The most exciting films at the Venice Film Festival 2024

Awards season is back in style with the Venice Film Festival, which promises to be another star-studded affair thanks to the array of movies set to premiere at the event.

From exciting blockbusters to A-list led dramas, and the latest films from some of best filmmakers around, there is a lot to look forward to at this year's Venice Film Festival. The 81st edition of the event will be taking place from Wednesday, 28 August until Saturday, 7 September.

Ahead of the big event, here are the movies that you should be looking out for.

Joker: Folie a Deux

The forthcoming sequel to Joker is having its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival, the 2019 film won the Golden Lion at Venice and could well repeat this success again with its follow up. The film marks the return of Joaquin Phoenix as Arthur Fleck, and he will be joined by Lady Gaga who takes on the role of Harley Quinn.

Joker 2 is set to do things a little differently this time around, with the narrative to include musical numbers and performances from its lead cast. Of all the films set to premiere at the festival, Joker 2 is the one that is likely to generate the most buzz.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

Tim Burton's return to the world of Beetlejuice is the opening film of the festival, getting a grand celebration at the event ahead of its worldwide release in cinemas.

The film sees Michael Keaton return to the role of the crass, cheeky ghoul himself Betelgeuse, with his original co-stars Winona Ryder and Catherine O'Hara. They will be joined by Jenna Ortega, who plays Lydia Deetz's daughter Astrid, as well as Willem Dafoe and Monica Belluci.

Queer

Luca Guadagnino returns to the director's chair for Queer, a heartfelt LGBTQ+ drama led by Daniel Craig and starring Lesley Manville, Jason Schwartzman, Drew Starkey and Henrique Zaga. The film is based on William S. Burroughs' novel of the same name, and sees Guadagnino reunite with his Challengers co-writer Justin Kuritzkes.

Given the power of Challengers' script and execution it's likely that Queer will be another intense and enticing viewing experience.

Maria

Angelina Jolie returns to the spotlight for a biopic of opera diva Maria Callas. The film has been helmed by Pablo Larraín in a script penned by Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight, and given Larraín's success with biopics like Jackie and Spencer it may prove to be another hit for the Chilean director.

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Jolie will be joined in the film by Kodi Smit-McPhee, Haluk Bilginer, Pierfrancesco Favino, Alba Rohrwacher and Valeria Golino.

The Room Next Door

Famed auteur Pedro Almodóvar returns to the Venice Film Festival with his first English-language feature film, The Room Next Door. The film stars his frequent collaborator Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore, Swinton plays a war reporter who seeks help from a novelist (Moore) with her strained relationship with her daughter.

Babygirl

Nicole Kidman has described Babygirl as being the most "exposing" movie of her career, the erotic thriller sees her star opposite Harris Dickinson as a CEO who puts her career and family life on the line when she begins an affair with a young intern.

The film also stars Sophie Wilde and Antonio Banderas, and Kidman told Vanity Fair that some of the scenes she had to film for the production were "something you do and hide in your home videos" that are "not a thing that normally is going to be seen by the world."

The Brutalist

Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, and Joe Alwyn star in The Brutalist, the latest film from Venice festival alum Brady Corbet. The film follows architect László Toth and his wife Erzsébet as they flee post-war Europe to try and build a life in America whose lives are changed forever by a stranger they meet.

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Wolfs

George Clooney and Brad Pitt reunite in Wolfs, Apple TV+'s new action-packed thriller about two fixers assigned to the same job. The film is directed by Jon Watts, who helmed Spider-Man: No Way Home, and such is the support behind the movie that a sequel is already in the works — it must be good.

Broken Rage

Japanese film legend Takeshi Kitano returns to the director's chair for Broken Rage, a film told in two parts — the first is a gritty action thriller about a hitman's struggle to survive when he is stuck between the police and yakuza. The second film transforms the movie into a comedy, parodying the first narrative scene by scene.

It's quite an unexpected narrative and one that has certainly peaked our interests, and with Kitano starring alongside Shogun's Tadanobu Asano and Nao Ômori it's likely to be an interesting watch.

Disclaimer

Wolfs isn't the only Apple TV+ title to screen at Venice, as Alfonso Cuarón’s Apple TV+ series Disclaimer is also premiering all seven episodes at the festival. The TV series stars Cate Blanchett as Catherine Ravenscroft, a journalist whose work has seen her reveal the transgressions of others only to receive a book from an unknown author that exposes all of her secrets.