Jesse Cerrotti is the manager of the West Newton Cinema.

In the final days of the year, I am doing what many other film lovers do—watching awards season movies and other films I missed this year. As I’ve been reflecting on this year in cinema as a whole, it has become clear that we have turned a corner on the COVID-era moviegoing slump. Without a doubt, 2025 was the best year in cinema since 2019.

From 2020 through 2024, the film industry both creatively and financially hit all-time lows, due to the effects of the COVID pandemic, as well as a 1-2 punch of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) and the Directors Guild of America (DGA) going on strike in 2023, right when things seemed they were beginning to rebound. A time-limited disruption for the industry at large, these strikes not only centered the workers, but they also took a stand against other forces hurting the industry: streaming and the now all-too-prevalent use of AI.

Why is this relevant to the 2025 year in film? Well, while 2024 was, in this cinema manager’s opinion, a year marred by weak outings likely due to rushed productions and disruptions to sets the year prior (not to mention bloated budgets), 2025 has turned things around in a major way; but what the future holds for Hollywood is troublingly unclear.

2024 saw some of the biggest disappointments in ill-advised remakes, sequels, and whatever the live-action Mufasa was. From Beetlejuice Beetlejuice to Joker Folie à Deux, Moana 2, and even the highly anticipated Mad Max spin-off, Furiosa, it seemed like Hollywood was out of ideas, and serving reheated leftovers. Alternatively, 2025 saw fan appreciation soar for installations of new franchises. James Gunn’s Superman, Final Destination: Bloodlines, and Predator Badlands are just a few examples proving that fan communities are still ready to run out to theaters when these franchises are done justice.

International cinema has also seen a historic rise to prominence in 2025. While Oscar nominations are still about a month out, it is likely that more international films will be major contenders in top categories than ever before. No Other Choice (Japan), The Secret Agent (Brazil), It Was Just An Accident (France), Sirat (Spain), and my favorite film of 2025, Sentimental Value (Norway), are all poised to be nominated in categories beyond the ‘Best International Film’ category they would normally be relegated to.

And that’s not all 2025 had to offer. Paul Thomas Anderson may have put out his best film yet in One Battle After Another. Timothée Chalamet may have fully revitalized the importance of movie stars this year as he looks to get his first Oscar for Marty Supreme. And the sheer creativity of genre films like Sinners and Weapons caught us all off guard. In short, 2025 was a tremendous, and significant, year at the cinema. So, what does that mean as we look ahead?

This past year even Netflix, yes Netflix, put out some of the most compelling films for audiences of different ages—from the sensation that was K-Pop Demon Hunters to Guillermo Del Toro’s Frankenstein, to the jaw-droppingly beautiful Train Dreams. These films, however, were barely on the big screen, given a very limited release in select cinemas. Now, Netflix is poised to purchase Warner Bros., a studio which just had an all-time great year with Sinners, F1, Superman, One Battle After Another and more.

Paramount Studios, recently deciding to dump the animated Avatar, The Legend of Aang movie to streaming, continues to make one bad decision after another, after being acquired by the multi-billionaire Ellison family. And Disney and Sony are hoping that the Marvel fanbase will show up for 2026’s newest installments in the Spiderman and Avengers franchises.

Most importantly, beyond the studios and beyond the creatives, 2026 and further, cinema will face tests of the purse and of technology. As AI is forced upon us, and as the economy becomes dependent upon it, we the consumers are becoming overloaded with content and paywalls in media, and must decide every day where to put our money and our eyeballs.

But I am optimistic. If 2025 is any indicator, a new golden age of cinema may very well be upon us. Since the earliest woman and man, art has been a fixture of every civilization and culture.

Even if the art of film may change and become more rebellious, more hopeful, or more sullen, the art perseveres. Much like the storybook in Rob Reiner’s The Princess Bride, diving into a new cinematic adventure has the ability to take us into new wonderful worlds and bring us together.

See you at the movies.

Jesse Cerrotti