Box Office: Five Key Questions for July

Which of this month's copious "Hollywood attempts to revive a franchise after one or more failed reboots" releases (Superman, Fantastic Four, Smurfs, etc.) will actually entice moviegoers?

Think of this as a July box office preview. And while I’ll again offer up a key question related to each major wide theatrical release, they will mostly be variations on the same question: To what extent will audiences thrill to revamped, revived, or outright recycled versions of once successful (or were only successful once or twice) would-be franchises? Yes, the answer will hopefully be different for each of the five biggies. However, it’s frankly terrifying that five of the six wide theatrical offerings for the entire month are the exact opposite of new or even new-to-cinema franchises. Heck, only one qualifies as a new installment of a present-tense successful property, alongside one legacy sequel and three reboots.

And you wonder why I panicked when I walked out of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Anyway, the year-to-date box office for 2025 just passed $4 billion in North America, not bad considering that I’d argue only April and May would qualify as “big” months for big new movies. As previously noted, the strong holdover business for Lilo & Stitch ($141 million just last month), Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning ($72 million likewise) and Final Destination: Bloodlines ($29 million over the previous thirty days) papered over a pretty miserable June in terms of newbies. Of course, the one tentpole-sized hit was a glorified shot-by-shot remake of the animated (and barely 15-year-old) How to Train Your Dragon. So, without further ado, here we go.