Science Fiction Films
Top Ten Chart - 2025
SF² Concatenation's annual calculation looking at the 52 British Isles (and Malta) weekly film (movie) charts across 2025
that accounts for only fantastic films (SF and fantasy).
Remember, this is the UK public's cinema theatre box office we are talking about, and not fantastic film buffs' views. Consequently below this top ten we have included at the end a few other worthies well worth checking out as well as (in some years) some warnings-to-avoid. Also note that this chart compilation calculation did not include DVD sales or spin-off product earnings, and our chart is also subject to weekly vagaries. (In some weeks most of the entries do not gross much but at other times (for example public holidays) overall box office takings are higher.) This means that the chart reflects on-going cinema attendance throughout the year and it is not a strict annual list of the year's high box office earners.
It is perhaps worth emphasising that this is not a strict annual list of the year's UK, high, box-office earners. It leans more to Science Fiction and films for adults. It leans away a little from fantasy and children's films as well as some more Hollywood franchises. Notwithstanding such small-print caveats, standby with the pop corn, here we go...
(12A)
Five years post-Jurassic World: Dominion (2022), an expedition braves isolated equatorial regions to extract DNA from three massive prehistoric creatures for a groundbreaking medical breakthrough. This offering comes from the British director Gareth (The Creator & Rogue One) Edwards. The Jurassic Park franchise had been getting a bit tired and SF fan boy (winner of a Sci Fi London film fest 48-hour challenge) turned professional director) Edwards does his best to re-inject life into it. In terms of the cinema audience he must have been successful as on an estimated £136 million (US$180m) budget the film globally took in £659 million (US$870m) at the box office! Trailer here.
(15)
This is an artful mash-up between a post-World War I Mississippi black emancipation historical, blues jazz musical and a traditional vampire film. Trying to leave their troubled lives behind, twin brothers return to their southern USA hometown to start again creating a juke house (for jazz evening parties), only to discover that two great evils are waiting to welcome them back: racism and the supernatural. Director/writer Ryan (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever) Coogler made this for an estimated £68.2 million (US$90 million) but globally at the box office it took in £279 million (US$368m). There is a stand-alone review here and the trailer here. Meanwhile, our SF² Concatenation team rated this as one of the best SF/F films of 2025.
(12A)
Technothriller. Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and the IMF pursue a dangerous artificial intelligence (AI) called the Entity that's infiltrated global intelligence. With governments and a figure from his past in pursuit, Hunt races to stop it from forever changing the world. Given 2021 to 2024 has seen an explosion in real-life AI, this is very topical. It is also the final in the re-booted Mission Impossible franchise with many nods and flashbacks to earlier films. This one directly follows on from 2023's Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One and really the pair are best viewed back-to-back over a weekend. Director Christopher McQuarrie made this for a whopping estimated £303 million (US$400m) but it managed to globally take at the box office £454 million (US$599m) which meant that even after allowing for its marketing costs it turned a profit, though the margin on the large outlay was not huge. Trailer here.
(12A)
This is the second (or third if you count the barely released copyright renewal film) go at Marvel Comics Fantastic Four films. Forced to balance their roles as heroes with the strength of their family bond, the Fantastic Four must defend Earth from a ravenous space god called Galactus and his enigmatic herald, the Silver Surfer, this time gender-swapped from the original comics. Director Matt Shakman made this for an estimated £151 million (US$200m) and took in at the global box office £396 million (US$$522m) so even after marketing costs this made a healthy profit. Trailer here.
(12A)
This is the latest Superman re-boot and you have to go back to the Christopher Reeves films that began with the Hugo Award-winning 1979 offering, to get one that is as (nearly?) as good as this. That 1979 version was based on the Superman DC Comics of the 1960s and '70s. For this outing, director James (Guardians of the Galaxy) Gunn has turned to the DC Comics' Superman of the 1990s which is perfect for today's audience even if a tad perplexing for older aficionados (the Earth no longer has any kryptonite, and Krypto is a different breed of dog). Superman must reconcile his alien Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing as reporter Clark Kent. As the embodiment of truth, justice and the human way he soon finds himself in a world that views these as old-fashioned as Lex Luthor creates an adversary that is a match for old Supes. With an estimated budget of £170 (US$225m) this took at the global box office £467 million (US$617m), a healthy profit even after marketing costs are accounted for. Trailer here.
