The 20 most highly-anticipated movies of 2024
The earth has once again made one full rotation around the sun, sparking jubilation from crowds across the world, as well as movie fans – perhaps 2024 will finally deliver the Denis Villeneuve sci-fi sequel Dune: Part II? Indeed, the turn of a new year brings with it a fresh slate of highly-anticipated movies that will soon be serving audiences on the silver screen and the comfort of streaming sofas across the globe.
Unlike other years, 2024 looks to be totally stacked with cinematic goodies from across the spectrum of the industry, with blockbusters worthy of salivation sitting side-by-side with arthouse flicks headed up by beloved filmmakers. Sure, Marvel and DC will be serving up their familiar superhero affair with Deadpool 3 and Joker: Folie à Deux, expected to make big money, but here, the focus will be on significant, high-profile movies and indie flicks you need to keep on your radar.
Indeed, some of the very best contemporary filmmakers will be returning to the fold to remind audiences what they’re made of, with Rose Glass of Saint Maud fame returning with Love Lies Bleeding, all while the 20th-century master Francis Ford Coppola promises cinematic excellence with his passion project Megalopolis.
Take a look at just 20 of the most highly-anticipated movies of 2024 below, with the list including such names as Bong Joon-ho, Tim Burton and Robert Eggers.
20 anticipated movies of 2024:
Alien: Romulus (Fede Álvarez)
There have been countless Alien movies released since the Ridley Scott original came out back in 1979 to admittedly varying degrees of quality. While Resurrection was rather dire, the upcoming Romulus movie, directed by 2013’s Evil Dead’s Fede Álvarez, holds promise and will hopefully deliver in the same way that Alien: Covenant managed to.
Starring Cailee Spaeny, Isabela Merced, David Jonsson and Archie Renaux, Alien: Romulus will be released halfway through 2024 on August 16th. The most exciting facet surrounding the film is that its story will occur between the events of 1979’s Alien and 1986’s Aliens, with the creative team that worked on James Cameron’s sequel movie also providing their talents once again, building the fearsome xenomorphs.
Alien: Romulus release date: August 16th
Beetlejuice 2 (Tim Burton)
Do not scratch your eyes; the American maestro of accessible gothic cinema, Tim Burton, is back with a long-awaited sequel to his 1988 magnum opus Beetlejuice. Originally suggested in 1990, Burton’s sequel will feature icons of the original film, such as Catherine O’Hara, Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder, as well as newcomers Jenna Ortega, Willem Dafoe and Monica Bellucci.
With little indication yet as to what the film might be about, fans worldwide hope that the film might be able to recapture the original’s magic. With Wednesday writers Miles Millar and Alfred Gough penning the script, this could be destined for greatness.
Beetlejuice 2 release date: September 6th
Bird (Andrea Arnold)
British filmmaker Andrea Arnold emerged in the mid-2000s with her short film Wasp, which earned her an Oscar for ‘Best Live Action Short Film’ – a surefire sign of her upcoming success. Since then, she has become one of the most important figures in the British film industry working today, often depicting the lives of working-class, underrepresented people, particularly women, within her work.
After releasing the documentary Cow in 2021, Arnold is back with another movie with an animal title (see also Wasp, Dog and Fish Tank), Bird. However, Bird is not a documentary. While little is known about Arnold’s new project, we do know that Barry Keoghan will be starring in the lead role.
Bird release date: 2024
Blitz (Steve McQueen)
In the early 2010s, the British director Steve McQueen was known as one of the greatest directors of contemporary cinema, and while he’s since stepped out of the mainstream limelight, make no mistake, he remains a formidable filmmaker. Having released the extensive documentary Occupied City in 2023, 2024’s Blitz takes the director back to the world of feature filmmaking.
Telling the story of a group of London residents living in the capital during the blitz of WWII, McQueen’s film is based on an original concept written by himself and with a cast that includes Harris Dickinson, Saoirse Ronan and Stephen Graham, among many others, this has got ‘classic’ written all over it.
