For the most part, 2024 was a great year for cinema, but 2025 promises to deliver a whole host of must-see movies. 2024 had the wonderfully grotesque The Substance, which brought the body-horror genre crashing back to the big screen. There was also another classic entry in the horror and thriller genre with Osgood Perkins’ exceptional Longlegs, while franchise movies like Furiosa: A Mad Max Tale proved that action movies could still be original and thrilling. On the flip side, we also had some terrible films to endure. Damsel, starring the very talented Millie Bobby Brown, was a huge misfire, and the highly anticipated Gladiator II was a lazy, dull, and predictably unoriginal follow-up to the far superior original movie.

However, 2025 promises to be a thrilling year for movie fans, with a lineup of highly anticipated films that feature iconic directors, star-studded casts, and captivating stories. From gripping sci-fi adventures featuring blue aliens in space, to much-anticipated indie features, plus the return of Superman, here are our Top 10 movies to watch out for in 2025:

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10. BUGONIA

Director: Yorgos Lanthimos
Cast: Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, Alicia Silverstone

In Bugonia, a sci-fi comedy adapted from Jang Joon-hwan’s 2003 film Save the Green Planet, Yorgos Lanthimos presents a surreal and imaginative story where two conspiracy obsessed young men kidnap the high-powered CEO of a major company, convinced that she is an alien intent on destroying planet Earth.

Known for his unique and unsettling storytelling, Lanthimos, who previously wowed audiences with The Favourite and Poor Things, brings what will hopefully be another visually stunning experience. With Lanthimos’ usual muse, Emma Stone, plus Jesse Plemons and Alicia Silverstone bringing the story to life, Bugonia promises to be one of the most visually and intellectually captivating films of 2025.

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9. THE MONKEY

Director: Osgood Perkins
Cast: The James, Elijah Wood, Osgood Perkins

In The Monkey, director Osgood Perkins adapts Stephen King’s chilling short story into a gripping horror film. The narrative centers on twin brothers, Hal and Bill, portrayed by Theo James and Christian Convery, who discover their father’s old toy monkey in the attic. Unbeknownst to them, this seemingly innocent toy harbors a deadly curse, leading to a series of gruesome events that force the brothers to confront its sinister power years later.

The film also features performances by Elijah Wood, Tatiana Maslany, and Sarah Levy. Perkins delivered one of the best movies of 2024 with the amazing Longlegs, which showcased his distinctive directorial style. With a compelling cast, and a cool premise, The Monkey is poised to deliver a haunting cinematic experience when it arrives on February 21, 2025.

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8. MICKEY 17

Director: Bong Joon-ho
Cast: Robert Pattinson, Naomi Ackie, Mark Ruffalo

Director Bong Joon-ho, famed for his Academy Award-winning Parasite, makes a tantalising return with Mickey 17, an adaptation of Edward Ashton’s novel, Mickey7. The film follows Mickey, a worker on a remote colony, who goes on a dangerous journey to colonize an ice planet. He signs up to be an “expendable” in a process where a new body will be generated with its memories intact after a previous version dies.

The movie has hints of Tom Cruise’s similar 2014 movie, Edge of Tomorrow, with the philosophical underpinnings of this sci-fi tale delving into questions of identity, humanity, and morality. With Robert Pattinson leading the cast, alongside Naomi Ackie and Mark Ruffalo, Mickey 17 promises a gripping fusion of high-stakes action and profound reflections on the human condition.

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7. AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH

Director: James Cameron
Cast: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Sigourney Weaver, Kate Winslet

Details on the latest entry of James Cameron’s hugely successful Avatar series are scant at the time of writing this article, but the threequel promises to be just as visually stunning as the first two movies. While you can lament the first movie for it’s plot similarities to Pocahontas, and cringe-inducing love scenes, it was the most successful movie of all time for a while at the box-office. Plus, its world building, and VFX were incredible.

The sequel also utilized ground-breaking production and digital effects processes, and while it was slightly overlong, and also a touch ridiculous in parts, it still made a cool 2 billion at the global box-office. What we do know is that Avatar: Fire and Ash will feature the main cast returning, with the introduction of Kate Winslet’s Ronal, and will see the Na’vi heroes come across a fire Na’vi tribe known as the Ash People. Will it work though? Never bet against James Camron!

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6. NOBODY 2

Director: Ilya Naishuller
Cast: Bob Odenkirk, Connie Nielsen, Christopher Lloyd

The action-packed thriller Nobody 2 returns with Bob Odenkirk’s character, Hutch Mansell, facing an even greater threat than before. This sequel builds on the dark humor and brutal action of the original film, as Hutch navigates a dangerous underworld filled with criminals out for revenge. Director Ilya Naishuller is set to deliver another round of intense fight sequences and gritty, fast-paced storytelling.

With Odenkirk, Connie Nielsen, and Christopher Lloyd reprising their roles, Nobody 2 is poised to bring even more thrills and excitement to fans of action cinema. The first movie was a surprisingly brutal showcase of Odenkirk’s previously hidden hard-man abilities, and because nobody saw that coming, the sequel needs to up the anti, and the carnage, significantly.

