50. “Pressure”
A British historical drama film written and directed by Anthony Maras (“Hotel Mumbai”), “Pressure” centers on a meteorologist who must deliver a weather report to the Allied Forces high command to determine the feasibility of the planned D-Day attack during WWII. Andrew Scott stars as meteorologist James Stagg and Brendan Fraser plays Dwight D. Eisenhower. Kerry Condon, Damian Lewis, and Chris Messina all co-star.
Release Date: TBD via Focus Features who could trot it out during the fall film festival circuit.
49. “Huntington”
Sundance 2022 produced a great crop of breakout filmmakers. One of them, “Emily The Criminal” director John Patton Ford, returns with “Huntington,” a loose remake of the 1949 heist black comedy “Kind Hearts & Coronet,” a film about a poor relative of a rich man who plots to inherit his wealth by murdering the eight other heirs who stand ahead of him in the line of succession. Glen Powell stars alongside Margaret Qualley, Ed Harris, Jessica Henwick, Zach Woods, Topher Grace, Raff Law, and Bill Camp.
Release Date: TBD via A24 and it feels like something that would debut at TIFF.
48. “Klara And The Sun”
A dystopian science fiction film directed by Taika Waititi (“Jojo Rabbit,” “Thor: Ragnarok”), this Kazuo Ishiguro adaptation centers on a mother who buys her teenage daughter a robot companion named Klara to prevent her loneliness. Amy Adams plays the mom, Jenna Ortega stars as the robot, and the film also features Mia Tharia, Aran Murphy, Natasha Lyonne, Simon Baker, and Harry Greenwood.
Release Date: TBD via Sony Pictures Releasing, but it could potentially be an Oscar contender.
47. “Splitsville”
The duo behind 2019’s “The Climb”— one of the best-shot comedies in ages—writer/director/star Michael Angelo Covino and co-star/co-writer Kyle Marvin return with a swingers comedy. When Ashley (Adria Arjona) asks for a divorce, the good-natured Carey (Marvin) runs to his friends, Julie (Dakota Johnson) and Paul (Covino), for support. Their secret to happiness is an open marriage. Nicholas Braun and O-T Fagbenle co-star.
Release Date: TBD, but “The Climb” was one of the rare American indie comedies to get accepted straight into their Un Certain Regard section.
46. “Fountain Of Youth”
At the rate English filmmaker Guy Ritchie is going, he will have two movies in theaters and a series on air every year. His latest is a heist adventure film starring John Krasinski and Natalie Portman as estranged siblings who team up and embark on a journey to find the famed Fountain of Youth. The film co-stars Domhnall Gleeson, Eiza González, Laz Alonso, Arian Moayed, and Carmen Ejogo. And yes, in case you’re wondering, Ritchie has already started shooting his next film (“Wife & Dog”), and he’s already shot the “Young Sherlock” series.
Release Date: TBD via Apple TV+.
45. “The Lost Bus”
Following 2020’s “News Of The World” Western, filmmaker Paul Greengrass returns with a harrowing survival tale about a bus driver who has to navigate a bus carrying children and their teacher through the deadliest forest fire in California history. Matthew McConaughey stars as the bus driver alongside America Ferrera, Yul Vazquez, Ashlie Atkinson, Spencer Watson, and Danny McCarthy. Jason Blum’s Blumhouse is producing.
Release Date: TBD via Apple TV+.
44. “Sinners”
Taking a break from the Marvel universe, writer/director Ryan Coogler switches it up to tell a period piece vampire horror. Featuring his “Black Panther” stars Michael B. Jordan, the film centers on a pair of twins (both played by Jordan) trying to leave a troubled past behind only to return home to find a greater evil afoot. Hailee Steinfeld, Jack O’Connell, Wunmi Mosaku, Jayme Lawson, Omar Benson Miller, Lola Kirke, and Delroy Lindo co-star and Academy Award-winning composer Ludwig Göransson does the score.
Release Date: March 7, 2025, via Warner Bros.
43. “Deliver Me From Nowhere”
Director Scott Cooper is one of the few filmmakers keeping the mid-budget film alive. His latest is a return to his music-debut roots and is a music drama about the making of Bruce Springsteen’s legendary album, the raw, stripped-down departure record, Nebraska. “The Bear” star Jeremy Allen White plays the Boss, and the supporting cast is fantastic, including Jeremy Strong, Paul Walter Hauser, Odessa Young, Stephen Graham, Gaby Hoffmann, Marc Maron, David Krumholtz, and more.
Release Date: TBD via 20th Century Studios, but they’ve seemingly promised 2025.
42. “The Ballad Of A Small Player”
Already to likely have an Oscar contender on his hands with “Conclave,” the prodigious Oscar-winning filmmaker Edward Berger already has another film in the can. A psychological thriller drama it stars Colin Farrell as a high-stakes gambler laying low in Macau who encounters a kindred spirit who might just hold the key to his debts and salvation. Tilda Swinton, and Fala Chen and it seems pretty sparse beyond that casting-wise.
Release Date: TBD via Netflix.
41. “No Other Choice”
While fellow South Korean filmmaker Bong Joon-Ho tends to steal the headlines, his mentor Park Chan Wook is still doing some of the best work of his career. Following up “Decision to Leave” and HBO’s “The Sympathizer,” his latest is an adaptation of Donald Westlake’s “The Ax,” which was also the source material for Costa-Gavras‘ 2005 film of the same name. A dark, black comedy downsizing thriller, the film centers on a man in a desperate who goes to insane lengths to stop his competition for a new job after getting let go from a job he’s held for 25 years. Don Mckellar, who co-wrote “The Sympathizer” returns for this one, and the film also reunites him with Lee Byung-hun (“Joint Security Area”) and Cha Seung-won.
Release Date: If it’s ready, it’s a certain bet for Cannes.
