One Battle After Another: Top 10 New Action Movies You Can’t Miss in 2025

The new Paul Thomas Anderson epic “One Battle After Another” roared into theaters this weekend and instantly took over social-media timelines, ticketing apps, and cinephile group chats. Powered by Leonardo DiCaprio’s first collaboration with Anderson, the film is shaping up to be the most talked-about release of 2025 and a potential awards-season juggernaut. Plot and themes Set in a near-future Southwest torn apart by water wars, “One Battle After Another” follows ex-Special Forces operative Mason Kincaid (DiCaprio) and his teenage daughter Lark (newcomer Chase Infiniti) as they trek across a lawless desert to reunite with their family. Anderson balances blistering set pieces—armored-convoy ambushes, drone swarms, claustrophobic tunnel firefights—with a surprisingly tender father-daughter dynamic. Critics have praised the film’s blend of intimate emotion and large-scale spectacle, calling it both “a powerhouse of tenderness and fury” and “the movie that could rule the conversation all year”. Cast and production highlights • Leonardo DiCaprio reportedly earned his usual $20 million fee to headline the film, his first major action role since “Inception”. • Alana Haim, Wood Harris, Teyana Taylor, and Shayna McHayle round out the supporting cast, while Jonny Greenwood delivers a pulse-pounding score recorded with a 90-piece orchestra. • Shot largely on IMAX 65 mm in New Mexico’s Shiprock desert, the production employed practical explosions and minimal CGI, giving every firefight a tactile crunch. Box-office momentum Advance ticket sales on major platforms surpassed “Dune: Part Two” at the same point in its pre-release window. Analysts project a $72-80 million domestic opening, which would mark Anderson’s biggest debut by a wide margin. IMAX auditoriums are reporting near-sellouts through Tuesday, and premium-large-format screens account for roughly 42 percent of presales—evidence that audiences want the largest canvas possible for Anderson’s kinetic imagery. Critical consensus Early reviews hover in the mid-90s on Rotten Tomatoes. Rolling Stone notes that the director “marries a $150 million budget to a fiercely personal story about refusing to quit when the odds stack up”, while NPR calls it “prescient, mesmerizing, and fearlessly political”. Social platforms echo that sentiment with spoiler-free praise for the highway set piece dubbed “the sandstorm gauntlet,” already clipped into countless reaction videos. Why search interest is exploding • First DiCaprio–Anderson pairing: two marquee names fans rarely see together. • Timely dystopian premise tied to real-world climate anxiety. • Viral excerpts of Greenwood’s score on TikTok generate soundtrack Shazam spikes. • The film’s tagline—“When every mile is a fight, how far will you go?”—has become a meme template applied to everything from exam week to fantasy-football drafts. Streaming and home release Studio insiders say the typical 45-day theatrical window will hold, landing “One Battle After Another” on Ultra-HD Blu-ray and premium VOD before Christmas, with a streaming bow on Springline in January. Collectors can expect an Anderson-commentary track, deleted convoy battle, and a 30-minute making-of focused on the practical pyrotechnics. Bottom line Whether you’re chasing awards chatter, craving a high-octane spectacle, or simply curious why everyone’s quoting “On to the next fight,” “One Battle After Another” is the cultural battle worth waging this fall.