From Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy to The Spongebob Movie: Search for Squarepants, here are the most anticipated sequel, prequel and spin-off films heading to Australian cinema screens in 2025.
Biggest sequel, prequel and spin-off film releases of 2025:
As has become the style in previous years, this category once again has the most entries. Everything old is new again, da da da da … though we have strong box office contenders with Jurassic World: Rebirth, 28 Years Later, and Avatar: Fire and Ash, I reckon Wicked: For Good will stand out among them (if Wicked: Part One‘s phenomenal success is anything to go by).
February
Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy
Director: Michael Morris
Release date: 13 February
Now a widowed mother of two in her fifties, Bridget Jones (Renee Zellweger) feels lost in the world of app-based dating. However, romance unexpectedly sparks with her son’s science teacher … and a much younger man.
Watch the trailer for Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy here:
April
The Accountant 2
Director: Gavin O’Connor
Release date: 24 April
When Medina’s former boss is killed by unknown assassins, she’s forced to contact Christian to solve the murder. With the help of his estranged but highly lethal brother Brax, Chris applies his brilliant mind and less-than-legal methods to piece together the unsolved puzzle. Stars Ben Affleck, Jon Bernthal and JK Simmons.
May
Karate Kid: Legends
Director: Jonathan Entwistle
Release date: 29 May
After a family tragedy, kung fu prodigy Li Fong is uprooted from his home in Beijing and forced to move to New York City with his mother. When a new friend needs his help, Li enters a karate competition – but his skills alone aren’t enough. Li’s kung fu teacher Mr. Han enlists original Karate Kid Daniel LaRusso for help, and Li learns a new way to fight, merging their two styles into one for the ultimate martial arts showdown. Stars Ben Wang, Jackie Chan and Ralph Macchio.
Watch the Karate Kid: Legends trailer here:
ScreenHub: The Sonic the Hedgehog film franchise has earned USD $1 billion
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Release date: 22 May
After escaping a calamitous train crash, Ethan (Tom Cruise) realizes The Entity is stashed aboard an old Russian submarine, but a foe from his past named Gabriel is also on the trail.
Watch the Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning trailer here:
June
Ballerina (John Wick spin-off)
Director: Len Wiseman
Release date: 5 June
Taking place during the events of John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, Eve Macarro begins her training in the assassin traditions of the Ruska Roma. Ana De Armas stars, alongside Anjelica Huston and Gabriel Byrne.
Watch the From the World of John Wick: Ballerina trailer here:
28 Years Later
Director: Danny Boyle
Release date: 19 June
It’s been almost three decades since the rage virus escaped a biological weapons laboratory, and now, still in a ruthlessly enforced quarantine, some have found ways to exist amidst the infected. One such group of survivors (Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ralph Fiennes) lives on a small island connected to the mainland by a single, heavily-defended causeway. When one of the group leaves the island on a mission into the dark heart of the mainland, he discovers secrets, wonders, and horrors that have mutated not only the infected but other survivors as well.
Watch the 28 Years Later trailer here:
M3GAN 2.0
Director: Gerard Johnstone
Release date: 26 June
The It-girl of AI returns in this sequel to the 2023 horror hit M3GAN. Plot details under wraps. Allison Williams returns to star, with Jemaine Clement (Flight of the Conchords) and Brian Jordan Alvarez (English Teacher) entering the franchise.
July
Jurassic World: Rebirth
Director: Gareth Edwards
Release date: 3 July
Five years after the events of Jurassic World: Dominion, covert operations expert Zora Bennett is contracted to lead a skilled team on a top-secret mission to secure genetic material from the world’s three most massive dinosaurs. When Zora’s operation intersects with a civilian family whose boating expedition was capsized, they all find themselves stranded on an island where they come face-to-face with a sinister, shocking discovery that’s been hidden from the world for decades. Stars Scarlett Johansson, Mahershala Ali and Jonathan Bailey.
