Every Studio Film Directed by Female Filmmakers Coming Out in 2025 and 2026

The question comes up whenever we publish this list (and, to wit, please enjoy iterations of this list from 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, and 2017): Why only studio movies? Isn’t this IndieWire?

But here’s the thinking: For most moviegoers and for many filmmakers, helming a studio-backed film (or, in more IW parlance, a movie you’re not selling your own car to finance) is the pinnacle of a career, or at least the pinnacle of visibility (hence, why we’ve also invoked moviegoers in our assessment). Getting the chance to helm a studio feature is, of course, not the golden ticket for any director. It’s not the end-all, be-all. It may not even be a goal for many filmmakers.

By looking at this portion of the release calendar (and all the box office bucks that come with it), we can get a sense of who Hollywood is letting into its most rarefied spaces. And that matters.

As we’ve too often discovered in the making of this list (or its companion, a list of studio films directed by filmmakers of color coming out in the next two years), that landscape isn’t really changing. While the most recent USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative study does not quite show a decline in inclusion, it does reveal that the progress in finding, elevating, and hiring Hollywood directors who are not white men has plateaued.

Of 112 directors analyzed as part of the pool (for the top 100 grossing movies of 2024), 13.4 percent or 15 were women, nearly equivalent to 2023’s 12.1 percent. Though there has been progress since 2007, when 2.7 percent of directors were women, in 18 years, only 6.5 percent of directors were women. Our first crack at this year’s list (including the “Big Five,” plus mini-majors Lionsgate and MGM) isn’t too exciting or edifying. While there are a number of exciting new films from female filmmakers (and lots of horror offerings, especially), as of this writing, there are no women directing films like, oh, the next run of Marvel movies or the latest iteration of the DC universe.

As ever, there is plenty of room for growth on this list, especially as the 2025 festival season kicks off later this month at Sundance, offering potentially hungry studios the chance to purchase new films that have already been made. There is nothing I personally love more than adding more titles to this list.

Below is a list of even more upcoming titles directed by women, organized by studio. The films listed all have a set release date (or have at least been announced as officially coming out in 2025 or 2026). We will update as new films are added to (and sometimes removed from) various slates. As of this writing, there are 14 films directed or co-directed by women in the studio offing. Unless otherwise specified, release dates pertain to traditional theatrical distribution.

This article was first published on January 16, 2025.

Lionsgate

“Wish You Were Here,” directed by Julia Stiles, January 17, 2025

“F*** Marry Kill,” directed by Laura Murphy, March 2025

“Freaky Tales,” directed by Anna Boden (with Ryan Fleck), April 4, 2025

MGM

None

Paramount Pictures

“Aang: The Last Airbender,” directed by Lauren Montgomery (with William Mata), January 20, 2026

Sony Pictures Entertainment and Sony Pictures Classics

“Jane Austen Wrecked My Life,” directed by Laura Piani, May 2025

Untitled “I Know What You Did Last Summer” sequel, directed by Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, July 18, 2025

“28 Years Later: The Bone Temple,” directed by Nia DaCosta, January 16, 2026

Universal Pictures and Focus Features

“Five Nights at Freddy’s 2,” directed by Emma Tammi, December 5, 2025

“Hamnet,” directed by Chloé Zhao, 2025

“SOULM8TE,” directed by Kate Dolan, January 2, 2026

Walt Disney Pictures

“Freakier Friday,” directed by Nisha Ganatra, August 8, 2025

“Swiped,” directed by Rachel Lee Goldenberg, 2025

Warner Bros.

“The Bride!,” directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal, September 26, 2025

“Wuthering Heights,” directed by Emerald Fennell, February 13, 2026