Watchlist: 2025
Do you like how I switched up that spelling finally? Yeah...
I’ve said it before: time is an illusion which means that 2025 films might really be 2024 films because when a movie premieres at a festival it might listed as being released that year but it wasn’t actually released that year, you know? Anyways, whatever, these are movies might be released in 2025 and they might be debuting in 2025 and coming out in 2026 or later, WHO KNOWS! I rarely go to the movie theatre because it is a sensory nightmare, but knowing when a movie comes out means I know when to keep my eyes on the digital!!
Here are 10 of the new films I am excited to watch this year (in no particular order!).
Wicked Part II: For Good (dir. John M. Chu)
I mean this goes without saying. So. I won’t say more. Coming November 21st, 2025.
Mickey 17 (dir. Bong Joon-ho)
If you know me in real life (and don’t zone out when I talk about movies) you know I fucking LOVE a Bong Joon-ho film. Memories of Murder (2003) is an actual masterpiece, Parasite (2019) is perfection, and The Host (2006) is a blast.
This film was supposed to come out already but Hollywood is full of clowns so here we are, still waiting. But wait I shall (not much longer), because this cast includes: Toni Collette (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!), Naomi Ackie, Mark Ruffalo, and of course, Robert Pattinson. Now I will say, I am not a fan of Joon-ho’s other ‘American’ venture, Snowpiercer (2013), because I felt it would’ve been much better if it was all Korean and not American. SORRY, BONG! But I have high expectations for this production because once again we have Robert Pattinson doing a silly little voice and there are MULTIPLE weird little Pattinsons.
Here are the other details you probably want to know:
Plot: Mickey Barnes has found himself in the extraordinary circumstance of working for an employer who demands the ultimate commitment to the job… to die, for a living.
Release date: March 7th, 2025
Wish You All The Best (dir. Tommy Dorfman)
This is one that was first “released” in 2024 at SXSW fest and yet it remains nowhere in sight. Based on a YA book of the same name (which I very much enjoyed), I am excited to see this debut from Tommy Dorfman. I don’t even mind that Lena Dunham is there! (I do, I very much do mind but oh well).
Plot: A non-binary teen is kicked out of their North Carolina home after coming out to their ultra-religious parents. As a result, they move in with their estranged sister and her husband. Though the two are welcoming, they continue to struggle with anxiety further exacerbated by their parents’ rejection. As such, they try to keep a low profile at school. However, after they meet a proudly bisexual classmate, their life begins to look a little more hopeful (via Letterboxd).
Cast:
Release date: unknown, sorry!!
There is not yet an official trailer
The Wedding Banquet (dir. Andrew Ahn)
A remake of the Ang Lee film from 1993—which I still need to watch because I truly love an Ang Lee production1—this version features: Lily Gladstone, Bowen Yang, Kelly Marie Tran, JOAN CHEN!!!!, YOUN YUH-JUNG!!!, Han Gi-chan, and more.
Plot: Frustrated with his commitment-phobic boyfriend Chris and running out of time, Min makes a proposal: a green-card marriage with their friend Angela in exchange for her partner Lee’s expensive IVF. Elopement plans are upended, however, when Min’s grandmother surprises them with an extravagant Korean wedding banquet (via Letterboxd).
Cast: I already told you!!!!!
Trailer: Just a teaser so far.
Release date: April 18th, 2025 in the US (but the distributor is the same for Canada so I am hoping this is the same date, as is most often the case)
Ponyboi (dir. Esteban Arango)
Yet another film I have been WAITING FOR!!! The initial release was 2024 at Sundance but us normies had to wait. Written by River Gallo and I believe based on a short-film of the same name, this feature production is exactly my kinda thing. Will it get the Anora (2024) treatment? Or even the Emilia Perez (2024) treatment? Unlikely, because Hollywood.
The cast includes relative newcomer River Gallo (who is intersex & identities as non-binary, trans fem, and queer) alongside Dylan O’Brien, Indya Moore (another trans icon!!!), Victoria Pedretti, and Murray Bartlett.