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5. SUPERMAN

Director: James Gunn
Cast: David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan

The trailer for James Gunn’s much anticipated reboot of one of the most popular superheros of all time caused quite a stir when it dropped in late 2024. Superman is one of the biggest movies of 2025, and it has a lot riding on it. Studio Warner Bros. has never quite managed to successfully gel it’s DCU features in the same way that Marvel did when Thanos and co. let rip in the massively popular Avengers movies. However, they’ve entrusted their most beloved IP to the guy that delivered some very entertaining Guardians of the Galaxy movies, and not much else if we’re being honest.

The teaser trailer promises a much needed sense of fun in the movie, and David Corenswet looks like he has the chops to successfully portray both Clark Kent, and Superman. However, the suit looks a little cheap, and loose-fitting, plus the villain design is a touch uninspiring, Lex Luthor aside. Also, despite Krypto being a key character from the comic books, do we really need to see a CGI dog rescue a beaten up Superman? The jury’s still out on this one…

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4. JURASSIC PARK: REBIRTH

Director: Gareth Edwards
Cast: Jonathan Bailey, Scarlett Johansson, Ed Skrien, Mahershala Ali

Dinosaurs are big bucks at the box-office, which is why Universal are keeping faith with a franchise that started with a game-changing bang with the superb Jurassic Park in 1993, but which has seen a dip(lodocus) in quality in each film thereafter. The Jurassic World series introduced some cool new dinosaurs, a neat premise, and a cast led by the charismatic Chris Pratt.

However, they never managed to capture the sense of fun, and wonder, as Steven Spielberg’s original masterpiece. What they did do, however, is take a T-Rex sized bite out of the international Box-Office, and with the third entry, Jurassic World: Dominion raking in over a billion dollars the franchise was always going to live on. The action picks up five years post-Jurassic World Dominion, where an expedition braves isolated equatorial regions to extract DNA from three massive prehistoric creatures for a groundbreaking medical breakthrough. With a great cast, a very capable director, and the promise of some new and exciting dino-action, this could be a great entry in the franchise.

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3. THE RUNNING MAN

Director: Edgar Wright
Cast: Glen Powell, Colman Domingo, Josh Brolin

Edgar Wright is one of the most talented directors to have ever emerged from the UK, and while his last movie, Last Night in Soho, may have been a disappointing, largely bloodless affair, his re-imaging of The Running Man will hopefully see the British auteur back on form. Arnold Schwarzenegger starred in the iconic original movie from 1987, which was an adaptation of Stephen King’s dystopian novel, and it was a fun, quip-filled rampage of survival through a series of television show set pieces.

Wright’s movie promises to be more faithful to the source material, with the focus rumoured to be more akin to the novel where protagonist, Ben Richards, resorts to taking part in a potentially lucrative game show so he can buy medicine for his sick daughter. The action takes Richards, played by Top Gun: Maverick star Glen Powell, on the run around the world from deadly hunters. If Wright can bring his trademark visual style, cool editing, and his usual use of great music, The Running Man promises to be un-missable.

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2. 28 YEARS LATER

Director: Danny Boyle
Cast: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ralph Feinnes, Jodie Comer

Legendary director Danny Boyle returns to the 28 Days Later series with the highly anticipated 28 Years Later. The action takes place almost three decades since the Rage Virus escaped a medical research laboratory, and in a ruthlessly enforced quarantine, some have found ways to exist amidst the infected. The plot follows a group of survivors who live on a small island connected to the mainland by a single, heavily-defended causeway. When one of the group leaves the island on a mission into the dark heart of the mainland, they discover secrets, wonders, and horrors of the outside world.

The first trailer (which you can enjoy below) is a superbly atmospheric tease of what to expect from Boyle’s movie. It also caused a huge online stir with one brief glimpse of a zombie that looked a LOT like Cillian Murphy. It’s since been confirmed that the zombie is in fact different actor, but that doesn’t mean it’s not Murphy’s character from the first movie in zombie-form. We’re very excited to see where this one goes…

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1. Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning

Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Cast: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Rebecca Ferguson, Simon Pegg

Ton Cruise is one of the last remaining true action mega-stars who began their careers in the 1980s, and the fact that he’s still able to perform some of his own crazy stunts is incredible. The Mission Impossible franchise doesn’t have a weak entry, and yes I’m including MI:2 in that statement, because who doesn’t love some ridiculous John Woo-infused balletic action with daft fight scenes and doves in slow-motion?

Christopher McQuarrie returns to the director’s chair again for Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning in what looks to be the last movie in the franchise. After the events of Mission Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, in which key characters died, and a world threatening AI called “The Entity” emerged, the upcoming movie promises to be an emotionally charged, and potential finale. Alongside Cruise are regular franchise stars Ving Rhames and Simon Pegg, who are joined by Hannah Waddingham, Nick Offerman plus several other new faces who are probably wearing someone else’s face at some point in the movie!