As the Labor Day holiday weekend approaches, those keeping an eye on the film industry have begun to analyze the box office performance for Summer 2025. Movie enthusiasts collectively spent $3.67 billion on tickets for theatrical releases, a figure that mirrors the earnings from Summer 2024. However, the industry had high hopes for this season, with optimistic forecasts like Gower Street’s prediction of a post-pandemic record of $4.2 billion, leading to a sense of disappointment given the actual results. The film industry has yet to reclaim the box office numbers seen before the pandemic, when summers from 2012 onward typically boasted earnings exceeding $4 billion.
Despite this shortfall, the analytics from EntTelligence reveal a noteworthy uptick in attendance. There was an increase of one million attendees compared to the previous year, bringing the total to 275 million from May through Labor Day. Unlike last year, when Disney/Pixar’s “Inside Out 2” and Disney/Marvel’s “Deadpool & Wolverine” dominated the box office by accounting for 35% of the total season earnings at $1.28 billion domestically, Summer 2025 displayed a more diversified performance with 11 films surpassing the $100 million mark.
The list of top-grossing films compiled by The Hollywood Reporter is primarily filled with live-action titles, but it’s noteworthy that two of the top five films are adaptations of beloved animated franchises. Disney’s “Lilo & Stitch,” which hit theaters on May 23, emerged as the number one film of the season, raking in an impressive $481.8 million domestically and achieving a global total of $1.032 billion, bolstered by a strong 71% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Following closely, Universal’s “How to Train Your Dragon,” released on June 13, secured the third spot with $262.7 million domestically ($628.8 million globally) and a respectable 76% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Another animated film that made waves this summer was DreamWorks/Universal’s “The Bad Guys 2,” which premiered on August 1. It opened to an 88% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes and has grossed $67.8 million domestically ($155.8 million worldwide), placing it at number 11 overall for the summer. Following closely behind at number 12 is “Elio,” which outperformed “The Bad Guys 2” in domestic earnings with a take of $72.9 million but fell slightly short in global earnings at $152.2 million; this Pixar original debuted on June 20 with an 83% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Despite facing criticism for having the lowest Rotten Tomatoes score on the Top 20 list at 21%, Paramount’s “The Smurfs” still managed to earn $31.1 million since its release on July 18, achieving a worldwide total of $110.2 million, with 72% of its earnings coming from international markets. It secured the 17th position overall in the summer rankings.
The summer of 2025 represents a slight decline for the film industry compared to Summer 2024, when “Inside Out 2” dominated the box office as the top animated film of all time before being overtaken by “Ne Zha 2.” “Inside Out 2” grossed an impressive $650.8 million domestically and went on to earn $1.7 billion globally. Last year also saw significant contributions from other franchise hits, such as Illumination/Universal’s “Despicable Me 4,” which claimed the third spot with $355.5 million. The summer’s Top 20 list also included Sony’s “The Garfield Movie” at number 11, which earned $91.9 million, and the remarkable success of the 15th anniversary re-release of Laika’s “Coraline” at number 17, grossing $30.5 million.
An interesting entry worth mentioning is the animated film “KPop Demon Hunters,” produced by Sony Pictures Animation, which had a limited theatrical release for its Sing-Along Event on August 23 and 24. This music-infused sensation has made waves on Netflix, marking its 11th consecutive week in the Top 10 English Film chart at number one, with 30.1 million views. The film brought in $19.2 million domestically, overtaking the critically acclaimed thriller “Weapons,” which ranked at number 10 on the summer’s overall list. “KPop” has now become Netflix’s most popular English-language film of all time, with discussions about a potential sequel already underway.
As theaters gear up for the back-to-school season, the upcoming holiday period, and the early awards rush, audiences can anticipate a variety of animated films from major studios. Notable releases include “Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie,” set to premiere on September 26 from DreamWorks/Universal, “Zootopia 2” from Disney, arriving on November 26, and “The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants,” which will be released by Paramount/Nickelodeon on December 19. Additionally, audiences can look forward to the 30th anniversary re-release of “Toy Story” from Disney/Pixar on September 12, alongside prestigious imports appealing to cinephiles, such as “The Legend of Hei 2” from GKIDS on September 5, “Lesbian Space Princess” from Fandor on October 31, “Arco” from GKIDS on November 14, “A Magnificent Life” from Sony Pictures Classics, and “Little Amélie or the Character of Rain” from GKIDS. Anime enthusiasts can also anticipate films like “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle” from Crunchyroll/Sony on September 12, “Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc” from Sony on October 29, and the classic, “Angel’s Egg” from GKIDS on November 19. Independent offerings for families include “Pets on a Train” from Viva on October 17, “Stitch Head” from Briarcliff on October 29, and “Grand Prix of Europe” from Viva on November 7. Another Laika re-release, “ParaNorman,” is also scheduled for October 14, promising to captivate audiences once more.
With such a dynamic lineup of films in the coming months, it’s clear that the industry is gearing up for a robust end to the year, hoping to attract audiences back to theaters with a mix of nostalgic favorites and fresh animated adventures.
