The domestic box office ended the year down just 4% with over $8.5 billion. 2024 saw a growing theatrical slate, the highest since 2019, with nearly 650 releases. Inside Out 2 ($652.9M) nabbed the domestic crown, followed by Deadpool & Wolverine ($636.7M) and Wicked ($432.9M). As the new year dawns, 2025 promises a full theatrical slate expected to deliver the best post-pandemic year to date.
Cinemas will have to wait until February for the year’s first tentpole (Captain America: Brave New World) and will likely encounter the traditional January lull, which will be dominated by late 2024 holdovers, such as Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Mufasa: The Lion King, playing against a wide array of smaller new releases and award contenders. Among the biggest offerings this month, Universal’s release of Leigh Whannell’s Wolf Man and an animated adaptation of the popular children’s graphic novel series Dog Man are expected to lead the pack.
Den of Thieves 2: Pantera | Lionsgate
January 10
The first major January release sees an unexpected sequel for Den of Thieves which opened to $15.2M in mid-January 2018 on its way to an eventual $44.9M domestic/$80.5M global. Den of Thieves 2: Pantera sees the gang of LAPD cops travel to Europe to put a stop to a diamond heist. Den of Thieves has grown a cult audience in the streaming market since its release, opening up the second chapter to potentially grab an audience in an otherwise quiet period in the market. Potential comps include another Gerard Butler-starring January action release from Lionsgate, 2023’s Plane ($10.2M domestic opening, $32.1M domestic total).
The studio is coming off a down year in which only two of their releases—The Strangers: Chapter One ($11.8M) and The Best Christmas Pageant Ever ($10.7M)—opened over $10M. The lack of a new action-oriented, male-skewing movie since November’s Gladiator II ($55M domestic opening), plus the following the first Den of Thieves has gained on streaming, could help Pantera find its audience.
Wolf Man | Universal Pictures / Blumhouse
January 17
Director Leigh Whannell follows up 2020’s The Invisible Man with his second reinterpretation of a classic Universal horror property. Initially set for release in October 2024, Wolf Man‘s January release means it faces little competition from other horror titles. Universal’s lucrative first-deal look with Blumhouse Productions has led to the aforementioned The Invisible Man, which debuted to $28.2M in February 2020 and went on to earn a cume of $70.4M—a figure impacted by the pandemic and an industry-wide shutdown three weeks into its run. The following June saw the release of Blumhouse’s The Black Phone ($90.1M domestic/$161.4M), also directed by Whannell.
According to the synopsis, San Francisco husband and father Blake (Christopher Abbott) inherits his remote childhood home in rural Oregon. He persuades his wife, Charlotte (Julia Garner) to take a break from the city and visit the property with their young daughter, Ginger (Matlida Firth).
Flight Risk | Lionsgate
January 24
Mark Wahlberg stars as a pilot transporting an Air Marshal (Michelle Dockery) and a fugitive (Topher Grace) preparing to testify in a high-profile criminal case. Originally scheduled for release in October of last year, Flight Risk finds a late January slot that could help the action film attract an audience. It marks Mel Gibson’s first film as a director since 2016’s Hacksaw Ridge ($15.1M domestic opening, $67.2M domestic total).
There will be little competition in the film’s opening frames, as fellow action thriller Den of Thieves: Pantera (also from Lionsgate) will have been out for two weeks, and there’s not another action-oriented movie hitting theaters in wide release until Love Hurts on February 7th and the Valentine’s Day debut of Captain America: Brave New World.
Companion | Warner Bros.
January 31
According to the logline, New Line Cinema—the studio that brought you The Notebook—and the unhinged creators of Barbarian ($40.8M domestic/$45.3M global) cordially invite you to experience a new kind of love story. Directed by Drew Hancock in a feature debut, the film stars Sophie Thatcher (Heretic $27.7M domestic/$43.9M global, The Boogeyman $43.2M domestic/$67.3M global), Jack Quaid, and Lukas Gage. Moviegoers are encouraged to “Text 978-878-5683 to Find Your Companion today.”
Dog Man | Universal Pictures / DreamWorks Animation
January 31
Launched in 2016 by Dav Pilkey—the global bestselling author and award-winning illustrator of the Captain Underpants books—the Dog Man Scholastic series now includes 12 books that have sold more than 60 million copies. Dog Man: Twenty Thousand Fleas Under the Sea, was overall the #1 bestselling children’s book in the U.S. in 2023, across all children’s formats and ages. Pilkey’s newest book in the Dog Man Series, Dog Man: Big Jim Begins, released on December 3, 2024.
When a police dog and his human police officer owner are injured on the job, a life-saving surgery fused them together and Dog Man was born. According to the synopsis, Dog Man embraces his new identity and strives to impress his Chief (Lil Rel Howery) by stopping the evil plots of feline supervillain Petey the Cat (Pete Davidson). Dog Man is directed by Peter Hastings. The film is produced by Karen Foster, who served as a producer on DreamWorks Animation’s How to Train Your Dragon and Spirit Untamed.
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