The post-pandemic landscape led to predictions of the demise of the cinema experience. People rallied that movie theaters would not recover and major movie studios were making the groundwork for shifting their releases entirely to streaming.
However, this has not happened. Films made for streaming did not enjoy an increase in viewership at all. On the other hand, subsequent cinema events attract massive crowds. Everyone heard about the huge earnings of Top Gun Maverick, and Barbenheimer made a permanent mark on pop culture history.
Last year we witnessed more successes. Both Deadpool & Wolverine and Inside Out 2 grossed over a billion at the Box office. This culminated in the second biggest weekend in cinema history in terms of attendance with the close-to-each-other releases of Wicked, Gladiator II and Moana. And we’re talking about a year that was considered the calmer one, with distributors gathering strength ahead of the big releases of 2025 and 2026.
Now that we know the movie landscape is doing well, let’s take a look at the first part of 2025’s most anticipated premieres.
Mickey 17
I start with a little funny case because I wrote about this film a year earlier in a similar article. However, the premiere of Mickey 17 was postponed by as much as a year. But it won’t hurt to mention this feature again. Especially as we now know much more about the film, and the premiere, fortunately, is around the corner.
And it’s certainly worth mentioning because it’s one of the most promising films of the year. Behind the camera is Bong Joon-Ho, one of the best contemporary directors. His previous film- Parasite does not need to be introduced to anyone, as it is already placed among the best productions in the history of the medium.
In his latest work he takes us to the Sci- Fi world that adapts Edward Ashton’s book called “Mickey 7”. The titular Mickey signs up as an “expendable” for an expedition set to colonize the planet Nilfheim. Very soon he begins to regret not reading the brochure with the job offer. His job is to perform the most dangerous tasks, the majority of which end in death. Each time he dies a clone of him is printed with his memories preserved. The protagonist decides to break out of the endless loop and stands up against a system that treats people like assets.
Even from the trailer, one can see Bong’s well-balanced, characteristic blend of heavy dramatic social commentary with satire and black humor. What also draws you to the cinema screen is the casting of one of today’s best actors – Robert Pattinson – in the lead role(s). His performance in the promotional clips is already stunning.
The Monkey
The next film is a new production from Oz Perkins. This director delighted us last year with the film Longlegs and put his name among the most interesting contemporary horror directors.
This time he is taking on the screen an adaptation of a short tale by Stephen King. It tells the story of a series of unfortunate deaths that are linked by the presence of a small, wind-up monkey. Played by Theo James, the twins, who had to deal with the monkey as children, decide to unravel the mystery associated with it and break the chain of terrible events caused by the murderous influence of the toy.
The previews show the same mastery of horror filmmaking that we’ve seen in the director’s previous films. Here, however, it is enhanced by a large amount of black humor. The very atmosphere of the production is based on building anxiety on a contrast.
The Electric State
However, there was no way to miss a production that will actually go straight to streaming. The Russo Brothers are responsible for Netflix’s upcoming blockbuster. These directors have cut their teeth on quality and engaging entertainment cinema by standing behind the camera of the excellent spy thrillers Captain America Winter Soldier and Civil War, as well as the huge spectacles: Avengers Infinity War and Endgame.
Their careers outside of Marvel, however, have not enjoyed such success. Both the more intimate Cherry and the high-budget spy thriller Grey Man failed to impress critics and audiences. Their latest production is a screen adaptation of a world derived from a series of illustrations by Simon Stålenhag. The story follows an orphaned teenager who searches for her brother in a retro-futuristic alternative 1990s, in which humanity is recovering from the crisis that was the robot rebellion. Our heroine is aided by the giddy smuggler Keats
Will the directors finally prove themselves outside the Disney machines? On paper, everything is in place. The previews certainly look spectacular but lack the distinctive flair that was possessed by, for example, their “Winter Soldier.”
Black Bag
The latest film from a veteran filmmaker: Steven Soderbergh. You may associate the award-winning pioneer of independent cinema with films such as Traffic, Magic Mike and the Ocean’s series. The artist is known for his extremely high work ethic and his portfolio stands out through innovative solutions, bold ideas and unconventional approaches to the genres he chooses.
