Words: Josh Lee
In terms of cinema, 2025 looks like it’s one for the horror buffs, with the gothic aesthetics of Nosferatu having already hit screens and the likes of The Monkey, Sinners and 28 Years Later drawing much momentum. Darkness aside, one of the year’s most hyped features, We Live in Time (Andrew Garfield; Florence Pugh), has garnered a respectable reception so far, following its early-January release – and in the weeks and months to come, we’ll see Timothée Chalamet in what many are calling his career-defining role (A Complete Unknown); Adrien Brody’s large-scale world-building (The Brutalist); and Brad Pitt behind the wheel of a roaring, fire-breathing machine (F1).
With this in mind, we’ve curated a shortlist of the most anticipated films to be released in 2025…
A Real Pain
Release date: 8 January (UK)
Jesse Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin star as cousins – it just feels right, doesn’t it, in an aggy-versus-aggy way? – who, following their grandmother’s death, head to Poland to retrace that which came before them. Eisenberg’s writing and directing, as well as his interplay with the Succession actor, has already gone down well with critics; Culkin, meanwhile, has scooped up a Golden Globe for best support.
A Complete Unknown
Release date: 17 January (UK)
Up there with Deliver Me From Nowhere as one of the most built-up music biopics of recent times, James Mangold’s A Complete Unknown traces the formative years of a young Bob Dylan (Timothée Chalamet) as he arrives in New York and evolves from folksy leanings to an electric styling. Edward Norton’s role as singer-songwriter Pete Seeger is of particular note.
The Brutalist
Release date: 24 January (UK)
Starring Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Joel Edgerton and Vanessa Kirby, The Brutalist could well be another smash-hit from A24, the company responsible for Moonlight, Uncut Gems and Everything Everywhere All At Once. Here, Brody plays László Toth, a Jewish Hungarian architect and Holocaust survivor who tries to restart his career and life in post-war America – struggling at first, his luck is altered when he encounters an affluent industrialist. At just over three-and-a-half hours, it’s slated as a modern tour de force.
Sinners
Release date: 7 March (UK)
Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan, the dream team that helped make Creed and Black Panther the mega successes they were, unite again in this story of twin brothers (both Jordan) in the Deep South during the era of Jim Crow. Both return to their hometown ‘to start again, only to discover that an even greater evil is waiting to welcome them back.’
Mickey 17
Release date: 18 April (UK)
The plot for Bong Joon-ho’s first film since Parasite goes a little like this: Robert Pattinson plays Mickey Barnes, an ‘expendable’ employee who gets sent on a mission to colonise Niflheim, an ice planet. His job, to cut to the chase, is to die, over and over. Intrigue and a left-field synopsis can do a lot to build up a film’s hype.
28 Years Later
Release date: 20 June (UK)
Is it Cillian Murphy, or is it not? Recent weeks have seen social media go in a bit of a frenzy over what many have guessed is a zombiefied version of the Irish actor, who featured in 28 Days Later. There’s still speculation as to whether Murphy will appear in the newest instalment in the 28 series, but those who have been confirmed include Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Jodie Comer, Ralph Fiennes and Jack O’Connell. Danny Boyle is behind the camera.
F1
Release date: 25 June (UK)
Following his appearances in the pits and on the tracks, including his Champagne-soaked celebrations at Abu Dhabi, Brad Pitt and his Grand-Prix-centric film will finally hit screens this summer. Pitt plays a driver who comes out of retirement to have another go in the hot seat and provide guidance to a younger driver (Damson Idris). Javier Bardem portrays Ruben, the owner of the fictional APXGP team and the man who coaxes Pitt’s Sonny Hayes to get back behind the wheel; moreover, Lewis Hamilton has had a big hand in the production.
Superman
Release date: 11 July (UK)
Not a lot is known about the plot for the upcoming Superman, the character’s first solo film since Man of Steel – so far, the biggest details revealed have been the fact that David Corenswet will pull on the red cape, and that the official synopsis states: ‘In his signature style, James Gunn takes on the original superhero in the newly imagined DC Universe with a singular blend of epic action, humor and heart, delivering a Superman who’s driven by compassion and an inherent belief in the goodness of humankind.’
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery
Release date: TBC
Daniel Craig’s southern drawl; another stellar cast, this time including Jeremy Renner, Mila Kunis, and Josh Brolin as a priest; and a whodunnit story. Truly, what more does a film require?
Want more film content? Here’s everything we know so far about the new American Psycho…
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