“Don’t you like to dream? At least a little?” The trailer for Kiss of the Spider Woman opens on that haunting provocation, and from the first frames it’s clear Bill Condon hasn’t lost his touch for musical spectacle. After the pop glamour of Dreamgirls and the glossy sheen of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, he’s returned with something thornier, stranger—an adaptation that pulses with defiance, intimacy, and just enough fantasy to sting.
First shown at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival to rapturous reviews, the film is finally on the path to wide release. Roadside Attractions will bring it to theaters nationwide starting October 10, 2025. Variety and The Hollywood Reporter both singled out its emotional firepower earlier this year, with particular praise for Tonatiuh, the relative newcomer tasked with carrying Molina’s fragile, luminous heart. And believe me—he delivers.
The setup remains true to Manuel Puig’s 1976 novel: Valentín (Diego Luna), a political prisoner, and Molina (Tonatiuh), convicted of indecency, are forced to share a cramped cell in Argentina during a climate of unrest. Molina survives through storytelling, reciting the Technicolor fantasy of a Hollywood diva named Ingrid Luna—played, with campy gravitas, by Jennifer Lopez. The cell walls dissolve; reality bleeds into dream. Gorgeous. Grating. Gorgeous again.
And yes, Lopez. She’s been underestimated for so long it’s almost tradition, but here she finally feels unshackled. One moment she’s vamping in sequins, the next she’s wielding heartbreak like a weapon. It’s not just stunt casting; she is the Spider Woman. There’s a sly cruelty in her smile, an echo of every diva who knew the spotlight could kill as much as it illuminated.
The trailer itself is intoxicating—Condon saturates the screen in bold reds and stark shadows, sliding between prison grit and musical fantasy without smoothing the edges. One cut lingers a beat too long on the prisoners’ sweat-soaked faces—was this shot during an actual heatwave? It feels tactile, human, alive. Which is exactly what most glossy Broadway-to-Hollywood musicals tend to miss.
This isn’t just another revival. Adapted from both Terrence McNally’s Tony Award–winning stage version and the John Kander/Fred Ebb score (the duo behind Cabaret and Chicago), the film seems intent on honoring the story’s subversive DNA. It’s about survival through art, but also about the lies we tell ourselves to survive. And in that cell—two men clinging to scraps of freedom—those lies matter more than the truth.
I’ll admit: I walked out of Sundance dizzy, conflicted, a little undone. It’s messy. But it should be messy. That’s the point. Kiss of the Spider Woman isn’t here to comfort. It’s here to seduce, sting, and leave you itching for more.
What Stands Out from the ‘Kiss of the Spider Woman’ Trailer
Tonatiuh’s Breakthrough Performance
The young actor turns Molina into a vessel of fragility and fire—one of the year’s best debuts.
Jennifer Lopez Reclaims the Diva Crown
Lopez plays Ingrid Luna with operatic magnetism, finally reminding audiences why she’s more than just a pop icon.
Bill Condon Returns to His True Form
After blockbuster detours, Condon dives back into bold, character-driven musical terrain.
A Political Edge Beneath the Glitter
The trailer never lets you forget the stakes—art colliding with repression inside a prison cell.
Confirmed Release Date
Roadside Attractions releases the film in U.S. theaters on October 10, 2025.
