Each year, the Tribeca Film Festival features movies that are relevant right now, from filmmakers of all backgrounds. Throw in a few blockbusters, and you’ve got a great event.
The 2025 Tribeca Film Festival will run from June 4-15, with screenings across venues in this NYC neighborhood. Here are a few of the most anticipated flicks scheduled to play there this year.
Billy Joel: And So It Goes
The opening night of Tribeca 2025 gets underway in style with this musical documentary. Directors Susan Lacy and Jessica Levin tell the story of pop legend Billy Joel using unseen footage and interviews.
Born in the Bronx and raised on Long Island, Joel is a local boy with a global fan base. This new film is in two parts, with Part 1 launching the festival. It’s sure to click with the New York crowd.
How to Train Your Dragon
Disney’s live-action remakes of animated movies are box office gold, Snow White excluded. DreamWorks wants a piece of this pie. That’s why we’re getting How to Train Your Dragon with real actors right now, not in 40 years.
The good news is that director Dean DeBlois remains in charge. He has mainly worked in animation, and this remake should feature plenty of that. Toothless is still CGI, while the human cast includes Mason Thames from The Black Phone and Nico Parker from Dumbo. Gerard Butler and Nick Frost join the young stars.
A sequel was recently confirmed, so the studio is confident in this first film. Don’t be surprised to see it become a live-action trilogy before 2030.
The Best You Can
Real-life couple Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick star in this complex comedy-drama. Bacon is a security guard, Sedgwick a urologist. They come from different worlds but share common ground. Their relationship isn’t romantic, but their connection is undeniable.
This genre doesn’t get the attention it once received. With the chemistry of its married leads, perhaps this will change. Written and directed by The King of Queens creator Michael J. Weithorn, The Best You Can premieres at Tribeca 2025.
Deep Cover
Comedy movies are making a comeback in 2025. The Naked Gun lands in August, and Deep Cover arrives a month earlier.
There are lots of flops in this genre. However, Amazon paid for this particular movie, and it will soon appear on Prime. Its US premiere at the Tribeca Festival will be a rare chance to see it on the big screen. So, there’s safety in having a streaming deal in place.
Bryce Dallas Howard, Orlando Bloom, and Nick Mohammed star as improv comedians. They use their skills to go undercover and bring down criminals.
It’s a silly setup and a strong cast, with Paddy Considine, Ian McShane, and Sean Bean also starring. Entering it into a festival suggests it isn’t throwaway.
Everything’s Going to Be Great
The director of Tetris and the writer of I, Tonya collaborate on this comedy-drama. It’s about a family relocation and the hurt this creates.
Bryan Cranston and Allison Janney play the parents, while Benjamin Evan Ainsworth and Jack Champion are their sons. One boy’s a jock, the other a theater kid. The title sounds ironic, but it should be a wholesome affair. Everything’s Going to Be Great has its world premiere at Tribeca and will release nationally a week later.
Twinless
Twinless aims to prove that the bromance genre isn’t just for straight people. It premiered at Sundance in January, where it received rave reviews. Now it’s bringing its unique style to Tribeca.
James Sweeney writes, directs, and stars as Dennis. He meets Roman (Dylan O’Brien) at a support group for grieving twins. It’s dark stuff, but with lots of humor and warmth as well. If you can’t attend the festival, Twinless gets a wide release this September.
K-Pops!
Rap and R&B star Anderson .Paak writes and directs his first film in K-Pops!. Pitched as a family comedy, he also stars as BJ. A struggling musician, BJ, heads to South Korea in search of K-pop fame. Here, he finds out his estranged son is already a sensation-in-waiting. Will BJ piggyback on his son’s success, or focus on being a good dad? You’ll have to watch it to see.
K-Pops! is getting its US premiere at Tribeca, although it first screened at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival. The cast also includes Yvette Nicole Brown, Diplo, and Jaden Smith. It should be a breezy bit of fun in the NYC festival’s heavyweight line-up.
Paradise Records
Another rapper with a movie at Tribeca 2025 is Logic. Again, he’s the sole writer and has a directing credit. Kevin Smith handled editing duties and is also an exec producer. This points to the movie’s slacker-stoner tone.
Logic stars as Cooper, the owner of a failing record store. All sorts of slip-ups stand between him and saving Paradise Records. Inspired by comedy flicks of the ’90s, this is another world premiere to add to the festival’s program this year.
Relay
Riz Ahmed has built a solid Hollywood career over the last decade. His latest leading man vehicle is Relay, an NYC-set thriller.
Ahmed plays Tom, a man who gets paid to protect corporate whistleblowers. His latest client, Sarah (Lily James), leaves him hunted by mercenaries. It’s a modern take on a classic high-concept formula. Fans of the Bourne franchise will want to watch this one.
Sovereign
Nick Offerman and Jacob Tremblay play father and son in a thriller influenced by true events. Offerman’s working-class outcast wants to reject the rules of an unfair society. Tremblay’s youngster wants to support his father but wishes he could live a normal life.
The film tackles its sensitive subject with care. Dennis Quaid, Nancy Travis, and Martha Plimpton also star in this Tribeca world premiere.
Reflection in a Dead Diamond
A few international movies are competing for the festival’s prize for foreign productions. Reflection in a Dead Diamond is one of them, and it looks interesting.
The plot involves a former spy reminded of his 1960s heyday when his neighbor disappears. It’s a surreal take on the classic James Bond movies, with a modern perspective. The trailer is gorgeous and disturbing. The movie makes its North American debut at Tribeca.
Queens of the Dead
Zombie maestro George A. Romero’s daughter Tina directs this horror-comedy set in an NYC warehouse party. The guests are part of the drag community, and the undead arrive to spoil their fun.
This is hardly the first film to combine zombies and comedy. That said, the unique setting should give Queens of the Dead a chance to shine. This is another world premiere taking place at the Tribeca Film Festival 2025. The ensemble cast includes Katy M. O’Brian of Love Lies Bleeding fame and Broadway star Jaquel Spivey.
YANUNI
After beginning with Billy Joel, the festival will end with a very different type of documentary from Brazil. It centers on an indigenous eco-warrior. She battles big business and landowners in the Amazon to protect her homeland. This takes place against the backdrop of the country’s changing leadership and her family life.
Having Leonardo DiCaprio listed as a producer will help YANUNI get the attention it deserves. The film is said to be as thrilling as it is eye-opening.
Try Out Tribeca
If you will be in or near NYC in June, the 2025 Tribeca Festival is worth checking out. It features hundreds of screenings and other events, and the city is a character in many of them.
Cinema isn’t the only thing that the festival highlights. It’s also the place to play the latest video games, listen to groundbreaking music, and enjoy immersive works of art. Year-round membership is affordable and includes several perks. So whatever fits your schedule, there’s something to get excited about at Tribeca.
