Fortunately for all audiences, 2025 is looking like a thunderous year at movie theaters. From highly anticipated sequels, remakes, and new arrivals, here are 12 crowd-pleasing blockbuster films that passengers can look forward to as inflight entertainment this year.
These titles were selected by airline content service provider (CSP) and IFE solutions specialist Touch and partner Parrot Analytics using a combination of data from multiple sources, including popularity rankings, watchlist saves, and their high probability of both release and success on inflight entertainment platforms in 2025.
In this Op-Ed, Vitor Brito, who manages content and licensing at Touch and Brandon Katz, who serves as senior entertainment industry strategist at Parrot Analytics, share their thoughts on each title and why they’re expected to resonate with airline passengers.
A Big Bold Beautiful Journey
Katz: This promises to be one of the year’s more intriguing offerings as plot details for the romantic fantasy film have been kept tightly under wraps (thus there is no official trailer as yet). What we do know is that filmmaker Kogonada is a deeply original and naturalistic storyteller and you can’t go wrong with Margot Robbie and Colin Farrell as your leads. We’re ready to have our hearts broken in this one.
Brito: Cast recognition and star power play a significant role in the selection of inflight entertainment, as familiar faces often attract a wide audience and enhance the appeal of any film. Combined with Kogonada’s unique directorial vision, this romantic fantasy has all the ingredients to captivate passengers and leave a lasting impression.
28 Years Later
Katz: A legacy sequel from Hollywood that fans really want. Director Danny Boyle and screenwriter Alex Garland reinvented and revitalized the zombie genre with 2002’s 28 Days Later (while introducing the world to Cillian Murphy). More than two decades later — and following a glut of imitators and worthy successors across the big and small screens — the pair of storytellers are reuniting to cap off one of cinema’s most unlikely trilogies.
Brito: 28 Years Later promises to be a unique draw for inflight entertainment. This highly anticipated sequel will offer passengers a gripping story that goes beyond traditional genre boundaries.
Love Hurts
Katz: Academy Award winner Ke Huy Quan’s storybook comeback continues with this action comedy in which a reformed hitman is thrust back into a world of violence when his brother discovers he’s still alive. Quan, who was scene stealing good in Everything Everywhere All At Once and Loki Season 2, will get to show off more of his impressive martial arts skills in this high-octane punch ‘em up.
Brito: The combination of heart-pounding martial arts sequences and sharp humor will make it an ideal pick for passengers seeking excitement and levity during their flight.
How to Train Your Dragon
Katz: DreamWorks has spent the last 25 years battling it out with Disney for animation supremacy and the beloved How to Train Your Dragon trilogy is a testament to the studio’s progress. Now, the former is taking another page out of the latter’s playbook with a live-action adaptation from the original franchise director. Will the magic of Hiccup’s animated journey translate? Based on the spellbinding trailers, it looks likely!
Brito: How to Train Your Dragon has the potential to retain the emotional depth and breathtaking visuals that made the trilogy a favorite. For inflight viewers, the mix of epic adventure and heartfelt storytelling offers the perfect blend of escapism and connection.
Elio
Katz: Though the pandemic disrupted the releases of recent Pixar originals (i.e. non-franchise fare), the generally warm receptions to Soul, Luca, Turning Red and Elemental bodes well for Elio. The film follows an 11-year-old protagonist, who finds himself mistaken for Earth’s ambassador and thrust into an organization of eccentric aliens from across the universe. If only we could swap places with Elio and go on this adventure ourselves.
Brito: As audiences seek fresh narratives outside of established franchises, Pixar’s originals often deliver a blend of emotional depth and visual spectacle that resonates well in the skies.
A Minecraft Movie
Katz: Minecraft is the best-selling video game of all time with more than 300 million copies sold. As such, the world-building game deserves a quality big screen treatment. Directed by Jared Hess (Napoleon Dynamite) and with a cast fronted by Jason Momoa and Jack Black, it’s looking like the blended live-action/animated film will deliver just that. Grab your pickaxes, folks.
Brito: Movies based on video games have proven to be a hit with inflight audiences, blending familiarity with fresh cinematic experiences. Last year’s Super Mario Bros. movie was a standout success onboard, and A Minecraft Movie is set to follow suit. With its blend of live-action and animation, combined with a universally loved source material, it’s a perfect pick for passengers seeking fun, nostalgia, and creativity during their journey.
