Your guide to new films in cinemas across Australia this week, 30 December to 5 January 2024.
For the monthly guide to new film releases, head to our guide for new films in January.
New movies
1 January
Nosferatu
Writer-director Robert Eggers (The Lighthouse) takes on the classic gothic vampire tale, made renown to cinema a century ago with the silent 1922 version. The story follows the obsession between a haunted young woman in 19th century Germany and the ancient Transylvanian vampire who stalks her, bringing untold horror with him.
Director: Robert Eggers
Cast: Nicholas Hoult, Lily-Rose Depp, Willem Dafoe
Classification: MA
Country: USA
Runtime: 133 mins
ScreenHub: Nosferatu film review: fangin’ brilliant
Paddington in Peru
The third film in the series follows Paddington and the Brown family as they visit Aunt Lucy in Peru, but a mystery sends them to the Amazon rainforest and up Peruvian mountains.
Director: Dougal Wilson
Cast: Ben Whishaw, Olivia Colman, Antonio Banderas
Classification: PG
Country: USA, Canada, France, UK
Runtime: 106m
2 January
Once Upon A Time In Indochine
A young heir from a wealthy family evolves from a hard-headed kid into an ambitious man as he embraces his luxurious lifestyle and battles rivals to earn his title as the most daring playboy of his era.
Director: Ly Minh Thang
Cast: Kaity Nguyen, Song Luan
Classification: PG
Country: Vietnam
Runtime: 113m
Recently released
26 December
A Real Pain
Mismatched cousins David (Jesse Eisenberg, who also writes and directs) and Benji (Kieran Culkin) reunite for a tour through Poland to honour their beloved grandmother. The adventure takes a turn when the pair’s old tensions resurface against the backdrop of their family history.
Director: Jesse Eisenberg
Cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Kieran Culkin
Classification: CTC
Country: Poland, USA
Runtime: 90m
Anora
In this Palme d’Or-winning love story from Sean Baker (Tangerine, Red Rocket) a Las Vegas sex worker gets her chance at a Cinderella story when she and a young Russian oligarch fall for each other. However, when news of their impulsive marriage reaches his homeland, his parents make moves to get their union annulled.
Director: Sean Baker
Cast: Mikey Maddison, Yuriy Borisov
Classification: MA
Country: USA
Runtime: 139m
Better Man
The director of The Greatest Showman offers a unique look into the experiences that shaped Robbie Williams – by casting the pop star as a walking, singing ape – in this atypical musical.
Director: Michael Gracey
Cast: Robbie Williams, Damon Herriman
Classification: MA
Country: USA
Runtime: 135m
ScreenHub: Better Man: Robbie Williams is a chimp in the Australian-made biopic
Parthenope
The life of Parthenope – neither siren nor myth – from her birth in 1950 to the present day. Her long existence embodies the full repertoire of human existence: youth’s lightheartedness and its demise, classical beauty and its inexorable permutations, pointless and impossible loves, stale flirtations and dizzying passion, nighttime kisses on Capri, flashes of joy and persistent suffering, real and invented fathers, endings and new beginnings.
Director: Paolo Sorrentino
Cast: Gary Oldman, Celest Dalla Porta
Classification: CTC
Country: France, Italy
Runtime: 136m
Sonic the Hedgehog 3
Sonic, Knuckles, Tails and director Jeff Fowler return for the third film in the family-friendly adventure film series, based on the beloved SEGA videogames.
Director: Jeff Fowler
Cast: Ben Schwartz, Jim Carrey, James Marsden
Classification: CTC
Country: USA
Runtime: 109m
26 December
The Room Next Door
Ingrid and Martha were close friends in their youth, when they worked together at the same magazine. Ingrid went on to become an autofiction novelist while Martha became a war reporter. Eventually, they were separated by the circumstances of life. After years of being out of touch, they meet again in an extreme but strangely sweet situation.
Director: Pedro Almodóvar
Cast: Julianne Moore, Tilda Swinton, John Turturro
Classification: M
Country: Spain
Runtime: 107m
