The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants


The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants is a 2025 American animated adventure comedy film based on the SpongeBob SquarePants television series, created by Stephen Hillenburg. Directed by series veteran Derek Drymon, it stars the show's regular voice cast alongside George Lopez, Ice Spice, Arturo Castro, Sherry Cola, Regina Hall, and Mark Hamill. The plot follows SpongeBob on a quest to prove his bravery by adventuring with the ghost pirate, The Flying Dutchman, through the Underworld. It is the fourth theatrical film based on the series, following 2020's Sponge on the Run, and the sixth film overall.
The film was written by Pam Brady and Matt Lieberman, from a story by Brady and series creatives Marc Ceccarelli and Kaz. It was first developed as a direct-to-streaming film focused on Mr. Krabs, but the project was later retooled into a theatrical feature with SpongeBob as the lead character instead. By April 2023, Drymon had been hired to direct the film. In July 2024, Hamill was revealed to be voicing the Flying Dutchman in the film in place of Brian Doyle-Murray. John Debney composed the film's score, after having previously scored 2015's Sponge Out of Water.
Search for SquarePants premiered at the AFI Film Festival on October 26, 2025, before holding a premiere in New York City on December 17, and was theatrically released by Paramount Pictures in the United States on December 19. The film received mostly positive reviews from critics and has grossed $160 million worldwide.

Plot

finds that he has grown tall enough to ride an intense roller coaster, but is too afraid to do so. He aspires to be as brave as Mr. Krabs, who tells him that he was a swashbuckler in his youth. Upon discovering Mr. Krabs' secret basement containing his pirate relics, he unintentionally summons The Flying Dutchman, a ghost pirate who was cursed to eternally roam the Underworld until he can swap places with an innocent soul. Deeming SpongeBob the soul he needs to return to mortality, he invites him and his best friend Patrick Star into his crew and promises to help SpongeBob become a swashbuckler. Mr. Krabs, regretting having told SpongeBob that he is not brave, follows suit with Squidward Tentacles and Gary the Snail to rescue the duo.
The Dutchman informs SpongeBob that he must complete a series of dangerous trials and blow the Dutchman's horn in order to become a swashbuckler. SpongeBob overcomes the challenges with ease by doing what he believes Mr. Krabs would do. The Dutchman grows annoyed by Patrick's childish distractions, and convinces a reluctant SpongeBob to abandon him. When Mr. Krabs catches up with SpongeBob, the Dutchman forces him to admit that he was not a swashbuckler, but rather a fry cook who enjoyed blowing bubbles for which he was humiliated. Convinced by the Dutchman that Mr. Krabs lied to and does not believe in him, SpongeBob blows the Dutchman's horn, which swaps the curse from the Dutchman to SpongeBob and Mr. Krabs, who become bearded ghosts. The Dutchman becomes a human, regains his mortality, and spends his time in Santa Monica, California. The Dutchman betrays and leaves behind his assistant Barb, who then has a change of heart to tell SpongeBob and Mr. Krabs that they need to destroy the horn before sunset to reverse the curse.
After reconciling with Patrick, SpongeBob goes up with Mr. Krabs to the surface. They attempt to steal the horn, only for Dutchman to catch them and flee onto a roller coaster, believing SpongeBob is too cowardly to follow. Mr. Krabs encourages SpongeBob to embrace himself and use his bubble-blowing skills to his advantage. SpongeBob gains the courage to climb the ascending roller coaster vehicle and trap the horn within a bubble, which he pops to drop the horn to the ground and destroy it. The curse is reversed, and the Dutchman is demoted to kitchen duty for his actions while Barb takes his place as captain. Mr. Krabs celebrates SpongeBob for his bravery before they realise they left Squidward behind in the Underworld.

