Let's Go to the Movies

While it’s nice to stream movies in your pajamas at home from time to time, it doesn’t hit quite the same as going to a theater to see a movie right when it comes out. From the collectible popcorn buckets and cups to the giant screen grabbing your focus, it’s an experience worth treating yourself to, especially with this year’s lineup. We compiled a list of the most anticipated theatrical releases of the year that will also likely have massive merchandise programs so you can mark your calendars and ready your wallets for the goods to come. This list is packed with nostalgia and excitement, from live-action remakes to must-see sequels.

This addition to the MCU’s fifth phase sees the new Captain America (Sam Wilson) fighting to stop an international threat by uncovering the mastermind’s motives.

A live-action version of a Disney classic, the film follows the story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, with Rachel Zegler in the titular role. 

A gang of misfits is sent to the Overworld, a mysterious cubic land where anything can be built from blocks, and they must enlist the help of an expert craftsman (Jack Black) to make their way home. You’ll be yearning for the mines after catching this one.  

Despite sharing the same name as the 2015 survival horror game, Sony revealed at CES 2025 that the film won’t follow the game’s story but will take place in the same universe. How mysterious!

This live-action version of the 2002 animated classic features a lonely young girl and her blue dog, who also happens to be the most-wanted criminal in the galaxy. Newcomer Maia Kealoha stars as Lilo, and the OG voice of Stitch, Chris Sanders, returns to reprise the role.

Li Fong (Ben Wang), a kung fu prodigy from Beijing, moves to New York City and enters a kung fu competition to help a friend. With trainers like Mr. Han (Jackie Chan) and the OG Karate Kid Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio), this film may just be a legend in the making. 

Relive your dragon-training fantasy with this live-action remake of the 2010 animated film, starring Mason Thames as Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, Gerard Butler as Stoick the Vast, and Nico Parker as Astrid Hofferson.

“It was really important that the sequel is a response to what people really loved about the first movie, but also this evolving conversation and fear that we're having about how AI is changing us and changing our children and changing society. In a way, M3GAN is a personification of all of those fears.” - Gerard Johnstone, director of M3GAN and M3GAN 2.0, to Entertainment Weekly, Dec. 2024

Five years after Jurassic World Dominion, a team of researchers seek out dinosaur DNA to create a new miracle drug. Bridgerton alum Jonathan Bailey stars as Dr. Henry Loomis alongside Scarlett Johansson as covert operations expert Zora Bennett.

The Man of Steel returns to the big screen with David Corenswet in the titular role. Bonus: We get the best boy, Krypto the Superdog, in this installment directed by James Gunn.

Jump back into the wholesome, musical world of the Smurfs! Fun fact: Smurfette is the second voice acting role for pop icon Rihanna; her first role was Gratuity ‘Tip’ Tucci in the 2015 animated movie Home.

This isn’t your dad’s Fantastic Four: It stars Pedro Pascal as Mr. Fantastic, Vanessa Kirby as Invisible Woman, Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Thing, and Stranger Things alum Joseph Quinn as the Human Torch.

Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis reprise their roles as mother/daughter duo Anna and Tess Coleman in this sequel to the iconic 2003 film. Anna now has a daughter and soon-to-be stepdaughter, and things start to get pretty freaky again as families blend.

Jared Leto plays Ares, a sophisticated AI who travels from the digital reality to the real world on a dangerous mission. Jeff Bridges returns as Kevin Flynn as seen in Tron and Tron: Legacy.

The bombastic arcade classic hits the big screen for the fourth time, bringing back the larger-than-life icon Johnny Cage (Karl Urban). To no one’s surprise, this film is rated R, so get ready to see some brutal action.

Wicked fans will need to wait until November to see the second part of this musical-to-film adaptation, but that just means more opportunities to dance through life (or rewatch the first part and put the soundtrack on repeat).

This sequel to 2016’s Zootopia follows bunny police officer Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) and her fox friend Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman) as they team up to crack a new case that may be their biggest one yet.

You know it’s going to be a scary good time with a tagline like this one: “Anyone can survive five nights. This time, there will be no second chances. (Source: IMDb)” Like the last film, Jim Henson’s Creature Shop will work on the animatronics, so trust that Freddy Fazbear and crew will look their absolute spookiest.