Not much Marvel and not much DC, but plenty to be excited about.
Upcoming Movies of 2024: In all fairness to the movie studios, who’ve concocted a 2024 lineup resembling a riddle wrapped in an enigma, predicting what’s happening next week feels like attempting rocket science—let alone forecasting the cinematic chaos set for November. Is it a display of profound humility or just an excuse for the existence of “Untitled Alien Event Movie” and the ominous “Untitled Venom Sequel” on the schedule? Are they teasing us or plotting global domination? The jury’s still out.
Now, let’s address the elephant in the room – or should I say, the blank spaces in the release dates. No hard-and-fast dates, just like my ability to predict my laundry schedule. But fear not, fellow movie buffs, because amidst the uncertainty, we’ve got some locked-in gems to look forward to in 2024. There’s Bong Joon Ho’s latest masterpiece (move over, Parasite), the second installment of Denis Villeneuve’s intergalactic sandbox saga, Dune, and Luca Guadagnino’s steamy tennis drama, Challengers.
But, oh dear reader, don’t just breeze through the bottom undated section like you’re skimming a boring manual. There, in the shadows, lurk festival favorites waiting to pounce on the buzz bandwagon – Richard Linklater’s Hit Man ,Annie Baker’s A24 coming-of-age dramedy, Janet Planet, and Radu Jude’s sidesplitting Do Not Expect Too Much From the End of the World. Brace yourself for the cinematic feast to come, with festivals unearthing hidden gems, distributors unveiling fresh acquisitions, and surprise films sneaking onto the calendar like ninjas in the night. This article is just an appetizer for the grand buffet of movie madness awaiting us in the glorious year ahead. So, grab your popcorn and get ready for a cinematic rollercoaster that’s more unpredictable than your GPS after one too many detours.
January
Mean Girls
In theaters, January 12
Don’t worry – it’s a musical! The trailer for the 2024 version of Mean Girls that dropped in November weirdly neglected to indicate that small fact, making it seem like an odd rehash. But indeed this film is based on the Broadway musical incarnation of the 2004 Lindsay Lohan classic. Angourie Rice (who you may recognize from the Tom Holland Spider-Man movies among other things) fills Lohan’s shoes, with Tina Fey back again as screenwriter (and as Ms. Norbury).
The Beekeeper
US Date: Jan. 12
More anticipated January films:
Bitconned (streaming on Netflix January 1); Society of the Snow (streaming on Netflix January 4); Mayhem! (in theaters January 5); Good Grief (streaming on Netflix January 5); Night Swim (in theaters January 5); He Went That Way (in theaters January 5); Race for Glory: Audi vs. Lancia (in theaters January 5); Self Reliance (streaming on Hulu January 12); Inshallah a Boy (in theaters January 12); The Book of Clarence (in theaters January 12); Role Play (in theaters January 12); Lift (streaming on Netflix January 12); The Settlers (in theaters January 12); I.S.S. (in theaters January 19); Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell (in theaters January 19); Origin (in theaters January 19); The Breaking Ice (in theaters January 19); American Star (in theaters January 26); Miller’s Girl (in theaters January 26); The Underdoggs (in theaters January 26); Totem (in theaters January 26); Housekeeping for Beginners (in theaters January 26); Sometimes I Think About Dying (in theaters January 26).
February
Madame Web
US Date: Feb.14
More anticipated February films:
Argylle (in theaters February 2); How to Have Sex (in theaters February 2); Orion and the Dark (streaming on Netflix February 2); The Promised Land (in theaters February 2); It Ends With Us (in theaters February 9); Upgraded (streaming on Prime Video February 9); The Taste of Things (in theaters February 9); Out of Darkness (in theaters February 9); Lisa Frankenstein (in theaters February 9); Madame Web (in theaters February 14); Bob Marley: One Love (in theaters February 14); Bleeding Love (in theaters February 16); This Is Me Now … The Film (streaming on Prime Video February 16); Ordinary Angels (in theaters February 23); They Shot the Piano Player (in theaters February 23); About Dry Grasses (in theaters February 23).
March
Dune Part Two
March 1
The wait for the second part of Denis Villaneuve’s adaptation of Dune has been excruciating, and it was made even worse when the film was delayed during the writers’ and actors’ strikes earlier this year. Playing Call of Duty with the new Paul Atreides skin is helping a little bit, but fortunately it won’t be too much longer now.