Voice cast

  • Tom Kenny as SpongeBob SquarePants and Gary the Snail
  • Clancy Brown as Mr. Krabs
  • *Brown also appears in live action as a pirate narrator in the film's prologue.
  • Rodger Bumpass as Squidward Tentacles
  • Bill Fagerbakke as Patrick Star
  • Carolyn Lawrence as Sandy Cheeks
  • Mr. Lawrence as Plankton
  • Regina Hall as Barb, the Flying Dutchman's assistant
  • Mark Hamill as The Flying Dutchman
  • George Lopez as JK Fishlips, a fish executive at Paramount
  • Isis "Ice Spice" Gaston as a ticket taker fish
  • Arturo Castro as a Santa Monica ride operator
  • Sherry Cola as a studio spokesperson and a Krusty Krab patron

    Production

Development

The film initially began development as a direct-to-streaming film focused on Mr. Krabs, coinciding with the franchise's character-focused Netflix films Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie and Plankton: The Movie. The project was reworked into a theatrical feature, with SpongeBob as the lead character, after Paramount executives saw the first draft of the streaming version. In February 2022, the fourth theatrical SpongeBob SquarePants film was officially confirmed to be in development. In April 2023, during Paramount Pictures' CinemaCon panel, it was announced that the film would be titled The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants, with series veteran Derek Drymon set to direct the film. The screenplay was written by Pam Brady and Matt Lieberman, with a story by Marc Ceccarelli, Kaz, and Brady. Brady, Lisa Stewart, and Aaron Dem serve as producers. Paramount Animation and Nickelodeon Movies produce, in association with Domain Entertainment and MRC.
In April 2024, it was reported that the show's regular voice cast of Tom Kenny, Clancy Brown, Rodger Bumpass, Bill Fagerbakke, Carolyn Lawrence, and Mr. Lawrence would reprise their roles. At San Diego Comic-Con in July 2024, it was announced that Mark Hamill was voicing the Flying Dutchman, in place of his long-time voice actor Brian Doyle-Murray from the series. In June 2025 at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, it was announced that Regina Hall, Sherry Cola, Arturo Castro, George Lopez, and Ice Spice were cast in the film.

Animation

was the main animation provider for the film. Liz Hemme served as the visual effects supervisor for the film. Visually, Drymon wanted to avoid hyper-realism or stylized CGI meant to mimick 2D animation. Inspired by 60s plasticware and toys, he directed Reel FX to create a style that he felt looked more handmade and true to SpongeBob. This philosophy extended to every aspect of the film's visuals and encouraged the team to dial back realistic textures that they felt could be distracting and too incongruent with SpongeBob's cartoony world.
Drawing from the series' past, mixed media became intrinsic to the visual language. Drymon embraced imperfections and said: "visual inconsistency isn't a flaw to be corrected; it's a tool for comedy, particularly in a world that thrives on surprise and absurdity". The visual palette of the film was drawn from SpongeBob and various live-action inspirations such as Sam Raimi and Coen brothers films, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Three O'Clock High. Head of story Mark O'Hare said, "We're making fun of these movies but also honoring them," and added: "The contrast between SpongeBob's world and those dynamic 3D cinematic styles is a big part of the fun". To emulate the feeling of Bikini Bottom stretching endlessly like it often does in the series, the team "had to dress environments to camera almost all the time" as opposed to building a set than shooting in it like in most other CG productions.

Music

was confirmed to compose the score for the film in April 2025, after having previously composed the score for The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water. Ice Spice performed an original song for the film, "Big Guy", which was released in November 2025; it is not included on the film's soundtrack. The soundtrack was released on December 19, 2025, on MOD-providers by Milan Records and Paramount Music.

Release

The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants had its world premiere on October 26, 2025, as one of the closing films of the AFI Film Festival. It later held a premiere in New York City on December 17, and was theatrically released by Paramount Pictures in the United States on December 19, 2025. The film is accompanied by an animated short film, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Chrome Alone 2 – Lost in New Jersey. The film's release was previously scheduled for May 23, 2025, but was pushed back to December 19, 2025, with Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning taking the May 2025 slot due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike.

Home media

The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants was released on digital on January 20, 2026, and will be released on Blu-ray and DVD on March 31, 2026.

Reception

Box office

, the film has grossed $70 million in the United States and Canada and $89 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $160 million. It was produced on a budget of $64 million.
In the United States and Canada, The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants was released alongside Avatar: Fire and Ash, The Housemaid, and David, and was projected to gross $15–20 million from 3,557 theaters. The film made $6 million on its first day, including $1.4 million from Thursday night previews. It went on to debut to $16 million, finishing in fourth behind Fire and Ash, David, and The Housemaid. Its second weeknd brought in $11.1 million, averaging $3,110 per theater in 3,570 theaters; it suffered a decline of -28.9%, ranking seventh behind David. Its third weekend declined by -25.2%, grossing $8.3 million, ranking sixth behind newcomer Anaconda.