MINECRAFT X SONIC Trailer (2025)

MINECRAFT X SONIC Trailer (2025)

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MINECRAFT X SONIC Trailer (2025)
© 2025 - Minecraft
Release date conflicts can negatively impact box office earnings for movies that share the same genre or target audience.
Studios should consider moving their release dates strategically to avoid competition with more successful franchises.
The Moana sequel, Zootopia 2, Jurassic World 4, The Lion King prequel, Minecraft, and Avatar 3 are potential competitors to upcoming movies.
Choosing the right date for a movie to be released can make or break the success of a title, and some upcoming new releases should strongly consider moving to get the best results. With so many different studios producing multiple projects each year, there are always going to be some conflicting release dates that will have an impact on total box office earnings. For some movies, sharing a date could have a positive impact, as seen with what happened around Barbie and Oppenheimer releasing on the same day and pulling in audiences to both movies despite the very different genres.

However, more often, a conflicting release will negatively impact the less popular film as cinema-goers choose to see their preferred project and end up never seeing another picture they had minor interest in. This issue tends to affect movies that release on the same date or close to one another and share a genre, or target audience. Smart studios should look ahead now, see where their movies are likely to lose out on sales and change their release as early as possible to avoid disappointment.

8
Wicked: Part One
November 27, 2024

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Wicked
Wicked adapts the Broadway musical into a two-part film, following the unlikely friendship between Elphaba, born with green skin, and Glinda, a popular aristocrat, in the Land of Oz. As they navigate their contrasting paths, they evolve into Glinda the Good and the Wicked Witch of the West.

With the recent announcement of a Moana animated sequel releasing on the same date as Wicked: Part One, these two family films will likely be competing for the same audience. Both movies will be released during the Thanksgiving holidays, so people may have more free time and choose to see both, but it's almost certain to impact sales for Wicked. Moana is a major Disney animated feature and has an established audience, and despite the popularity of the stage show, Wicked, it's unproven at the box office. To give the movie its best shot, Universal should consider moving its release.

7
Wicked: Part Two
November 26, 2025
Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba and Ariana Grande as Glinda in the Wicked trailer
Wicked: For Good
Wicked: For Good is the sequel to the 2024 film adaptation of the popular Broadway stage musical. The film explores the origins of the Wicked Witch of the West, known as Elphaba, as the world of Oz is told from a brand new perspective.

And while they consider moving the date for the first installment, it's worth adjusting the release date for Part Two as well to avoid competing with Zootopia 2. Zootopia managed to earn more than $1 billion at the box office (via The Numbers), which is significantly more than what Moana earned. Trying to compete with another, even more successful Disney franchise would not make sense for Part Two. If Wicked chooses to push the dates back or forward by even one week for both entries, there is no competition, which would give Wicked much better odds at success.

Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba with a braid and glasses in Wicked
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8 Biggest Reveals From The Wicked Movie Trailer
The trailer for Wicked: Part One reveals a number of previously unseen characters, the colorful setting, story elements, and a major Dorothy change.

6
Superman: Legacy
July 11, 2025
Montage of David Corenswet as Superman next to Milly Alcock in House of the DragonCustom Image by Felipe Rangel
Superman
Written and directed by James Gunn, Superman is the first movie in Warner Bros.' rebooted DC Universe to center around the titular comic book hero. It introduces a new version of the Man of Steel after Henry Cavill's departure from the role, honoring the character's roots as "the embodiment of truth, justice and the American way."

Superman: Legacy is set to be the first official movie of James Gunn's DCU, and with the track record of DCEU, this movie needs to make a good impression. However, its current release date is set just one week after Jurassic World's next entry, and considering each of the three Jurassic World movies earned over $1 billion (via The Numbers), there is a good chance this movie will attract similar crowds. Releasing so close to Jurassic World is a major risk for the franchise that is following the rapid death of the DCEU.

5
Sonic The Hedgehog 3
December 20, 2024

Sonic the Hedgehog 3
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 reunites Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails as they face a formidable new adversary, Shadow. With Shadow's unprecedented powers posing a significant threat, Team Sonic seeks an unexpected alliance to thwart his plans and safeguard the planet.

Sonic The Hedgehog has had positive growth between the first and second movies, but with the third entry currently slated to release on the same day as the live-action Lion King prequel, Mufasa, it could be disastrous for Sonic. The Lion King made over $1.6 billion when it was released in 2019 (via Box Office Mojo), and both entries in the Sonic series haven't even made half of that figure (via The Numbers). With both releasing over the Christmas period, there is a chance that Sonic could make a decent return, but it will almost certainly be overshadowed by Disney.

4
Fast & Furious 11
April 2025
Fast Furious 11 story teases Fast X image
Fast and Furious 11
Fast X: Part 2 is the final movie in the Fast Saga. It reunites Vin Diesel's Dominic Toretto with the rest of the cast for one last ride. However, the franchise is open for spinoff films like Hobbs & Shaw afterward.

Fast & Furious has built a multi-billion dollar franchise over the years (via The Numbers), but since the eighth film, the series has been on a downward trend. Fast 11 is currently expected to be released in April 2025, but it is unclear whether the production will be able to meet that target, but another consideration should be accounted for if the film wants to nab that date. Minecraft is one of the most popular videogames in the world, with record streaming figures, billions of views on YouTube across various dedicated channels, and a new movie on the way.

3
Minecraft: The Movie
April 4, 2025
Minecraft-Movie-Cast
A Minecraft Movie
Based on the worldwide phenomenon Minecraft, the crafting, building, adventuring game from Mojang Studios, comes A Minecraft Movie. When a teenage girl and a ragtag group of misfits turn out to be their world's only hope against the all-powerful Ender Dragon, they'll band together to save all of Overworld.

While Minecraft as a movie is unproven at the box office, the size of its following can't be ignored, and may be reason enough for Fast 11 to consider moving. On the other hand, if Fast 11 can make its April 2025 release window, the franchise includes some of the biggest names in Hollywood. The last three movies have consistently earned over $700 million, so the movie will likely draw a significant crowd. If that is the case, Minecraft may be wise to consider moving to accommodate the more established franchise and increase its odds of success.

Combination of Zelda Mario and Sonic
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2
Elio
June 12, 2025
Elio from Pixar's Elio Teaser Trailer
Elio is the latest project from Pixar set to release in 2025, and with Pixar's string of bad luck of late, it seems more important than ever to give their new projects the best shot at success. However, if Elio sticks with its current release date, it will be in theaters just one day ahead of the live-action How To Train Your Dragon and a few weeks before the live-action Moana. Elio would do well to stretch the release a week or two earlier to have more time to draw in audiences and make the most of its summer release without having to fend off strong competition.

1
The Spongebob Movie: Search For Squarepants
December 19, 2025

Spongebob Squarepants is a beloved children's show from Nickelodeon that has enjoyed success with several movies and a series that is still ongoing. However, the latest film is set to be released on the same date as James Cameron's Avatar 3. Both films may be in very different categories, but the fact remains that Avatar's first and second entries are currently two of the top three box office earners of all time (via Box Office Mojo). Spongebob may be funny, but his ability to rival Avatar is likely to go about as well as the Titanic sailing across the Atlantic.
Minecraft director Jared Hess says he doesn’t want the upcoming live-action movie to find itself in an Ugly Sonic situation.

