Five April 2025 movies I’m excited to watch in movie theaters

Michael B. Jordan in Sinners (Image credit: Warner Bros. Pictures)

It can be easy and quite relaxing to just stay in and watch a movie, new or old, from the comfort of your own couch. But when you see a good movie on the big screen, there’s something extra special about the experience. Looking ahead at the 2025 new movies coming to movie theaters in April, there are definitely a number of titles that I think could create those kinds of experiences.

Though the weather is getting warmer, we’re not quite at the summer blockbuster phase just yet (that is going to kick off in earnest with Marvel’s Thunderbolts in early May). Still, there are a number of big-budget movies coming this month that will warrant your attention. Below you’ll find the five movies coming to US movie theaters in April I’m most excited about (we’ll note if they have a different release date for the UK) and why they’re worth the price of a movie ticket (though if you’re looking to save some money, movie theater subscriptions and memberships are good things to explore).

I’ve included a full list of the 2025 April movie release schedule so you can know when a movie you’re interested, but I haven't mentioned, debuts. But first, here are the five April 2025 movies I can’t wait to watch (by order of release date):

The Amateur (April 11 everywhere)

Rami Malek in The Amateur (Image credit: John Wilson/20th Century Studios)

Slow Horses is one of my favorite TV shows right now, so I am very intrigued to see what James Hawes, who directed all of Slow Horses season 1, gets to do in the big-screen spy thriller The Amateur. Rami Malek stars as a CIA decoder who is compelled to head into the field to track down the group that was responsible for the terrorist attack that killed his wife. While this scrawny analyst is not your typical CIA asset, he uses the skills he does have to take down his targets. Malek is joined in the movie by Rachel Brosnahan, Jon Bernthal, Michael Stuhlbarg, Holt McCallany, Julianne Nicholson and Laurence Fishburne. Any spy fan is going to want to check this one out.

FYI, The Amateur, based on the book of the same name by Robert Littell, is actually a remake. If you’re interested before or after seeing the movie, the 1981 version of The Amateur is streaming on Hulu in the US; via digital on-demand in the UK.

Warfare (April 11 US, TBD UK)

The cast of Warfare — (Image credit: Murray Close/A24)

My anticipation for Alex Garland’s new movie rose when the Warfare Rotten Tomatoes score was revealed on March 28, as the movie is scoring solidly in the 90th percentile with the critics that have seen it. Garland, whose Ex Machina and Annihilation are two of my favorite sci-fi movies of the last decade, co-directed with real-life Iraqi War veteran Ray Mendoza to bring what is being described as one of the most brutal, realistic battle scenes to the big screen. And I mean the biggest screen, as Warfare is going to be playing on IMAX screens where available. This one definitely won’t be for the faint of heart, but early indications are this is the kind of movie the theatrical experience was made for.

Sinners (April 18 everywhere)

Two Michael B. Jordans in Sinners (Image credit: Warner Bros. Pictures)

Michael B. Jordan and Ryan Coogler have proven to be a fantastic team, having worked together on great movies Fruitvale Station, Creed and Black Panther. Any time these two get together is going to get me pumped, and that is without a doubt the case with Sinners. Jordan is playing dual roles as twin brothers who are putting on a party in the early 20th-century South, only for a great evil to put their lives in jeopardy. Joining Jordan in the movie are Hailee Steinfeld, Jack O’Connell, Wunmi Mosaku, Li Jun Li, Omar Benson Miller and Delroy Lindo. A mix of action and horror, there should be plenty of entertainment on display here.

The Wedding Banquet (April 18 US, TBD UK)

Han Gi-chan and Bowen Yang in The Wedding Banquet (Image credit: Sundance Film Festival)

If spy thrillers, action or action/horror movies aren’t your thing, don’t worry, there are other options this month. Perhaps best among them is The Wedding Banquet, which stars SNL’s Bowen Yang, Killers of the Flower Moon's Lily Gladstone and Star Wars’ Kelly Marie Train in an indie romantic comedy. The movie, a remake of an Ang Lee movie from the 90s, centers on two couples, one gay and one lesbian, who decide to help each other out by faking a heterosexual marriage for a conservative relative. After premiering at this year’s Sundance, where it got reviews that currently have it at a 96% “Fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes, audiences will get the chance to fall in love with it this month.

The Legend of Ochi (April 25 everywhere)

Helena Zengel in The Legend of Ochi (Image credit: Courtesy of A24)

There’s a reason why we remember movies like E.T. and The Goonies so fondly — they have a certain magic quality that may be primarily aimed at kids but can resonate no matter how old you are. When I watch the trailer for The Legend of Ochi that is exactly the kind of feeling that I get. Part of that is definitely the titular creature, the Ochi, being done practically, which just elicits memories of the old school moviemaking that I grew up on. The movie may lean toward a slightly younger audience, but this could be a movie that the whole family enjoys.

Those are my personal picks, but take a look at what other movies are releasing in April to find out what you are going to want to see in movie theaters (all dates based on US release schedule):

April 4

April 11