“Great Legs” Prove Vital as โBox โOffice Rebuilds in 2025
LOS ANGELESโ – Aโค surprising trend is reshaping the 2025 box office landscape: films demonstrating โstrong “legs” – sustained audience โinterest over weeksโ – โขareโ driving โa remarkable industry recovery. While initial weekend numbers remainโ crucial, the ability of movies to maintain viewership is provingโฃ crucial for profitability, defying earlier predictions ofโค a post-pandemic box office slump. This shift signals a rebuilding filmgoing โขculture where word-of-mouth and repeat viewings โare onceโข again โpowerful forces.
The success of films with strong โ”legs” is particularly evident in unexpectedโ places. Rebootsโ initially slated for streaming have โsignificantly outperformed expectations. Disney’s “Freakier Friday” earned nearly $150 โmillion domestically,โค while the live-action “Lilo & Stitch (2025)” remake grossed $423 million domestically – both โexceeding internal โprojections โgiven their original direct-to-streaming โplans.These results demonstrate studios โcan unlock โคsignificant revenue โby opting for theatrical releases even for projects initially โฃconceived for streaming platforms.
Beyond reboots, a wider variety of โgenres are finding success through sustained audience engagement. two โR-rated horror films, “Weapons”โฃ and “Final Destination: Bloodlines,” โฃbroke into the topโค 10 domestic summer box office earners.A24’s romantic dramedy โ”Materialists” has surpassed $100 million globally. This indicates audiences are embracing diverseโ content when it resonates and maintains appeal โคbeyond opening โweekend.
Though,โ not all blockbusters thrived. Pixar’s “Elio” andโฃ “Mission: Unachievable – The Final Reckoning” experienced setbacks, with the latter earning $600 million โglobally but falling short of its $800 million breakeven โฃpoint due โtoโฃ a $400 million production budget. Despite these losses, the overall trend points toward a revitalized filmgoingโค experience, โคwith studios finding ways โto monetize streaming content through theatrical releases and audiences โdemonstrating a willingness to return to cinemas for films that capture โtheir attention and hold it.