LOS ANGELES, March 22 — Tom Cruise takes on what may be his final “Mission: Impossible,” a new Superman will wear the red cape, and the record-setting “Avatar” sci-fi series will return to movie theaters this year.

Those films and more are giving cinema operators hope that the long recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic will continue in 2025. Five years after the start of the health crisis, moviegoing has not fully rebounded.