The numbers are in, and 2025 has officially rewritten the history books! From fire-breathing dragons to the much-anticipated return of the Na’vi, the global box office witnessed a tectonic shift. While Hollywood heavyweights battled for supremacy, an unexpected champion emerged from the East to claim the throne.
The year wasn’t just about sequels; it was about massive franchises crossing billion-dollar milestones and a Chinese animated phenomenon that left the world stunned.
THE 2025 GLOBAL STANDINGS
The following data reflects the final worldwide standings for the top-performing films of 2025:
| Rank | Release Group | Worldwide | Domestic | Foreign |
| 1 | Ne Zha 2 | $2,267,446,370 | $23,308,176 | $2,244,138,194 |
| 2 | Zootopia 2 | $1,866,647,950 | $428,130,160 | $1,438,517,790 |
| 3 | Avatar: Fire and Ash | $1,485,991,014 | $404,331,134 | $1,081,659,880 |
| 4 | Lilo & Stitch | $1,038,027,526 | $423,778,855 | $614,248,671 |
| 5 | A Minecraft Movie | $960,387,780 | $424,087,780 | $536,300,000 |
| 6 | Jurassic World: Rebirth | $869,146,189 | $339,640,400 | $529,505,789 |
| 7 | Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba Infinity Castle | $738,595,221 | $136,950,340 | $601,644,881 |
| 8 | How to Train Your Dragon | $636,596,299 | $262,958,100 | $373,638,199 |
| 9 | F1: The Movie | $634,042,436 | $189,642,436 | $444,400,000 |
| 10 | Superman | $618,723,803 | $354,223,803 | $264,500,000 |
| 11 | Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning | $598,767,057 | $197,413,515 | $401,353,542 |
| 12 | Wicked: For Good | $539,042,601 | $342,915,090 | $196,127,511 |
| 13 | The Fantastic Four: First Steps | $521,858,728 | $274,286,610 | $247,572,118 |
| 14 | Detective Chinatown 1900 | $500,282,092 | $2,229,946 | $498,052,146 |
| 15 | The Conjuring: Last Rites | $499,156,445 | $177,756,445 | $321,400,000 |
| 16 | Dead to Rights | $422,785,908 | – | $422,785,908 |
| 17 | Captain America: Brave New World | $415,101,577 | $200,500,001 | $214,601,576 |
| 18 | The Housemaid | $398,777,455 | $126,432,462 | $272,344,993 |
| 19 | Thunderbolts* | $382,436,917 | $190,274,328 | $192,162,589 |
| 20 | Sinners | $370,189,632 | $279,989,632 | $90,200,000 |
| 21 | Final Destination: Bloodlines | $317,854,739 | $138,254,739 | $179,600,000 |
| 22 | 731 | $274,090,081 | $410,904 | $273,679,177 |
| 23 | Weapons | $269,972,492 | $151,572,492 | $118,400,000 |
| 24 | Now You See Me: Now You Don’t | $243,950,780 | $61,882,396 | $182,068,384 |
| 25 | The Bad Guys 2 | $239,674,744 | $82,593,605 | $157,081,139 |
| 26 | Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 | $238,569,570 | $127,730,290 | $110,839,280 |
| 27 | One Battle After Another | $212,918,884 | $72,918,884 | $140,000,000 |
| 28 | Snow White | $205,679,463 | $87,203,963 | $118,475,500 |
| 29 | Predator: Badlands | $184,561,056 | $91,083,631 | $93,477,425 |
| 30 | Marty Supreme | $179,935,727 | $96,020,307 | $83,915,420 |
| 31 | The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants | $169,011,382 | $71,068,170 | $97,943,212 |
| 32 | Detective Conan: One-Eyed Flashback | $166,061,012 | – | $166,061,012 |
| 33 | Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc | $162,303,404 | $43,438,461 | $118,864,943 |
| 34 | Elio | $154,291,182 | $72,987,454 | $81,303,728 |
| 35 | Freakier Friday | $153,176,952 | $94,186,236 | $58,990,716 |
