After the cinematic revolution that was 2023 (Barbenheimer, Poor Things, Killers of the Flower Moon, Anatomy of a Fall, The Holdovers), 2024 seemed almost like a disappointment. However, 2025 promises to be a cinematic arms race with movies made by some of the most visionary directors and talented actors coming out!
From James Cameron to Celine Song; from Leonardo Dicaprio to Michael B Jordan, check out the list below with movies sure to excite even the passing cinema viewer as we may see the emergence of a masterpiece or three –
18. Mickey 17 - Mar. 7th
Bong Joon Ho has a distinguished track record of truly entertaining and brilliant movies. After Parasite’s commercial and critical success in 2019, the world was his oyster. He has used the opportunity to create Mickey 17, a big-budget Hollywood production with a major movie star, Robert Pattinson (the new Batman!). A futuristic feature about a man who joins a space colony as a disposable worker who gets cloned every time he dies, Mickey 17 is sure to bring out the director’s unique comedic instincts and representation of the flawed structures in modern society.
Watch the movie and promote the work of a true artist! Check out the trailer below:
17. Sinners - Apr. 18th
One of the most talented actor-director partnerships right now is the one between Ryan Coogler and Michael B Jordan. After Fruitvale Station, Creed and Black Panther, the duo returns with a period-horror that takes place in the Southern part of America, during the Jim Crow era. Jordan will be playing twins who return to their hometown to start again, only to discover that an even greater evil is waiting for them back. Venturing into a new with horror, can’t wait to see what they concoct with Sinners.
Below is the trailer:
16. The Fantastic Four: First Steps - July 25th
The Fantastic Four comic books came out in the 1960s. Following the style of those early books, Marvel plans to bring the team on the screen unlike we’ve ever seen before. In a world reminiscent of The Jetsons, the new movie features Pedro Pascal as Mr Fantastic, Joseph Quinn (last seen as the emperor in Gladiator II) as the Human Torch, The Bear’s Ebon Moss-Bachrach as The Thing and Vanessa Kirby as Invisible Woman. Watching the trailer, I can say that this one looks different from the other thousand Marvel movies that we’ve seen.
Check out the cool trailer here!
15. Avatar: Fire and Ash - Dec. 19th
The world that James Cameron built with the Avatar franchise has generated over $5 billion dollars in revenue. It is back with its third installment this year, Avatar: Fire and Ash. Cameron’s mastery of storytelling undeniably strikes a nerve globally and as such, it’s a safe bet that Fire and Ash will be an awesome experience. The new movie will take us back to Pandora in an immersive adventure, later this year.
14. Materialists - June 13th
The gifted Past Lives writer-director Celine Song returns with a great cast for a romantic comedy called Materialists, an apt metaphor for our time. Starring Dakota Johnson, Chris Evans and Pedro Pascal, Materialists is about a successful match-maker who has to choose her own match between love and money. With Past Lives, Song has proved that she has a keen romantic sense, and the ability to create a fresh story that will connect with larger audiences.
Check out the awesome trailer below!
13. Mission Impossible - The Final Reckoning - June 13th
A send-off to one of the most iconic action heroes of all time, Ethan Hunt, is coming this year in May. Now known for incredible stunts performed by Tom Cruise as Hunt, the trailer is already out and shows Cruise hanging onto the side of a plane! Fighting against a rogue AI called the Entity, Cruise will represent the ultimate man vs machine fight that resonates with the social fear of AI taking over. If there is one man we want to represent us again AI, it is Tom Cruise as his iconic character.
Find the trailer below:
12. Michael - TBD
Training Day’s Antoine Fuqua dips his foot into the biopic genre to direct the film on arguably the biggest name in the music industry in the last 50 years, Michael Jackson. A controversial figure, no doubt, the movie will provide a fascinating look into the life of the reclusive artist. Jackson’s nephew Jaafar Jackson will play him and the movie will follow his life from his childhood years to the final weeks before his death. It will also be interesting to see how the child abuse allegations are represented in the film.
11. Frankenstein - Nov. 2025
Thanks to Netflix, Guillermo Del Toro finally gets to realise his passion project, Frankenstein. With his authentic and beautiful rendition of Pinocchio, the anticipation for this project is justified. Starring Jacob Elordi as The Monster alongside Oscar Isaac as Dr. Frankenstein, Mia Goth and Christoph Waltz, Frankenstein features a star-studded cast.Â
10. Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out mystery - Fall 2025
Despite the slight disappointment of Glass Onion, there is enough cream to churn this project into buttery delight. Daniel Craig returns as Benoit Blanc with a great cast featuring Cailee Spaeny, Andrew Scott, Mila Kunis, Jeremy Renner and Glenn Close. This time Blanc returns to unravel a brand-new murder mystery in a yet undisclosed setting, surrounded by a colourful new cast of suspects.
