The 10 Most Intriguing Film Comedies of 2025
How funny is 2025 going to be?
Last year wasn’t great for comedies, with movies like The Fall Guy and IF failing at the box office. Could 2025 be a rebound? It’s possible, which inspired me to put together a list of the 10 comedies I’m most intrigued to see this year. Some are much-awaited sequels to beloved movies. Others are daring swings by acclaimed indie directors. And one of them features Tim Robinson and Paul Rudd at odds. Clearly, there’s something for everyone in 2025.
I organized my picks by release date, putting movies that don’t yet have a fixed spot on the calendar at the end in alphabetical order. But, as always, it’s a roll of the dice when you’re putting together a guide like this. I haven’t seen any of these movies, so I’m really just crossing my fingers and hoping for the best. At least on paper, though, my choices all look promising — even if that didn’t keep me from throwing in a reservation or two about a couple of these titles.
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One thing to look out for in 2025 will be the film industry’s continued de-emphasis of comedy on the big screen. If an action movie features a lot of punchlines — like Bad Boys: Ride or Die or Deadpool & Wolverine, each huge 2024 hits — then studios are interested. But the bromances, broad comedies and rom-coms that used to be staples on the release calendar have now been mostly relegated to streaming services. That’s a worrying question for the future. Hopefully the below films will produce the kind of laughs that make us forget the business’ bigger issues.
You’re Cordially Invited (January 30th)
What’s the Story? According to Prime Video, “When two weddings are accidentally booked on the same day at the same venue, each bridal party is challenged with preserving their family’s special moment while making the most of the unanticipated tight quarters. In a hilarious battle of determination and grit, the father of the bride (Will Ferrell) and sister of the other bride (Reese Witherspoon) chaotically go head-to-head as they stop at nothing to uphold an unforgettable celebration for their loved ones.”
Why Should You Care? Beyond the magnitude of the two stars, it’s encouraging that You’re Cordially Invited is written and directed by Nicholas Stoller, who’s been responsible for some memorable comedies over the last 20 years, including Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Neighbors and Bros. Still, the movie finds both Ferrell and Witherspoon at a moment of career transition. The Anchorman superstar hasn’t been part of a big hit in years — although his bittersweet documentary Will & Harper may get nominated for an Academy Award later this month — while the Oscar-winning Witherspoon has mostly focused on drama in recent times. (And her 2023 romantic comedy Your Place or Mine was the absolute pits.) You’re Cordially Invited looks like a safe, normie crowd-pleaser, but let’s hope that Ferrell and Witherspoon (who both produced the movie) bring a little extra to it.
Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy (February 13th)
What’s the Story? Now a widowed single mother, Bridget (Renée Zellweger) returns to the dating world, falling for a handsome teacher (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and a much younger man (Leo Woodall).
Why Should You Care? This is the fourth film in the series and the first since 2016’s Bridget Jones’s Baby. It’s hard to overstate what a big deal 2001’s Bridget Jones’s Diary, based on the popular 1996 novel, was at the time, making Zellweger a rom-com star. The earlier films’ Hugh Grant and Colin Firth will be making an appearance in this new sequel — Firth plays Bridget’s deceased husband and true love — but it’s a concerning sign that Mad About the Boy won’t be playing in theaters in the U.S. (It’ll only be streaming on Peacock, despite getting a theatrical release elsewhere.) Surely there are enough Bridget Jones fans that would like to see this on the big screen — especially on Valentine’s Day, right? Why are studios so resistant to putting romantic comedies — especially ones that are part of lucrative franchises — in multiplexes?
Mickey 17 (March 7th)
What’s the Story? According to the official synopsis, “The unlikely hero Mickey Barnes (Robert Pattinson) has found himself in the extraordinary circumstance of working for an employer who demands the ultimate commitment to the job… to die, for a living.”
Why Should You Care? Yes, Mickey 17 really is a comedy — and it’s the new film from writer-director Bong Joon-ho, whose last movie was the Oscar-winning Parasite. This sci-fi film, based on the Edward Ashton novel, looks like it’ll be the most madcap movie of Bong’s career, a mixture of the postapocalyptic tenor of Snowpiercer and the offbeat humor of Okja. As for Pattinson, he’s always fun when he gets weird, and in Mickey 17 he plays a dopey everyman who signs up for a menial job in which he’ll die again and again, a new clone of him created each time. The trailer makes the film, which also stars Naomi Ackie, Steven Yeun, Toni Collette and Mark Ruffalo, seem like it’s going to be extremely wacky. Will it be hilarious or exhausting?
That Untitled Kendrick Lamar/Trey Parker Comedy (July 4th)
What’s the Story? Back in 2022, this is how Deadline described the project: “The film penned by Vernon Chatman will see the past and present come to a head when a young Black man who is interning as a slave reenactor at a living history museum discovers that his white girlfriend’s ancestors once owned his.”
Why Should You Care? The movie, which still doesn’t have a title, will be the first Trey Parker has directed since 2004’s Team America: World Police, and it will be the first starring vehicle for Kendrick Lamar, who’s basically the best rapper on the planet and one of the most popular artists on Spotify. Lamar and the South Park team of Parker and Matt Stone have been working together since at least 2022, when the musician’s “The Heart Part 5” video utilized deepfake technology by Deep Voodoo, a company run by Parker and Stone. In their own worlds, Lamar and Parker are both provocateurs, so the idea of them teaming up is incredibly promising. This film, which is opening on Independence Day and is not a musical, has the potential to be a scathing political satire.
