The month of June has plenty for cinephiles to sink their teeth into, from good ole zombie flicks in 28 Years Later to a live adaptation of the beloved How to Train Your Dragon franchise!
SAFRA EXCLUSIVE: Every movie listed here is shown at Shaw Theatres, where SAFRA and MovieMax members enjoy exclusive rates! Get $1 ($2 for MovieMax members) off combo sets as well as discounted tickets. For more information, visit safra.sg/shaw-theatres
How to Train Your Dragon
Release Date: 12 June 2025
Starring: Mason Thames, Nico Parker, Gerard Butler
Can you believe that it has been 10 years since the first animated How to Train Your Dragon hit our movie screens? Since then, many movie-goers have fallen in love with the ever-bubbly dragon Toothless and its ever-loyal handler, Hiccup, who has grown from a feeble yet lionhearted initiate into his village’s chieftain in the second and final installments of this awe-inspiring trilogy. It seems like there were no more tales to tell for the Dragon Riders of Berk.
Thankfully, director Dean DeBlois has other plans for this unstoppable duo, returning to the big screens with a live-action adaptation of the very movie that introduced these endearing protagonists to us. The eponymous remake also sees the return of Gerard Butler as Stoick the Vast, who voiced the titular character in its animated counterpart. It will be interesting to witness this newfound father-son dynamic between Butler and up-and-coming actor Mason Thames, who plays the hilariously awkward Hiccup in his formative years. Nico Parker, who is best known for her role as Sarah Miller in the The Last of Us television series lends her disarmingly arresting presence to this beloved franchise as Astrid.
For those who are skeptical that the realism of live-action remakes might overshadow the comedic and light-hearted moments that have defined the trilogy, DeBlois assures the film is no absurd transposition that seeks to reinvent the narrative spirit of the series, but rather, an adaptation that will feel “very much like the animated film but everything [is] a little more elaborate and detailed.”
A Gilded Game
Release Date: 12 June 2025
Starring: Andy Lau, Ou Hao, Huang Yi
Tiger General of TVB and Heavenly King Andy Lau is back with another action thriller movie, this time centred around the tumultuous world of finance. Playing a stoic equity analyst and mentor to Gao Han, a wide-eyed intern at his investment bank, he embodies the “kill or be killed” nature of the trading floor, his apathy a symptom of a cutthroat realm that thrives on betrayal, exploitation and manipulation. Gao Han serves as a brilliant juxtaposition for he is uncompromising in his integrity, refusing to allow his ruthless environment to shape his principled outlook of life.
28 Years Later
Release Date: 19 June 2025
Starring: Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ralph Fiennes
Following a devastating zombie apocalypse that hit Great Britain in its first installment, 28 Days Later and its sequel 28 Weeks Later, this contemporary horror entry expounds on the aftermath of a society left in ruination by hordes of bloodthirsty zombies that roam the cityscape, a solemnly macabre contrast to a world before the Rage virus hit. While survivors have managed to assimilate to their dark reality, a father-son duo discovers new horrors and heartbreaking secrets as they wander into the oasis of evil that awaits them in the mainland.
For anyone that enjoyed 28 Days Later, you’ll be pleased to know that its director, Danny Boyle will return to spearhead the series latest venture, bringing the same frenetic stylistics that blend primal violence with a visceral reactivity to elevate his flair for nuanced storytelling. More excitingly, eminent actor Ralph Fiennes joins the cast as Dr Kelson. His harrowing performance in The Menu (2022) as a deranged and eccentrically intense chef leaves one to imagine the wonders he can contribute to the horror genre, especially in a canvas like 28 Years Later.
Disney and Pixar’s Elio
Release Date: 19 June 2025
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldaña, Brad Garrett
Too often are we presented a narrative that sees extraterrestrials and non-sentients awkwardly and humorously struggle to comprehend the complexities of our very human world. Elio turns this narrative on its heel with the namesake protagonist, an eleven-year-old boy, transported to an interplanetary nexus coined as the Communiverse after being wrongly identified as Earth’s ambassador. His child-like intrigue, combined with a zealous passion for cosmology, makes for a novel adventure as he explores an anomalous alien ecosystem, all the while working with his newfound friends to tackle intergalactic conundrums.
Interestingly enough, Elio is also Madeline Sharafian’s feature directorial debut!
M3GAN 2.0
Release Date: 26 June 2025
Starring: Allison Williams, Violet McGraw, Amie Donald
Having begun as a campy horror film, M3GAN 2.0 might come as a shock for the film’s cult following seeing how the sequel shifted away from its murderous, almost slasher-type, trope to what is essentially an action film. Don’t misunderstand – there is still plenty of savagery and unvarnished gore that are very apparent in the first film, but this latest entry is further uplifted with flashy fight sequences and comedic exchanges between M3GAN and those who she had tormented and antagonised in the first film.
A Model 3 Generative Android initially built to protect and care for Gemma’s niece, Cady, M3GAN gradually descends into a murderous spree, eliminating anyone who she deems as a threat to her ward. The first film concludes (spoilers!) with Gemma and Cady shutting her down, though not without an ominous twist, as it is hinted that remnants of her consciousness now inhabit their home’s camera system.
Turns out, M3GAN is indeed still operational, albeit now contained in a fashionably innocuous doll. Meanwhile, a defense contractor had repurposed the same technology that birthed M3GAN to create AMELIA, an advanced AI who of course turns on her creators with an intent to take over the world. With the stakes higher than ever, Gemma is forced to reassemble and weaponise M3GAN in a last-ditch effort to defend humanity against its newest and more deadly robotic threat.
What’s better than one murderous robot? Two of them!
F1 The Movie
Release Date: 26 June 2025
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon
Starring the incredibly versatile Brad Pitt as Sonny Hayes, a cynical casual racer who was forced to leave his once promising career as a Formula One (F1) driver after a traumatic crash, the film begins with F1 team owner and friend, Ruben, coaxing him to return to the circuit as a mentor to prodigious rookie, Noah, for the Apex Grand Prix team (APXGP).
Interesting fact – drivers from all 10 F1 teams in the 2023 season will have cameo appearances in the film, featuring the likes of Lewis Hamilton, Carlos Saint Jr and Max Verstappen!
Want more articles like this, and other lifestyle content right in your inbox? Download the new SAFRA mobile app and opt in for the eNSman Newsletter – you don’t need to be a SAFRA member to subscribe – and never miss another story!