Speaking with The Salt Lake Tribune, per ComicBook.com, Hess touched on what viewers can expect from the upcoming Minecraft movie. He also noted he didn’t want to upset any Minecraft fans by creating an Ugly Sonic situation when bringing the popular video game to live-action.

“I think anybody that does any IP, they just want to avoid an Ugly Sonic situation,” Hess said. “I just can’t disappoint the 10-year-olds, or they’re going to murder us.”

Initial footage of the live-action Sonic the Hedgehog movie resulted in negative reactions from fans, many of whom weren’t a fan of the titular character’s unsettling look. The initial Sonic design, dubbed Ugly Sonic, quickly became a meme, with many pointing out the character’s human-looking teeth and uncanny valley appearance.

In reponse to the criticism, Sonic was redesigned to look more like more like he does in the video game franchise. Sonic the Hedgehog was released in February 2020 and was followed by a 2022 sequel, Sonic the Hedgehog 2. A third film and a spin-off miniseries are currently in the works.

Playing off the initial design and meme, Ugly Sonic appeared as a supporting character in 2022’s Chip ’n Dale: Rescue Rangers, where he was voiced by Tim Robinson.

Who stars in the Minecraft movie?
Plot details about the upcoming Minecraft movie are being kept under wraps at this time. The movie’s cast includes Jack Black, Jason Momoa, Emma Myers, Sebastian Eugene Hansen, and Danielle Brooks.

Hess, who directed 2004’s Napoleon Dynamite, also said about adapting the video game into a feature film, “Trying to adapt something that doesn’t have a story — it’s an open sandbox game. … I like the challenge. There’s got to be a fun, ridiculous movie here. And there is.”

Additionally, Hess teased that the movie will star “a funny lady, who has not been announced.”

Minecraft releases on April 4, 2025.

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A Minecraft Movie
A Minecraft Movie (2025)Stream and Watch Online
Movie"Be there and be square."
Movie DetailsWhere to WatchVideosFull Cast & CrewNews
Want to behold the glory that is 'A Minecraft Movie' in the comfort of your own home? Tracking down a streaming service to buy, rent, download, or watch the Jared Hess-directed movie via subscription can be a challenge, so we here at Moviefone want to do right by you.

Read on for a listing of streaming and cable services - including rental, purchase, and subscription choices - along with the availability of 'A Minecraft Movie' on each platform when they are available. Now, before we get into the various whats and wheres of how you can watch 'A Minecraft Movie' right now, here are some finer points about the Warner Bros. Pictures, Legendary Pictures, Mojang Studios, Vertigo Entertainment, On the Roam, Domain Entertainment, Sony Pictures Imageworks fantasy flick.

Released April 4th, 2025, 'A Minecraft Movie' stars Jack Black, Jason Momoa, Emma Myers, Danielle Brooks The movie has a runtime of about 1 hr 40 min, and received a user score of (out of 100) on TMDb, which collated reviews from experienced users.

Interested in knowing what the movie's about? Here's the plot: "Four misfits find themselves struggling with ordinary problems when they are suddenly pulled through a mysterious portal into the Overworld: a bizarre, cubic wonderland that thrives on imagination. To get back home, they'll have to master this world while embarking on a magical quest with an unexpected, expert crafter, Steve." .

'A Minecraft Movie' Release Dates
Watch in Movie Theaters on April 4th, 2025
The first trailer for A Minecraft Movie has caused a lot of controversy online, with the first look at the film confirming the biggest mistake with the video game adaptation. Although movie adaptations of video games used to be a surefire sign of a critical flop, the video game movie curse has been broken, with a new era of great films like Detective Pikachu and Sonic the Hedgehog being released. However, A Minecraft Movie seems to be falling into the trappings of a prior video game movie era, with the film having one major problem that the trailer highlights.

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A Minecraft Movie's first trailer has been released, with it finally showing off Jack Black's Steve as well as a band of other human characters. Up until the trailer for A Minecraft Movie was released, many fans of the original video game were wondering what the movie's art direction would look like. Minecraft is known for its signature blocky style, and ever since it was revealed that A Minecraft Movie would be live-action, it has been difficult to imagine how the movie would look. However, now that A Minecraft Movie's visual style has been revealed, it hasn't been received positively.

A Minecraft Movie Changed The Video Game Animation & Includes Live-Action Characters
It Tries To Recreate The Blocky Style

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The biggest problem with A Minecraft Movie is that it changed the video game animation, with it deciding to include live-action characters. The original Minecraft video game is one of the most visually unique games of all time, with everything being made out of blocks. This visual identity is core to the franchise and its gameplay, which is why for years many claimed that the only way to properly do a Minecraft movie would be to make it animated. However, A Minecraft Movie is live-action, with it unsurprisingly failing to pull off this impossible adaptation.

A composite image of Jason Mamoa in front of characters from Minecraft
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Everything in the A Minecraft Trailer has a pseudo-blocky style, but the realistic textures and strange character design choices make everything seem uncanny. The original Minecraft mobs all look a bit creepy, especially those meant to represent real animals. However, this style wasn't applied to one aspect of A Minecraft Movie: the human characters. Instead of trying to make the characters fit in with the environment and mobs, A Minecraft Movie's main cast of characters are just regular humans, making them stand out from the environment in an unappealing way.

A Minecraft Movie Should've Used The Original Video Game Animation Style & This Trailer Proves It
The Fan-Made Trailer Looks Much Better

If A Minecraft Movie wanted to succeed, it should've used the original video game animation style. This has been proven by a fan-made version of the trailer that was put out shortly after the official A Minecraft Movie trailer dropped. The YouTube channel Alumio reanimated the entirety of A Minecraft Movie's first trailer, using the game's original art style rather than the live-action visuals. This version looks significantly better, as everything blends together due to A Minecraft Movie's human characters sharing the same style as everything else in the trailer.

The original Minecraft style is charming because it is simplistic, and making everything hyper-realistic while maintaining the blocky style does not look good. Alumio's trailer recreation perfectly maintains the charm of the original Minecraft video game, with many viewers wishing that they could see a version of the movie animated like this rather than the official film. This fan-made trailer proves that an animated Minecraft movie would have been so much better, with this change completely changing the experience of the trailer.

Why A Minecraft Movie Is Live-Action Instead Of Animated
It Is A Mix Of Both

A Minecraft Movie's choice to use live-action instead of animation is weird, but it seems to have a story reason behind it. The main cast of characters in A Minecraft Movie are humans from the real world who are sucked into the world of Minecraft, explaining why they are live-action while the rest of the world consists of CGI animation. Since Jack Black's Steve is live-action, it seems likely that he will be a character from the real world as well, although he will have most likely been in the Minecraft world for longer.

Jack Black as Bombardier in The Mandalorian alongside Steve from Minecraft
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Pulling characters from the real world into a video game is a trope that has been used many times before, with it recently being used in the immensely popular Jumanji revival series. The look of A Minecraft Movie may be disappointing to many, and the aforementioned fan-made trailer highlights the sad reality of what could have been.

