The year 2025 was a challenge for the world of cinema with several productions marked by failure, whether with the public, critics, or both. Even consolidated franchises and big-budget stories make the list of worst releases of 2025.
Throughout the year, several ambitious productions fell far short of expectations, racking up millions in losses and causing frustration at studios. THE Metropolises separated the main ones and recalls the reasons which led to the failure of productions in 2025.
snow White
The live-action Disney animated classic from 1937 was one of the biggest theatrical failures of 2025. Surrounded by controversy, the film performed poorly at the box office, grossing approximately $205 million, below the estimated budget of $250 million.
Additionally, the production was also panned by critics, earning only 39% approval on Rotten Tomatoes, a website that aggregates film and television reviews, and being the target of criticism. bomb review on IMDB — when multiple users post negative reviews with the intention of harming a product’s reputation or sales.
The film’s failure also occurred amid controversies over cinematic decisions, such as the choice of actress Rachel Zegler to play Snow White and the depiction of the Seven Dwarfs with CGI rather than hired actors. Remember all the controversy here.
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Jonathan (Andrew Burnap) and Snow White (Rachel Zegler) in Disney’s live-action Snow White
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Rachel Zegler as Snow White in Disney’s live-action version of Snow White
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Gal Gadot as the Evil Queen in Disney’s live-action Snow White
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Gal Gadot as the Evil Queen in Disney’s live-action Snow White
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Rachel Zegler as Snow White in Disney’s live-action version of Snow White
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Heart of the Fighter: The Smashing Machine
Starring Dwayne Johnson (The Rock), the biopic of wrestler Mark Kerr did not do very well during theatrical releases.
Even with good critical reception, with a 71% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and high expectations during awards season, the film was a commercial disaster. In total, the film only grossed $6.1 million worldwide, just over a tenth of its $50 million budget.
Dwayne Johnson in a scene from the movie Fighter’s Heart – The Smashing Machine
In the Lost Lands
Adaptation of three stories written by George RR Martin, renowned author of the Game of Thrones universe, the film In the Lost Lands was a failure both at the box office and with critics.
On Rotten, the film had a 24% approval rating, one of the lowest of the year on the expert review site, and also failed in terms of audience, grossing $5 million despite having an estimated budget of $55 million.
Scene from the film Aux Terres Perdues (2025)
Christie
The biopic of Christy Martin, a pioneer of women’s boxing in the 1990s, also failed with audiences in the United States. Although the film features a strong plot that pleased 66% of critics, according to Rotten, the production had one of the worst openings of the year at the box office.
Additionally, the film was released amid controversy surrounding Sydney Sweeney, who participated in an ad campaign using the phrase “good genes” to describe her. Blonde and blue-eyed, the actress came to be associated with the racist and eugenics rhetoric on the rise in the United States, which sparked criticism of her and the brand and did not help with the film’s promotion.
Sydney Sweeney scene as Christy in boxer biopic
Captain America: Brave New World
The first film starring Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) using the code name Captain America in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the production was also a failure with audiences. Although it grossed $415 million at the box office, the numbers were far below expectations.
The film also did not please critics and is one of the lowest-rated Marvel productions on Rotten Tomatoes, with 46% approval, alongside Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023), which obtains the same rating.
Scene from the movie Captain America: Brave New World
Tron: Ares
The new Tron universe film is also on the list of big failures of 2025. Despite a large cast like Jared Leto, Greta Lee and Evan Peters, the production made an overall gross of $142 million with an estimated budget of $180 million.
The film’s plot, which involved humanity’s encounter with artificial intelligence beings from Tron, did not please some critics and had a 53% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Scene from the movie Tron: Ares (2025)
Elio
Pixar also had an animation on the list of failures of the year with Elio, a film which follows a little boy who wants to be abducted by aliens.
Although it was critically acclaimed, with an 83% on Rotten Tomatoes, the film failed commercially with a gross of approximately $154 million, just a bit above the estimated production budget: $150 million.
Poster for Pixar’s Elio
Five Nights at Freddy’s 2
The horror film sequel may have even attracted fans to the new production about the dark secrets of animatronics. However, it was a failure according to critics, with only 16% approval on Rotten Tomatoes, the majority of which criticized the excessive repetition of formulas and frustrated attempts to scare viewers.
Scene from the movie Five Nights at Freddy’s 2
The Electric State
Directed by the Russo brothers after the success of the Marvel films, The Electric State also failed in 2025. Released only on Netflix, the film shows a dystopian reality in which a young woman (Millie Bobby Brown) joins a group of robots and smugglers in search of her missing brother.
Ambitious and with a big budget of over $320 million, the film failed in the eyes of critics and only had a 14% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
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Keats (Chris Pratt) and Michelle (Millie Bobby Brown) in Netflix’s The Electric State
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Cosmo (voiced by Alan Tudyk) and Michelle (Millie Bobby Brown) in Netflix’s The Electric State
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Cosmo (voice of Alan Tudyk) and Michelle (Millie Bobby Brown) in Netflix’s The Electric State
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