With a new year, comes new movies and we at FilmSlop want to highlight 25 of them – top 20 and 5 honorable mentions – for you to put on your watchlist for the year. However, we’re implementing some rules: no capes, no sequels, prequels or remakes. We’re going to see all of those regardless. There’s a secret Predator movie, Lynne Ramsay’s follow up to You Were Never Really Here, a mysterious family adventure involving dinosaurs from David Robert Mitchell, and a few Sundance premieres. Find out about all those and more below in our Top 25 of ‘25!

Honorable mentions:

Nouvelle Vague — Richard Linklater directs mostly French unknowns in the roles of some of the biggest names in cinema history. It’s 1959 and Jean-Luc Godard is hard at work on his new picture, Breathless, which would become one of the most influential films of the French New Wave period. Zoey Deutch stars as Jean Seberg.

Welcome to Holland — Mimi Cave, director of cannibal thriller Fresh, follows up with a new thriller starring Nicole Kidman and Gael García Bernal. Kidman plays a wife who suspects her husband is living a double life. However, she discovers so much more than she bargained for in the course of her investigation. The film has been done since May 2023 so it’s ripe for release any day now.

The Monkey — Oz Perkins scared the audiences with his serial killer horror, Longlegs. He’ll do it all again with an adaptation of Stephen King’s The Monkey. Theo James plays twins who discover their dad’s old monkey toy and bear witness to unexplainable deaths that follow them through life. Releasing February 21, 2025.

The Amateur — Based on the book of the same name, Rami Malek plays a CIA cryptographer who blackmails the intelligence agency and embarks on a revenge mission after his wife is killed in a London terrorist attack. Releasing April 11, 2025.

Die My Love — Lynne Ramsay’s last feature was released in 2017, the neo-noir You Were Never Really Here, starring Joaquin Phoenix. She’ll follow that up with this dark comedy set in the French countryside, about a mother who develops post-partum depression. Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Pattinson star, with Lawrence producing. It was shot on film and finished production in October. It could bow at the Cannes Film Festival in May.

20. The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie

While the fight to release Coyote v. ACME — the star-studded live-action/animation hybrid film that Warner Bros. shelved in favor of a tax write off — continues, another Looney Tunes film originally destined for streaming on MAX will see the light of day and be shown in theaters worldwide. Acquired for US distribution by Ketchup Entertainment, this film follows Daffy Duck and Porky Pig as they try to save the planet from an alien invasion. Releasing February 28, 2025.

*The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie* (2025)

19. Michael

Antoine Fuqua helms this biopic based on the life of the King of Pop, Michael Jackson. The film, which received the approval of Jackson’s estate, is written by John Logan (Gladiator, The Aviator, Skyfall) and will not shy away from controversies Jackson faced later in life. Jaafar Jackson, Michael’s nephew and son of Jermaine Jackson, will portray his uncle. Releasing October 3, 2025.

18. Flowervale Street

I’ve followed David Robot Mitchell’s career with great interest from his feature length debut, The Myth of the American Sleepover, which I saw on a premium cable channel back in 2010. It Follows is of course one of the best horror films of the 2010s. However he hit a snag with Under the Silver Lake. Not much is known about his latest picture, only that it is produced by J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot and is set to bow on IMAX screens. If you believe the rumors, the film will be about a family in the 80s and involve dinosaurs in some way. Releasing March 13, 2025.

17. If I Had Legs I’d Kick You

Rose Byrne stars in this upcoming A24 comedy as Linda, a woman attempting to navigate her child’s mysterious illness, her absent husband, a missing person, and an increasingly hostile relationship with her therapist. Directed by Mary Bronstein, the film will premiere January 24, 2025 at the Sundance Film Festival.

16. Magic Farm

Argentine-Spanish artist and film director Amalia Ulman returns to Sundance with a sci-fi film set in South America. Chloë Sevingy and Alex Wolff star as members of a film crew who come to South America to profile a musician, but discover they’re in the wrong country. In the background, a global health crisis is brewing. The domestic distribution rights were acquired by MUBI ahead of its premiere, so look for wider release news soon. The film will premiere January 28, 2025 at the Sundance Film Festival.

15. Golden

There has been an increased interest in the life of music mogul Pharrell Williams lately. This year we saw Piece by Piece, a biographical documentary that was stop-motion animated with LEGOs. Next summer Kelvin Harrison Jr. will star in Michael Gondry’s musical inspired by Williams’ early life growing up in a Virginia Beach apartment complex called The Atlantis. The film also stars Academy Award Winner Da’Vine Joy Randolph. Releasing May 9, 2025.

14. Predator: Badlands and Untitled Predator Movie

Disney’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox had many worried that classic franchises like Alien and Predator would no longer be made. But the Mouse proved everyone wrong and made a couple very good entries in both universes. Dan Trachtenberg’s follow up to Prey is not a direct sequel. Plot details are scarce but it follows two sisters on a journey through a futuristic wasteland as they discover their pasts. It’s probably a good bet that they will encounter one of the intergalactic hunters on their quest. Steve Asbell, president of Production at 20th Century Studios let slip in an interview with the Hollywood Reporter that Trachtenberg made another Predator movie and it is actually coming out before Badlands, which is in theaters November 7, 2025.

13. By Design

In this official 2025 Sundance selection, a woman swaps bodies with a chair and discovers that all of her friends prefer her that way. Amanda Kramer directs from a screenplay written by Kramer. Juliette Lewis stars, along with Mamdou Athie and Melanie Griffith. The film will premiere on January 23, 2025 at the Sundance Film Festival.

