Nothing more exciting to a film buff than adding new films to their Letterboxd watchlist. It’s time to be insufferable again and mansplain new movies to your friends. Better start adding these must-watch films now to be ahead of the game.
This year, the film world is feeding us again with new releases this year. It’s been feeling a bit stagnant lately but the rest of 2025 promises us a colorful pallete of new movies. Whether it’s going to the movies alone or hanging out with friends, kicking your feet up and gorging on popcorn to watch a good film is always fun. Though, sometimes it’s difficult to choose what you’re in the mood for.
Not sure what you want to watch? Down below are a mixture of titles that range from nostalgic comedies, high octane action films, and horror that will probably keep you up at night. So if you have nothing to do over spring break or want to add a film to your list for the summer, scroll down to look at the newest upcoming movies in 2025.
1. Sacramento
This comedy is set in Sacramento, California, starring Michael Cera and Kristen Stewart as a newlywed couple, Glenn and Rosie. Their domestic life gets hijacked when Glenn’s long-time best friend, Rickey (Michael Angarano), drags him on a spontaneous road trip. Here, the two friends begin a journey of self-reflection in the style of a coming-of-age.
The film was co-written and directed by Angarano and had its release in June 2024 at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York. The trailer was released just last month, showcasing its indie feel-good atmosphere. The montages of Glenn and Rickey’s escapade offers the feeling that road trip films in the 2000s gave us.
Sacramento has a grainy 2008 feel that looks like Superbad (2007) had a baby with Little Miss Sunshine (2005). Maya Erskine will also star. The film is set to release in theaters on April 11.
2. Friendship
A24 rewards us again with another strange gem. Paul Rudd and Tim Robinson play awkward frenemies in this satirical A24 comedy titled Friendship. This Spring, A24 presents Andrew deYoung’s directorial debut on his take of male friendship.
The trailer features Tim Robinson as suburban dad Craig who takes an interest in his neighbor Austin (Paul Rudd). Kate Mara also stars as Tami, Craig’s supportive wife. Throughout the trailer, we see Craig and Austin’s friendship through rose-colored lenses. That’s until things turn unexpectedly sour when Austin decides he wants to distance himself from Craig.
Critics have already called the film “a gleefully discomfiting portrait of male bonding that delivers some of the year’s biggest laughs.” Friendship teaches us that friendships aren’t perfect– in fact, they can be chaotic.The trailer, released in February, confirmed its theatrical release for May 23, 2025, two months away from its initial release at SXSW in March.
3. From The World of John Wick: Ballerina
The John Wick franchise is back, only this time as a neo-noir spin-off starring Ana De Armas as a dancer turned assassin. Her character is Eve, a young woman seeking revenge against her father’s murderers. Much like John Wick who was hell-bent on vengeance, Eve will stop at nothing to find those who wronged her.
In the trailer, we see Eve checking into the infamous Continental Hotel, with Lance Reddick reprising his role as Charon. Norman Reedus joins the cast as Pine, a wanted criminal– and Eve’s target. After a matter of high-octane events, non other than John Wick arrives to disrupt Eve’s mission as his own is to kill her.
Directed by Len Wisemen (Underworld series), this spin-off welcomes Keanu Reeves into his Babayaga role while introducing new characters. Ballerina will be distributed by Lionsgate Films and is the fifth film in the series, taking place within the events of the last two John Wick films. The film will hit theaters this summer on June 6, 2025.
4. Sinners
Vampires are so back! Sinners stars Michael B. Jordan as twin brothers Elijah and Elias Smoke, who return to their hometown after leaving their troubled lives behind. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Director Ryan Coogler returns with a vampire tale set in the Southern 1930s Jim Crow era.
Despite being a period supernatural piece, however, Coogler claims “the film is about more than just that” via The Hollywood Reporter. Judging by the trailer, Sinners is a genre-fluid exploration of blues music and Black culture through horror. The characters are forced to survive the night from blood-drinking vampires in a way almost resembling 2007’s 30 Days of Night.
Shot on 65mm film, Sinners offers an ominous tale, throwing vampires amidst a dark time in American history. Sinners will be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It hits theaters next month on April 18.
5. If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
A24 just announced a Rose Byrne-led film that is about as bleak as it sounds. Written and directed by Mary Bronstein, Byrne plays Linda, a woman navigating life with a sick daughter and her absent husband. This dark comedy explores parental nightmares in a fever dream-esque way.
Though no trailer has been released yet, the film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 24, 2025. Critics called it something within the realms of Beau Is Afraid for its “claustrophobic cinematography to approximate the pressure its main character is under.” But despite its unsettling premise, the film doesn’t take itself too seriously, thus the clever title.
