2025 Summer Movie Season - Monthly Recap (May 2025)

 

The Porter Report 2025 SMS May Recap

What’s going on followers. Can you believe we are already done with month 1 of the summer movie season? Just goes to show how fast time flies when you’re having fun at the movies. There is a lot of amazing films still to come in the upcoming portions of the season but before we transition into what is next, let’s look back at the month that was in our first Monthly Recap of the season.

The wait for the next Avengers movie is a grueling waiting game (even more so, knowing that Doomsday has been delayed 7 months). But in a crazy twist of fate, Marvel Studios actually DID deliver an Avengers movie..just not in the way people were expecting. With morally grey and nuanced characters and an emotionally complex narrative about surviving grief and overcoming the darkness in one’s self, The New Avengers, formally known as Thunderbolts*, is a welcome sign of Marvel returning to who they are. 

Ducking and dodging death is its own personal purgatory, knowing that every moment you have to be on high alert in the event that your end could come swiftly and without warning. Despite some being good at doing it, eventually, Death will get its pound of flesh. The latest entry in one of the most anxiety-inducing franchises in horror brought chaos and surprising emotion to the table in one of the most critically acclaimed installments in the series. Bursting through the seams with gruesome deaths and a heartfelt sendoff for Tony Todd, Final Destination Bloodlines makes its mark as one of the summer’s most wicked psychological thrill rides. 

Few people in the action genre or in cinema have pushed themselves to the limit like Tom Cruise. For almost 30 years, he has risked life and limb all in an effort to bring authenticity and realness to the art of cinema. Cruise’s final mission as Ethan Hunt continued the adrenaline-induced mayhem built up from previous installments while also delivering a satisfying conclusion to the series. Few franchises have raised the bar for the genre like Mission: Impossible, and its curtain call entry makes the task of finding another collection of films with similar impact that much harder to find. 

When it comes to live-action adaptations from the Mouse House, people’s opinions can be anywhere from intrigued, uninterested or downright offended. However, the live-action adaptation of the 2002 Disney Animated classic had a much more positive vibe heading in. Turns out the blue ball of chaos is just as lovably unhinged in live action as he is in animated form. With all the heart that made the original so beloved, but with some modern updates that keep things fresh, Experiment 626 proves he still can bring the summer madness in the best way possible.

Legacy can be both a blessing and a curse. While there is pride in honoring what came before, there are times when you have little room to forge your own path. Luckily, with the guidance from the right teachers, you’ll always find your way. The latest entry in the Karate Kid franchise delivered fun action and nostalgia thrills, but not quite on the level we’ve seen in the past. Despite that, Karate Kid Legends gave fans a fun summer ride, despite lacking the punch needed to make it more impactful.

Here Are The Regarding How The Films Did Financially and Among Critics

Best Box Office Numbers (As of June 4th, 2025)

1. Lilo and Stitch: $618.8. Million

2. Marvel Studios' The New Avengers*: $370.4 Million

3. Mission: Impossible The Final Reckoning: $356.4 Million

4. Final Destination Bloodlines: $233.6 Million

5. Karate Kid Legends: $47.7 Million

Best Critical Success (via. Rotten Tomatoes)

1. Final Destination Bloodlines  (92% Certified Fresh )

2. Marvel Studios' The New Avengers* (88% Certified Fresh)

3. Mission: Impossible The Final Reckoning (80% Certified Fresh )

4.  Lilo and Stitch (70%)

5. Karate Kid Legends (59%)

What was your favorite movie of month 1? Be sure to come back real soon as we look ahead to our slate of month 2 in our extensive preview for June. See you soon.