12. The Drama

Norwegian filmmaker Kristoffer Borgli directs Zendaya and Robert Pattinson in what is said to be a romance. Borgli’s past work includes the absurdist black comedy Sick of Myself and the A24 fantasy horror Dream Scenario. No plot details have been made available, but the film wrapped December 12, 2024. Mamdou Athie and Alana Haim joined the cast in October. No release date has been set, but expect it in the later half of 2025.

11. Sinners

While Marvel can’t seem to get their new Blade movie off the ground, Black Panther director Ryan Coogler went over to Warner Bros and shot a vampire movie of his own. A teaser trailer, featuring some footage shot with IMAX 70mm film cameras, was attached to screenings of Gladiator II. Not much is known except it stars Michael B. Jordan in a dual role as twin brothers who return home and have to fend off their town from an unknown evil. Releasing April 18, 2025.

10. Highest 2 Lowest

Not technically a remake — Spike Lee calls it a “reinterpretation” — of Akira Kurosawa’s 1963 High and Low. Both films are based on the book “King’s Ransom.” The story centers on a wealthy man who has to choose between using his money to achieve a personal dream or save the life of a kidnapped child. Denzel Washington, A$AP Rocky, Ilfenesh Hadera and Jeffrey Wright star. It was shot by Matthew Libatique, who frequently lenses Darren Aronofsky’s movies. It will hit theaters in Spring 2025 before streaming on AppleTV+.

9. Mickey 17

Bong Joon-ho will follow up his historic Academy Award wins for 2017’s Parasite with this dark comedy starring Robert Pattinson. Originally delayed from its March 2024 date, the film follows a man named Mickey who signs up for a program that clones humans and creates disposable employees called “expendables.” Releasing March 7, 2025.

8. A Big Bold Beautiful Journey

Margot Robbie will return to the screen next year in director Kagonada’s follow up to Sundance darling After Yang. The plot is being kept under wraps, but the romantic comedy has been screened several times and is said to surround two strangers, played by Robbie and Colin Farrell, who meet at a wedding and go on a road trip. A GPS device is also involved. It is written by Sam Reiss, who also scribed The Menu. Releasing May 9, 2025.

7. Black Bag

Steven Soderbergh is one of the hardest working directors in Hollywood. This is one of two films he’ll have out next year and his third collaboration with legendary screenwriter David Koepp. Cate Blanchett and Michael Fassbender star as Kathyn and George Woodhouse, respectively. When Kathryn is accused of betraying Great Britain, George has to make a choice between loyalty to his nation or his marriage. Releasing March 14, 2025.

6. Materialists

Folks had heated debates after Celine Song’s directorial debut, Past Lives, dropped. The semi autobiographical movie, released by A24, received two Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture. It is speculated that Luca Guadagnino’s Challengers, written by Justin Kuritzkes - Song’s husband - was inspired by the love triangle portrayed in Past Lives. Song returns to the romance genre in her new movie which stars Dakota Johnson as a New York City matchmaker as she navigates her relationship with her ex-boyfriend and a wealthy businessman. Chris Evans and Pedro Pascal also star and as for who they play, that remains to be seen.

5. Marty Supreme

Timothee Chalamet recently wrapped this Safdie solo project, a sports drama set in the world of ping-pong. Josh Safdie directs from a script written by himself and Ronald Bronstein. According to Deadline Hollywood, this is A24’s most expensive film yet, clocking in at $70 million! The film is loosely based on the life of Marty Reisman, a two-time ping-pong champion in 1958 and 1960. Releasing December 25, 2025.

4. Alpha

Neon has picked up the U.S. distribution rights for Titane director Julia Ducornau’s next movie which is said to be a sci-fi film set in the 80’s about a schoolgirl who gets rejected by her classmates due to swirling rumors that she has caught some new disease. Those familiar with Ducornau’s work can expect some genre-bending and maybe some body horror as with her previous efforts, Raw and aforementioned Titane. No release date has been set, but the film is currently in production.

3. No Other Choice

Following up his 2022 masterpiece, Decision to Leave, Park Chan-wook is hard at work on an adaptation of Donald Westlake’s The Ax. Lee Byung-hun stars as a man who is fired from a job he has had for 25 years and after an unsuccessful job hunt, does whatever is necessary to keep his previous employer from hiring his replacement. This film has been in the works since 2009, when it was thought Chan-wook would be remaking another adaptation of the book, The Axe, directed by Costa-Gavras. The film went before the cameras in August, but no release date has been announced.

2. After the Hunt

One of the most efficient directors working today is Luca Guadagnino who bowed two projects this year. Challengers, which was delayed to March from September 2023 due to the strikes, and Queer. So far this is the only movie on Guadagnino’s schedule for next year. It stars Julia Roberts, Ayo Edebiri and Andrew Garfield. It follows a college professor who has to examine her past as a colleague faces a serious accusation. It is not currently dated, but it started filming in July and wrapped six weeks later. This will mark Guadagnino’s fourth collaboration with Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, who are composing the score.

1. Untitled Paul Thomas Anderson/The Battle of Baktan Pass

Plot details are extremely under wraps for Paul Thomas Anderson’s new movie, starring Leonardo DiCaprio. You may recall set photos earlier this year showing DiCaprio in full costume. The movie is expected to be a crime thriller that takes place in the fictional town of Baktan Pass. Interestingly, this will be PTA’s first movie to be released in IMAX, though no word if it was shot with IMAX film. PTA’s last two films, Phantom Thread and Licorice Pizza got special engagements in 70mm, so we can probably expect the same for this. The film also stars Regina Hall, Benecio del Toro, Alana Haim and Sean Penn. Jonny Greenwood returns for his sixth collaboration with PTA. Releasing August 15, 2025.

25 Most Anticipated Films of 2025