Venice 2025: Bugonia’s 120‑minute showdown lands Oct 24—why it matters next

Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons just unveiled Yorgos Lanthimos’ Bugonia in Venice 2025 competition, and early reviews point to a fierce, topical collision of conspiracy and corporate power. Over a taut 120 minutes, the fifth Stone–Lanthimos collaboration pivots from last year’s divisive Kinds of Kindness to a nervy kidnap thriller with darkly comic bite. Critics highlight Stone’s icy CEO and Plemons’ radically transformed beekeeper, the VistaVision look, and stingingly sharp dialogue by Will Tracy. With Focus Features setting an October 24, 2025 release, here’s what’s new, what hits hardest, and why this premiere is already sparking buzz.

Need to know

Briefing

• Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons premiere Bugonia in Venice competition on Aug 28, 2025.
• Focus Features sets U.S. release for Oct 24, 2025; runtime 120 minutes.
• Reviews call it “scaldingly topical,” with a duel between a CEO and a kidnapper.
• Next: post‑Venice rollout toward U.S. theaters in late October 2025.

Why this premiere hits now—new tone, new stakes, sharper edge

Lanthimos returns to a lean, high‑tension format: a kidnapping face‑off between Stone’s image‑polished pharma CEO and Plemons’ unhinged, eco‑obsessed beekeeper. Reviews flag razor‑edged dialogue, a wry needle‑drop (“Basket Case”), and a visual palette shot on VistaVision with cinematographer Robbie Ryan. It’s a stark, timely pivot that threads conspiracies, corporate doublespeak, and ecological dread—landing at Venice just weeks before the U.S. release, when conversation will be loudest.

Voices and reactions

A press‑room moment added fuel: Stone acknowledged an open‑minded stance on extraterrestrials while promoting Bugonia—an eyebrow‑raising beat that dovetails with the film’s “is she an alien?” obsession.

https://twitter.com/Variety/status/1961041644632907844

The data that reveals the trend

Bugonia marks the 5th Stone–Lanthimos pairing, but this time she plays a precision‑tooled corporate operator, not a misfit heroine. Variety underscores Will Tracy’s script as a duel of ideologies—“Off Broadway two‑hander” tightness—while Deadline highlights the “return to form” momentum after Kinds of Kindness. The film adapts (loosely) 2003’s Save the Green Planet!, reframing it for today’s misinformation climate with electric performances and 120 minutes of escalating mind games.

The numbers that change the game

KPI

Metric	Value + Unit	Date/Scope	Change/Impact
Runtime	120 minutes	Venice 2025 premiere	Tight, high‑tension structure
U.S. release	Oct 24, 2025	Focus Features	Positions fall theatrical launch
Stone–Lanthimos team‑ups	5 films	As of 2025	Renewed creative groove post‑Kinds
Festival slot	In Competition	Venice, Aug 28, 2025	High‑profile spotlight
Source material	Save the Green Planet! (2003)	Adaptation basis	Topical update for conspiracy era
Format/look	VistaVision visuals	Reported by critics	Distinct cinematic texture

Summary: Lean 120‑minute, in‑competition launch sets a focused, topical awards‑season conversation.

Divided opinions: controversy heats up

Early reactions converge on two points: performances and provocation. Variety calls Plemons’ turn “acting on the high wire,” mapping a character who’s both extremist and eerily perceptive. Deadline hails a “return to form,” spotlighting the film’s absurdist nerve within a paranoid‑thriller frame. Expect arguments over the ending’s “crowning joke,” the film’s stance on corporate malfeasance, and whether its alien‑talk is delusion or design.

Legal deadlines and what’s at stake now for the release window

With Focus Features dated for Oct 24, 2025, Bugonia moves quickly from festival to theaters. The Venice platform frames perception ahead of the domestic rollout; audience discourse will likely hinge on the film’s ideological duel and Stone’s corporate anti‑heroine turn.

What buyers should know right now: tone, cast, and the October plan

Bugonia is a darkly comic kidnap thriller—dialogue‑driven, formally bold, and purposefully uncomfortable. Key team: Yorgos Lanthimos (director), Will Tracy (screenplay), Robbie Ryan (camera). Cast includes Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, Aidan Delbis, Stavros Halkias, Alicia Silverstone. Running 120 minutes, it’s designed for conversation—arriving Oct 24, 2025 via Focus Features.

Sources

• https://deadline.com/2025/08/bugonia-review-jesse-plemons-kidnaps-emma-stone-venice-fest-1236498564/
• https://variety.com/2025/film/reviews/bugonia-review-emma-stone-jesse-plemons-yorgos-lanthimos-1236499397/