The best upcoming movies of 2024

With summer over and spooky season well and truly here, what could be better than drawing the curtains, dimming the lights, grabbing a bucket of popcorn and settling down for a Stephen King adaptation? Nothing, that’s what.

King’s 1975 vampire yarn – in which a man returns to his childhood hometown only to find it threatened by bloodsuckers – has twice before been brought to the screen in miniseries form, but judging by the trailer this movie version looks like the most terrifying of the lot (no pun intended). Writer-director Gary Dauberman has form, too: he penned the scripts for 2017’s It and 2019’s It Chapter Two, two of the best King adaptations of recent times. Let’s hope this one doesn’t suck.

Release date: 3 October 2024 (USA)

After Joker earned millions at the box office, bagged itself a few Oscars and caused some minor social panics along the way, a sequel was bound to happen. That comes in Joker: Folie à Deux. For non-French speakers, Folie à Deux means a shared delusion between two people. That’ll be Joker and Harley Quinn, then.

We know that Joker: Folie à Deux will be a musical, which makes sense given that Lady Gaga will be in a starring role as Quinn. Quinn, the psychatrist turned psycho, will likely follow DC canon and play as some sort of partner in crime to Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker.

Release date: 4 October 2024

Now almost 50 years old, NBC’s Saturday Night Live is a mainstay of TV comedy that has provided a breakout for some of the world’s best-known performers. Bill Murray, Dan Ackroyd, Andy Kaufman, Eddie Murphy, Adam Sandler, Mike Myers, Chris Farley, Chevy Chase, Tina Fey, Andy Samberg and many more all made their names on the weekly sketch show.

This movie, directed and co-written by Jason Reitman (whose father, Ghostbusters director Ivan Reitman, was a frequent collaborator with many SNL stars), follows the events leading up to the 1975 premiere of the then Saturday Night, and features a huge cast portraying the show’s own huge cast.

Release date: 11 October 2024

Despite its Halloween-adjacent release date, this second sequel to the cult favourite horror movie is very much a Christmas-themed caper. It’s Christmas Eve, and sadistic slasher Art the Clown is back to terrorise the residents of Miles County – whether they’ve been naughty or nice.

The teaser doesn’t reveal anything about the plot but, given the first two movies, we suspect there’s nothing too genre-busting going on here. Writer and director Damien Leone, meanwhile, has promised that this movie will be the goriest of the series so far.

Release date: 11 October 2024

Smile was one of 2022’s most enjoyable horror movies and a major box office success – so it’s no surprise to see a sequel looming out of the shadows.

Like the first film, Smile 2 is written and directed by Parker Finn, which gives us hope that it won’t be a lazy re-tread of the same hair-raising ground. Brit Naomi Scott plays Skye Riley, a Lady Gaga-style pop icon who becomes the latest victim of the mysterious and malevolent entity that manifests itself as an unsettlingly false fixed smile on the faces of nearby people. Nearby people who usually proceed to do something absolutely awful to themselves or others. Judging by the trailer, Finn has already cast some of the creepiest smilers in Hollywood.

Release date: 18 October 2024

The G7 summit descends into disorder when an unspecified apocalyptic crisis threatens the world in this satirical black comedy. The leaders of the world’s wealthiest democracies find themselves entering a Lord of the Flies-style psychological nightmare, embracing their most chaotic impulses and encountering surreal threats after being lost in the woods. Cate Blanchett and Charles Dance star.

Release date: 18 October 2024 (USA); 6 December 2024 (UK)

The third and final Venom movie starring Tom Hardy, The Last Dance sees Eddie Brock and his alien symbiote Venom going on the run. On their tails are a whole plethora of beings – not all of them originating from Earth.

It’s a shame that (it seems, at least) Hardy’s excellent portrayal of Brock/Venom will never get to interact with his greatest comic book nemesis Spider-Man. Such are the problems with different studios owning the rights to different Marvel characters, we suppose – but hopefully this movie gives Hardy’s Venom the cinematic send-off his performances have deserved.

Release date: 25 October 2024

Celebrated director Robert Eggers’ two brothers Sam and Max make their directorial debut with this A24-released psychological thriller. Brandy stars as mum-to-be Belinda, whose life is turned upside down when her husband’s elderly – and incredibly creepy – stepmother moves in. Setting herself up in the pair’s front room, she begins dispensing unwanted advice that quickly develops into outright hostility, setting her and Belinda on a collision course that seems likely to end in violence.

Release date: 25 October 2024 (UK)

Written and directed by Steve McQueen, whose previous films include Oscar winner 12 Years a Slave, this World War II drama stars Saoirse Ronan, Stephen Graham, Kathy Burke, Harris Dickinson and Paul Weller, and is set in London during (yes, you guessed it) the Blitz bombing campaign. Confirmed plot details are scant, but the trailer sees a young boy sent out of London to escape the terrifying aerial onslaught, only to find himself alone and in a similarly perilous situation.

