Yorgos Lanthimos fans already knew his latest film “Bugonia” would be on the way the year. But now Focus Features has an official theatrical release date set for the film: October 24 in limited NYC and LA theaters, with a nationwide expansion on October 31.
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That all but guarantees a Fall film festival world premiere for the picture, much like “Poor Things” had at Venice two years ago. Of course, that’s not guaranteed, but it’d make sense, given both Lanthimos’ status and the potential that “Bugonia” will be another awards season favorite for the director and Focus. Expect there to be additional screenings of the film at other Fall festivals too, like TIFF, BFI London, NYRR, etc.
A remake of Bong Joon Ho‘s “Save The Green Planet!,” “Bugonia” sees two conspiracy-obsessed young men kidnap the high-powered CEO of a major company, convinced she’s an alien intent on destroying Earth. The film stars Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, Aidan Delbis, Stavros Halkias, and Alicia Silverstone. Lanthimos directs a screenplay by “The Menu” and “Succession” scribe Will Tracy. Producers on the film inlcude Ed Guieny and Andrew Lowe via Element Pictures, Lanthimos via Pith, Stone via Fruit Tree, Ari Aster and Lars Knudsen via Square Peg, and Miky Lee and Jerry Kyoungboum Ko via CJ ENM.
So will “Bugonia” be a relative return to form for Lanthimos after the lukewarm reception of last year’s “Kinds Of Kindness“? Focus certainly hopes so, as the director’s latest is one of their biggest releases of 2025. The studio expects “Bugonia” to contend for awards next winter alongside Chloé Zhao‘s “Hamnet” and Wes Anderson‘s “The Phonecian Scheme.” Other Focus Features releases this calendar year include Craig Brewer‘s “Song Sung Blue,” Ronan Day-Lewis‘ “Anemone,” Ethan Coen‘s “Honey Don’t!,” and “Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale.”
Stay tuned for a trailer for “Bugonia” sometime this summer.
