The big list of the most anticipated films for the rest of 2025

(Clockwise from top left) Superman, Fantastic Four, Avatar and Wicked. PHOTOS: 2025 WBEI, THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY, UIP
2025 movie guide: The best of the rest of the year
SINGAPORE – Ne Zha 2, A Minecraft Movie and Lilo & Stitch are the top three highest-grossing movies of 2025 so far, but there is still plenty of time for a fresh slate of titles to catch up at the box office.
From June to December, expect plenty of strong contenders that have something for everyone, from tentpole blockbusters and franchise sequels to noteworthy indie and Asian offerings.
Adapted from the globally popular webtoon of the same title, South Korean action-fantasy Omniscient Reader: The Prophecy (July 31) deals with Kim Dokja (Ahn Hyo-seop), an ordinary office worker who enters a world in which the events of his favourite web novel, set in an apocalypse, have come to pass.
It also stars Jisoo from K-pop girl group Blackpink as Jihye, a member of Kim's group of survivors.
Jisoo as Lee Jihye in the action-fantasy Omniscient Reader: The Prophecy.
PHOTO: GOLDEN VILLAGE
Another Asian title with star appeal is the action-crime thriller The Shadow's Edge (Aug 8), featuring two greats of Chinese cinema, Jackie Chan and Tony Leung Ka Fai.
Fans are cheering the action-filled, darker tone of the trailer, signalling Chan's return to the hardcore police drama genre. He plays a retired surveillance expert called back to service to hunt an old nemesis, Leung's master criminal.
Jackie Chan in the crime drama The Shadow's Edge.
PHOTO: SHAW ORGANISATION
Third time could be the charm for the Downton Abbey (2019 to 2025) and Now You See Me (2013 to present) film series.
Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale (Sept 11) marks the final chapter of the historical drama based on characters created by English screenwriter Julian Fellowes for the TV series of the same name (2010 to 2015).
The sequel to Downton Abbey: A New Era (2022) finds returning characters Robert Crawley (Hugh Bonneville), Lady Mary Talbot (Michelle Dockery) and others from the aristocratic family dealing with the challenges of a turbulent new decade: the 1930s.
(From third left) Laura Carmichael as Lady Edith, Harry Hadden-Paton as Bertie Hexham, Elizabeth McGovern as Cora Grantham, Hugh Bonneville as Robert Grantham and Michelle Dockery as Lady Mary in Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale.
PHOTO: UIP
The latest instalment of the popular heist franchise, Now You See Me: Now You Don't (Nov 13), sees the return of the Four Horsemen group of illusionist-thieves (played by Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco and Isla Fisher).
This time, the team risks it all to steal a diamond owned by a crime syndicate run by the ruthless matriarch Veronika (Rosamund Pike).
(From left) Justice Smith as Charlie, Ariana Greenblatt as June, Dominic Sessa as Bosco, Jesse Eisenberg as Daniel Atlas, Isla Fisher as Henley Reeves and Dave Franco as Jack Wilder in Now You See Me: Now You Don't.
PHOTO: ENCORE FILMS
When it comes to streaming services, Netflix's line-up leads the pack.
Frankenstein, Oscar-winning Mexican film-maker Guillermo del Toro's take on Mary Shelley's 1818 Gothic novel of the same name, premieres in November.
Oscar Isaac will take the title role of the scientist hoping to resurrect the dead while Jacob Elordi will play the monster in a movie that del Toro has been shaping for close to 30 years.
Oscar Isaac in Gothic science-fiction horror Frankenstein.
PHOTO: NETFLIX
Also on Netflix at year's end will be Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery (Dec 12), the third instalment of the Agatha Christie-inspired whodunnit franchise, after Knives Out (2019) and Glass Onion (2022).
English actor Daniel Craig returns as Benoit Blanc, the urbane private detective with the mellifluous Southern accent. This time, he is called upon to investigate a murder set among members of the Catholic Church, if the number of characters who are members of the clergy is anything to go by. Josh O'Connor and Josh Brolin play priests .
(From left) Josh O'Connor and Daniel Craig in the mystery film, Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery.
PHOTO: NETFLIX
If you are buzzing only about the biggies, here is what you need to know about the 10 most anticipated major releases in the second half of the year.
28 Years Later (June 19)
Aaron Taylor-Johnson (left) and Alfie Williams in 28 Years Later.
