Opening This Week: DUST BUNNY, RESURRECTION, ATROPIA, Much More

Our guide to what's opening this very busy week in movie theaters. We start with three that we've already seen, then five (?!) on tap for publication in the next few days. And then a few more.

Dust Bunny
The film opens Friday, December 12, only in movie theaters, via Roadside Attractions. Visit the official site for locations and showtimes.

Official synopsis: "In visionary creator Bryan Fuller's (Hannibal, Pushing Daisies) fantastical and wickedly inventive feature directorial debut Dust Bunny, a 10-year-old girl joins forces with her hit man neighbor to confront each other's monsters.

"Ten-year-old Aurora has a mysterious neighbor (Mads Mikkelsen) who kills real-life monsters. He's a hit man for hire. So, when Aurora needs help killing the monster she believes ate her entire family, she procures his services. Suspecting that her parents may have fallen victim to assassins gunning for him, Aurora's neighbor guiltily takes the job. Now, to protect her, he'll need to battle an onslaught of assassins ― and accept that some monsters are real."

Our review by Shelagh Rowan-Legg (out of this year's Toronto International Film Festival): "Dust Bunny will certainly appeal to fans of Fuller's television work, given how it straddles the line between whimsy and gruesomeness. It's a highly enjoyable tale with an adorable kid and an adorable curmudgeon who learn to have each other's backs.

Resurrection
The film opens Friday, December 12, only in movie theaters, via Janus Films. Visit the official site for locations and showtimes.

Official synopsis: "In a future where humanity has surrendered its ability to dream in exchange for immortality, an outcast (Jackson Yee) finds illusion, nightmarish visions, and beauty in an intoxicating world of his own making. A work of staggering imagination from visionary Chinese director Bi Gan (Long Day's Journey Into Night), Resurrection conjures vast and ever-shifting worlds on the brink of collapse in an era-spanning journey through our deepest and most human desires."

Our review by Daniel Eagan (out of the New York Film Festival): "With Resurrection, the writer and director takes a further step into critical renown, fashioning an alternate history of cinema in five chapters and almost three hours. ... Bi Gan's films are events to be savored, examples of how artistry and technique can expand cinema's potential. They are also a hodgepodge of esoteric ideas and weak metaphors. Like his other films, I'll revisit the good parts and skip the others."

Atropia
The film opens Friday, December 12, only in movie theaters, via Vertical Entertainment.

Official synopsis: "Welcome to Atropia: a fake nation created by the U.S. military to train soldiers before their deployment. These simulated towns--built by Hollywood set designers--are brought to life by role players hired to create a sense of 'authenticity.' When an aspiring actress (Alia Shawkat) in a military role-playing facility falls in love with a soldier (Callum Turner) cast as an insurgent, their unsimulated emotions threaten to derail the performance. What unfolds is an audaciously funny satire that asks: In the performance of war, who are the winners and who are the losers?"

Our review by Mel Valentin (out of this year's Sundance Film Festival): "Writer-director Hailey Gates' uproarious anti-war/anti-Bush satire, Atropia, arrives either a decade too late or, just as likely given the state of the world and its discontents, a decade too early. ... Atropia might not give audiences what they want, but it'll certainly give them what they need."

Next, here are the five films that we are planning to review this week.

Lone Samurai
The film opens Friday, December 12, in movie theaters and on digital, via Well Go USA. Visit the official site for locations and showtimes.

Official synopsis: "A 13th century samurai finds himself shipwrecked on an island he believes to be deserted. As he contemplates his existence, it seems like a dignified death at his own hands might be his best solution. However, when he is captured by the murderous cannibal tribe that calls this island home, his survival instinct kicks in. Starring Shogen Ito and directed by Josh Waller (Raze, McCanick), Lone Samurai is existential action like you've never seen."

Europe's New Faces
The film opens Friday, December 12, only in movie theaters. Visit the official site for more information.

Official synopsis: "An observation of the migrant experience; from crossing the Mediterranean Sea out of Libya to settling in Paris-based squats. In a view free from prejudice, we quickly see how the experiences of migrants vary in extremes during the different stages in their journey to a better life."

