I don’t know where to begin a loose-shoe study of the likeliest 2025 hotties (critically approved, Oscar-nominated), but you have to start somewhere…anywhere.
Right now this is a very half-assed rundown, but I’ll build it as the comments come in and things move along. Call this HE’s first half-assed stab. I’ll begin to fix it up tonight. Step by step.
I’ve no interest in likely 2025 money-makers. This is strictly about the films that people may feel riveted, disturbed, challenged, gobsmacked or turned on by, or might even feel compelled to give awards to.
Which films appear to be the weak sisters, and which are the serious heavyweights? Which should be highlighted and which should be wait-and-see’d?
Darren Aronofsky‘s Caught Stealing (Sony, 8.29). “Burned-out ex-baseball player Hank Thompson (Austin Butler), forced to navigate a treacherous underworld he never imagined”…too wordy. Costarring Zoë Kravitz, Regina King, Matt Smith, Liev Schreiber, Will Brill, Bad Bunny, Griffin Dunne, Vincent D’Onofrio.
Scott Cooper‘s Deliver Me from Nowhere (20th Century, sometime in the fall). Jeremy Allen White as Bruce Springsteen in another boomer nostalgia pic, focusing on the recording of Nebraska (’82). Costarring Stephen Graham, Odessa Young, Paul Walter Hauser, Gaby Hoffmann, Johnny Cannizzaro, Harrison Gilbertson, Marc Maron.
Edward Berger‘s The Ballad of a Small Player (Netflix). Synopsis: When his past and debts start to catch up, a high-stakes gambler laying low in Macau encounters a kindred spirit who might hold the key to his salvation,” blah blah. Colin Farrell, Tilda Swinton, Fala Chen
Tom Cruise and Chris McQuarrie‘s Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning (Paramount, 5.23).
Joseph Kosinski‘s F1 (Warner Bros., 6.27). Brad Pitt, Damson Idris (black dudes can’t die!), Kerry Condon, Tobias Menzies, Javier Bardem, Kim Bodnia, Shea Whigham.
Antoine Fuqua‘s Michael (Universal. 10.3.25). Reportedly sanitized life of the late Michael Jackson. Jaafar Jackson, Juliano Krue Valdi, Colman Domingo, Nia Long, Miles Teller, Laura Harrier.
Paul Thomas Anderson‘s One Battle After Another (Warner Bros., 8.25). Leonardo DiCaprio, Regina Hall, Sean Penn, Alana Haim, Teyana Taylor, Wood Harris, Benicio del Toro.
Luca Guadagnino‘s After The Hunt (Amazon MGM, 10.10.25). An academic setting obviously indicates some kind of anti-wokester, anti-Zoomer drama…right? Julia Roberts, Ayo Edebiri, Andrew Garfield, Michael Stuhlbarg, Chloë Sevigny.
Josh Safdie‘s Marty Supreme (A24, 12.25). Timothée Chalamet, Gwyneth Paltrow, Tyler the Creator, Odessa A’zion, Penn Jillette, Kevin O’Leary, Abel Ferrara, Fran Drescher, Sandra Bernhard.
Spike Lee‘s Highest 2 Lowest (remake of Akira Kurosawa‘s High and Low, a kidnapping-ransom drama that I’ve never liked). (No date, A24 / Apple TV+)Denzel Washington, Ilfenesh Hadera, Jeffrey Wright, Ice Spice, ASAP Rocky.
Ari Aster‘s Eddington (A24). A “contemporary western with a darkly comedic attitude.” Joaquin Phoenix, Pedro Pascal, Emma Stone, Austin Butler, Luke Grimes, Deirdre O’Connell, Micheal Ward, Clifton Collins Jr.
Guillermo del Toro‘s Frankenstein (Netflix, November)….again? Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elordi, Mia Goth, Christoph Waltz, Felix Kammerer, Lars Mikkelsen.
I’m not including James Cameron‘s Avatar: Fire and Ash (20th Century, 12.19) as it’s just another episode in the Avatar series, and is solely about selling tickets.
Will Nia DaCosta‘s Hedda, a “reimagining” of Henrik Ibsen’s 1891 stage play, be shot as a Victorian period drama or as a contemporary thing? Tessa Thompson, Imogen Poots, Tom Bateman, Nina Hoss, Nicholas Pinnock, Finbar Lynch.
Kenneth Branagh‘s The Last Disturbance of Madeline Hynde…as an ardent non-fan of Branagh’s Belfast, I feel very concerned about any film that he’s directed and written. Jodie Comer, Patricia Arquette, Michael Sheen, Tom Bateman, Vicky McClure, Michael Balogun.
