‘Bugonia’ explained: release dates, runtime, cast, early buzz, and what the title really means

Bugonia, the new absurdist sci-fi thriller from Yorgos Lanthimos, is rolling out nationwide for Halloween week after an initial platform launch. The film reunites Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons in a claustrophobic kidnapping story that spirals into paranoia, black comedy, and bruising mind games—exactly the kind of high-wire provocation that turns art-house curios into word-of-mouth events.

‘Bugonia’ release date and where to watch

• Limited U.S. release: Friday, October 24, 2025 (select cities).

• Wide U.S. release: Friday, October 31, 2025 (nationwide).

• International rollout: Late October into early November, varying by territory.

• Streaming/home release: Not yet announced; expect a traditional theatrical window before digital.

If you’re planning a trip, check local listings—several theaters are booking late-night shows through the weekend, with some venues offering 35mm prints alongside digital.

Runtime, rating, and tone

• Runtime: 118 minutes (about 1 hour 58 minutes).

• Rating: R for grisly images, bloody violence (including a suicide), and strong language.

• Vibe: A pressure-cooker chamber piece that blends pitch-black comedy, psychological thriller, and satirical sci-fi. Think three characters in a basement, but staged with nervy style and bursts of surreal menace.

Cast and characters

• Emma Stone as Michelle Fuller, a pharma CEO who wakes up in chains and insists on being heard.

• Jesse Plemons as Teddy, a beekeeper and conspiracy true-believer convinced he’s saving Earth.

• Aidan Delbis as Don, Teddy’s cousin and uneasy accomplice.

• Alicia Silverstone and Stavros Halkias appear in key supporting turns.

Behind the camera, Lanthimos reteams with frequent collaborators in cinematography, editing, and music, pushing a large-format, film-stock look that turns cramped rooms into vast psychological landscapes.

What ‘Bugonia’ is about (no spoilers)

Two fringe believers abduct a powerful executive they’re certain is an alien saboteur. In their bunker, interrogations morph into morality tests: Who’s lying? Who’s deluded? And what counts as proof when everyone can marshal a theory? The film plays tug-of-war with audience allegiance—tilting from empathy to horror in a heartbeat—while poking at modern faith in consumer cures, online certainty, and savior myths.

Why the title matters

“Bugonia” is an ancient mythic idea: life generated from decay and bees emerging from the carcass of a slaughtered animal. The word hints at Teddy’s beekeeping past and the story’s larger obsession with rebirth through ruin—belief systems built from trauma, and the dangerous comforts they provide.

Early reception: what’s trending in week one

• Performances: Stone’s shape-shifting restraint vs. Plemons’s unpredictable intensity are the twin engines; Delbis gives the piece its wounded conscience.

• Craft: The large-format photography and practical production design make the bunker feel tactile, oppressive, and strangely beautiful.

• Audience chatter: Expect debates about “whose reality” the film endorses, the ethics of vengeance, and an ending that invites multiple readings.

How it connects to earlier work

This is Lanthimos’s English-language remake of a 2003 Korean cult favorite, filtered through his taste for deadpan cruelty and moral riddles. The director’s long-running partnership with Stone continues here, but the pairing with Plemons (after their recent collaboration) gives this film a different charge—more stripped-down, more combative, and more intimate.

Quick answers to the top searches

• “Bugonia release date?” Limited Oct 24, wide Oct 31, 2025 (U.S.); international dates cluster around the same window.

• “What time does it come out?” Theatrical—showtimes depend on your cinema; many chains add late shows through the weekend.

• “Is there streaming on opening night?” No; this is theatrical-first.

• “How long is it?” 118 minutes.

• “Is it gory?” It’s intense and sometimes grisly, hence the R rating.

• “Is it connected to Kinds of Kindness or Poor Things?” Not narratively; it’s a standalone with overlapping creative DNA.

Should you see ‘Bugonia’ in theaters?

If you like movies that corner you and argue, yes. The big-screen experience heightens the unease: whispers sound like accusations; close-ups feel confrontational; and the format’s lush detail turns every prop and wound into a clue. It’s unsettling, sometimes funny, and designed to spark long conversations afterward—about belief, cruelty, and the trouble with certainty.

Bugonia is the fall’s strangest studio-backed gamble—star-driven yet uncompromising, intimate yet operatic in feeling. If you’re horror-curious or satire-savvy, this Halloween week is the ideal time to get caught in its hive.