6 most exciting sci-fi and fantasy films to look forward to for the rest of 2025

2025 has been a good year for movies: the new DC Cinematic Universe got off to a great start with Superman, original films like Sinners and Weapons have kept people talking, and we even got an arthouse epic in One Battle After Another, which has done a lot of good for Hollywood.

And a lot of the heaviest hitters have yet to arrive. In particular, the remainder of 2025 has some huge sci-fi, fantasy, and horror films that are sure to tear the roof off the theater and pack the box office. We wouldn’t want you to go in unprepared.

Frankenstein

Watch Frankenstein in theaters now, or on Netflix (November 7)

We’ve all heard the story of Frankenstein, about a mad scientist who makes a monster, and the monster is violent and upsets everyone. This new movie version from master director Guillermo del Toro sticks very close to the text of Mary Shelley’s original novel, with Oscar Isaac playing Doctor Frankenstein and Jacob Elordi playing the monster, who here is more of an emo outcast than a mindless murder machine.

Between Hellboy, Pacific Rim, The Shape of Water, and more, Del Toro has so many hit genre movies that his Frankenstein is all but guaranteed to be great. As is the way with Netflix movies, Frankenstein will appear in select theaters for a limited time, although it’s hard to say exactly how many and how long. If you can see it on the big screen, I recommend it. Otherwise, it’ll be streaming for everyone on November 7.

Predator: Badlands

Watch Predator: Badlands in theaters on November 7

The Predator franchise has been on a roll lately thanks to director Dan Trachtenberg, who revived interest with movies like Prey and Predator: Killer of Killers. With Predator: Badlands, Trachtenberg is finally getting the big theatrical wide release he needs to really show off his vision and hopefully get everyone talking about the Predator again.

Predator: Badlands will be the first movie in the franchise to actually revolve around a Predator, in this case, a young outcast who wants to prove himself to his people. That’s a bold premise, and in Trachtenberg’s hands I think it’ll be fantastic.

Predator: Badlands will probably stream on Hulu or Disney+ next year.

The Running Man

Watch The Running Man in theaters on November 14

The Running Man is based on a Stephen King story about a reality show where contestants must survive 30 days while being hunted by professional assassins, with anyone who lasts getting a huge cash reward. The story was already adapted into a cult classic back in the ’80s with Arnold Schwarzenegger as the main contestant. This time, Glen Powell is the leading man.

Is Powell as big a draw as Schwarzenegger in his prime? I don’t know, but the movie is directed by Edgar Wright, the guy behind Shaun of the Dead and Baby Driver, and that has me intrigued. Hopefully, this movie will stand out amidst all this tough competition.

The Running Man should be streaming eventually on Paramount+.

Wicked: For Good

Watch Wicked: For Good in theaters on November 21

This is our fourth November entry, and it’s a major one: Wicked was a giant hit when it came out in theaters last year, but that movie only adapted the first half of the iconic musical about the Wicked Witch of the West. We’ve already learned about her origins. In Wicked: For Good, Dorothy has arrived in Oz but will mostly stay in the background; we’ll see things from the Witch’s point of view.

Hollywood has had a much harder time than I’d like making big hit movie musicals, so I was happy the first Wicked went over so well. People love the stage show, director Jon M. Chu actually seems to know how to direct a musical, and stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande can sing their faces off. The second half of the show is more challenging, but hopefully, splitting the story in two like this will give the cast and crew the space they need to deliver a worthy ending.

Five Nights at Freddy’s 2

Watch Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 in theaters on December 5

Five Nights at Freddy’s is the iconic horror game about trying to survive life as a nighttime security guard at a pizza chain restaurant where the animatronic animals come to life and try to kill you. The 2023 movie adaptation was a big hit on a small budget. This time around, the budget is twice as big, Josh Hutcherson is back as our long-suffering security guard, Mike, and the animatronic horrors are as bloodthirsty as ever.

Movies based on video games have been getting better and better lately, to the point where games are fast becoming one of the most reliable source materials in Hollywood. The first Five Nights at Freddy’s movie dropped in theaters and on Peacock at the same time. The second one is just coming to theaters and will be out on Peacock sometime after that.

Avatar: Fire and Ash

Watch Avatar: Fire and Ash in theaters on December 19

This is the big one. The first and second Avatar movies are respectively the first and third highest-grossing movies in history, so there’s a lot of pressure on Fire and Ash to deliver. We’ll still be following Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and his family of blue-skinned Na’vi aliens as they defend their home against the invading forces of humanity, who want to mine the moon of Pandora for resources. This time, Jake and company have to deal with the Ash People, a violent Na’vi tribe who have allied with humans. This will be the first time we see this sort of conflict among the Na’vi themselves.

Every new Avatar movie has raised the game for visual effects, and I expect Fire and Ash to do everything it can to melt eyeballs out of sockets. The movie will be streaming on Disney+ eventually, although there’s no firm date yet set.

Ending the year on a high

2025 has been a great year for movies, and it looks like that’s going to continue as we head into the home stretch. Huge films like Wicked: For Good and Avatar: Fire and Ash could really help Hollywood over the finish line and hopefully start 2026 with some decent momentum. Personally, I’m hoping for Predator: Badlands to smash expectations, but whatever happens, movie lovers will be eating well.