Celine Song‘s Materialists (A24, no date). “A Manhattan matchmaker’s lucrative business is complicated when she falls into a toxic love triangle that threatens her clients,” blah blah. Beware!!! Dakota Johnson, Chris Evans, Pedro Pascal, Zoe Winters, Dasha Nekrasova, Louisa Jacobson.
A Big Bold Beautiful Journey (Sony, 5.9) appears to be a serving of guaranteed agony. The words “American romantic fantasy” are death to me. Directed by Kogonada from a screenplay by Seth Reiss. Starring Margot Robbie and Colin Farrell, w/ Lily Rabe, Jodie Turner-Smith, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Billy Magnussen, Sarah Gadon.
Yorgos Lanthimos‘ Bugonia (Focus Features, 11.7)….aaaggghhh! “Two conspiracy-obsessed young men kidnap the high-powered CEO of a major company (Emma Stone), convinced that she is an alien intent on destroying the earth. Costarring Jesse Plemons, Alicia Silverstone.
Paul Greengrass‘s The Lost Bus (Apple TV+). “A bus driver has to navigate a bus carrying children and their teacher to safety through the 2018 Camp Fire, which became the deadliest fire in California history,” etc. Matthew McConaughey, America Ferrera, Yul Vazquez, Ashlie Atkinson, Spencer Watson, Danny McCarthy.
Wes Anderson‘s The Phoenician Scheme (Focus Features, 5.30). “Dark tale of espionage following a strained father-daughter relationship within a family business beset by morally gray choices”…that’s a mouthful!. Benicio del Toro, Michael Cera, Bill Murray, Riz Ahmed, Tom Hanks, Benedict Cumberbatch, Scarlett Johansson, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Rupert Friend, Willem Dafoe, Bryan Cranston.
Bong Joon-ho‘s Mickey 17 (Warner Bros., 3.7.25). HE has long had a problem with Bong Joon-ho, and we’ve all heard about the prolonged release-date delays — originally slated for 3.29.24. Critics will cream over it, no matter how problematic it may or might not be.
John M. Chu‘s Wicked: For Good (Universal, 11.21.25). Same crew as before — Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Marissa Bode, Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum, etc.
Andre Gaines‘ The Dutchman (no distrib — debuting at SXSW on 3.8). Sexual intrigue between harried black businessman (Andre Holland) and whitey-white chick (Kara Mara). Co-adapted by Gaines and Qasim Basir, based on same-titled 1964 play by Amiri Baraka.
Mimi Cave‘s Holland (no distrib — opened at SXSW on 3.9) Small town Michigan woman (Nicole Kidman) suspects husband (Matthew Macfadyen) may be living a double life. Costarring Gael García Bernal, Jude Hill, Rachel Sennott.
Julian Schnabel‘s In The Hand of Dante. Synopsis of Nick Tosches‘ same-titled 2002 book: “An interweaving of two separate stories, one set in the 14th century in Italy and Sicily and featuring Dante Alighieri, and another set in the autumn of 2001 and featuring a fictionalized version of Tosches as the protagonist. The historical and modern stories alternate as Dante tries to finish writing his magnum opus and goes on a journey for mystical knowledge in Sicily.” Oscar Isaac as Nick Tosches / Dante Alighieri, w/ Jason Momoa, Gerard Butler, Gal Gadot, Sabrina Impacciatore, Franco Nero, Martin Scorsese.
Jonathan Kent‘s Long Day’s Journey Into Night. Ed Harris, Jessica Lange, Ben Foster, Colin Morgan, Ericka Roe.
Jonah Hill‘s Outcome (Apple TV+). Black comic satire about social-media harpooning of big movie star (Keanu Reeves). Costarring Jonah Hill, Cameron Diaz, Matt Bomer, Susan Lucci, David Spade, Laverne Cox.
Steven Soderbergh‘s Black Bag (Focus Features, 3.14). London-shot cloak and dagger with dry Soderbergh attitude….right?
Michel Franco‘s Dreams. Rich Anerican socialite Jennifer (Jessica Chastain) blows off, fucks over her younger Mexican ballet dancer boyfriend (Isaac Hernández)
Richard Linklater‘s Blue Moon (Sony Classics, May ’25) — The last few months in the life of composer Lorenz Hart (Ethan Hawke). Depression, alcoholism, closeted sexuality. Andrew Scott, Margaret Qualley, Bobby Cannavale. Debuting in Berlin on 2.18.
Chloe Zhao‘s Hamnet (Focus Features, no date) — Fictional tale about Mr. and Mrs. William Shakespeare coping with the death of their son. Jessie Buckley, Paul Mescal, Joe Alwyn, Emily Watson.
