It’s that time of the year when you say goodbye to one year and welcome another, all within the space of a day. While the outgoing year, 2025, will be remembered for many things — such as big-budget Hollywood flicks, the ICC Champions Trophy and the Asia Cup — it will also be remembered as the year the Pakistan cricket team won a tri-nation tournament at home, the young guns won the Emerging Asia Cup and the country’s finest e-sports professional, Arslan Ash, kept the national flag flying high by securing multiple EVO titles abroad.

So, what does the new year bring for those waiting impatiently for it and how could it be better than the preceding 12 months? Let’s try to analyse that by going down memory lane as well as chalking out a list of events that might shape a better 2026.

Why 2025 was a memorable year

The departing 2025 will be remembered for many things, both good and bad. Let’s talk about the good stuff first, which was topped by cinema, namely Hollywood films. The year saw the return of fan favourites Superman, The Fantastic Four and Captain America, which was followed by the first-ever The Minecraft Movie and the dinosaurs in Jurassic World: Rebirth.

Not only did the live-action versions of Lilo & Stitch, The Smurfs and How to Train Your Dragon wow audiences, but so did late releases like Wicked: For Good and Avatar: Fire and Ash. As for animated films released in cinemas, nothing bettered Zootopia 2, which is still running successfully in cinemas all over the world. Yes, the live-action version of Snow White might have bombed at the box office, but Thunderbolts and Karate Kid: Legends did impress those who have been following the franchise.

It’s time to look back at the moments that defined 2025 and look ahead to what 2026 promises to bring, from sports and cinema to global events

The year 2025 will always be remembered as the year of KPop Demon Hunters, which made a stunning debut in cinemas and is now among the most-watched movies on Netflix. Not only did it introduce viewers to Korean culture, but it also made them aware of what demons are and how they can be hunted — with a little help from the musical side.

Pakistan in sports during 2025

As for sports, the Pakistan cricket team may not have managed to win either the ICC Champions Trophy or the Asia Cup, but it did break the jinx of not winning a trophy at home by defeating Sri Lanka in the final of the tri-nation series, which also featured Zimbabwe as the........

© Dawn Young Magazine