Sequels galore in Hollywood and Bollywood; will they break the curse in 2025?

4 min read | Updated on June 25, 2025, 18:41 IST

SUMMARY

This year could become a landmark year for sequels. Hits like Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning and Final Destination: Bloodlines captivated audiences globally. Bollywood also saw success with Housefull 5 and more are in the pipeline. It seems that strong storytelling can help sequels achieve critical and commercial success, redefining audience expectations.

As of May 27, 2025, The Final Reckoning had earned a global total of $213 million | Image: Shutterstock

Movie sequels are notorious for being poor cousins of the originals. According to The Movie Database or TMDB, in more than 60% of the cases, the original movie is likely to make more money than its immediate sequel. That said, there have been some notable exceptions to this rule. Sequels like The Dark Knight, The Godfather II, Top Gun: Maverick, Terminator 2 and Avatar: The Way of Water became blockbusters.

This year could easily be called the year of the sequels, with several movies lined up for release, and many are already in theatres. Here are some noteworthy sequels of 2025 and how they are faring at the box office.

Avatar: Fire and Ash

The audience will be transported back to Pandora as this much-anticipated sci-fi sequel releases in December 2025. At over 3 and a half hours, it will be the longest of the 3 Avatar films by James Cameron. The first Avatar movie, released in 2009, grossed $2.9 billion worldwide, making it the highest-grossing film ever. At $250 million, Avatar: Fire and Ash has a budget that is 45% lower than Avatar: The Way of Water. The third instalment is the second-costliest movie in this franchise. Whether it will earn more than the other two remains to be seen.

Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning

This film marks the end of the film franchise that spanned three decades. As of May 27, 2025, The Final Reckoning had earned a global total of $213 million, according to Box Office Mojo, a film revenue tracker. Its Memorial Day weekend debut set a new record for the franchise's opening weekends. The film reportedly carries a production budget of $400 million, making it one of the most expensive films ever made, according to Koimoi.

Jurassic World: Rebirth

This film serves as a standalone sequel to 2022's Jurassic World: Dominion, making it the fourth Jurassic World movie and the seventh overall instalment in the Jurassic Park franchise. Jurassic World: Dominion was a financial success and grossed $1 billion worldwide, becoming the third-highest-grossing film of 2022. All eyes are on the upcoming release in July, which stars Scarlett Johansson and Jonathan Bailey.

Captain America: Brave New World

This superhero movie, based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name, is a sequel to The Incredible Hulk and was released in February 2025. To date, the film has earned approximately $415 million globally. The Incredible Hulk, which was released in 2008, earned approximately $265 million worldwide.

Final Destination: Bloodlines

The sixth chapter in the supernatural horror series was released in May 2025. The film has become the highest-grossing instalment of the franchise, raking in over $271 million worldwide. Bloodlines comes 14 years after Final Destination 5 was released and has earned rave reviews for being the most sophisticated sequel of the franchise.

Back home in India, 2025 is turning out to be a big year for Hindi cinema sequels, with a slew of highly anticipated movies hitting the screens. Here are some of the notable ones.

Housefull 5

This is the fifth instalment in the Housefull franchise, and going by the collections so far, it has been declared a hit. The film has raked in approximately ₹155 crore within 10 days of release. With its huge ensemble cast of bankable stars, slapstick humour, franchise loyalty and Akshay Kumar’s fan following, this sequel has a lot going for it.

Jolly LLB 3

The third instalment in the courtroom comedies is ready for a September release. Jolly LLB 2 was a box office success, earning ₹197.34 crore globally. The movie, which was made on a budget of ₹45 crore, also earned a 151% profit for the producers.

Baaghi 4

Can Baaghi 4 turn the fortunes for Tiger Shroff? Baaghi 3 came out in March 2020 just before early theatre closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was moderately successful with a worldwide gross collection of ₹137.05 crore

Conclusion

It seems that audiences are showing a clear appetite for revisiting beloved worlds and characters. Domestically, the anticipation for Housefull 5 and Jolly LLB 3 demonstrates the power of established franchises and star power. Quality, innovation and a strong connection to the original can indeed lead to box office glory, as has been proved by some successful sequels. Sometimes, the second, third or fourth act can be just as compelling as the original. It’s a game of wait and watch.

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About The Author

Rashi Bisaria is a storyteller with more than two decades of experience in the media industry across print, TV and digital. She likes to get to the heart of a story to share a balanced perspective and reveal the facts.