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire
March 29
This new Ghostbusters sequel swapped director Jason Reitman for Monster House and Poltergeist remake director Gil Kenan (who also co-wrote Ghostbusters: Afterlife). looks at least on the surface like a more standard Ghostbusters movie than the divisive Afterlife was in 2021, with more of the original cast returning.
More anticipated March films:
Spaceman (streaming on Netflix March 1); Ricky Stanicky (on Prime Video March 7); Kung Fu Panda 4 (in theaters March 8); Damsel (streaming on Netflix March 8); Cabrini (in theaters March 8); Love Lies Bleeding (in theaters March 8); Imaginary (in theaters March 8); Frida (on Prime Video March 14); Irish Wish (streaming on Netflix March 15); Roadhouse (on Prime Video March 21); Arthur the King (in theaters March 22); Riddle of Fire (in theaters March 22); American Society of Magical Negroes (in theaters March 22); Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (in theaters March 29)
April
Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire
April 12
After duking it out in Godzilla vs Kong, the two biggest badasses around now must face off against a new threat from the center of the Earth: Cranky Kong. It’s not actually that Donkey Kong character, of course, but that’s certainly the vibe of this elderly-looking chimp that looks pretty mad about something. We have no complaints, honestly.
Civil War
April 26
Alex Garland, writer of Enslaved: Odyssey to the West and also director of several well regarded movies and the creative force behind FX’s brilliant Devs, has a big-budget, three-hours-and-change movie about a new American Civil War in the modern day. In an election year in which Donald Trump is trying to once again become president, the discourse around this is probably going to be terrible, but we should expect Garland to have some surprises in store for us.
More anticipated April films:
Música (on Prime Video April 4); Dreamer (in theaters April 5); The Beast (in theaters April 5); The First Omen (in theaters April 5); Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (in theaters April 5); The People’s Joker (in theaters April 5); Rebel Moon: Part Two — The Scargiver (streaming on Netflix April 19); untitled monster thriller by Radio Silence (in theaters April 19); The Feeling That the Time for Doing Something Has Passed (in theaters April 26); Unsung Hero (in theaters April 26).
May
The Fall Guy
May 3
The director of Atomic Blonde and Deadpool 2, David Leitch, has a new action-comedy flick about a stuntman, played by Ryan Gosling, who has to rescue a kidnapped action star. If that wasn’t enough, the trailer has big The Nice Guys energy, and we always welcome that. It certainly looks more entertaining than the early-’80s TV show it’s based on.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
May 24
The rebooted Apes franchise has finally arrived at what looks more or less like the world of the original 1968 Charlton Heston movie, with apes fully in charge while treating mute humans as cattle. This time, however, the point of view is staying with the primates, and it’ll be very interesting to see how director Wes Ball and company handle what appears to be at least somewhat of a remix of that first movie.
Furiosa
May 24
9 years after Fury Road, director George Miller has finally put together this new Mad Max prequel film that, well, looks a lot like Fury Road. But Anya Taylor-Joy looks formidable as the young Furiosa, and the sight of a villainous Chris Hemsworth sporting a prosthetic nose and delightful facial hair is pretty tough to argue with. We expect big things from this one.
More anticipated May films:
The Idea of You (on Prime Video May 2); Evil Does Not Exist (in theaters May 5); Horrorscope (in theaters May 10); Back to Black (in theaters May 10); My Ex-Friend’s Wedding (in theaters May 10); The Garfield Movie (in theaters May 24).
June
Bad Boys 4
June 14
Bad Boys for Life, which was the last box-office hit before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down movie theaters, was surprisingly great and left the franchise in an excellent spot to move forward from. But then Will Smith slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars and this new sequel was put on the backburner. But with directors Adil & Billal returning, along with all the new cast members, we’re holding out all our hopes for another banger.
A Quiet Place: Day One
June 28
The Quiet Place franchise continues with this prequel starring the great Lupita Nyong’o and Djimon Hounsou from Pig director Michael Sarnoski. The Quiet Place premise, revolving around an invasion of blind alien monsters, has proven to be more than compelling enough for a franchise. While John Krasinski isn’t directing this one, he did write the story treatment
More anticipated June films:
The Watchers (in theaters June 7); Bad Boys 4 (in theaters June 14); The Blue Angels (on Prime Video June 27); A Quiet Place: Day One (in theaters June 28).