9. Eddington - TBD
Ari Aster, the serious and talented director who gave us gems such as Hereditary and Midsommar, has made a politically charged contemporary Western black comedy. Eddington is an ensemble piece starring Joaquin Phoenix, Emma Stone, Pedro Pascal and Austin Butler. One of my favourite films of the last 10 years is Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and if this one is even half as entertaining as that, it’ll be worth it.
8. Marty Supreme - Dec. 25th
The Safdie brothers are launching their solo careers this year and Marty Supreme is Josh Safdie’s first major solo directorial feature. Not much is known at this point about the movie except that it’s partly based on table tennis champion Marty Reisman and stars Timothee Chalamet and Gwyneth Paltrow. This is table tennis’ big cinematic moment since Forrest Gump!
7. F1 - June 25th
Joseph Kosinski is here to do with race cars what he did with aeroplanes in Top Gun Maverick, in the upcoming movie F1. And it stars Brad Pitt! The trailer is already out and Brad Pitt looks as chic as Steven McQueen in Le Mans, playing an intriguing character, Sonny Hayes, a retired Formula One racer. With a chrome, classy look and thrilling racing sequences, this movie is sure to rule the box office.
Check out the trailer below:
6. Warfare - April 11th
After the success of Civil War last year, Alex Garland brings Warfare this year, a war-action film in the same vein as Black Hawk Down. The film will follow a platoon of Navy SEALs on a mission through an insurgent territory during the Iraq War. Early reviews claim the movie will follow the SEAL team real time. The ensemble cast includes Reservation Dogs’ star D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Will Poulter and Michael Gandolfini. Given the poignant cinematic achievement of Civil War, there is no doubt in my mind that Warfare will be excellent.
Check out the incredible trailer below:
5. Predator: Badlands - Nov. 7th
Dan Trachtenberg revived the Predator franchise with 2022’s low-budget but unique take on the Predator franchise with Prey. As such, now is the time to be excited about this franchise. And here’s where the story gets crazy. This year, two Predator movies are scheduled to release, both directed by Dan Trachtenberg! While the untitled movie will release on Hulu at some point this year, the other titled Predator: Badlands will take place in the future and star Elle Fanning. As per Trachtenberg, Badlands will feature the creature front and centre, leading the charge. Has the hunter become the hunted?
Watch this super cool music video featuring scenes from the first Predator until the trailer arrives:
4. The Running Man - Nov. 7th
This is the year of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s movie remakes! 1987’s The Running Man starring Arnie is getting a remake directed by Edgar Wright! With plans to stay loyal to the Stephen King book the original movie is based on, it will be interesting to see Wright’s vision of a dystopian game show where contestants are hunted for public entertainment. Wright’s signature editing style and fast pace are tailor-made for action movies as witnessed in Baby Driver. It stars Glen Powell, Colman Domingo and Josh Brolin among a host of other talented actors.
3. Bugonia - Nov. 7th
Based on a South Korean cult classic titled ‘Save the Green Planet!’, director Lanthimos’ sci-fi comedy has an ingenious premise. Two conspiracy-obsessed guys kidnap a high-powered CEO of a major company, convinced that she’s an alien who wants to destroy our planet. Yorgos Lanthimos has proved his mettle to merge comedy with sci-fi, and so, this The King of Comedy meets the Luigi Mangione case, is definitely well-timed.
2. RIP - Fall 2025
Joe Carnahan is no stranger to crime-thrillers with movies like Smokin’ Aces, Pride and Glory and Boss Level, under his belt. But his collaboration with Ben Affleck and Matt Damon is the most exciting project he’s worked on! Hollywood’s best buds star in Rip as Miami cops who discover millions in cash in a derelict stash house. Trust frays as everything and everyone, is called into question. According to Carnahan, Rip is inspired partly by a Miami cop’s life but mostly, on those classy 70’s cop thrillers that valued character and interpersonal relationships and became the touchstones of that era like Serpico and Princ e of the City and more recently, Michael Mann’s Heat.
1. One Battle After Another - Sep. 26th
Two former wunderkinds, Paul Thomas Anderson and Leonardo DiCaprio, are finally working together! The trailer for One Battle After Another recently came out and it is out of this world! Apart from DiCaprio, the cast also includes Benecio Del Toro, Regina Hall, Teyana Taylor and Sean Penn. DiCaprio plays an ex-revolutionary who seeks help from his previous colleagues when his daughter gets kidnapped. Given the talent in front of and behind the camera, this black comedy is a lock for awesomeness.