Release date: 1 November 2024; 22 November 2024 on Apple TV+

The Pope is dead, which means the Vatican’s cardinals must assemble to elect a successor. This psychological thriller, adapted from the Robert Harris novel of the same name, stars Ralph Fiennes as one such cardinal. Tasked with overseeing the Papal election, he discovers that all is not what it seems, and that the former Bishop of Rome held a dark secret that demands to be revealed. The cast also includes Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, Isabella Rossellini and Lucian Msamati.

Release date: 1 November 2024 (USA); 29 November 2024 (UK)

Jesse Eisenberg (who also wrote and directed the film) and Kieran Culkin play cousins in this road movie, a comedy drama following their exploits on a tour through Poland. Undertaken in honour of the pair’s late grandmother, the trip reopens old wounds in their relationship, even as they explore their shared family history.

With A Real Pain debuting at the Sundance Film Festival back in January, the critics have already had a chance to rate it – and the vast majority of them have declared it a roaring success, with Culkin’s performance coming in for particular praise. We expect a few Oscar nominations further down the line.

Release date: 1 November 2024 (USA); 10 January 2025 (UK)

Weekend in Taipei, you say? This film may be named like an achingly beautiful Wong Kar Wai romantic drama, but given that it comes from the creators of Taken and The Transporter, you can probably guess what genre it falls into. The trailer looks like a ton of fun though, with Luke Evans as an undercover DEA agent who reunites with an old flame as he takes down a ruthless Asian drug cartel. You can look forward to bone-crushing brawls, silky gunplay and hi-octane car chases through the streets of the Taiwanese capital.

Release date: 8 November (USA)

Incredibly, it’s been an entire decade since the first Paddington movie arrived in cinemas. Apt, then, that the duffel coat-wearing marmalade fiend is returning for a third film, this time swapping the genteel environs of London for the wilds of the Amazon rainforest. Yes, Paddington Bear is returning to darkest Peru, and he’s bringing his adopted family with him on a quest to track down his lost Aunt Lucy.

Most of the original two films’ casts are returning, along with new additions in the shape of Antonio Banderas and Olivia Colman.

Release date: 8 November 2024 (UK); 17 January 2025 (USA)

Is 2024 the year that Hugh Grant establishes himself as a horror movie icon? We never thought we’d be writing those words, but here we are – and its thanks to this A24-produced thriller in which Grant’s outwardly avuncular character invites a pair of young Mormon missionaries into his home. He then skips the tea and biscuits stage to apparently entrap them in some kind of Saw-like maze – one which will put their faith to the ultimate test.

Release date: Autumn 2024

It’s a Forrest Gump reunion! Based on the graphic novel of the same name, Here brings Tom Hanks, Robin Wright and director Robert Zemeckis together again, 30 years on.

The film tells the story of a single spot of land and the people (and animals) that live on it over the history of the Earth and into the future. Shot from a static perspective and making liberal use of ageing and de-ageing AI technology, it aims to offer a unique perspective on the human experience. Paul Bettany, Kelly Reilly and Michelle Dockery also star.

Release date: 15 November 2024

We’ve already seen Santa does Die Hard (Violent Night) and Santa does Friday the 13^th (Silent Night, Deadly Night and Black Christmas). And soon there’ll be Red One, which takes inspiration from buddy cop comedy films. When Santa Claus (codenamed ‘Red One’) is kidnapped, his trusted head of security (Dwayne Johnson) aims to track him down with the help of the world’s best bounty hunter (Chris Evans). Thus begins a round-the-world chase to literally save Christmas, with the pair bickering and bantering along the way.

The film is being released in cinemas initially, but we’d expect it to be streaming on Amazon Prime Video by the time the festive season rolls around.

Release date: 15 November 2024

It’s been 23 years since Maximus Decimus Meridius, commander of the Armies of the North, General of the Felix Legions and loyal servant to the true emperor, Marcus Aurelius… father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife, had his vengeance. Now, Gladiator is back.

And while it might seem like sacrilege for a Gladiator movie not to star Russel Crowe – spoiler alert: he dies in the first one – we have a potentially very worthy replacement in Paul Mescal. We’ll also see Denzel Washington, Joseph Quinn, Fred Hechinger, Pedro Pascal, Connie Nielsen, Djimon Hounsou, and Derek Jacobi all star.

Little is known about the movie plot, but we do know that it’ll follow Lucius (Mescal), the nephew of Joaquin Phoenix’s Commodus from the original Gladiator. It doesn’t look like Phoenix will be returning either, which makes sense since he’s been busy leading the French army and dancing down stairs with Harley Quinn.

