Cards on the table, I rarely count these things out ahead of time, so most years the numbers don’t exactly line up. And this year is no exception. This time, when I say top 50 most-anticipated movies, what I actually mean is top 54, but the round number looks better in a headline.
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And if you want to get even further into the weeds you can say this is 53 movies and a TV series. Or, if you want to venture further still, you can say 54 movies and a series, since, nearing the end, I ran out of steam and counted two potential Timo Tjahjanto movies as a single entry.
Some of these movies are bound to be great, while others are going to fall way short of their potential. A few will even flat-out suck. That’s the way of the world, but it’s no reason not to be stoked as hell anyway.
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Though these are the movies I’m most looking forward to at the moment, it’s based on the information available right now. As with every year tons of others I’ve never heard of will pop up and blow audiences away, or at least this audience. That also happens as things debut at film festivals, international titles that haven’t received much stateside coverage drop, or movies otherwise appear out of the ether.
This list is broken into two sections, those with release dates followed by those without. Be sure to take all these dates with a grain of salt. Releases change in the best of times, and due to the SAG and WGA strikes, this year promises to be sheer chaos on that front. I already removed Jordan Peele’s next movie from the list. It was slated to open on Christmas but has been pushed. And it will certainly not be the last one.
[Related Reading: The 50 Most-Anticipated Movies of 2022]
With all of that out of the way, we can get down to the business at hand, movies I’m excited about. Take a look, (hopefully) enjoy, and let me know about your most anticipated movies of 2024.
Mayhem!, January 5
A French boxer, on parole, with a violent past that violently catches up with him? Happy New Year to us all.
Night Swim, January 5
From what I gather, this is about an evil swimming pool. I don’t want to know if I’m wrong, because I’m a sucker for things that aren’t normally murderous turning murderous (see: Death Bed: The Bed That Eats) and I haven’t seen a swimming pool do that yet.
The Beekeeper, January 12
Jason Statham plays a beekeeper, a beekeeper who just so happens to be a badass ex assassin. Isn’t that always the way? When scammers take advantage of his old Black friend, he comes out of retirement with an eye on revenge. Who knew honey was flammable? Please don’t tell me if it’s not.
The Book of Clarence, January 12
A contemporary of Jesus who pretends to be the Messiah. That doesn’t seem like it’ll piss off anyone at all.
Lights Out, January 12
The first of many Scott Adkins movies on this list. This time out he’s an ex-military underground fighter who teams up with an ex-con to take on corrupt cops and hired killers. The line forms behind me.
Mean Girls, January 12
A movie adaptation of Mean Girls the musical. Enough said.
One More Shot, January 12
If you didn’t get enough single-take Scott Adkins tactical action badassery in the first movie, he and director James Nunn are back for more. Also, adding Michael Jai White to the mix improves anything.
Self-Reliance, January 12
January 12 is going to be a hell of a day. Written, directed by, and starring Jake Johnson, which is enough to get me to watch, this follows a regular guy who participates in a game show where if he’s ever alone, he can be murdered. Co-starring Anna Kendrick and produced by Lonely Island, this looks weird and heartfelt and fun.
The Kitchen, January 19
Daniel Kaluuya makes his directorial debut with this dystopian saga about warring gangs in a not-so-distant future.
Badland Hunters, January 26
A South Korean post-apocalyptic adventure where, I assume, Ma Dong-seok punches lots of people. Enough said.
I Saw the TV Glow, January (Sundance)
The fact that this is We’re All Going to the World’s Fair director Jane Schoenbrun’s follow up is more than enough to warrant a watch.
She is Conann, February 2
This off-the-wall French re-imagining of the Conan story (or something like that) looks bug-nuts crazy in the best possible ways.
Lisa Frankenstein, February 9
An ‘80s teen goth retelling of Frankenstein written by Diablo Cody, and starring Kathryn Newton, Carla Gugino, and Jughead from Riverdale is a movie I want to see.
Drive-Away Dolls, February 23
This may not be a Coen Brothers movie, but a Coen brother doing an oddball crime picture is something I can’t wait to put into my eyeballs.
.
Dune: Part Two, March 1
Come on, it’s Dune.
Spaceman, March 1
Adam Sandler plays an astronaut. No, it’s not a comedy.
Love Lies Bleeding, March 8
Rose Glass’s film looks like a ‘90s throwback erotic thriller where Kristen Stewart falls for a bodybuilder and a tumultuous relationship leads to a downward criminal spiral. And I am incredibly here for it.
Road House, March 21
Will this reimagining of Dalton, played by Jake Gyllenhaal, as a former MMA fighter be any good? Who knows? But it’ll be some nonsense that I watch.
The Fall Guy, May 3
I loved The Fall Guy when I was a kid. This is one of those movies that’s been in development for what feels like decades, so who can say how the finished product will be, but at least judging by the trailer, this Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt-starring David Leitch movie about a stuntman who solves crime looks promising.
Mickey 17, March 29
Bong Joon-ho. Robert Pattinson. Sci-fi. That’s all we really know, but that’s more than enough.
Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, April 12
Between Godzilla Minus One and Monarch, it’s been a good run for the King of the Monsters lately. Let’s hope it continues.
Rebel Moon Part 2: The Scargiver, April 19
The whole releasing two movies first and planning to release the director’s cut, instead of just doing that from the jump, seems like a cynical cash grab. But what the hell, more big-budget original science fiction never hurt no one.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, May 24
Last time George Miller ventured into the post-apocalyptic wastes he first visited in 1979 all he did was drop one of the greatest action movies ever.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, May 24
Apes together strong!
