Yorgos Lanthimos Marathon
The Complete Lanthimos Experience
A chronological journey through Yorgos Lanthimos's filmography, watching his seven major films across one weekend.
Venue & Logistics
Location: Adrien's studio (cozy quarters!)
Seating: Comfortable seating for about 7 people. After that, you'll need to bring a chair or get comfortable on the floor. Everything is close by in the studio (yes, even the bathroom...). There's a community building a few minutes' walk down the street if you need space.
Refreshments: TBD
Schedule
Saturday
| Activity | Start | End | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🍿 Dogtooth | 10:00 AM | 11:40 AM | 1h 37m |
| 🍬 Break | 11:40 AM | 12:00 PM | 20m |
| 🍿 The Lobster | 12:00 PM | 2:00 PM | 1h 58m |
| 🍕 Lunch Break | 2:00 PM | 3:30 PM | 1h 30m |
| 🍿 The Killing of a Sacred Deer | 3:30 PM | 5:30 PM | 2h 1m |
| 🍬 Break | 5:30 PM | 6:00 PM | 30m |
| 🍿 The Favourite | 6:00 PM | 8:00 PM | 2h 0m |
Sunday
| Activity | Start | End | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🍿 Poor Things | 11:00 AM | 1:20 PM | 2h 21m |
| 🍕 Lunch Break | 1:20 PM | 3:00 PM | 1h 40m |
| 🍿 Kinds of Kindness | 3:00 PM | 5:45 PM | 2h 44m |
| 🍬 Break | 5:45 PM | 6:15 PM | 30m |
| 🍿 Bugonia | 6:15 PM | 8:15 PM | 2h 0m |
Film Credits
| Film | Year | Cinematography | Music | Written By |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dogtooth | 2009 | Thimios Bakatakis | — | Lanthimos, Efthimis Filippou |
| The Lobster | 2015 | Thimios Bakatakis | — | Lanthimos, Efthimis Filippou |
| The Killing of a Sacred Deer | 2017 | Thimios Bakatakis | — | Lanthimos, Efthimis Filippou |
| The Favourite | 2018 | Robbie Ryan | — | Deborah Davis, Tony McNamara |
| Poor Things | 2023 | Robbie Ryan | Jerskin Fendrix | Tony McNamara (from Alasdair Gray novel) |
| Kinds of Kindness | 2024 | Robbie Ryan | Jerskin Fendrix | Lanthimos, Efthimis Filippou |
| Bugonia | 2025 | Robbie Ryan | Jerskin Fendrix | Will Tracy |
Notes:
- The Favourite and Poor Things mark Lanthimos's transition to period pieces with larger budgets
- Poor Things adapted from Alasdair Gray's 1992 novel
- Filippou co-wrote 4 of 7 films (absent from The Favourite, Poor Things, and Bugonia)
- Bugonia is a remake of the 2003 South Korean film Save the Green Planet!
Cinematographers:
- Thimios Bakatakis (3 films): Lanthimos's original Greek collaborator; clinical, static compositions with natural light; wide shots that create distance from characters
- Robbie Ryan (4 films): Irish DP who brought more dynamic camerawork; fish-eye lenses in The Favourite, Technicolor-inspired palette in Poor Things, VistaVision format for Bugonia; Oscar-nominated for The Favourite and Poor Things
Composers:
- Early films (Dogtooth, The Lobster, Killing of a Sacred Deer) use minimal original score; rely on silence, diegetic sound, and occasional classical music
- The Favourite uses baroque period music (Handel, Purcell, Bach) with jarring contemporary interruptions
- Jerskin Fendrix (3 films): British experimental musician; created scores for Poor Things, Kinds of Kindness, and Bugonia without seeing footage—only reading scripts; blends orchestral with electronic; won Oscar for Poor Things
Oscar Nominations & Wins
| Film | Technical & Craft | Acting |
|---|---|---|
| Dogtooth | Foreign Language Film (nom) | — |
| The Lobster | Original Screenplay (nom) | — |
| The Killing of a Sacred Deer | — | — |
| The Favourite | Picture (nom), Director (nom), Original Screenplay (nom), Cinematography (nom), Editing (nom), Production Design (nom), Costume Design ✅ | Actress (Colman) ✅, Supporting Actress (Weisz) (nom), Supporting Actress (Stone) (nom) |
| Poor Things | Picture (nom), Director (nom), Adapted Screenplay (nom), Cinematography (nom), Editing (nom), Production Design ✅, Costume Design ✅, Original Score ✅, Makeup & Hairstyling (nom) | Actress (Stone) ✅, Supporting Actor (Ruffalo) (nom) |
| Kinds of Kindness | — | Supporting Actress (Qualley) (nom) |
| Bugonia | TBD (2025 release) | TBD |
Notes: Lanthimos has been nominated for Best Director 2 times (The Favourite, Poor Things) but never won. Emma Stone won Best Actress for Poor Things (2024). Olivia Colman won Best Actress for The Favourite (2019). Wins marked with ✅.
