The Town with Matthew Belloni The 2025 Box Office Year in Review: Sydney and Timmy, Superheroes vs. Horror, and Studio Power Rankings
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Jan 7, 2026 Scott Mendelson, a box office analyst and film writer for Puck and The Outside Scoop, joins to dissect the underwhelming $8.6 billion domestic box office in 2025. They discuss how fewer wide releases and franchise fatigue dampened audience excitement. Scott highlights the breakout success of "Chainsaw Man" while critiquing Disney's mixed performance. They also evaluate superhero films' declining influence and name "Tron Ares" as the year's biggest flop. Ultimately, Scott urges studios to creatively subvert known IP for future success.
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Anime Has Crossed Into Mainstream
- Chainsaw Man was a surprise hit, showing anime can be mainstream and lucrative domestically on low budgets.
- Multiple anime successes would materially bolster studio slates.
Smashing Machine's Marketing Misfire
- Scott and Matt discuss Smashing Machine as a marketing failure that mis-positioned a Dwayne Johnson vehicle as prestige.
- They argue it should have been sold as a mid-budget Johnson crowd-pleaser to reach his audience.
F1's Limited Systemic Impact
- F1 is a big box-office win that helps its filmmakers and talent but may not change studio distribution behavior widely.
- Its benefit is primarily for that franchise, unless studios like Apple expand theatrical commitments.
