Why 2025 Proved We Need To Change The Way We Talk About The Box Office

Cinema is dying. movie theaters are an endangered species. The studio system continues to collapse before our eyes. On the whole, 2025 turned out to be a long and bleak march towards pessimism, although the industry was initially eyeing this mile mark and pinning all hopes on the slogan #SurviveTil25. All of these exaggerated statements came true… or, at least, seemed real enough to pose a clear and present danger to Hollywood as we know it. Moreover, this feeling of doom was widespread enough to break free from our internet bubble and escape confinement into the mainstream. For better or worse, this was the year that mainstream audiences became aware of the rhetoric surrounding production budgets, opening weekend screenings, and shareholder return on investment.

But a funny thing happened on the way to realizing every accounting geek’s dream: This growing narrative, which posits that numbers matter above all else in art, has received some success. Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners,” despite opposition from the industry, has become a word-of-mouth hit and a pop culture force. “One Battle After Another,” Paul Thomas Anderson’s big-budget passion project that analysts spent a year pondering, has helped reignite interest in the premium format and is a front-runner for the upcoming Oscars. Marvel Studios even debuted two of their most interesting efforts in quite some time, despite an overall lukewarm response from audiences.

Maybe 2025 in cinema will prove that we can – no, He should – Changing the way we discuss box office. No one denies that we live in a world where money talks. But maybe, just maybe, it doesn’t have to be that loud.

Let’s be clear: “sinners” are the exception to the rule. Blockbuster films in the vampire genre, with this much ambition and based on a completely original story, are not designed to survive in our post-pandemic theatrical landscape. Even with Ryan Coogler at the helm and Michael B. Jordan’s star power (technically, two of him) to its advantage, the many eyebrows raised when it was first announced were justified. Although the premise of a 1930s-set vampire siege was always interesting, Sinners was not a wise business decision…at least, according to conventional wisdom.

However, even outliers can teach us valuable lessons, such as the importance of letting things breathe. There’s certainly a reason why so much focus is placed on the opening weekend for the majority of films, but that never tells the whole story. Every now and then, there’s a little cinematic engine that hits the perfect cultural tipping point, taps into very specific political or social trends, and rides a steady buildup of momentum that studio executives never anticipated. “Sinners” is precisely that crowd-pleasing runaway rollercoaster, as pure a distillation of art and commerce as you’ll ever see. To flatten its entire existence to just the first three or four days of its release, especially for a film that celebrates decades upon decades of rich cultural history (as best illustrated by that barn-burning musical sequence), seems particularly jarring.

By all conceivable measures, “Sinners” was a huge success (and perhaps could have been more). Those who try to box him into a narrow, immediate vision of success seem absolutely ridiculous now. For the rest of us, its long-term viability was no surprise at all.

Not all films are created equally, or should be anyway. Once upon a time, it was accepted by industry insiders and audiences alike that “A Minecraft Movie” would help provide cover for “Mickey 17’s” financial shortcomings. No one could mistake this for studios wanting to be altruistic patrons of the arts, but at least it was an acknowledgment that movies had merits far beyond the bottom line.

In 2025, we need to return to that mindset more than ever. “Battle After Battle” is the year’s most glaring example of a money-losing project that can still be seen as a net gain, but it’s not the only one. Well-publicized hits like Yorgos Lanthimos’ “Bugonia,” Bong Joon Ho’s “Mickey 17,” or even Ari Aster’s divisive “Eddington” are all sure to make their presence felt for years to come. The Smashing Machine and Christy may have marked a turning point in the careers of Dwayne Johnson and Sidney Sweeney respectively. For those of us who long for a return to old adult-oriented movies, “Caught Stealing” and “Honey Don’t!” The “Black Bag” may have been an oasis in the desert.

Monetization will always have its place in our ecosystem (and if you ask me, /movie is better at this than most), but it doesn’t have to be the end goal of every single discussion. 2025 may not have been the box office panacea we initially hoped for, and it may end in a darker place. Fortunately, we can do our part by being a little more open about the way we talk about box office.