Conan O’Brien joins the cast as Byrne’s on-screen, witty therapist, and A$AP Rocky as the stranger next door. Danielle Macdonald, Ella Beatty, and Daniel Zolghadri will be featured as other kooky side characters orbiting Linda’s trippy world. No release date has been confirmed yet, as the film is still searching for its distribution.
6. Jurassic World: Rebirth
Yep, they’ve made another Jurassic Park movie. But instead of the usual dinosaur-taming, Chris Pratt-led narrative, Scarlett Johansson will be taking over the reboot as Zora Bennett. Jonathan Bailey (Bridgerton) stars alongside Johansson as Dr. Henry Loomis and Mahershala Ali as Duncan Kincaid.
The trailer debuted at CinemaCon, showing a new set of characters added to the dinosaur franchise lore. The trio goes on a top-secret expedition in the wilds to get a DNA sample from a dinosaur egg. This leads to a sinister discovery that changes the trajectory of their entire mission.
The film is a new direction from the Jurassic World trilogy, introducing a new era to the franchise. Jurassic World: Rebirth will be directed by Gareth Edwards and distributed by Universal Pictures. It will hit theaters this summer on July 2, 2025.
7. 28 Years Later
When the trailer for the third installment of the 28 Days Later franchise was released, old fans and new fans alike were ecstatic. The ominous trailer was released in December 2024 and gained traction for its clever use of Rudyard Kipling’s 1903 poem “Boots.” The poem, voiced by American actor Taylor Holmes in 1915, plays throughout the entire trailer, adding to the impending doom of the film’s premise.
As the poem reaches its terrifying crescendo, an infected rises from a field of flowers, whom fans speculated was Cillian Murphy in zombie makeup. Producer Andrew Macdonald later denied this theory. “He’s involved at the moment as an executive producer, and I would hope we can work with him in some way in the future in the trilogy,” Macdonald clarified via Deadline.
The film will be directed by 28 Days Later (2002) director Danny Boyle. Starring alongside Aaron Taylor-Johnson are Alfie Williams, Jodie Comer, and Ralph Fiennes. 28 Years Later will have its theatrical release on June 20, 2025.
8. How To Train Your Dragon
The long-awaited live-action reboot of How to Train Your Dragon (2010) is finally coming to theaters this summer. The film will star Mason Thames (The Black Phone) as our beloved scrawny hero, Hiccup, and Nico Parker (The Last of Us) as Astrid. Dean DeBlois, who wrote and directed the original animated franchise, will return as director for the remake.
The first reactions from film critics at Cinemacon consisted of nothing but praise for the film, calling it “one of the most faithful animation to live-action I’ve seen.” In the trailer, we follow Hiccup and his inevitable bonding with a CGI version of Toothless. Gerard Butler plays Stoick the Vast, Hiccup’s strict, dragon-hating father, whom Hiccup must convince that dragons are not all bad.
With DeBlois reprising his role as director, it’s no surprise the film’s aesthetic closely follows the animated film’s modern take on the Viking era that we know and love. How to Train Your Dragon will be distributed by Universal Pictures. It hits theaters this summer on June 13, 2025.
9. Until Dawn
If you know the 2015 video game, you will be excited about this one. Until Dawn has been recirculating the internet for some time, gaining a name again amongst the younger Gen Z crowd through TikTok edits and Twitch streams. Announcement of the film’s release and teaser trailer began back in January 2025, sparking excitement among the game’s fanbase.
The video game-based film directed by David F. Sandberg will star Ella Rubin, Odessa A’zion, Maia Mitchel, Belmont Cameli, and Michael Cimino. F. Peter Stormare will also be reprising his role as the mysterious Dr. Hill. Sandberg revealed that the Until Dawn film will not be an adaptation of the game but rather a loosely based story with original twists. The trailer shows the friend group surviving a nightmarish night against masked killers and supernatural foes after the disappearence of Clover’s (Rubin) sister.
The film’s premise will trade the Wendigo horror concept for a slasher, groundhog-day plot in which the characters relive one single night. Despite the plot change, however, the film will live up to the game’s terrifying experience. Until Dawn will hit theaters on April 25, 2025.
10. Drop
What would you do if your stalker was an airdropping meme lord? Directed by Christopher Landon (Happy Death Day), this modern When A Stranger Calls (1979) stars Meghann Fahy as widower Violet, who gets threatening messages from a masked stranger. All during a date gone wrong.
The trailer begins by showing single mother Violet getting ready for her date before she leaves her son with a babysitter. At an upscale restaurant, she meets up with Henry, played by Brandon Sklenar, a seemingly charming date. But when Violet gets an airdrop from an unrecognized contact, she is forced to play along to the texter’s game. Until she’s given a chilling instruction: kill her date.
Though there isn’t much given away, this film is clearly more than just a slasher. It’s a high-octane thriller that takes the word “drop” to another level. The film was screened at the SXSW TV and Film Festival on March 9. It will hit theaters on April 11, 2025.