A Minecraft Movie Official Poster

My List
A Minecraft Movie
Based on the worldwide phenomenon Minecraft, the crafting, building, adventuring game from Mojang Studios, comes A Minecraft Movie. When a teenage girl and a ragtag group of misfits turn out to be their world's only hope against the all-powerful Ender Dragon, they'll band together to save all of Overworld.

Director
Jared Hess
Release Date
April 4, 2025
Writers
Chris Bowman , Hubbel Palmer , Markus Persson , Allison Schroeder , Peter Sollett
Cast
Jason Momoa , Jack Black , Emma Myers , Sebastian Eugene Hansen , Danielle Brooks , Kate McKinnon , Jennifer Coolidge , Matt Berry , Jemaine Clement
So 2024 isn’t quite in the rearview, as we still have awards season chores to get through, after all. But as the churn of ceremonies from the Golden Globes (this Sunday, January 5) to the Oscars (March 2) remains underway in honoring the same handful of 2024 movies for the next two months, it’s refreshing to at least survey what’s new and upcoming in 2025.

In other words, the movies no one’s talking about yet but sure will be soon enough.

Inevitably, at least a few of IndieWire’s 50 most anticipated films of this year will end up in the same awards conversation this time next (oh, God) year. From 2024 festival holdovers to strike-halted or repeatedly rescheduled (we’re looking at you, “Mickey 17“) originals and buzzy franchise entries, these are the movies we’re most looking forward to this year.

Granted, we’ve already gotten started on the Best Films of 2025 we’ve already seen (and you can expect some overlap here), but what about what we haven’t seen? New movies from Paul Thomas Anderson, Ryan Coogler, Celine Song, Yorgos Lanthimos, and more of our favorite auteurs are already confirmed for new releases in theaters in 2025.

While we tried to keep this list mostly to titles with confirmed distribution, we cheated a little, as no most-anticipated list would be complete without mentions of new films from the likes of Lynne Ramsay and Wes Anderson. Especially since Ramsay, who’s had starts and stops on a number of projects in recent years, hasn’t directed a feature since 2017’s “You Were Never Really Here.” Even without a U.S. distributor, expect movies like her “Die, My Love” and Anderson’s espionage ensemble package “The Phoenician Scheme” to pop at festivals before inevitably (and, hopefully, soon after or before their fest bows) securing a stateside theatrical ride.

There’s a lot of buzzy horror this year, especially from A24, with films like “Opus” and “Talk to Me” directors Danny and Michael Philippou’s “Bring Her Back,” plus new franchise releases elsewhere. January is often the cruelest month for new releases, but we’re intrigued by Leigh Wannell’s “Wolf Man,” starring Christopher Abbott in a modern-day spin on the Universal monster. Ryan Coogler’s horror “Sinners” with Michael B. Jordan is drumming up plenty of buzz via Warner Bros. (who have “Mickey 17” and the Paul Thomas Anderson movie among others), while new “Saw” and “Final Destination” entries will have legacy genre fans at attention. Sequels and spinoffs abound, from new “Mission: Impossible” and “Jurassic World” films, “28 Years Later,” “Freakier Friday,” another “Superman” movie, and much more.

Peruse IndieWire’s most-anticipated list below, while knowing some titles confirmed to release this year don’t yet have dates. Any day now!

Christian Blauvelt, Wilson Chapman, Alison Foreman, David Ehrlich, Kate Erbland, Jim Hemphill, Marcus Jones, Tony Maglio, Harrison Richlin, Erin Strecker, Brian Welk, and Christian Zilko contributed to this story.

Wolf Man
Photo : Universal
“Wolf Man” (January 17)
Christopher Abbott joins the Blumhouse universe for “The Invisible Man” director Leigh Wannell’s Universal monster movie, “Wolf Man,” a modern-day, Pacific Northwest spin on the 1941 Gothic horror classic. Julia Garner co-stars in this January horror release about a family, already dealing with their own traumas, attacked by a werewolf during a full moon. Blake’s (Abbott) transformation after being bitten threatens his wife and daughter, played by Matilda Firth. The creative musical chairs around the project is noteworthy, as Ryan Gosling was originally attached to star with his “Place Behind the Pines” and “Blue Valentine” filmmaker Derek Cianfrance directing. January horrors at the movies are worrisome, but Abbott and Garner are accomplished actors who should bring a dose of grounding humanity to the genre concept. —RL

COMPANION, Jack Quaid, 2025. © Warner Bros. / Courtesy Everett Collection
Photo : ©Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection
‘Companion’ (January 31)
Producer Roy Lee has been responsible for several of the most interesting genre films of the last several years (particularly “Barbarian” and “Strange Darling”) and he has another winner with this feature directorial debut from screenwriter Drew Hancock. A darkly hilarious love story gone horribly wrong, this thriller is best entered with minimal knowledge of its plot given its satisfying twists and turns, so see it as soon as possible. Hancock’s precise attention to color, composition, and cutting announce him as a major new talent, and the performances — particularly those of Jack Quaid and Sophie Thatcher as the lovers at the film’s center — are delicate, hilarious high-wire acts that never take a wrong step. Producers include BoulderLight Pictures, Vertigo Entertainment, and New Line. —JH

BRIDGET JONES: MAD ABOUT THE BOY -- (l-r) Renée Zellweger as Bridget Jones, Leo Woodall as Roxster -- (Photo By: Jay Maidment/Universal Pictures)
Photo : Jay Maidment/Universal Pictures
“Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy” (February 13)
It’s been eight years since the last cinematic installment in Helen Fielding’s saga of London’s most frazzled TV producer and her cigarette-fueled battles with all manner of emotional “fuckwits.” In the time since “Bridget Jones’s Baby,” Jones now has two children… but sadly, her beloved husband Mark Darcy has passed away as “Mad About the Boy,” which is a direct-to-Peacock release, begins. That means it’s back into the dating pool and all the assorted awkward situations that entails: From being rescued off a tree that seems to be a magnet for hot men, to revealing details of her sex life before a life studio audience.

