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Kiss of the Spider Woman (2025 film)
2025 film by Bill Condon From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Kiss of the Spider Woman is a 2025 American musical drama film written for the screen and directed by Bill Condon. Based on the stage musical by Terrence McNally, John Kander, and Fred Ebb, it is the second film adaptation of the 1976 novel by the Argentinian Manuel Puig, following the 1985 Brazilian adaptation. Jennifer Lopez stars in the titular role, alongside Diego Luna and Tonatiuh.[2]
Kiss of the Spider Woman premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 26, 2025, where it received generally positive reviews from critics.[3][4] It is set to be released theatrically in the United States on October 10, 2025 by Lionsgate, Roadside Attractions and LD Entertainment.
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Premise
Valentín, a political prisoner, shares a cell with Molina, a window dresser convicted of public indecency. The two form an unlikely bond as Molina recounts the plot of a Hollywood musical starring his favorite silver screen diva, Ingrid Luna.[5]
Cast
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- Jennifer Lopez as Ingrid Luna/Aurora/The Spider Woman
- Diego Luna as Valentin Arregui/Armando
- Tonatiuh as Luis Molina/Kendall Nesbitt
- Tony Dovolani as Johnny Desiderio
- Josefina Scaglione as Marta
- Bruno Bichir as The Warden
- Aline Mayagoitia as Paulina
- Kevin Michael Brennan as Shady Mocambo Man
- Thomas Canestraro as Desiderio's Henchman
- Eduardo Ramos as Armando
- David Turner as Kendall Nesbitt
- Lynn Favin as Villager
- Odain Watson as Villager
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Production
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Development and casting
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In December 2023, Jennifer Lopez was announced to star as Ingrid Luna in a film adaptation of the musical with Bill Condon directing from his own screenplay. The independently-financed production was executive produced by Lopez, Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas and Benny Medina through their Nuyorican Productions banner, while Barry Josephson, Tom Kirdahy and Greg Yolen served as producers. Choreographer Sergio Trujillo and co-choreographer Brandon Bieber created the dance sequences throughout. Christopher Scott choreographed “Gimme Love.” Upon the announcement, a casting call opened for an unknown to play the role of Molina.[6][7] In March 2024, dancer Tony Dovolani announced on his Instagram page that he had joined the cast as mob boss Johnny Desiderio.[8] In April, it was announced that Diego Luna and Tonatiuh had joined the cast as Valentin Arregui and Luis Molina, with Ben Affleck and Matt Damon boarding the project as executive producers through the Artists Equity banner. Luna also served as an executive producer.[9] Colleen Atwood served as costume designer.[10] Composer and pianist Sam Davis wrote the incidental underscore for the dialogue scenes, marking his film scoring debut after collaborating with Condon as the dance music arranger for Disney's live-action remake of Beauty and the Beast (2017).[11]
Filming
On March 20, 2024, Lopez announced that production on the film had begun, with the intention to have a fast turnaround time so she can launch her This Is Me... Live tour on June 26, which was later cancelled on May 31.[12] Principal photography began in New Jersey on March 21, 2024.[13][14] On May 10, Lopez confirmed on Live with Kelly and Mark that she completed filming on her scenes and that she lost weight for the role of Aurora, describing the shoot as "equal parts exhilarating and exhausting".[15] Production wrapped on June 16, 2024.[16]
The film is dedicated to the memories of Ebb (who died in 2004), McNally (who died in 2020 from COVID-19) and Chita Rivera (who originated the title role on stage and died in 2024) as well as the original actor who played Molina in the 1985 film William Hurt (who died in 2022).[17]
Musical numbers
- Prologue – Orchestra
- Her Name is Aurora – Molina, Aurora and Aurora's Men
- And the Moon Grows Dimmer – Aurora
- Where You Are – Aurora and Aurora's Man[18]
- Come – Spider Woman
- I Do Miracles – Aurora
- A Visit – Spider Woman and Molina
- She's a Woman – Molina
- Gimme Love – Aurora, Molina and Aurora's Men
- I Will Dance Alone – Aurora
- An Everyday Man – Aurora
- Anything for Him – Spider Woman, Molina and Valentin
- Kiss of the Spider Woman – Spider Woman[18]
- Only in the Movies / His Name was Molina – Molina and the People in His Life[18]
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Stage-to-screen changes
In adapting the musical to the screen, Condon cited Bob Fosse's 1972 film adaptation of another Kander and Ebb musical, Cabaret, as a source of inspiration. This resulted in cutting almost every song set in reality at the prison where Molina and Arregui are held (including "Dressing Them Up" and "The Day After That") and only keeping the ones set in the "fantasies" Molina comes up with, in order to create a stark contrast between the grittiness of prison life in Argentina during the Dirty War and the Technicolor lavishness and beauty of a classic MGM musical film. As a result, the aspect ratio also shifts between the 1.85∶1 format during the prison scenes and the 1.33∶1 format during the fantasy sequences. In addition, two new songs were written for the film by John Kander, both entitled "I Will Dance Alone" and "An Everyday Man."[19][20][18]
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Release
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Kiss of the Spider Woman is scheduled to be released in the United States on October 10, 2025.[21] It had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 26, 2025, marking Condon's first film premiere at the festival since Gods and Monsters (1998), and received a standing ovation from the audience, which reportedly left Lopez in tears.[22][23][24][25] It later held additional screenings at the festival, with all showings of the film being sold-out in advance of the premiere.[26][27] In February 2025, AGC Studios boarded onto the film to handle international sales to buyers at the 2025 European Film Market, while William Morris Endeavor and CAA Media Finance will handle U.S. sales.[28] In March 2025, Lionsgate, Roadside Attractions and LD Entertainment were reportedly in final talks to acquire North American distribution rights to the film; the deal closed not long after, with Mickey Liddell joining the executive producing team, alongside plans for a wide theatrical awards season release sometime in fall that year. Searchlight Pictures and Mubi also expressed interest in the rights a month prior to Lionsgate's purchase.[29][30] It held its international premiere as the closing night film of the 78th Locarno Film Festival on August 16, 2025,[31] and will hold its Canadian premiere as the closing night film of the 2025 Atlantic International Film Festival on September 17, 2025.[32][33]
Marketing
The film's promotional campaign launched on June 5, 2025 with the release of the teaser trailer.[34] The following day, Lopez made an appearance at the 2025 WorldPride celebration in Washington, D.C. to share an exclusive clip from the film and perform the title song live for the first time.[35][36] The official trailer was released on August 20, 2025, alongside the poster.[37]
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Reception
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On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 83% of 40 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.7/10. The website's consensus reads: "Weaving a visually sumptuous web of musical intrigue, Kiss of the Spider Woman showcases beauty in tragedy through wondrous performances by Jennifer Lopez, Tonatiuh Elizarraraz and Diego Luna."[38] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 60 out of 100, based on 15 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[39]
Fionnuala Halligan of Screendaily lamented that despite the "committed" and "sincere" cast, "it's disappointing that what they are peddling has become so distorted".[40] Pete Hammond of Deadline Hollywood wrote about a "stunning new film adaptation" in which Condon demonstrates that the musical genre is "still fresh and alive and relevant even on the budget of independent filmmaking".[41]
David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter delivered as a bottom line the following assessment: "entertaining, even if it soars only intermittently".[17] Ryan Lattanzio of IndieWire gave the film a 'C+' rating, wondering what's a "star-making performance [Tonatiuh's] when the package surrounding the actor is otherwise so ordinary and un-cosmic?"[42] Peter Debruge of Variety praised how Condon gives Tonatiuh his Jennifer Hudson moment in "She's a Woman".[43]
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References
External links
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