2025 October cinema guide:
Here’s what’s on in Australian cinemas this October:
2 October
Him
- Director: Justin Tipping
- Cast: Marlon Wayans, Tim Heidecker, Julia Fox, Jim Jefferies, Tyriq Withers
- Genre: Horror / Sport
A promising young quarterback joins an isolated compound to train under an aging quarterback idol. As mentorship becomes sinister, he must confront unsettling truths. Watch the trailer.
The Smashing Machine
- Director: Benny Safdie
- Cast: Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt
- Genre: Drama
The story of legendary mixed martial arts and UFC fighter Mark Kerr. Watch the trailer.
3 October
Sons of the Neon Night
- Director: Juno Mak
- Cast: Taleshi Kaneshiro
- Genre: Crime/Action
A massive explosion and shootout in snowy Causeway Bay, Hong Kong, reveals a pharmaceutical heir’s plot. His father’s death in hospital triggers a drug war, destabilizing both legitimate and criminal worlds.
Taylor Swift / The Official Release Party of a Showgirl
- Director: N/A
- Cast: Taylor Swift
- Genre: Concert/Event
A filmed event version of Taylor Swift’s official release party for Showgirl. Features the exclusive world premiere of the music video, The Fate of Ophelia, along with behind-the-scenes footage from the music video shoot, brand new lyric videos, and Taylor’s never-before-seen personal reflections on songs from her 12th studio album, The Life of a Showgirl.
9 October
We Bury the Dead
- Director: Zak Hilditch
- Cast: Daisy Ridley, Mark Coles Smith, Brenton Thwaites
- Genre: Thriller
In the aftermath of a catastrophic military experiment, a body-retrieval unit traverses a ravaged landscape to find missing loved ones.
Tron: Ares
- Director: Joachim Rønning
- Cast: Jared Leto, Greta Lee
- Genre: Sci-fi/Action
A new program named Ares escapes from the Grid into our world, sparking conflict between digital and real realms.
A House of Dynamite
- Director: Kathryn Bigelow
- Cast: Idris Elba, Rebecca Ferguson
- Genre: Drama
When a single, unattributed missile is launched at the United States, a race begins to determine who is responsible and how to respond.
Beast of War
- Director: Kiah Roache-Turner
- Cast: Mark Coles Smith, Joel Nankervis
- Genre: Horror
When their boat sinks while crossing the Timor Sea during World War II, a troop of young Australian soldiers must find a way to survive the harsh seas on a quickly shrinking raft. Hundreds of miles from anywhere, they must confront interpersonal conflicts, enemy attacks, and the advances of one very large, very hungry great white shark.
Chasing the Gold
- Director: Wes Greene
- Cast: N/A
- Genre: Documentary
Surf Lifesaving is one of the most iconic Australian activities and the Coolangatta Gold event is the most gruelling highlight for lifesavers and fans. Chasing the Gold follows 3 top level athletes: Ali Day, the greatest surf lifesaver of all time, aiming for his tenth Coolangatta Gold title; brash young gun Conner Maggs competing in his first event and Lana Rogers, 3 time champ, attempting to overcome collapsing as she did the previous year. An intimate portrayal of what it takes to be a champion as well as what it takes to win The Gold.
Eleanor the Great
- Director: Scarlett Johanson
- Cast: June Squibb
- Genre: Drama
The mighty June Squibb (Thelma) leads Scarlett Johansson’s first film as director, the story of a 90-year-old woman who tries to rebuild her life after the death of her best friend.
Love in Vietnam
- Director: Rahhat Shah Kazmi
- Cast: Avneet Kaur, Gulshan Grover
- Genre: Romance/dramaa
A passionate cross-cultural romance unfolds between Vietnam and Punjab, inspired by the classic Turkish novel ‘Madonna in a Fur Coat’.
Merchant Ivory: The Documentary
- Director: Stephen Soucy
- Cast: N/A
- Genre: Documentary
A behind-the-scenes look at the legendary Merchant Ivory Studios and their cinematic legacy.
One Ocean Film Tour: Volume 5
- Director: Various
- Cast: N/A
- Genre: Documentary
The One Ocean Film Tour is a series of ocean-loving films focused on adventure, the aquatic environment and inspirational stories. The tour was created in 2020 with the vision to increase awareness about ocean protection and conservation by sharing films made by people who have dedicated their lives to the ocean.
The Travellers
- Director: Bruce Beresford
- Cast: Bryan Brown, Luke Bracey
- Genre: Drama
Stephen Seary, a charismatic successful stage designer returns to Australia to visit his dying mother. What was to be a quick trip descends into a frustrating and sometimes quirky challenge as family responsibilities, a difficult relationship with his curmudgeonly father, unresolved conflicts with long-forgotten antagonists, romantic interludes, and the presence of an annoying sister make his return to Europe and the opera he has contracted to design increasingly problematic.
