Dead of Winter: Release date news, cast details, and more about the Emma Thompson film

Brian Kirk's latest project, starring Emma Thompson as the lead, Dead of Winter, recently had its premiere at the 78th Locarno Film Festival. Now it is looking for its theatrical release this month. There aren't many reviews of the film as of now to give it a proper rating on the review aggregator platform Rotten Tomatoes, but the available ones are mixed.

The film's synopsis, according to IMDb, reads,

"A woman, travelling alone through snowbound northern Minnesota, interrupts the kidnapping of a teenage girl. Hours from the nearest town and with no phone service, she realizes that she is the young girl's only hope."

In March 2025, Deadline reported that Vertical has acquired the North American distribution rights for the film.

While Kirk is directing the movie, Nicholas Jacobson-Larson and Dalton Leeb have written the screenplay, with Jon Berg, Oana Iancu, Jonas Katzenstein, Maximilian Leo, Greg Silverman, and Gideon Yu co-producing it.

When will Dead of Winter be released?

Emma Thompson will play Barb in Dead of Winter. (Image via Vertical)

Currently, the film is set for a release on September 26, 2025. The film will clash with One Battle After Another, Gabby's Dollhouse: The Movie, The Strangers – Chapter 2, Eleanor the Great, All of You, All the Devils Are Here, and Ruth & Boaz.

One Battle After Another already holds a 97% Rotten Tomatoes score. So, it is likely that we will see this Leonardo DiCaprio-led movie coming as the top gainer at the box office on September 26.

Dead of Winter cast

Dead of Winter already had a premiere at the 78th Locarno Film Festival. (Image via Vertical)

According to IMDb, the film has just 10 actors. We are less likely to see more of the names being added to the cast, given the film's story is already set in, sort of, an isolated place, and most of the places, as we can see in the trailer, seem empty near a Minnesota lake.

You can see the names of the actors listed below.

Emma Thompson is in the lead and will play a grief-stricken mother named Barb. Gaia Wise will play a young version of the character.

Judy Greer will play the Purple Lady, whom you won't be able to identify due to the brilliant work of the make-up artist.

The rest of the film's cast includes

Marc Menchaca as Camo Jacket
Laurel Marsden as Leah
Cúán Hosty-Blaney as Young Karl
Paul Hamilton as Old Karl
Dalton Leeb as Younger Hunter
Brían F. O'Byrne as Tall Hunter
Lloyd Hutchinson as Lawyer

A brief breakdown of the Dead of Winter trailer

The film is set somewhere in Minnesota, where Emma Thompson's Barb is headed to scatter Karl's ashes. But while she is there doing this, she witnesses a kidnapping of a teenage girl.