Maggie Gyllenhaal‘s The Bride! (Warner Bros., 9.26). Feminist take on James Whale‘s The Bride of Frankenstein. All men are scheming, wounding pigs! Jessie Buckley, Christian Bale, Penélope Cruz, Peter Sarsgaard, Annette Bening.
Ethan Coen‘s Honey Don’t (Focus Features, May ’25). Another lesbian caper flick a la Drive Away Dolls. Set in Bakersfield, pic focuses on a private investigator (Margaret Qualley), a cult leader (Chris Evans), and a “mystery woman” (Aubrey Plaza).
Warfare (Alex Garland)
28 Years Later (Danny Boyle)
Onslaught (Adam Wingard)
Ella McCay (James L. Brooks)
Where to Land (Hal Hartley)
The Running Man (Edgar Wright)
Untitled Slave Comedy (Trey Parker and Matt Stone)
Havoc (Gareth Evans)
Knives Out 3 (Rian Johnson)
Rivals of the Amziah King (Andrew Patterson)
The Drama (Kristofer Borgli)
Superman (James Gunn)
Huntington (John Patton Ford)
The Monkey (Oz Perkins)
Fuze (David Mackenzie)
Hurry Up Tomorrow (Trey Edward Shults)
The Actor (Duke Johnson)
Golden (Michel Gondry)
The History of Sound (Oliver Hermanus)
Klara and the Sun (Taika Waititi)
At the Sea (Kornél Mundruczó)
Mother Mary (David Lowery)
Roofman (Derek Cianfrance)
Flowervale Street (David Robert Mitchell)
Switzerland (Anton Corbijn)
Sinners (Ryan Coogler)
Famous (Jody Hill)
Growth (Armando Iannucci)
The Naked Gun (Akiva Schaffer)
Ann Lee (Mona Fastvold)
I Love Boosters (Boots Riley)
Pete Hujar’s Day (Ira Sachs)
Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die (Gore Verbinski)
Sontag (Kirsten Johnston)
The Secret Agent (Kleber Mendoca Filho)
Miroirs No. 3 (Christian Petzold)
Young Mother (Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne)
Chocobar (Lucrecia Martel)
Orphan (Laszlo Nemes)
Mektoub: Canto Duo (Abdellatif Kechiche)
Resurrection (Bi Gan)
Butterfly Jam (Kantemir Balagov)
Yes! (Nadav Lapid)
Red Rocks (Bruno Dumont)
Disappearance (Kiril Serebrenikkov)
Untitled sci-fi (Arthur Harrari)
Wake of Umbra (Carlos Reygadas)
On Land and Sea (Hylmur Pálmason)
Untitled (Jia Zhangke)
Rosebushpruning (Karim Aïnouz)
Eagles of the Relublic (Tarik Saleh)
The Magnificent Life of Sylvain Pagnol (Sylvain Chomet)
Tu ne fear point d’image (Kaouther BenHania)
Sacrifice (Roman Gavras)
Une Affaire (Arnaud Desplechin)
After (Oliver Laxe)
Enzo (Robin Campillo)
L’interet D’Adam (Laura Wandel)
Vie Privee (Rebecca Zlotowski)
The Wave (Sebastien Lelio)
Silent Friend (Ildiko Enyedi)
Duse (Pietro Marcello)
Sacrifice (Roman Gavras)
Stitches (Alice Wincour)
Romería (Carla Simon)
El Ser Querido (Rodrigo Sorogoyen)
Franz (Agnieszka Holland)
Dry Leaf (Alexandre Koberidze)
Occupation (Myroslav Slaboshpytskyi)
Ryan Coogler’s Sinners
Barry Levinson’s Alto Knights
Pixar’s Elio
Andrew Stanton’s In the Blink of an Eye
Michel Gondry’s Golden
John Carney’s Power Ballad
Trey Edward Shults’ Hurry Up Tomorrow
Francis Lawrence’s The Long Walk
David Michôd’s Wizards!
