October 2025 Movie Releases: From Haunted Dogs to Folklore Epics

This month, you can expect angel body swaps and vampires

By Abhya Adlakha | LAST UPDATED: DEC 31, 2025

It’s festive season in India, and that also means it’s prime movie season.

Where September felt like the warm-up act, October arrives with a full-blown line-up that refuses to pick a lane: one day it’s haunted dogs and MMA breakdowns, the next it’s folklore epics and neon-lit AI programs stepping out of your computer screen. This is not a month for subtlety—there’s Ayushmann Khurrana chasing vampires and Varun Dhawan playing a sanskaari lover boy.

Here’s the list of movies you’ll want on your October watchlist.

Kantara A Legend: Chapter 1

Release Date: 2 October 2025

Rishab Shetty takes audiences back to the mythic roots of his breakout hit with Kantara: A Legend – Chapter 1, a prequel set during the Kadamba dynasty in pre-colonial Karnataka. The film explores the origins of Kaadubettu Shiva and the Bhuta Kola ritual that became iconic in the original. With Shetty himself leading the cast alongside Rukmini Vasanth and Gulshan Devaiah, this is October’s most ambitious release.

Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari

Release Date: 2 October 2025

Releasing the very same day but going in the opposite tonal direction is Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari. Varun Dhawan and Janhvi Kapoor headline this family entertainer directed by Shashank Khaitan. Romance, mix-ups, drama—it’s everything you expect from a candy-coloured festive release. This is the film for when you want to laugh, switch off, and let the chaos play out.

The Smashing Machine

Release Date: 3 October 2025

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson ditches the superhero and the action-comedy-cop spandex for a gritty character study in Benny Safdie’s The Smashing Machine, which tells the true story of MMA fighter Mark Kerr, whose life outside the ring was far messier than his dominance inside it. Co-starring Emily Blunt, the film promises Safdie’s signature mix of high-intensity realism and emotional vulnerability, placing Johnson in the most challenging role of his career. Brutal, sweaty, and deeply human, this one is already being called a career-defining turn for The Rock.

Good Boy

Release Date: 10 October 2025

Just in time for spooky season comes the most unusual horror premise of the year: a haunted house story told from the perspective of a dog. Yes, you read that right. A loyal pup named Indy (played by director Ben Leonberg’s real-life dog) senses dark forces threatening his sick owner. Horror fans will lap this up, though be warned—it’s the kind of film that might have you hugging your pet a little tighter afterwards.

Tron: Ares

Release Date: 10 October 2025

After more than a decade of silence, Disney revives the Tron franchise with Tron: Ares, starring Jared Leto as an advanced program who steps out of the digital world and into reality, sparking humanity’s first encounter with AI. There will be dazzling visuals, mind-bending action, and Jeff Bridges reprising his iconic role. Whether you’re a longtime Tron fan or just here for futuristic spectacle, this is a perfect IMAX watch!

Good Fortune

Release Date: 17 October 2025

Comedian Aziz Ansari makes his directorial debut with Good Fortune, a comedy-fantasy about money, morality, and celestial mix-ups. The film stars Seth Rogen, Keke Palmer, Sandra Oh, and Keanu Reeves as Gabriel, a bumbling angel who body-swaps a struggling worker with his wealthy boss to teach them both a lesson—only to lose his wings in the process. Quirky and heartfelt, it has the ingredients of a sleeper hit.

Thamma