Scarlet
The film opens Friday, December 12, only in movie theaters, via Sony Pictures Classics.

Official synopsis: "From visionary Academy Award®-nominated filmmaker Mamoru Hosoda (Mirai) comes a powerful, time-bending animated adventure about Scarlet, a medieval-era, sword-fighting princess on a dangerous quest to avenge the death of her father.

"After failing at her mission and finding herself gravely injured in the 'Otherworld,' she encounters an idealistic young man from our present day who not only helps her to heal but shows her the possibility of a future free of bitterness and rage. When confronted again by her father's killer, Scarlet faces her most daunting battle: can she break the cycle of hatred and find meaning in life beyond revenge?"

The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo
The film opens Friday, December 12, only in movie theaters, via Altered Innocence. Visit the official site for locations and showtimes.

Official synopsis: "Set in a remote Chilean mining town in 1982, Diego Céspedes' dazzling debut feature follows young Lidia, who grows up within a vibrant queer household led by drag performers and trans women. When a mysterious illness--rumored to spread through the gaze between men--sows fear and hysteria, the community becomes the target of suspicion and violence. Through Lidia's eyes, Céspedes crafts a haunting allegory of love, myth, and prejudice that reimagines the early AIDS era as a queer western with poetic intimacy and desert-dry surrealism.

"Winner of the Un Certain Regard Award at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo recalls the emotional vibrancy of Almodóvar and continues Chile's proud legacy of queer cinema--marking Céspedes as one of the most exciting new voices in world cinema."

Ella McCay
The film opens Friday, December 12, only in movie theaters, via 20th Century Studios. Visit the the Fandango site for locations and showtimes.

Official synopsis: "An idealistic young woman juggles her family and work life in a comedy about the people you love and how to survive them. Ella McCay features an all-star cast including Emma Mackey, Jamie Lee Curtis, Jack Lowden, Kumail Nanjiani, Ayo Edebiri, Spike Fearn, Rebecca Hall, Julie Kavner, Becky Ann Baker, Joey Brooks with Albert Brooks and Woody Harrelson. The film is produced by James L. Brooks, p.g.a., Richard Sakai, p.g.a., Julie Ansell, p.g.a., Jennifer Brooks."

Here is a final trio of releases that are heading to movie theaters this week.

The King of Color
The film opens Friday, December 12, only in movie theaters, via Picturehouse. Visit the official site for locations and showtimes.

Official synopsis: "At 96 years old, Lawrence Herbert, known as THE KING OF COLOR, is a visionary whose revolutionary idea to standardize color remains largely unrecognized. Growing up in Depression-era Brooklyn, Herbert entered the print and manufacturing trade during a time when color was a chaotic and subjective experience.

"He channeled his unique vision into creating the Pantone Matching System (PMS)--a groundbreaking invention that established a universal language for color, profoundly enhancing artistic expression and commercial production across all industries.

"Directed by Patrick Creadon (WORDPLAY, HESBURGH), this compelling documentary features an exclusive interview with Larry himself, offering an intimate glimpse into the mind behind Pantone and his enduring impact on how we perceive and use color today."

Silent Night, Deadly Night
The film opens Friday, December 12, only in movie theaters, via Iconic Releasing. Visit the official site for locations and showtimes.

Official synopsis: "A twisted reimagining of the controversial classic - After witnessing his parents' murder on Christmas Eve, Billy grows up to deliver an annual spree of holiday violence. This year, his blood-soaked mission collides with love, as a young woman challenges him to confront his darkness. 'Have you been naughty?'"

Franz
The film opens Friday, December 12, only in movie theaters, via Cohen Media Group.

Official synopsis: "Award-winning director Agnieszka Holland embarks on her most ambitious project to date, a biopic of the iconic 20th-century Czech writer Franz Kafka. Conceived as a kaleidoscopic mosaic, the film follows the imprint Kafka left on the world from his birth in 19th-century Prague to his death in post-WW1 Vienna. Franz gives audiences a brand new perspective on the life of the man behind the literary giant."

Opening This Week celebrates the theatrical experience.