| 36 | 28 Years Later | $151,329,249 | $70,446,897 | $80,882,352 |
| 37 | Dog Man | $146,049,728 | $97,970,355 | $48,079,373 |
| 38 | Tron: Ares | $142,249,983 | $73,161,014 | $69,088,969 |
| 39 | Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy | $140,433,351 | – | $140,433,351 |
| 40 | Ballerina | $140,201,236 | $58,051,327 | $82,149,909 |
| 41 | Dhurandhar | $137,246,897 | $19,702,994 | $117,543,903 |
| 42 | Anaconda | $135,148,320 | $65,098,148 | $70,050,172 |
| 43 | Kokuho | $134,450,911 | $1,119,136 | $133,331,775 |
| 44 | Mickey 17 | $133,542,263 | $46,142,263 | $87,400,000 |
| 45 | Black Phone 2 | $132,248,152 | $77,378,880 | $54,869,272 |
| 46 | Smurfs | $124,157,356 | $31,075,170 | $93,082,186 |
| 47 | Karate Kid: Legends | $117,105,466 | $52,547,391 | $64,558,075 |
| 48 | Hamnet | $106,308,335 | $24,208,900 | $82,099,435 |
| 49 | Materialists | $105,649,413 | $36,521,973 | $69,127,440 |
| 50 | Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale | $103,546,113 | $44,996,590 | $58,549,523 |
| 51 | The Accountant 2 | $103,323,366 | $65,523,366 | $37,800,000 |
| 52 | The Naked Gun | $102,147,396 | $52,647,396 | $49,500,000 |
| 53 | The Amateur | $96,000,836 | $40,759,635 | $55,241,201 |
| 54 | Regretting You | $90,452,948 | $48,852,948 | $41,600,000 |
| 55 | Buen Camino | $90,337,775 | – | $90,337,775 |
| 56 | A Working Man | $89,400,711 | $37,000,711 | $52,400,000 |
| 57 | David | $85,865,995 | $80,382,774 | $5,483,221 |
| 58 | The King of Kings | $83,539,443 | $60,270,106 | $23,269,337 |
| 59 | Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie | $80,812,764 | $32,011,820 | $48,800,944 |
| 60 | Cheburashka 2 | $77,710,818 | – | $77,710,818 |
| 61 | The Running Man | $69,486,523 | $37,815,641 | $31,670,882 |
| 62 | The Monkey | $68,871,071 | $39,724,909 | $29,146,162 |
| 63 | I Know What You Did Last Summer | $64,808,120 | $32,165,634 | $32,642,486 |
| 64 | The Long Walk | $62,906,882 | $35,163,573 | $27,743,309 |
| 65 | The Twilight Saga: Eclipse 2025 Re-release | $62,114,499 | $309,013 | $61,805,486 |
| 66 | Den of Thieves: Pantera | $58,371,508 | $36,015,016 | $22,356,492 |
| 67 | Song Sung Blue | $57,889,762 | $39,185,290 | $18,704,472 |
| 68 | Manitou’s Canoe | $57,840,726 | – | $57,840,726 |
| 69 | Nuremberg | $56,832,629 | $14,524,692 | $42,307,937 |
| 70 | Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith 20th anniversary | $55,560,312 | $34,107,714 | $21,452,598 |
| 71 | Until Dawn | $54,105,064 | $20,172,192 | $33,932,872 |
| 72 | The Roses | $51,989,385 | $15,298,844 | $36,690,541 |
| 73 | One of Them Days | $51,896,264 | $50,054,690 | $1,841,574 |
| 74 | Taylor Swift: The Official Release Party of a Showgirl | $50,062,774 | $34,062,774 | $16,000,000 |
| 75 | Flight Risk | $48,701,987 | $29,783,527 | $18,918,460 |
| 76 | Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere | $45,240,624 | $22,638,297 | $22,602,327 |
| 77 | Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution | $44,457,030 | $16,583,133 | $27,873,897 |
| 78 | Black Bag | $43,887,905 | $21,474,035 | $22,413,870 |
| 79 | Bugonia | $43,514,912 | $17,692,390 | $25,822,522 |
| 80 | The Wizard of the Emerald City | $43,514,205 | – | $43,514,205 |
| 81 | Nobody 2 | $43,285,109 | $21,604,985 | $21,680,124 |
| 82 | Dracula | $42,404,858 | $13,053,400 | $29,351,458 |
