The 10 most promising movies of 2025 | Canada Voices

We did it, Hollywood – we survived till 2025! The lingering aftereffects of the strikes, the pandemic, the streaming wars – that should all be settled now, right? That’s certainly the hope that’s keeping the film industry afloat for the next 12 months. And, perhaps, the following 10 films. Some are big-budget wannabe blockbusters, some are smaller affairs that might find success as counterprogramming. All have a good chance of keeping multiplexes alive, and staying in the mix till 2026. (All release dates are subject to change.)

Den of Thieves 2: Pantera

Christian Gudegast’s 2018 thriller Den of Thieves has acquired quite the cult following over the past few years, and for good reason: The Gerard Butler-starring heist flick is an ambitious, distinctly working-class love letter to the work of Michael Mann and Kathryn Bigelow, all hard-boiled ridiculousness. And now, almost improbably, a sequel arrives in which Gudegast seems to pull a Fast Five, by aligning Butler’s grizzled cop with the master thief (played with brio by O’Shea Jackson Jr.) whom he’s been chasing around the world. (Jan. 10)

Mickey 17

Hey, this looks familiar. Originally scheduled to open this past March, Bong Joon-ho’s high-concept sci-fi comedy is finally set to open in theatres this spring – unless Warner Bros. decides to once again anger both Bong’s fans and the rabid acolytes of star Robert Pattinson. Probably best to keep the new April date, and let audiences in on the tale of an “expendable” clone who is sent to colonize a deep-space ice planet. (April 18)

A Big Bold Beautiful Journey

After painting the town in pink, Margot Robbie is back with her first post-Barbie vehicle, a romantic fantasy that, so far, is almost a complete mystery in terms of plot. What we do know is that the film co-stars Colin Farrell, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Jodie Turner-Smith and Canadian Sarah Gadon, and is directed by the one-named wonder Kogonada, who previously collaborated with Farrell and Turner-Smith on the beautifully low-key sci-fi film After Yang. (May 9)

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning

This eighth and possibly final Ethan Hunt spy spectacle features Tom Cruise double-daring himself to near-death once again for our amusement. Seeming to pick up just a little after where 2023’s Dead Reckoning: Part One left off (though this instalment is pointedly not called Part Two), M:I 8 reteams the superstar with Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames, Hayley Atwell, Vanessa Kirby, Henry Czerny and countless more friends and foes as Hunt tries to save the world from the all-knowing artificial intelligence known as “The Entity.” (May 23)

The Life of Chuck

Typically, the winner of the Toronto International Film Festival’s coveted People’s Choice Award goes on to enjoy a late-fall sweep of the awards circuit, its path destined for Oscar glory. But Mike Flanagan’s The Life of Chuck, which captured the TIFF award this past September, is going a different route, opening in the late spring. Perhaps the dramedy starring Tom Hiddleston will stick it out to reach the Academy Awards stage in 2026 – or perhaps distributor Neon simply recognizes that this adaptation of one of Stephen King’s more gentle tales is less a prestige picture and more an early-summer crowd-pleaser. (May 30)

F1

With Universal’s Fast & Furious series taking a break this summer, Apple Studios is hoping to cash in on summer moviegoers’ insatiable need for speed by scheduling this Brad Pitt-starring behemoth. Directed by Top Gun: Maverick master Joseph Kosinski and co-starring Javier Bardem, Kerry Condon and Shea Whigham, F1 follows a disgraced Formula 1 racer who gets back in the game to mentor a young driver. Doesn’t sound like Top Gun: Maverick at all, nope. (June 27)

The Naked Gun

Remaking the original Leslie Nielsen spoof to end all spoofs might seem like a gag that even Frank Drebin couldn’t swallow, but I have faith in this new reworking from director Akiva Schaffer (Popstar). Especially with Liam Neeson, a master of deadpan when he’s afforded the opportunity, stepping into Nielsen’s shoes. Schaffer has even nailed the supporting roles, with Pamela Anderson stepping in for Nielsen’s love interest Priscilla Presley, and a murderers’ row of veteran character actors (Kevin Durand, Paul Walter Hauser, CCH Pounder, Danny Huston) in the margins. I’m serious. Surely. (Aug. 1)

Michael

I’m calling it now: Antoine Fuqua’s Michael Jackson biopic is going to be one of the biggest, and most controversial, films of the year. While the movie is authorized by Jackson’s estate – meaning that there will be all the songs, but perhaps not as much attention devoted to the more, well, disturbing elements of Jackson’s life – early footage of the film presented at last year’s CinemaCon was about as electric as it gets. And the curiosity factor alone will be exceptionally high, given that Jackson’s own nephew Jaafar Jackson plays Michael. (Oct. 3)

Avatar: Fire and Ash

If the past few decades have taught moviegoers anything, it’s never to bet against James Cameron. The reigning king of the blockbuster world returns – or, is so far scheduled to return – to Pandora with his third Avatar film, Fire and Ash. Expect more blue aliens, more eye-popping 3-D imagery and possibly more Giovanni Ribisi. Fingers crossed. (Dec. 19)

The Smashing Machine

After parting ways, for the moment at least, with his Uncut Gems brother-slash-collaborator Josh Safdie, Benny Safdie goes the solo-directing route with this intense-looking biopic of former wrestler and mixed martial arts fighter Mark Kerr. In early photos from the production, Dwayne Johnson is barely recognizable as Kerr – and if anyone needs an image shakeup, it’s the Rock. He might be king of the box office thanks to Moana 2 and Red One, but it’s high time that audiences get a reminder of just what DJ can do when he’s playing outside the corporate box. (Release date TBD)