PHOTO: SONY PICTURES
This horror franchise sets itself apart from others through its chilling realism. Getting hit by a droplet of contaminated blood means infection; no bite necessary. Safe zones are breached not by zombie armies, but by careless residents.
The shocks are grounded in scarily plausible events, borne out by the global pandemic events of 2020 to 2023.
Director Danny Boyle has argued that the original movie, 2002's 28 Days Later, and its 2007 sequel 28 Weeks Later were never zombie movies, despite the films sparking a revival of movies in that genre. Rather, they are horror films about sickness and infection.
Whatever he believes, the third movie, 28 Years Later, is eagerly awaited, especially as it marks the return of the original creators, Boyle and screenwriter Alex Garland.
Set in a post-apocalyptic landscape dotted by highly protected islands of the uninfected, it stars Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Ralph Fiennes as survivors.
The film is the first of a new series set in the same virus-ridden world. The second entry, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, directed by Nia DaCosta, is due on Jan 15. A third film by Boyle is in the works.
F1 The Movie (June 26)
Brad Pitt is race driver Sonny Hayes in the sports drama F1 The Movie.
PHOTO: 2025 WBEI
This movie takes the honour of being the lone original property on this list, more proof that Hollywood has retreated to franchises and sequels in 2025.
Director Joseph Kosinski has argued that his naval aviator drama Top Gun: Maverick (2022) was never about fast planes but about the pilots.
In the sports drama F1 The Movie, set in the world of competitive racing, he has said the same. Kosinski appears to be re-applying the Top Gun story template: In an arena in which the best of the best compete, an older man is called into action and becomes a mentor to a younger one.
Brad Pitt is Sonny Hayes, a veteran who comes out of retirement to mentor the up-and-coming Joshua Pearce (Damson Idris).
For extra realism, Pitt and Idris trained to hit top speeds of over 280kmh in a camera-studded car, placing viewers in the heart of the action, with scenes filmed at real F1 racing circuits such as Japan's Suzuka International Racing Course and Italy's Monza Circuit.
As it is an original movie, it is low on the anticipation list. But Kosinski's ability to meld character-driven emotion with action could give F1 The Movie good word of mouth after its release.
Jurassic World Rebirth (July 2)
(From left) Luna Blaise and the T-Rex in Jurassic World Rebirth.
PHOTO: UIP
We know. The previous film in the franchise, Jurassic World Dominion (2022), was a mess, earning the lowest Rotten Tomatoes score of the series (26 per cent), with waning box-office figures greeting each release.
Its maker, Universal Pictures, hopes to claw back the audience goodwill lost over the years.
Director Gareth Edwards is new to the franchise and helmed the well-received prequel Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), as well as another film about scaly monsters, Godzilla (2014), which was a hit.
Also, it is goodbye to Chris Pratt's Owen Grady, a figure whose bro energy not everyone liked. An all-new cast headed by Scarlett Johansson, backed by Mahershala Ali and Jonathan Bailey, is in charge.
The story marks a return to the franchise's roots: surviving an island of horrors. Humans live in a dinosaur-free world, with the reptiles' territory reduced to small tropical sites.
Special operative Zora Bennett (Johansson), led by team leader Duncan Kincaid (Ali) and aided by palaeontologist Henry Loomis (Bailey), is to sneak onto a dinosaur island to retrieve biological samples that hold the key to a revolutionary new drug. The big bad here is the Distortus rex, a mutated Tyrannosaurus rex with six limbs.
Superman (July 10)
(From left) Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane and David Corenswet as Clark Kent/Superman in the superhero reboot Superman.
PHOTO: 2025 WBEI
Based on trailer views and other metrics, this could be the most anticipated flick of them all.
As with Jurassic World Rebirth, 2025's Superman hopes to fight franchise fatigue with an overhaul. This rebooted superhero origin story comes loaded with a new actor as the hero (David Corenswet), new director (James Gunn) and a brighter tone that contrasts with previous helmer Zack Snyder's grimmer, greyer take.
Clark Kent (Corenswet) is a naive young man from rural America, new to the intensity of both Metropolis city and his employer, the newspaper The Daily Planet, where he meets hotshot reporter Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan).
Despite being labelled naive and unrealistic, Kent/Superman stays true to the values he picked up at home in Smallville, Kansas. His belief that kindness must prevail over shades of grey is what drives the story, says Gunn (Guardians Of The Galaxy, 2014 to 2023; The Suicide Squad, 2021), writer-director and chief executive of DC Studios.