The Bikeriders, June 21
Though Disney originally bumped then removed this from their schedule, the latest from Jeff Nichols (Midnight Special), about a mid-1950s motorcycle gang and starring Tom Hardy with a weird voice, finally sees the light of day.
Take Cover, July 18
Scott Adkins, a burned-out sniper trapped in a penthouse by another sniper, go.
Twisters, July 19
I mean, it’s 2024, why the hell not?
Alien: Romulus, August 16
A mean-spirited filmmaker like Fede Alvarez playing around in the Alien universe seems like a solid way to spend a few hours in a movie theater.
Paddington in Peru, November 8 (UK)
I’m not dead inside, or at least not that dead inside yet.
Nosferatu, December 25
Robert Eggers. Vampires. Christmas Day. LFG! (I also have a Nosferatu tattoo, so...)
Anora
I didn’t love Red Rocket, Sean Baker’s last movie, as much as many folks, but between The Florida Project and Tangerine, I’m on the hook.
Bad Boys 4
Bad Boys 2 is a masterpiece. The others are fun, too. And this time we don’t have to wait 17 years between installments! Definitely worth using an exclamation point.
Boy Kills World
A deaf and mute boy, named Boy, is trained by a mysterious master in the art of murder and revenge. Do you need anything more?
Death of a Unicorn
When Paul Rudd and Jenna Ortega run over a unicorn, things go straight to hell. That sounds promising indeed.
Den of Thieves 2: Pantera
I’m so, so, so jazzed for Gerard Butler’s Shitty Heat 2. I can’t wait. This may be my most anticipated movie of the year outside of Furiosa.
The End
This was on my list last year, so hopefully it will actually appear in 2024. After two of the most devastating documentaries ever made, The Act of Killing and The Look of Silence, Joshua Oppenheimer’s first narrative feature is a musical, of course, about the last family on Earth. I have to see what this looks like.
Havoc
Gareth Evans. When your resume features The Raid movies, Apostle, and Gangs of London, you better believe your movie is on this list. (As it was last year.) And when the cast includes Tom Hardy, Timothy Olyphant, Luis Guzman, and Narges Rashidi, and is about a grizzled cop fighting his way through the criminal underworld, that goes double.
Hope
We don’t get Na Hong-jin movies often, but when the director of The Wailing, The Chaser, and The Yellow Sea drops something, we’re already in line. This is reportedly in pre-production, so it’s a coin flip, at best, whether we’ll see it this year or not, but I remain hopeful, which is very out of character.
Hounds of War
DTV luminaries Frank Grillo and Isaac Florentine teaming up for an actioner about vengeful mercenaries is more than enough to capture our attention.
Humane
This was on my list last year, so I’m just going to copy what I wrote then: “If any member of the Cronenberg family makes a movie, I’m there. This marks Caitlin Cronenberg’s directorial debut. It’s a thriller. About a family dinner. Though this dinner involves a world coping with environmental collapse and a voluntary euthanasia program that likely won’t end well. Also, I adore Emily Hampshire.”
The Killer’s Game
Scott Adkins, Sofia Boutella, Ben Kingsley, Dave Bautista, Marko Zaror, Daniel Bernhardt, Ice Cube, and a world-weary assassin on the run from other, presumably less world-weary assassins.
Longlegs
Oz Perkins returns with a horror thriller about a young FBI agent investigating an occult serial killer, with Nicolas Cage, Maika Monroe, and Alicia Witt. That’s a yes.
Maxxxine
Both Pearl and X are great, so the third film in the series, set in the sleazy world of the ‘80s Los Angeles porn industry, is a must-see for us.
Nightbitch
I’ll watch anything Marielle Heller directs. Add Amy Adams and Scoot McNairy into the mix, and you’ve definitely got something worth checking out.
The Order
Justin Kurzel returns with a domestic terrorism thriller set in the Pacific Northwest.
Polaris
Lynne Ramsey’s latest follows an old-timey photographer who encounters the devil in 1890s Alaska. That sounds sparse and bleak and starring Joaquin Phoenix and Rooney Mara, we’re all in.
Pussy Island
See Pussy Island for the title, stay for first-time director Zoe Kravitz and a crazy stacked cast.
Rebel Ridge
Jeremy Saulnier’s Rebel Ridge appears on my most-anticipated list for the fourth consecutive time. Maybe this is the year it finally gets finished. Fingers crossed, but this is still one that I won’t believe is real until I’m sitting in a theater and actually watching it.
Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse
Will we see Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse in 2024? Who the hell knows, but we can hope.
The Substance
Coralie Fargeat hasn’t directed a movie since 2017’s Revenge, but we can’t wait for her follow up, which stars Margaret Qualley and Demi Moore.
The Sympathizer
Sure, this isn’t a movie, but anything Park Chan-wook does, we’re excited about. And the book this historical thriller is based on is supposed to be incredible, so even better.
Timo Tjahjanto Movies
Timo Tjahjanto has two movies listed as in post-production, The Shadow Strays and Last Train to New York, his Train to Busan remake. Hopefully we’ll see one or both this year. Either way, when maybe the best action director currently working has films on the way, it’s worth getting psyched.
The Toxic Avenger
A bunch of folks saw Macon Blair’s Toxic Avenger remake at Fantastic Fest and reports have been positive. Of course, I was going to see this, but the glowing word of mouth makes it even more tantalizing.
Warpath
Liam O’Donnell. Iko Uwais. Iko Uwais’ stunt team. Let’s do this.
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