2025 is over, but it’s not too late to complain about it. We already hit you with the most disappointing TV shows of 2025. Now we go to the movies.
A note before we start: we’re not necessarily talking about bad movies, just disappointing ones. For instance, The Electric State and War of the Worlds are widely considered two of the worst movies of 2025, but how can you be disappointed if you didn’t expect them to be good in the first place? Then again, a movie can be bad and disappointing. Let’s see if any hit those magic numbers.
Captain America: Brave New World (Feb 14)
Not brave or new enough
We’re going in chronological order. The latest Captain America movie came out on Valentine’s Day before passing into Marvel mediocrity Valhalla. It’s kind of old hat to mock Marvel these days, but they keep deserving it so we keep coming back. This movie marked when Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) officially took over as Captain America from Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), and the whole thing landed with a soft flat thud. It’s not godawful, but there’s nothing especially special about Brave New World. From the lackluster action scene to the convoluted plot, everything felt middling, forgettable, so-so.
Marvel rebounded a bit later in the year with Thunderbolts* and The Fantastic Four: First Steps, but the franchise is still on notice. And we now know that the new Avengers movie will bring back Steve Rogers, further minimizing Wilson’s take on Cap.
Release Date
February 14, 2025
Runtime
118 minutes
Director
Julius Onah
Writers
Dalan Musson, Malcolm Spellman
Prequel(s)
Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War
Franchise(s)
Captain America, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Anthony Mackie
Sam Wilson / Captain America
Harrison Ford
Thaddeus ‘Thunderbolt’ Ross / Red Hulk
Giancarlo Esposito
Sidewinder
HIM (Sep 19)
Him?
HIM is not directed by Jordan Peele, but it is produced by him, and the marketing made sure you knew that. So people might have been expecting a movie on the level of Get Out or Us, a smart movie that straddled the line between horror, comedy, drama, and satire. And the idea sound really intriguing: a promising young football player (Tyriq Withers) is invited to train at an isolated compound owned by an aging quarterback (Marlon Wayans), where he’s put through punishing, bizarre, and finally violent and horrifying exercises.
This sounds like perfect material for a movie directed by Jordan Peele, which again, this isn’t. Instead, it’s a meandering, confused mess with lots of style and very little substance. 2025 was a good year for horror, but not for HIM.
Release Date
September 19, 2025
Runtime
96 minutes
Director
Justin Tipping
A Big Bold Beautiful Journey (Sep 19)
Beware falling twee
A Big Bold Beautiful Journey seemed to have a lot going for it: a hot upcoming director in Kogonada, a pair of charismatic stars in Margot Robbie and Colin Farrell, and a trailer that promised an intriguing mix of romance, comedy, and fantasy. What we got was a lightweight bit of fluff that somehow also takes itself too seriously to have any fun with its wild premise. Also, as talented as Robbie and Farrell are, they didn’t have much chemistry, which is problem when we spend pretty much the whole movie in their company.
Release Date
September 19, 2025
Runtime
109 minutes
Director
Kogonada
Jennifer Grant
David’s Mother
Hamish Linklater
David’s Father
Anemone (Oct 3)
When nepotism goes wrong
Daniel Day-Lewis is one of the greatest film actors of his or any generation. He’s Daniel Plainview in There Will Be Blood. He’s Bill the Butcher in Gangs of New York. So there were high expectations when it was announced that he’d be returning to acting after eight years of retirement in Anemone, where he plays a hermit who reunites with his estranged brother (Sean Bean).
And Lewis’ performance is indeed fantastic, but the movie itself is a pretentious slog with fussy, ambitious imagery that doesn’t really add up to anything. I have to note that it’s directed by Lewis’ son Ronan Day-Lewis, making his directorial debut. Maybe everyone was too close to the material to notice how dull it was.
Release Date
October 10, 2025
Runtime
97 minutes
Director
Ronan Day-Lewis
Writers
Daniel Day-Lewis, Ronan Day-Lewis
Daniel Day-Lewis
Ray Stoker
Safia Oakley-Green
Hattie
Tron: Ares (October 10)
Nine Inch Fails
The original Tron stunned people with its vision of a wholly computerized world way back in 1982. Tron: Legacy impressed people people in 2010 with vastly updated visuals and a cool cyberpunk narrative, not to mention a killer soundtrack from Daft Punk. Disney tried to make it a hat trick with Tron: Ares, but this is a classic case of reviving a franchise without a reason. Jared Leto is underwhelming in the lead role, the visuals are neat but no longer groundbreaking, and the story feels like it’s searching for a point it never quite finds.
Also, while Nine Inch Nails does its darndest to equal the music from Legacy, they fall short, which may be the most disappointing thing of all.
Release Date
October 8, 2025
Runtime
119 minutes
Director
Joachim Rønning
Evan Peters
Julian Dillinger
Gillian Anderson
Elisabeth Dillinger
Wicked: For Good (Nov 21)
A wicked letdown
Good movie musicals are hard to come by, so I was excited that the first Wicked movie faithfully translated the energy of the iconic stage show to the big screen. But I was afraid that the second half might disappoint, for Wicked: For Good proved me right.
Most of what’s wrong with the movie is also wrong with the play. The second half doesn’t have as many good songs, the plot gets overstuffed, and the compelling characters spend too much time apart. But at least in the theater you see everything in one sitting. Wicked: For Good is the less interesting part of a two-part story, presented by itself. Of course it’s a letdown.
Release Date
November 21, 2025
Runtime
137 Minutes
Director
Jon M. Chu
Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 (and maybe M3GAN 2.0) (December 5)
Horror sequels live up to their crappy reputation
Horror movie sequels have a reputation for being lackluster; even all these years later, the first entries in the Friday the 13th, Halloween, and Nightmare on Elm Street entries are still the best, to pick a few random examples. But 2025 had so many good horror movies, like Sinners and Weapons, that I was hoping for the best for Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, a follow-up to the 2023 adaptation of the popular video game about a security guard who has to spend a night in a pizza joint with a bunch of murderous animatronic animals.
But it was not to be: the sequel recycles the themes of the first movie but with less energy, less creativity, and less payoff. Much the same could be said of M3GAN 2.0, another horror sequel that came up short in 2025. Black Phone 2 was pretty solid so far as horror sequels go, but the curse remains largely unbroken.
Related
9 reboots of classic movies that are actually worth a watch
These reboots surpass the originals, bringing a whole new take on the films you already love.
You’ve tried the rest, now try the best
It’s fun to complain, but at the end of the day you want to watch quality movies, right? Well, there were plenty of those in 2025, including some great sci-fi flicks. It also looks like there’s great stuff coming in 2026, so hopefully when we get to the end of this year this list will be shorter.
Release Date
December 5, 2025
Director
Emma Tammi
Writers
Scott Cawthon
Matthew Lillard
William Afton