The Top 10 Movies from the First Half of 2025, And Why Half of Them Are Genre Films

Happy Friday, folks! And more importantly, Happy Superman Day!

On Wednesday night, I enjoyed one of L.A.’s finest grilled cheese sandwiches at Teddy’s Cafe before seeing Eva Victor’s Sundance sensation Sorry, Baby, which started out promising enough, but quickly went nowhere and said nothing original.

On Thursday, the Wall Street Journal reported that DC Studios head James Gunn is developing two potential Superman spinoffs for television — one about Mr. Terrific (Edi Gathegi), the other about Jimmy Olsen (Skyler Gisondo). I’ve wondered whether the top-secret project that Gunn has teased in recent weeks was actually The Terrifics, which would make a lot of sense given the enthusiastic response to Mr. Terrific’s scene-stealing antics.

If not a “straight sequel,” Gunn is obviously developing some kind of Superman follow-up, be it a World’s Finest movie (featuring Batman!) or perhaps a film that pits the Man of Steel against The Authority.

I’m actually less interested in what Gunn does next than I am in whether Gareth Edwards comes back to direct the next Jurassic World movie (or will it be Takashi Yamazaki of Godzilla Minus One fame?), or whether Matt Shakman returns to direct the inevitable sequel to The Fantastic Four: First Steps.

After all, Marvel kept Thunderbolts director Jake Schreier in the fold by giving him the coveted X-Men gig, but that’s because Thunderbolts was never going to get its own sequel. Clearly, Marvel is planning a sequel for The Fantastic Four, and it would like to maintain consistency behind the camera, just as it did with its Ant-Man and Black Panther franchises.

Last night, I finally saw Superman, and I’ll do my best to deliver a full review this weekend for paid subscribers. Keep your eyes peeled for that piece, as well as a surprise podcast with provocateur/director Uwe Boll that I expect to make waves online.

Superman, by the way, is off to a good-but-not-great start at the box office, where it is projected to gross between $110 million and $120 million at the domestic box office.

Before we begin, I want to give Deadline its props for staying on top of the Lone Wolf story and helping the cast and crew get paid. Star Bryan Cranston, who has been paid in full (naturally, the millionaires get their money and the people living paycheck-to-paycheck are forced to wait indefinitely), was kind enough to offer a statement to the trade. “What a mess,” he concludes. What a mess, indeed…

Tonight, you’ll read about my Top 10 movies from the first half of 2025 — what has worked for me so far, and what hasn’t? You can always keep track via my long-running Blogspot, where I keep a running tally (with ratings) of every movie I see.

There are also items about Larry David’s return to HBO with the Obamas in tow, Guy Ritchie’s exit from Amazon’s Road House sequel, the Scrubs revival, the new series set in the world of The Office, Taylor Kitsch’s prison movie, social media influencer Delaney Rowe’s big break, and my thoughts on the trailer for Riz Ahmed’s thriller Relay.

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