But as one bloke has ascended to the turkey curry buffet in the sky, another lives again: Hugh Grant’s cad of a book publisher turned travel show host, Daniel Cleaver, is back from the dead, apparently having faked his demise in the previous film. Could he have amended his ways and become the fella Bridget needs after all? Almost certainly not, but if Cleaver can change, than literally anyone can. Also back: Jim Broadbent as Bridget’s dad, and Sally Phillips, Shirley Henderson, and James Callis as the greatest friend-group troika of all time. Among the many reasons why Bridget Jones is the best? Two of her best friends are Moaning Myrtle and Gaius Baltar! —CB

The Dead Thing
Photo : Shudder
‘The Dead Thing’ (February 14)
Director Elric Kane’s erotic thriller wowed audiences on the horror film festival circuit throughout 2024, and on Valentine’s Day 2025, the world gets to experience it when it drops on Shudder. Kane is best known to cinephiles as one of the hosts of the New Beverly’s “Pure Cinema” podcast, and his encyclopedic knowledge of genre cinema serves him well here, as he draws not only from horror but also from movies like Michael Mann’s “Collateral” in his evocation of nocturnal Los Angeles. Yet there’s nothing derivative or imitative about Kane’s style — he has absorbed his influences into his DNA, and here he reconfigures them into a completely original take on the dark side of relationships in the age of dating apps. —JH

The Monkey
Photo : Neon
“The Monkey” (February 21)
“The Monkey” is ace horror writer/director Oz Perkins’ first film since “Longlegs” became Neon’s highest-grossing movie ever and one of the top-grossing horror movies of 2024. This gory adaptation of the 1980 Stephen King short story centers on Theo James as twin brothers Haal and Bill, who witness a string of horrifying deaths where a toy monkey may hold a clue to the killings. The cast also includes Elijah Wood, Tatiana Maslany, and Sarah Levy with Perkins writing and directing what he promises to be a more comic film than the serial killer tale “Longlegs.” —RL

The Legend of Ochi
Photo : A24
“The Legend of Ochi” (February 28)
One thing we know for sure about Isaiah Saxon’s “The Legend of Ochi”: The film’s effects were not created with AI, despite the fact that a few bad faith rabble-rousers on Twitter were absolutely convinced that they were. There are other — more considered assumptions — that could be drawn from the trailer for this fantasy adventure saga, which seems to find A24 trying its hand at something akin to “The Neverending Story,” with buzz building after a Sundance premiere. “News of the World” star Helena Zengel plays a girl from a remote mountain village who forms a bond with one of the adorable forest creatures (ochi) that she’s been raised to fear, and then embarks on a journey to return the little guy to his family. Willem Dafoe, Finn Wolfhard, and Emily Watson round out the impressive cast, but Saxon’s most exciting collaborator might be Dirty Projectors frontman Dave Longstreth, who contributed the film’s score. —DE

Eephus
Photo : Music Box
“Eephus” (March 7)
The presence of Frederick Wiseman in an acting role should telegraph the unique off-kilter sensibility of Carson Lund’s singular baseball movie: A tribute to the social connections formed by amateur sports leagues, “Eephus,” set in the ‘90s, takes place in quasi real time to show the last baseball game being played by the middle aged men in an amateur New England baseball league before their stadium is torn down. Lund says he drew inspiration from “Goodbye, Dragon Inn,” and there’s certainly an end-of-an-era vibe here suffused with sadness. As Christian Zilko noted in his review out of Cannes, these men will likely never connect again without baseball as the thing to bind them and there’s a “bowling alone” metaphor here for the ways in which community and fellowship have degraded over the past few decades. “A lot of ink has been spilled over the loneliness epidemic that plagues American men in the 21st century,” Zilko wrote. “But few films crystalize the problem as efficiently as “Eephus.” —CB

Mickey 17
Photo : Warner Bros.
‘Mickey 17’ (March 7)
Bong Joon-ho’s first film since his triumph at the Oscars with “Parasite” is this science fiction comedy based on Edward Ashton’s novel “Mickey7.” The film boasts a terrific cast that includes Robert Pattinson, Naomi Ackie, Toni Collette, Steven Yeun, and Mark Ruffalo, and a delicious premise: in an effort to leave earth, Pattinson signs up to be an “expendable” in a process where a new body will be generated with its memories intact after a previous version dies. The only problem comes when something goes wrong and Pattinson finds himself at war with one of his own iterations — the kind of thing that should offer Bong ample opportunities for the kind of genre-bending, sly black comedy at which he excels. —JH

Black Bag
Photo : Focus Features
“Black Bag” (March 14)
Steven Soderbergh has two films coming out in the first quarter of 2025 with the haunted-house thriller “Presence” (Neon, January 24) and the espionage caper “Black Bag” (Focus Features, March 14). The latter stars Cate Blanchett in her first Soderbergh-directed joint since 2006’s black-and-white noir homage “The Good German,” while Fassbender starred in Soderbergh’s 2011 “Haywire.

Per Focus Features, the film is “a gripping spy drama about legendary intelligence agents George Woodhouse and his beloved wife Kathryn. When she is suspected of betraying the nation, George faces the ultimate test — loyalty to his marriage or his country.”

The cast of the film also includes Regé-Jean Page, Marisa Abela, Naomie Harris, Pierce Brosnan, and Tom Burke. “Black Bag” shot in London last year. and is produced by Casey Silver and Gregory Jacobs. The screenplay hails from David Koepp, who recently wrote the scripts for Soderbergh’s 2022 “Kimi” starring Zoe Kravitz, plus “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” and the upcoming “Jurassic World Rebirth.” —RL

Ayo Edebiri appears in Opus by Mark Anthony Green, an official selection of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by A24
Photo : A24
“Opus” (March 14)
Mark Anthony Green’s Sundance-bound horror movie “Opus” continues A24’s deepening stake in the genre, here starring Ayo Edebiri as a young writer invited to the compound of a legendary pop star who, 30 years ago, mysteriously vanished. John Malkovich, Juliette Lewis, Murray Bartlett, and Amber Midthunder co-star in the film where the pop legend’s cult of sycophants throw “The Bear” breakout Edebiri into a twisted plan. The film, which shot in New Mexico, is Green’s feature debut. —RL

Warfare
Photo : A24/screenshot
“Warfare” (April)
A year after turning a domestic political nightmare scenario into indie box office gold with “Civil War,” Alex Garland is re-teaming with a close collaborator for another military thriller. Garland and Ray Mendoza, a former Navy SEAL and Iraq War veteran who served as military supervisor for “Civil War,” co-write and direct “Warfare,” an upcoming A24 film that places Navy SEALs in Iraq in the spotlight. Per an official synopsis, the film “embeds audiences with a platoon of American Navy SEALs in the home of an Iraqi family, overwatching the movement of US forces through insurgent territory. A visceral, boots-on-the-ground story of modern warfare, told like never before: in real time and based on the memory of the people who lived it.”

“Warfare” stars D’pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Will Poulter, Cosmo Jarvis, Kit Connor, Finn Bennett, Taylor John Smith, Michael Gandolfini, Adain Bradley, Noah Centineo, Evan Holtzman, Henrique Zaga, Joseph Quinn, and Charles Melton. The film marks Garland’s first feature film co-directing gig as he prepares to shift back toward focus on screenwriting, as he announced during the “Civil War” press tour. —CZ

Photo : ©Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection
“A Minecraft Movie” (April 4)
In the great sandbox game that is real human life, you can count on at least two things to stay constant. First, the sun will almost always rise again tomorrow. And second, “A Minecraft Movie” is going to make so much money in 2025 theaters are going to have to upgrade their box office blueprints and fend off block-based zombies designed to attack in waves.

