Winter Movie Preview 2025

The ultimate guide to the best of what’s coming to screens this season

Chris Nashawaty,

AARP

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Published November 10, 2025

cynthia erivo in a scene from wicked for good

Cynthia Erivo returns as Elphaba in "Wicked: For Good." In theaters Nov. 21.

Universal Pictures

The days are growing colder and darker, but at least the winter movie outlook is getting brighter! As Hollywood rolls out some of its best bets for awards-season glory, we're here to help you decide what deserves to be on your watchlist in the coming months. So mark these titles on your calendar, and we'll save you the aisle seat. See you at the movies!

The Running Man, R (in theaters Nov. 14)

You may or may not remember Arnold Schwarzenegger’s 1987 action movie based on this dystopian Stephen King novel (written under the pseudonym Richard Bachman), but no matter. In this new, more faithful version of King's tale, Glen Powell stars as a desperate father trying to earn enough money to help his sick child by competing on a deadly reality show where he has to outrun assassins everywhere he turns. Directed by Baby Driver's Edgar Wright, 51, this delirious, lightning-paced workout also features Josh Brolin, 57, and Colman Domingo, 55.

Jay Kelly, R (in select theaters Nov. 14, on Netflix Dec. 5)

George Clooney, 64, didn't have to stretch very far to play Jay Kelly — a charismatic Hollywood movie star who travels to Europe with his longtime manager (Movies for Grownups Career Achievement winner Adam Sandler, 59) to see his life and career honored. Along the way, he's forced to wrestle with the sacrifices, regrets and bittersweet choices he's made on his journey to the top of the A-list. Directed by Marriage Story’s Noah Baumbach, 56.

Nouvelle Vague, R (on Netflix Nov. 14)

Before Sunrise director Richard Linklater, 65, pays tribute to the seminal French New Wave film movement of the late 1950s and ’60s in this black-and-white love letter to cinema centering on the making of Jean-Luc Godard’s game-changing import, Breathless. Guillaume Marbeck, Zoey Deutch and Aubry Dullin head up the ensemble of this jazzy, stylish time capsule that should be catnip for any serious movie lover.

Wicked: For Good, PG (in theaters Nov. 21)

At least one holiday present will arrive early this year thanks to director Jon M. Chu's eagerly awaited follow-up to his 2024 blockbuster reimagining of The Wizard of Oz. Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo return as the witchy sisters Glinda and Elphaba, so you can expect plenty of soaring musical numbers to accompany all the dazzling eye candy.

Rental Family, PG-13 (in theaters Nov. 21)

In his most promising and poignant star turn since winning the Movies for Grownups Best Actor award (and Oscar) for 2022's The Whale, Brendan Fraser, 56, plays a struggling expat actor in Tokyo who lands a very unusual gig — working for a Japanese “rental family” agency, which hires him out to play the relatives and friends of clients who are trying to work through their grief. An absolute charmer.

Train Dreams, PG-13 (on Netflix Nov. 21)

Aussie actor Joel Edgerton, 51, stars in this poignant frontier drama about a logger and day laborer helping to build America's railroads at the dawn of the 20th century. Based on Denis Johnson’s 2011 novella, Train Dreams is a look at a way of life that was quickly coming to an end as the modern world closed in. Felicity Jones, Kerry Condon and William H. Macy, 75, costar.

Hamnet, PG-13 (in theaters Nov. 26)

No, that title isn't a typo. Oscar-winning director Chloé Zhao's intimate period drama chronicles the relationship between William Shakespeare (Paul Mescal) and his wife, Agnes (Jessie Buckley), as they celebrate the birth of their son, Hamnet, only to lose him at a tragically young age, inspiring the playwright's masterpiece, Hamlet. Bring Kleenex.

Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, PG-13 (in select theaters Nov. 26, on Netflix Dec. 12)

Is writer-director Rian Johnson, 51, our generation's Agatha Christie? In this twisty murder-mystery sequel to Knives Out and Glass Onion, Daniel Craig, 57, is back as the Southern-fried sleuth Benoit Blanc. This time, he shows up at a small-town church in upstate New York where the local priest is found dead. Whodunit? The long list of suspects includes Glenn Close, 78, Jeremy Renner, 54, Thomas Haden Church, 65, Kerry Washington and Josh O'Connor.

The Housemaid, R (in theaters Dec. 19)

Even if you've never seen any of her movies, you'd have to be living under a rock not to know that Sydney Sweeney is the Hollywood star of the moment. Her latest outing is a tense psychological thriller about a young woman with a troubled past (Sweeney) who lands a job working as a live-in housemaid for a wealthy couple (Amanda Seyfried and Brandon Sklenar). Based on Freida McFadden's best-selling 2022 page-turner.

Is This Thing On?, R (in theaters Dec. 19)

Hard on the heels of A Star Is Born and Maestro, Bradley Cooper, 50, continues to make his case as Hollywood’s hardest-working double threat, cowriting and directing this dark, barbed comedy about a burned-out husband and father (Will Arnett, 55) who's working through a midlife crisis onstage as a stand-up comic. Cooper and the always welcome Laura Dern, 58, costar.

Avatar: Fire and Ash, PG-13 (in theaters Dec. 19)

James Cameron, 71, has given us The Terminator, Aliens and Titanic. So when he delivers a new movie, it's a major event. Now, more than 15 years after he whisked us off to the blue-hued paradise of Pandora, the director returns to Avatar's sci-fi saga. Sigourney Weaver, 76, Kate Winslet, 50, Zoe Saldaña and Sam Worthington head up the ensemble cast.

Song Sung Blue, PG-13 (in theaters Dec. 25)

Hugh Jackman, 57, and Kate Hudson star in this rousing jukebox musical about a married Milwaukee couple who perform as “Lightning & Thunder” — an unironic Neil Diamond tribute act. Expect lots of rhinestones and hairspray, and be prepared to belt out “Sweet Caroline.” Come on, you know the words!

Marty Supreme (in theaters Dec. 25)

As further proof that there isn't anything he can't do, Timothée Chalamet headlines this buzzy Oscar hopeful about a smooth, ambitious table tennis prodigy in 1950s New York who's out to win the world's respect, including that of a hard-to-impress actress (Gwyneth Paltrow, 53).

A Private Life, R (in theaters Jan. 16)

Two-time Oscar winner Jodie Foster, 62, not only serves up yet another staggering performance in her latest film but does it while speaking French! In this nail-biting thriller about a psychiatrist looking into the mysterious death of one of her patients, Foster proves to be compelling no matter what language she’s speaking.

The Rip, R (on Netflix Jan. 16)

Nearly three decades after becoming stars — and hoisting Oscars — for 1997’s Good Will Hunting, Ben Affleck, 53, and Matt Damon, 55, reunite on-screen in this Netflix crime thriller. The two Beantown buds play Miami cops who are tempted to break bad after discovering millions in ill-gotten cash in a stash house. Will they keep the loot? You'll have to tune in to find out.

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Chris Nashawaty, former film critic for Entertainment Weekly, is the author of Caddyshack: The Making of a Hollywood Cinderella Story and a contributor to Esquire, Vanity Fair, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.