with Whatti not being able to get out of his own damn way and not knowing when to let the jokes and emotional beats land. Still, the additions of Tessa Thompson’s Valkyrie, Christian Bale’s Gorr, and the welcome return of Natalie Portman’s Mighty Thor help make the experience fun and engaging, preventing the whole picture from being a complete failure. It’s just a shame that Whatti was unable to perfect the comedic/dramatic balanced tone he implemented so well in Thor: Ragnarok.

29.) The Marvels

Talk about a movie that came out at the worst possible time imaginable. Releasing during multiple strikes, franchise/superhero fatigue, and internet trolls being louder than ever, The Marvels is basically the one MCU movie that no one gave a chance to, not even Disney and Marvel themselves. Which sucks because when actually looking the movie on it’s own, it’s actually quite fun with some damn good action sequences, neat looking visuals, and three enjoyable female leads. Iman Vellani is precious as hell as Kamala Khan, Teyonah Parris is cool as Monica, and Brie Larson is able to shine much better her than any other films she’s been in as Captain Marvel, almost as if this is the character that Brie has been wanting to play since signing up for the role. It could have used a stronger villain in Dar-Benn, with more flesh out dynamics between her and the Marvels themselves and it’s certainly a film you can nitpick to death if you want to get technical about it but judging it as a straight up action movie, it’s entertaining with solid chemistry between the three leads. If you skipped this movie in theaters, I’d say give this a chance once it comes out on Disney Plus and you might be surprised with it.

28.) Doctor Strange

This introduces some of the most interesting ideas and concepts that the Marvel movies have tried out thus far but it’s just a shame not all of it is able to be executed to it’s fullest potential until the near tail end of the picture. Doctor Strange is the one MCU installment where you can really feel the Marvel formula that this franchise has grown accustom too with the way it hits every single origin story beat in the book. Also, the sideling of Mads Mikkelsen and Rachel McAdams doesn’t help here. The third act is still an absolute banger, Benedict Cumberbatch was born to play Stephen Strange, and it does at least give a clear view into the direction that future Marvel movies are going with how much weirder and “out there” it will dare to go with it’s set pieces and visuals. It’s still functional, but it feels like Doctor Strange is at his best when he’s paired up with other characters in this universe.

27.) Ant-Man & The Wasp

Coming straight off of the high heels of the maximum culmination blockbuster of Avengers: Infinity War, Ant-Man and the Wasp made for the right, breezy palate cleanser when it came out in 2018. Looking at it’s own, however, it doesn’t really offer more than the bare minimum of what most were expecting an Ant-Man sequel to consist off. Paul Rudd is still as charming as ever as Scott Lang/Ant-Man, Evangeline Lilly steals the show and kicks major ass as Wasp, and the set pieces are quite fun. Even so, it still can’t help but feel too much like a placeholder film and a real expensive explanation as to what Scott did after Civil War and why he wasn’t in Infinity War. Not to mention, wasting Michelle Pfeiffer like that is a big no-no. It’s harmless fun but not all that memorable.

26.) Spider-Man: Homecoming

As it’s own movie, Spider-Man: Homecoming is fine and certainly enjoyable. As a Spider-Man movie however, it’s quite underwhelming. Tom Holland is great casting as both Peter Parker and Spider-Man, Michael Keaton’s Vulture is one of the very best baddies in the MCU, and the high school elements were somewhat relatable. However, too much of the movie feels restrained, like the filmmakers were too afraid of this movie being compared to the other Spider-Man movies that they desired to play it as safe as possible. There are changes that feel unnecessary (Why does Betty Brant feel like Gwen Stacy?), things that are removed (Uncle Ben’s importance), and things that are added (Spider-Man being Iron Man Jr.) which prevents Homecoming from being a top-tier Spider-Man experience. After No Way Home, it has certainly grown on me and feels like a film that has earned it’s place within the MCU.

25.) Thor

There are two main elements that holds the original Thor strongly together, the castings of Chris Hemsworth as Thor and Tom Hiddleston as Loki. The first third and last third of the film are legit great, starting and ending Thor’s coming-to-age arc strongly, but the rest of the movie is a bit of a mixed bag. The scenes on Earth are just no where near as interesting as the ones on Asgard, the special effects look straight out of a cheaply budgeted CW show, and it’s hard to understand why Thor and Jane are that into each other, aside from the fact that both characters are played by two EXTERMELY attractive people. Also, some of the setup with S.H.I.E.L.D. feel like they are only here so audience don’t get confused by their presence in The Avengers. Still, the brilliant casting of Chris Heinsworth as Thor and Tom Hiddleston as Loki work wonders and Thor’s redemption arc works quite well, even if the journey along the way can be quite iffy.