| 83 | Exit 8 | $40,641,256 | $1,435,789 | $39,205,467 |
| 84 | The Phoenician Scheme | $40,566,381 | $19,555,015 | $21,011,366 |
| 85 | Doraemon: Nobita’s Art World Tales | $40,180,353 | – | $40,180,353 |
| 86 | No Other Choice | $40,179,047 | $10,011,860 | $30,167,187 |
| 87 | Bring Her Back | $39,410,222 | $19,333,305 | $20,076,917 |
| 88 | M3GAN 2.0 | $39,083,707 | $24,101,280 | $14,982,427 |
| 89 | My Daughter Is a Zombie | $37,891,989 | – | $37,891,989 |
| 90 | Companion | $36,969,122 | $20,869,122 | $16,100,000 |
| 91 | Eternity | $35,858,277 | $16,210,244 | $19,648,033 |
| 92 | Warfare | $34,902,602 | $26,000,309 | $8,902,293 |
| 93 | Roofman | $34,802,792 | $22,739,882 | $12,062,910 |
| 94 | Together | $34,747,399 | $21,273,159 | $13,474,240 |
| 95 | Novocaine | $34,536,061 | $19,861,854 | $14,674,207 |
| 96 | Wolf Man | $34,154,366 | $20,707,280 | $13,447,086 |
| 97 | Tokyo Mer the Movie: Nankai Mission | $33,931,597 | – | $33,931,597 |
| 98 | Caught Stealing | $33,251,665 | $19,005,242 | $14,246,423 |
| 99 | Heart Eyes | $33,129,099 | $30,415,738 | $2,713,361 |
| 100 | Fredonia: The Movie | $31,114,453 | – | $31,114,453 |
| 101 | Pinocchio | $30,846,911 | – | $30,846,911 |
| 102 | Drop | $28,744,167 | $16,600,805 | $12,143,362 |
| 103 | Him | $27,834,512 | $25,009,605 | $2,824,907 |
| 104 | School of Magical Animals 4 | $27,665,287 | – | $27,665,287 |
| 105 | Red Rain | $27,028,224 | – | $27,028,224 |
| 106 | Rental Family | $26,585,129 | $10,047,429 | $16,537,700 |
| 107 | Good Fortune | $26,343,838 | $16,585,758 | $9,758,080 |
| 108 | Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX: Beginning | $26,032,533 | $1,223,881 | $24,808,652 |
| 109 | The Chosen: Last Supper | $25,064,897 | $20,257,290 | $4,807,607 |
| 110 | Last Breath | $24,823,454 | $21,051,180 | $3,772,274 |
| 111 | KPop Demon Hunters | $24,619,953 | $24,300,000 | $319,953 |
| 112 | Yadang: The Snitch | $24,508,523 | $120,382 | $24,388,141 |
| 113 | Sentimental Value | $23,342,769 | $5,338,580 | $18,004,189 |
| 114 | The Woman in the Yard | $23,311,502 | $22,405,985 | $905,517 |
| 115 | God Save the Tuche | $23,311,298 | – | $23,311,298 |
| 116 | A Big Bold Beautiful Journey | $22,393,413 | $6,671,082 | $15,722,331 |
| 117 | Madly | $22,003,386 | – | $22,003,386 |
| 118 | The Strangers: Chapter 2 | $21,921,749 | $15,153,346 | $6,768,403 |
| 119 | The Poet | $21,743,188 | – | $21,743,188 |
| 120 | The Salt Path | $21,561,269 | – | $21,561,269 |
| 121 | The Smashing Machine | $21,131,147 | $11,411,388 | $9,719,759 |
| 122 | Hamilton 2025 Re-release | $20,943,625 | $16,946,377 | $3,997,248 |
| 123 | Batya 2. Ded | $20,557,184 | – | $20,557,184 |
| 124 | August | $20,320,460 | – | $20,320,460 |
| 125 | The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 2025 Re-release | $19,996,127 | $819,949 | $19,176,178 |
| 126 | My Pet Dragon | $19,943,144 | – | $19,943,144 |
| 127 | The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 2025 Re-release | $19,774,239 | $510,490 | $19,263,749 |
| 128 | The Life of Chuck | $19,700,844 | $6,712,600 | $12,988,244 |
| 129 | 1st Kiss | $19,593,569 | – | $19,593,569 |
| 130 | The Secret Agent | $19,193,716 | $4,282,051 | $14,911,665 |
| 131 | Crayon Shin-chan the Movie: Super Hot! The Spicy Kasukabe Dancers | $18,895,412 | – | $18,895,412 |
