The Best Films to See in Cinemas This March
Your stylish, slightly obsessive guide to what's worth seeing in the cinema this month.
March’s cinema slate is made for very good nights out. There’s gothic romance for the dramatic friend, stylish chaos for the one who dresses for the occasion, creature-feature mayhem for the splatter loyalists, and a family fantasy pick with genuine school-holiday charm. Add prestige, satire and a few beautifully strange wildcards, and the month starts to look very well programmed.
If your ideal evening begins with a booking and ends with a long post-film debrief, here’s what to prioritise from the Australian release slate this month (sessions vary by cinema).
Wuthering Heights
For a dramatic night out with gothic energy
If your perfect cinema plan calls for doomed love, wild longing and enough atmosphere to fog the windows, Wuthering Heights is the booking. Emerald Fennell’s take, with Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi as Cathy and Heathcliff, plays the romance at full volume: storm-lit moors, beautiful cruelty, and a visual world made to sweep you up completely. With Charli xcx original songs threading through the film, it carries a dark, modern pulse beneath all that period grandeur.
It opened in Australia on 12th February, which makes it a strong still-in-cinemas March choice if your local has sessions. Go late, dress well, and plan for red wine and opinions afterwards.
Australian release: 12th February
Watch the trailer here
Pillion
For the curious wildcard with excellent taste
Pillion is for the friend who says they want something different and actually means it. Harry Melling plays a timid parking inspector pulled into the orbit of Alexander Skarsgård’s leather-clad biker in a darkly funny, emotionally messy BDSM romance adapted from Box Hill. It is sexy, strange and unexpectedly tender, with exactly the right level of post-film discussability.
Australian cinemas like Palace have been screening it since 19th February, making it a strong March holdover for anyone craving a wildcard with edge.
Australian release: 19th February
Watch the trailer here
The Testament of Ann Lee
For literary, historical, prestige-mood bookings
This is your midweek cinema-and-wine pick. Mona Fastvold directs Amanda Seyfried as Ann Lee, founder of the Shakers, in a historical musical drama shaped by religious fervour, ecstatic ritual and radical ideas around equality. The conversation around the film has centred on Seyfried’s performance, alongside Daniel Blumberg’s score and Celia Rowlson-Hall’s choreography.
Australian release: 26th February
Watch the trailer here
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The Bride!
For the friend who wants glamour, chaos and a little monster romance
Maggie Gyllenhaal’s The Bride! looks like Frankenstein by way of 1930s Chicago, punk melodrama and a truly elite costume budget. Jessie Buckley leads, Christian Bale brings the monster heat, and the supporting cast is stacked, with Annette Bening, Penélope Cruz and Jake Gyllenhaal. Add Hildur Guðnadóttir on score and Sandy Powell on costumes and you have a film built for the friend who treats the cinema like an occasion.
Australian release: 5th March
Watch the trailer here
How to Make a Killing
For a fun, slightly twisted date-night pick
This is the March selection for couples who don’t want earnest. John Patton Ford directs Glen Powell as Becket Redfellow, a disowned heir plotting his way towards a $28 billion family fortune, with Margaret Qualley, Jessica Henwick and Ed Harris in the mix. Think black-comedy thriller, rich-family dysfunction and increasingly messy accidents. It has just the right level of social poison for a date night that ends with a second drink and a full character breakdown.
Australian release: 5th March
Watch the trailer here
The Moment
For pop-culture obsessives who like their wildcards with bite
The Moment is less a concert film, more an anxiety spiral. Directed by Aidan Zamiri for A24 and built from an original idea by Charli XCX, it stars Charli as a fictionalised version of herself at the height of Brat-era fame, with Alexander Skarsgård, Kate Berlant, Jamie Demetriou and Rosanna Arquette adding beautifully off-centre energy. A. G. Cook scores it, which tells you everything about the tone. This is the one for people who love media satire, backstage identity crises and a post-screening debrief that somehow lasts all night.
Australian release: 5th March
Watch the trailer here
Cold Storage
For creature-feature fans and chaos merchants
If your ideal cinema night sits somewhere between disgusting and deeply fun, Cold Storage is your move. A mutant fungus escapes inside a self-storage facility, trapping two night-shift workers in a fast, funny, genuinely gross survival spiral. Joe Keery and Georgina Campbell carry the panic, Liam Neeson adds grizzled bioterror energy, and the whole thing plays like workplace comedy after one very bad science experiment. Book this with the friend who loves splatter, stress and a packed late session.
Australian release: 12th March
Watch the trailer here
Project Hail Mary
For the one who wants spectacle and a lot to talk about
Project Hail Mary is the month’s big-screen event for anyone who likes their sci-fi with brains, tension and actual heart. Ryan Gosling plays Ryland Grace, a science teacher who wakes up alone on a spaceship with no memory, then slowly pieces together a mission to stop the sun from dying. Directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller and adapted from Andy Weir’s novel, it is the premium-screen booking of the month.
The science puzzles, survival stakes and an unexpected friendship angle give it more emotional pull than your average space spectacle.
Australian release: 19th March
Watch the trailer here
The Magic Faraway Tree
For family movie plans and nostalgia-core grown-ups
The Magic Faraway Tree is pure school-holiday magic for families, with enough Enid Blyton nostalgia to win over the adults, too. Siblings discover an enchanted tree where new lands appear at the top with every visit, setting up a fantasy adventure full of wonder and mischief. With a starry cast and a storybook heart, it’s the March cinema pick for a gentler kind of escapism — the one grandparents, kids and millennial parents can all agree on.
Australian release: 26th March
Watch the trailer here
I Swear
For the heartfelt, less-obvious slot
If your March viewing calendar needs something grounded between the larger titles, I Swear is the one to prioritise. Directed by Kirk Jones, it follows the true story of John Davidson, a Tourette Syndrome campaigner navigating diagnosis, isolation and early adulthood in 1980s Britain before finding his voice as an advocate. Robert Aramayo leads — he just won a BAFTA for Best Actor for this role, along with the Rising Star Award — with Maxine Peake, Shirley Henderson and Peter Mullan rounding out the cast. It has the quiet power of a film people end up recommending to everyone after seeing it.
Australian release: 26th March
Watch the trailer here
The Drama
For the April diary and fashion-forward date-night planners
Not technically a March release in Australia, but absolutely worth pencilling in now. The Drama stars Zendaya and Robert Pattinson as an engaged couple whose wedding week spirals out of control when secrets and stress collide at the worst possible moment. Directed by Kristoffer Borgli, it looks built for anyone who likes relationship chaos with style, sharpness and a little social satire. This is the one to line up early if your group chat already plans next month’s nights out.
Australian release: 2nd April
Watch the trailer here
March’s cinema slate is made for excellent nights out, whether you’re booking a sweeping period romance, a fungus-fuelled freakout or a school-holiday fantasy with real heart. Choose for the mood, choose for the company, and choose a session time that leaves room for a drink and a proper debrief after. For more arts and culture ideas right now, explore our guide to Australia’s standout events and festivals.