Going Out: Cinema
Marty Supreme
Out now
Josh Safdie’s new sports comedy takes loose inspiration from the career of New York ping-pong icon Marty “the Needle” Reisman, with Gwyneth Paltrow, Abel Ferrara and Fran Drescher in supporting roles, and Timothée Chalamet in the lead as the vibrantly eccentric sportsman.
The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants
Out now
The ever-popular underwater adventures of the amiable yellow sponge continue, with a fourth big-screen adventure that sees SpongeBob tracking down the Flying Dutchman (Mark Hamill). Expect to see just as many child-free millennials in the audience as families.
Anaconda
Out now
Apologies to anyone who views it through rose-tinted spectacles, but the original 1997 Anaconda was a load of drivel. But this isn’t a faithful remake: it’s a meta-horror-comedy-action remake about a couple of guys (Jack Black and Paul Rudd) attempting to remake Anaconda only to be attacked by – yes – a giant snake. OK, we’ll bite.
Sentimental Value
Out now
Joachim Trier explores the dynamic between an actor daughter and her director father (Stellan Skarsgård) in this comic drama. It stars Renate Reinsve and Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas as sisters whose dad re-enters their lives, attempting attempting to film his own autobiographical script. Catherine Bray
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Going Out: Gigs
Wet Leg
Ross Band Stand, Edinburgh, New Year’s Eve
Edinburgh’s Hogmanay celebrations get an alt-rock twist thanks to Isle of Wight weirdos Wet Leg, who bring summer’s second album, Moisturizer, to the Scottish capital. Support comes from local acts Hamish Hawk and Lucia & the Best Boys, but the show may well be stolen by pyrotechnic wizards Titanium’s midnight firework display. Michael Cragg
Floating Points
Fold, London, New Year’s Eve
Electronic music experimentalist Samuel Shepherd, AKA Floating Points, rings in the new year with this all-night set in east London. A noted crate-digger whose albums have flitted between jazzy soundscapes, chunky basslines and hard club drops, it’s best not to second guess what might happen. MC
Trio Manteca
Peggy’s Skylight, Nottingham, 30 December
In 1947, bebop trumpet star Dizzy Gillespie wrote Manteca, the first-ever Afro-Cuban tune to become a jazz hit – thereby unleashing the Latin jazz genre. This northern piano trio of the same name devotedly explores that lineage, via the music of Dizzy, Herbie Hancock, Wes Montgomery and many others.
Iestyn Davies & the English Concert
Wigmore Hall, London, New Year’s Eve
JS Bach supplies the programme for New Year’s Eve at the Wigmore as the countertenor joins the English Concert for a programme that alternates solo cantatas with two of the Brandenburg Concertos, Nos 3 and 6; it’s directed by Lars Ulrik Mortensen, the hall’s new artist in residence. Andrew Clements
Going Out: Art
Gilbert & George
Hayward Gallery, London, to 11 January
There’s a raucous party atmosphere, laced with hungover melancholy, in this epic and often hilarious tour through the world of Gilbert & George. It is at once a very small place, as they obsessively explore their east London locality, and a window on a world riven with conflict and fear.
Wright of Derby
National Gallery, London, to 10 May
Crisp clear winter nights with a full moon hanging, bright silver haunt this exhibition. A man digs by moonlight, a gathering in a Georgian house is entranced by a scientific experiment, a couple of travellers chance on a dark secret. Art with seasonal magic.
Turner in January
Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh, New Year’s Day to 31 January
The storms and gusts of winter whirl about you in this annual unveiling of the great Romantic artist’s watercolours. Turner can bathe you in the warmth of an Italian summer and take you into the ice-laden Alps. There’s no better artist to show you beauty in the chills of January.
Surf!
National Maritime Museum Cornwall, Falmouth, to January 2027
Shake yourself out of the Christmas torpor, grab your surfboard and plunge in the shivering sea … at least in imagination, with this survey of how Cornwall became a wave-riding hotspot. The museum also has a Christmas trail and crafts for kids. Jonathan Jones
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Going out: Stage
Most Favoured
Soho theatre, London, to 24 January
David Ireland’s latest play starts at 6.30pm and lasts just 45 minutes. It’s about a young woman who’s been sleeping with strangers across Scotland and an American tourist she meets. What are they hiding? Miriam Gillinson
The Rivals
Orange Tree theatre, London, to 24 January; touring to 7 February
Director Tom Littler’s 250th-anniversary production of Sheridan’s “comedy of manners” is set in 1920s Bath, – where the production later tours – with a cracking cast including Robert Bathurst and Patricia Hodge. MG
The Nutcracker
Royal Albert Hall, London, 29 December to New Year’s Eve
Birmingham Royal Ballet makes its annual trip south for a Nutcracker spectacle that should leave everyone feeling warm and sparkly. Choreographed by Sir Peter Wright, it has projections by the acclaimed 59 Productions that fill the vast space, and Tchaikovsky’s brilliant score played live by the Royal Ballet Sinfonia. Lyndsey Winship
Josh Jones & Rachel Fairburn
Frog & Bucket, Manchester, 30 December & New Year’s Eve
See out 2025 without a second bout of serious reflection in the company of two of Manchester’s finest standups – the bracingly acerbic Fairburn and the warmly gossipy Jones – as they co-headline end of year shows in their home city. Rachel Aroesti
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Staying in: Streaming
The Night Manager
BBC One & iPlayer, New Year’s Day, 9.05pm
It’s been 10 years since this sumptuous John le Carré adaptation first wowed viewers; now the spy series is making a belated comeback, this time shifting the arms-dealing action to Colombia. Tom Hiddleston returns as the inscrutable former soldier turned hotel manager turned undercover agent.