A major play for both Warner Bros. and developer Mojang Studios, the upcoming video game adaptation aims to find a crowd-pleasing adventure comedy in the second best-selling title ever. (It’s only behind “Tetris!”) The film seems all but guaranteed to follow in the hugely successful footsteps of something like “Sonic the Hedgehog” or “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” with Jack Black, Jason Momoa, and more major names attached. —AF

Photo : ©Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection
“Sinners” (April 18)
After turning Marvel and “Rocky” I.P. into some of the biggest blockbusters of the 21st century, Ryan Coogler finally gets the chance to play in a studio tentpole sandbox with a wholly original idea. Coogler writes and directs “Sinners,” a period vampire saga that stars frequent collaborator Michael B. Jordan as twins in the 1930s South who run into trouble when they return to their hometown. The horror project, which is rumored to be heavily influenced by Coogler and Jordan’s shared love of anime, sparked a heated bidding war between the studios. With Coogler behind the camera and double the Jordan, it’s bound to be must-see viewing. —CZ

Photo : 'The Accountant' ©Warner Bros/courtesy Everett Collection / Everett Collection
“The Accountant 2″(April 25)
You’ll never look at your CPA the same way again. When Ben Affleck’s Christian Wolff flips a switch in 2016 Warner Bros. movie “The Accountant,” it’s just as dangerous as when Ben Affleck’s Bruce Wayne flips a switch in 2016 Warner Bros. movie “Batman v. Superman.” We’re more overdue for “The Accountant 2” than we are a standalone film with Ben Affleck’s Batman. Well, we’re getting the former soon and never the latter. Go see “The Accountant 2” exactly 10 days after your tax returns are due. —TM

Photo : Disney/Marvel
“Thunderbolts” (May 2)
No buts about it, Marvel has been in its flop era the past few years, with “Deadpool and Wolverine” feeling like it more so put a cap on the unfortunate era, rather than kicking off a new phase. But much of the cinematic universe’s highlights have been helmed by figures from the TV world (i.e. the Russo Brothers,) so it does actually feel reassuring that Marvel’s version of the Suicide Squad, for lack of better reference, landed director Jake Schreirer fresh off the success of “Beef.” Though these are famous last words, truly, what could go wrong when the cast includes Sebastian Stan, Florence Pugh, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and more? —MJ

“A Big Bold Beautiful Journey” (May 9)
Building on his simplistic, downbeat 2017 directorial debut “Columbus” and his touching 2021 sci-fi follow-up “After Yang,” Kogonada returns to feature-filmmaking after stints working on episodes of “Pachinko” and “The Acolyte” with “A Big Bold Beautiful Journey,” co-starring Colin Farrell and Margot Robbie. Written by Seth Reiss, co-writer of 2022’s “The Menu,” the script was featured on The Blacklist in 2020 and is described as a romantic fantasy akin to “500 Days of Summer,” “La La Land,” and “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.”

The film was produced by Imperative Entertainment, as well as Chapel Place Productions and Original Films, and financed by 30West, who, alongside CAA Media Finance, also handled the sale of distribution rights to Sony Pictures Releasing. Production wrapped this past spring in California, with the film set to release on May 9, 2025. It marks the big screen return of Robbie post-“Barbie” success and following the birth of her first child. Other cast members include Lily Rabe, Jodie Turner-Smith, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Billy Magnussen, Brandon Perea, and Hamish Linklater.

“Golden” (May 9)
Originally titled “Atlantis,” this coming-of-age musical has been in the works since 2017 and was said to be inspired by singer/songwriter Pharrell Williams’ youth growing up during the 1970s in Virginia Beach’s Atlantis Apartments. Developed at 20th Century Fox with Martin Hynes scripting and theater director Michael Mayer set to helm, the film would eventually be moved to Universal Pictures, with Mayer being pushed to executive producer and French filmmaker Michel Gondry stepping in as director. “Dear Evan Hansen” writer Stephen Levenson would also join to co-write alongside Hynes. Casting announced for the film include Kelvin Harrison Jr., Halle Bailey, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Quinta Brunson, Brian Tyree Henry, as well as musical artists such as Janelle Monáe, Anderson .Paak, Andre 3000, and Missy Elliot.

“Golden” marks Gondry’s first return to Hollywood feature filmmaking since his 2011 action comedy “The Green Hornet,” though he has been working in French cinema pretty consistently and also produced and directed the Jim Carrey Showtime series “Kidding” between 2018 and 2020. Original songs will be composed by Williams as well as “The Greatest Showman” duo Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, with “Despicable Me” composer Hector Pereira set to score the film. “Golden” is dated to be released on May 9, 2025.

Photo : 'Final Destination 5' ©Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection
“Final Destination: Bloodlines” (May 16)
In the vexingly immortal era of IP reboots, there was just no way Death was done with “Final Destination.” The gory supernatural series from New Line Cinema has followed a strict format since beginning 25 years ago. First, a mass casualty event (highway pile-up, rollercoaster collapse, plane crash, etc.) is interrupted by the sudden premonition of a would-be victim. Then, the unsuspecting clairvoyant’s efforts to intercede in the catastrophe might save lives at first, but each survivor is slowly picked off one-by-one in a series of elaborate freak accidents that become harder for the terrified witnesses to explain to the cops.

As detailed by the late great Tony Todd (playing a creepy mortician in the original franchise), “Death’s design” must be fulfilled and these outlandish slaying are nature’s way of doing just that. The goofy and grim narrative cycle starts up again next year… hopefully with a decent plan for handling the time-loop introduced by the last movie in 2011. The forthcoming sixth installment, “Final Destination: Bloodlines,” is co-directed by Zach Lipovsky and Adam Stein. —AF

Photo : Disney
“Lilo & Stitch” (May 23)
Even the respected artistic touch of “Moonlight” director Barry Jenkins couldn’t help “Mufasa: The Lion King” break fresh ground in the tired Disney remake circle of life. Thank Elvis there’s reason to hold out hope for next year’s “Lilo & Stitch.”

Drawing from that particularly whacky period in the studio’s history — the early aughts, baby! — resists even the possibility of a photorealistic design, and the talent is all there for a hybrid live-action/computer-generated reimagining that takes fun and successful risks.

Director Dean Fleischer Camp (“Marcel the Shell with Shoes On”) tackles this adorable story of a bizarre adopted… dog (?) and aliens who reluctantly invade Hawaii. The cast includes Maia Kealoha, Sydney Agudong, Hannah Waddingham, Billy Magnussen, Zach Galifianakis, and more. Plus, the original 2002 writer/director Chris Sanders reprises his role once again as the voice of Stitch. —AF

Photo : ©Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection
“Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning” (May 23)
There’s no such thing as a “bad movie year,” but years that include a Tom Cruise blockbusters are objectively better than years that don’t. That’s just science. The entire complexion of the summer movie season is transformed by the opportunity to watch Hollywood’s last true film star risk his life for our amusement. “Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning: Part 1” may not have connected quite as hard as 2018’s brilliant “Fallout,” but it proved that even second-tier “Missions” exude an operatic confidence and death-defying ambition that feels downright anachronistic at a time when other action franchises like it hardly seem to have any skin in the game. “Dead Reckoning” left us with a lot of unanswered questions, and “The Final Reckoning” is poised to answer them in between unforgettable action stunts; it promises to resolve the franchise’s occasional efforts to develop a real emotional undertow, and it also promises to dangle Cruise outside of an old plane for some reason. Sounds like nirvana to me. This isn’t a ranked list, but this might as well be our #1. —DE

