The 2025 box office was dominated by animated movies, but the action genre had its fair share of big hits as well. The past year saw an intriguing mix of action films, ranging from superhero fare to violent and gritty pictures to a sports movie that featured intense and thrilling sequences.
It made for a varied year when it comes to the action genre. A few franchises continued, one came to its likely conclusion, and another started up an entire new film series. Throw in an exciting international blockbuster and the highest-grossing action movies of 2025 is as good as it gets.
The Accountant 2 – $103.3 Million
While 2016’s The Accountant was a solid box office hit, it is mostly now remembered for its constant airing on networks like TNT. Nobody really expected they’d get a sequel nearly a decade later, yet that’s what happened and it turned out great.
The film shifts the focus to the brotherly bond between Ben Affleck’s Christian Wolff and Jon Bernthal’s Braxton. Their opposing personalities make every scene they share interesting, while Affleck and Bernthal’s chemistry really helped carry the movie.
The action was wall-to-wall and exciting, which made sure that the audiences who headed to theaters to see it got their money’s worth. The Accountant 2 was seen as either an improvement on the original or about on par with it, and it made $103.3 million.
Karate Kid: Legends – $117.1 Million
The entire setup of Karate Kid: Legends is one of the oddest additions to a franchise in recent memory. The Karate Kid series was mostly forgotten until Cobra Kai rose in popularity and made it cool again. The latest installment in the film series didn’t really act as a follow-up to the show or include many nods to it.
While Cobra Kai did end on a perfect note, had this movie included at least some of the characters we’d grown to love on the show, it likely would’ve made more money. Still, fans of the franchise were excited to see Ralph Macchio and Jackie Chan share the screen.
Karate Kid: Legends grossed $117.1 million and is a fine addition to the franchise, though reviews were mixed. Many found it odd that there was so much focus on protagonist Li Fong training Joshua Jackson’s Victor Lipani to box, while the karate itself was lacking.
From The World Of John Wick: Ballerina – $137.2 Million
It’s rare for an original idea to become a blockbuster franchise, yet John Wick has pulled that off spectacularly. Starting as a relatively simple movie about a former assassin going on a revenge tour after the dog his deceased wife gifted him was killed, it has grown into something way bigger.
So much lore has been added and characters now go globe-trotting as the box office numbers keep rising. 2025 saw the release of the spin-off, From the World of John Wick: Ballerina, which follows Ana de Armas’ Eve Macarro, a ballerina who trains in the traditions of the Ruska Roma.
While the movie did bring in $137.2 million, that was seen as a disappointment given Keanu Reeves’ inclusion and the franchise’s prior success. Still, those who did see this were treated to a blast of an action movie with some of the wildest fight scenes anywhere.
Dhurandhar – $137.2 Million
A lot of the biggest movies from 2025 were international features. Ne Zha 2 topped the overall box office, while Detective Chinatown 1900, Dead to Rights, and 731 all ranked high. Dhurandhar was another in that category and it was the top international action film of the year.
Dhurandhar, an Indian Hindi-language film, centers on a covert counter-terrorism operation as it sees an undercover Indian agent infiltrating Karachi’s criminal syndicate in Pakistan to take down a terrorist network. The movie is meant to be the first part of a duology.
Dhurandhar was a big hit, raking in $137.2 million and setting the stage for a sequel that is highly anticipated. That said, reviews were rather mixed and there is controversy surrounding the picture due to some factual inaccuracies and its overall political message.
One Battle After Another – $208.3 Million
To be fair, One Battle After Another does lean heavily into the thriller genre but there’s more than enough action to classify it in this section. The film has been a massive critical hit, earning Paul Thomas Anderson a Best Director Golden Globe win and Best Director Oscar nomination.
On top of that, the cast has been praised, especially Best Supporting Actress Golden Globe winner Teyana Taylor and the debuting Chase Infiniti. The film follows an ex-revolutionary (Leonardo DiCaprio) who is forced to go on the run (as is his daughter) when a corrupt military officer comes after them.