His latest film is a spy thriller combined with marriage drama. It will show the fate of a married couple of highly skilled spies. Their relationship is put to the test when the husband, played by Michael Fassbender, gets an assignment to infiltrate his own wife, played by Cate Blanchet, suspected of betraying her nation. Our hero faces a difficult dilemma between remaining loyal to his country and trusting his spouse.
The production trailer is visually gorgeous, beautifully lit and very “aesthetically pleasing.” The director shows us a world of beautiful spies, elegantly dressed, sipping expensive wine in austere interiors of modernist architecture. Style pours off the screen as does the constant sense of a knife at the throat and suspense that Soderbergh is a master of building. The first reviews from critics have already hit the web and these are extremely positive, praising the film as one of the best of the director’s career.
Sinners
The newest production from Ryan Coogler, the young filmmaking voice of the black community in the US. The director, known for Creed and Black Panther, continues his ongoing collaboration with Michael B. Jordan. This time he takes us to the US of the early 20th century. The aforementioned actor will play twins trying to leave their problematic lives behind. Upon returning to their hometown, however, they discover that their local community is threatened by… vampires.
Promotional pieces show a great rendering of the climate of the then southern U.S. countryside, along with the inherent sense of unease that the horror convention brings.
This is another production of the artist, in which he touches a close to his heart history of the black community of America. This time he presents it through a tale set in 1930 that uses vampires as a metaphor. This allows him to both portray the past and the origins of his community’s traditions, and to vividly outline the addressed social problems and their sources.
Warfare
Alex Garland announced after Civil War that this is the last film he will direct himself. However, he mentioned that he will continue to write scripts and undertake co-direction if he finds the right collaborator. The first such project is Warfare, which Alex Garland is co-directing with former U.S. Navy SEAL Ray Mendoza. The film’s plot is based on the latter’s real-life memories of his deployment in Iraq.
The collaboration will result in another Garland project with a very strong message and a convention that focuses on the realism of the presented images. The events and military maneuvers depicted in the film were made and are presented in a way that fully reflects the real behavior of soldiers in such situations. The shots are crafted to simulate real, documented records of the war and are meant to convey the feeling as if we were following the events while being a member of the unit.
Until Dawn
A new film from Swedish director David F. Sandberg, who gained popularity with his short horror films. He later transferred his horror-building ideas to the feature length with the films Lights Out and Annabelle: Creation. He also has proven himself capable in telling about relationships in family cinema by creating two films about the adventures of superhero Shazam!
Now, however, he’s returning to his horror roots with the screen adaptation of the hit Playstation game. This one, actually, was an interactive film drawing on the slasher genre, in which we made decisions about the course of the plot. Transferring this formula to a film format is, for obvious reasons, impossible.
So the creators took a creative approach. The picture focuses on a group of teenagers locked in a Groundhog Day-style loop, in which they die and wake up again at the beginning of the same day. The protagonists are forced to relive one horror scenario after another, and will only get out of it if they survive until dawn. So they are forced to test various decisions to finally, make a series of the right ones. This brilliantly demonstrates how a characteristic theme is adapted to film language in an interesting way.
From the World of John Wick: Ballerina
A spin-off set in the world of John Wick starring Ana de Armas as the titular killer ballerina. Another production unfolding a world controlled by string-pulling assassins with restrictive rules. This time, however, we’ll be exploring it from the perspective of a young Eve looking at John Wick’s character with admiration. In the spirit of the franchise, this will be another revenge story.
Behind the camera, however, is not the action cinema pioneer known from the main series, Chad Stahelski. Here, on the director’s stool sits Len Wiseman, known for his variously received B-grade action films. This one, however, has something to prove and approaches the project with great ambitions. This is evident in the trailers, which foreshadow what we have become accustomed to from the adventures of John Wick. Extraordinary action sequences in which the boundaries of stunts are pushed to the limit and whose choreographed fights delight like a masterful dance. The question remains whether the director will be a proper successor to the creator of the original, and whether he will tie the aforementioned sequences together in such a way that the viewer will not be able to tear himself away from the screen even for a second, as Stahelski did.
