2025 has a full slate of action movies, each more exciting than the next. The genre has never been more popular, and luckily for audiences, creatives and producers know it. Action is also surprisingly versatile, meaning it goes well with pretty much everything, from comedy to romance, science fiction, and even drama. However, pure action movies still thrive in Hollywood, offering electrifying and adrenaline-pumping narratives that will leave audiences panting.
Indeed, many of the most anticipated movies of 2025 belong to the action genre, proving the hold it has on modern audiences. The most exciting and promising of these are a varied collection of subgenres, characters, themes, and franchises. From long-awaited spin-offs to popular franchises to ambitious remakes of ’80s cult classics to the apparent final chapters of revered cinematic sagas, these action movies will define 2025, ensuring it’s a year unlike any other.
7. Novocaine — March 14
The funny and charming Jack Quaid will try his luck as an action man in the comedic action thriller Novocaine, due to premiere on March 14. The film will follow Nathan Caine, a sheltered bank executive living with congenital insensitivity to pain. However, his quiet life will change when his girlfriend gets taken hostage after a bank robbery. Using his immunity to pain, Caine will go on a quest to rescue the woman who may well be the love of his life.
Novocaine boasts an interesting premise and a delightful leading man who has spent years cultivating audience support through his work on Prime Video’s The Boys. This wacky action thriller will be Quaid’s first major leading man role, and if anyone deserves to win, it’s him. The script looks like a great blend of action and comedy, benefitting from Quaid’s approachable, everyman quality, and will feature a strong supporting cast, including Prey‘s breakout Amber Midthunder. It’s too soon to tell if Novocaine will be a hit or not, but all the ingredients are there.
6. Ballerina — June 6
Academy Award nominee Ana de Armas will make her debut as an action leading lady with Ballerina, a spin-off of the highly successful John Wick franchise. Set between the events of John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum and John Wick: Chapter 4, Ballerina will follow Eve Macarro, a ballerina training to become an assassin while on a mission to avenge her father’s death. Many actors from the main series will reprise their roles, most notably Ian McShane, Anjelica Huston, the late Lance Reddick (in his final film role), and even John Wick himself, Keanu Reeves.
Ballerina has a tough task ahead. The John Wick series has become the benchmark against which all other action movies are measured, and without Chad Stahelski to steer the ship, the film has a steep hill to climb. Yet, the talent involved is too good to ignore, especially de Armas, who has already proven herself in multiple genres and is due of a large-scale vehicle to exploit her considerable talents. Ballerina will prove whether John Wick can exist without the titular character, and hopefully, audiences will show up to support it.
5. Mortal Kombat 2 — October 24
Few people expected 2021’s Mortal Kombat to be such a success. Yet, the film defied all expectations and became one of the best video game adaptations in recent years, which is saying something, considering the series’ previous incursions into live-action territory were disastrous, to say the least. Now, four years later, the franchise will come back with a sequel that will introduce new characters, most notably conceited movie star Johnny Cage, played by fan-favorite geek actor Karl Urban.
Mortal Kombat 2 is in a great place: it should have no problem surpassing its predecessor’s box office, considering it was a day-and-date release with Max at the tail end of the pandemic. The goodwill amassed in the three years since has also made audiences genuinely excited for more over-the-top action set in this world of bloodshed and mysticism, meaning that more than one will eagerly consume this film over and over again. Mortal Kombat 2 has pretty much all in its favor, and it wouldn’t surprise me if it turned out to be one of the most successful movies of late 2025.
4. Thunderbolts* — May 2
The MCU is in a bit of an odd place with critics and audiences. By the looks of it, and considering the behind-the-scenes turmoil, it’s unlikely that the long-delayed Captain America: Brand New World will fix it, so it’ll be up to Thunderbolts* to actually kick the studio’s 2025 slate into full gear. The film will follow a group of Marvel antiheroes as they band together to perform dangerous missions for the US government.
Thunderbolts* stars a cast led by Oscar nominee Florence Pugh and recent Golden Globe winner Sebastian Stan. Joining them will be Emmy nominees David Harbour and Lewis Pullman, Wyatt Russell, Hannah John-Kamen, and eleven-time Emmy winner Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Such talent is reason enough to buy a ticket, but Thunderbolts* actually looks like an interesting experiment on Marvel’s part, possibly the studio’s first genuine roll of the dice since the unfairly maligned Eternals. For now, audiences are cautiously excited about this project, which has the chance to be Marvel Studios’ best offering this year.
3. The Running Man — November 7
Few actors had such a great 2024 as Glen Powell. Following his star-making turn in Anyone But You, the actor scored a major box office hit with Twisters and a critical darling with Richard Linklater’s Hit Man, which made him a Golden Globe nominee. Powell is now a bonafide superstar, and he’s cashing his chips with a major action vehicle courtesy of revered director Edgar Wright. The two will collaborate on a remake of The Running Man, the 1987 cult classic starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and based on Stephen King’s eponymous 1982 novel.
The film will follow contestants in a reality show chased across the world by assassins known as Hunters for the chance to earn money. Joining Powell is an intriguing cast including Katy O’Brien, Michael Cera, Emilia Jones, and Oscar nominee William H. Macy. By now, Edgar Wright is already a fan-favorite, thanks to his Cornetto trilogy and acclaimed action efforts like the Oscar-nominated Baby Driver. For his part, Powell has never been more in demand, making The Running Man one of the hottest tickets of the 2025 fall season, if not the hottest.
2. Superman — July 11
James Gunn will kickstart his new DC Universe with a new take on the Man of Steel starring David Corenswet. Although plot details are still under wraps, the film will not be an origin story and will focus on the titular character’s journey to reconcile his Kryptonian heritage with his human identity. The film co-stars Emmy winner Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane and Emmy nominee Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor, with a large ensemble cast of familiar faces.
A lot is riding on Superman‘s success; it won’t only be the start of the new DC Universe but will also attempt to make audiences forget all about the brand’s previous decade, which was marked by divisive movies, behind-the-scenes drama, and endless controversies. However, Superman‘s trailer broke records and Gunn’s previous track record has earned him a lot of goodwill with both critics and audiences. For now, Superman seems to be on track to win big at the box office, but only time will tell just how high it will soar.
1. Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning — May 23
In the eyes of many, Tom Cruise’s Mission: Impossible saga is the ultimate action franchise, continuously surpassing itself with increasingly daring and jaw-dropping action setpieces. Cruise has spearheaded the saga since 1996’s Mission: Impossible, taking on a more prominent role starting with the fourth entry, 2011’s Ghost Protocol. Now, Cruise is synonymous with this franchise, which outright redefined the action genre in the 2010s.
The upcoming eighth movie, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, will seemingly be the last film in the series and potentially Ethan Hunt’s last adventure. Thus, no action movie is more hotly anticipated than this one, which has all the makings of a major cultural phenomenon. The prospect of saying goodbye to Ethan Hunt is bittersweet, but it will also mean that Cruise will want to go out with a bang. Indeed, every M: I movie has upped the ante in terms of action and dead-defying stunts, and one can only wonder what Cruise and director Christopher McQuarrie have in store for audiences.
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