TAGGED AS: movies
Thanks to The Minecraft Movie and, more recently, Sinners, April 2025 actually turned out to be something of a success story for the theatrical movie biz. But May heralds the beginning of the summer movie season, which means big blockbusters and four-quadrant crowd-pleasers to bring in as much of that sweet summer vacation dough as possible.
With all that in mind, we asked you which movies you were most looking forward to this month, and while the top five themselves weren’t especially unexpected, how they placed did come as a little bit of a surprise.
No. 1
Release Date: May 23, 2025
In a month with a new Marvel movie, a new live-action adaptation of a Disney classic, a handful of solid horror choices, and several worthy re-releases, it was Tom Cruise’s final adventure as Ethan Hunt that took the top spot in our poll. Well, reportedly final adventure, anyway; we’ll have to wait and see about that. But as the first Mission: Impossible film to be a directly related sequel to its predecessor, fans might also be looking forward to how the story pans out, so it’s not a big surprise to see it at No. 1.
No. 2
Thunderbolts*
(2025)
Release Date: May 2, 2025
Next up is the aforementioned Marvel movie, namely the one featuring a ragtag gang of B-tier characters assembled in the absence of the Avengers to help take out a global threat. While it could be argued that few, if any, of the Thunderbolts* would be considered fan favorites, and that arguably no one was necessarily clamoring to see them again, reviews of the film have been quite positive, calling it a slight course correction for the franchise ahead of the release some of its most anticipated films in years.
No. 3
Lilo & Stitch
(2025)
Release Date: May 23, 2025
Lilo & Stitch is the latest Disney animated classic to get the live-action remake treatment, and while the studio hasn’t exactly been hitting those out of the park (see: Snow White), the buzz on this one is pretty high. The film opens on the same weekend as Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, and early word has the pairing set to bring in potentially record box office numbers, so it’s fitting that the film shows up in our top five.
No. 4
Final Destination Bloodlines
(2025)
Release Date: May 16, 2025
It’s been almost a decade and a half since the last installment of the death-as-Rube-Goldbergian-slasher franchise known as Final Destination, and while they were never critical darlings, there was always a dedicated fanbase ready to delight in the series’ inventive death scenes. On top of that, fans will certainly be interested to learn how this chapter fits into the existing timeline and lore, and it marks the final film role for the late, great Tony Todd.
No. 5
Karate Kid: Legends
(2025)
Release Date: May 28, 2025
Finally, we have another franchise revival — sort of — with Karate Kid: Legends. We say “sort of” because the Netflix spin-off series Cobra Kai just ended its run earlier this year. And while Ralph Macchio’s Daniel LaRusso reportedly wasn’t originally part of this film’s story, the final result sees him traveling to New York and teaming up with Jackie Chan’s Mr. Han (from 2010’s The Karate Kid) to train a new student for a martial arts tournament. It’s a familiar formula, sure, but it’s one that works.
Thumbnail images by ©Paramount Pictures, ©Disney, ©Marvel Studios
