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James Marsh

With winter and awards season firmly in the rear-view mirror, cinema-goers can set their sights on some potential blockbuster entertainment from Hollywood in the next few months.
Alongside the inevitable menu of superhero sequels, video-game adaptations and animated reimaginings, spring does boast a few potential surprises for the more discerning viewer.
Here are the 15 films we are most excited for between now and the start of summer; opening dates are for Hong Kong.
1. A Minecraft Movie


The bestselling video game of all time makes its inevitable transition to the big screen, in an adaptation helmed by Napoleon Dynamite director Jared Hess.
Jason Momoa stars as the leader of a gang of misfits who are unwittingly pulled into the cubic wonderland of Overworld, where they must rely on expert crafter Steve (Jack Black) if they are to make it home safely. (Opens on April 3)
2. The Amateur


Oscar winner Rami Malek stars as a lowly CIA cryptographer who heads out into the field looking for revenge after his wife is killed in a terrorist attack.
Based on a novel by Robert Littell, and previously brought to the screen in 1981, this moody spy thriller from Slow Horses director James Hawes also stars Laurence Fishburne, Rachel Brosnahan, Takehiro Hira and Jon Bernthal. (Opens on April 10)
3. Drop


Following the success of Happy Death Day and Freaky, director Christopher Landon continues to shake up the horror genre with this high-concept tale, in which a young widow and single mother ventures out on a first date, only to be bombarded with increasingly threatening text messages from a mysterious assailant.
The White Lotus star Meghann Fahy headlines opposite Brandon Sklenar (It Ends With Us). (Opens on April 10)
4. The Accountant 2


Ben Affleck returns as autistic book-keeper and part-time assassin Christian Wolff, alongside fellow holdovers from the 2016 sleeper hit Jon Bernthal, J.K. Simmons and Cynthia Addai-Robinson.
Wisely, this second go-around, directed once again by Gavin O’Connor, leans more heavily on the gung-ho antics of Wolff and his equally proficient brother (Bernthal) as they hunt down a gang of ruthless killers. (Opens on April 24)
5. Until Dawn


Lights Out director David F. Sandberg spins a creepy tale, adapted from the horror-themed video game of the same name, involving a group of friends who are murdered only to discover they are trapped in a time loop, condemned to die every night at the hands of a different killer each time unless they can break the cycle.
Ella Rubin, Michael Cimino and Peter Stormare star. (Opens on April 24)
6. Thunderbolts*


Essentially Marvel’s answer to The Suicide Squad, Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) and Red Guardian (David Harbour) lead a rag-tag gang of enhanced misfits tasked with executing a highly dangerous mission on the orders of CIA agent Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus).
The 36th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is also tasked with wrapping up Phase Five, before The Fantastic Four: First Steps launches Phase Six later this summer. (Opens on April 30)
7. Final Destination: Bloodlines


Arriving 14 years after the last instalment, this is touted as a “reimagining” of the successful horror franchise in which groups of fresh-faced youngsters attempt to escape fate after experiencing premonitions of their own deaths.
Newcomer Kaitlyn Santa Juana leads the cast, which boasts the final screen performance from horror icon Tony Todd (Candyman), who sadly died in November 2024. (Opens on May 15)
8. Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning


With a budget rumoured to be in excess of US$400 million, the eighth instalment of the hugely successful action franchise has more at stake than the safety of daredevil leading man Tom Cruise.
All that money should be right up there on screen, however, as a team of international super-spies are put through another gauntlet of globe-trotting heroics and death-defying stunts. (Opens on May 22)
9. Lilo & Stitch


Disney’s live-action remake of one of its beloved animated hits retells the story of a young Hawaiian orphan, played here by Maia Kealoha, who adopts an escaped extraterrestrial genetic test subject whom she names Stitch.
Cue an action-packed adventure of escalating chaos underpinned by a wholesome message of family and acceptance. Historical precedent suggests this will be a success of intergalactic proportions. (Opens on May 22)
10. Black Bag


Michael Fassbender and Cate Blanchett headline director Steven Soderbergh’s sophisticated spy thriller, as a married pair of government agents who are set at loggerheads when Fassbender’s character is charged with catching a traitor in their agency and his wife is the prime suspect.
Intelligent, taut and effortlessly cool, this is precisely the kind of adult-oriented entertainment that blockbuster critics have been clamouring for. (Opens on May 29)
11. Karate Kid: Legends


Piggy-backing off the enduring success of Netflix’s hit show Cobra Kai, this new big-screen offering serves as a sequel to that series, as well as both the 1984 classic The Karate Kid starring Ralph Macchio, and the 2008 reboot, headlined by Jackie Chan.
The film brings both characters together to mentor a new martial arts student, played by Ben Wang from American Born Chinese. (Opens on May 29)
12. From the World of John Wick: Ballerina


