Top 10 Most Surprising Movie Hits of 2025 So Far

Top 10 Most Surprising Movie Hits of 2025 So Far

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the most surprising movies that have made a huge splash either critically, commercially, or both. We will only be including movies that were released in 2025, so there will be no 2024 Christmas bleedovers like “Nosferatu.”

#10: “A Working Man” (2025)

You can never go wrong with Jason Statham. “A Working Man” has a ton of talent behind it, including writer Sylvester Stallone, writer-director David Ayer, and stars Statham, Michael Peña, and David Harbour. It’s no surprise it was the surprise hit of the spring. Originally slated for January, the movie was pushed back to March and received a decent, if not excellent, critical reception. Where “A Working Man” shocked was in the box office. It was projected to gross between $10-12 million but beat expectations and debuted at number one with an opening weekend of $15 million. It even dethroned “Snow White” in just its second weekend, but to be honest, we don’t know if that speaks to this movie or that one…

#9: “Den of Thieves 2: Pantera” (2025)

It’s been a surprisingly decent year for action flicks so far. No one was really expecting a sequel to “Den of Thieves,” but we got one to open the dead month of January. And despite the enormous seven year gap between movies, “Pantera” ate. The movie received surprisingly good reviews and was generally well-regarded with moviegoers, many of whom enjoyed the more fun and lighthearted tone. It also did pretty well commercially, debuting at number one and spending four weeks in the top ten before finishing with a take of $57 million - which was good enough to greenlight a third movie in the franchise.

#8: “Black Bag” (2025)

Steven Soderbergh cooked with “Black Bag,” a tantalizing espionage thriller starring Michael Fassbender. He plays George Woodhouse, a British intelligence officer tasked with investigating his own wife and fellow agent Kathryn, who is suspected of leaking classified information. This is Soderbergh’s best film in years, an electric mix of beautiful style, great acting, and fun espionage storytelling. “Black Bag” quickly became one of the biggest critical darlings of the year, scoring huge numbers on sites like Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic while also proving a big hit with general audiences. Will it be one of the best films of 2025? It’s too early to say, but it certainly has the potential.

#7: “Novocaine” (2025)

We need more bonkers movies like this in the world. Jack Quaid stars as Nathan Caine, an introverted bank manager who cannot feel pain. This comes in handy when his co-worker and love interest is kidnapped by bank robbers. While not a huge box office success, “Novocaine” was a big critical surprise, with both critics and general audiences scoring it highly on their respective sites. The chemistry between Jack Quaid and Amber Midthunder was widely praised, as were the movie’s creative action scenes and sheer sense of goofy fun. It’s a breezy watch, and sometimes you want nothing more than that.

#6: “Mickey 17” (2025)

In the end, “Mickey 17” will technically bomb, and that’s thanks to an inflated budget of nearly $120 million. But that potentially speaks more to how expensive movies have gotten than this movie failing. Hype was enormous, as this was Bong Joon Ho’s first film since the global sensation that was “Parasite.” And he… mostly delivered. “Mickey 17” received a good critical reception, with many praising Robert Pattinson and the movie’s goofy, satirical tone. It also opened to $19 million and would go on to gross over $120 million, which is quite respectable for an original, non-IP film. It’s even more respectable for a piece of sci-fi satire, a genre which doesn’t often get butts in seats. Behold, the collective power of Bong and Pattinson.

#5: “The Monkey” (2025)

Not many genres are actually turning a profit these days - horror being a key exception. It speaks to how little these movies cost to make, with “The Monkey” coming in at just $10 million. Adapted from a Stephen King short story, “The Monkey” follows the titular toy as it embarks on a killing spree. It’s not a super original story, but it still delivers the goods in the capable hands of Osgood Perkins. With a great villain, some fantastic kills, and a sick sense of humor, “The Monkey” is certainly memorable. It was also a big hit at the box office, spending five weeks in the top ten and grossing over $60 million worldwide, turning a hefty profit for Neon.

#4: “Companion” (2025)

Sophie Thatcher has exploded in recent years and is now one of the biggest scream queens of her generation. She also helped carry “Companion” into unbelievable success. Another January release, “Companion” does some fresh and unique things with the cabin horror subgenre, and its brilliant screenplay is full of fun twists. Thatcher is also superb as Iris, who may go down as one of the decade’s best horror characters. And who can forget its solid run in theaters? The movie, while not a huge earner, was still quite profitable for Warner Brothers, with a box office take of $36 million against a budget of just $10 million.

#3: “One of Them Days” (2025)

Many people have written about the lack of comedies these days, and “One of Them Days” is here to prove that a) they can still be made, and b) they can still be profitable. This is a buddy comedy about two women trying to find rent money before they are evicted at 6 PM and the resulting shenanigans that follow. The movie was quietly released in the dead of January and earned excellent reviews, with many praising the chemistry between Keke Palmer and SZA and the movie’s ability to resurrect the dying buddy comedy genre. And thanks to strong word of mouth, it also spent seven weeks in the top ten and grossed over $50 million - well above its $14 million price tag.

#2: “Dog Man” (2025)

Talk about coming out of nowhere. “Dog Man” is one of the biggest surprise hits of Q1 2025, being a spin-off of the “Captain Underpants” movie from 2017. Do you remember that? Maybe not, as it wasn’t even a big hit, grossing just $125 million. Even greenlighting this movie in the first place was a risk, but the risk paid off beautifully. “Dog Man” earned good reviews and delighted general moviegoers, even scoring an A CinemaScore. Perhaps even more surprising was its box office success. The movie beat expectations and opened to $36 million, becoming the second-best January opening for an animated movie. It also spent two weeks at number one and finished with $131 million - well above its $40 million budget, and even beating its predecessor.

#1: “A Minecraft Movie” (2025)

And here we come to it - a movie so huge and so surprising that it shattered everyone’s expectations. It seemed like the general public was quite bearish about “A Minecraft Movie,” especially following that disastrous teaser trailer that was widely mocked on the internet. But it just goes to show that the internet is not real life - and that you should never bet against “Minecraft.” The movie enjoyed a historic weekend, obliterating industry projections and debuting to $301 million, making this the highest opening weekend ever for a video game movie. Move aside superheroes - there’s a new fad in town.


Did the success of these movies surprise you? Let us know in the comments below!