The Naked Gun (August 1st)
What’s the Story? The plot details are under wraps, but the film (which is a sequel, not a remake) stars Liam Neeson as Frank Drebin Jr.
Why Should You Care? The original film was one of the 1980s’ best comedies, helping cement Leslie Nielsen’s later-in-life career reinvention as a deadpan, slapstick genius in the role of clueless L.A. police detective Frank Drebin. Nielsen died in 2010, and even before then there was talk of a Naked Gun reboot/remake/sequel. This new film, which is directed and co-written by Akiva Schaffer of the Lonely Island, features a supporting cast that includes Pamela Anderson, Paul Walter Hauser and Kevin Durand. Sadly, however, the Airplane! team of Jerry Zucker, Jim Abrahams and David Zucker, who created the short-lived but wonderful Police Squad! television series that inspired the Naked Gun films, aren’t involved in this sequel. Seth MacFarlane, who came up with the story for this movie and serves as a producer, is, though. That’s big shoes to fill both in front of and behind the camera, although it’s worth pointing out that MacFarlane and Neeson have collaborated a couple times previously — probably most memorably in Ted 2.
Animal Friends (October 10th)
What’s the Story? We only know it’s “an R-rated road-trip adventure” and a “CG/live-action hybrid.”
Why Should You Care? You couldn’t ask for a starrier comedy cast, which includes Ryan Reynolds, Jason Momoa, Vince Vaughn, Aubrey Plaza, Dan Levy and Lil Rel Howery. Animal Friends, which is produced by Reynolds, hopes to prove that R-rated comedies still have a place in the multiplex. (In 2023, No Hard Feelings and Strays underperformed, although last year’s Deadpool & Wolverine suggested that audiences will certainly show up for a foul-mouthed, super-violent comedy — especially if they already love the characters.) Opening in October, Animal Friends is set to be smartass counterprogramming during a movie season when high-profile films like the Michael Jackson biopic Michael and Tron: Ares could rule theaters. Will there be room for a rough-and-rowdy CG/live-action hybrid?
Good Fortune (October 17th)
What’s the Story? Writer-director Aziz Ansari plays a down-on-his-luck guy who’s friends with a successful entrepreneur (Seth Rogen). A hapless angel (Keanu Reeves) visits Ansari, offering to switch bodies between the two men to show him that money doesn’t equal happiness, but things go horribly wrong.
Why Should You Care? It’s been a strange few years for the stand-up and Master of None co-creator. Ansari was a hip, popular comic before a 2018 accusation of sexual misconduct surfaced, causing him to recede from the spotlight. There have been plenty of media debates about whether the alleged incident actually constituted sexual misconduct, but what’s indisputable is that Ansari’s profile has diminished since, although he did try to put together his first big-screen directorial effort, Being Mortal, earlier this decade — only to see the project fall apart due to the movie’s star, Bill Murray, being accused of “inappropriate behavior” by a female staffer. Now comes Good Fortune, which also stars Sandra Oh, Keke Palmer and Stephen McKinley Henderson. Will this movie be Ansari’s comeback? And how much will the 2018 accusation come up during the press tour?
Friendship (TBD)
What’s the Story? According to the official synopsis, “Tim Robinson is Craig Waterman, a suburban dad whose life takes an unexpected turn when he befriends his enigmatic new neighbor, Austin Carmichael, played by Paul Rudd.”
Why Should You Care? This past year’s Toronto Film Festival didn’t boast a lot of breakout hits, but one of the buzziest titles was Friendship, which several colleagues told me was like I Think You Should Leave: The Movie. The film was actually written and directed by Andrew DeYoung, but apparently the cringe-y humor of Robinson’s Netflix series is in abundance. And after watching Rudd waste his time in those recent Ghostbusters films, it would be nice to see him in something really funny again.
Happy Gilmore 2 (TBD)
What’s the Story? Adam Sandler’s foul-tempered golfer is back.
Why Should You Care? It’s been 29 years since Happy Gilmore hit theaters, back when Sandler was still trying to convince the world that he could be a movie star and not just a Saturday Night Live sensation. In the last three decades, he’s more than proved it, and at last he’s reprising one of his most beloved characters. And, yes, Shooter McGavin (Christopher McDonald) is coming back as well. Since the late, great Bob Barker is no longer with us, I wonder what game-show host Happy will fight this time.
Materialists (TBD)
What’s the Story? Variety calls it “a New York-set rom-com following a high-end matchmaker who gets involved with a wealthy man.”
Why Should You Care? One of 2023’s best first features was the Oscar-nominated Past Lives, which was written and directed by playwright Celine Song. That drama — a meditation on luck, love and fate — made Song an arthouse sensation, but for her follow-up, it appears she’ll be working in a more mainstream, romantic-comedy vein. (Apparently, the film is inspired by her love of James L. Brooks.) Materialists stars Dakota Johnson, Chris Evans and Pedro Pascal, and while there isn’t much known about the plot, that cast and that filmmaker is more than enough to get anyone excited. We haven’t had a smart, sophisticated rom-com in far too long — here’s hoping that Materialists, like all of the other movies on this list, delivers the goods.