The convoluted title says it all. Ana de Armas stars in the first in a number of planned spin-offs from the hugely successful Keanu Reeves-fronted action franchise.
She plays an orphan, trained as a ballerina-assassin by the same institution that created Wick, who sets out to avenge her father’s murder. Ian McShane, Anjelica Huston, Reeves, and the late Lance Reddick co-star. (Opens on June 5)
13. How to Train Your Dragon


Not to be outdone by Disney, DreamWorks unveils its first live-action remake of one of its greatest animated success stories. Original director Dean DeBlois returns to helm the delightful tale of a young Viking (Mason Thames) who befriends an infant dragon, despite their respective tribes being sworn enemies.
Nico Parker, Nick Frost and Gerard Butler – reprising his original role – headline the cast. (Opens on June 12)
14. Elio


Pixar’s latest animated extravaganza is as sure a bet as any this season. It tells the story of an 11-year-old boy and UFO fanatic who is abducted by aliens and put in front of an intergalactic committee, who mistake him for Earth’s leader.
Academy Award winner Zoe Saldaña features in the voice cast of this science-fiction adventure from the creative minds behind Coco and Turning Red. (Opens on June 12)
15. 28 Years Later


The long-rumoured third instalment of the hit zombie thriller series finally shuffles onto screens, reuniting director Danny Boyle with writer Alex Garland.
Survivors of the Rage virus this time out are played by Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Ralph Fiennes, while rumours persist that original star Cillian Murphy – who serves as an executive producer – might also make a welcome return. (Opens on June 19)
Want more articles like this? Follow SCMP Film on Facebook


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American cinema

Cate Blanchett in a still from Black Bag. Photo: Instagram/jana7380

Mason Thamesas Hiccup with his Night Fury dragon, Toothless, in a still from the live-action animation remake How to Train Your Dragon, one of our Hollywood movies to watch in spring 2025. Photo: Universal Pictures

Novocaine movie review: Jack Quaid feels no pain going from mild to mad in action thriller

Jack Quaid as Nate in a still from Novocaine. Photo: Paramount Pictures.

Jack Quaid as Nate in a still from Novocaine (category IIB), directed by Dan Berk and Robert Olsen. Amber Midthunder and Ray Nicholson co-star. Photo: Paramount Pictures.

Jacob Batalon as Roscoe in a still from Novocaine. Photo: Paramount Pictures.

Amber Midthunder as Sherry and Jack Quaid as Nate in a still from Novocaine. Photo: Paramount Pictures.

Berlin 2025: Mickey 17 movie review – Parasite’s Bong Joon-ho back with wild sci-fi satire

Robert Pattinson as Mickey 17 and Mickey 18 in a still from Bong Jooh-ho’s sci-fi comedy Mickey 17, screened at the 2025 Berlin International Film Festival. Naomi Ackie and Mark Ruffalo co-star. Photo: Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

Naomi Ackie as Nasha and Robert Pattinson, who plays two versions of his character Mickey, in a still from Mickey 17. Photo: Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

Mark Ruffalo (centre) as Kennedy Marshall and Toni Collette (right) as his wife, Ylfa, in a still from Mickey 17. Photo: Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

15 new Hollywood movies to watch this winter – Sonic 3, Snow White, Wolf Man and more

Jim Carrey as Ivo Robotnik and Sonic (voiced by Ben Schwartz) in a still from Sonic the Hedgehog 3. Photo: Paramount Pictures and Sega of America, Inc.

Rachel Zegler as Snow White in a still from Snow White. Photo: Disney

Milla Jovovich (left) and Dave Bautista in a still from In the Lost Lands.

A still from The Monkey.

How the Erotic Ghost Story films shocked and seduced Hong Kong

(From left) Amy Yip, Man Siu and Kudo Hitomi in a still from Erotic Ghost Story.

Pal Sinn (left) and Amy Yip in a still from Erotic Ghost Story (1990). Yip made the first Erotic Ghost Story a success, mainly because of her buxom physique.

Joey Wong and Leslie Cheung in a still from A Chinese Ghost Story (1987). Photo: Film Workshop

A promotional image for Erotic Ghost Story (1990).

Charine Chan (bottom right) in a promotional image for Erotic Ghost Story 2 (1991).

A promotional image for Erotic Ghost Story 3 (1992).

(From left) Pauline Chan, Kenny Wong and Chik King-man in a still from Erotic Ghost Story 3 (1992).

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A video-game adaptation and a Steven Soderbergh thriller are coming, several franchises are updated and Disney drops a live-action remake


A video-game adaptation and a Steven Soderbergh thriller are coming, several franchises are updated and Disney drops a live-action remake.
