2023’s been a massive year for Hollywood, with Barbenheimer‘s box office explosion in July soon eclipsed by industry-shaking WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. It’s meant that we’ll have to wait until 2024 for some of our most anticipated blockbusters—and so next year’s cinema lineup is more stacked than ever.
Stay tuned to this list for updates on the coming year’s biggest, boldest, and most exciting new movies, with release date info and promo pics still to come in some cases. There’s sequels, prequels, and spin-offs aplenty, but also some fascinating original stories.
Argylle
A killer cast flesh out the latest action flick from Kingsman: The Secret Service director Matthew Vaughn, including everyone from Henry Cavill as a badass spy to pop star Dua Lipa. The stars, though, are Bryce Dallas Howard and Sam Rockwell, as a nervous author and the spy she’s forced to team up with when her fictional plots turn out to not be so fictional after all.
Ballerina
Emerald Fennell writes; Len Wiseman directs; Ana De Armas stars; and John Wick skulks around in the background somewhere. We’ve been waiting for this Wickiverse spin-off for a hot minute, ever since the mysterious, tattooed titular character appeared in the action franchise’s third chapter.
The Beekeeper
A hivemind of action movie mayhem comes together for this original thriller, starring Jason Statham as a retired operative from a secret organisation, codenamed “beekeepers.” Jeremy Irons, Minnie Driver, and Josh Hutcherson co-star as David Ayer directs—his return to form, maybe?
Beetlejuice 2
Some fool must’ve uttered Michael Keaton’s name three times, because here we are. Winona Ryder, Catherine O’Hara, and Keaton join new cast members Willem Dafoe, and Tim Burton’s Wednesday star Jenna Ortega for more post-mortem madness. Let’s hope it’s as zingy and memorable as the original and not just a cash grab in goth kid clothing.
Bob Marley: One Love
It’s kinda surprising that the revolutionary king of Reggae hasn’t been given the biopic treatment yet, and we don’t expect this one to be particularly hard-hitting—it’s being produced with the full permission of the late legend’s estate. Kingsley Ben-Adir dons the dreads.
Borderlands
Eli Roth’s film adaptation of the space-opera video game franchise has an out-of-this-world cast, starring Cate Blanchett as Lilith alongside Jack Black, Kevin Hart, and Jamie Lee Curtis. Fanboy gamers will hope for something super faithful, but we’re frankly stoked to just see Cate in something less serious.
Challengers
The release of Luca Guadagnino’s latest film was sadly put off due to the Hollywood actors strike, and the delayed gratification is only feeding our hype even more. It’s a tennis drama, starring Zendaya as an ace-turned-coach caught between her ex Josh O’Connor and husband Mike Faist. Poor gal!
Deadpool 3
With the added adrenaline shot of Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine, the latest irreverent Deadpool movie could be the kick up the butt that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been needing. Ryan Reynolds is back, obviously, but exciting new mates include Brits Emma Corrin and Matthew Macfadyen.
Despicable Me 4
Gru (Steve Carell) and his adopted tykes refuse to let their pesky Minion workforce steal the spotlight, now being trotted out for the fourth instalment of the main Despicable Me animated franchise. Steve Coogan seems to be voicing the reformed baddie Gru’s next nemesis.
Drive-Away Dolls
What does a Coen crime comedy look like with just one of the brothers behind the camera? Ethan’s first feature without his Shakespeare-adapting bro Joel appears to be a hoot, following “two ladies going South” when they bump into inept criminals. Margaret Qualley and Australia’s Geraldine Viswanathan star.
Dune: Part Two
Like spice through the hourglass, so are the days of Denis Villeneuve’s epic space opera adaptation. We can’t wait for more mega worms, more of Zendaya’s mysterious love interest, and bonkers new characters played by Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, and our emperor Christopher Walken.
The Fall Guy
Emily Blunt loves a romance-tinged action-comedy, and Ryan Gosling loves to Drive. They’re made for each other, despite being embittered exes, in this Sydney-set flick starring Gosling as a hard-working stuntman forced into real-life heroics.
Furiosa
The longer we have to wait for this prequel to Mad Max: Fury Road, we just get curiosa and curiosa. Anya Taylor-Joy takes over from Queen Charlize as an earlier, presumably two-armed Furiosa, taking on Chris Hemsworth as a youthful Immortan Joe. Fang it!
The Garfield Movie
Chris Pratt wasn’t entirely convincing as an Italian video game plumber and TBH we’re not sure about him as the voice of a lasagne-guzzling, Monday-loathing cat. A slick, revamped, animated Garfield makes it out of the funny pages and onto the big screen once again, with Sam Jackson as Garfield’s scruffy dad.
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire
The first, mysterious trailer for this sequel to Afterlife might leave fans befuddled. What does climate change, however sudden and spooky, have to do with the Ghostbusters? Friends from the latest sequel like Paul Rudd join the OG bustin’ team for a frosty new quest, featuring what may be a new, genuinely scary villain.
Gladiator 2
After directing this year’s historical epic Napoleon, Ridley Scott asks us bloodthirsty viewers: are you not entertained? A sequel to Scott’s 2000 Oscar-winner should do the trick, starring Paul Mescal alongside Denzel Washington and Pedro Pascal. No Russell Crowe, obviously. Unless we’re including force ghosts here.
Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire
We love to see these two big boys brawlin’, but man do we love it when they discover the power of friendship and teamwork even more. The beasties must unite to face off against their common enemies in this sprawling sequel. We do not care what the petty human characters get up to underneath their giant kaiju feet.
Inside Out 2
Our first look at the sequel to Pixar’s emotional odyssey quickly became one of Disney’s most-watched trailers ever, and for good reason: a new emotion, Anxiety (voiced by Maya Hawke), looks like she’s not the only fresh addition to a now-teenaged Riley’s brainspace. As if five base emotions weren’t enough to juggle!