The Traitors
BBC One & iPlayer, New Year’s Day, 8pm
If you’re still reeling from the Celebrity Traitors finale, then pull yourself together: it’s time for another civilian version. Prepare for a whole new host of clueless hundies to fail to root out the barefaced liars in their midst as our best reality format returns to deliver more deliciously twisted sociology lessons.
Run Away
Netflix, New Year’s Day
You know exactly what you’re getting with a Harlan Coben thriller: an irresistible mystery peppered with plot holes, red herrings and terrible dialogue. Yet these trashy dramas invariably boast quality casts. Run Away, about a drug-addicted teenager who goes missing, stars Ruth Jones, Minnie Driver, Ingrid Oliver, Amy Gledhill and many more.
The Hunting Wives
ITV1 & ITVX, 27 December, 9.30pm
SNL has already spoofed this ludicrously camp drama about a group of glamorous gun-wielding Texan women who welcome a newcomer with a dark secret into their fold, and the murder and mayhem that unsurprisingly ensues. Malin Akerman, Brittany Snow and Dermot Mulroney star. RA
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Staying in: Games
Spider-Man: Miles Morales
PS4, PS5, PC; out now
Looking back again at some gaming classics, why not leap and swing through a festive New York City complete with glittering decorations and snow-laden avenues? This is the best of all Spider-Man’s outings to date.
Shenmue I & II
PS4, Xbox, PC; out now
The first entry in this leisurely adventure series sees you play detective in sleepy 1980s Yokosuka streets, with snowy weather creeping in with each passing December day. For those who appreciate attention to detail and sedate exploration, there are few better comforting treats for the time between Christmas and the new year. Matthew Reynolds
Going out: Albums
The Deep – KPOP B!TCH
Out now
South Korean singer and producer the Deep cashes in on the current passion for all thing 00s with this debut of neon-splashed, trucker cap-sporting party rock. With production assistance from hyperpop’s Dorian Electra, songs such as BEEP BEEP and the Kesha-like title track are gloriously throwaway dance-pop.
Sharp Pins – Balloon Balloon Balloon
Out now
Prolific 21-year-old Kai Slater, the frontman of Chicago band Lifeguard, releases his second album of 2025. While Balloon Balloon Balloon continues the jangly powerpop majesty of March’s Radio DDR, it also expands on his sound, adding experimental textures to songs such as the cut-and-shut opus I Could Find Out.
Boy & Bear – Tripping Over Time
Out now
Huge in their native Australia, where all five of their previous albums have hit the Top 10, indie rock quintet Boy & Bear return with this follow-up to 2023’s self-titled record. As the title suggests, it’s an album anchored by the passing of time and self-growth.
Juliana Hatfield – Lightning Might Strike
Out now
As a musician, actor, author and one-time member of the Lemonheads and Blake Babies, singer-songwriter Juliana Hatfield has worn a lot of hats. She’s also found the time to record 21 solo albums. On Lightning Might Strike she perfectly bottles melodic indie rock, particularly on Fall Apart and Popsicle. MC
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Staying in: Brain food
The Back Page
Podcast
For video game enthusiasts and amateurs alike, this long-running series from writers Matthew Castle and Samuel Roberts offers fascinating insights into the industry, new games to buy as well as oral histories of the medium.
Funk Do Brasil With Mochakk
YouTube
Superstar Brazilian DJ Mochakk fronts this entertaining three-part doc tracing the history and evolution of baile funk or Brazilian funk music, from its birthplace in Rio de Janeiro to new subcultures springing up in Belo Horizonte.
I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not
Sky Documentaries, 2 January
From his breakout role in the first season of Saturday Night Live to finding global fame in the National Lampoon’s Vacation movies, this comprehensive film charts the comedy appeal of Chevy Chase. Ammar Kalia