Ballerina
Photo : Lionsgate
“Ballerina” (June 6)
We’ve been waiting for Ana de Armas to get a proper action movie ever since she was one of the standout Bond women in “No Time to Die.” Now she’s joining another iconic action franchise: the “John Wick” universe. The long-awaited spinoff “Ballerina” originated as an original story by screenwriter Shay Hatten back in 2017; the script was rewritten to bring it into the “Wick” universe of assassins. The titular ballerina killer was briefly introduced in “John Wick 3: Parabellum.” Unlike Peacock’s “Wick” prequel series “The Continental,” “Ballerina” is set in between the events of the third and fourth “John Wick” movies and even features brief appearances from both Keanu Reeves and the late Lance Reddick. —BW

'28 Years Later'
Photo : Sony Pictures
“28 Years Later” (June 20)
The first trailer for Danny Boyle’s much-anticipated sequel (and trilogy-capper?) asks an intriguing question: WHAT WILL HUMANITY BECOME? You’d think nearly three decades into the zombie invasion that first kicked off in Boyle’s 2003 “28 Days Later,” we’d have a better idea of that answer (“nothing good”?), but this Alex Garland-scripted feature seems hellbent on making the case that we’re – still, horrifyingly, thrillingly – unaware of and unprepared for whatever the hell (and whatever Hell) is coming for us.
Boyle returns to helm the third entry in one of our favorite modern horror franchises, where he’ll be joined by original star Cillian Murphy (who may or may not be a zombie now), plus a murderer’s row of new stars, including Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ralph Fiennes, Jack O’Connell, Erin Kellyman, and Edvin Ryding.

While details are scarce regarding the finer points of the plot, Fiennes recently told IndieWire that the film picks up with a “few pockets of uninfected communities” still holding on “and it centers on a young boy who wants to find a doctor to help his dying mother. He leads his mother through this beautiful northern English terrain. But, of course, around them hiding in forests and hills and woods are the infected. But he finds a doctor who is a man we might think is going to be weird and odd, but actually is a force for good.” Fiennes, of course, is that doctor. While it may sound cliche and obvious to say we don’t need to know much more to get our bones into seats, we really don’t need to know much more to get our bones into seats. —KE

Photo : Apple/Warner Bros.
“F1” (June 27)
Joseph Kosinski is hoping that the formula of Iconic Middle Aged Movie Star + Breathtaking Action Sequences that propelled “Top Gun: Maverick” to box office glory in 2022 can yield similar results with “F1.” The director’s Apple blockbuster stars Brad Pitt as a retired Formula 1 driver who is lured out of retirement to mentor a rising star in the sport. The film was produced in collaboration with the racing league, with many scenes being filmed at real F1 Grand Prix events. If Kosinski can shoot racing with as much adrenaline as his flight sequences, “F1” could become the biggest sports movie in recent memory. And with a ballooned budget that reportedly exceeded $300 million, it’ll have to. Any shred of Apple’s future investment in theatrical distribution likely hinges on the film’s success, so it will be closely watched by industry observers when it opens in May. —CZ

Photo : ©Universal/Courtesy Everett Collection
“M3GAN 2.0” (June 27)
You’re either a M3GAN fan or you’re no fun at all, that’s just the way this particular AI-infused cookie-doll crumbles. While we still don’t know much about director Gerard Johnstone and screenwriter Akela Cooper’s follow-up to their delightfulfully unhinged 2022 horror hit “M3GAN,” we do know one absolutely essential element: murderous super-doll M3GAN is back. Sold!

She’ll again be joined by original stars Allison Williams (as beleaguered aunt/tech wonk Gemma) and Violet McGraw (as her niece Cady, AKA M3GAN’s human BFF). Wait, didn’t M3GAN die in the first film? Ah, the magic of movies and nefarious technology! She’s aaalllivvve, and even with a bit of a glow-up to boot. Who will she kill this time? What will she dance to? How fabulous is this entire journey going to be? —KE

Photo : ©Universal/Courtesy Everett Collection
“Jurassic World: Rebirth” (July 2)
Gareth Edwards returns to the lands of IMAX-sized I.P. monsters with “Jurassic World: Rebirth,” after directing “Godzilla” in 2014 and one of 2023’s standout original sci-fi movies, “The Creator.” Jonathan Bailey, riding on a banner 2024 with the success of “Wicked” and love for queer Showtime series “Fellow Travelers,” makes his franchise debut. So does Scarlett Johansson, playing a dinosaur specialist opposite Bailey’s paleontologist in a film set five years after the events of “Jurassic World Dominion.” The big-budget Universal release also stars Mahershala Ali and Rupert Friend as the franchise introduces more terrifying creatures into the series’ island universe. —RL

Photo : Getty Images for The Recording A
Untitled Kendrick Lamar/Trey Parker Movie (July 4)
From the cultural phenomenon of “Not Like Us” to his album-length victory lap “GNX,” Kendrick Lamar has enjoyed one of the biggest years of any rapper in history. And as big as his 2024 was, 2025 could see him add to his winning streak with the first feature film project from his entertainment collective PGLang. Lamar and longtime business partner Dave Free produce Trey Parker’s latest film, an untitled comedy about a young Black man working as a slavery re-enactor at a museum who becomes distressed to find out that his white girlfriend’s ancestors once owned his ancestors as slaves. The provocative comedy was described by Paramount film head Brian Robbins as “one of the funniest and most original scripts we’ve ever read” at CinemaCon, and its July 4th release date could turn it into one of the most talked about movies of the summer. —CZ

Photo : YouTube/DC
“Superman” (July 11)
There’s a lot riding on “Superman,” as the kickoff of James Gunn and Peter Safran’s “DCU” that will wipe the Snyderverse slate clean for Warner Bros. Whether it can live up to those sky high expectations is a weight that the Man of Steel himself might not even be able to bear, but there’s hope for Gunn’s film to be truly epic going by the recently released teaser alone. Some iffy lighting aside, it looks appropriately epic, and returns the character to his roots as a symbol of hope and a kindhearted do-gooder. David Corenswet looks the part to a tee both in and out of the spandex, Rachel Brosnahan is an inspired choice for a feisty Lois Lane, and Nicholas Hoult gets a chance to bring his high-wire intensity to a blockbuster as the most iconic hater in comic book history Lex Luthor. Let’s hope that this movie can recapture some of that Christopher Reeve magic and make us believe a man can fly. —WC

Freaky Friday
Photo : Everett/Disney
“Freakier Friday” (August 8)
Even past the prospects of Lindsay Lohan returning to the silver screen, the credits for the Disney legacy sequel show a lot of promise, with “The Bold Type” creator Jordan Weiss writing the screenplay, and Nisha Ganatra, who has worked on shows like “Better Things” and “And Just Like That…,” directing the feature. That is an indication that this is a film being made by people who know their audience, and how they are just as delighted by the return of Chad Michael Murray as they are at the revelation that Manny Jacinto plays Lohan’s husband. The wait has been long enough for a return to make some semblance of sense, and will be worth it for new songs from Pink Slip alone. —MJ