| 132 | Bakudan | $18,254,858 | – | $18,254,858 |
| 133 | Hitman 2 | $17,851,699 | – | $17,851,699 |
| 134 | Hypnosismic -Division Rap Battle- Interactive Movie | $17,814,569 | $114,569 | $17,700,000 |
| 135 | Love Hurts | $17,529,487 | $15,683,090 | $1,846,397 |
| 136 | Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train 2025 Re-release | $17,331,880 | $383,542 | $16,948,338 |
| 137 | Once We Were Us | $17,066,869 | – | $17,066,869 |
| 138 | 366 Nichi | $16,688,523 | – | $16,688,523 |
| 139 | Friendship | $16,544,104 | $16,252,948 | $291,156 |
| 140 | Death of a Unicorn | $16,423,464 | $12,899,252 | $3,524,212 |
| 141 | Jaws 2025 Re-release (50th Anniversary) | $16,172,364 | $12,819,675 | $3,352,108 |
| 142 | Boss | $16,060,726 | – | $16,060,726 |
| 143 | Alice in Wonderland | $16,018,429 | – | $16,018,429 |
| 144 | Kraken | $15,986,043 | – | $15,986,043 |
| 145 | Grand Prix of Europe | $15,841,839 | $733,419 | $15,108,420 |
| 146 | Father There is Only One 5 | $15,724,072 | – | $15,724,072 |
| 147 | Yan Yana | $15,523,603 | – | $15,523,603 |
| 148 | The Last Rodeo | $15,202,565 | $15,201,659 | $906 |
| 149 | Back to the Past | $15,038,454 | $1,949,379 | $13,089,075 |
| 150 | Colorful Stage! The Movie: A Miku Who Can’t Sing | $14,693,294 | $3,661,284 | $11,032,010 |
| 151 | Becoming Led Zeppelin | $14,673,369 | $10,403,353 | $4,270,016 |
| 152 | The Match | $14,563,318 | – | $14,563,318 |
| 153 | 5 Centimeters Per Second | $14,530,388 | – | $14,530,388 |
| 154 | More Beautiful | $14,523,318 | – | $14,523,318 |
| 155 | Black Showman | $14,377,330 | – | $14,377,330 |
| 156 | The Penguin Lessons | $14,235,885 | $3,294,990 | $10,940,895 |
| 157 | Hi-Five | $14,125,640 | $111,394 | $14,014,246 |
| 158 | Avatar: The Way of Water 2025 Re-release | $13,853,291 | $4,383,734 | $9,469,557 |
| 159 | Clown in a Cornfield | $13,850,731 | $7,251,799 | $6,598,932 |
| 160 | Eddington | $13,741,720 | $10,223,277 | $3,518,443 |
| 161 | Pets on a Train | $13,548,260 | $1,902,241 | $11,646,019 |
| 162 | The 4 Rascals | $13,125,103 | – | $13,125,103 |
| 163 | Back to the Future 40th Anniversary | $13,123,545 | $7,923,545 | $5,200,000 |
| 164 | Shinso wo Ohanashi Shimasu | $13,073,325 | – | $13,073,325 |
| 165 | Saiyaara | $12,903,760 | $3,359,480 | $9,544,280 |
| 166 | The Three Investigators and the Carpathian Dog | $12,880,508 | – | $12,880,508 |
| 167 | The Chosen: Woes/The Chosen: The Same Coin/The Chosen: Because of Me | $12,536,179 | $12,372,228 | $163,951 |
| 168 | A Mouse Hunt for Christmas | $12,514,757 | – | $12,514,757 |
| 169 | How to Make a Killing | $12,507,229 | – | $12,507,229 |
| 170 | Once Upon My Mother | $12,481,271 | – | $12,481,271 |
| 171 | The Chosen: Reunions/The Chosen: The Upper Room Part I/The Chosen: The Upper Room Part II | $12,456,592 | $11,742,410 | $714,182 |
| 172 | Noise | $12,360,256 | – | $12,360,256 |
| 173 | Dark Nuns | $12,140,335 | $103,433 | $12,036,902 |
| 174 | Uta No Prince-Sama: Maji Love Taboo Night Xxxx | $11,998,274 | – | $11,998,274 |
| 175 | Die My Love | $11,934,845 | $5,515,263 | $6,419,582 |
| 176 | Trillion Game | $11,766,075 | – | $11,766,075 |
| 177 | Sarah’s Oil | $11,675,627 | $11,675,627 | – |
| 178 | Papiny dochki. Mama vernulas | $11,665,320 | – | $11,665,320 |
| 179 | Dollhouse | $11,567,855 | – | $11,567,855 |