Snow White
Katz: The immensely talented Rachel Zegler (West Side Story, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes) stars as one of Disney’s most famous princesses opposite Gal Gadot as the evil queen. Snow White and the Seven Dwarves was originally released in 1937. Nearly a century later, audiences are still enamored with the musical fantasy that helped Disney establish a template for its entire studio.
Brito: Snow White taps into a rich vein of nostalgia, reimagining the iconic tale for new generations while delighting those who grew up with the original, and we expect great results onboard airlines worldwide.
Lilo & Stitch
Katz: Despite tripling its budget at the box office in 2002 and becoming an immediate fan favorite, Disney’s Lilo & Stitch oddly never received a theatrical sequel (though it did spawn a home release follow-up and TV spinoff). However, 23 years later, the franchise lives on with a live-action adaptation that aims to introduce the beloved alien to an entirely new generation of audiences. Talk about enduring appeal.
Brito: Family-friendly films like Lilo & Stitch are a mainstay of inflight entertainment, offering something for passengers of all ages to enjoy together. Disney’s live-action adaptations, with their nostalgic charm and fresh storytelling, have consistently resonated with onboard audiences.
Jurassic World Rebirth
Katz: Those darn dinos are at it again! Across six films, the Jurassic Park franchise has grossed more than $6 billion at the worldwide box office as fans can’t get enough of the prehistoric mayhem. Rebirth is positioned to be among the highest-grossing films in the US this year with a star studded cast that includes Scarlett Johansson, Mahershala Ali and Bridgerton/Wicked breakout Jonathan Bailey. If only we could get the Fast & Furious crossover the world has been waiting for…
Brito: The Jurassic franchise has a proven track record of thrilling inflight audiences with its blend of action, adventure, and nostalgia. Dinosaurs wreaking havoc never goes out of style, making it a perfect pick for passengers seeking excitement during their journey.
Fantastic Four: First Steps
Katz: The two previous theatrical adaptations of the Fantastic Four, released under 20th Century Fox, received mixed responses from fans. But under Disney’s Marvel Cinematic Universe, Marvel’s first family is getting a revamp that has the potential to right the franchise.
Brito: Superhero movies have become a staple of inflight entertainment, captivating passengers with their blend of larger-than-life characters and relatable struggles. The Marvel magic ensures it’s a crowd-pleaser, perfect for passing the time in the air.
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning
Katz: Tom Cruise’s death defying spy franchise has been going strong since 1996! But alas, all good things must come to an end. The Final Reckoning, the eighth film in the series, will be the grand conclusion to one of cinema’s defining action tales.
Brito: Action films like Mission: Impossible have always been a hit in the skies, offering passengers an adrenaline rush while seated thousands of feet above the ground. The franchise’s blend of breathtaking stunts and high-stakes drama makes it an inflight entertainment favorite, and The Final Reckoning is poised to continue that legacy.
Superman
Katz: Superman isn’t just a comic book character, he’s a beloved icon of American mythology. Following one of the most widely celebrated trailers in recent blockbuster history, James Gunn’s reboot has the potential to recapture the magic of Christopher Reeve’s first two big screen outings as the Man of Steel. Beyond that, July’s Superman promises to launch the fledgling DC Universe to spectacular new heights.
Brito: For inflight audiences, the enduring appeal of Superman’s story — combining hope, heroism, and humanity — makes it a highly anticipated and universally resonant choice. It also offers the perfect opportunity to connect seamlessly with WB’s broader Superman Universe, including the hit series Superman & Lois, for an all-superhero inflight experience.
Featured image credited to and with permission from Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. ™ & © DC
About the Authors:
Vitor Brito
Vitor serves as Partnerships and Acquisitions Manager at Touch Inflight Solutions, a leading provider of inflight entertainment solutions for airlines. In his current role, he is responsible for managing the content acquisition and licensing process for Touch, ensuring that the content portfolio meets the needs and preferences of the clients and the passengers.
Brandon Katz
Brandon serves as Senior Entertainment Industry Stategist at Parrot Analytics. He is a driven and creative entertainment industry analyst and communicator who is passionate about studying and articulating the present and future of media and entertainment.
He has a proven track record in generating strategically compelling multimedia pop culture conversations and analyzing the micro and macro trends driving Hollywood business.
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Featured image credited to Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. ™ & © DC
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