July
Twisters
July 19
It’s debatable whether the Twister IP was worth mining for a new film. But as somebody who grew up in the most tornado-heavy part of the United States and had several close calls when I was younger, you’ll never hear me complain about new weather-based disaster movies, since they don’t come around too often. This one stars Glen Powell, Anthony Ramos, and Daisy Edgar-Jones.
Deadpool 3
July 26
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is kinda falling apart right now, so the timing couldn’t be better for a new Deadpool movie that will supposedly be a part of the MCU. But it’s also the only MCU movie currently on the calendar for 2024, while Disney figures out how to correct course after a chaotic couple of years.
August
Trap
August 2
M. Night Shyamalan is one of our best and worst filmmakers, somebody who’s capable of making a great movie and then following it up with an absolute embarrassment–but they’re always entertaining, without exception. While we don’t know what Trap is about, the cast includes The Parent Trap star Hayley Mills. I’m gonna hold out hope that that’s not a coincidence.
Borderlands
August 9
The long-delayed Borderlands adaptation from Thanksgiving and Hostel director Eli Roth has a lot of potential with folks like Cate Blanchett, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Kevin Hart headlining. But it’s still a video game adaptation, and The Last of Us and The Super Mario Bros. Movie aside, those still have a shaky track record. Fortunately, Borderlands is great fodder for an action comedy.
Alien: Romulus
August 16
It’s another Alien movie, but unlike the two recent prequels, Romulus comes from director Fede Alvarez instead of Ridley Scott. The premise is a familiar one–things go bad on a space colony because of xenomorphs–but with the twist that it’ll focus on teens and young adults this time, a unique angle for the series.
Kraven the Hunter
August 30
The second of three currently scheduled non-MCU Marvel flicks from Sony in 2024 stars the always-interesting Aaron Taylor-Johnson as the titular Kraven. This was supposed to be a 2023 movie until Sony delayed everything during the strikes, and now it looks like one of the better action flicks in the comic year.
More anticipated August films:
Harold and the Purple Crayon (in theaters August 2); Trap (in theaters August 2); Borderlands (in theaters August 9); Flint Strong (in theaters August 9); Speak No Evil (in theaters August 9); Untitled Alien Event Movie (in theaters August 16); Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter 2 (in theaters August 16)
September
Beetlejuice 2
September 6
It’s a new Beetlejuice movie from Tim Burton decades later, with the main cast returning and Jenna Ortega serving as the new lead. Everything about that description sounds right and proper–which doesn’t necessarily mean it will rule, but it feels like it probably will.
More anticipated September films:
Transformers One (in theaters September 13); The Wild Robot (in theaters September 20)
October
Joker 2
October 4
Releasing the new Joker movie a month before a US presidential election is a real choice by Warner Bros. I’m sure everyone will be super normal about it. Regardless, Lady Gaga is joining the new film as director Todd Phillips’ version of Harley Quinn and this movie will be something of a musical. You know, because all of those famous comic book scenes in which Joker sings.
More anticipated October films:
Untitled Smile Sequel (in theaters October 18); Terrifier 3 (in theaters October 25); The Wolfman (in theaters October 25).
November
Venom 3
November 8
With two other films in Sony’s little shared universe coming out in 2024 ahead of Venom 3, it makes us wonder if they’re not just planting the seeds for the Sinister Six down the line. Maybe Venom 3 will bring it all together? It’s probably not happening just yet, but without knowing basically anything about Venom 3, we can’t help but dream.
Gladiator 2
November 22
The first Gladiator was a very earnest and prototypical sword-and-sandals epic, but Ridley Scott’s more recent historical films, like The Last Duel and this year’s Napoleon–and even House of Gucci, honestly–have taken a much different approach by lampooning their subjects relentlessly. In other words, the Ridley Scott making Gladiator 2 is a very different person than the one who made the first Gladiator, and I can’t wait to see how this one goes.
December
Sonic the Hedgehog
December 20
This cute and reliably amusing live-action Sonic franchise is back for another family-friendly adventure, and the only thing we know so far is the whole cast is returning and Shadow the Hedgehog will appear for the first time in these movies.
More anticipated December films:
Karate Kid (in theaters December 13); Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (in theaters December 20); Mufasa: The Lion King (in theaters December 20)
