Final Destination Bloodlinesmight not be the only movie to revive a dormant franchise with a huge comeback in 2025. The new movie is the sixth installment in the horror franchise, which follows Death itself killing people who have narrowly avoided disaster thanks to premonitions. The movie, which is the first installment since 2011’sFinal Destination 5, largely focuses on a new cast of characters played by an ensemble that includes Kaitlyn Santa Juana, Teo Briones, Richard Harmon, Owen Patrick Joyner, and Brec Bassinger, though it also features the return of the late Tony Todd as recurring character William Bludworth.
Even though it has been more than a decade since the franchise has played in theaters,Bloodlineshas so far turned out a tremendous box office performance. After debuting at No. 1 with a domestic opening weekend gross of $51.6 million (knocking Marvel’sThunderbolts*from its perch atop the chart, which it held for two consecutive weekends),it has risen to a global total of more than $185 million, making it the ninth highest-grossing movie of 2025 so far.Bloodlineshas also become the highest-grossingFinal Destinationmovie, surpassing the $187.4 million gross of the 2009 installment,The Final Destination.
Final Destination Isn’t The Only Returning Horror Franchise In 2025
And New Tracking Data Suggests Another Box Office Hit Is On The Way
WhileFinal Destination Bloodlinesis smashing records, it is very likely that it will not be the only new installment in a horror franchise to break box office records. TheupcomingI Know What You Did Last Summercomes to theaters in July after an even longer hiatus. Although the teen slasher franchise, which kicked off in 1997 with the Lois Duncan adaptation of the same name, was revived with a one-season Prime Video series in 2021, its last feature-length installment debuted direct-to-video in 2006, whileits last theatrical installment debuted in 1998.
I Know What You Did Last Summer, which was directed by Jennifer Kaytin Robinson (Do Revenge) from a screenplay she co-wrote with Sam Lansky, is a legacy sequel that will feature the return of Jennifer Love Hewitt as Julie James and Freddie Prinze Jr. as Ray Bronson alongside a new ensemble cast that includes Madelyn Cline, Jonah Hauer-King, Chase Sui Wonders, Tyriq Withers, and Nicholas Alexander Chavez.It is also tracking at a similar level toFinal Destination Bloodlineswhen it was eight weeks out from its own release, as revealed in the below graphic fromTheQuorum(viaPuck):
In addition to showing the same level of promise in kickstarting its franchise asFinal Destination Bloodlines,2025’sI Know What You Did Last Summerhasa better awareness level than the majority of the summer’s major horror releases, including the long-awaited28 Years Later, only falling behind Blumhouse’sM3GAN 2.0(which is the first sequel to their viral 2023 hit). Even though both scores have diminished somewhat in the past two weeks, its interest level still exceeds the level of major tentpoles such asF1, Pixar’sElio, andFrom the World of John Wick: Ballerina.
Could I Know What You Did Last Summer Inspire A Full Franchise Comeback?
Repeating Bloodlines' Box Office Success Would Be Huge
Even if the upcoming legacy sequel slips belowFinal Destination Bloodlinesin the weeks before its release, it could still be on track for a staggering run at the box office. It could also easily become the highest-grossing installment in the franchise. Even if it falls behindBloodlinesand only manages to cross the $150 million milestone worldwide,it could handily surpass the total of the highest-grossing movie, which is the original installment with $125.5 million worldwide. Below, see a breakdown of the box office performance of every installment in theI Know What You Did Last Summerfranchise:
$125.5 million
$40 million
I Know What You Did Last Summer(2025)
TBD
At the time of writing, thepossibleFinal Destination 7has not yet been greenlit. However,Bloodlines' reported budget of $50 million most likely places its break-even point somewhere around $125 million, which is a milestone that the movie has long since surpassed, more or less ensuring the continued longevity of the long-running film series. IfI Know What You Did Last Summerfollows in its footsteps,it could guarantee the continuation of its own franchiseafter it has spent nearly three decades out of theaters.
Another factor that helpedFinal Destination Bloodlinesthrive is the fact that its Rotten Tomatoes score is the best in the franchise, which is something that could also be easy forI Know What You Did Last Summerto replicate, because the first three movies earned 48%, 8%, and 0% respectively, while the show earned 41%. If it accomplishes all of this,it could stand alongside theScreammoviesas the rare 1990s horror franchise to successfully kick off a robust new branch in the 2020s.