Jonathan Goldstein & John Francis Daley’s Mayday
Danny and Michael Philippou’s Bring Her Back
Taika Waititi’s Klara and the Sun
Bart Layton’s Crime 101
Duke Johnson’s The Actor
Osgood Perkins’ Keeper
Boots Riley’s I Love Boosters
Daniel Goldhaber’s Faces of Death
Luc Besson‘s Dracula
Oliver Hermanus’ The History of Sound
Gore Verbinski’s Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die
Kornel Mundruczó’s At the Sea
Christian Petzold’s Miroirs No.3
Ira Sachs’ Peter Hujar’s Day
Jalmari Helander’s Sisu 2
Ben Wheatley’s Normal
David Michôd’s Christy Martin Biopic
Gregg Araki’s I Want Your Sex
Pedro Almodóvar’s Bitter Christmas
Alto Knights(Levinson)
Den of Thieves 2: Pantera
Dracula: A Love Tale(Besson)
Sinners(Coogler)
The Senior(Lurie)
From the World of John Wick: Ballerina (Chad Stahelski)
Panos Costamos’ Flesh of the Gods
Chloe Okuno’s Brides
Kim Jee Woon’s The Hole
Tarsem Singh’s The Journeyman
Cedric Jimenez’s Chien 51
Guy Ritchie’s Fountain of Youth
Tracie Laymon’s Bob Trevino Likes It
Ficarra & Requa’s Misadventure
Dito Montiel’s Riff Raff
Nic Pizzolatto’s Easy’s Waltz
Sian Heder’s Tomorrow And Tomorrow And Tomorrow
James Marsh’s Night Boat To Tangier
Early Cannes 2025 Spitballs
The Way of the Wind (Terrence Malick — shot in 2019)
Die My Love (Lynne Ramsay) — Jennifer Lawrence, Robert Pattinson, LaKeith Stanfield, Sissy Spacek
Resurrection
The Fountains of Paradise (Apichatpong…Arthur C Clarke…possibly shooting in ’26)
The Battle of Baktan Cross / based on Pynchon’s Vineland? (Paul Thomas Anderson –Leonardo DiCaprio, Regina Hall, Sean Penn, Alana Haim, Benicio del Toro)
Sentimental Value (Joachim Trier) — Renate Reinsve, Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, Stellan Skarsgård, Elle Fanning.
Jupiter (Andrey Zvyagintsev…hasn’t even begun filming)
Highest 2 Lowest (Spike Lee — A24 theatrical release in spring prior to streaming)
I Want Your Sex (Gregg Araki) — Olivia Wilde, Cooper Hoffman, Charli XCX, Daveed Diggs, Mason Gooding
No Other Choice (Park Chan0-wook) — Lee Byung-hun, Son Ye-jin, Park Hee-soon Sung-min as Koo Beom-Mo
The Avenging Silence…what is this? (Nicholas Winding-Refn)
Alpha…not yet shot? (Julia Ducournau)
Mother Brother Sister Mother (Jim Jarmusch) — Cate Blanchett, Vicky Krieps, Adam Driver, Mayim Bialik, Tom Waits, Charlotte Rampling
The Phoenician Scheme (Wes Anderson) — Benicio del Toro, Michael Cera, Bill Murray, Riz Ahmed, Tom Hanks, Benedict Cumberbatch, Scarlett Johansson, Charlotte Gainsbourg
Bugonia (Yorgos Lanthimos) — Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, Alicia Silverstone.
Nouvelle Vague (d: Richard Linklater) — Guillaume Marbeck as Jean-Luc Godard, Zoey Deutch as Jean Seberg, Aubry Dullin as Jean-Paul Belmondo.
The Mastermind (Kelly Reichardt — art heist) —John Magaro, Josh O’Connor, Alana Haim, Hope Davis, Bill Camp, Gaby Hoffmann
Young Mother (The Dardennes)
In the Hands of Dante (d: Julian Schnabel) — Oscar Isaac, Jason Momoa, Gerard Butler, Gal Gadot, Sabrina Impacciatore, Franco Nero, Martin Scorsese.
Orphan (Laszlo Nemes)
The Secret Agent (Kleber Mendoca Filho)
Dreams (Michel Franco) — Jessica Chastain, Isaac Hernández, Rupert Friend
Die My Love (Lynne Ramsay)
Judy or untitled (Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu — October 2026) — Tom Cruise,
Frankenstein (Guillermo del Toro)
Jay Kelly (Noah Baumbach)
Untitled White House Thriller (Kathryn Bigelow) — Idris Elba, Rebecca Ferguson, Gabriel Basso
Jared Harris, Greta Lee, Tracy Letts, Moses Ingram
The Bookie & The Bruiser (S. Craig Zahler) — filming in late ’24 or early 25?
The Cry of the Guards (Claire Denis)
Caught Stealing (Darren Aronofsky) — Austin Butler, Zoë Kravitz, Regina King, Matt Smith, Liev Schreiber.
Marty Supreme (A24, 12.25.25) (d: Josh Safdie) — Timothée Chalamet, Gwyneth Paltrow, Tyler the Creator, Odessa A’zion, Penn Jillette, Kevin O’Leary, Abel Ferrara, Fran Drescher.
