40. “Sentimental Value”
Following the great success of the Academy Award-nominated “The Worst Person in the World,” Norwegian filmmaker Joachim Trier reteams with his breakthrough star Renate Reinsve and constant screenwriting collaborator Eskil Vogt, for his biggest film yet. This one is the first with Hollywood names, including Stellan Skarsgård, Elle Fanning, and Cory Michael Smith (Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas co-stars), and is a family drama about two sisters who are forced to deal with their estranged father following the death of their mother.
Release Date: TBD, via Neon and it feels like something we’d see premiere at Cannes.
39. “Sacrifice”
How much did Romain Gavras’ jaw-dropping film “Athena” impress everyone in the world including Hollywood? Just look at the cast of his next film. An action adventure comedy and satire the film centers on an American movie star attempting a comeback who is abducted along with two others by a radical group who believes that sacrificing three people would save humanity. The sizable cast includes Chris Evans, Anya Taylor-Joy, Salma Hayek Pinault, Vincent Cassel, Charli XCX, and John Malkovich.
Release Date: TBD, but it shot this fall and presumably could be ready for next fall.
38. “Mother Mary”
Eclectic filmmaker David Lowrey, director of “The Green Knight,” “A Ghost Story,” and Disney’s “Peter And Wendy,” returns with “Mother Mary.” Lowery is nothing if not ambitious, and this one is a melodrama about the relationship between a fictional musician and a famous fashion designer. Anne Hathaway is the pop star, and Michaela Coel plays the designer. “Euphoria” actor Hunter Schafer also appears, and the film will feature music from “Taylor Swift” producer Jack Antonoff and Charli XCX.
Release Date: TBD, via A24, but it’s been rumored to undergo many reshoots.
37. “Hamnet”
Based on the eponymous novel by Maggie O’Farrell, the drama, by director Academy Award-winner Chloé Zhao (“Nomadland”) the drama is a fictional story about the life of William Shakespeare (Paul Mescal) and his wife Agnes Shakespeare (Jessie Buckley), following the death of their 11-year-old son, Hamnet (Jacobi Jupe). Joe Alwyn, Emily Watson, Jack Shalloo, and more co-stars.
Release Date: TBD, via Focus Features, and presumably, it’ll hit the festival circuit in the fall.
36. “Wizards”
Aussie filmmaker David Michôd follows up 2019’s ambitious “The King” with something much more low-key and comedic: the tale of two unlucky beach bar operators who find stolen loot they should have left alone. Pete Davidson, Sean Harris, Orlando Bloom, Naomi Scott, and Franz Rogowski star. Michôd could conceivably come out with two movies in 2025, as the Untitled Christy Martin boxing film starring Sydney Sweeney just wrapped production.
Release Date TBD.
35. “Honey Don’t”
Half of the Coen Brothers, Ethan Coen, continues doing his own thing with co-writer and partner Tricia Cooke. Their latest “Honey Don’t!” is a detective comedy that centers on a private investigator (Margaret Qualley), a cult leader (Chris Evans), and a “mystery woman” (Aubrey Plaza). Billy Eichner co-stars.
Release Date: TBD via Focus Features, but TIFF feels like it would be the right venue for this one.
34. “The Thing That Hurts”
French writer/director Arnaud Desplechin works with top-shelf French talent all the time, but outside of “Jimmy P” with Benicio del Toro, he’s rarely worked with Hollywood actors. That changes with “The Thing That Hurts,” which centers on a group of patients who converge in Paris following the demise of their renowned American psychotherapist. Léa Seydoux, Jason Schwartzman, John Turturro, and Golshifteh Farahani star.
Release Date: TBD. No distributor, but Wild Bunch is producing and Cannes feels like a safe bet.
33. “Flowervale Street”
Filmmaker David Robert Mitchell‘s first movie since 2018’s “Under The Silver Lake,” “Flowervale Street,” is a science-fiction film that centers on a family in the 1980s who start to notice bizarre happenings in their neighborhood. The excellent cast features Anne Hathaway, Ewan McGregor, Maisy Stella, and Christian Convery.
Release Date: May 16, 2025 via Warner Bros.
32. “At The Sea”
Following Cannes-favorite “White Dog,” Hungarian filmmaker Kornél Mundruczó broke out with 2019’s acclaimed “Pieces of a Woma,” earning Vanessa Kirby her first Best Actress Oscar nomination. Starring Amy Adams, Mundruczó’s latest is a post-rehab drama where a woman returns to her family’s beach house and tries to figure out her identity as she attempts to move forward in life. Murray Bartlett, Brett Goldstein, Chloe East, Dan Levy, Jenny Slate, and Rainn Wilson co-star.
Release Date: TBD, but given it shot summer 2024, Venice feels like a good bet.
31. “Outcome”
With two directorial efforts under his belt, Jonah Hill returns behind the camera for the upcoming American black comedy “Outcome.” Starring Keanu Reeves, Hill, and Cameron Diaz, the film centers on a damaged Hollywood star taking a break from acting whose life is turned upside down when he is extorted with a mysterious video clip. Matt Bomer, Susan Lucci, David Spade, Laverne Cox, Kaia Gerber, Roy Wood Jr., and Atsuko Okatsuka co-star.
Release Date: TBD via Apple TV+.