Blitz release date: 2024
Chime (Kiyoshi Kurosawa)
Undoubtedly among Japan’s most respected filmmakers, Kiyoshi Kurosawa has produced multiple masterpieces like Cure and Pulse over the course of a truly illustrious career. Playing around with sci-fi and horror frameworks, Kurosawa’s works feature highly thrilling narratives that are supported by a robust foundation of philosophy and history.
Following the 2020 political drama Wife of a Spy, Kurosawa is back again, and he is prepared to release yet another addition to his already extensive body of thrillers. Titled Chime, it tells the story of a schoolteacher who leads a pretty ordinary life. However, the monotony of his existence is disrupted by an incomprehensible occurrence.
Chime release date: 2024
The Front Room (Sam Eggers, Max Eggers)
As one of the best directors of contemporary cinema, Robert Eggers has made a name for himself in the mainstream, thanks to such hits as The Lighthouse and The Northman, but what of his wider family? Indeed, get ready for the Eggers brothers to become filmmaking icons, as brothers Max and Sam are set to release their debut feature, The Front Room, in 2024.
Based on the short story of the same name from The Travelling Bag And Other Ghostly Stories by Susan Hill, the film follows a newly pregnant couple who are forced to house an estranged stepmother. With a strong cast that includes the great Kathryn Hunter, expect to see far more horror from the Eggers family that extends way beyond The Lighthouse.
The Front Room release date: 2024
Furiosa (George Miller)
Before George Miller made Babe: Pig in the City and Happy Feet, he made his directorial debut with Mad Max, marking the start of the popular action franchise. In 2015, he released the first instalment in 30 years – Mad Max: Fury Road – which was both critically acclaimed and a financial behemoth, with many calling it one of the best action movies of all time.
With 2024’s Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, Miller is honing in on the life of the titular character, played by Charlize Theron in the 2015 movie. Yet, for the new prequel, the role has been passed down to Anya Taylor-Joy, who will undoubtedly give a stellar performance in the action-packed flick.
Furiosa release date: May 24th
Gladiator II (Ridley Scott)
Even some 24 years after it released, Ridley Scott’s 2000 historical action epic Gladiator remains one of the best-loved movies of the 21st century, and now fans will be treated to a sequel film starring Paul Mescal, Denzel Washington, Joseph Quinn, Pedro Pascal, Connie Nielsen and Derek Jacobi, with the latter two reprising their roles from the original.
Mescal plays the nephew of Emperor Commodus, Lucius Verus, who Russell Crowe’s Maximus saved in the first movie, and now he’s a grown man who emerges from the wilderness, previously believed to have died. Fresh on the heels of his recent historical epic, Napoleon, Scott will surely deliver the goods once again with a return to one of his best-ever cinematic works.
Gladiator II release date: November 22nd
Handling the Undead (Thea Hvistendahl)
There are several reasons why the horror film Handling the Undead from sophomore feature filmmaker Thea Hvistendahl, who previously helmed 2017’s The Monkey and the Mouth, should be high up on your list of most-anticipated 2024 releases. Seeing The Worst Person in the World co-stars Anders Danielsen Lie and Renate Reinsve is one major selling point, but so is seeing another movie adaptation of a John Ajvide Lindqvist novel.
Coming from the same mind that produced the twisted Let the Right One In, Handling the Undead tells the story of a summer day in Oslo, Norway, that is interrupted by the arrival of the walking dead, who return to their respective families. Understandably, the supernatural phenomenon throws countless existential questions into the fray, causing quite the gripping horror thriller.
Handling the Undead release date: Premiering at Sundance 2024
Humane (Caitlin Cronenberg)
The daughter of David Cronenberg, the same sci-fi mind who brought audiences The Fly and Videodrome, and the brother of Brandon Cronenberg, who created Possessor and Infinity Pool, it has now come time for Caitlin Cronenberg to try her hand at directing. Her debut feature, a thriller called Humane, will be released later this year, with many film fans excited to see what the photographer-turned-filmmaker has up her sleeves.
