From a John Wick spin-off to the live-action adaptation of a beloved animated feature, the lineup of films hitting theatres this week offers a variety of content. Here’s everything you need to know about the movies releasing in cinemas this Friday.
Ballerina (English)
Directed by: Len Wiseman
Cast: Ana de Armas, Keanu Reeves, Gabriel Byrne, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Norman Reedus
An action-packed addition to the John Wick universe, Ballerina is set between Chapter 3 and Chapter 4. The story follows Eve (Ana de Armas), a ballerina-trained assassin raised by the Ruska Roma, as she defies orders to seek vengeance against the mysterious Cult that tore her family apart. Her journey takes her from New York to Prague and the deadly town of Hallstatt, as she unravels buried secrets and confronts shocking truths about her past.
Materialists (English)
Directed by: Celine Song
Cast: Dakota Johnson, Chris Evans, Pedro Pascal
Set in New York City, Materialists follows Lucy (Dakota Johnson), an ambitious matchmaker whose personal life begins to mirror the romantic entanglements she pursues for her clients. Torn between two vastly different men — Harry (Pedro Pascal), a wealthy bachelor with effortless charm, and John (Chris Evans), her struggling actor-ex trying to make amends — Lucy is caught in an emotional tug-of-war that plays out with sharp wit. This is Celine Song’s second directorial after the critically-acclaimed 2023 drama Past Lives.
How To Train Your Dragon (English)
Directed by: Dean DeBlois
Cast: Mason Thames, Nico Parker, Gerard Butler, Gabriel Howell, Julian Dennison, Bronwyn James
This live-action adaptation of the 2010 animated classic How to Train Your Dragon is set on the island of Berk, a land long divided by conflict between Vikings and dragons. Amid this age-old animosity, young Hiccup (Mason Thames), son of Chief Stoick the Vast (Gerard Butler), breaks with tradition. Instead of slaying a dragon, he forms an unexpected friendship with Toothless, a rare Night Fury dragon. Their growing bond not only upends Hiccup’s destiny but also forces the Viking world to rethink everything they believed about dragons.
The Ritual (English)
Directed by: David Midell
Cast: Al Pacino, Dan Stevens, Abigail Cowen, Ashley Greene, Patricia Heaton
Directed by David Midell, The Ritual is a horror drama based on real-life events. Set in 1928 Iowa, it follows two Catholic priests — veteran exorcist Theophilus Riesinger (Al Pacino) and the skeptical, grief-stricken Joseph Steiger (Dan Stevens) — as they are called upon to help Emma Schmidt (Abigail Cowen), a young woman showing signs of possession. As the priests confront unexplainable phenomena and unearth deep-rooted trauma, they must grapple with their own doubts, faith, and emotional scars.
Pokkhirajer Dim (Bengali)
Directed by: Soukarya Ghosal
Cast: Anirban Bhattacharya, Mahabrata Basu, Anumegha Banerjee
Set in the fictional village of Akashgunj, Pokkhirajer Dim is a fantasy adventure film that revolves around a schoolboy named Ghoton (played by Mahabrata Basu), who stumbles upon a mythical stone buried inside an old, forgotten temple. With the help of his eccentric science teacher, Batabyal Sir (by Anirban Bhattacharya), and his steadfast friend, Poppins (by Anumegha Banerjee), he soon discovers the stone’s supernatural power: it can unearth hidden emotions.
Aapish (Bengali)
Directed by: Sudeshna Roy, Abhijit Guha
Cast: Sudipta Chakraborty, Sandipta Sen, Kinjal Nanda and Tathagata Chowdhury
Based on a story by Bani Basu, Aapish explores the intersecting lives of two women — one from a corporate world (played by Sandipta Sen) and the other from a marginalised background (played by Sudipta Chakraborty), employed as the nanny to the former’s child. Despite their contrasting social positions, the two women grapple with similar struggles — the daily battles of womanhood in a deeply patriarchal society that often measures a woman’s worth through narrow, outdated lenses.
Grihapravesh (Bengali)
Directed by: Indraadip Dasgupta
Cast: Subhashree Ganguly, Kaushik Ganguly, Sohini Sengupta, Jeetu Kamal, Rudranil Ghosh
Indraadip Dasgupta returns to the director’s chair with Grihapravesh, a poignant drama revolving around a woman (played by Subhashree) abandoned by her husband the morning after their wedding. Left to live with her in-laws, played by Kaushik Ganguly and Sohini Sengupta, she fulfills her responsibilities with silent resilience. However, their life is thrown into an upheaval with the arrival of a paying guest, Meghdoot (Jeetu Kamal), in the house.