(PG)
This is a live-action re-boot of the successful animation film. As an ancient threat endangers both Vikings and dragons alike on the isle of Berk, the friendship between Hiccup, an inventive Viking, and Toothless, a Night Fury dragon, becomes the key to both species forging a new future together. Director Dean DeBlois. Trailer here.
(15)
A satirical adventure with a not very subtle allegorical look at Trumpian politics. The Earth is becoming an environmentally exhausted world. Those with skills can emigrate on starships to new worlds around other stars. And so a pair trying to escape gangsters to whom they own money enlist, but one of them has no relevant skills. However, he can enlist if he is prepared to become an expendable. That is to say his consciousness is digitally stored before he has to undertake a dangerous task so that in the event of his dying he can have his mind re-loaded into a cloned body of himself. The thing is that there is a rule that only one version of yourself can exist at any one time. Mickey has already died 16 times and is now on his 17th incarnation when he is sent out to explore their new icy world… Director Bong Joon Ho made this for an estimated £89.4 million (US$$118m) and took at the global box office £101 million (US$133m) which means that after marketing costs it struggled to break even. Trailer here.
(PG)
Animation. Brave rabbit cop Judy Hopps and her friend, the fox Nick Wilde, team up again to crack a new case, the most perilous and intricate of their careers. Directors Jared Bush & Byron Howard. Trailer here.
(15)
Horror. One year after the supernatural nightmare at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza, Abby runs away to reconnect with her animatronic friends, uncovering dark secrets about the true origins of Freddy's and unleashing a horror hidden for decades. Director Emma Tammi. Trailer here.
(12A)
A young Predator outcast from his clan finds an unlikely ally in a Weyland human female android on his journey in search of the ultimate adversary… Director Dan Trachtenberg made this for an estimated £79.5 (US$105m) and brought in at the global box office £138million (US$183m). Trailer here.
And the possible worthies that slipped through the net...
The Assessment (18)
Set in a world destroyed by climate change. Part of society has created a parallel world for itself. Life is controlled and optimised, and the desire to have children is also not left to chance. The lives of a successful young couple are therefore put under close scrutiny by a female assessor over the course of seven days. But their unravels into a psychological nightmare. Trailer here.
Black Phone 2 (18)
Horror. As Finn, now 17, struggles with life after his captivity, his sister begins receiving calls in her dreams from the black phone and seeing disturbing visions of three boys being stalked at a winter camp known as Alpine Lake. Trailer here.
Companion (15)
1h 37m A weekend getaway with friends at a remote cabin turns into chaos after it's revealed that one of the guests is not what they seem… Trailer here.
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba (15)
This was the most profitable release of the year! OK, well that's a bit of a cheat at it came out in 2020 in East Asia, but got a general release in the west until 2025. This is based on the Japanese fantasy Manga writer Koyoharu Gotouge's cult classic Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba comic series (2016–2020) that has sold a whopping 220 million copies worldwide! The film only cost a £11.4m (US$15m) to make but brought in a staggering £368 million (US$$486m)! The plot concerns Tanjiro Kamado who, after his family was brutally murdered and his sister turned into a demon, journeys as a demon slayer. And so Tanjiro and his comrades embark on a new mission aboard the Mugen Train, on track to despair. Director Haruo Sotozaki. Trailer here.
The Electric State (12)
This Netflix offering is based on the graphic novel of the same title by Simon Stalenhag, it takes place in a re-imagined version of 1997. With humans isolated in their virtual reality helmets and a continuing battle against a strange breed of monstrous drones in the wake of a technological meltdown, a teenage girl, Michelle, and a robot travel the West Coast of the USA in search of the girl's missing brother. Directed by the brothers Anthony & Joe Russo. Trailer here.
Eternity (15)
Fantasy romance. In an afterlife where souls have one week to decide where to spend eternity, Joan is faced with the impossible choice between the man she spent her life with and her first love, who died young and has waited decades for her to arrive. Director David Freyne. Trailer here.
