Another year of movies another mixed bag result that proves that we are still in the age where a bad movie can’t get by on hype alone while good movies are not guaranteed to be money makers, either. But in the age of streaming, does box office even matter?

That said, the box office was down a bit overall compared to 2024 but we saw a more even spread amongst the top 10. Everything in the top 10 this year made $250M+ up from $190M for #10 last year. But this year Minecraft topped the list at $424M compared to Inside Out 2’s $600M+ haul last year. Neck and neck with Minecraft was the live action Lilo & Stitch remake at $423M. I am still not sure why Disney decided to redo all of these movies as live action instead of something more inventive (cough: $) but here is a quick open letter to Disney: You have all this Disney IP, you have The Muppets you are not using, do Muppet remakes of everything. I’d throw money at a Muppets’ Alice In Wonderland or Star Wars.

The rest of the top 5 were some predictable crowd-pleasers: Superman, Jurassic World: Rebirth, and Zootopia 2. Surprisingly, Wicked: For Good failed to crack the top 5 after being thought a probable shoe-in for highest grossing film of the year.

This year, we saw a lot of great things including Weapons, Keeper, Sinners, Together, Predator: Badlands, The Naked Gun, The Monkey, Toxic Avenger, One Battle After Another, The Long Walk, and more. Overall, a really strong year for movies. Like we have been asking for the last several years, we are finally seeing a lot of movies hit that feel like the filmmakers actually have control of their films, for better or worse. Great to break from superheroes.

Streaming had some gems again this year including some things that didn’t make a huge splash in the theater but got good reviews on Letterboxd, like: Frankenstein (2025), Mickey 17, K-Pop Demon Hunters, Bugonia, and Marty Supreme.

For best theater experiences this year, it had to be Tron: Ares and Predator: Badlands in the Dolby Cinema. Predator is a better movie but Tron was a better audio visual blast to the face, thx NIИ.

Overall, our consensus for favorite movie of 2025 was Weapons. Just a great movie that does what it intends to do. We talked about it to everyone and almost everybody had great things to say.

2026 is looking to be another stacked year as well. Prediction: Nolan’s Odyssey will be the one to beat.

Psst! Down here! If you are reading still, shout out to Cereal Offenders. You didn’t hear it from me but we are having pre-production meetings on Cereal Offenders 2… but don’t tell anyone yet, shhhhh!

2017 - PG-13 - 9/10 - Yet another Nolan masterpiece.

Dunkirk is told as 3 parallel stories: one is one week out, one is one day out, one is one hour out from the point in the 3rd act where all three stories converge in the same scene. As the stories entertwine, we once again see Nolan’s ability to juggle tension and parallel storylines and find a way to pay things off together perfectly. From moment one, Dunkirk tosses you into the fray and is the most tense and effective war movie since Saving Private Ryan, lack of blood allows this a PG-13 but be ready for intensity.

1951 - G - 10/10 - Creativity pouring out of your screen.

One of my favorite films of all time, it is hard to believe this movie is 75 years old and still filled with this much life. Alice in Wonderland is essentially the story of a girl who stumbles into the woods, eats the wrong mushrooms, and has trouble finding her way home through a maze of psychedelic encounters. In Disney’s reworked version, she is merely napping but that just gives them cover to go all in on her crazy trip. Really a road movie through color-drenched weirdness, it still feels amazingly creative and vibrant.

2025 - R - 8/10 - Nightmare fuel but Osgood Perkins, ymmv.

Osgood Perkins can’t seem to get out of his way with some people but for other people he seems to be hitting all the right notes. I think his divisiveness comes not from style vs substance but, instead, how far vibes can take you in a film. If aesthetic grabs you then what he builds is a sense of foreboding and a lot of visuals that stick with you, the parts of films that only seem to come to mind in a darkened house when you hesitate to flip off the last light switch before going to bed. Another Perkins film you can’t unsee.

2025 - R - 9/10 - A modern take on western / samurai classics.

The first half hour of this movie is a devisive ride, at times very politically opinionated at times oddly sexual but this is just the backdrop to set things in motion, once we move out of the extended prologue into our true Act 1, things start to settle in and then we realize everything has just been a tee-up for the character drama we are about to witness. Making good on several western and samurai tropes about lost relations, returning foes, revenge, and redemption, this is a great movie and wild ride.

Rolling right out of the holidays in to a new year, we here at Thrills Ville are keeping busy. We saw some friends over the holidays (check out the new Scary But Not That Scary with Carrie and Nick) and with that came some new merch as well. Including some Star Wars and Spawn rarities!

EXCITING!

Joe also just took an adventure into the wilds of the Toy Man Toy Fair to track down even more goodies you need. So don’t worry, after the holiday blitz, we are restocked!

REASSURING!

Check out inside as we run through our favorite movies from 2025 one last time and recap a few things that are going on and projects we are ramping up on, including a few more direct hints about something I have been barely hinting at.

INTRIGUING!

ALSO LATE BREAKING NEWS: We are throwing another birthday party for Joe at the shop! Low Water Mark For Ghosts are coming back for round 2! Don’t miss your chance to see an old-school in-store performance!

RADICAL!