Disney’s specialty arm Searchlight Pictures has staked out the pre-Thanksgiving corridor for “Rental Family,” setting the Tokyo-set dramedy to open in North American theaters on November 21, 2025. The date positions the Brendan Fraser vehicle—a story about a once-famous American actor who earns a living posing as relatives for lonely clients—as counter-programming to big-budget holiday releases and an early awards-season play.
Fraser headlines alongside Takehiro Hira and Japanese screen legend Akira Emoto under director Hikari, whose recent television work includes “Beef”. Production began in Tokyo last spring after Searchlight acquired the screenplay in late 2023.
The real-life practice of hiring stand-ins for familial roles gives the film a culturally specific hook that test-screen audiences reportedly found both poignant and humorous. Searchlight plans a limited rollout before Thanksgiving to cultivate word-of-mouth momentum similar to its recent awards pushes.
In the same calendar update, corporate sibling 20th Century Studios reserved February 2026 for “Psycho Killer,” the long-gestating New Regency horror thriller penned by “Se7en” writer Andrew Kevin Walker. Directed by veteran producer Gavin Polone, the finished film stars Georgina Campbell as a highway-patrol officer hunting the masked murderer who killed her husband, with Logan Miller and James Preston Rogers in support.
Shot across Michigan and Manitoba, the picture is ready for release pending a finalized date; 20th will handle distribution outside German-speaking Europe, where Constantin Film retains rights. An R rating for strong violence and explicit content underscores its adult positioning.
Placing “Psycho Killer” in February mirrors the strategy that turned earlier horror titles into sleeper hits, while giving Disney two distinct adult-oriented offerings inside a four-month window. By pairing an intimate cross-cultural dramedy with a brutal thriller, the studio signals that its rebalanced theatrical slate will continue to serve grown-up audiences alongside its franchise tentpoles.
