The month of February arrives with the promise of a little breathing room in the 2025 calendar, allowing titles time to find their an audiences in advance of much closer quarters later this spring and beyond. The biggest hopeful of the month is Disney’s return to the MCU, Captain America: Brave New World (Feb. 14th), a Presidents’ Day weekend entry that aims to recapture the political intrigue of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, which debuted nearly a decade ago in March of 2014. On the heels of Dog Man, Sony’s Paddington in Peru (Feb. 14th) invites families back to the movies for another adventure. Meanwhile horror fans have offerings this month in the form of slasher comedy Heart Eyes (Feb. 7th) and Neon’s Stephen King adaptation The Monkey (Feb. 21), from Longlegs director Osgood Perkins.
Heart Eyes | Sony
February 7
Who says romance is dead? According to the synopsis of Screen Gems’ Heart Eyes, for the past several years the “Heart Eyes Killer” has been wreaking havoc on Valentine’s Day by stalking and murdering couples in the mood for love. The masked psychopath only strikes on Valentine’s Day, proving a solid crossover of horror and rom com elements. Actor, writer, and director Josh Ruben helms. Ruben is known for creating horror/comedy mashups such as the Sundance film Scare Me and the 2021 video game adaptation Werewolves Within ($575K domestic/$991K global). Olivia Holt, Mason Gooding, and Jordana Brewster star. Sony Pictures distributes via Screen Gems. Last year’s Screen Gems horror offering Tarot generated $18.7M domestic and $49.2M global.
Love Hurts | Universal
February 7
No matter how hard you try, you can’t break up with your past. According to the synopsis, Universal Pictures’ Love Hurts sees Oscar winner Ke Huy Quan in his first major leading man role as a seemingly milquetoast realtor who harbors a dark secret. The action comedy is produced by 87North’s Kelly McCormick and David Leitch, the team behind action films like Bullet Train ($103.3M domestic/$239.2M global), Atomic Blonde ($51.6M domestic/$100M global), and The Fall Guy ($92.9M domestic/$181M global). The cast includes Ariana DeBose and Quan’s Goonies co-star Sean Astin. Making his feature directing debut is acclaimed veteran stunt and fight coordinator JoJo Eusebio, whose second-unit directing credits include Deadpool 2, Violent Night, and Birds of Prey.
Paddington in Peru | Sony
February 14
Domestic Opening Weekend Range: $15M – $20M [as of 2/4]
Following a record-breaking debut in the U.K., where Paddington in Peru had the highest opening of the trilogy by $4M-plus, Sony Pictures’ Paddington in Peru is finally heading to North America. Its February 14th release date (adjusted from Jan 17th) makes it the second wide-release kids’ movie of the year, following Universal’s Dog Man, which saw an over performance with $36M on opening weekend. The previous Paddington films opened in the domestic market at $18.9M in 2014 and to $11M in 2018. Paddington went on to gross $76.2M domestic and $326M global, while Paddington 2 saw diminishing returns domestically at $40.9M domestic and $290.1M global. Notably, Paddington in Peru is the first of the Paddington films not to be directed by Paul King, with first-time feature director Dougal Wilson stepping in.
Captain America: Brave New World | Disney
February 14
Domestic Opening Weekend Range (3-Day): $80M – $95M [as of 2/4]
After only seeing a single release in 2024, the MCU returns with Captain America: Brave New World, the first of three MCU films hitting theaters in 2025. Brave New World centers on the Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) incarnation of Captain America as he untangles a conspiracy involving the President of the United States (Harrison Ford), who also happens to be the villainous Red Hulk. The appropriately dated Presidents’ Day weekend release comes on the heels of mega-success Deadpool and Wolverine as well as a series of critical misses throughout 2022 and 2023.
Among MCU titles, the opening range predicted by our panel would put Brave New World in the range of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings ($75.8M domestic opening, $224.5M domestic total), Black Widow ($80.3M domestic opening, $183.6M domestic total), and 2019’s Ant-Man and the Wasp ($75.8M domestic opening, $216.6M domestic total). Brave New World‘s February release date offers little by way of competition and the Presidents’ Day release window served Marvel Studios reasonably well with 2023’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania ($106.1M domestic opening, $214.5M domestic total), though it’s another MCU title—2018’s Black Panther ($202M domestic opening, $700M domestic total)—that holds the box office record for that holiday.
The Monkey | Neon
February 21
Domestic Opening Weekend Range: $15M – $25M [as of 2/4]
Based on a Stephen King short story, this winter horror release from Longlegs ($22.4M domestic opening, $74.3M domestic total) director Osgood Perkins looks to be a solid performer, tracking ahead of fellow King short story adaptation The Boogeyman ($12.3M domestic opening, $43.2M domestic total) from 2023. While it’s not always a given that horror fans will turn up (they certainly didn’t for Universal’s January release Wolf Man, which opened under expectations to $10.8M and dropped 70 percent in its second week), The Monkey is developing solid traction and could see positive word of mouth develop once review embargoes pass.
The Unbreakable Boy | Lionsgate
February 21
Domestic Opening Weekend Range: $6M – $10M [as of 2/4]
Family-centric drama The Unbreakable Boy, led by Zachary Levi, is Lionsgate’s latest collaboration with Kingdom Story Company, the production company behind such faith-based titles as Jesus Revolution ($52.1M domestic/$54.2M global), Ordinary Angels ($19.1M domestic/ $20.5M global), and The Best Christmas Pageant Ever ($40M domestic/$40.2M global), all released by Lionsgate. Kingdom has a track record of delivering mid-budget dramas that connect with a faith-based audience. There are familiar names to faith-based audiences both in front of and behind the camera, including producers Jon and Andrew Erwin, two of Kingdom Story Company’s founders; director Jon Gunn (Ordinary Angels); and star Levi (American Underdog, $26.5M domestic).
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