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning
Another and presumably the last part of Ethan Hunt’s adventures. In this role, of course, the irreplaceable Tom Cruise. Christopher McQuarrie, responsible for the last 3 parts of the series, returns to the director’s chair. The actor-director duo has been giving us great, spectacular action cinema for years, not only within the series.
This installment is expected to be the culmination of years of collaboration and a testament to the synergy between the two. And the scale is going to be huge because we’re talking about the alleged most expensive film in history, which is reported to have cost as much as $400million. This is caused, of course, by the actor’s incredible stunts done with great flair and setting the goal of doing as many effects as possible practically, on set.
For now, we only got a brief teaser, but already in it you can see the announced scale. The film is visually breathtaking. From the grand scale of the sequences with submarines or airplanes to the brilliantly lit detail shots with beautiful colors. This, of course, is not without brilliantly written characters who are impossible not to like and the spy intrigues that have made the series so beloved over the years
The Life of Chuck
This film actually already premiered last year. But it only took place at festivals, and we won’t get theatrical distribution until this year. It is however worth waiting for because it received great reviews and the People’s Choice Award at the Toronto Film Festival.
Mike Flanagan is behind the camera. He is already an icon of modern horror, with his series and films grabbing huge audiences. He is known for his great handling of the tools the genre gives him so that, first and foremost, the story is about the characters, exploring their psyche and trying to understand their behavior. And this very story is the crowning achievement of the artist’s craft. The film combines post-Acalyptic Science-Fiction with drama and mixes in elements of ghost horror. At the same time, at the center of the story all the time are the characters and their rich characterization.
Life of Chuck is the second film adaptation of Stephen King’s novel on this list. It’s a genre-blending and genre-bending story telling about 3 moments in the life of an ordinary man suffering from a brain tumor. The fragments are told non-chronologically. At its core, it is a story about awareness of one’s mortality. About the fear of death and the search for a certain poetics in the fact that our time is limited. We follow the titular Chuck throughout his life. From his moments of coping in a world on the verge of collapse to his childhood, in a presumably possessed house. We watch as this one has to cope with the awareness of illness, while finding joy in the small moments of life.
THUNDERBOLTS*
Director and writers of BEEF, cinematographer of The Green Knight, production designer of Hereditary, editor of Minari, composer of Everything Everywhere at Once and a cast of actors nominated for many awards, including Oscars. It sounds like a new movie from A24 but it’s… a Marvel movie. This is the first film released by Disney after the return of the pre-2019 executives. The company after a series of critical and sometimes financial failures due to the commercialization of their films seem to be getting back on track. Marvel itself appears to be going back to the beginning and giving its films to young, distinct filmmakers with specific creative visions.
And that’s what’s evident in THUNDERBOLTS*, right from the promotional stage. Florence Pugh, who plays Yelene, describes the film as “done in the style of A24 independent cinema spy thriller with Marvel characters”. The action sequences were shot with practical tools, so as to give the production a distinctive feel. The shots are artfully staged and beautifully lit. Also outstanding is the distinctive color palette, which is based on composing grays with contrasting, vivid and warm details. This builds an unusual, cold atmosphere of a spy thriller.
In all this, the characters are not lost. There’s a scene in the trailer where John Walker sits by his child’s cradle and, distraughted, reads an article about himself called “Fall of a Hero.” This scene is a great piece of directing that says, without words, everything about the character. There are tons of such moments in promotional materials.
As in the example described above, it is dealing with a difficult past and traumas that will be the focus of the film. We will follow the fate of a group of characters who, in a world where the Avengers no longer exist, form a team to save humanity. The thing is that these are people who are completely unsuitable for this. Most of them are supporting characters from previous, larger stories who can’t handle their own private problems. How is such a gathering supposed to accomplish anything? This is where in my opinion one of the most interesting characters of the universe, Bucky, comes in. He stands as the team’s leader, helping them not only to come together, but also to teach them how to learn to live with their past. Putting, a character who has experienced tremendous trauma in his life and has years of therapy and healing behind him in a place where he is an example to others and inspires is a wonderful summary of the hero’s journey and a beautiful, uplifting message for anyone who has to deal with their own personal struggles.
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