| 180 | Toy Story 2025 Re-release | $11,427,639 | $6,721,383 | $4,706,256 |
| 181 | About a Place in the Kinki Region | $11,413,063 | – | $11,413,063 |
| 182 | Dog 51 | $11,346,998 | – | $11,346,998 |
| 183 | Sirāt | $11,250,717 | $34,057 | $11,216,660 |
| 184 | Presence | $11,069,405 | $6,900,044 | $4,169,361 |
| 185 | Whispers in the Woods | $10,733,955 | – | $10,733,955 |
| 186 | It’s Okay! | $10,582,896 | – | $10,582,896 |
| 187 | Princess Mononoke 2025 Re-release | $10,581,134 | – | $10,578,788 |
| 188 | A PAW Patrol Christmas | $10,555,462 | – | $10,555,462 |
| 189 | To the Village to Grandpa | $10,549,632 | – | $10,549,632 |
| 190 | Grace | $10,530,211 | $132,311 | $10,397,900 |
| 191 | It Was Just an Accident | $10,474,927 | $1,773,664 | $8,701,263 |
| 192 | I Swear | $10,404,593 | – | $10,404,593 |
| 193 | Eiga Last Man: First Love | $10,377,724 | – | $10,377,724 |
| 194 | Oi vita mia | $10,322,191 | – | $10,322,191 |
| 195 | Sketch | $10,253,737 | $8,129,808 | $2,123,929 |
| 196 | The Alto Knights | $10,225,566 | $6,125,566 | $4,100,000 |
| 197 | Yolki 12 | $10,181,298 | – | $10,181,298 |
| 198 | Frontline – Yokohama Bay | $10,118,572 | – | $10,118,572 |
| 199 | Is This Thing On? | $10,035,438 | $6,185,385 | $3,850,053 |
| 200 | Sisu: Road to Revenge | $9,811,703 | $4,544,481 | $5,267,222 |
Other Key 2025 Performance Highlights:
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Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning: $591,353,074
-
The Housemaid: $398,800,000
-
Regretting You: $90,500,000
🎥 THE ANALYSIS: REIGN OF THE ANIMATED GIANTS
The biggest story of 2025 was undoubtedly Ne Zha 2. Not only did it become the highest-grossing film of the year, but it also crashed into the “All-Time Top 5” worldwide, sitting comfortably at $2.21 Billion. It is currently the only non-American film in history to occupy such a high rank.
Disney, however, proved it still owns the family demographic. Zootopia 2 bypassed Inside Out 2 and Frozen II to become the highest-grossing Disney animated film of all time with $1.87 Billion. Meanwhile, the live-action Lilo & Stitch surprised analysts by sailing past the $1 Billion mark, proving that the “nostalgia” formula still has plenty of juice left.
⚔️ FRANCHISE MILESTONES & RECORDS
2025 was a year of “The Billion Dollar Club” expansions:
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Avatar: Fire and Ash carried the franchise past the $6 Billion cumulative mark, though it notably became the first film in James Cameron’s series to stay under $2 Billion.
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A Minecraft Movie shattered records for video game adaptations, pulling a massive $162.7 Million opening weekend, eventually nearing the billion-dollar milestone.
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Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle made history as the highest-grossing Japanese film ever, dethroning Mugen Train with a stellar $781 Million global haul.
🏁 CONCLUSION
As we look at these staggering numbers, it’s clear that the global audience’s appetite for high-spectacle animation and established IP is stronger than ever. While traditional superhero films like Superman and Captain America: Brave New World performed steadily, the real “hero” of the box office this year was the return of beloved animated worlds.
