16-07-2025
‘Knives Out 3,' ‘Rental Family,' ‘Hamnet,' ‘Roofman' to kick off Oscar campaigns at Toronto Film Festival
The sleepy 2026 Oscar race is about to get a wakeup call, courtesy of Benoit Blanc and the Toronto International Film Festival.
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, the anticipated third installment in Rian Johnson's wickedly delicious mystery series starring Daniel Craig, will have its world premiere at the film festival — a traditional launchpad for Academy Award contenders. The sequel, whose starry cast also includes Glenn Close, Josh Brolin, Mila Kunis, Jeremy Renner, and Kerry Washington, was one of 11 official selections unveiled Wednesday, all of which have Oscar aspirations.
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Those include:
The Choral: Set against the backdrop of WWI, Ralph Fiennes stars as a tough choir director mentoring a group of enlisted British teens in the Nicholas Hytner film.
Franz: Oscar nominee Agnieszka Holland directs this episodic biopic of writer Franz Kafka (German actor Idan Weiss), from his birth to death.
Hamnet: Nomadland Best Picture winner Chloé Zhao returns from her ill-fated excursion into the Marvel Cinematic Universe with a historical indie drama based on Maggie O'Farrell's 2020 novel about Agnes (Jessie Buckley) and William Shakespeare (Paul Mescal) grieving the death of their son, Hamnet.
The Lost Bus: Paul Greengrass' tense based-on-a-true-story drama stars Matthew McConaughey as a driver trying to get a school bus full of children and their teacher (America Ferrera) out of burning Paradise, Calif., during the Camp Fire in 2018.
Rental Family: Hikari , who helmed multiple episodes of the Emmy-winning Netflix series Beef, directs this dramedy starring Oscar winner Brendan Fraser as a struggling American actor hired by a Japanese "rental family" company to pretend to be part of strangers' lives.
Roofman: Channing Tatum and Kirsten Dunst star in this Derek Cianfrance film about a real-life ex-Army officer-turned-criminal who hides from authorities in the walls of a Toys R Us.
Steal Away: Clement Virgo directs this psychological thriller starring Angourie Rice plays a teenager who forms an unhealthy obsession with a refugee (Mallori Johnson) taken in by her family.
The 50th Toronto International Film Festival runs Sept. 4-Sept. 14. The full schedule will be revealed Aug. 12. Below are the galas and special presentations announced so far.
Galas (in alphabetical order)
The Choral | Nicholas Hytner | U.K. World Premiere | Gala Presentation
Homebound | Neeraj Ghaywan | IndiaNorth American Premiere | Gala Presentation
Hamnet | Chloé Zhao | Premiere | Gala Presentation
A Private Life | Rebecca Zlotowski | FranceNorth American Premiere | Gala Presentation
Roofman | Derek Cianfrance | USAWorld Premiere | Gala Presentation
She Has No Name | Peter Ho-Sun Chan | ChinaNorth American Premiere | Gala Presentation
Special Presentations (in alphabetical order):
Franz | Agnieszka Holland | Czech Republic/Germany/PolandWorld Premiere | Special Presentation
The Lost Bus | Paul Greengrass | USAWorld Premiere | Special Presentation
Rental Family | Hikari | USA/Japan World Premiere | Special Presentation
Steal Away | Clement Virgo | Canada/BelgiumWorld Premiere | Special Presentation
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery | Rian Johnson | USAWorld Premiere | Special Presentation
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