Warner Bros started 2025 with two major flops. Mickey 17 and The Alto Knights tanked at the box office, reportedly costing the studio around $110 million. Executives Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy, appointed by WBD chief David Zaslav, were under the microscope. Their first wave of auteur-driven, big-budget films looked like a disaster in slow motion. Critics were sharpening knives and fans were shaking their heads. Then came the turnaround no one saw coming.
By April, Warner Bros flipped the script. Seven films, including A Minecraft Movie, Sinners, Final Destination: Bloodlines, F1, Superman, Weapons, and The Conjuring: Last Rites, all opened above $40 million domestically, creating a record streak the studio hadn’t seen before. These releases alone brought Warner Bros back from the brink and then some, racking up over $600 million in theatrical profits (according to Variety).
Leading the charge is James Gunn’s Superman. The film launched the new DC Universe and is already making waves. On a $225 million budget, it has grossed $617 million worldwide, putting its estimated profit at $125 million. That’s nearly triple what Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel made in 2013, which pulled in just $42.7 million in profits.
Other Warner Bros hits also showed strong numbers. Sinners earned $60 million in profit, Final Destination: Bloodlines brought in $75 million, and Weapons is sitting at $65 million and climbing. F1, a distribution-only deal with Apple, made $34 million, and A Minecraft Movie has raked in over $200 million. These seven releases alone account for the studio’s reported $600 million profit so far in 2025, making it one of the most profitable years in recent memory.
Even with one release left in 2025, One Battle After Another, early buzz suggests it will be a “best of the year” contender, though it may struggle to match the $40 million opening streak. Still, Warner Bros has proven it can bounce back from disaster faster than most studios can catch their breath. It’s a year they won’t soon forget.
RELATED: Man of Steel Creator Finally Gives His Take on James Gunn’s Superman
Discussion about this post