The South by Southwest Film Festival and Mega Conference kicks off this week in Austin, boasting another stellar lineup. Though not considered a top stop to earn award-season gold, the Texas fest has emerged as one of the premier places for filmmakers to have their films showcased before the box office — and sometimes awards season — run. A few years ago, Everything Everywhere All at Once catapulted into the mainstream largely due to the raucous South by Southwest screening before it became the first Best Picture Oscar winner to have premiered at the festival. Last year, Alex Garland’s Civil War premiered in Austin before becoming A24’s highest-grossing film.
This year, the folks behind the annual Austin Mega Conference have another marquee list of impressive star talent and many of the most talked about and anticipated films of the 2025 slate. Here are the most buzzworthy titles we think folks will be talking about. Also, be sure to check back next week when we release our scorecard of all the films that premiered at South by Southwest ranked by Tomatometer.
What are you looking forward to seeing out of SXSW? Let us know in the comments.
The Accountant 2 (2025)
Our first pick is The Accountant 2, the long-awaited follow-up to the fan-favorite 2016 action thriller starring Ben Affleck, Jon Bernthal, Anna Kendrick, and JK Simmons. The Accountant was a modest hit but went on to achieve an almost cult-light status, with many agreeing it was an underrated gem of a thriller with a top-notch performance from Affleck. Bernthal and Affleck have long talked about wanting to collaborate on a sequel, and nine years later, we are finally here. In the film, Affleck again plays an autistic mercenary who provides accounting services for criminals while dispensing lethal justice to those who cross him. Unlike the events of the first film, Bernthal and Affleck look to spend much of the screen time together, searching for whoever killed an allied Federal Agent, Ray King (JK Simmons).
Death of a Unicorn (2025)
Death of a Unicorn features Richard E. Grant, Paul Rudd, Jenna Ortega, and Will Poulter in a madcap dark fantasy comedy about a murderous Unicorn seeking revenge. A clever balance between Jurassic Park and Triangle of Sadness, Death of a Unicorn asks, if the mythical Unicorn is real and it has the power to heal anyone, what would happen if a group of the worst people in the world was first to discover it? From the trailer, we spy a father (Rudd) and daughter(Ortega) unknowingly hitting said unicorn, setting up a battle between them and their wealthy companions to avoid dire consequences of retribution for their hubris to capture the creature.
Another Simple Favor (2025)
Our next title, Another Simple Favor, is buzzworthy for both on-screen and off-screen reasons. The original A Simple Favor was written and directed by Paul Feig and starred Anna Kendrick as Stephanie, a suburban mommy blogger who discovers her supposed new BFF and neighbor, Emily ( Blake Lively), harbors a murderous secret she must uncover. The comedy action thriller dripped with wit and style and became an instant box office smash, with many praying for a sequel. That sequel took years to materialize, and Lively has recently become embroiled in a very public legal battle surrounding her involvement in It Ends with Us. So now, whether due to the drama-hungry looky-loos, the fans of the cast, or the impeccably tailored suits, the film’s premiere on Friday night in Austin will likely be the toughest ticket in town. For the sequel, Emily (Lively) has seemingly escaped prison and is set to marry again in Italy. Naturally, she invites her former pal Stephanie to be her maid of honor, setting up for an eventful wedding day. Drama aside, we’ve been anxiously anticipating this one for a long time, but we’d be lying if we didn’t admit that the addition of Michele Morrone playing Lively’s new fiancee substantially increased our… interest.
Drop (2025)
Another film we’re looking forward to is Drop, starring Meghann Fahy and 1923 star Brandon Sklenar. Drop boasts an instant ticket purchase premise: Fahy plays a single mom freshly out on the dating scene who, on her very first date in several years, gets a mysterious Airdrop that threatens harm to her family unless she kills her date. If that logline has you hooked, you are not alone. A recent featurette gave us more details that excited us even more. The fact that we have Christopher Landon — the incredible director behind the Happy Death Day films and writer of the recent Heart Eyes — behind the camera makes us think this horror film will have the SXSW crowds riveted.
The Studio (Apple TV+)
Next up, we have one of the few episodic premieres of the South by Southwest — The Studio. The Studio, which stars Seth Rogen, Kathryn Hahn, and Catherine O’Hara, centers on Rogen playing an embattled studio head who, freshly anointed into the job, must deal with egos, politics, release dates, and an ever-increasing crop of films that makes him forget precisely why he wanted to be a studio head in the first place. One part Entourage, one part Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Studio looks to take an inside peek into Hollywood and skewer it for all of its absurdity. At this point, Rogen and his frequent collaborator Evan Goldberg, who produce and take turns directing the episodes throughout the series, have plenty of real-life experience to draw from as two of Hollywood’s most prolific producers (Invincible, The Boys, Superbad).
Holland (2025)
Holland is thriller starring Nicole Kidman as a teacher whose idyllic life with her husband tumbles into a twisted tale when she becomes suspicious of his intentions. This looks to be another example of Kidman continuing to find new and exciting roles with exciting female directors. If the film has any of the thriller and sex-forward content that we saw in Babygirl, you have our tickets to Holland, Ms. Kidman, and we’ll be sure to recite the AMC ad right before it plays — even in Austin.
Fucktoys (2025)
Next up for our buzzworthy titles, we have Fucktoys, a grindhouse adventure set in Trash Town, USA. In this one, we follow a raucous group on an odyssey across a dreary landscape of smut, filth, and psychedelics. For this one, the title, the addition of New Orleans’ legendary performer Big Freedia, and the zany vibes had us sat, unseen.
The Dutchman (2025)
Finally, we have The Dutchman, starring André Holland, Kate Mara, Zazie Beetz, and Aldis Hodge. The Dutchman follows a high-flying Black businessman who struggles through his crumbling marriage and identity crisis when he suddenly encounters a mysterious, femme-fatale white woman on the New York subway. It’s an adaptation of a 1964 play by Amiri Baraka, which was initially turned into a 1967 feature starring Al Freeman Jr., and we are interested to see how director Andre Gaines updates the premise for modern audiences. Holland, who’s known for engaging and dynamic performances full of pathos, really had us sold on this one, but we’ll be excited to see what the South by Southwest crowd thinks of a more muted, albeit likely thrilling, dramatic feature.
Thumbnail image by ©Amazon MGM Studios
