Brad Pitt stars in the survival thriller Heart of the Beast, which leads the new film releases in Ukrainian cinemas this week.
The weekly cinema lineup also features the Ukrainian documentary Attention: Children, the crime comedy Idiots, the female-led comedy Spa Weekend, and the family animation Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom.
In Kyiv, the 11th Line of Spanish Cinema festival opens on September 24 with the latest film by Pedro Almodóvar, while the biographical crime thriller Unabomber debuts online on Netflix.
Heart of the Beast is an American survival thriller and action adventure set in the remote wilderness of Alaska. The story follows James Belmont, a former special forces soldier played by Brad Pitt, and his loyal dog Odin after their aircraft crashes far from civilization.
Stranded without outside help, Belmont and Odin must rely entirely on each other to survive the harsh environment. Alongside Pitt, the cast includes Jonathan Simmons, Anna Lamb, and a dog named Uber.
Simmons has previously appeared in Juno, True Grit, Whiplash, and Red One, while Lamb featured in Social Reckoning and the television series True Detective: Night Country. Pitt's screen credits include Snatch, Fight Club, the Ocean's Eleven trilogy, Inglourious Basterds, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Bullet Train, and F1: The Movie.
David Ayer directed the film. Ayer is best known for directing the action movies Street Kings, End of Watch, Sabotage, and The Beekeeper.
Ukrainian documentary Attention: Children
The 2025 Ukrainian and German documentary Attention: Children presents a kaleidoscope of children's lives, emotions, and dreams during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The film follows young people attempting to survive and overcome war trauma by speaking about their experiences and sharing memories.
Among those featured is Vova, who suffered severe injuries and lost his father. Bohdan lived under occupation, while Vasylysa grew accustomed to taking shelter in bomb shelters.
Tymofiy and Nikita lost their homes in the conflict, and Sasha survived deportation before searching for his mother. Another group of children was evacuated from combat zones by military personnel and retains detailed memories of the horrors of war.
After returning to Ukraine from Poland, Ilya began helping soldiers, while children in the Chernihiv region weave camouflage nets for the front lines every day. Although war deprived them of their childhood, the children maintain their faith in the future.
Ukrainian director Svitlana Rudyuk directed Attention: Children. Her previous work includes the documentary Not Like Before, which examined operations at the Okhmatdyt children's hospital following the start of the full-scale invasion.
American crime comedy Idiots
The 2026 American crime comedy Idiots centers on Mark and Davis, two professional losers who believe they have secured a lucrative job. Their assignment requires transporting the spoiled son of a millionaire across half the country to a rehabilitation center in exchange for a large payment and a luxury car.
The trip turns chaotic when the wealthy teenager turns out to be a psychopath, while unhinged killers and hostile police officers pursue them along the route. Their quick cash scheme becomes a fight for survival where arriving alive becomes their main objective.
Dave Franco, O'Shea Jackson Jr., and Mason Thames star in the principal roles. Franco's credits include Nerve, Love Lies Bleeding, Day Shift, Together, and the Now You See Me franchise, while Jackson appeared in Godzilla: King of the Monsters, Cocaine Bear, and Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Thames starred in How to Train Your Dragon and The Black Phone.
The supporting cast features Kiernan Shipka from The Silence, Twisters, Red One, and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, alongside Nicholas Braun from Zola and Succession, and Peter Dinklage from Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, I Care a Lot, Avengers: Infinity War, X-Men: Days of Future Past, The Thicket, and Game of Thrones.
Macon Blair directed Idiots and also appears in a supporting role. Blair previously directed I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore and The Toxic Avenger. The film made its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in early 2026.
Critics and audiences have given Idiots mixed to positive reviews. The film holds a score of 6.1 out of 10 on IMDb, a 62 percent critic rating and 59 percent audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and a 62 expert score with a 6.3 audience score on Metacritic.
Australian comedy Spa Weekend
The 2026 Australian comedy Spa Weekend follows three female friends exhausted by work deadlines, constant stress, and domestic troubles. Seeking relief, they plan a relaxing getaway at a spa resort to escape their everyday problems.