The Fix (15)
In a future with toxic air, a model takes a drug causing a transformation. She tries reversing it but learns her mutations could save humanity. In a dystopian future where air is toxic, a troubled young model takes an illicit new drug at a party and suffers a shocking transformation. She undertakes to reverse the effects of the drug, only to discover that her mutations may be the key to saving the human race. Trailer here.
Frankenstein (15)
Based on the Mary Shelly novel Frankenstein, this is Director Guillermo del Toro's take for the streaming platform Netflix. Dr. Victor Frankenstein, a brilliant but egotistical scientist, brings a creature to life in a monstrous experiment that ultimately leads to the undoing of both the creator and his tragic creation. Trailer here.
Matter of Time (15)
This is an independent art house offering that was reasonably, slickly made. Charlie Fleck, is a 29-year-old aspiring videogame designer, is given the opportunity of a lifetime but his hard nosed investors impose strict deadlines that are impossible to meet. However, he has a friend, an eccentric Toy shop owner Gibbs who inherited a device made from metal that was exposed to the ground zero atomic blast of the Manhattan project. This device can control time and suddenly Fleck's deadline issues are no problem. However, there are consequences to too much time travel… Alas at the time of posting there is no trailer.
O Horizon (12)
SF comedy. Abby, a brilliant young neuroscientist, encounters a new technology that reconnects her with her recently deceased father. What could possibly go wrong? Alas at the time of posting there was no trailer online.
Primitive War (15)
Vietnam. 1968. A recon unit known as Vulture Squad is sent to an isolated jungle valley to uncover the fate of a missing Green Beret platoon. They soon discover they are not alone as there are creatures from 65 million years ago… A by-the-numbers monster shoot up. Trailer here.
Resurrection (15)
In a future where the act of dreaming and time is not as we know it, a woman's consciousness falls into an eternal time zone during a surgical procedure. Trapped in many dreams, she finds the corpse of an android and tries to wake him up by telling endless stories. Director Bi Gan. Trailer here.
The Running Man (15)
This is based on the Stephen King story that has been previously adapted starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, this version is less campy and more reflects King's darker, original story. In order to win cash to pay family medical bills, a man joins a game show in which contestants, allowed to flee anywhere in the world, are pursued by 'hunters' hired to kill them. Directed by Edgar (Shaun of the Dead) Wright, this a reasonably large budget affair costing and estimated £75.7 (US100m) but only brought in £52m (US$68.6m) at the global box office, a substantive loss. Trailer here.
28 Years Later (15)
Director Danny Boyle and writer Alex Garland who did the original film, reunite for part one of a sequel duology. A group of survivors of the rage virus live on a small island. When one of the group leaves the island on a mission into the mainland, he discovers secrets, wonders, and horrors that have mutated not only the infected but other survivors. And this only has a 15 certificate! Trailer here.
Weapons (18)
A superior supernatural horror. When all but one child from the same class mysteriously vanish on the same night at exactly the same time, a community is left questioning who or what is behind their disappearance... Last night at 2:17 am every child from Mrs. Gandy's class woke up, got out of bed, went downstairs, opened the front door, walked into the dark ...and they never came back…. When all but one child from the same class mysteriously vanish on the same night at exactly the same time, a community is left questioning who or what is behind their disappearance. Director Zach Cregger. Trailer here.
And one possibly to avoid...
Tron: Ares (15)
With decades between films in the Tron franchise, it was a tad surprising that Hollywood thought that this had legs. Perhaps they thought that by throwing enough money at it, it would do well? Oh dear. The estimated budget was £166 million (US$220m) but alas it brought in only £107 million (US$142m). Still, the effects are good even if the premise is one we have seen before: a computer programme, Ares, escapes into the real world… Director Joachim Ronning. Trailer here.
See also our selection of best films of 2025 (January - December) as opposed to the year UK box office chart above. This personal selection is in our Spring 2026 news.
For forthcoming SF film premieres then see the Concat' Science Fiction diary.
For forthcoming SF film news then see our seasonal Science Fiction news page and its film section.
If you really are into Science Fiction then check out this site's What's new page for our full list of recent postings of news, reviews, diary articles and loads of other stuff.
[Up: Top Science Fiction Films Index | Science Fact & Science Fiction Concatenation Home Page]
[Posted 26.1.15 | Contact | Copyright | Privacy]
|