SXSW 2025: 10 Movies We Can’t Wait to See!

For the first time ever, JoBlo is in Austin, Texas, covering the film and TV side of the SXSW festival. While many consider TIFF and SUNDANCE to be the big North American festivals, it’s impossible to deny that SXSW is starting to leapfrog its way up the list, with it being a nice middle ground between the two. While it has plenty of indie flavour (albeit with a genre bent), it also has a fair share of major premieres. Last year, they got the Road House remake; the year before, it was Air, and before that, they had Everything, Everywhere All At Once. This year, they’re getting The Accountant 2, Another Simple Favor, Drop, and many other big-ticket movies. Here’s a list of the ones we can’t wait to see!

The Accountant 2: 

I’m not exaggerating when I say this is why I’m here. The Accountant was a terrific action vehicle for Ben Affleck, with it (in my opinion) being the first time he nailed the genre. A sequel’s been long overdue, especially if you consider that the first film actually made quite a bit of money ($155 million globally), and was a solid hit on home video/ streaming. It may have taken nine years, but this looks like a great follow-up, with Jon Bernthal elevated to co-lead status as the deadly brother of the titular character. 

Death of a Unicorn:

A24’s become the darling of many genre festivals, with them premiering Opus at Sundance a few months ago. Now, they’re hitting SXSW with Death of a Unicorn, with pairs Jenna Ortega and Paul Rudd as a father/daughter pair who, you guessed it, accidentally kill a unicorn and find there’s hell to pay.

Another Simple Favor:

All eyes will be on the SXSW premiere of this, marking Blake Lively’s return to the limelight following the explosive It Ends With Us scandal, which doesn’t seem to be subsiding anytime soon. Director Paul Feig and Anna Kendrick return for this sequel, which, strangely enough, is getting a streaming debut rather than theatrical.

Drop:

I’m a big fan of Christopher Landon, having had a blast with the two Happy Death Day movies and Freaky. While it’s too bad he never got his version of Scream 7 underway, he’s making a much-hyped return to form with Drop, which features White Lotus breakout star Meghann Fahy as a woman whose date with a handsome stranger (1923’s Brandon Sklenar) turns into a nightmare.

The Surfer:

Nicolas Cage delivers what promises to be an intense performance as a man who returns to his native Australia and finds himself terrorized by beach bumps who have no idea who they’re dealing with. The trailer, which is embedded above, is a gem. The director, Lorcan Finnegan, previously helmed the trip thriller Vivarium, which we dug here at the site.

Ash 

A sci-fi horror flick from Flying Lotus, Eiza Gonzalez co-stars with Aaron Paul in this deep-space horror thriller. As they say, “In space, no one can hear you scream.” While it might have an uphill battle to climb to be legitimately compared to some of the genre’s classics, I’m expecting this to be a lot of fun.

Clown in a Cornfield:

According to JoBlo’s own Mike Conway, this is a must-see, with him being a massive fan of the novel this is based on by Adam Cesare. I’m purposely keeping myself in the dark about this one, as I love watching horror flicks blind, but hey – clowns AND a cornfield? Sounds good to me!

Holland:

I was a massive fan of director Mimi Cave’s Fresh, which I caught at Sundance during the pandemic. Given how it was released, it never got the attention it deserved. So, I’m pretty gung-ho about seeing her follow-up, which stars none other than Nicole Kidman as a small-town woman whose husband (Succession’s Matthew Macfadyen) is up to no good.

The Studio:

SXSW is also gaining a reputation as a solid place to launch TV series, and Apple is bringing its inside Hollywood takedown, The Studio, from Seth Rogen to the fest. I’ve actually already seen a few episodes and look forward to sharing my reaction once the embargo breaks. 

O’Dessa

Sadie Sink (of Stranger Things) stars in what’s being called a post-apocalyptic musical. Hey – I like both of those genres! Kelvin Harrison Jr and the great Murray Bartlett co-star, so I’m eager to check this out before its Hulu debut later this month.

Which movie are you most excited about? Let us know in the comments!