The 11 must-watch indie movies this summer

Dakota Johnson and Pedro Pascal sitting in a restaurant booth in Materialists

Dakota Johnson and Pedro Pascal in Materialists (Image credit: Atsushi Nishijima/A24)

Worried that the next few months of the summer blockbuster season won’t bring anything but superheroes, horror, animated movies and broad comedy to the big screen? While those big-budget extravaganzas will make most of the headlines, there are going to be a number of “indie” movies that you can enjoy this summer.

While I always enjoy a good popcorn flick (see my 13 blockbusters movies picks for this summer), I can get just as excited (if not more) for these alternate summer picks. And the 2025 new movie slate for this summer has plenty of good ones to choose from. That includes new movies from established filmmakers like Wes Anderson, Darren Aronofsky, Ari Aster, Ethan Coen, Spike Lee and Celine Song, as well as ones from emerging/first-time filmmakers ready to break out.

Many of these come from smaller, indie film labels, while others do have the backing of major studios but don’t have the budget that resembles the gross domestic product of a country, which at least gives them the indie spirit.

Ultimately, they’re movies that likely won’t set the box office on fire (though how refreshing it would be for some of these to become notable hits), but they are going to be some of the more interesting and engrossing new movies available to watch on the big screen all summer.

So without further ado, here are the 11 indie movies you can watch in summer 2025 that I am most excited about:

11. Weapons (August 8)

Julia Garner looking terrified lying in bed in the dark in Weapons — Julia Garner in Weapons (Image credit: Warner Bros. Pictures)

Horror movies aren't my go-to choice, they usually require a strong word of mouth for me to be interested. While Weapons doesn’t have that yet on a count as it hasn’t been seen, Zach Cregger’s previous movie, Barbarians, certainly had that (though that one is admittedly still on my watch list, which I hope to remedy before Weapons comes out).

Cregger’s latest stars Julia Garner, Josh Brolin and Benedict Wong, with the mysterious premise of what happens when all but one child from an elementary school class goes missing on the same night at the exact same time.

10. Friendship (May 9)

Tim Robinson sitting at a drum kit in Friendship — Tim Robinson in Friendship (Image credit: Courtesy of A24)

The juxtaposition of how A24 has been marketing Friendship has me fascinated. The way the trailer for the movie is cut and scored makes it feel like a dark thriller, but at the same time quotes from critics call it one of the funniest things they’ve seen in a while.

This isn’t going to be your traditional broad comedy, which should be no surprise considering it stars Tim Robinson, who’s made a name for himself as one of the more unique comedy voices working right now.

9. Sorry, Baby (June 27)

Eva Victor in Sorry, Baby (Image credit: Sundance Film Festival)

This was the first time since 2020 that I wasn’t able to see a few movies as part of the Sundance Film Festival (most years virtually, outside of my trip to Park City in 2020), but that has only made me more eager to catch up with many of the movies that had fest attendees buzzing.

One of the most talked about movies was Sorry, Baby, the debut feature from Eva Victor that won Sundance’s Waldo Salt Screenplay Award and has a 95% “Fresh” Rotten Tomatoes score as of publication. The movie follows a college professor who, with the help of others, tries to cope after a bad event in her life.

8. Honey Don’t! (August 22)

Margaret Qualley in Honey Don't! — (Image credit: Focus Features)

Ethan Coen continues his solo directing career with his new movie Honey Don’t!, a dark comedy crime thriller. One half of the iconic Coen Brothers, Ethan Coen’s first solo directing outing was 2024’s Drive-Away Dolls, which I thoroughly enjoyed. This time he reteams with his wife Tricia Cooke on the screenplay and with Drive-Away Dolls star Margaret Qualley, who will play the main character of Honey O’Donahue, a small town private investigator looking into a string of strange deaths.

Aubrey Plaza, Charlie Day, Billy Eichner and Chris Evans also star in the movie. I honestly don't know if/when we'll get another Coen Brothers movie, so it's good to see that Ethan Coen is still bringing part of the brothers' unique sensibilities to audiences.

7. The Life of Chuck (June 6)

Tom Hiddleston in The Life of Chuck (Image credit: Neon)

This Stephen King adaptation is more in the lines of The Shawshank Redemption than Carrie, as The Life of Chuck tells the life story of the titular Chuck, played by the combination of Tom Hiddleston, Jacob Tremblay and Benjamin Pajak in three different chapters of his life.

The rest of the supporting cast is pretty stellar too, consisting of Matthew Lillard, Karen Gillan, David Dastmalchian, Annalise Basso, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Kate Siegel, Mia Sara, Samantha Sloyan, Nick Offerman, Carl Lumbly, Rahul Kohli, Harvey Guillen and Mark Hamill. The movie got some solid notices after playing the film festival circuit last fall, as it's currently "Fresh" on Rotten Tomatoes.