On paper, One Battle After Another wasn’t likely to be a big hit. However, the combination of its star power (with the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio as the lead) and impressive word of mouth allowed it to exceed expectations and pull in $208.2 million worldwide.
Thunderbolts* – $382.4 Million
The Marvel Cinematic Universe has been in something of a rut over the past few years. The quality of the films and shows are much more up and down, while the box office numbers have been dwindling outside of a few exceptions like 2024’s Deadpool and Wolverine.
2025 saw three films released and the lowest-grossing of the bunch, Thunderbolts*, is still viewed by many as the best of them all. The movie had an uphill battle as it doesn’t feature any of the big name superheros, instead following a group of antiheroes who mostly don’t have powers outside of super soldier serum.
Thunderbolts* relied on telling an intriguing story that brought these characters together, bonding them through trauma. The whole thing was anchored by Florence Pugh’s tremendous performance as Yelena Belova and set the group up as the new Avengers. Thunderbolts* grossed a solid $382.4 million.
Captain America: Brave New World – $415.1 Million
While Thunderbolts* and The Fantastic Four: First Steps (more sci-fi than action) were considered strong entries into the MCU, Captain America: Brave New World is widely seen as the weakest of the three films and of the four Captain America solo projects as well.
Fans still flocked to see Sam Wilson’s first official outing as Captain America to the tune of $415.1 million. While that’s a far cry from the MCU at its peak, it still bodes well enough for the character going forward. However, the reviews told a less favorable story.
Captain America: Brave New World only has a 46% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and it was criticized for its screenplay and visual effects. While the performances, especially by Anthony Mackie, were good, it was an odd choice to make this movie something of a sequel to the forgotten 2008 The Incredible Hulk film.
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning – $598.7 Million
After nearly 30 years, it looks like Tom Cruise’s Mission: Impossible franchise has come to an end. The final story was broken up into two parts, though both struggled to get to the high mark set by Mission: Impossible – Fallout in 2018, in terms of both quality and box office intake.
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning sees Ethan Hunt and his IMF team continue to try and stop the rogue artificial intelligence known as the Entity from destroying the world. It has high stakes and, as always, Cruise delivered the action that fans hope to see.
There are some incredible scenes, whether it’s the intense submarine sequence or Ethan’s plane chase at the end, that live up to what the franchise is known for. It might not have been at the level of Fallout but The Final Reckoning grossing $598.7 million was impressive.
Superman – $618.7 Million
The MCU’s struggles are nothing compared to what DC has gone through. Their attempts at a shared universe were mostly misfires, while their biggest successes have been standalone projects like The Batman in 2022. Enter James Gunn to try and turn things around.
Superman acts as the first movie in his somewhat rebooted universe, giving us a new take on the Man of Steel. It follows Superman dealing with the threat that Lex Luthor poses and facing outcry from the public after a truth is revealed about his parentage. The film ended up as a big hit, grossing $618.7 million.
What really made Superman work is how Gunn understands the character. Dave Corenswet’s Superman is a beacon of hope who sees the good in everyone and loves the human part of himself. It’s refreshing to see the character handled this way and we can’t wait to see more of him.
F1: The Movie – $633.1 Million
In a surprising result, the top action movie at the worldwide box office in 2025 is actually a sports film. While F1 doesn’t feature gunfights, hand-to-hand combat, or anything along those lines, there’s no doubt that it’s an action movie.
Directed by Joseph Kosinski, he brings the style he brought to Top Gun: Maverick to the racetrack. Cameras inside the cars make every race feel realistic and you’re on the edge of your seat watching it all unfold. When there are crashes, you gasp, and when the race is tight, you’re hoping to see the heroes come out on top.
F1 surprised many by raking in $633.1 million, yet it’s exactly the kind of thing you need to see on a big IMAX screen. Add in its Best Picture nod at the Academy Awards and the film is a bona fide hit.
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