24.) Spider-Man: Far From Home

An improvement over Homecoming in almost every way, with more focus on Peter Parker and his personal relationships and dilemmas along with some incredibly inventive action sequences (That Mysterio illusion scene is masterfully done!). Yes, there is still too much Iron Man tech here (Especially with his literal killer glasses) and it’s ridiculous how we have ANOTHER Spider-Man villain that’s trying to get revenge on Tony Stark (despite the fact he’s actually dead now) instead of Spider-Man himself but Far From Home does offer enough Spidey goods to leave one satisfied and get them intrigued for the future after that banger of a post credit scene. It doesn’t come close to being the very best of Spider-Man’s adventures, especially at the time with Into the Spider-Verse and Marvel’s Spider-Man, or top-tier MCU as a whole but acting as a plate cleanser for Avengers: Endgame and an epilogue for the Infinity War, Far From Home works just fine.

23.) Avengers: Age of Ultron

In hindsight, this movie has gotten better with aged thanks to the films that came afterwards that were able to justify it’s existence. That being said, I still can’t help but feel there was still some major missed opportunities with Avengers: Age of Ultron (especially with Ultron himself). Too much of the picture feels like a placeholder for future movies instead of the main course, which is not something you should want out of an Avengers movie. Instead of feeling like a proper payoff to the other movies of the current phase like the original Avengers, this just feels like more build up for the likes of Civil War and Infinity War. And don’t get me started on that Hulk and Black Widow romance! Still, there are still plenty of solid character moments and action throughout (everything with Hawkeye is exceptional) and did introduce Scarlet Witch, who would later become one of the best, most developed and multilayered characters in the entire franchise! It’s a glorious imperfect mess but in a way, that’s part of it’s charms and I don’t think the other big MCU movies after this would have worked as well as it did without Age of Ultron.

22.) Ant-Man

While it still remain a shame we’ll never to get see Edgar Wright make his own Marvel movie, this still deliver as a perfectly enjoyable heist flick. Paul Feig and Michael Douglas were perfectly casted in their roles as Scott Lang and Hank Pym respectively and that third act remains one the more fun and creative third acts in the whole MCU. It also helps that it softened the landing after Age of Ultron was a mild disappointment being more refreshingly smaller scaled compare to other entries. It still does fall victim to many of the usual MCU tropes, especially with the charismatic but underused turn by Corey Stoll’s Darren Cross, but it’s breezy and entertaining enough that it doesn’t bring it down. Also, that cameo fight with you-know-who was cool too.

21.) The Incredible Hulk

I actually find this one underrated in certain aspects, especially since this is the kind of movie that critics of this franchise tend to ask for. A movie that is mature, self-contained, and has it’s own arc for it’s main character that you don’t need to see any other movie to fully understand. Not to mention, the clever opening credits that is able to perfectly showcase Bruce’s origin into become the Hulk in a span of just three minutes along with the final fight between Hulk and Abomination is some of he most stand-out scenes in the MCU. However, Edward Norton doesn’t quite capture the character of Bruce Banner in the same way that Mark Ruffalo does and his chemistry with Liz Tyler is practically non-existent, which makes the movie lack a central love story to get invested in. It’s nice to know though that The Incredible Hulk is getting recognize more from the universe with returning characters showing up in more MCU projects. Far from the best of the MCU but still pretty damn good in it’s own right and deserves recognition.

20.) Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness

Arguably the most divisive MCU installment since Iron Man 3, Multiverse of Madness is a film that uses it’s set pieces and effective imagery to flirt with and mock the kind of fandom that care more about filmmakers making their bizarre fan theories coming true instead of making a genuine work of art. It doesn’t quite reach it’s ambitions with quite a bit of characterization being paper thin and not taking as much advantage of the actual multiverse as much as it should but Sam Raimi’s unique style is on full display here, the set pieces that work here are some of the best in the entire MCU, and Elizabeth Olsen is an absolute force to be reckoned with as the Scarlet Witch. It’s just a shame that Marvel felt the need to apologize for this film and basically make an anti-equivalent of Multiverse of Madness (although I still like it!) with #19!

