It wasn’t a great year at the box office overall in 2025, but a few genres still had strong showings. Among them was fantasy, which is often the case because these films tend to be great for the whole family to enjoy, meaning there are plenty of nights out at the theater with big crowds.
It helped that the biggest fantasy movies in 2025 included sequels, remakes, and films based on existing IPs that are already popular. While there weren’t a ton of high-grossing fantasy films this past year, the ones that cracked $100 million worldwide made a big impact, including one that surpassed the $1 billion mark.
Freakier Friday – $153.1 Million
Back in 2003, audiences were treated to a new adaptation of Mary Rodgers’ Freaky Friday novel and it has gone on to become the defining one of this era. So many millennials grew up watching Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis’ body swap hijinks over and over.
Nobody really expected a sequel to arrive, especially over two decades later, yet that’s what we got in 2025 with Freakier Friday. The film does what all sequels should, by giving us more of what we liked the first time around, while also raising the stakes. Here, Lohan and Curtis’ characters swap with the former’s daughter and soon-to-be stepdaughter.
Like its predecessor, reviews for Freakier Friday were strong and contributed to its $153.1 million intake. People are used to legacy sequels being disappointing, so when they heard this was good, it likely helped the box office. Plenty of millennial parents took their kids to see this and had a blast.
Snow White – $205.6 Million
Not many movies had more controversy surrounding them in 2025 than Snow White. The live-action remake of Disney’s first full-length animated film was met with disdain by many for everything from not casting actors with dwarfism to play the dwarfs to the opposing views of stars Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot.
In fact, there were plenty of people who actively boycotted this movie and that hurt its box office. While the $205.6 million that it grossed worldwide does mean it ranks high, it also came with a reported budget of over $300 million, making it one of the biggest flops in Disney history.
That said, there were still a lot of folks who went to see this or found it on streaming afterward. Outside of review-bombing, actual critics weren’t too fond of the film either, though one consistent aspect that received praise was Zegler’s performance as the titular Snow White.
Now You See Me: Now You Don’t – $242.4 Million
In 2013, Now You See Me became a surprise hit as a clever and creative thriller about magicians who pull off impressive heists. It was an intriguing blend of two cool concepts that was boosted by a charismatic cast including Jesse Eisenberg, Isla Fisher, and Woody Harrelson, among others.
The sequel that arrived a few years later was also solid, yet it cost more and grossed less. It looked like the franchise was done, only for Now You See Me: Now You Don’t to get announced. It brought back the original cast while introducing several new, younger cast members.
Now You See Me: Now You Don’t grossed the lowest total of any installment at $242.5 million, yet it was a success. It breathed new life into the franchise and gave us more of what we love from it. Even before the third entry arrived, a fourth was greenlit, showing the series has impressive staying power.
Wicked: For Good – $525.8 Million
One of the biggest movies of 2024 was Wicked, which pulled in over $700 million. The first of two parts of this adaptation of the stage play of the same name, fans should’ve been eager to see the conclusion of what happened between Elphaba and Glinda, especially with The Wizard of Oz characters coming into play.
However, while Wicked: For Good still pulled in a strong $525.8 million, that was clearly down from the first installment. Part of the reason for the lower number is that the second half of the Wicked stage play is widely considered to be lesser, meaning audiences knew this wouldn’t be as good as the previous film.
Indeed, reviews for Wicked: For Good weren’t up to par with the first installment. Critics felt that this half of the story was rushed and the music was nowhere near as engaging this time around. Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande still put in stellar performances, though, which is certainly worth a viewing.
How To Train Your Dragon – $636.3 Million
More often than not, live-action remakes of animated films have been hits at the box office. They might not ever live up to or surpass the quality of the original film, but families still flock to the theaters to watch them and that was the case again with How to Train Your Dragon.
Unlike Disney’s live-action remakes, How to Train Your Dragon isn’t some classic from the ’90s or earlier, but instead is a film from just about a decade and a half ago. This new version is mostly a shot-for-shot remake, with even the original director behind it, yet that mostly worked.
It might not do anything new with the material, but this new How to Train Your Dragon is still a great film with a ton of heart. It received strong reviews and grossed a whopping $636.3 million worldwide. As expected, those kinds of numbers were enough to greenlight a live-action remake of the sequel.
A Minecraft Movie – $961.1 Million
For a long time, Minecraft has been one of the most popular video games in the world. It received widespread acclaim and is one of the highest-grossing games in history, yet it didn’t seem like the kind of thing that would ever translate well to the big screen. A Minecraft Movie proved that theory wrong.
The story focused on four misfits who get pulled into the cubic world and, with the help of a crafter named Steve, must find their way back to the real world. It only received mixed reviews from critics, yet that didn’t deter audiences from going to the theater in droves.
A Minecraft Movie pulled in an astounding $961.1 million, which was enough to rank fifth for 2025. Along with the game’s popularity, fans were likely brought in by the film’s star power, with Jack Black, Jason Momoa, and Wednesday star Emma Myers leading the way. A sequel is on the way.
Lilo & Stitch – $1.038 Billion
Disney was expected to slow down on live-action remakes after Snow White cost them so much money. However, Lilo & Stitch came later in the year and turned things back around by becoming the top-grossing fantasy film of 2025 and the fourth-highest-grossing movie of the year overall.
Like many other live-action remakes, a lot of Lilo & Stitch was kept the same from the animated version. However, they did make some notable changes to the film’s conclusion, which was met with a mixed response. In fact, the movie itself only received mixed reviews.
Still, it was easy for families to go see Lilo & Stitch in droves, which is what led it to surpass $1 billion at the box office, raking in $1.038 billion. This shows how beloved the original has become over the years, as the animated version made less than $300 million.
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