April Movie Preview

Foreign/Drama - dir. Fatih Akin
In NY on April 17 and more cities on April 24

After the disappointments of The Golden Glove and Rhinegold, writer-director Fatih Akin (Head-On) returned to impressing critics with his gentlest film yet. But that doesn't mean this coming-of-age story about a boy raised by Nazis who comes to realize who his parents really are, isn't challenging. Akin worked so closely with his mentor, Hark Bohm, who wrote the screenplay based on memories of his youth at the end of WW II, that the film's credits read "A Hark Bohm film by Fatih Akin." Set in the spring of 1945 on the German island of Amrum, the film follows 12-year-old Nanning, whose father is a Nazi soldier. As news of Hitler's death reaches the island, Nanning's mother refuses to eat, propelling him on a quest to find bread, butter and honey and leading to revelations about his parents and their community.

Action-Adventure/Thriller - dir. Baltasar Kormákur
Streams on Netflix beginning April 24

After the decades-spanning love story of Touch, director Baltasar Kormákur (Beast, Adrift, Everest) returns to the man vs. nature action cinema for which he's known with this story set in the Australian wilderness. In Jeremy Robbins' script, Sasha (Charlize Theron) is just looking to test her limits kayaking down a remote river when she finds herself facing off against a ruthless psycho played by Taron Egerton. It should be fun to see Egerton playing against type (the trailer certainly hints that he's really going for it).

Drama - dir. Sophy Romvari
In NY on April 17 and LA on April 24 (plus more cities in May)

The best-reviewed movie of the year so far premiered in festivals last year. Writer-director Sophy Romvari's debut feature chronicles the struggles of a Hungarian family of six as they settle into a new home on Vancouver Island. Told through the gaze of the youngest child, Sasha, who later in the film appears as an adult, this moving portrait of a family hinges on the erratic behavior of Sasha's older brother Jeremy, a taciturn teenager. It's a sensitive, heart-stirring story that's sure to land on many top ten lists at the end of the year.

Foreign/Drama/Sci-Fi - dir. Gabriel Mascaro
In theaters April 3

The latest film from Brazilian writer-director Gabriel Mascaro (Divine Love, Neon Bull, August Winds) won the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize at the 2025 Berlin Film Festival. Seventy-seven-year-old Tereza (Denise Weinberg) lives in a not-so-distant dystopian future where the government sends seniors to isolated colonies. When her time comes, Tereza embarks on a transformative journey of independence. Floating down the Amazon, she discovers the joys of companionship and freedom in a film about the resilience of the human spirit at any age.

Comedy/Drama - dir. Steven Soderbergh
In theaters April 10

With two films— Presence and Black Bag —released last year, director-cinematographer-editor Steven Soderbergh shows no signs of slowing down. His latest, a reunion with his No Sudden Move writer Ed Solomon, stars Michaela Coel as Lori, a failed artist who is hired by the unscrupulous heirs (James Corden and Jessica Gunning) of famous painter Julian Sklar (Ian McKellen) to steal and restore his unfinished paintings known as "The Christophers" so they can pocket the profits once he dies. Luckily (for the audience), the plan doesn't go as expected.

Rom-Com - dir. Kristoffer Borgli
In theaters April 3

Kristoffer Borgli, the writer-director of Sick of Myself and Dream Scenario, is back with another dark comedy. Zendaya and Robert Pattinson play a happy couple whose relationship is thrown into crisis when unexpected revelations about each other threaten to derail their wedding. Borgli is quite good at putting his leads (and an audience) in extremely uncomfortable situations, and his latest looks like another twisted test.

Foreign/Drama/Thriller - dir. Tarik Saleh
In NY on April 17 and LA on April 24 (plus more cities in May)

Writer-director Tarik Saleh completes his informal Cairo trilogy, following 2017's The Nile Hilton Incident and 2022's Cairo Conspiracy with this film about George (Fares Fares), an aging star nicknamed Pharaoh of the Screen, who gets "asked" to play Egyptian president Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi in a hagiographic biopic. Unable to refuse, George finds himself amongst Egypt's corrupt political and religious elite. According to critics, Saleh's aim proves true as he takes shots at the forces of propaganda.

Drama/Rom-Com - dir. Pete Ohs
In theaters April 17

Like his unreleased 2025 film The True Beauty of Being Bitten by a Tick, director Pete Ohs' latest is a collaboration with his actors. Pop star Charli XCX stars as Bethany, a restless British tourist visiting Warsaw with her boyfriend (Will Madden). Fearing a marriage proposal, she seeks out Nel (Lena Góra), a florist with whom she has an explosive connection. The title is Polish for eruption, and Mount Etna plays a role in the film's plot.