19.) Deadpool & Wolverine

The newest Deadpool film finally introduces the long-awaited arrival of Ryan Reynolds’s Deadpool and Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. For the longtime fans, there’s a lot of fun and enjoyment to be found here with the insane amount of cameos, action beats, full 4th wall breaking humor, and just seeing Hugh Jackman in that classic yellow X-Men suit for the first time ever. As immensely enjoyable as Deadpool and Wolverine is, I did find myself missing the supporting cast that helped carry the first two films and is quite hostile in being a sequel to Deadpool 2. Also, I really hope Marvel doesn’t take the wrong lesson from this movie’s inevitable box office success and start making every movie going for just “MCU Reddit Fan Theories The Movie”. That will get old and fate very, VERY quickly!

18.) Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is about as good and thematically rich of a sequel as it could have been given the circumstances surrounding it. Despite losing a main key piece and a few too many subplots that feel like they’re only here to tease future movie and shows, it is still able to follow the remaining characters and themes from the first one in a way that feels organic and right. It’s beautifully acted and made, the handling of Chadwick Boseman’s death is done to near perfection, and is certainly a film you will want to bring tissues too. If only the runtime had been trimmed down and there wasn’t subplots that put more focus on setting up future Disney Plus shows. As divisive as Phase 4 as a whole as been, I don’t think it could have ended on a more emotional note than Wakanda Forever. Hopefully can bring the majority of fans and moviegoers together and realized what amazing things they had in the past while hoping for amazing things in the future.

17.) Thunderbolts*

Thunderbolts* pits the most unlikely scrappy anti-heroes of Marvel together, in a tale about the power of friendship and the dealings of mental health and depression. It’s easy to mistake this film as being a meta commentary of itself, where it’s about a team of unlikely super folks coming together in a time where superheroes have become a thing of the past and the world has moved on from them. However, what makes this stand out as well as it has is the chemistry and the development of the main cast that is front and center. Florence Pugh’s Yelena remains one of the most engaging leads of post-Endgame, Wyatt Russell still has the charm and charisma as dollar store Captain America, it’s always a treat to see Sebastian Stan as Bucky, and Lewis Pullman as Bob has one of the most compelling arcs in recent MCU history. It’s not quite an instant classic with the narrative being too disjointed at points and some characters giving rather harsh treatment (Don’t expect much from Ghost!), but Thunderbolts* is a solid reminder as to what made the MCU work in the first place, putting the characters first and story, lore, and world building second. It’s also refreshing how for the first time in a long time, it actually seems like the MCU has a proper direction and feels like it’s building towards something exciting.

16.) Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is the one MCU installment that I’ve come close to loving completely but a few elements keep me back to doing so. James Gunn is able to capture that same charm and heart as the first one along with continuing the themes of family and friendship that the first one introduced as well as expand more on the side characters such as Nebula and Yondu. (Not to mention, Baby Groot is the cutest thing ever!) If only the second act didn’t drag as much and the Guardians had the same spark away from one another as they do when they are together, then this could have been just as good as the first one. Thankfully, Vol. 2 ends on an incredibly emotional high with one of the most fun post credit sequences ever in the MCU and Kurt Russell’s Ego is one of the better MCU villains throughout it’s history. Similar to Age of Ultron, it may have not moved the needle when it came out but as the MCU continues to expand, time has been very kind to this one!

15.) Shang-Chi & The Legend of the Ten Rings

Here is proof that Marvel still knows how to take the familiar origin beats that they’ve become accustom to but still deliver something innovative and entertaining in the process! Taking a stamp from traditional martial art movies, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings delivers some of the best and most creative action sequences in the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe to date! Simi Lulu as Shang-Chi is one of the coolest heroes the MCU has ever introduced, Tony Leung Chiu-wai as The Mandarian is one of the most engaging villains the MCU has ever had, Ben Kingsley is still an absolute riot as Trevor Slattery, and all of the female characters introduced such as Awkwafina’s Katy, Fala Chan’s Ying Li, Michelle Yeoh’s Jiang Nan, and especially Meng’er Zhang’s Xialing all stand out in their own unique and sometimes badass way. The iffy third act and resolution can’t even derail this from being one of the finest, fresh, and most pure fun installments in the MCU.