The thriller stars Jay Baruchel and Emily Hampshire and is set after an environmental disaster. Written by Michael Sparaga, this movie could make the Cronenbergs perhaps the most formidable filmmaking family since the Coppolas.
Humane release date: 2024
I Saw The TV Glow (Jane Schoenbrun)
Jane Schoenbrun, who previously helmed We’re All Going to the World’s Fair, is releasing their newest film, I Saw The TV Glow, in 2024. With music by indie icon Alex G and a cast which includes musicians Phoebe Bridgers and Limp Bizkit’s Fred Durst, Schoenbrun has piqued the interest of many, to say the least.
Elsewhere, the movie is set to star Justice Smith, Helena Howard and Brigette Lundy-Paine and follows two friends whose realities begin to dissolve following the cancellation of their beloved television series. Distributed by A24, the movie will certainly attract curious viewers, especially considering how accurately the filmmaker deconstructed life under the gaze of the internet age in their previous movie.
I Saw the TV Glow release date: Premiering at Sundance 2024
La Tour de Glace (Lucile Hadžihalilović)
The creative visionary behind movies like Innocence and Evolution, Lucile Hadžihalilović, the wife of acclaimed filmmaker Gaspar Noé, has solidified her place in the contemporary landscape of global cinema as a serious artist. La tour de glace is the latest addition to her acclaimed filmography, starring Marion Cotillard in a drama about a teenage orphan named Jeanne.
Set in the 1970s, the film follows Jeanne’s journey as she manages to escape from her orphanage and create her own path. Stumbling across a movie production of Snow White, she is mentored by the movie’s lead actor, which starts a strange relationship between them that is governed by dangerous power dynamics.
La Tour de Glace release date: 2024
Love Child (Todd Solondz)
Whenever we talk about dark comedy and its role in American cinema, it is almost impossible not to mention the unique works of Todd Solondz. Through masterpieces such as Welcome to the Dollhouse and Happiness, Solondz has repeatedly used the cinematic medium to paint profoundly tragicomic portraits of the human condition.
After a long hiatus since his last project, the 2016 comedy Wiener-Dog, Solondz is set to make his return with a new movie called Love Child. With some major names already attached to the feature, including Elizabeth Olsen, it has been described as a modern interpretation of the Oedipus mythology, which revolves around a kid wanting to get rid of his violent father. Production is set to begin in April, and with Solondz liking short filming windows, we could see this in 2024.
Love Child release date: 2024/2025
Love Lies Bleeding (Rose Glass)
Back in 2019, British filmmaker Rose Glass released her debut feature, Saint Maud, a terrific horror movie which explored religion and sexuality. Now, she’s back with a bigger budget, enabling her to create the highly anticipated Love Lies Bleeding, a crime thriller starring Kristen Stewart.
The film centres around a thrilling romance between Stewart and Katy O’Brian, with the latter playing a bodybuilder, meeting the former’s character at the gym. Before they know it, they’re swept up in a world of chaos as Ed Harris’ terrifying character – the criminal father of Stewart’s Lou – enters the picture. Of all the films due to be released in 2024, Rose Glass’ sophomore feature is the one that countless British movie lovers are pinning their hopes on.
Love Lies Bleeding release date: April 19th
Megalopolis (Francis Ford Coppola)
Approaching one of the longest journeys to final fruition in the history of cinema, Francis Ford Coppola began writing his epic science fiction drama Megalopolis back in the 1980s and filming finally wrapped up in March last year. Boasting a blinding cast including Adam Driver, Forest Whitaker, Jon Voight, Aubrey Plaza, Lawrence Fishburne and Shia LeBeouf, to name but a few, this film promises to be one of the most exciting of the year.