Box Office Performance
| Film | Budget | Worldwide Box Office | Profit/Loss | Reception |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dogtooth | €250K | $1.4M | +$1M | Arthouse sensation, launched Greek Weird Wave |
| The Lobster | $4M | $18M | +$14M | Crossover hit, festival darling |
| The Killing of a Sacred Deer | $3.5M | $7.3M | +$4M | Polarizing; horror-adjacent unsettled audiences |
| The Favourite | $15M | $95M | +$80M | Awards juggernaut, mainstream breakthrough |
| Poor Things | $35M | $118M | +$83M | Career peak; Oscar sweep |
| Kinds of Kindness | $15M | $22M | +$7M | Return to divisive form; dedicated fans loved it |
| Bugonia | $55M | $32M+ (in theaters) | TBD | Mixed reviews; finding audience on streaming |
Reception Patterns:
- Early Greek films (Dogtooth, Alps) built cult following through festival circuit
- English-language debut (The Lobster) brought wider audience while maintaining edge
- Period pieces (The Favourite, Poor Things) achieved rare combo of arthouse credibility + commercial success
- Returns to darker material (Kinds of Kindness, Bugonia) divide audiences more sharply
Film Details & Trivia
Dogtooth (2009)
Style & Themes:
- Lanthimos's international breakthrough (third feature overall)
- Parents keep adult children isolated, ignorant of the outside world
- Language is corrupted — children are taught wrong definitions for words
- Won Un Certain Regard at Cannes; Oscar-nominated for Foreign Language Film
Watch for: The deadpan violence; invented vocabulary ("a zombie is a small yellow flower"); the Rocky and Jaws VHS tapes; the dance sequence
The Lobster (2015)
Style & Themes:
- Lanthimos's English-language debut
- Dystopian premise: single people must find partners in 45 days or become animals
- Satirizes both coupling culture and militant individualism
- Colin Farrell gained 40 pounds for the role
Watch for: The hotel's absurd rules; Rachel Weisz's deadpan narration; John C. Reilly's lisping man; the "defining characteristic" obsession
The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017)
Style & Themes:
- Modern Greek tragedy (explicitly references Iphigenia myth)
- A surgeon must make an impossible sacrifice
- Symmetrical compositions; characters speak in monotone
- Barry Keoghan's breakout role as the disturbing Martin
Watch for: The hospital's sterile corridors; the family's paralysis (literal and metaphorical); the dinner table confrontations
The Favourite (2018)
Style & Themes:
- Period piece set in early 18th century England (Queen Anne's court)
- Three women compete for power and affection
- Fish-eye lenses create claustrophobic, distorted interiors
- Dance sequence to Elton John's "Skyline Pigeon"
Watch for: Olivia Colman's Oscar-winning performance; the rabbit motif; duck racing; Emma Stone's physical comedy; Rachel Weisz's scheming
Poor Things (2023)
Style & Themes:
- Victorian-era Frankenstein riff — a woman reanimated with infant's brain
- Bella Baxter's journey of discovery and liberation
- Wildly colorful production design; shifts between B&W and color
- Emma Stone's second Oscar win
Watch for: Willem Dafoe's prosthetics; the surreal cityscapes; Bella's evolving vocabulary; Mark Ruffalo's comedic desperation
Kinds of Kindness (2024)
Style & Themes:
- Return to Lanthimos's Greek Weird Wave roots
- Anthology of three stories with same cast playing different characters
- Explores dominance, submission, and the need to be controlled
- Darkest and most challenging since early work
Watch for: Emma Stone in three distinct roles; the tonal shifts between segments; Jesse Plemons' transformations; the open endings
Bugonia (2025)
Style & Themes:
- Satirical sci-fi thriller; Lanthimos's most expensive film ($55M budget)
- Remake of 2003 South Korean cult film Save the Green Planet!
- Two conspiracy theorists kidnap a CEO they believe is an alien
- Shot in VistaVision format (same lenses PTA used on his latest)
Watch for: Emma Stone's shaved head and alien interrogation scenes; Jesse Plemons as a sweaty beekeeper; the shifting power dynamics between captor and captive; Aidan Delbis's breakout performance
Recurring Collaborators
Efthimis Filippou (Writer): Co-wrote 4 films with Lanthimos (Dogtooth, Alps, The Lobster, Killing of a Sacred Deer, Kinds of Kindness)
Thimios Bakatakis (Cinematographer): Shot early Greek films through The Killing of a Sacred Deer
Robbie Ryan (Cinematographer): Shot The Favourite through Bugonia (2025)
Yorgos Mavropsaridis (Editor): Edited all Lanthimos films
Recurring Actors: Emma Stone (4 films), Jesse Plemons (3 films), Olivia Colman (3 films), Colin Farrell (3 films), Willem Dafoe (2 films), Rachel Weisz (2 films), Angeliki Papoulia (3 films)
Marathon Notes
Films per day: 4 on Saturday, 3 on Sunday Total runtime: ~14h 41m (excluding breaks) Breaks: Strategic breaks between films, extended lunch breaks
Viewing Order: Chronological by release date to track Lanthimos's evolution from Greek Weird Wave provocateur to Oscar-winning prestige filmmaker.
Themes to track:
- Power dynamics and control
- Absurdist deadpan dialogue delivery
- Physical transformation and bodily horror
- Institutional settings (hotels, hospitals, palaces)
- The violence lurking beneath civilized surfaces
- Characters choosing self-destruction over loss of autonomy