Watch the Jurassic World: Rebirth trailer here:
August
Freakier Friday
Director: Nisha Ganatra
Release date: 7 August
Years after Tess and Anna endured an identity crisis, Anna now has a daughter of her own and a soon-to-be stepdaughter. As they navigate the myriad challenges that come when two families merge, Tess and Anna discover lightning might indeed strike twice. Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis reprise their roles from 2003’s Freaky Friday.
Nobody 2
Director: Timo Tjahjanto
Release date: 14 August
Bob Odenkirk returns as suburban dad and former lethal assassin Hutch Mansell in this sequel directed by Timo Tjahjanto (The Night Comes for Us). Hutch is pulled back into his violent past after thwarting a home invasion, setting off a chain of events that unravels secrets about his wife Becca’s past and his own.
September
The Conjuring: Last Rites
Director: Michael Chaves
Release date: 4 September
Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga return as paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren in this fourth, and possibly final, Conjuring film.
Downton Abbey 3
Director: Simon Curtis
Release date: 11 September
Emmy-nominated filmmaker Simon Curtis (Downton Abbey: A New Era) returns to direct this third feature based on the British regal drama series. Plot details under wraps.
The Bad Guys 2
Director: Pierre Perifel
Release date: 18 September
In this sequel to the 2022 DreamWorks animated heist comedy, the now-reformed Bad Guys are trying (very, very hard) to be good, but instead find themselves hijacked into a high-stakes, globe-trotting heist, masterminded by a new team of criminals they never saw coming: The Bad Girls.
Watch The Bad Guys 2 trailer here:
October
TRON: Ares
Director: Joachim Rønning
Release date: 9 October
Sequel to TRON: Legacy (2010). A highly sophisticated Program called Ares is sent from the digital world into the real world on a dangerous mission, marking humankind’s first encounter with A.I. beings. Jared Leto stars.
Mortal Kombat 2
Director: Simon McQuoid
Release date: 23 October
A sequel to the 2021 film Mortal Kombat. Simon McQuoid returns to direct the next action flick based on the videogame series. Karl Urban (The Boys) enters the series as Johnny Cage.
November
Predator: Badlands
Director: Dan Trachtenberg
Release date: 6 November
The director of 2022 Predator film Prey returns for this follow-up starring Elle Fanning. Premise TBA. Said to be set sometime in the future.
Now You See Me 3
Director: Ruben Fleischer
Release date: November, TBC
A third installment of the ‘Now You See Me’ franchise. Plot TBA.
Wicked: For Good
Director: Jon M. Chu
Release date: 20 November
With the Wizard and the entirety of Oz framing her as wicked, Elphaba’s righteous crusade comes into conflict with Glinda’s struggle for power. As a mysterious cyclone brings in an unwitting young outsider, the former friends will soon discover how much their actions have changed each other, and all of Oz, for good. The second part of a two-part feature film adaptation of the Broadway musical phenomenon.
Zootopia 2
Director: Jared Bush, Byron Howard
Release date: 26 November
Detectives Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) and Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman) find themselves on the twisting trail of a mysterious reptile who arrives in Zootopia and turns the mammal metropolis upside down.
December
Five Nights at Freddy’s 2
Director: Emma Tammi
Release date: 4 December
Anyone can survive five nights. This time, there will be no second chances. Josh Hutcherson and Matthew Lillard return for this sequel to Blumhouse’s box office hit based on the cult horror game series.
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Release date: 18 December
In the wake of the devastating war against the RDA and the loss of their eldest son, Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña) face a new threat on Pandora: the Ash People, a violent and power-hungry Na’vi tribe led by the ruthless Varang. Jake’s family must fight for their survival and the future of Pandora in a conflict that pushes them to their emotional and physical limits.
The SpongeBob Movie: Search for Squarepants
Director: Derek Drymon
Release date: 26 December
SpongeBob Squarepants travels to the depths of the ocean and faces off against the ghost of the Flying Dutchman. Stars Tom Kenny, Bill Fagerbakke and Mark Hamill.
For the full list of the most anticipated film releases of 2025, see here.
