Ranking Charli xcx’s movies by how much we want to see them

First the Grammys, then the Oscars.

January 28, 2025
Ranking Charli xcx’s movies by how much we want to see them Harley Weir/ art by Sabrina Kaune

A truth in every pop star’s career is that eventually they’ll become an actor. See Lady Gaga or Selena Gomez, and now Charli xcx who, speaking at the height of the Brat phenomena last year, threw doubt not just on her next album but whether she would continue to make music at all. “I saw this tweet the other day that was like, ‘Does anyone think that this is Charli’s last album?’… Then I was like, ‘Actually, that could be cool if I didn’t really make music anymore after this,’ ” she told Billboard. “I’m definitely thinking about it because I really want to act.”

The Letterboxd power-user wasn’t lying about her desire to act. Just last week she added yet another project to the upcoming section of her IMDb and it was a big one. She will team up with A24 for The Moment, a movie based on her own original idea. Details about the plot and characters have not yet been revealed, but Charli is (obviously) rumored to star in the project.

By The FADER’s calculations (i.e. checking that IMDb page), The Moment is the eighth title Charli has in the pipeline. But which one will be the best? Musicians turning their hand to acting don’t always have the best reputation but Charli is savvy enough to avoid anything that would damage her brand post-Brat. Everything she has coming up looks at least interesting, if not flat out essential viewing. Below, we ranked everything we can expect to see her in by how excited they make us feel, from a gory rated-R thriller to a seductive period piece.

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8. Faces of Death

Logline:

“A woman, employed as a website content moderator, comes across a series of violent videos reproducing death scenes from a film.”

What is it?

Faces of Death is a remake of the 1978 original, dubbed one of the most grotesque movies in history that was banned in 46 countries when it was first released. The original “shockumentary” was filled with gnarly images of death projected on a TV screen by a pathologist. The remake, shot in 2023 and directed by Daniel Goldhaber, updates things a little as it follows a content moderator monitoring material being uploaded to a YouTube-style site.

Dacre Montgomery of Stranger Things appears in the movie alongside Charli and Euphoria’s Barbie Ferreira. Director Daniel Goldhaber helmed the excellent eco-thriller How To Blow Up A Pipeline, and this new movie has already been given a hard R rating for “strong bloody violence, gore, sexual content, nudity, language, and drug use.”

Who does Charli play?

TBC.

Anticipation:

It sounds cool but, as of late 2024, still doesn’t have a distributor. It could be a while before this actually hits screens.

7. 100 Nights of Hero

Logline:

When a charming house guest (Nicholas Galitzine) arrives at a remote castle, the delicate dynamic between a neglectful husband, his innocent bride Cherry (Maika Monroe), and their devoted maid Hero (Emma Corrin), is thrown into chaos.

What is it?

Can you truly call yourself an English actress without a period drama on your CV? Charli doesn’t scream regency-era (that’s an “iPhone face” if ever there was one) but this feminist fairy tale inspired by One Thousand and One Nights has a great cast and classic tropes of trust, seduction, despots, and execution.

Who does Charli play?

Per IMDb, a character named Rosa.

Anticipation:

This is the most mainstream of everything on her slate right now, and it reads as more aimed at the moms than something like I Want Your Sex.

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6. Overcompensating


Logline:

A TV series that “follows Benny, a football player, as he struggles to accept his sexuality in college, finding himself overcompensating as he tries to appear as something he's not.”

What is it?

Created by Benito Skinner (a.k.a. Benny Drama), Overcompensating is an A24 comedy series coming to Amazon Prime Video later this year. Skinner says he wrote the pilot “to make people laugh, feel a little less alone, and maybe to work through some residual college trauma.”

Who does Charli play?

Details of her character remain TBC and she’s only credited in one episode. She is, however, also on board as executive music producer.

Anticipation:

Benny Drama is hilarious and has been part of Charli’s friendship circle for years now, but this is low on our list because it seems more like a cameo than a fully fleshed-out role.

5. The Moment

Logline:

N/A

What is it?

Charli has teamed with A24 to produce The Moment as the first project under her new production company, Studio365. Plot details are under wraps but it will be directed by Scottish photographer and filmmaker Aidan Zamiri, who shot all the It Girls in her “360” video. Charli’s longtime collaborator A. G. Cook will compose the score.

Who does Charli play?

Well, it’s her movie; of course she’ll be in the starring role.

Anticipation:

All of the movies on this list come from other people. The Moment will be the first time we get to see what Charli thinks makes a good movie — that frightens us (and excites us) in equal measure.

4. The Gallerist

Logline:

A gallerist, driven by desperation, hatches a scheme to sell a dead guy at Art Basel Miami.

What is it?

Many people would rather die than go to Art Basel in Miami but nobody wants to be sold there. The plot for director Cathy Yan (Birds of Prey)’s new movie comes with an A-list cast: Natalie Portman and Jenna Ortega have signed on for the lead roles.

Who does Charli play?

Again, it’s TBC, but watching Charli play a typical Miami partygoer could be a treat.

Anticipation:

An art-world satire is always welcome and the macabre nature of this one is certainly intriguing.

3. Erupcja


What is it?

In that same Billboard feature about wanting to act, Charli revealed that she was heading to Poland to shoot a movie. It turns out that was Erupcja (Polish for “eruption”), a new film co-written by and starring Jeremy O. Harris.

Who does Charli play?

According to Variety, Erupcja is about two women in a combustible relationship — a Warsaw native (played by Lena Góra) and another, named Bethany (Charli) who is visiting the city. Harris spoke last year about the shoot, explaining how tricky it was shooting in a real queer club with Charli xcx as part of your cast.

Anticipation:

Director Pete Ohs has a uniquely DIY way of making films — he writes his dialogue the day before or the morning of shooting in an effort to “live the story” — so that means things can go either way. Bonus points for Charli playing a lead role in this one, and the club scenes sound intriguing.

2. I Want Your Sex

Logline:

Elliot lands a job for Erika Tracy as her sexual muse.

What is it?

Add I Want Your Sex to the growing canon of movies centered on relationships between older women and younger men like Babygirl, the new Bridget Jones, and, of course, The Graduate. First announced in 2024, the latest by director Gregg Araki (Nowhere, Mysterious Skin) centers around fresh-faced Elliot (Cooper Hoffman) who lands an exciting job for the provocative artist Erika Tracy (Olivia Wilde). They begin a sexual relationship that takes him on a journey into a world of obsession, power, betrayal, and murder.

Who does Charli play?

TBC, but a conniving ex could be great for her.

Anticipation:

High, but Olivia Wilde has her work cut out for her with making audiences forget the disastrous rollout of Don’t Worry Darling.

1. Sacrifice

Logline:

“A star-studded charity event turns chaotic when a radical group crashes it, seeking a mystical artifact tied to an ancient prophecy.”

What is it?

French director Romain Gavras got his start directing music videos for the likes of Jamie xx and M.I.A. (he’s behind her iconic “Bad Girls” promo) but now he makes stylish and gripping movies. Sacrifice, his follow-up to his underrated 2022 film Athena, is led by Anya Taylor-Joy whose character, Joan, is described as “a zealous spirit driven by a volcanic prophecy only she can hear, who is on a mission to save the world from a fiery reckoning.” Joining Charli on the callsheet are Chris Evans, Salma Hayek, Ambika Mod, Jeremy O. Harris, and, um, Yung Lean.

Who does Charli play?

It’s TBC but we think she’d make a great member of the radical group.

Anticipation:

High. A great cast led by a super-cool director and an intriguing plot is the perfect formula.

Ranking Charli xcx’s movies by how much we want to see them