Release date: 22 November 2024

Unbelievably, it’s been eight years since Moana, one of Disney’s most beloved of recent films, was released, and there are a lot of people (not all of them children, believe us) very excited about this sequel. Originally developed as a TV series, it was eventually reworked into a feature film, and will bring back most of the cast and creative team from the first movie – including Mark Mancina and Opetaia Foa’i as the principal composers and songwriters.

The plot follows Moana (Auliʻi Cravalho) and Maui (Dwayne Johnson) as they attempt to end a curse that has seen their homeland overwhelmed by furious storms.

Release date: 27 November 2024

The Emerald City is about to shine brighter than ever before on the big screen, with Broadway’s hit Wicked transforming from stage to cinema in an adaptation that’s got everyone talking. Cynthia Erivo is stepping into the iconic, emerald-tinged shoes of the woman who will become the Wicked Witch of the West, with popstar Ariana Grande sprinkling her magic as the bubbly and effervescent future Glinda the Good. And who better to pull the strings of Oz than the charismatic Jeff Goldblum, cast as the enigmatic man behind the curtain?

Joining this lineup are Bowen Yang, Michelle Yeoh, and Jonathan Bailey, who are set to bring their own dazzle to this journey down the yellow brick road. As the cast follows the yellow brick road, this adaptation is shaping up to be more than just a retelling of the Wizard of Oz saga – it’s a reimagining that explores themes of friendship, identity, and the nature of evil.

Release date: 27 November 2024

A stay-at-home mother (Amy Adams) begins to push back against domestic mundanity to the point where she may be transforming into a dog. If nothing else, this horror-comedy-drama looks set to be one of 2024’s weirdest big studio movies.

Rachel Yoder’s bestselling novel has been described as ‘unfilmable’ – so naturally Hollywood had to try and prove the critics wrong. The jury’s still out on whether director Marielle Heller has achieved that, mind you. In December, we’ll all get to have an opinion.

Release date: 6 December 2024

Sony’s Spider-Man expanded universe (which currently doesn’t feature the wall-crawler himself) has enjoyed something of a rocky ride of late, with Madame Web and Morbius being regarded as two of the biggest cinematic stinkers of recent years. Sony will be praying that this R-rated action movie, focussed on long-time Spidey antagonist Kraven (played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson) manages to end this poor run of form.

Going by the trailer, it’s going to be far more explicitly violent than most superhero films, as Kraven takes on a ruthless villain (Alessandro Nivola’s Rhino) while dealing with some family issues courtesy of his creepy brother (Fred Hechinger) and ruthless father (Russell Crowe).

Release date: 13 December 2024

Billed as a prequel to Peter Jackson’s beloved early noughties trilogy, this film is set almost 200 years before the events of The Lord of the Rings and focusses on a legendary king of Rohan (Brian Cox) and his war against an invading army of Dunlendings. Miranda Otto will return to play Éowyn – possibly as a narrator of sorts, given that she wouldn’t have been born when the events of this film take place.

Perhaps the most surprising thing about The War of the Rohirrim is that it’s an anime movie directed by the highly experienced Japanese filmmaker Kenji Kamiyama (who has worked on everything from Akira to Blade Runner: Black Lotus).

Release date: 13 December 2024

One of the iconic cinematic horror stories is coming back – and it’s quite the flex from writer/director Robert Eggers and studio Focus Features to choose to release it on Christmas Day!

Inspired by both Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula and the original 1922 Nosferatu film, Eggers’ reimaging stars Bill Skarsgard as the vampire Count Orlok and Lily-Rose Depp as Ellen Hutter, the young woman with whom he becomes obsessed. This infatuation spells horrific consequences for anyone that stands between the pair, and if Eggers’ previous movies (The Witch, The Lighthouse, The Northman) are any indicator, we’re in for an audio-visual treat as well as a scare or twenty.

Release date: 25 December 2024

We can’t think of a better director to take charge of this Bob Dylan biopic (based on the book Dylan Goes Electric!) than James Mangold, who did the same for Johnny Cash with 2005’s excellent Walk The Line. The film follows the young Dylan’s rise to prominence in early 1960s New York, and his controversial (at the time, at least) decision to switch from acoustic to electric instruments.

Mangold has cast sharp-chinned heartthrob Timothée Chalamet as Dylan, a choice that may have raised the hackles of some ageing musos. But given that Chalamet is singing and playing live for all the performance scenes (and judging by the trailer, doing a very serviceable imitation of Dylan’s distinctive voice), the jury remains out for now. Edward Norton and Elle Fanning also star.

Release date: 25 December 2024

We don’t see too many mid-budget star-led comedies these days, but this upcoming film from Forgetting Sarah Marshall director Nicholas Stoller looks set to scratch that itch. Skipping a theatrical release and coming straight to Prime Video, it stars Will Ferrell and Reese Witherspoon as two strangers who clash when they double book a luxury venue for family weddings.

Release date: 30 January 2025