Plot: On Valentine's Day, in New Jersey, a young intersex sex worker is working at a laundromat with his pregnant best friend, Angel. He spends his nights with Vinnie, his secret lover and pimp who is also the father of Angel's child. However, when a drug deal goes bad, he finds himself on the run from the mob
Trailer: No trailer yet for the feature, but there is a trailer from the short film.
Release date: June 27th, 2025 (US)
Oh, Hi! (dir. Sophie Brooks)
I first learned of this film via these images:
Now as a major fan of Misery (1990), Molly Gordon, and of course Logan Lerman (hello — Perks of Being a Wallflower WAS tumblr!!!), I was immediately in no matter the plot. That said, you might want to know more details.
Plot: Iris and Isaac’s first romantic weekend getaway goes awry (via Letterboxd — and it is just as brief elsewhere).
Cast: Molly Gordon, Logan Lerman, Geraldine Viswanathan (LOVE), John Reynolds.
Trailer: Not yet, but there is this Sundance interview!
Release date: premiered January 26, 2025 at Sundance….as for the rest of us? who knows.
I guess this was more of a tease but hey….maybe we will get to watch it this year, maybe we won’t! Isn’t life fun?
The Running Man (dir. Edgar Wright)
So this is actually an adaptation of a book of the same name (by Stephen King under his pseudonym Richard Bachman). There was already an adaptation in 1987 which starred Arnold Schwarzenegger lol. Here’s hoping this one is better! Unfortunately, Josh Brolin is in this one.
Plot: Set in an oppressive future where the government controls the media, Ben Richards volunteers to participate in a deadly game show, which will see him hunted by professional killers over 30 days. Should he survive, he’ll win a cash prize that will help save his sick child and lift his family out of a horrid living situation (via Letterboxd).
Cast: Glen Powell, Katy O’Brian (HELLO!!!!!), Lee Pace, Daniel Ezra, Colman Domingo (!!!!!), William H. Macy, David Zayas, Michael Cera, Emilia Jones, and more.
Trailer: Not yet!
Release date: November 7th, 2025
Death of a Unicorn (dir. Alex Scharfman)
The name hooks you right away, right? Well buckle up for the details because this is gonna be a fun time.
Plot: A father and daughter accidentally hit and kill a unicorn while en route to a weekend retreat, where his billionaire boss seeks to exploit the creature’s miraculous curative properties (via Letterboxd).
Cast: Jenna Ortega and Paul Rudd as the father/daughter duo, Will Poulter, Téa Leoni, Richard E. Grant, Anthony Carrigan (NoHo Hank 4ever), Sunita Mani, Tim Robinson, and more.
Trailer: there sure is!!
Release date: March 28th, 2025
The Zodiac Killer Project (dir. Charlie Shackleton)
I have a mixed relationship to True Crime. I grew up watching so much of it and I still loved it into adulthood. I don’t dislike it now, but I struggle with what it has become and the sheer amount of all these poorly made, exploitative pieces of media. I also think the lines have blurred so much between True Crime documentaries and dramatized versions of events, which to me, are not True crime. But I digress. When I saw rumblings of this film I knew I wanted to check it out.
Plot: Against the backdrop of deserted spaces, a filmmaker explores his abandoned Zodiac Killer documentary, delving into the true crime genre’s inner workings at a saturation point (via Letterboxd).
Release date: It premiered at Sundance 2025 and I assume it will find its way to a streaming platform.
Bunnylovr (dir. Katarina Zhu)
Written, directed by, and starring Katarina Zhu, this film just premiered at Sundance. Producers include Rachel Sennott, Zhu’s longtime friend (hell yeah I love it).
Plot: A drifting Chinese American cam girl struggles to navigate an increasingly toxic relationship with one of her clients while rekindling her relationship with her dying estranged father (via Letterboxd).
Cast: Katarina Zhu, Austin Amelio, Perry Yung, Jack Klimer, Rachel Sennott, and more.
Trailer: not yet, but you can watch this interview!
Release date: Unless you were at Sundance….we must wait.
So there you have it. Tell me what movies you’re excited for this year!
Brokeback Mountain (2005) you will always be famous to me. Lust, Caution (2007) is unforgettable in ways both good and haunting. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) HELLO. Sense and Sensibility (1995), I love you!!!!!