What if death had an inescapable design? What if you cheated death, and it retaliated by stalking you at every turn until it claimed you? That’s the chilling premise of the Final Destination film franchise, and since it’s turning 25 this month, we’re going back to where it all began.

Final Destination starts when teenager Alex Browning (Devon Sawa) and his classmates are getting ready for a school trip to Paris. But, from the time he leaves home to when he boards the flight, Alex keeps noticing ominous signs. Then when they settle into their seats and take off, Alex has a vivid hallucination of the plane exploding, killing everyone. In a panic, he and several others leave the plane before it takes off and watch in shock as it blows up in the sky. Things get worse from there as the survivors begin to die in strange ways, leading Alex to realize that death had a plan for them.

The movie, which also starred Ali Larter, Kerr Smith, Tony Todd, Seann William Scott, and Kristen Cloke, debuted in theaters on March 17, 2000. Directed by James Wong, the fresh concept inspired multiple sequels, with the latest installment coming out on May 16, 2025.

While the Final Destination franchise has become a solid success at the box office, it was originally written by Jeffrey Reddick to be an episode of The X-Files. He had read a story about a woman who was on vacation when her mother called and said that she had a strong feeling that her flight home was going to crash. The woman changed her flight and the plane she was supposed to be on did crash. Reddick built on that idea and wrote a TV script, hoping to sell it to The X-Files. When a colleague from New Line Cinema learned of the story concept, Reddick was encouraged to pitch it as a feature film instead.

New Line bought the treatment and hired Reddick to write the original script. Then writers-directors James Wong and Glen Morgan – both of whom had strong ties to The X-Files – were brought in to finish the script. Collectively, the group decided to make teenagers the main characters, following the success of horror movies like Scream. But, they did not want to make a slasher movie by turning death into a physical figure. Instead, they made everyday objects appear life threatening and played on the ominous feelings people sometimes get that warn them of danger.

Their instincts proved right when the movie was No. 3 at the box office on its opening weekend, behind the Julia Roberts starring Erin Brockovich and the big budget sci-fi film Mission to Mars. It remained in theaters for 22 weeks and earned a global total of $112.8 million.