Foreign/Action-Adventure/Horror - dir. Genki Kawamura
In theaters April 10

Director Genki Kawamura's Exit 8 is only the second movie based on a video game to ever earn a green Metascore. As in Kotake Create's game, a man (Kazunari Ninomiya) is trapped in an endless series of underground corridors. As he fruitlessly searches for a way to escape, he's given the same rules as in the game: "Do not overlook any anomalies. If you find an anomaly, turn back immediately. If you don't find anomalies, do not turn back." Will the movie work for those who haven't played the game? That's up to Kawamura, and judging by early reviews, he's up to the task.

Foreign/Documentary - dir. Igor Bezinovic
In theaters April 10

Croatian filmmaker Igor Bezinović's documentary tells the story of Italian poet Gabriele D'Annunzio, who in September of 1919 invaded the town of Fiume, in what is today Croatia. Bezinović brilliantly captures the absurdity of fascism through archival footage, photography and modern re-enactments featuring citizens of Rijeka—the city which includes what used to be Fiume. It's a takedown of authoritarianism as it rises up again all around the world.

Drama - dir. Aneil Karia
In theaters April 10

For their version of William Shakespeare's "Hamlet," director Aneil Karia and lead actor Riz Ahmed, who collaborated on the Oscar-winning short The Long Goodbye, move the play to the contemporary South Asian community of London. As Hamlet seeks revenge for his father's murder, he exposes the corruption in his family's empire. Ahmed is joined by Morfydd Clark as Ophelia, Art Malik as Claudius, Joe Alwyn as Laertes, and Timothy Spall as Polonius.

Drama - dir. Kirk Jones
In theaters April 24

According to critics, writer-director Kirk Jones has made his best film since 1998's Waking Ned Devine. Based on the life story of Tourette Syndrome activist John Davidson, I Swear stars Robert Aramayo as Davidson, who grew up in Scotland in the 1980s and struggled to find a place for himself amongst his peers. After leaving school at 16 and taking a position at Langlee Community Centre in Galashiels, he came to be known for his advocacy for those with Tourettes. Aramayo has won several lead actor awards for his performance, including a British Independent Film Award and a BAFTA, and he's joined in the cast by Peter Mullen, Maxine Peake, and Shirley Henderson.

Rom-Com/Drama/Music - dir. Chandler Levack
In theaters April 17

Writer-director Chandler Levack's follow-up to I Like Movies stars Barbie Ferreira as Grace, a music critic who moves to Montreal in 2011 to finish writing a book about Alanis Morissette's "Jagged Little Pill," only to get sucked into the local music scene through her interest in a local band and their lead singer, Chevy (Stanley Simmons), and guitarist, Archie (Devon Bostick). The film is inspired by the director's own life as a music journalist, and Levack has crafted a heartfelt portrait of relatable wrong and right life choices.

Drama/Music/Biopic - dir. Antoine Fuqua
In theaters (and IMAX) April 24

How director Antoine Fuqua (Training Day) and writer John Logan (The Aviator) attempt to capture Michael Jackson's life in biopic form could be the most interesting thing about what looks to be an estate-approved piece of hagiography. What will be left out? What will be highlighted? From the synopsis, the focus looks to be on Michael's musical journey, beginning with The Jackson Five and continuing into superstardom. Jaffar Jackson, Michael's nephew, plays the older Michael, with Colman Domingo as father Joe Jackson, Nia Long as mother Katherine Jackson, Kendrick Sampson as Quincy Jones, Miles Teller as John Branca, Kat Graham as Diana Ross, and Larenz Tate as Berry Gordy.

Drama/Music - dir. David Lowery
In limited release on April 17 (expands nationwide on April 24)

After a string of critical hits (A Ghost Story, The Old Man & the Gun, The Green Knight), writer-director David Lowery's Peter Pan & Wendy received a more muted response. His latest looks to be another surprising offering as it follows an iconic pop star (Anne Hathaway) who reunites with her estranged best friend and former costume designer (Michaela Coel). With original songs by Jack Antonoff and Charli XCX, the month's most mysterious release also features performances by Hunter Schafer, Kaia Gerber, Jessica Brown Findlay, Sian Clifford, and FKA twigs.

