Following a stellar 2024, 2025 looks to bring even more blockbuster movies to the big screen. Films such as Captain America: Brave New World and Fantastic Four: First Steps have caught the attention of many students at Champe who will be watching these films in theaters.
While many mature and action-heavy movies are set to premiere in 2025, one of the most interesting films is targeted primarily at children. “Even though the trailer is awful, The Minecraft Movie is an intriguing one to keep an eye on,” Film Studies teacher Peter Kim said. “Minecraft is now the biggest played video game in the world, so there will be a following to the box office.”
Kim also states that the movie’s success will be indicated by whether or not it rakes in over a billion dollars at the box-office. While its trailer left many people questioning the legitimacy of the project, there is no doubt that fans of all ages will pay to watch the movie in theaters which will ultimately increase the total ticket sales for the film.
While The Minecraft Movie is receiving much attention as a stand-alone film, two other movies- The New Captain America and The Fantastic Four Films- are also receiving massive amounts of attention from the media.
“Fantastic Four: First Steps has to be my most anticipated upcoming movie for this year,” junior Ethan Luberecki said. “The new teaser trailer really sold me, as it brings that sense of a new age that the old age of MCU superheroes once brought to fans like me.”
The trailer for the film has garnered lots of attention on social media, with many comparing it to the previous Fantastic Four films and already seeing it as superior. The use of social media was much needed by Marvel to draw attention to this movie as they have recently struggled to produce enjoyable films for fans.
“While different movies can subjectively influence different persons’ lives,” Luberecki said. “At this day in age, social media has the most influence than any other medium in the history of mankind.”
Through the use of social media, fans across the globe can express their thoughts on films which can either help or hurt their performance at the box office. Films like 2016’s Ghostbusters received heavy criticism online before it’s release which hindered it’s performance, while on the other hand, 2022’s Smile received massive attention and praise from it’s social media campaign which led to a larger audience watching it.
This trend can also be seen in the length of films as more and more movies are shortening their runtimes to cater more for the Gen Z audience.
“I also think shorter movies are making a return due to the younger audiences finding more entertainment in short-form media,” Kim said. “This doesn’t please me, but I understand this is an industry highly driven by capitalism.”
Another particular film which has gotten a lot of praise online is the new James Gunn film, Superman, which has a lot riding on its shoulders. The film aims to be a successful reboot to the DC film franchise and is the most anticipated movie for senior Syed Moeid.
“I am very curious to how he’s [James Gunn] going to make this new Superman movie different from the old ones,” Moeid said. “I think that this new Superman would create some opinions on how it’s different from the old one and might spark up some debate.”
The debate Moeid presents is about whether or not Superman can be made relevant to the modern audience due to his age and past failures in the film industry. While some criticism of the film has been made, through the use of social media apps such as TikTok and Youtube, there has been a strong push to promote the movie positively which has allowed a majority of people to look forward to it.
The huge slate of movies coming out this year show that while big names are still required to gain attention, that’s not everything you need. Social Media allows for more people to be made aware of a film, and allows it to receive more attention through positive or negative press.
“Social media provides the opportunity of connecting individuals from various geographically lengthy distances,” Luberecki said. “Movies can be just as special to people, but it just doesn’t have the accessibility nor does it have any of the intractable communication methods required to reach the same influence social media provides on our generation.”
