The beginning of the year is always a tricky time for movies. There’s the prestige holdovers from last year cashing in at the box office thanks to that coveted Oscars bump, but more often than not, it’s considered a no man’s land where poorly-calibrated cinema goes to die. Then again, those low expectations make it the ideal playing field for standout movies that might not have the heft to go against the billion-dollar blockbusters of summer. Think of Sinners, which debuted all the way back in April, and went on to collect more than $279 million domestically and rake up the most Academy Award nominations of all time.
Spring is an especially ripe season for indie films, buoyed by fresh attention in the wake of festivals like Sundance, SXSW, and the Berlin Film Festival. Indeed, several of the films on our list last year were festival favorites, which are finally making their ways to the art house theaters that draw in eager cinephiles out of the cold. This year’s selection is especially varied: We’ve got an A24 rom-com starring an A-list cast, a Transylvanian social satire from one of indie cinema’s most prolific filmmakers, and a magical realist Bay Area fashion war, to name a few.
Take a look below at all the indie movies our editors are looking forward to seeing this spring.
How to Make a Killing
Directed by: John Patton Ford
When: February 20
What It Is: Do you ever feel like you could kill your family sometimes? In this black comedy, Glen Powell, starring as a man disowned years ago by his unthinkably wealthy family, does just that. Why? A $28 billion inheritance dangling tantalizingly within reach. Margaret Qualley, Ed Harris, and Topher Grace round out the cast in this sophomore feature from John Patton Ford, director of 2022 indie breakthrough Emily the Criminal.
Why It’s Worth a Look: Patton Ford first cut his teeth as a scriptwriter; this one made it onto the Blacklist, an annual roundup of the best unproduced scripts in Hollywood, all the way back in 2014. It stewed in development hell for years before A24 helped jumpstart the project in 2023, this time with Patton Ford attached to direct.
Tow
Directed by: Stephanie Laing
When: March 20
What It Is: Hot off her Oscar-nominated turn in the superb If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, Rose Byrne is back as a Seattle woman living on the brink of homelessness who struggles for no less than 369 days to retrieve her 1991 Toyota Corolla after it’s stolen and towed. She’s joined by a cavalcade of character actors including Octavia Spencer, The Holdovers’ Dominic Sessa, Simon Rex, Demi Lovato, and Ariana DeBose.
Why It’s Worth a Look: When you’re living paycheck-to-paycheck, one unexpected expense can throw your life into chaos. No car means no way to get to work means no way to see your daughter living in Utah means stress and relapse into alcohol addiction. The inability to pay a towing fine means compound interest; a few hundred dollars owed can become thousands. Tow is an empathetic look at the ways in which the structures of modern life have become actively hostile to people just trying to make ends meet.
Kontinental ’25
Directed by: Radu Jude
When: March 27
What It Is: Kontinental ’25 follows the crisis of conscience of a bailiff after she evicts an elderly squatter from an empty house in order to make way for the construction of a luxury hotel. By toning down the more experimental aspects of his filmmaking, Radu Jude makes way for a sober exploration of the costs of capitalist expansion in Eastern Europe as well as the ways we compartmentalize and transgress our own values.
Why It’s Worth a Look: Jude’s scorching social satire tore up film festivals last year. When Americans audiences will be able to see his other 2025 release, Dracula—a post-modern and A.I.-inflected tale of a filmmaker reckoning with the siren song of new technology—is another story.
The Drama
Directed by: Kristoffer Borgli
When: April 3
What It Is: Mere days before their wedding, a young couple (played by Zendaya and Robert Pattinson) have their relationship thrown into chaos after their friends goad them into a simple dare over dinner: confess the worst thing you’ve ever done. Expect the kinds of hijinks that ensue when you get an unexpected answer to the question, “How well do you really know the person you love?”
Why It’s Worth a Look: This one has been hotly anticipated ever since the team at A24 took out a fake engagement announcement for the characters in The Boston Globe last year. Borgli’s follow up to 2023’s Dream Scenario also has a co-sign from Hereditary’s Ari Aster, who appears as a producer on the film. Alana Haim, Mamoudou Athie, and the suddenly inescapable Hailey Gates star.
Mother Mary
Directed by: David Lowery
When: April 17
What It Is: Anne Hathaway leads as a world-famous pop star staring down her demons on the eve of her big comeback performance. She reunites with Michaela Coel, her former friend and costume designer, and the two confront the intricacies of their past relationship. Movies about music can often fall short with poor songs, so this film has a built-in failsafe: Hathaway’s original bops were written by no less than Jack Antonoff, Charli XCX, and FKA twigs.
Why It’s Worth a Look: Lowery is the director of some of the best independent films of the last decade who’s never quite gotten a fair shake: His 2017 microbudget drama A Ghost Story helped solidify what an A24 film is in the popular imagination, but Covid restrictions kneecapped his beguiling 2021 adaptation of the Arthurian epic The Green Knight. After a dalliance with big-budget Disney IP, Lowery is back doing what he does best: jewel-toned slow burns that’ll stick in your craw for days after.
Erupcja
Directed by: Pete Ohs
When: April 17
What It Is: If Charli XCX’s debut acting turn (at least as a character that’s not a version of herself) is not enticing enough, not enough people are talking about how this film is about her sneaking out on her Golden Retriever boyfriend for an all-night tryst with another woman. Think of it as a kind of upbeat Lost in Translation—a hazy, playful tale about discovering new facets of yourself in an unfamiliar place.
Why It’s Worth a Look: While it may not be the ground-floor of the Charli cinematic universe (The Moment and Wuthering Heights take that honor) Erupcja gives us a peek into how her identity as pop’s favorite insouciant iconoclast might play onscreen. Next up? Gregg Araki’s I Want Your Sex, which was just acquired by Magnolia Pictures.
I Love Boosters
Directed by: Boots Riley
When: May 22
What It Is: Keke Palmer stars as Corvette, a fashion designer whose styles are being ripped off by Demi Moore, a nefarious CEO complete with a cunty little bob. Corvette’s solution? Rob her blind. The result is like a heist comedy set in the Capitol of the Hunger Games. Naomi Ackie, Taylour Paige, and Poppy Liu co-star as members of Palmer’s crew while Will Poulter, LaKeith Stanfield, and Don Cheadle are also set to appear.
Why It’s Worth a Look: It feels like a lifetime since Oakland’s hometown hero/socialist rapper Boots Riley bowled us over with his politically clear-eyed, magical realist comedy Sorry to Bother You in 2018. Fans will be relieved to see that I Love Boosters picks up right where he left off, only bigger than before. Call it candy-colored class war set in a parallel reality Bay Area where things are mostly the same, if only a little more honest.
Sheep in the Box
Directed by: Hirokazu Kore-eda
When: May 29
What It Is: A couple (played by Haruka Ayase and Kotaro Daigo) adopt a humanoid robot after the passing of their own son. Using artificial relationships to replace human ones and unregulated technology to treat psychological wounds? Good thing that only happens in science fiction movies.
Why It’s Worth a Look: The Japanese auteur and Palme d’Or winner of Shoplifters is back with not one but two films this year. Look Back, Kore-eda’s other film, which as of yet has no release date, is a live-action adaptation of Tatsuki Fujimoto’s slice-of-life manga about two girls chasing their own dreams of becoming manga artists.
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