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Is Charli xcx the best hope for American indie cinema?
Singer Charli xcx is starring in cult filmmaker Gregg Araki’s upcoming film I Want Your Sex, alongside Olivia Wilde and presented at Sundance in January 2026. Other new exciting projects? A feminist reading of One Thousand and One Nights and a drama set in Poland, which respectively premiered at the 2025 Venice Film Festival and Toronto International Film Festival. What if those three features propelled the once niche singer to the ranks of a Hollywood actress to watch closely?
By Violaine Schütz,
and Jordan Bako.
Published on 10 October 2025. Updated on 22 June 2026.
What fuels Charli xcx? After defining 2024 with Brat, its dazzling videos and remix projects, then making her mark on 2025 with the soundtrack for Wuthering Heights, Charli xcx is already poised to dominate 2026 with her next album, Music, Fashion, Film, due for release in July 2026. But the singer is also making headlines in the world of cinema. On June 24, 2026, she will appear in Eruption, the latest film by Pete Ohs.
Erupcja, a queer love story set in Warsaw
Charli xcx shot this low-budget project in Poland during the summer of 2024. The singer portrays Bethany, a British woman who travels to Warsaw on holiday with her new boyfriend. There, she reconnects with a Polish friend with whom she once shared a romantic relationship. Every time the two women meet, a volcano erupts.
The official synopsis? “Nel is a young woman living a fulfilling life in Warsaw, where she works as a florist. But the arrival of her former British friend Bethany, visiting with her new boyfriend, rekindles a deep and complex connection between them that begins to disrupt her everyday life.” The drama premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2025, where the first reviews of Charli xcx’s performance were very enthusiastic.
I Want Your Sex, Gregg Araki’s new film
A month later, Charli xcx will be making the headlines. This time, in the anticipated film I Want Your Sex by cult indie filmmaker Gregg Araki (The Doom Generation, Mysterious Skin, Nowhere). The feature premiered at Sundance in January 2026 and will come out in theatres on July 29th, 2026. Known for his trashy, violent, countercultural and sexy aesthetic, the American director has a knack for bringing together magnetic stars on screen. Rose McGowan, Chiara Mastroianni, Eva Green, Shannen Doherty, Roxane Mesquida, Juno Temple and Traci Lords once starred in his films.
For I Want Your Sex, Gregg Araki also hits hard by calling on actress and director Olivia Wilde (Don’t Worry Darling, Too Much) and Cooper Hoffman (Licorice Pizza). The latter is none other than Philip Seymour Hoffman‘s son… If Gregg Araki has worked in recent years on series (American Gigolo, Now Apocalypse, 13 Reasons Why, Riverdale, American Crime…), he had not made a feature film since the sublime and disturbing White Bird, released in 2014.
Greta Gerwig, Natalie Portman… Charli xcx’s collaborators on screen
But this ambitious project is far from being Charli xcx’s only venture. She previously lent her voice to the animated film UglyDolls (2019). Some of her tracks were featured in the soundtracks of Angry Birds (2016), Bottoms (2023), Greta Gerwig’s blockbuster Barbie (2023), and an episode of the series Overcompensating (2025). In addition to being one of the executive producers of the show, Charli xcx made a cameo in one of the episodes.
The British artist will also star in Faced of Death, a horror feature film directed by Daniel Goldhaber (Sabotage, Cam). It promises to be “a compilation of violent scenes, featuring the fictional death of human beings.” Another Gen Z idol will star in it: Barbie Ferreira, one of the heroines of the series Euphoria. Hard to get more on point…
In addition to that, Charli xcx is also set to star in Cathy Yan’s film The Gallerist. Her co-stars? Natalie Portman, Jenna Ortega, and Catherine Zeta-Jones… Screened at Sundance, the feature follows a desperate gallery owner who tries to sell a dead person’s body at Miami Art Basel…
A feature film directed by Dakota Johnson
Charli xcx will star alongside Nicolas Galitzine, Emma Corrin, and Maika Monroe (Longlegs) in a feminist reading of One Thousand and One Nights. The film is an adaptation of Isabel Greenberg’s graphic novel 100 Nights of Hero. Presented in the category International Critics’ Week at the Venice Film Festival on September 5th, 2025, this new interpretation marks Julia Jackman’s directorial debut. The pop star will also appear next to Jessica Alba in A Tree Is Blue, directed by actress Dakota Johnson.
Charli xcx is also part of the cast of Sacrifice, a film by Romain Gavras starring Anya Taylor-Joy and Salma Hayek. Whether in cinema or in music, the singer clearly knows how to choose her collaborators…
The Moment, a film based on Charli xcx’s idea
And that’s not all! Charli xcx has also launched her own production company, Studio365. Alongside A24, she will co-produce the film The Moment, directed by Aidan Zamiri, the man behind the video for her track 360. The trend-setter behind the Brat Summer will have the lead role in this feature film based on one of her idea – a pop star preparing for a tour.
Her longtime collaborator A. G. Cook will also be part of the project, overseeing the original soundtrack. Many celebrities make an appearance in this mockumentary presented at Sundance. Kylie Jenner, Rosanna Arquette, Alexander Skarsgård, Rachel Sennott, Mel Ottenberg, Shygirl, and even Arielle Dombasle are part of the cast.
Finally, Charli xcx keeps venturing into horror cinema with a new project on the horizon. She will produce and star in Japanese director Takashi Miike‘s upcoming feature. Known for his extremely violent scenes, the prolific filmmaker will be working alongside screenwriter Ross Evans. She will star alongside Milly Alcock (House of the Dragon), Norman Reedus et Kiko Mizuhara.
Erupcja (2026) by Pete Ohs, coming out on June 24th, 2026. I Want Your Sex by Gregg Araki, coming out July 29th, 2026.
