Movies are great. 2024 was a great year for movies. And you know what? 2025 is shaping up to be yet another amazing year for film. Let’s be honest, they always are. I already talked about my favorite movies of last year, but since the calendar just turned over, it’s high time to look ahead to what’s coming. Following that logic, here are my 50 (ish) most-anticipated movies of 2025.
Hey, you know what? 2024 was a great year for movies. They all are, despite many talking heads claiming otherwise—they just aren’t looking or aren’t interested in anything that contradicts their narrative.
There’s a great deal to admire in the latest rendition of F.W. Murnau’s 1922 horror classic (and unofficial Dracula adaptation) Nosferatu, the long-simmering passion project from Robert Eggers. It’s exquisitely mounted down to the most granular detail, features several fantastic, committed performances, and is stunning to look at. But for all there is to appreciate, it fails to move the needle or elicit much of any reaction beyond a shrug.
Shea Whigham and Carrie Coon are prime examples of character actors who show up and automatically make anything better. No matter the film or show, no matter the genre, no matter how major or minor the role, whenever they appear, things get a substantial boost. And because they’re so often supporting players, it’s always welcome when a movie like Lake George comes along that places them front and center.
It happens on occasion that two movies with similar plots release on top of one another. There was Armageddon and Deep Impact in the summer of 1998, Dante’s Peak and Volcano in 1997, and November 2024 gave us Aftermath a few weeks ago and now Armor. And talking about these two DTV armored-car-heist-on-a-bridge movies, Armor is not only the lesser of the two, by far, there's nothing of value or interest to find here. Except for die-hard Sylvester Stallone completists.
When a martial arts master dies, his son and his top apprentice vie for control of his wushu school in 1920s Tianjin. On this simple foundation director Xu Haofeng (The Hidden Sword, screenwriter The Grandmaster), with his brother/co-director Xu Junfeng, builds 100 Yards into an intricate exploration of rivalry, social change, the weight of tradition and expectation, and much more, all wrapped in absolute top-tier martial arts choreography.
Elevation, the new sci-fi adventure from The Adjustment Bureau director and Bourne Ultimatum writer George Nolfi, is fine. That’s the most accurate way to put it. It’s a solidly executed creature feature with an intriguing if underdeveloped hook, charismatic leads, moderate tension, and a crisp visual style. It gets right in, does its business, and wraps things up in less than 90 minutes. Is it thought provoking, innovative, or particularly memorable? No. But it’s entertaining and compelling enough if that’s all you’re after.
