Buffalo Movies: New films open in Buffalo theaters this weekend. Here’s a bit about what they are and where to see them.

(Above: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef in The President’s Cake (2025). Via IMDB).

By M. Faust

OPENING THIS WEEK: 

DREAMS (NR) Erotic drama starring Jessica Chastain as an American socialite having an affair with a Mexican ballet student. Co-starring Isaac Hernández, Marshall Bell, and Rupert Friend. Directed by Michel Franco (Memory). Regal Quaker

PILLION (NR) Alexander Skarsgard as a sexual dominant who changes the life of a fledgling submissive. With Harry Melling, Douglas Hodge, and Lesley Sharp. Directed by Harry Lighton. Regal Elmwood, Regal Walden Galleria

SCREAM 7 (R) Kevin Williamson returns as writer and debuts as director for the latest in this endless horror series. Starring Neve Campbell, Isabel May, Courteney Cox, and Joel McHale. AMC Maple Ridge, Dipson Capitol, Dipson Flix, Dunkirk Multiplex, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria, Spotlight Theater of Warsaw

THAAI KIZHAVI (NR) Tamil-language comedy about a tough grandmother who rules a rural village. Starring Radhika Sarathkumar, Singampuli, and Aruldoss. directed by Sivakumar Murugesan. Regal Elmwood

THE PRESIDENT’S CAKE (PG-13) Winner of both the Camera d’Or and the audience award at the Cannes Film Festival, this naturalistic Iraqi film follows the effort of a poor girl to assemble the ingredients when she is assigned by her school to make a fancy cake for Saddam Hussein. Directed by Hasan Hadi. Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit

UNDERCARD (NR) Wanda Sykes in a dramatic role as a boxing trainer trying to mend her relationship with her estranged son. With William Stanford Davis and Berto Colon. Directed by Tamika Miller (Honor Student). Regal Elmwood

VISHNU VINYASAMM (NR) A quirky character navigates life while defying history, numerology and astrology, riding through the city on his customized motorcycle. Or so says the distributor of this Telugu comedy. Starring Sree Vishnu, Murli Sharma, and Nayan Sarika. Directed by Yadunaath Maruthi Rao. Regal Elmwood

NOW PLAYING: 

AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH (PG-13) Number three of five. With Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Stephen Lang, Sigourney Weaver, CCH Pounder, Giovanni Ribisi, Kate Winslet, Edie Falco, Jemaine Clement, Oona Chaplin and David Thewlis. Directed by James Cameron, the pride of Chippawa, Ontario. AMC Maple Ridge, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria

CRIME 101 (R) Character-driven LA heist movie adapted from a Don Winslow novel. Starring Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Barry Keoghan, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Nick Nolte, and Halle Berry. Directed by Bart Layton (American Animals). Angola, Dipson Capitol, Dunkirk Multiplex, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria

DRACULA (R) Luc Besson (The Fifth Element) takes a whack at the long-out-of-copyright vampire tale. Starring Caleb Landry Jones, Christoph Waltz and Zoë Bleu. Regal Quaker, Regal Transit

EPIC: ELVIS PRESLEY IN CONCERT (PG-13) Baz Luhrmann, whose 2022 biopic of the king of rock and roll divided audiences, now presents the real thing in meticulously restored concert footage. Dipson Amherst, Dipson Capitol, Dipson Flix, North Park, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria

GOAT (PG) Animated comedy with an all-animal cast headed by a goat who wants to be a star in the manic sport of roarball. With the voices of Caleb McLaughlin, Gabrielle Union, Stephen Curry, Nick Kroll, and Patton Oswalt. Directed by Tyree Dillihay and Adam Rosette. AMC Maple Ridge, Dipson Capitol, Dipson Flix, Dunkirk Multiplex, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria, Spotlight Theater of Warsaw

GOOD LUCK, HAVE FUN, DON’T DIE (R) A man steps into a diner, announces that he is from the future and asks for help in stopping AI in this comic sci-fi. Starring Sam Rockwell, Haley Lu Richardson, and Juno Temple. Directed by Gore Verbinski (Pirates of the Caribbean). Dunkirk Multiplex, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit

THE HOUSEMAID (R) A troubled woman tries to clean up her life by taking a job as a housemaid for a wealthy family. Trouble, of course, ensues. Starring Sydney Sweeney, Amanda Seyfried, Brandon Sklenar, and Elizabeth Perkins. Directed by Paul Feig (Bridesmaids). Regal Quaker

HOW TO MAKE A KILLING (R) Bad seed Glen Powell sets out to kill all the family members who stand between him and a huge inheritance. Which is the plot of the British classic Kind Hearts and Coronets, except that here the victims are played by different actors, including Margaret Qualley, Bill Camp, Topher Grace, and Ed Harris. Directed by John Patton Ford (Emily the Criminal.) Dipson Capitol, Dipson Flix, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria

IRON LUNG (R) Horror film adapted from a video game set after a universal catastrophe, in which a prisoner is tasked to earn his freedom by using a one-man windowless submarine to search for data in an ocean of blood. Starring Mark Fischbach (who also directed), Troy Baker, and Elsie Lovelock. Dunkirk Multiplex

MIDWINTER BREAK (PG-13) Lesley Manville and Ciarán Hinds star in an adaptation of Bernard MacLaverty’s novel about a long-time couple facing a difficult patch on a trip to Amsterdam. Directed by Polly Findlay. AMC Maple Ridge, Dipson Amherst, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit

OSCAR NOMINATED SHORT FILMS (NR) Three separate programs featuring all of this year’s Oscar nominees in the categories of Best Animated Live Action, Documentary and Animated Short Films. Dipson Amherst

PSYCHO KILLER (R) From the writer of Seven, a horror thriller about a police officer stalking a serial killer known as “The Satanic Slasher.” Starring Georgina Campbell, James Preston Rogers, and Malcolm McDowell. Directed by Gavin Polone. Dipson Capitol, Regal Quaker, Regal Walden Galleria

SEND HELP (R) Co-workers (Rachel McAdams, Dylan O’Brien) stranded on a desert island find their balance of power is very different away from civilization in this dark comedy directed by Sam Raimi (The Evil Dead). AMC Maple Ridge, Dipson Capitol, Dipson Flix, Dunkirk Multiplex, Hamburg Palace, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria

SOLO MIO (PG) Romcom starring Kevin James as a jilted groom picking up the pieces in Rome on what was supposed to be his honeymoon. With Jonathan Roumie, Kim Coates and Alyson Hannigan. Directed by Charles Kinnane and Daniel Kinnane. Dipson Capitol, Dipson Flix, Joylan, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit Center, Regal Walden Galleria

THE STRANGERS: CHAPTER 3 (R) Final entry in the horror franchise. Yeah, we’ve heard that before. Stars Hannah Galway, Ema Horvath, and Krystal Ellsworth. Directed by Renny Harlin (Die Hard 2). Regal Elmwood

WUTHERING HEIGHTS (R) Capping the trifecta of gothic remakes after the recent updates of Frankenstein and Dracula. Starring Margot Robbie, Jacob Elordi, Hong Chau, and Martin Clunes. Directed by Emerald Fennell (Saltburn). AMC Maple Ridge, Aurora, Dipson Amherst, Dipson Capitol, Dipson Flix, Dunkirk Multiplex, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria

ZOOTOPIA 2 (PG) Ten years is a long time in coming for a sequel to a children’s film, but here it is anyway. With the voices of Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, Shakira, Idris Elba, Ke Huy Quan, Andy Samberg, David Strathairn, Patrick Warburton, Quinta Brunson, and Danny Trejo. Directed by Jared Bush and Byron Howard. AMC Maple Ridge, Dipson Capitol, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria

ETC.

THE BIG LEBOWSKI (1998)—The Coen Brothers’ patently oddball take on the Raymond Chandler genre has aged into a genuine cult classic that rewards multiple viewings. The endlessly quotable dialogue is delivered by a once in a lifetime cast: Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, Julianne Moore, Steve Buscemi, David Huddleston, John Turturro, Sam Elliott, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Tara Reid, David Thewlis, Peter Stormare, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Jon Polito, Flea and Ben Gazzara. Sat 7:30 pm. Screening Room

THE GENERAL (1927)—Widely considered Buster Keaton’s crowning achievement, which is to say, one of the greatest comedies in cinema history. He stars as a Southern engineer of a train during the Civil War, and the stunt sequences involving the real, full-sized locomotive are still astonishing. Fri 7:30 pm. Screening Room

______________________________________

THEATER LOCATIONS AND WEBSITES

AMC Maple Ridge, 4276 Maple Road, Amherst https://www.amctheatres.com/movie-theatres/buffalo/amc-maple-ridge-8

AMC Market Arcade, 639 Main Street, Buffalo CLOSED PERMNENTLY

Angola Theatre, 72 N. Main St., Angola, NY https://angolatheatre.com/

Aurora Theater, 673 Main Street, East Aurora https://theauroratheatre.com/

Dipson Amherst, 3500 Main Street, Buffalo. www.dipsontheatres.com

Dipson Capitol Theater, 720 Builders Way, Niagara Falls www.dipsontheatres.com

Dipson Flix, 4901 Transit Road, Depew www.dipsontheatres.com

Dunkirk Multiplex, 10520 Bennett Road, Dunkirk https://www.dunkirkmultiplex.com/

Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center Cinema, 431 Delaware Avenue, Buffalo https://www.hallwalls.org/

Hamburg Palace, 31 Buffalo Street, Hamburg www.hamburgpalace.com

Joylan, 11 W. Main Street, Springville https://joylantheater.com/

North Park, 1428 Hertel Avenue, Buffalo 

Regal Elmwood, 2001 Elmwood Avenue., Buffalo https://www.fandango.com/

Regal Quaker Crossing, 3450 Amelia Drive, Orchard Park https://www.fandango.com/

Regal Transit, 6707 Transit Road. Williamsville https://www.fandango.com/

Regal Walden Galleria, Galleria Mall, Cheektowaga https://www.fandango.com/

Riviera Theater, 67 Webster Street, North Tonawanda https://rivieratheatre.org/

The Screening Room, Boulevard Mall Amherst www.screeningroom.net

Spotlight Theater of Warsaw, 23 S Main Street, Warsaw https://www.spotlighttheater.com/movie-theater/warsaw

Squeaky Wheel, Tri-Main Center, 2495 Main Street, Suite 310, Buffalo https://squeaky.org/

Transit Drive-In Theatre, 6655 S. Transit Road, Lockport https://www.transitdrivein.com CLOSED UNTIL SPRING