It can be tough to determine if film festival buzz will translate to the box office. Earlier this year Kevin Costner’s Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 garnered attention at Cannes, only to bomb when it was released in theaters. That said, movie fans aren’t any less weary about marquee festivals. The 2024 Venice Film Festival kicks off this week. The glamorous affair has a bevvy of films vying for attention—including Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 2. Below are five films in competition to keep your eye on.
JOKER: FOLIE À DEUX
In 2019, Todd Phillips’s Joker premiered in competition at the Venice Film Festival, winning the Golden Lion (the festival’s highest honor). It went on to be a box-office smash and earn 11 Oscar nominations, with Joaquin Phoenix winning “Best Actor.” Phillips and Phoenix are back, and joined by Lady Gaga, in this hotly anticipated sequel that is rumored to be a musical.
MARIA
After successfully handling biopics of Princess Diana (Spencer), Jackie Kennedy Onassis (Jackie), and Pablo Neruda (Neruda), Pablo Larraín is setting his sights on the world of opera. Maria stars Angelina Jolie as the famed soprano Maria Callas in her final days. Given that Callas’s life was filled with drama—including leaving her husband to be with Aristotle Onassis, who would eventually leave her for Jackie—the movie is almost guaranteed to be, ahem, operatic.
BABYGIRL
Nicole Kidman is on a roll this season—a thrilling one at that. In addition to Netflix’s upcoming murder mystery drama The Perfect Couple, she also stars in Babygirl, the story of a high-powered CEO who begins an affair with her much younger intern. In a recent interview with Vanity Fair, she calls the movie one of the most “exposing” she’s ever done. “There’s something in me going, Okay, this was made for the big screen and to be seen with people,” she said. “But then I’m like, That’s a high-wire act. I’m not sure I have that much bravery.”
THE ROOM NEXT DOOR
Pedro Almodóvar’s long, storied career has primarily featured Spanish-language films—until now. The Room Next Door is the director’s first feature in English. The story follows Ingrid and Martha, two writers who were once close, but whose careers took them down different paths. Now, after many years, they reunite. The cast is packed with stars, including Tilda Swinton, Julianne Moore, and John Turturro.
QUEER
Earlier this year, writer/director Luca Guadagnino had a hit with Challengers. Will his follow-up, Queer, entice audiences the same way? We’re betting yes. For one thing, the film—which stars Daniel Craig, Lesley Manville, and Jason Schwartzman—is based on a William S. Burroughs novel of the same name. The story follows William Lee, an American expat in Mexico City in 1950, whose life is changed when he meets a student named Eugene Allerton. If fans still aren’t sold yet, it’s worth noting that the film’s music is composed by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, while the costumes were created by fashion designer Jonathan Anderson—all of whom worked on Challengers.
