Box office comparisons are growing because theaters are selling more tickets than ever, blockbuster movies are pulling in huge crowds, and fans love ranking films against each other to see what succeeds. In 2025, people talk more about these comparisons as the movie industry bounces back strong after tough years.
Theaters saw a real surge this year. In the first half of 2025 alone, cinemas sold 280 million tickets, up 24 percent from the same time in 2024.https://www.thepeopleplatform.com/blog/2025-mid-year-state-of-cinema-report-admissions-surge-powering-a-banner-year That means more people heading out to see films, which naturally leads to chatter about how one movie stacks up against another. Revenue grew too, by 15 percent, but tickets sold grew even faster thanks to cheaper prices for family movies like matinees and kids’ deals.https://www.thepeopleplatform.com/blog/2025-mid-year-state-of-cinema-report-admissions-surge-powering-a-banner-year This volume of viewers creates endless chances for fans and experts to compare hits.
Big sequels and franchises are a huge part of it. Disney’s Lilo & Stitch topped American releases with over 1.04 billion dollars worldwide.https://www.thestreet.com/entertainment/box-office-is-booming-in-2025-but-netflixs-82-7-billion-surprise-raises-alarms Warner Bros. had A Minecraft Movie at around 958 million, Universal’s Jurassic World: Rebirth at 869 million, and Zootopia 2 at 918 million.https://www.thestreet.com/entertainment/box-office-is-booming-in-2025-but-netflixs-82-7-billion-surprise-raises-alarms Other standouts include How to Train Your Dragon at 636 million, F1: The Movie at 632 million, Superman at 617 million, and Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning at nearly 600 million.https://www.thestreet.com/entertainment/box-office-is-booming-in-2025-but-netflixs-82-7-billion-surprise-raises-alarms With so many films crossing 600 million, it’s easy to pit them head-to-head, like how Jurassic World: Rebirth compares to Zootopia 2.
Even mid-tier movies spark comparisons. Take Now You See Me: Now You Don’t, which hit 209.3 million worldwide after three weeks and cracked into 2025’s top 20.https://www.koimoi.com/box-office/now-you-see-me-now-you-dont-worldwide-box-office-enters-2025s-top-20-surpasses-meryl-streep-tom-hanks-political-thriller/ It beat out Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks’ The Post by 15.6 million, with 55.3 million in North America and 154 million overseas versus The Post’s 81.9 million domestic and 111.8 million international.https://www.koimoi.com/box-office/now-you-see-me-now-you-dont-worldwide-box-office-enters-2025s-top-20-surpasses-meryl-streep-tom-hanks-political-thriller/ Now it’s chasing The Bad Guys 2 at 239.2 million, just 29.9 million ahead.https://www.koimoi.com/box-office/now-you-see-me-now-you-dont-worldwide-box-office-enters-2025s-top-20-surpasses-meryl-streep-tom-hanks-political-thriller/ Sites like Box Office Mojo fuel this by listing top earners, making it simple to rank everything from blockbusters to surprises.https://www.koimoi.com/box-office/now-you-see-me-now-you-dont-worldwide-box-office-enters-2025s-top-20-surpasses-meryl-streep-tom-hanks-political-thriller/
A mix of movies helps too. PG-rated family films made up 47 percent of tickets sold, but R-rated ones jumped 77 percent from last year.https://www.thepeopleplatform.com/blog/2025-mid-year-state-of-cinema-report-admissions-surge-powering-a-banner-year Hits like those in July—F1, Jurassic World: Rebirth, Superman
