Ah, delicious drama. From Sing Sing to Regretting You, here are the most anticipated drama films heading to Australian cinema screens in 2025.
Biggest drama releases of 2025:
The most anticipated drama films this year mainly comprise the films the US got to see last year. Ahead of Oscars season, we’ve been keenly waiting on the distribution of Babygirl, We Live in Time, Emilia Perez, and The Brutalist, to name a few. Looking forward, F1 is sure to delight dads everywhere, Regretting You will blow up BookTok, and Michael (the biopic of the King of Pop) will likely come with waves of controversy.
January
Sing Sing
Director: Greg Kwedar
Release date: 16 January
A24 drama led by Oscar-nominee Colman Domingo. Based on a true story, Sing Sing follows a prison theatre group that escapes the reality of incarceration through the creativity of a stage play. The cast includes actors who have previously been incarcerated.
Watch the trailer for Sing Sing here:
Emilia Pérez
Director: Jacques Audiard
Release date: 16 January
Golden Globe-winning musical drama. Overqualified and overexploited, Rita (Zoe Saldaña) employs her skills as a lawyer in the service of a large firm more prone to clear criminals than to serve justice. But an unexpected way out opens up to her: helping cartel leader Manitas (Karla SofÃa Gascón) retire from business and execute the plan he has been secretly refining for years: finally becoming the woman he has always dreamed of being.
Watch the trailer for Emilia Pérez here:
We Live in Time
Director: John Crowley
Release date: 16 January
The BAFTA-winning director of 2015’s Brooklyn directs Oscar-nominees Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield in this decade-spanning romance about a wannabe professional chef, a recent divorcée, and a chance encounter that changes their lives forever.
Watch the trailer for We Live in Time here:
A Complete Unknown
Director: James Mangold.
Release date: 23 January
Academy Award-nominee Timothée Chalamet is Bob Dylan in this rags-to-riches biopic from Oscar-nominated filmmaker James Mangold (Walk the Line, Logan). The film also stars Emmy-nominee Elle Fanning, three-time Oscar-nominee Edward Norton, and Boyd Holbrook (The Bikeriders) as Johnny Cash.
Watch the trailer for A Complete Unknown here:
The Brutalist
Director: Brady Corbet
Release date: 23 January
Oscar-winner Adrien Brody is visionary architect László Toth in this biographical epic from filmmaker Brady Corbet (Vox Lux), who won the Silver Lion for his direction. Oscar-nominee Felicity Jones (Rogue One) co-stars as his wife Erzsébet, who flees post-war Europe with László in 1947 to rebuild their legacy and witness the birth of modern America.
Watch the trailer for The Brutalist here:
Babygirl
Director: Halina Reijn
Release date: 30 January
A high-powered CEO (Nicole Kidman) puts her career and family on the line when she begins a torrid affair with her much younger intern (Harris Dickinson).
Watch the trailer for Babygirl here:
February
Queer
Director: Luca Guadagnino
Release date: 6 February
In 1950s Mexico City, William Lee (Daniel Craig), an American expat in his late forties, leads a solitary life amidst a small American community. However, the arrival in town of Eugene Allerton (Drew Starkey), a young student, stirs William into finally establishing a meaningful connection with someone.
Watch the trailer for Queer here:
Grand Tour
Director: Miguel Gomes
Release date: 13 February
A 2024 Cannes Festival standout. In 1917 Burma (now Myanmar), a British diplomat is set to marry his fiancée, but after a sudden panic, escapes to Singapore, sending her on what evolves into a chase across Asia.
Watch the trailer for Grand Tour here:
The Last Showgirl
Director: Gia Coppola
Release date: 20 February
When the glittering Las Vegas revue she has headlined for decades announces it will soon close, a glamorous showgirl (Pamela Anderson) must reconcile with the decisions she’s made and the community she has built as she plans her next act.
Watch the trailer for The Last Showgirl here:
ScreenHub: Moonlight Cinema returns across Australia for summer 2024
Seed of the Sacred Fig
Director: Mohammad Rasoulof
Release date: 27 February
Cannes award-winning drama. An investigating judge in the Revolutionary Court in Tehran grapples with mistrust and paranoia as nationwide political protests intensify and his gun mysteriously disappears. Suspecting the involvement of his wife and their two daughters, he imposes drastic measures at home, causing tensions to rise. Step by step, social norms and the rules of family life are being suspended.
Watch the trailer for Seed of the Sacred Fig here:
May
A Big Bold Beautiful Journey
Director: Kogonada
Release date: 8 May
An imaginative tale of two strangers (Colin Farrell and Margot Robbie) and the extraordinary emotional journey that connects them.
June
F1
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Release date: 26 June
Brad Pitt leads this Formula One thriller directed by Joseph Kosinski (Top Gun: Maverick), telling the story about Sonny Hayes, a driver who comes out of retirement to mentor and team with a younger driver (Damson Idris).
Watch the trailer for F1 here:
October
Michael
Director: Antoine Fuqua
Release date: 2 October
An in-depth portrayal of Michael Jackson (played by Jaafar Jackson), a complicated man, who became the King of Pop. The biopic will bring to life Jackson’s most iconic performances as it gives an informed insight into the entertainer’s artistic process and personal life.
ScreenHub: Most anticipated Australian films 2025
Regretting You
Director: Josh Boone
Release date: 23 October
The latest Colleen Hoover novel-to-film adaptation, Regretting You is an exploration of the complex relationship between Morgan Grant and her daughter, Clara. Morgan became a mother at a young age, putting her own dreams on hold to raise Clara. As Clara grows into a teenager, their relationship becomes strained, especially after a tragic accident claims the life of Chris, Morgan’s husband and Clara’s father.
For the full list of the most anticipated film releases of 2025, see here.
