Meta description : Vicky Krieps heats up cinemas this winter with a fierce western turn and award winning past roles. What to expect, key dates, and smart ways to catch her.
Vicky Krieps returns to cinemas this winter with the quiet fire that turned her into an essential face of European auteur films. Audiences are zeroing in on her latest lead turn in Viggo Mortensen’s frontier drama “The Dead Don’t Hurt”, a festival standout that premiered at Toronto in 2023 and opened in the United States on 31 May 2024.
The timing fits her track record. From the precision of “Phantom Thread” to the rebellious pulse of “Corsage”, Krieps brings complex, modern energy to period worlds. She won the Cannes Un Certain Regard Best Performance Prize in 2022 for “Corsage”, then the European Film Award for Best Actress the same year. That momentum meets the winter slate, when theaters lean toward prestige stories and character driven cinema.
Vicky Krieps at the cinema this winter : what to expect
The headline this season is “The Dead Don’t Hurt”. Written and directed by Viggo Mortensen, the film centers on Vivienne Le Coudy, played by Vicky Krieps, as she navigates love and survival in 1860s Nevada while her companion departs for war. The film bowed at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2023, then continued its rollout into 2024, a common path for award adjacent releases in Europe during the colder months.
Why does it matter now? Winter programming often privileges intimate dramas and historical pieces that reward a cinema screen. Krieps excels in that space. Her portrait of Empress Elisabeth in “Corsage” sharpened expectations: the Cannes prize in 2022 signaled both critical confidence and audience curiosity. That combination tends to travel well from festivals to local arthouses, especially across December to February.
There is also the simple pleasure of presence. Krieps shifts tone without noise, then snaps focus back with a look. The result feels personal for viewers seeking human scale performances when blockbusters cool off post holidays. No unnecesary fuss, just craft.
Her track record : data that explain the buzz
Numbers tell part of the story. “Phantom Thread” earned 6 Academy Award nominations in 2018, including Best Picture and Best Director, and won Best Costume Design. That breakthrough placed Vicky Krieps opposite Daniel Day Lewis and introduced her name globally.
Range followed. M. Night Shyamalan’s “Old” reached a worldwide gross above 90 million dollars in 2021 according to Box Office Mojo, proving that Krieps can anchor mainstream tension as well as art house intimacy. The same year, “Bergman Island” competed at the Cannes Film Festival, cementing her credibility with directors who prize nuance.
Then came the awards run for “Corsage” in 2022. The Cannes Un Certain Regard Best Performance Prize highlighted a performance that challenged royal mythology, and the European Film Award for Best Actress reinforced that impact across the continent. These are the credentials behind the current winter buzz around “The Dead Don’t Hurt”.
How to catch Vicky Krieps on the big screen this season
The most direct path is to look for “The Dead Don’t Hurt” in local listings, particularly in independent circuits that program festival titles through winter. The film’s 2023 Toronto premiere and 2024 United States release date signal an ongoing international rollout, with many European venues timing prestige releases to winter attendance peaks.
Pair that new release with repertory screenings. “Phantom Thread” often returns for 35 millimeter nights or designer spotlights, while “Corsage” appears in award season retrospectives. Check original version sessions with subtitles for the sharper textures in Krieps’s performance, especially in scenes that play with silence and breath.
One more tip that helps: watch sequence. Start with “The Dead Don’t Hurt” to catch her latest registers, then revisit “Corsage” for the rebellious body language, and end on “Phantom Thread” to see where the global arc began. The progression clarifies her shift from discovery to cornerstone, and it makes a regular weeknight screening feel like an event.