6. The Roses (August 29)

Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman in The Roses (Image credit: Jaap Buitendijk/Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures)

Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman star in the falling out of love movie The Roses. A new take on the novel "The War of the Roses" by Warren Adler (previously adapted for the 1989 movie of the same name starring Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner), The Roses is a comedy about a married couple going through a tough divorce after the husband’s life comes crashing down. With a script by Oscar-nominee Tony McNamara and a cast that also includes Allison Janney, Andy Samberg, Kate McKinnon and Ncuti Gatwa, this is the type of adult-driven movie we often claim we don’t get any more.

5. Eddington (July 18)

Joaquin Phoenix and Pedro Pascal in Eddington (Image credit: Courtesy of A24)

Ari Aster burst onto the scene with his psychological horror movies Hereditary and Midsommar, but this latest is looking at a new kind of horror — the year 2020. Eddington stars Joaquin Phoenix and Pedro Pascal as a small town sheriff and mayor, respectively, whose clash leads to growing tension in their town in the spring of 2020.

Emma Stone, Austin Butler, Luke Grimes, Micheal Ward and Clifton Collins also star in the movie, which is playing in competition at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival before it premieres in movie theaters.

4. Caught Stealing (August 29)

Matt Smith with a Mohawk and Austin Butler walking on a boardwalk in Caught Stealing — Matt Smith and Austin Butler in Caught Stealing (Image credit: Niko Tavernise/Sony Pictures Entertainment)

Though I was not the biggest fan of The Whale, I still always get excited when Darren Aronofsky has a new movie out. With Caught Stealing, the director teases how he was looking for a fun project after most of his filmography has been emotionally devastating or traumatizing (but often brilliantly done).

Based on the novel by Charlie Huston (with the author adapting his own book), Caught Stealing stars Austin Butler as a former baseball player that gets mixed up in the criminal underbelly of 1990s New York City. A crime thriller comedy from Aronofsky, yeah, I’ll be there opening weekend.

3. Highest 2 Lowest (August 22)

Denzel Washington sitting on the subway in a New York Yankees hat in Highest 2 Lowest — Denzel Washington in Highest 2 Lowest (Image credit: A24/Apple Original Films)

Spike Lee is one of our greatest living filmmakers, but he’s going back to one of his idols for his latest movie, Highest 2 Lowest. The movie is a reimagined version of Akira Kurosawa’s High and Low, a crime movie about a powerful businessman who must make difficult choices when the son of his chauffeur is kidnapped by mistake.

Adding to the intrigue is that the movie is a reunion between Lee and Denzel Washington, as the iconic pairing reunite for the first time since 2006’s Inside Man. Here’s hoping we have another classic collaboration between the two of them.

2. The Phoenician Scheme (May 30)

Tom Hanks, Riz Ahmed, Benicio Del Toro and Bryan Cranston in The Phoenician Scheme (Image credit: Focus Features)

After claiming his first Oscar for his short film The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, Wes Anderson is back with an all new movie, The Phoenician Scheme. Benicio Del Toro, after making his debut as part of Anderson’s troupe of actors in The French Dispatch, leads this new movie about a wealthy European businessman and his daughter, a nun, played by Mia Threapleton.

A swarm of well known stars round out The Phoenician Scheme ensemble, including Michael Cera, Riz Ahmed, Tom Hanks, Bryan Cranston, Mathieu Amalric, Richard Ayoade, Jeffrey Wright, Scarlett Johansson, Benedict Cumberbatch, Rupert Friend and Hope Davis. I’ve been middle of the road on Anderson’s last two efforts (The French Dispatch and Asteroid City), but I’m always excited to see what he does next.

1. Materialists (June 13)

Dakota Johnson standing by a cab in Materialists — Dakota Johnson in Materialists (Image credit: Atsushi Nishijima/A24)

Two summers ago Wes Anderson and Celine Song had the top two indie movies I was excited to see, though at that time it was Anderson who got the no. 1 spot. However, after Past Lives ripped my heart out (in the best possible way), the next movie from Song is my most anticipated indie movie of 2025.

Materialists stars Dakota Johnson as a New York City matchmaker whose own love life gets complicated when she is torn between the perfect guy (Pedro Pascal) and her imperfect ex (Chris Evans). Song had one of the best debut movies I can remember in some time, so I’m completely invested in what she does next. And honestly, when thinking of a movie to counter the traditional summer blockbuster fare, Materialists feels like the perfect match.