Action/Thriller - dir. Ben Wheatley
In theaters April 17

Working from a script by John Wick and Nobody writer Derek Kolstad, Ben Wheatley (Free Fire, Kill List, Sightseers) directs Bob Odenkirk (who also has a co-story credit) as a sheriff who comes to a small Minnesota town to fill in until a permanent replacement is hired. When he stumbles upon the town's well-kept secret, he ends up in a firefight with all of its residents (and the yakuza). Joining Odenkirk on his continued trip into action cinema are supporting players Henry Winkler and Lena Headey.

Drama - dir. Stephen Cole Webley
In theaters April 24

Working from a screenplay by Robert Machoian (The Killing of Two Lovers), director Cole Webley makes his feature debut with this story of a widowed father (John Magaro) taking his two children, Ella (Molly Belle Wright) and Charlie (Wyatt Solis), on a trip across the country. Critics who saw the film's premiere at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival left impressed by Webley's skill at creating a lived-in intimacy and spontaneity between Magaro and the young actors.

Comedy/Drama/Thriller - dir. Jonah Hill
Streams on Apple TV beginning April 10

Jonah Hill directs and co-writes this darkly comedic Apple streaming original starring Keanu Reeves as a popular film actor who becomes the victim of a mysterious extortion threat and then attempts to make amends with everyone he could have possibly wronged from throughout his life with the help of his friends (Cameron Diaz and Matt Bomer) and lawyer (Hill). David Spade, Atsuko Okatsuka, Roy Wood Jr., Martin Scorsese, Laverne Cox, and Susan Lucci also star.

Comedy - dir. Nick Kocher and Brian McElhaney
Streams on Hulu beginning April 3

The feature directing debut from SNL writers Nick Kocher and Brian McElhaney—you may also know them as the comedy duo BriTANicK—earned good reviews when it premiered at SXSW last month. Gaten Matarazzo (Stranger Things) and Sean Giambrone (The Goldbergs) star as college roommates whose lives aren't quite what they hoped for, so they decide to take a homemade drug. When they discover they are way higher than they ever expected and the only remedy to the drug's effects is food, they order a pizza. But the journey from their dorm room to the lobby to retrieve the pizza turns out to be a trip fraught with challenges. Supporting players include SNL vet Sarah Sherman, Lulu Wilson, and Peyton Elizabeth Lee.

Drama - dir. Rashad Frett
In theaters April 24

Rashad Frett took home the Directing Award in the U.S. Dramatic competition at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival for this story of 30-year-old Ricky (Stephan James), who, after being released from prison, is having his first taste of freedom since he was a teenager. Life on the outside proves challenging for Ricky in this expansion of Frett's short, co-written with Lin Que Ayoung. Joining James in this intimate character study are Imani Lewis, Simbi Kali, and Sheryl Lee Ralph.

Foreign/Drama - dir. François Ozon
In theaters April 3

The prolific and eclectic French filmmaker François Ozon (Swimming Pool, The New Girlfriend, Frantz, The Crime Is Mine) directs this adaptation of Albert Camus classic novel about Meursault, a Frenchman in 1930s Algeria who commits murder and is put on trial for the crime and his character. Ozon reunites with his Summer of 85 star, Benjamin Voisin, for a film critics have praised as one of Ozon's best.

Animation/Family - dir. Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic
In theaters (and IMAX) April 1

While a 46 Metascore tells you how critics felt about 2023's The Super Mario Bros. Movie, a user score of 8.1 reflects the audience's enjoyment (and a fanbase's eagerness to pump up a beloved property). A film that finished second to only Barbie at the box office was going to get a sequel regardless, and here it is. After capturing Bowser (Jack Black) in the first film, Mario (Chris Pratt), Luigi (Charlie Day), and Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy) must deal with Bowser Jr. (Benny Safdie) this time around. Luckily, they'll have a few new friends to help them out, including Rosalina (Brie Larson), Yoshi (Donald Glover), and Fox McCloud (Glen Powell)—the latter borrowed from the Star Fox and Super Smash Bros. franchises.

Drama/Thriller - dir. Cal McMau
In theaters April 17

The feature debut of director Cal McMau and writers Hunter Andrews and Eoin Doran is a prison drama starring David Jonsson as Taylor, a long incarcerated inmate weeks away from parole. When the arrival of a new cellmate—the violent Dee, played by Tom Blyth—threatens his release, Taylor must figure out a way to survive. It's a brutal, unsparring story, but it's also a chance to see two impressive young actors share the screen.

WANT MORE FILMS?
View our Movie Release Calendar for a complete list of titles headed to theaters, VOD, and streaming in April and beyond.