The movie introduces characters who will loom large in future chapters of the rebooted franchise, including villainous mastermind Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult), and the superheroes Metamorpho (Anthony Carrigan), Mister Terrific (Edi Gathegi), Green Lantern (Nathan Fillion) and Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced).
The Fantastic Four: First Steps (July 24)
(From left) Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm/The Thing, Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm/Invisible Woman, Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic and Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm/Human Torch in The Fantastic Four: First Steps.
PHOTO: THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY
The third Marvel movie releasing in 2025, after Captain America: Brave New World and Thunderbolts*, could be the one Marvel fans are looking forward to most.
This fresh do-over comes after three previous attempts (Fantastic Four, 2005; Rise Of The Silver Surfer, 2007; and the reboot that tanked at the box office, 2015's Fantastic Four).
What is new here is that the beloved characters, known as Marvel's First Family, will exist alongside other superheroes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), opening the door to collaborations.
The 1960s setting – on a version of Earth with advanced technology – is interesting too. The new cast is also stacked with talent: Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic, Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm/Invisible Woman, Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm/The Thing and Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm/Human Torch.
As the superhero team, they must prevent Earth from being consumed by the cosmic being Galactus, whose arrival is announced by his herald, the Silver Surfer (Julia Garner).
Director Matt Shakman won praise from critics for directing all nine episodes of the WandaVision (2021) Marvel miniseries for Disney+, after having worked on episodes of shows like the fantasy hit Game Of Thrones (2011 to 2019).
Tron: Ares (Oct 9)
A scene from Tron: Ares.
PHOTO: THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY
Tron: Ares comes 15 years after the previous film, Tron: Legacy (2010), which itself came 28 years after the original film Tron (1982).
Will anyone care or even remember? This standalone sequel's release being scheduled for the latter part of the year, after the crowded summer blockbuster season, indicates that Walt Disney Pictures does not hold high hopes for it.
However, trailer views and other online trends indicate that Tron: Ares has a fan base willing to turn out in numbers strong enough to give it a good chance of success at the box office.
Predator: Badlands (Nov 6)
Thia (Elle Fanning) in Predator: Badlands.
PHOTO: THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY
Director Dan Trachtenberg revived the Predator franchise with Prey (2022), the story of an 18th-century Comanche woman's fight for survival against a technologically advanced alien foe.
This time, the action will move from Earth to the future, on a planet far away. Also, this is the first film with a Predator as its primary focus, rather than a human.
Dek (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi) is a young Yautja – the race of hunters known on Earth as Predators – who has been cast out because he lacks the aggression and strength his race admires.
He and the android Thia (Elle Fanning) must beat the odds on a dangerous planet to not just survive, but also reclaim his honour.
Wicked: For Good (Nov 20)
(From left) Ariana Grande is Glinda and Cynthia Erivo is Elphaba in Wicked: For Good.
PHOTO: UIP
The second part of the film adaptation of the beloved Broadway musical will conclude the story of the misunderstood Elphaba and the popular Glinda, played by Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande respectively.
While Wicked: For Good lacks the broad appeal of superhero and action films like Superman, Fantastic Four: First Steps or Avatar: Fire And Ash, its healthy trailer views still point to strong interest among those waiting to see the outcomes for both characters, now labelled the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good following the events of Wicked (2024).
Fans of the musical have responded well to director Jon M. Chu's lavish sets, costumes and fidelity to the music, and are likely to shower as much love on the next chapter as they did the first.
Zootopia 2 (Nov 27)
Zootopia 2 marks the return of rookie cops Nick Wilde (voiced by Jason Bateman) and Judy Hopps (voiced by Ginnifer Goodwin).
PHOTO: THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY
The return of the brave, cheerful rabbit detective Judy Hopps (voiced by Ginnifer Goodwin) and her cop colleague, the sly fox Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman), is a long time coming, making it the only animated movie to crack The Straits Times' top 10 list.
In this sequel to Zootopia (2016), winner of the Oscar for Best Animated Feature in 2017, a new villain appears. Gary De'Snake (voiced by Ke Huy Quan) is causing chaos in the mammal republic of Zootopia and the two officers are assigned to the case.
The first movie won critical acclaim for addressing issues of racial and cultural bias and stereotyping while keeping the tone light and family-friendly, at the same time making over US$1 billion (S$1.28 billion) at the global box office.
Avatar: Fire And Ash (Dec 18)
Zoe Saldana as Neytiri in Avatar: Fire And Ash.