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 15: Liam Neeson attends the 2024 Irish Arts Center Gala at Pier 60 on November 15, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by John Nacion/Getty Images)
Photo : Getty Images
“The Naked Gun” (August 1)
Right up front I must acknowledge that it would have been my preference nobody ever touch any role played by Leslie Nielsen, but here we are. At the very least, we know Liam Neeson’s Frank Drebin Jr. will be very little like Nielsen’s Frank Drebin — who could be? Nervous as this remake makes me, with Akiva Schaffer of The Lonely Island at the helm, the comedy is in good hands. And the casting of Hollywood It Girl-again Pamela Anderson is perfection. Let’s just agree to leave “Airplane!” alone please. —TM

Photo : Getty Images for TCM
Untitled Paul Thomas Anderson Movie (August 8)
There’s only a few scant details we know about Paul Thomas Anderson’s next project, supposedly titled “The Battle of Baktan Cross” (distributor Warner Bros. has yet to confirm this). On one hand, it’s allegedly the most “commercial” project of the director’s career, whatever that means, and will release in IMAX after being made on a roughly $100 million budget. On the other hand, it’s also allegedly inspired by Thomas Pynchon’s postmodern novel “Vineland,” which doesn’t exactly scream blockbuster.

But really, all we need to know is that it’s an Anderson movie shot on 35mm film, and featuring an eclectic and killer cast – including Leonardo DiCaprio and Regina Hall as the apparent leads; Sean Penn, Benicio del Toro, Wood Harris, and Anderson’s “Licorice Pizza” star Alana Haim in the supporting cast; and musicians Teyana Taylor and Junglepussy – for this to be one of the top priorities of our 2025 moviegoing schedule. —WC

Photo : ©Universal/Courtesy Everett Collection
“Nobody 2” (August 15)
Nobody asked to see Bob Odenkirk kick ass, and then “Nobody” satisfied the need we didn’t know we had. Yes, it was strange to see the weasel-y lawyer from “Breaking Bad” and “Better Call Saul” beat up entire gangs at one time, but Odenkirk looked good for the role — and he looked capable. Movie magic and a few months of training can do wonders for the suspension of disbelief. Odenkirk has long been a somebody in comedy and drama, and now he’s no nobody to the action format. —TM

Photo : Warner Bros.
“The Bride!” (September 26)
Actress-turned-filmmaker Maggie Gyllenhaal earned our “we’ll watch anything she makes” stamp with her 2021 feature directorial debut, a luminous adaptation of Elena Ferrante’s “The Lost Daughter,” and now she’s back with a decidedly different spin on a beloved and known story. This time, she’s taking on “Frankenstein,” with a female-focused exploration of the titular bride of the bad doctor’s most famous creation.

“The Lost Daughter” star Jessie Buckley plays the betrothed, with Christian Bale serving as her adored fellow monster. The rest of the cast is equally exciting: Penelope Cruz, Peter Sarsgaard, Annette Bening, John Magaro, Julianne Hough, Jeannie Berlin, and even Gyllenhaal’s brother Jake. Per the film’s official synopsis, after her creation, we find that the bride (!) is “beyond what [was] intended, igniting a combustible romance, the attention of the police and a wild and radical social movement.” —KE

Photo : ©Lions Gate/Courtesy Everett Collection
“Saw X” (September 26)
The legendary heart of the “Saw” franchise — an icon who fans initially didn’t even know was alive because he had to lie on the floor for nearly all of the original film from 2004 — Tobin Bell got his due with “Saw X.”

The tenth installment in the graphic horror series was the genre titan’s meatiest performance as the Jigsaw Killer (AKA John Kramer) to date. The well-received movie from 2023 delivered a shockingly smooth interquel that exploded franchise lore with nightmarish events set between the stories seen in “Saw” and “Saw II” that somehow make the entire grotesque universe feel more alive.

Not only did “Saw X” give Jigsaw an excellent nemesis in the conniving and slippery Cecilia Pederson (Synnøve Macody Lund), but it also brought fan-favorite accomplices Amanda Young (Shawnee Smith) and Mark Hoffman (Costas Mandylor ) back into the mix. Directed by Kevin Greutert and written by Marcus Dunstan, “Saw XI” promises to finish what that bloody and electric resurrection started. —AF

Photo : Atsushi Nishijima
“Bugonia” (November 7)
Since “The Favourite,” Yorgos Lanthimos and Emma Stone have become one of the best director-actor duos in recent memory, collaborating on memorable oddities like “Poor Things” and “Kinds of Kindness.” This coming fall, we’re getting their third collaboration in three years with “Bugonia,” a sci-fi comedy adapted from Jang Joon-hwan’s 2003 film “Save the Green Planet.” The original was a dark comedy about a man who kidnaps a pharmaceutical executive convinced that the CEO is an alien; in Lanthimos’ take, Stone plays the CEO, while Jesse Plemons (who won a Cannes acting prize in Lanthimos’ “Kinds of Kindness”) plays the kidnapper. Add in Alicia Silverstone playing Plemons’ mother, and you have what’s sure to be another vicious social satire from the Greek auteur. —WC

Photo : FilmMagic
“The Running Man” (November 7)
Stylish, smart filmmaker Edgar Wright’s last feature “Last Night in Soho” was his first real miss, a bloodless giallo homage that floundered in its attempts to conjure up a swinging ’60s horror. Here’s hoping he gets his mojo back with his latest project, which feels a bit more commercial than usual for the director: a readaptation of Stephen King’s dystopian game show thriller “The Running Man,” best known as the source material for a cheesy 1987 cult classic starring Arnold Schwarzenegger.

How its taken 13 years since the first “Hunger Games” film premiered for Hollywood to return to this IP is a mystery, but this new “Running Man” should benefit from Glen Powell stepping into the lead role and continuing his nascent ascent into genuine stardom, alongside a killer supporting cast – including Katy O’Brian, Karl Glusman, Josh Brolin, Lee Pace, Emilia Jones, Michael Cera, and William H. Macy – as the killers he encounters. —WC

Photo : 'Now You See Me 2' courtesy Everett Collection
“Now You See Me 3” (November 14)
There’s something so disarming and sweet about the continued mass appeal of the magician bank heist movies. Directed by Ruben Fleischer (“Zombieland,” “Venom”), “Now You See Me 3” is set to feature many of the same actors who appeared in the popular 2013 and 2016 illusion thrillers. Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo, Lizzy Caplan, Morgan Freeman, Woody Harrelson, Daniel Radcliffe, and more are attached to the sequel, which wrapped filming in Budapest and Antwerp in November 2024.

