2024 will go down in the history of Spanish cinema as the year in which the first Golden Lion was achieved thanks to The next roomby Pedro Almodóvar. It was, perhaps, the most important event, and yet it is confirmation of something that has been consolidated for years and of which Almodóvar has been the pioneer. Spanish cinema is of interest abroad and has its place in the most important competitions in the world. 2025 should not be the exception, on the contrary. It is strongly expected that several filmmakers will enter the lists of festivals such as Cannes or Venice.
That is where Carla Simón and Oliver Laxe should be. The first already won the Golden Bear in Berlin with Alcarrasand the natural leap would place her on La Croissette or in Venice with her third film, Pilgrimagewith which he closes his family trilogy. The Galician filmmaker could also be in Cannes, who already competed – and won a prize – in the Un Certain Regard section with or that burns and now it has the push of El Deseo (Pedro and Agustín Almodóvar’s company) in the production and Sergi López as the protagonist of After. Where they both enter will surely also depend on their release date.
Another of the premieres that will seek international festivals is The captive, Alejandro Amenábar’s look at Miguel de Cervantes. Same as While the war lasts, His new film will come from Disney in distribution and its release date only says ‘autumn’, so Venice or San Sebastian seem like its possible destinations.
But you don’t have to look that far in the calendar. The first international competitions have already supported the most authoritative Spanish cinema. At the end of January they will be seen at the Rotterdam Festival Ariel, by Lois Patiño and Morlaixby Jaime Rosales, both without a release date on the commercial calendar, but with their first international premiere already marked. While waiting for the Berlinale to announce its official section, in Panorama, the parallel section, there will already be Spanish cinema (and Spain is also the central country of its market). It is about Deaf, Eva Libertad’s debut film, which adapts her own short film about motherhood for a hearing-impaired woman.
Almost all of them without a release date – pending the final calendar and possible festivals, Borja Cobeaga’s new release is also eagerly awaited (The Aitas), Celia Rico (which adapts Chirbes in The good letter), Daniel Sánchez Arévalo (Roundels), Belén Funes (The turtles), Ana Asensio (The goat girl), Daniel Guzmán (The debt), Julia de Paz (fed up), David Pérez Sañudo (butter remover), Lluís Miñarro (with the posthumous role of Marisa Paredes in Emergency Exit), Cesc Gay (My friend Eva), Alberto Rodríguez (The Tigers) and the Moriartys, who after Frame They return to their most intimate side with Maspalomas. The return of Manel Huerga stands out, a filmmaker whose last film was Savior that with Parenostre will address a character like Jordi Pujol.
It will be more difficult for them to be released this year, and probably already by 2026, will be the new works by Rodrigo Sorogoyen, which shoots starting in February The loved one, with Javier Bardem as the protagonist; and Albert Serra with his first film in EnglishOut of this worldfor which Kristen Stewart is rumored to star. It also aims to film in 2025 Pedro Almodóvar, who is chaining another project to a prolific era and who hopes to begin his work this year Bitter Christmas.
The blockbusters
In 2025 we will also see an almost direct confrontation between Marvel and DC. It will also arrive at a fundamental moment for both. Marvel is facing superhero fatigue that has caused several of its latest films to fail at the box office, although in return it has had a great success in 2024 as Deadpool and Wolverine. This course will premiere three films, the first to arrive will be the new installment of Captain America in February; then the Thunderboltsin May; but all eyes are on him reboot ―and the first time inside the MCU― The fantastic fourwith a cast where Pedro Pascal stands out. It will premiere on July 25.
Two weeks before, it will be the litmus test of the new DC universe, led by James Gunn, who is the ideologue of Warner’s new attempt to exploit its own universe of superheroes. They begin with the most beloved, Superman, which has a new face and whose first trailer was liked (a lot).
Of course Hollywood will play the card of sequels and franchises, and on December 19 the third part of Avatar, now under the subtitle of Fire and ashes. Let’s see what James Cameron has in store to continue blowing up the box office. There is also no doubt that the second part of Wicked It will work without problems. In the US it is an event and abroad it has been building a fairly solid fan phenomenon that will be reaffirmed by the arrival of the musical in Madrid this year. On November 21, its second part will premiere.
Without a date and waiting to see what Netflix does with them, there are three very powerful proposals. The third part of Daggers in the backthe return of Kathryn Bigelow ―in a thriller untitled politician― and the Frankenstein by Guillermo del Toro. He thriller starring Daniel Craig will surely arrive sooner, but the other two could be his bets for the awards after a year where he had to buy Emilia Perez in Cannes to be able to be at the Oscars. It will not be the only version of Frankenstein that will arrive this year. Bride of Frankenstein will also premiere with Maggie Gyllenhaal, who after debuting with The dark daughter faces a much bigger project with Penélope Cruz in the cast. Ironically it was also going to be on Netflix, which finally pulled out of the project that fell to Warner.
Warner will also release Mickey 17, Bong Joon-Ho’s new film after the phenomenon Parasites. Science fiction with Robert Pattinson in a project that has changed its release date on many occasions, giving rise to rumors about its quality. Even so, the Korean filmmaker is always a safe bet and one of those directors who creates films with a fine balance between the authorial and the commercial, like Luca Guadagnino, who does not stop and will release After the Hunta thriller with Julia Roberts without a release date.
Yes, the new Paul Thomas Anderson has a marked day, The Battle of Baktan Cross, which will be released on August 8 with Leonardo DiCaprio leading the cast, a lot of secrecy surrounding its plot and the rumor that the budget has gone to more than 100 million dollars, the largest in his filmography.
In 2025 we will check if the boom of Celine Song, director of Past Lives, is confirmed with The Materialist and we will go to the romance between two of the fashionable actors, Paul Mescal and Josh O’Connor, who star in the love story in the First World War The history of sound, by Oliver Hermanus. And look for a return, that of the veteran James L. Brooks, who at 84 years old will debut Ella McCay.
Author cinema
Author cinema will look to Cannes as always. The French festival is no longer just the most important in the world for the most daring and independent films, but its impact can be seen in how several of the titles in each edition become phenomena that even reach the Oscars. Without Cannes we would not have seen the boom The substance nor that of Emilia Perez.
Thus, this year we will have to see what surprises come out of La Croissette, where we expect the latest from Terrence Malick, who has been creating his vision of the life of Jesus Christ for years in The Way of the Wind; The Secret Agentthe spy film by Brazilian Kleber Mendoça Filho or the latest by Jim Jarmusch or Wes Anderson, in addition to three films by three of the most important directors in cinema of the moment. Argentine Lucrecia Martel has also been editing her documentary Chocobar for several years now, but it seems that 2025 will be the moment when it finally ends.
Cannes would be the perfect place for Julia Docournau to premiere Alpha after winning the Palme d’Or with Titane. Little is known about the film, but it seems from its first clues that it will be a metaphor for AIDS and the fear generated in society through, of course, a story that flirts with terror. And be careful because it could be the year of Kelly Reichardt, a fundamental filmmaker of recent years thanks to films like First Cow either Wendy and Lucy that with The Mastermind will release his most ambitious film with Josh O’Connor as the protagonist and the Vietnam War in the background.
It will also be the course where we see an artistic divorce, that of the Safdie brothers, who release their first films separately: Marty Supreme by Josh and with Timothée Chalamet at the helm (and release date on December 25 in the middle of awards season) and The Smashing Machine of Benny and with Dwayne Johnson as a teaser.
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