Their quiet trip unravels when their friend Mel joins them, turning the retreat into a series of chaotic situations, humorous misadventures, and unexpected discoveries.
Leslie Mann, Isla Fisher, Anna Faris, and Michelle Buteau star as the lead characters. Mann previously appeared in The Cable Guy, George of the Jungle, 17 Again, and Blithe Spirit, while Fisher featured in Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy, J. Kelly, and Now You See Me.
Faris is known for Brokeback Mountain, What's Your Number?, Primetime, and the Scary Movie franchise, and Buteau appeared in Marry Me, Clerks III, and First Wives Club.
Jon Lucas and Scott Moore directed the film. The filmmaking pair previously directed 21 & Over and Bad Moms, and co-wrote the screenplay for The Hangover.
Spa Weekend received generally negative reviews upon release. It holds a 5.4 out of 10 score on IMDb, a 30 percent critics score and 74 percent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, and a Metacritic score of 33 from critics and 2.3 from audiences.
Shaun the Sheep animation
The British animated family comedy Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom returns the popular franchise to screens for a Halloween adventure. The plot begins when the Farmer accidentally destroys the favorite pumpkin patch belonging to Shaun and his fellow sheep.
Attempting to fix the damage through scientific experiments, the sheep team triggers an unexpected chain of events that releases a mysterious wild beast into the surrounding forest.
Directors Steve Cox and Matthew Walker, who previously worked on several Shaun the Sheep titles, directed the new feature. The franchise is known for its visual humor, parodies, and family appeal, earning critical acclaim and awards for its storytelling style.
Line of Spanish Cinema festival
The 11th Line of Spanish Cinema festival runs from September 24 to September 30 at the Zhovten cinema in Kyiv. Pedro Almodóvar's comedy-drama Bitter Christmas, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, opens the event.
Almodóvar has won two Academy Awards and directed films including All About My Mother, Bad Education, Volver, Broken Embraces, The Skin I Live In, and Parallel Mothers.
The festival program also includes La bola negra, starring Glenn Close and Penélope Cruz. Close appeared in Guardians of the Galaxy and Dangerous Liaisons, while Cruz starred in Vanilla Sky, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Loving Pablo, The Bride!, and Sentimental.
Additional screenings feature Arantxa Echevarría's crime comedy Cada día nace un listo from the Malaga Film Festival, Irene Iborra's family animation L'Olívia i el terratrèmol invisible, and the drama Sirât. Sirât won the Jury Prize and Best Soundtrack at Cannes, earned six Goya awards in Spain, and received Oscar, Golden Globe, and BAFTA nominations.
Biographical thriller Unabomber on Netflix
On streaming, Netflix releases the American biographical crime thriller Unabomber on September 25, 2026. The film depicts the life of mathematician and terrorist Ted Kaczynski across two timelines, tracking his path from a Harvard prodigy to a radicalized figure, alongside the FBI investigation that hunted him.
Canadian actor Jacob Tremblay plays Kaczynski, supported by a cast including Russell Crowe, Shailene Woodley, Annabelle Wallis, and Alexander Ludwig. Tremblay previously starred in Room, Doctor Sleep, and The Life of Chuck.
Crowe's career includes Gladiator, A Beautiful Mind, 3:10 to Yuma, Les Misérables, The Nice Guys, The Pope's Exorcist, and Nuremberg. Woodley appeared in Divergent, The Fault in Our Stars, To Catch a Killer, and Ferrari, while Wallis featured in Annabelle, The Mummy, Mutiny, The Tudors, and Peaky Blinders, and Ludwig appeared in The Hunger Games, Bad Boys for Life, Vikings, and The White Lotus.
Danish director Janus Metz Pedersen, known for directing episodes of True Detective and Andor, directed the film.
Television releases for the week include the premiere of the comedy series Brothers starring Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson on Apple TV+, as well as the premiere of the 13th season of American Horror Story on FX.
