By John Corrado

New releases for the week of December 12th, 2025.

Theatrical Releases:

Ella McCay (Wide Release): Iconic writer-director James L. Brooks returns with his first movie in fifteen years. Emma Mackey stars as the titular character, a young woman thrust into the role of governor while dealing with family drama. Jamie Lee Curtis, Albert Brooks, Woody Harrelson and other familiar faces round out the ensemble cast. I had high hopes for this one, but it unfortunately can’t hold a candle to Brooks’ classics like Broadcast News, Terms of Endearment and As Good As It Gets. Still, it does have an old school charm to it at times. (Full Review)

Dust Bunny (Limited Release): A young girl (Sophie Sloan) hires her mysterious hitman neighbour (Mads Mikkelsen) to kill the monster under her bed in this feature directorial debut from TV creator Bryan Fuller (Hannibal), that premiered at Midnight Madness during TIFF. I found it to be pretty enjoyable as a dark children’s fantasy film. (Full Review)

Silent Night, Deadly Night (Wide Release): This shot-in-Manitoba remake of the 1984 holiday slasher cult classic features Halloween Ends breakout star Rohan Campbell in the role of Billy Chapman, the serial killer dressed like Santa Claus. It’s hard to imagine this one causing anything close to the same stir as the original did forty years ago, but it’s a pretty decent modern slasher flick that has some fun riffing on Hallmark movie tropes. I don’t have much more to say other than that this is a pretty good (and gory) little horror flick that provides a decent option for genre fans in search of some twisted holiday counter-programming.

More Releases: Resurrection (TIFF Lightbox), La Grazia (Limited), Not Without Hope (Limited), H is for Hawk (Limited), Sinners: IMAX 70mm re-release (Limited), One Battle After Another: IMAX 70mm re-release (Limited), The Shining: The IMAX Experience (Limited), Dr. Seuss’ How The Grinch Stole Christmas: 25th Anniversary (Limited)

Streaming Releases:

Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery (Netflix): Rian Johnson’s latest whodunnit is now streaming following its brief run in theatres. Daniel Craig reprises his role as detective Benoit Blanc, supporting by an excellent Josh O’Connor as a young priest. I enjoyed this one when I saw it at TIFF, and it’s worth checking out for fans of the series. (TIFF 2025 Review)

More Releases: F1: The Movie (Apple TV+), Merv (Prime Video), Man vs Baby (Netflix), The Mastermind (MUBI), Taylor Swift: The End of an Era (Disney+), Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour | The Final Show (Disney+)