It Ends With Us
Author Colleen Hoover’s viral novels have earned her an adoring international fanbase, with characters named “Lily Bloom” and “Atlas Corrigan” flying and falling on the wings of their tortured romances. In the first big-budget adaptation of one of her most popular works, Blake Lively is one such poor soul: a florist caught between two hotties.
Joker: Folie à Deux
Lady Gaga’s seriously gunning for her Oscar now, and since slapping on the clown paint worked so well for Joaquin Phoenix, her Harley Quinn cosplay might just pay off. The sequel to Todd Phillips’ dark supervillain origin story is apparently a musical, which obviously fits the pop chanteuse pretty perfectly.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
New entries in this old franchise keep resurfacing every three or four years, and considering their astoundingly consistent quality, we don’t mind one bit. This fourth entry takes place generations after the events of the last one, with Andy Serkis’ leader Caesar now gone and replaced by a dominant new ape who aims to enslave other clans and snuff out our weakly human tech.
Kraven the Hunter
Aaron Taylor Johnson looks like he belongs on the cover of a medieval Mills & Boon novel here, as big game hunter Sergei Kravinoff. Fuelled up by a serum that gives him powerful abilities and a longer lifespan, he should give the other folks in Sony’s super villain cinematic universe some trouble.
Kung Fu Panda 4
Has Dreamworks made three of these action-comedies already? Dang. Jack Black is back as Po, now facing ascension as a respected spiritual leader, but first he’ll need to train a reluctant new Dragon Warrior (likely Awkwafina, who’s listed in the new film’s voice cast).
Lord of the Rings: The War of Rohirrim
LOTR + anime + Logan Roy = this intriguing new chapter in Tolkien’s eternal fantasy vision, as seen on screen. Expect a lushly animated take on Middle Earth 183 years before Frodo’s film adventures, with Brian Cox voicing the King of Rohan, Helm Hammerhand (the guy Helm’s Deep is named after!).
Madame Web
Weaving its own sinister web months before we get Sony’s Kraven the Hunter, this introduction to another Spider-Man side character stars Dakota Johnson as a clairvoyant who can see into the “spider-world.” Sydney Sweeney will also appear as Spider-Woman, and don’t count out any appearances of Venom or, fingers crossed, Morbius.
Mean Girls
Disturbingly enough, it’s already been 20 years since we were first taught that Wednesdays are for wearing pink and that fetch is never going to happen. Now a fresh cast of Plastics will sing their way through Tina Fey’s high school classic, an adaptation of the Mean Girls musical seen on Broadway a few years back. Dare we hope for a Lindsay Lohan cameo?
Mickey 17
Ever since winning armfuls of Oscars for Parasite, Bong Joon-ho’s next feature has been hotly anticipated—and casting Robert Pattinson as the lead hasn’t hurt that. Pattinson will play an expendable clone sent to colonise an icy new planet, probably brooding on his identity and autonomy the whole time, in this thinky sci-fi drama.
Nosferatu
Hey, speaking of R.Pattz! The guy was meant to appear in Robert Eggers’ next horror film as the vampiric Count Orlok, a role that’s since gone to Bill Skarsgård. Knowing Eggers’ meticulous detail for historical recreation and bygone practices of silent cinema, his take on monstrous obsession should stun and terrify at once.
Paddington in Peru
Adorable bear Paddington has already perfected London life, so it’s about time he visited his Aunt Lucy at her Home for Retired Bears in South America. An international voyage is a good look for these enduringly wonderful family films, and we can’t wait to see Antonia Banderas as a hunter who seems to be on the Brown family’s trail.
A Quiet Place: Day One
They probably won’t spend much time in the film chatting, but the cast of John Krasinski’s horror prequel speak for themselves: Djimon Hounsou, Joseph Quinn, Alex Wolff, and Oscar-winner Lupita Nyong’o. Lost for words on the first day of the invasion of A Quiet Place’s violent, sound-sensitive aliens, they’ll be forced to scramble for their survival.
Snow White
Another remake of a classic, old-timey Disney classic; another round of drama sparked by its classic, old-timey values. Rachel Zegler has already attracted (pretty lame) controversy for her perceived girlbossification of one of Disney’s meeker female leads, and the movie’s in a real Catch 22 as to whether to cast real dwarf actors or uncanny valley CGI abomination. Will all that hurt its box office? Probably not. Gal Gadot stars as the vain queen.
Sonic the Hedgehog 3
The spiky blue speed demon (voiced once again by Ben Schwartz) is set to nyoom back into cinemas on Christmas Day 2024, with new buddies Tails and Knuckles now facing off against Shadow the Hedgehog, who we peeped in the mid-credits scene of the last film. Jim Carrey is apparently not involved, which is a real bummer.
Transformers One
Before they were Earth’s bulkiest, most badass refugees, Transformers Optimus Prime and Megatron were once buddies—brothers in arms, we’re told, whose arc into sworn enemies will be depicted in this epic action prequel. Chris Hemsworth and Brian Tyree Henry voice the leading robots in disguise, with Scarlett Johansson, Jon Hamm, and Laurence Fishburne also strapped in for the ride.
Wicked
Theatre kids are gonna flock to cinemas for the next two consecutive Christmases, as Broadway hit Wicked gets split into two epic feature-length chapters. Cynthia Erivo is the green-skinned Elphaba and pop princess Ariana Grande is the uber-popular Glinda, both set on a path to become the warring witches of Wizard of Oz fame. Jeff Goldblum is the Wizard! Ignore the celeb relationship scandal that’s surrounding the movie already and get ready to belt out Defying Gravity.
