Go Big Or Go Home: The BeMovieSeeMovie Top 10 Most Anticipated Popcorn Movies Fall 2025
With the Oscar movies really dropping early and often in October, I often forget there’s offerings that don’t have those high of ambitions. Not because the movies aren’t good either, they’re just not campaigned as “Oscar” movies. Which, frankly for some of the films here, would be a giant mistake.
There’s a little bit of line blurring, but generally the films below have the main goal of making a bunch of money for the studio that released them, which is why they’re on this list.
The big “Red Flag” movie to double check on: Five Nights at Freddy’s 2: I like the first FNAF less and less everytime I think about it, but it made a jillion dollars, so I expect more of the same.
Here’s 5 Honorable Mentions that almost got there, but just missed the list.
This remake is exciting for the potent pairing of its lead and director. Glen Powell’s ascent to superstardom is in full flight now, and this one looks like a perfect fit on his destiny to be new Tom Cruise. Wright hopefully shakes off the last few years of work and channels that Cornetto energy a little bit to make a great darkly funny action comedy for contemporary America.
A bold gimmick for a horror movie: a dog as the main character. But early buzz on this is very positive, and I like when moviemakers try things. I imagine dog lovers will NOT want to go see this one, but movie lovers will probably be very into it.
Keanu Reeves as an angel going through a personal crisis. Hard to tell if Keanu’s going to elevate or destroy this comedy, but I trust the comedic talents of Aziz Ansari (writer/director), and his supporting cast of funny people like Seth Rogen and Keke Palmer.
Alejandro Monteverde has elevated himself out of Angel Studios B director quagmire with a decent eye for a great image and memorable movie moments in his previous films. If the trailer is any indication for this one, looks like Monteverde has continued to improve, making Jesus’s first year of life look like a cross between Dune and a Zack Snyder movie montage. Who knows if it’ll be good or drown in its messaging, but color me intrigued.
Ok I cheated a bit with this one, because it’s probably gonna try to compete for Oscars. But with a heavy awards slate, and JLo’s presence, it belongs here too. JLo in an old fashioned Busby Berkley musical is a great idea, and using the Chicago director makes for a chance for this to be something at least interesting, and at best, special. Early reviews are promising too.
If this was early 2022 this would have been the Red Flag winner, but then Prey…and Dan Trachtenberg…happened. He’s figured out the formula to make Predator movies good: by using them as the plot device to tell whatever story he wants. This is a vote of trust in Trachtenberg to land his trilogy, making a killer fun action movie with something interesting and human going on around it.
One of my big takes is the first Zootopia might be one of Disney’s best movies of all time, telling a really fun detective story with a sharp allegory underneath it. Everyone’s back for the sequel, which is the rare situation where I was excited to see what else could be explored with the great world building premise the first movie promised.
This is a mild cheat too, cause James Cameron movies usually get some awards buzz. But the Christmas Release means this movie is out to make some money. And despite some of the strange parts of The Way of Water, this one should be hella exciting, letting Big Jim cook figuratively and literally with color explosions and simple powerful emotional tales of courage and CGI spectacle.
The subtitle of this movie is A Knives Out Mystery, why this is #2 on my list. Rian Johnson can make as many of these as he wants as far as I’m concerned. They’re fun tales with rotating casts, even better whodunit writing, and Daniel Craig’s indecipherable accent and brilliant Benoit Blanc mind at the center of them. Can’t wait!
In a just world this would not only be an awards contender, but a Best Picture contender. Mamoru Hosoda has been on Makoto Shinkai’s tail, making incredible anime films putting him among the best animators working today. If the trailer for this one is any indication, we could be on the precipice of something truly special, and a contender for Best Movie of the Year. That’s right, you heard me.