14.) Thor: Ragnarok

Thor: Ragnarök still remains the best Thor movie to this very day! Waititi is able to offer Thor’s most funniest, interesting, and tragic adventure yet, offering the change of pace, style, and tone that the Thor franchise desperately needed to after the underwhelming The Dark World to stand out with the rest of the MCU. Thrown in a great supporting cast with Tessa Thompson, Cate Blanchett, Jeff Goldblum, and even Taika Waititi himself with the return of Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk and you got a complete package here. At times, it can get bogged down by having to carry too much baggage from the first two Thor movies without much proper payoff (I sure hope you weren’t big fans of Thor’s buddies from the first two movies) and it is perhaps “too funny” for some, but if it wasn’t for the success of this movie, there’s a good chance Marvel would have been as good as done with Thor by now.

13.) The Fantastic Four: First Steps

It may have taken literally four times but Marvel Studios was FINALLY able to get their first family right on the big screen with their MCU debut in First Steps. This sees a world where the F4 are already known and beloved superheroes around the world and must do everything they can to protect the citizens of Earth when the sinister Galactus and the mischievous Silver Surfer enter the picture with a plan to consume their planet of all their free will. What makes First Steps so unique is how it’s able to exist in it’s own little bubble outside of the main MCU, allowing for a visual style, cosmic-like feel, worldbuilding, and a refreshing sense of optimism we have had yet to see in the rest of this cinematic universe. All four members of the team get their own moments to shine (Even if I would’ve liked a bit more of The Thing) and even the humor gets toned down this time around, allowing for more dramatic and emotional beats to play out better than most recent MCU movies. It does feel a bit too fast paced at times, given the indication that an extra 10-15 minutes might’ve been trimmed down due to possible concerning test screenings, and there are certain characters I would’ve liked to see get more screen time but if your biggest complaint with a movie is that you want more, then that MUST mean it’s a good thing. Overall, The Fantastic Four: First Steps is quite simply (I promise no pun intended!) FANTASTIC and a promising new reset to a possible bright future for Marvel!

12.) Iron Man

The Marvel Cinematic Universe started off with an absolute winner with Jon Favreau, Iron Man delivers an incredibly strong origin story of of Tony Stark, who would end up become the face of this franchise for 11+ years! Robert Downey Jr. is hands down the best casting choice in Marvel history as Iron Man and there is not a single scene in his Iron Man armor that he does not look like a badass. If it wasn’t for the tacked-on climax and an incredibly rushed villain arc in Iron Monger, this might just be one of the best superhero movies of all time. For what it’s worth though, we would not have the Marvel Cinematic Universe in any way, shape, or form if it wasn’t for the success of this movie, so this movie deserves all the credit and respect in the world for what it help start. And who could ever forget that bombshell of a post credit scene with Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury coming out and mention the Avengers?!

11.) Captain America: The First Avenger

Might be a hot take but Captain America: The First Avenger was my personal favorite of the build-up movies leading up to The Avengers. It had such a warm and nostalgic feel to it that I can’t help but be in the mood to watch it whenever it’s on TV. Even before it became cool to like Captain America, this made me respect and admire the character of Steve Rogers in ways I never imagined. He’s a good guy just trying to do good things and do what he believes it’s right for himself and others. Chris Evans is terrific as Steve Rogers along with co-stars Sebastian Stan, Hugo Weaving, and the absolutely beautiful Hayley Atwell. Even the montage scene that is everyone’s biggest complaint didn’t bother me, even if I wouldn’t have mind an extra 15 to 20 minutes. With it’s warm tone and sense of wonder and optimism threw out, this is one of my personal favorites. Also, you are a robot if you don’t tear up at or near the end.

10.) Iron Man 3

That’s right! Iron Man 3 is my personal favorite Iron Man movie to date! Having the amount of action, humor, twists, turns, and social/political commentary, this is everything I could have ever want in an Iron Man movie. We see Tony Stark going back to basics here as he discovers that he can in fact be the hero that is Iron Man without even putting on the suit. Robert Downey Jr. is at his absolute best here in his solo movies, seeing Tony outside of his comfort zone is fun, and the action is about a exciting and thrilling as it could get with these movies. Hell, I even love that Mandarin Twist that everyone else and their mothers hate, sue me! It’s a shame that Rebecca Hall is sidelined here though and Bill Maher was given any screen time as well. Other than that, Iron Man 3 is the best Iron Man to date and one MCU experience that gets better and better for me each time I watch it.