Speaking with IndieWire earlier in October, Eisenberg reported a torn ligament from the demanding shoot and described a stunt involving “20-foot high ceilings and a 20-foot wide hallway in a mansion.” That’s just one detail from a massive rotating set and a series that from far away looks like it’s never been bigger. —AF

Photo : ©Universal/Courtesy Everett Collection
“Wicked: For Good” (November 21)
It was no surprise that “Wicked: Part One” took off to become one of 2024’s biggest box office hits: love or hate the original stage musical, and regardless of your feelings about how Jon Chu adapted it for the big screen, that first act is pretty undeniable as a work of pure popcorn entertainment, featuring some of the 21st-century’s most iconic showtunes and ending with a pure banger in “Defying Gravity.” But as we move on to Oscars season and the film seems poised to be a major contender, we still have an entire second film coming out next November, and how the movie will handle the infamously rickety second act of the musical remains a huge open question. That said, we can at least be assured that Cynthia Erivo will kill her songs, Ariana Grande will deliver some of the best physical comedy in recent film memory, and the press tour will probably be similar shades of chaotic as the first. —WC

Avatar: Fire and Ash
Photo : 20th Century Studios
“Avatar: Fire and Ash” (December 19)
After “The Way of Water” broke box office records in 2022 and into 2023, James Cameron returns with his third “Avatar” film, joined by Zoe Saldañ, Kate Winslet, Sigourney Weaver, Jemaine Clement, Sam Worthington, Edie Falco, and more. David Thewlis and Oona Chaplin make their franchise debuts in another visual effects bonanza that integrates pioneering technology to expand the “Avatar” universe from sky to land and beyond. —RL

Photo : Getty Images
“Marty Supreme” (December 25)
A new movie from Timothée Chalamet is starting to become a Christmas tradition. Following up his award-buzzy turn as Bob Dylan in James Mangold’s “A Complete Unknown,” Chalamet stars in Josh Safdie’s fictionalized re-telling of table-tennis champion Marty Reisman’s rise to fame, “Marty Supreme,” set to be released December 25, 2025. Hailing from A24, the film marks the highest production cost in the studio’s history at around $70 million, surpassing this year’s “Civil War” by about $20 million.

Chalamet has said that the film carries a similar chaotic energy to “Uncut Gems,” but others have described it as a globe-trotting adventure that’s equal parts “The Wolf of Wall Street” and “Catch Me If You Can.” This also marks the first solo venture for Safdie without his brother Benny since his 2008 directorial debut, “The Pleasure of Being Robbed.” Safdie penned the script with regular collaborator Ronald Bronstein and re-teamed with DP Darius Khondji for production as well.

Also featured in the cast are Gwyneth Paltrow, Fran Drescher, Tyler, the Creator, Odessa A’zion, magician Penn Jillette, filmmaker Abel Ferrara, Mr.Wonderful himself Kevin O’Leary, and Sandra Bernhard. Not only did Chalamet train with the same ping-pong players who worked with Tom Hanks for “Forrest Gump,” but he also committed to the part by wearing real glasses with contact lenses underneath to make his eyes look smaller. —HR

Photo : Getty Images
“The Housemaid” (December 25)
Based on the 2022 bestselling book by Freida McFadden, “The Housemaid” is a twisty psychological thriller about a home so messed up you’ll be longing for the soothing embrace of a haunted house. Directed by Paul Feig, this adaptation will star Sydney Sweeney as Millie, a young woman on her last chance who becomes a housekeeper for the well-to-do couple Nina (Amanda Seyfried) and Andrew. It isn’t long before Millie realizes things are pretty dang effed up in their home (there’s an attic door that only unlocks from the outside, for one…) — but of course, Millie isn’t all she appears to be either. Fans of “Gone Girl” and Feig’s own adaptation of “A Simple Favor” will surely eat this dark mystery up — and good news: There’s already two published sequels. —ES

Photo : Getty Images
“Bring Her Back” (TBD 2025)
Australian twin horror-makers Danny Philippou and Michael Philippou scared up an impressive box office and even more impressive cult following with their supernatural thriller “Talk to Me” in 2023. The practical effects-driven tale of teenagers terrorized by spirits awakened via a ouija-type sleepover game became one of A24’s most successful acquisitions, with a sequel already planned. We don’t know if A24’s “Bring Her Back” is that sequel or if it’s set adjacent to “Talk to Me’s” universe, but the secretive project stars Sally Hawkins, Billy Barratt, and Sora Wong; the movie shot in Australia over summer 2024. —RL

Photo : Sideshow and Janus Films
“Caught by the Tides” (TBD 2025)
Sideshow and Janus acquired Jia Zhangke’s latest reverie about where technological progress and quality of life intersect — and, crucially, don’t intersect — out of Cannes. Conceptually, this seems like one of Jia’s most challenging provocations since the documentary/narrative hybrid “24 City”: “Caught by the Tides” follows Jia’s wife and filmography-spanning muse Zhao Tao as a model in a coal mining town in China. She’s playing the same character she played in 2002’s “Unknown Pleasures” and the film toggles between new material and documentary footage shot during the making of that film more than two decades ago. The result is a portrait of shifting aspect ratios — with jarring toggles between today’s HD and grainy turn of the millennium DV — and of the nature of time itself. Tarkovsky always said that filmmaking was like “sculpting in time.” With “Caught by the Tides,” Jia almost makes that a literal reality. —CB

Photo : Excellent Cadaver
“Die, My Love” (TBD 2025, No Distributor Set)
All hail the return of brilliant auteur Lynne Ramsay, from whom a new release is so rare these days but nevertheless always a cause of celebration among cinephiles. The “We Need to Talk About Kevin” director, in her first feature since 2017’s “You Were Never Really Here,” keeps to her darker roots with this adaptation of Ariana Harwicz’s 2017 novel. Jennifer Lawrence plays a woman ravaged at the crossroads of love and madness (and ostensibly some kind of postpartum breakdown given the source material), opposite Robert Pattinson as her onscreen husband and LaKeith Stanfield as her lover. Sissy Spacek and Nick Notle co-star in a movie Ramsay said diverges from the book, about a woman in a secluded French village dealing with mental health issues.

Ramsay has been known to take a loose approach to her source material, freely adapting Lionel Schriver’s “We Need to Talk About Kevin” and Jonathan Ames’ “You Were Never Really Here.” She wrote the script for “Die, My Love” with Edna Walsh and again works with DP Seamus McGarvey, who created a nightmarish swirl of hallucinatory images for “Kevin.” The movie doesn’t have a U.S. distributor yet, but I’d bet on at least a Cannes premiere (where Ramsay generally goes) and a distributor snapping this up quickly. —RL

Photo : Getty Images
“Eddington” (TBD 2025)
Writer/director Ari Aster is three for three at A24 with the mind-bending cult favorites “Hereditary,” “Midsommar,” and “Beau Is Afraid” (which deserved more!). He’s broadening his scope beyond horror and toward a quasi-Western setup with “Eddington,” which he wrote and directed for A24 and with a cast including “Beau Is Afraid” star Joaquin Phoenix, Emma Stone, Pedro Pascal, Austin Butler, and Luke Grimes. Here, Aster departs from his usual DP (fellow AFI alum Pawel Pogorzelski) to work with Darius Khondji for the first time. Little is known about the adventure film, though it was shot on location in New Mexico in 2024. —RL

Photo : Getty Images
“Father, Mother, Sister, Brother” (TBD 2025)
New Jim Jarmusch films don’t come around every year, and any chance to see what the famously understated auteur has been working on is a treat for indie film buffs. Jarmusch is set to return to the big screen in 2025 with “Father, Mother, Sister, Brother” a new anthology film starring Adam Driver, Cate Blanchett, Vicky Krieps, and Tom Waits. While little is known about the project, the prospect of Jarmusch reu

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