Coppola said in an interview that the film is a “love story”, one that takes place during the reconstruction of New York City following a huge natural disaster and a subsequent financial crisis. “A woman is divided between loyalties to two men,” the iconic director explained. “But not only two men. Each man comes with a philosophical principle. One is her father who raised her; the other one, the lover, is the enemy of the father.” Expect big things from this long-time passion project.
Mickey 17 (Bong Joon-ho)
We haven’t heard from the South Korean director Bong Joon-ho since he absolutely dominated Hollywood back in 2019 with Parasite, which swooped ‘Best Picture’ at the Oscars and the Palme d’Or at Cannes in the very same year. Fans have been patiently awaiting his return ever since, and in 2024, he finally does just that with the sci-fi movie Mickey 17.
Based on the book Mickey7 by Ashton Edward, Joon-ho’s latest stars Robert Pattinson as a disposable clone who is used as fodder for dangerous missions on a human mission to colonise a cosmic ice planet. Quite why Joon-ho has added ten to the title, we’ll have to find out, but the film sounds like a phenomenal epic.
Mickey 17 release date: March 29th
Nosferatu (Robert Eggers)
If that picture of Willem Dafoe swinging around a fiery lantern in an underground crypt wasn’t enough to send shivers up the spine, then nothing likely will be. Robert Eggers will take his visual intense horror wizardry to remake the 1922 F.W. Murnau German Expressionist film Nosferatu in easily one of the most anticipated movies of the decade, let alone 2024.
With several star players on board, including Bill Skarsgård, Nicholas Hoult, Lily-Rose Depp and Aaron Taylor Johnson, joining Dafoe, Nosferatu promises to bring the terror of The Witch and The Northman to one of the best-known classic gothic horror stories. Filming aptly took place in the beautifully architectured Prague and wrapped in May 2023, so this year, we’ll finally witness the infatuation and obsession of the legendary vampire Count Orlok.
Polaris (Lynne Ramsay)
Just the brief synopsis of the new Lynne Ramsay film Polaris – ‘Set in Alaska during the 1890s, an ice photographer meets the devil’ – is enough to pique one’s interest, but throw in the fact that the Scottish director’s You Were Never Really Here collaborator Joaquin Phoenix, plus Rooney Mara, into the mix and the mysterious horror thriller movie suddenly becomes one of the most exciting prospects of 2024.
Ramsay has never been one to rush a project, and Polaris is the first original script she’s going to release since her debut feature, Ratcatcher, in 1999. There are not too many details surrounding Polaris other than the aforementioned facts and that it was itself filmed in Alaska, so perhaps the barren setting for the narrative suits its still-mysterious build-up to release.
Resurrection (Bi Gan)
For a while now, New Chinese Cinema has been garnering significant attention in the film festival circuits because of its innovative takes on both philosophical and sociopolitical issues within the country. One director who has emerged from China as a truly original voice is Bi Gan, known for widely acclaimed gems like Long Day’s Journey into Night.
The Chinese auteur is returning to the director’s chair with a brand new sci-fi project titled Resurrection, which promises to be another meandering exploration of life’s strange rhythms. It follows the consciousness of a woman who experiences a strange phenomenon during a surgical procedure, meeting an android on the verge of sentience in her bizarre dreams.
Resurrection release date: 2024
We Are All Strangers (Anthony Chen)
Although many discussions around Asian cinema are usually restricted to the countries with the most extensive production infrastructures, such as South Korea or Japan, artists from all over the continent are finally getting recognition for their brilliant work. One such figure is the Singaporean auteur Anthony Chen, whose films have been making waves on a global scale.
Primarily known for his fantastic debut Ilo Ilo, which won the prestigious Camera d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, Chen has been working on a series which he refers to as the Growing Up Trilogy. The latest and final addition to that oeuvre is going to be We Are All Strangers, a promising project from one of Singapore’s finest talents.
We Are All Strangers release date: 2024