12 October
Jimmy Barnes: Working Class Man
Director: Andrew Farrell
Cast: Jimmy Barnes
Genre: Documentary
A look at the life, influences and career of rock legend Jimmy Barnes.
16 October
Black Phone 2
- Director: Scott Derrickson
- Cast: Ethan Hawke, Mason Thames, Madeleine McGraw, Demián Bichir
- Genre: Horror
Several years after the original, Finn must face fresh disappearances and the revived menace of The Grabber.
After the Hunt
- Director: Luca Guadagnino
- Cast: Julia Roberts, Ayo Edeberi, Andrew Garfield
- Genre: Drama
Filmmaker Luca Guadagnino (Challengers, Queer) assembles a top-tier cast – including Julia Roberts, Ayo Edebiri and Andrew Garfield – for this psychological drama about a college professor (Roberts) who finds herself at a personal and professional crossroads when a star student (Edebiri) levels an accusation against one of her colleagues (Garfield), and a dark secret from her own past threatens to come into the light.
Ballad of a Small Player
- Director: Edward Berger
- Cast: Colin Farrell, Fala Chen, Tilda Swinton
- Genre: Drama/Thriller
Colin Farrell is Lord Doyle, a man hooked on drinking and high-stakes gambling, in this film from the Oscar-winning filmmaker behind Conclave and All Quiet on the Western Front. Co-stars Fala Chen (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) as a casino employee who offers the debt-riddled Doyle a lifeline, and Tilda Swinton as a PI hot on his tail.
Night of the Zoopocalypse
- Director: Rodrigo Perez Castro, Ricardo Curtis
- Cast: David Harbour, Gabbi Kosmidis
- Genre: Animation/Family
After a meteor unleashes a virus that turns zoo animals into mutants, a mountain lion (David Harbour) and wolf (Gabbi Kosmidis) lead a team of surviving animals to stop the virus and rescue their zoo.
Roofman
- Director: Derek Cianfrance
- Cast: Channing Tatum, Kirsten Dunst
- Genre: Dramedy
The film follows Jeffrey Manchester (Tatum), a former Army Ranger and struggling father who turns to robbing McDonald’s restaurants by cutting holes in their roofs, earning him the nickname ‘Roofman’. After escaping prison, he secretly lives inside a Toys ‘R’ Us for six months, surviving undetected while planning his next move. But when he falls for Leigh (Dunst), a divorced mum drawn to his undeniable charm, his double life begins to unravel, setting off a compelling and suspenseful game of cat and mouse as his past closes in.
17 October
The Wilderness
- Director: Spencer King
- Cast: Hunter Doohan, Lamar Johnson
- Genre: Drama
Kidnapped and abandoned in the Utah desert, a group of troubled boys are forced into a ruthless Wilderness Therapy program. Cut off from the world, they must survive both the elements and the mind games of a director who may not be trying to save them at all.
22 October
Mitski: The Land
- Director: Grant James
- Cast: Mitski
- Genre: Music
Mitski: The Land converts the magic and majesty of witnessing Mitski live onto screen. Filmed over three nights at Atlanta’s Fox Theatre in 2024, this is a thrilling portrayal of what kept hundreds of thousands of fans rapt at venues across the globe
23 October
Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc
- Director: Tatsuya Yoshihara
- Cast: Kikunosuke Toya
- Genre: Anime
Adapts the Reze arc from Chainsaw Man, exploring budding romance, betrayal and devilish conflict between characters. Denji encounters a new romantic interest, Reze, who, unbeknownst to him, harbours a dangerous ulterior motive.
Shelby Oaks
- Director: Chris Stuckmann
- Cast: Camille Sullivan, Brendan Sexton III
- Genre: Horror
In this horror film directed by popular YouTube film critic Chris Stuckmann, a woman’s desperate search for her long-lost sister falls into obsession upon realising that the imaginary demon from their childhood may have been real.
Familiar Touch
- Director: Sarah Friedland
- Cast: H. Jon Benjamin, Katelyn Nacon
- Genre: Drama
An octogenarian woman transitions to life in assisted living as she contends with her conflicting relationship to herself and her caregivers amidst her shifting memory, age identity, and desires.
Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein
Director: Guillermo del Toro
Cast: Oscar Isacc, Jacob Elordi, Mia Goth
Genre: Horror
A gothic reimagining of the Frankenstein legend through del Toro’s visionary lens. Watch the trailer.
Regretting You
Director: Josh Boone
Cast: Allison Williams, McKenna Grace
Genre: Drama
Morgan Grant and her daughter Clara explore what’s left behind after a devastating accident reveals a shocking betrayal and forces them to confront family secrets, redefine love, and rediscover each other.
Same Same But Different
- Director: Luke Wheatley
- Cast: N/A
- Genre: Documentary
In 1973, Graham ‘Skroo’ Turner and his mates bought a double-decker bus, sold tickets for a seat for eager travellers and embarked on a journey of a lifetime. Unbeknown to them and their travellers this would be the beginning of something that would shape the future of travel as we know it today. Fast forward 50 years later, and Cody has decided to follow in their footsteps and see what travelling is all about.
Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere
Director: Scott Cooper
Cast: Jeremy Allen White, Jeremy Strong
Genre: Biopic
Jeremy Allen White goes from The Bear to The Boss in this biopic from the director of Crazy Heart, based on Warren Zanes’ book. The film follows Bruce Springsteen’s journey crafting his 1982 album Nebraska, which emerged as he recorded Born in the USA with the E Street Band.
The Mastermind
Director: Kelly Reichardt
Cast: Josh O’Connor
Genre: Drama
An art-theft drama told in quiet, deliberate tones as characters wrestle with ambition and consequence. Watch the trailer.
Twinless
Director: James Sweeney
Cast: Dylan O’Brien
Genre: Drama
One twin forms a co-dependent bond with another twin’s bereaved partner in a support group and boundaries begin to blur.
25 October
Marlon Williams: Ngā Ao E Rua – Two Worlds
Director: Ursula Grace Williams
Cast: Marlon Williams
Genre: Documentary
Documentary on New Zealand music sensation Marlon Williams and his most ambitious project to date, writing an album in te reo Māori, and the personal challenges he faces along the way. The film weaves together Williams’ different worlds, from international tours and recording the album, to life in his hometown of Ōhinehou (Lyttelton).
29 October
Anniversary
- Director: Jan Komasa
- Cast: Diane Lane, Kyle Chandler, Phoebe Dynevor
- Genre: Thriller
Ellen and Paul (Diane Lane and Kyle Chandler) witness their lives fall apart when Ellen’s former student Liz (Phoebe Dynevor) reappears and starts dating their son (Dylan O’Brien).
30 October
Journey Home, David Gulpilil
- Director: Maggie Miles, Trisha Morton-Thomas
- Cast: N/A
- Genre: Documentary
As David Gulpilil journeys back to the place of his birth, we’re given rare insight into Yolŋu culture as his family travel with him across many months as they wait for the right seasonal conditions, journeying over four and a half thousand kilometres by planes, boats, on foot, and by helicopter.
A Paw Patrol Christmas
- Director: N/A
- Cast: N/A
- Genre: Family/Animation
The Paw Patrol pups help Santa after he catches a cold, while Mayor Humdinger tries to steal all the gifts.
Bat Out of Hell: The Musical
Director: Jay Scheib
Cast: N/A
Genre: Musical
A filmed version of the rock musical based on Meat Loaf’s songs and Jim Steinman’s story. The cast of the West End production will bring Jim Steinman and Meat Loaf’s iconic anthems to life, including I’d Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That), Paradise By The Dashboard Light, Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad, Dead Ringer For Love, and, of course, Bat Out of Hell
Bugonia
- Director: Yorgos Lanthimos
- Cast: Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons
- Genre: Thriller
Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons reunite with Kinds of Kindness director Yorgos Lanthimos for this black comedy hostage film about two conspiracy obsessed young men who kidnap the high-powered CEO of a major company, convinced that she is an alien intent on destroying planet Earth. Watch the trailer.
Good Fortune
- Director: Aziz Ansari
- Cast: Seth Rogen, Keanu Reeves, Aziz Ansari
- Genre: Comedy
Keanu Reeves is a literal angel who meddles with the life of a common gig worker (Aziz Ansari, also writer and director) in this Trading Places-esque comedy co-starring Keke Palmer and Seth Rogen as a wealthy venture capitalist.
Kiss of the Spider Woman
Director: Bill Condon
Cast: Diego Luna, Jennifer Lopez, Tonatiuh
Genre: Drama/Musical
An adaptation of the Broadway musical fantasy from the Oscar-winning director of 2002’s Chicago and 2006’s Dreamgirls. Luna plays a political prisoner who shares a cell with a man convicted for public indecency. The pair build an unlikely bond over a Hollywood musical starring Ingrid Luna, portrayed by Lopez. Watch the trailer.
Shell
- Director: Max Minghella
- Cast: Kate Hudson, Elizabeth Moss
- Genre: Comedy/Horror
Down on her luck actress Samantha Lake is invited into the ultra-glamorous world of Zoe Shannon, CEO of wellness company SHELL. When SHELL patients begin to go missing, Samantha realises Zoe may be protecting a monstrous secret.
Sweat It Out!
Director: Mark Hartley
Cast: N/A
Genre: Documentary
Charts the rise and fall of the iconic Australian music scene, affectionately dubbed ‘Oz Rock’.
31 October
Residence
- Director: Matt Mirams
- Cast: Jeanette Coppolino, Ruby James, Ellie Stewart
- Genre: Horror/Comedy
The enigmatic hero, a speechless child and a ragtag motley crew journey through a zombie filled apocalyptic landscape to seek refuge in a medieval fun park whilst being pursued by an unstoppable deranged lunatic.
