A look back on the flashiest premieres of the year, including events for ‘Lilo & Stitch,’ ‘M3GAN 2.0,’ ‘Weapons’ and ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash.’
Stitch arrives on the carpet during the world premiere of Disney’s ‘Lilo & Stitch’ at El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood on May 17.
Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney
Move aside, A-listers; this year it was all about the stunts.
While red carpets are certainly a place for star-studded moments, they’re also where studios and streamers like to pull out all the stops — whether that’s having a talking animatronic character whiz around in a convertible (as was the case at the Lilo & Stitch premiere), staging a robot dance number (for M3GAN 2.0) or recreating a mystical universe on Hollywood Boulevard (à la Avatar: Fire and Ash).
The Last of Us also brought in the zombies, F1: The Movie turned Times Square into a racetrack, and some schoolchildren creeped everyone out in support of Weapons.
Over the hundreds of red carpets that look place in 2025, here are THR‘s picks for the most stunt-filled, over-the-top happenings in Hollywood this year.
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‘The Electric State’

Image Credit: Roger Kisby/Getty Images for Netflix It may not have been Netflix’s biggest hit of the year, but The Electric State premiered in a big way in February, with an immersive red carpet featuring robots from the Russo Brothers’ sci-fi flick.

Robots from the film roll down the carpet.
Roger Kisby/Getty Images for Netflix
Before the film’s stars — including Millie Bobby Brown, Chris Pratt and Ke Huy Quan — arrived, the bots played around with reporters and photographers on the line, taunting them with messages of “human scum” and “Let me give you my good side — just kidding, every side is our good side. We are symmetrical and perfect, unlike you lumpy humans.”
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‘The Last of Us’

Image Credit: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic for HBO The Infected came to life at the season two premiere of HBO’s hit apocalypse drama in March, where stars Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey were swarmed (but only for selfies) by fans recreating the zombie looks from the show.

Bella Ramsey and Pedro Pascal at the premiere.
Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic for HBO

Isabela Merced poses with an Infected fan.
Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic for HBO
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‘The Handmaid’s Tale’

Image Credit: Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images In honor of the Hulu project’s sixth and final season, which debuted in April, Gilead made its way to Hollywood’s TCL Chinese Theatre. Costumed Handmaids walked down the carpet in silence ahead of the show’s stars and proceeded to quietly stand in front of the venue as guests trickled inside. The iconic theater itself was even draped in the signature red cloak and white bonnet, alongside a banner with the series’ slogan “Nolite te bastardes carborundorum” (meaning “Don’t let the bastards grind you down.”)
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‘Lilo & Stitch’

Image Credit: Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Disney On the way to Lilo & Stitch becoming one of this year’s biggest films, several versions of the cuddly blue alien were in action at May’s premiere. One animatronic zipped around the celebration in a pink convertible, rocking a lei and chattering to reporters, “Take my picture!” He also took a joy ride across the stage of the El Capitan Theatre right before the screening started.
Meanwhile Disney had another lively Stitch set up in the photo area to photo bomb the film’s stars, as he cackled and moved around from a bucket in the sand, and a third Stitch — this one dressed up as a Disney employee — was set up along Hollywood Boulevard to interact with fans walking by.

Zach Galifianakis and Stitch at the premiere.
Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images for Disney

Stitch greets fans on Hollywood Boulevard.
Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images for Disney
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‘F1: The Movie’

Image Credit: Mike Coppola/Getty Images for Warner Bros. Pictures Apple and Warners Bros. put the pedal to the metal for their New York premiere of F1 in June, transforming Times Square with race cars lining the red carpet. A sea of fans surrounded the event, coming out to see stars Brad Pitt and Damson Idris, along with many real F1 drivers in attendance.

A view of atmosphere at the NYC premiere.
Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for Warner Bros. Pictures

Lewis Hamilton at the event.
Mike Coppola/Getty Images for Warner Bros. Pictures
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‘M3GAN 2.0’

Image Credit: Kevin Mazur/Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Universal Pictures, Blumhouse and Atomic Monster M3GAN 2.0 may have disappointed at the box office but it certainly wasn’t for lack of promotional effort — the film’s dancing robots were everywhere, including on the carpet at the NYC premiere in June. The girls kicked off the event with a choreographed number to “Oops!…I Did It Again” and stuck around for some slightly menacing photos with the cast and producers.
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‘Weapons’

Image Credit: Jay Clendenin/Shutterstock for Warner Bros. Before becoming a surprise smash, Weapons transformed downtown L.A. in July into a real-life representation of the film. One step-and-repeat featured individual images of the movie’s missing children under the message “Where did they go?,” while a separate photo area served as Maybrook Elementary, recreating a classroom with children sitting hauntingly at their desks.
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‘Him’

Image Credit: Leon Bennett/Getty Images for Universal Pictures Him, which follows a rising football star who falls into a world of terror when he’s invited to train with a legendary player, brought some unsettling vibes to its L.A. premiere in September. Universal packed the carpet with costumed, face-painted fans, who chanted, rang cowbells and waved cardboard head cutouts of stars Marlon Wayans and Tyriq Withers throughout the night.

A performer on the carpet.
Leon Bennett/Getty Images for Universal Pictures
The entry to TCL Chinese Theatre also featured an inflatable football tunnel with a ram’s head, with faceless cheerleaders who welcomed guests into the screening with their eyes and mouths covered.
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‘Tron: Ares’

Image Credit: Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for Disney Living up to its tech-forward plot, Tron: Ares celebrated its October release with some real-life sci-fi on Hollywood Boulevard. Tesla’s humanoid robot Optimus was the star, facing off against Jared Leto as it threw punches and kicks his way — while also stopping for plenty of photos with guests as it walked around the carpet.

On the premiere carpet.
Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images for Disney

Guests photograph the Tesla Optimus robot.
Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney
Following the screening, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross — who served as composers on the film under their Nine Inch Nails persona — performed four tracks alongside their frequent collaborator Boys Noize, while bathed in smoke and a light show.

Trent Reznor, Boys Noize and Atticus Ross perform onstage.
Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney
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‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’

Image Credit: Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for 20th Century Studios Pandora was brought to life in honor of the third Avatar film’s December release — and in some ways literally, as the film’s logo was engulfed by flames at the red carpet entrance in a nod to Fire and Ash. Naʼvi were also on display throughout the premiere, luring guests up the stairs to the Dolby Theater while also hanging from the atrium’s ceiling in a recreation of one of the movie’s major fight scenes.

Inside the premiere.
Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for 20th Century Studios

James Cameron attends the L.A. event.
Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images for 20th Century Studios

The view on the way into the Dolby Theater.
Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for 20th Century Studios