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Yorgos Lanthimos’ next film, Bugonia, is already making waves long before its release. A preview screening in Los Angeles this week asked attendees to do the unthinkable to enter: be bald—or get shaved at the door. A striking gesture designed to bring audiences closer to the heart of the film and its protagonist.
An unforgettable screening
Held at the Culver Theater in LA, the special screening took place on a Monday evening under very specific—and very bold—conditions. The rule was clear: to get in, you had to be bald. For those who weren’t, barbers were waiting on-site from 6 p.m., ready to shave willing heads before the movie started at 8. The moment was captured on film, adding a surreal almost performance-art layer to the event.
Admission was limited to guests over 18, and RSVPs were handled on a first-come, first-served basis. This minimalist, even radical approach to a movie screening fits perfectly with Yorgos Lanthimos’ offbeat, conceptual filmmaking flair. He’s always blurred the boundary between the screen and the real, and this event was just more proof.
Strong visual identity, strong emotions
Why such a requirement? It all traces back to the main character of Bugonia, played by Emma Stone—bald, enigmatic, and central to the narrative. This physical transformation isn’t a costume change. It’s a symbol. Stone’s shaved head triggered emotional memories for the actress. In an interview with Vogue, she confessed to crying alone in her trailer before the cut, thinking about her mother, Krista Stone, who had shaved her head during cancer treatment. “No better feeling in the world,” she said of the transformation, despite how charged the moment was. To read Charlize Theron and Taron Egerton face off in 2026’s Apex trailer
That kind of vulnerability—real, intimate—is part of what makes Lanthimos’ collaborations with Stone so compelling. They’re strange, complex films that never try to seduce us in easy ways. But they move us. And they stay with us.
Bugonia: fourth chapter in a fascinating duo
This marks the fourth time Emma Stone and Yorgos Lanthimos have worked together. After The Favourite (2018), Poor Things (2023), and Kinds of Kindness (2024), Bugonia continues to explore themes of power, body, and truth, filtered through the eccentric and unexpected lens that’s become Lanthimos’ signature.
In Bugonia, Stone plays a powerful CEO who’s kidnapped and accused of being an alien. The premise is wild—and yes, wonderfully Lanthimos. Alongside Stone, the cast brings together Jesse Plemons (always magnetic and unsettling), Stavros Halkias, Aidan Delbis, and Alicia Silverstone. That eclectic mix hints at performances that could slide from comedy to menace at any moment—which is exactly what I hope for.
Here’s what we know so far:
- Title: Bugonia
- Director: Yorgos Lanthimos
- Lead actress: Emma Stone
- Genre: Mystery/Sci-fi drama (nothing confirmed, but all signs point there)
- US release date: October 24, 2025
- Produced by: Focus Features
- Plot: A CEO suspected of being an alien is kidnapped by conspirators
A film that asks—not tells
Lanthimos films rarely hold your hand. They’re deliberately disorienting, emotionally jagged, and often surreal. That’s part of the thrill. With Bugonia, he seems to take it up another notch: turning a screening into a real-world transformation (or confrontation). Asking viewers to give up their hair is more than a clever marketing move. It’s a statement: this story is about shedding something essential—and maybe confronting what’s underneath. To read Ranking Shyamalan’s Hits: Which Film Defines His Legacy?
It’s hard not to admire the boldness. Honestly, I’m not sure I’d have the guts to sit in that barber’s chair. But I get it. It’s cinema pushed to the edge of experience. And when Lanthimos is the one pushing, you can’t look away.
Waiting until October 2025 is going to be long. But this strange, ambitious, and now unforgettable campaign only heightens my curiosity. If this is how Bugonia begins, I can’t wait to see where it dares to take us.