9.) Captain America: Civil War

Arguably a better Avengers movie than Age of Ultron, Captain America: Civil War feels more like the darker, mature follow-up that we were hoping for than the installment we got in 2015. This is the one that tore the Avengers apart physiologically, where it took several years later to the team to even be whole again. The action sequences are phenomenal, it does a great job at being the right follow-up to both Winter Soldier and Age of Ultron, both sides of the conflict have clear and understandable motives that don’t just bluntly make them right and/or wrong, and every character, regardless of how important they are to the plot or not, get their own arc or at least moment to themselves. Aside from Zemo’s overall actions to his master plan is too far stretched and definitely requires some suspension of disbelief, Civil War remains a top-tier Marvel experience and makes for one of the most rewatchable installments in the MCU.

8.) Spider-Man: No Way Home

Now, that’s more like it! No Way Home was basically the Spider-Man movie that I have been waiting for from the MCU! It offers Tom Holland as his absolute best as Peter Parker/Spider-Man, giving the character more depth and intrigue than he did in his previous two solo movies, finally utilizing the potential of this version of Spider-Man that had previously shown glimpses of it in his extended cameo in Captain America: Civil War and his side roles in the last two Avengers movies. Unlike Homecoming and Far From Home before it, No Way Home finally gave you an indication as to what this Spider-Man actually IS rather than what he is NOT! Of course, bring back in Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield along with their gallery of baddies and this is about as good of a Spidey adventure as it gets. I have legit interest to see where they go with this version of the character next and am anxious to see what Marvel has cooking up for the web slinger in his near future!

7.) Avengers: Infinity War

The culmination of the past 10+ years of the Marvel Cinematic Universe was an event of a lifetime and Avengers: Infinity War was able to deliver on that hype every step of the way! Seeing every possible Marvel superhero coming together to take on the greatest Marvel villain in Thanos felt like a dream come true for not just comic book fans but movie lovers in general. Not to mention, that ending which traumatize and entire generation of children, giving them the “You gotta be effing s*itting me!” feeling that Gen X got with Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back in 1980. However, certain elements such as the scattered shot first half and an ending that (while shocking) was clearly not gonna last holds it back for being higher on this list. Still, Infinity War is certainly one of the most exhilarating theater experiences I have ever had and it will always hold a special place in my heart because of that.

6.) Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is able to successfully hit all the beats it needs to give fans and audiences a very satisfying ending to it’s trilogy of what is perhaps the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s most surprising and consistently great franchise, along with showing how Marvel can still find ways to deliver quality entertainment, even when it might seem like they’ve reached their limits. It’s able to be funny, dark, sad, engaging, and deliver the highest and most personal stakes of all the three Guardians films that helps make it stand out as possibly the very best in trilogy. This also has some of the very best performances and emotional beats in anything Marvel related! All Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 needed to do was deliver a conclusion that felt definite, right and satisfying all the same. And on those terms, it was no doubt able to deliver a famously huge third (Pun entirely intended!) I’m glad James Gunn was able to end his run with Marvel on a high note and leave me awaiting his future with DC. A fitting farewell to these lovable galactic a-holes!

5.) Avengers: Endgame

Despite some time travel inconsistencies and one or two misused characters (*cough* Hulk), Avengers: Endgame still makes for a thrilling and satisfying end to the Infinity Saga. It ends the first few waves of Marvel movies on a high note, it’s well-structured and paced despite it being three hours long, it delivers some of the most unexpected but well earned payoffs in the entire franchise, and that final battle, which the whole series was building too, could not have deliver any better than it did. (FYI, the girl power scene is AWESOME! Don’t @ me!) Even if, like INFINITY WAR, it does feels more like an event than a movie, Endgame still makes for one amazing event nonetheless. I will definitely never forget seeing the entire theater’s reaction to Captain America wielding the Mjolnir, showing that he is in fact worthy, or hearing folks cry when Tony Stark died. Even if the Marvel Cinematic Universe ended here, Endgame would have been more than a fine note to go out on and still remain one of the greatest accomplishments in the history of blockbuster cinema.