PHOTO: THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY
The Avatar movies (Avatar, 2009; Avatar: The Way Of Water, 2022) continue to be outliers, releasing at the end of the year even though blockbusters traditionally head to cinemas from June to September.
Director James Cameron has said he likes the December dates because of reduced competition from other films, but it should be said that his Avatar movies will be box-office smashes no matter when they come out.
The science-fiction saga of soldier-turned-rebel Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and his partner and fellow warrior Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) has been hugely successful , putting this film in the top three alongside Superman and Fantastic Four .
In Fire And Ash, the couple and their children explore the planet of Pandora, discovering the Ash People, a civilisation that lives near volcanoes. This film will be followed by the fourth and fifth chapters, to be released in 2029 and 2031.
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The 2024/2025 winner for Asia was Indonesian-Canadian chef Ardy Ferguson of Hong Kong's Belon restaurant – while Singapore's contender William Yee of Labyrinth took home a consolation 'Connection in Gastronomy' award for his focus on culinary heritage. A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU Friday, 2 pm Lifestyle Our picks of the latest dining, travel and leisure options to treat yourself. Sign Up Sign Up Singapore chefs triumph Singapore is the top performer at Spyca, having won four out of the six regional editions, says Caroni. The inaugural 2015 regional contest was won by now-veteran chef Kirk Westaway, who helms the two-Michelin-starred Jaan by Kirk Westaway and is also a Spyca mentor. Burnt Ends alumnus Jake Kellie followed up in 2017, while Kevin Wong – who now runs the one-Michelin-starred Seroja – won in 2019. In 2022, former Naeum chef Ian Goh took the top spot for the region, and also placed in the top three globally that year. Wong did the same in 2019. Goh, a Singaporean, is now a culinary arts lecturer at the Institute of Technical Education. He says: 'Winning was a real turning point for me. It set me apart from being just another cook in the system and gave me a platform to grow. I had the opportunity to meet Michelin-starred chefs from around the world, who gave me valuable insights, especially on global challenges like staffing shortages and how the industry can better attract new talent.' While the exposure brought business opportunities, he sees himself more as an educator. 'One of the topics brought up a lot was sustainability. But I realised that it's not just about being eco-conscious; it also applies to the people behind the food. The sustainability of staff – their well-being, growth and fulfilment.' This is especially so in the current economic climate, where the food and beverage industry is going through a major shake-up – not just in Singapore but in the rest of the world. 'One of the biggest challenges young Singaporean chefs face today is matching their passion for food with the realities of the industry,' adds Goh. Spyca finalists preparing lunch for the event. PHOTO: SPYCA 'The expectations and pressure on young chefs these days are much higher than before,' says Caroni. 'With evolving consumer expectations (around) shorter, more personalised and unique meal experiences, there is now an increasing need for young chefs to play the role of a 'storyteller', to express their individual culinary identity against the backdrop of a culinary scene that is increasingly embracing diversity.' He adds: 'The growing emphasis on sustainability also means a need to promote environmentally conscious food systems and healthy eating habits, while staying true to their beliefs.' Read the (dining) room Speaking at the Seoul event, mentor and juror Richie Lin of Mume in Taipei notes that the three- to four-hour fine dining experience has become a thing of the past. 'The younger generation has a shorter attention span, and this is going to change the way we run restaurants.' 'It's all about changing and adapting, giving some freedom back to the customers by letting them control how much they want to eat,' he adds. 'Alcohol consumption is also dropping, especially with the younger generation, who don't want to drink at all. So you want to give options.' 'Balancing what we want to cook and what diners want is always a tussle,' adds fellow mentor Han Li Guang of Labyrinth. 'For example, 'locavorism' is laudable, but what if the local produce isn't good enough? I used to be very focused on local products, but that has reduced over the years. 'Do you want customers to eat your philosophy or just dine? A lot of young chefs jump on this bandwagon (of going local). But they need to think about it. Do local if the quality justifies it – not because it's local and you want to market it as such.' Meanwhile, Spyca continues its role while evolving with the times, says Caroni. 'We believe in the power of taste and creativity to transform lives.' And for young chefs like Law Jia-Jun, chef-owner of Province who also took part in this year's Spyca but did not place, the experience itself was invaluable. 'It challenges chefs to go beyond the familiar, to innovate and improve under pressure,' he says. 'It cultivates a sense of community, and without a platform like this, many of us would never have had an opportunity to meet. The environment of mutual learning and high standards in such competitions is also great for our professional development.'