It turned out to be the highest-grossing film in American cinemas in October 2025 “Tron: Ares”which grossed $63 million. However, with a budget of up to $220 million, it’s hard to call it a success. He came in second place “Black Telephone 2” with a result of $53 million. Closing the podium is “Taylor Swift: The Official Release Party of a Showgirl”, a film promoting the popular singer’s latest album.
Many highly anticipated films turned out to be disappointments. These include “Springsteen: Save Me from Nothingness”, “Smashing Machine”“After the Hunt”, “Kiss of the Spider Woman”, “Bugonia” and “Anemone”.
In the last 27 years, only October 1997 had lower revenues, when ticket sales generated $385.2 million (we do not count 2020, when most theaters were closed). In 1998, profits were $455.6 million. A year later it was over USD 600 million.
Journalists from “The Hollywood Reporter” indicate that the American film industry is still feeling the effects of the actors’ and screenwriters’ strikes in 2023, which resulted in delays of many premieres. Others have been postponed to later months – among others “Mortal Kombat 2”which will debut only in May 2026.
According to THR, the October repertoire was drastically different from the audience’s expectations. She failed to generate interest in films competing for awards (“Smashing Machine”, “Kiss of the Spider Woman”) or in an attempt to revive a cult series (“Tron: Ares”). Journalists add that if it weren’t for the last-minute documentary promoting Taylor Swift’s album, the situation would be even worse.
It should be noted that the situation should improve in November. Many highly anticipated productions premiere then, including “The Fugitive”, “Wicked: For Good” and “Zootopia 2”.