Stop calling everything a flop: It was a good year for the movies.

"The box office told a different story. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, annual box-office grosses routinely reached $10 to $11 billion. This year, totals are expected to fall short of $9 billion. "It looks like it's going to be two years in a row that the industry flatlined," Alamo Drafthouse COO Michael Sherrill told Variety. But if you look beyond the box-office numbers, you'd see the year was packed with wonderful movies. And it's just one reason we should be paying less attention to what the box office tells us."

"Some of the best movies of the year included "28 Years Later," "Blue Moon," "Sentimental Value," "Splitsville," "Hamnet," "If I Had Legs I'd Kick You," "Black Bag," and "Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning," and all but two made less than $11 million worldwide. "The Final Reckoning," which grossed $598 million at the box office, was still unable to become profitable due to ballooning production costs, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Another, "Black Bag," was a slick thriller starring Michael Fassbender and Cate Blanchett as a pair of married spies who are pitted against each other when a mole is discovered. This film was visually stunning, featured strong performances, and the tension never let up."

Annual global box-office totals in 2025 fell below $9 billion, down from pre-pandemic annual grosses of $10–$11 billion. Industry leaders described two consecutive years of flatlined grosses. Many critically acclaimed films premiered, including small-budget gems and notable titles, yet most of these earned under $11 million worldwide. Even a major franchise entry that grossed $598 million struggled to be profitable because of rising production costs. Adult-oriented films performed modestly, and younger generations such as Gen Z and Gen Alpha are increasingly important for sustaining film audiences and culture.

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