4.) Black Panther

Yes the CGI isn’t that great. Yes, it does move a bit slow in the first act and quite fast in the third act. And yes, more time with the bad guys would have helped. Nevertheless, when it come to quality, filmmaking, and it’s overall impact on pop culture, I don’t think there’s been an MCU installment that hits quite as hard as Black Panther. The characters are all iconic, especially with Kilmonger being arguably the bet MCU villain to date, everything that takes place in Wakanda is wonderful, the action is well done, especially that car chase, the aesthetic (minus the CGI) is a treat for the eyes, the music rocks, and the impactful themes are ones that still resonate with me to this very day. When looking back on it, you can tell the impact that Black Panther had with Marvel Studios and director Ryan Coogler and how it would be quite hard to replicated something with that one center piece now gone. Nevertheless, they can at least look back and witness the amazing achievement they were able to accomplish with the gem that is Black Panther. RIP Chadwick Boseman!

3.) The Avengers

The one crossover flick for the ages! The one that change all superhero and blockbusters in general for better and for worse (mostly worse). With all the comic book flicks that have come out after this, it’s easy to forget how much of a miracle it is that The Avengers worked out as well as it did in the first place. Yes, the plotting and themes are simple and can be read like a book but that’s a necessary evil giving it does everything else incredibly well. Just about all the Avengers get their time to shine, the entire cast has perfect chemistry, it has the perfect blend of action, comedy, and drama, and the final battle is an absolute banger, which helps tie everything together and basically as a firework display with Marvel basically celebrating their own tremendous accomplishment. Who knows where Marvel and Cinema would be today if this movie didn’t work out? That in of itself makes The Avengers an all-time classic and one that I will always revisit whenever I’m in the mood. Joss Whedon can suck it though!

2.) Captain America: The Winter Soldier

If Captain America: The First Avenger was a perfect period piece flick, then Captain America: The Winter Soldier is a perfect Captain America flick for the modern times. Not only a very well done espionage thriller with plenty of thrilling action, character development, and important subject matter, but it managed to make certain characters more interesting and badass than ever before. Captain America became cool to like in this one, Black Widow was more interesting and developed this time around (along with having the best hairstyle here), Nick Fury actually gets to do something here than just try to motivate the Avengers through pep talk, and man does Winter Soldier make for an intense and threatening presence whenever he is one screen. This was the Russo Brothers first film in the MCU and they could not have left a better first impression than they did here. Winter Soldier was the one that change the MCU for the greater good and proved they can in fact work as their own things instead of being sneak previews for the main big events.

1.) Guardians of the Galaxy

While this may not be technically the best directed, acted, or written MCU movie, I don’t think there’s any other MCU movie I would rather rewatch than the original Guardians of the Galaxy. It’s incredible how a movie with this different of concept and characters and play barley over two hours yet it feels like the complete package. Every member of the Guardians of the Galaxy is instantly iconic and lovable, with the big standouts being Chris Pratt as Peter Quill/Star-Lord, Bradley Cooper as Rocket Raccoon, and Dave Bautista as Drax the Destroyer, the story is familiar but also refreshing, the action scenes are well-crafted, it’s funny as hell, the score is kick-ass, and there’s some hard hitting emotions that feel just right. The best part about it is that you can easily watch this movie without having seen any other Marvel movie and you’d be able to follow it just fine. Even the one-note villain of Ronan the Accuser, is actually quite functional in his own way as being the space equivalent of Hitler. There are definitely Marvel movies that are better made and might be better objectively but you’d be hard pressed to find one that’s as fresh, surprising, and flat-out more entertaining than Guardians of the Galaxy! Rock on, James Gunn!

Ranking All The DC Comics Movies (57-26) (1/2)

July 11, 2025 AdamLeave a comment

Now that Superman (2025) is now out in theaters, I decided to do something totally insane and rank every single DC movie ever! Not just the movies related to the DC Extended Universe or the brand new DC Universe but all theatrically-released films that have some sort of connection to DC. That includes all the Batman, Superman, DC imprints, and even animated films that have been released in theaters of all kind!

Throughout last year, I actually took the time to watch every other DC-related film that I haven’t got around to just for the sake of making this list. Why? Because I have no life whatsoever and I like making insane lists! That’s why!

But anyways, let’s get into list making and rank all 57 theatrically-released DC Comics films from best to worst! If you agree with this list, awesome! If you disagree, fine and I likely will by the time I actually publish this! Either way, let’s have some fun and rank these superhero flicks!

Btw, NO I’m not going into any sort of description of each said film because then this list would take a million years to make! I’m just gonna let the ranked number for each film speak for themselves!

57.) Catwoman