Just 48 hours after I reported on its exceptionally well-received test screening, Searchlight Pictures has officially slotted “Rental Family” for a November 21, 2025 release — right in the thick of awards season.
Set in Japan and directed by “Beef” breakout Hikari, the film is already generating serious buzz as a tender, funny, and emotionally resonant story, with early viewers drawing tonal comparisons to past Best Picture contenders like “The Holdovers” and “Little Miss Sunshine.”
Brendan Fraser, fresh off his 2023 Oscar win for “The Whale,” stars as a washed-up American actor living in Tokyo who finds unexpected purpose working as a “rental family member” — a real-life service in Japan where actors are hired to play roles in the lives of lonely or grieving clients. What begins as a transactional gig slowly unravels into something more intimate, raw, and cathartic.
This is the sophomore feature from Hikari, who made waves with her work on “Beef,” and “Rental Family” marks her biggest project to date. If the test screening is any indication, Searchlight may be sitting on one of the more emotionally potent entries of the 2025 fall slate.
Fraser’s performance is said to be a standout — the kind of melancholic, empathetic turn that Oscar voters often gravitate toward. Don’t be surprised if he re-enters the awards conversation once again.
With “Rental Family,” Searchlight is leaning into the kind of mid-budget, character-driven dramedy that the studio has historically championed, and that the Academy often rewards. This one’s officially on the radar.
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