2024 Look Ahead

Time to talk about 2024. The strikes didn’t help things on the schedule. There are movies like next Mission Impossible that got sent to next year that would have been close to the top of the list of movies I was looking forward to this year.

January – Starting with this month, there isn’t too much to look forward to. January is traditionally a dump month by the studio, so that kind of makes sense. What I do have is hopefully finding a screening of The Zone of Interest somewhere, and pick off the other Oscar-threat films I missed in December. We do get a musical version of Mean Girls, which I’m sure will not be too much different than the original, so what is the point? There is The Beekeeper, so I’ll get to watch Statham do some awful things to people at least. On the streaming side, There is Lift, Role Play, and most importantly to me, Society of the Snow. That is Spain’s entry for Best International Film at the Oscars in March.

February – Opening this short month is Argylle, #4 on my list of most anticipated for 2024. I will most likely seeing this at Disney Springs when I am there at the start of the month. I am one the few it seems that love both all the Kingsman movies, and this just looks like it has the same blend of action and humor that makes me really like Vaughn’s films. It helps that this is his story, rather than inadaptation. Also this month is Drive-Away Dolls (which was pushed from last year due to the strike), Lisa Frankenstein (the next Cody screenplay), and Bob Marley: One Love. Finally, there is Madame Web. When the trailer hit a month ago, my immediate thought was it looked terrible. Every time is see it and I hear more about it, I hope Sony would just stop already. However, I know that they also have Kraven and Venom 3 coming out later this year, so this will either be a pleasant surprise, or just the first act in the 2024 Sony Spider-verse story.

March – Dune: Part 2 finally comes out! That is the main story this month. It was the movie I was most looking forward to last year and it’s #3 this year after the strike moved it to 2024. That isn’t the only entry on my list that is this month. Bong Joon-ho’s next film Mickey 17 is #8. Also, the new Ghostbusters movie looks like a fun time. Other than those three, there is a 4th Kung Fu Panda movie I will try to take my nieces and nephews to around Easter, and Imaginary, which might be the only horror movie I watch this year. The Academy Awards are at the beginning of the month too, so that will be the end of Snobby Sean Season until the Fall.

April – One movie I really loved last year was Godzilla Minus One. What I felt for all the human characters was unlike how I felt in any of the Hollywood versions in the genre. With that in mind, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire comes out this month, and it just looks like a mess. Maybe Toho should just make all Godzilla movies. April sees yet another 2023 castaway in Challengers. There is the second part of Snyder’s Rebel Moon that began in December. One movie that I am looking forward to that only has “Spring 2024” date is Alex Garland’s new film Civil War. That could be the first real threat for the 2025 Oscars, as in past years, we have seen a Spring movie hang around to be part of the discussion (Air, Grand Budapest Hotel), and even win (Everything, Everywhere, All at Once).

May – I always feel lucky my birthday usually falls on Memorial Day weekend, which usually the beginning of the Summer movie season. This year, the movie that falls on that weekend is the new Planet of the Apes. With Disney moving all the MCU dates back, May now starts with The Fall Guy, which looks fun. There is the new film from Krasinski, If, and Furiosa, the prequel for Mad Max: Fury Road, and #5 on my list. For the movie with the kids, there is Garfield, and that will probably be a Memorial Weekend movie too for me.

June – Moving into the heart of the Summer season, I have 4 movie to look out for this month. First, there is Ballerina, a spin-off of John Wick. I really am hoping it has the same style as the Wick series, as those are really great movies. Next is A Quiet Place: Day 1. This will be the first movie in the series not Directed by Krasinski, and it makes me wonder if it will still feel the same as the first two films. After Disney dropped it in December, The Bikeriders found a new home at Focus Fearures, and a new release date of June 21. That is another one to look out for the Oscars maybe. Closing out this group is Inside Out 2. I loved the original, and I do like the idea of adding emotions. However, some of the parts that make Inside Out so good (realizing sadness is a main feeling, saying goodbye to Bing Bong) can’t be done again. Plus, with Pixar’s last few movies being average at best, all eyes will be what they do with a movie that means so much to people.

July – Only 3 movies so far in July. First up Despicable Me 4. I will probably see this with the kids, like I do with most of this kind of movies. Next is Twisters, a sequel to a movie 28 years ago. How often do we get a sequel to a 80s or 90s movie, not named Top Gun, and it isn’t disappointing? This is being called a “new chapter” but with nobody coming back from the original, why even call it Twisters and not something else. Just trying to get people who liked the original to get suckered in. I’ll be one of those people though. Third, and clearly the main movie this month for me is Deadpool 3. It has taken the top spot of my list this year, and everything that gets leaked from this movie just hypes me up even more. It was originally in the May 3rd date, but Disney moved it back. This will also be the first Deadpool movie in the MCU. It should be awesome!

August – While is said before that January is usually a dump month, August is one as well most years. This year seems no different to me. We have a Borderlands movie that seems like has been coming for 5 years by now. There is a new Alien movie, this time from Fede Alvarez, so is should be a hard-R one, and not for me. Act 2 of the Sony story for me is this month with Kraven, and it looks barely better that Madame Web, so that is something. It isn’t all bad this month for me though. Flint Strong’s release date found a home in August, and that could also be in the Oscar mix.

September – There are, as of me typing this, two movies scheduled in total for September. An animated Transformers movie, and Beetlejuice 2. The OG Beetlejuice is one of my favorite movies, so I am going into the sequel with trepidation (See my thoughts above on Twisters). Keaton is on a role again, and they added Jenna Ortega to play Lydia’s daughter, so it might not be too bad. On the other hand, late-stage Tim Burton has not been great, so the trailer will be very interesting to see when it comes out. Having said all of that, Beetlejuice 2 is #2 on my list.

October – October has three movies, and unlike September where I will eventually watch the Transformers cartoon, there is no chance I will watch Terrifier 3 at the end of this month. I am not a gore fan, and those movies are just brutal. Smile 2 is not on my radar either, but I have come close to watching the first one, so I might just watch both in one swoop at some point. The third film this month, however, is the one at #9 on my list, and that is Joker: Folie a Duex. I really did like Joker, and I do think Lady Gaga will play an interesting Harley. It is that the sequel is going to be a musical that makes this oh so interesting.

November – Once again, for now, only 3 movies this month. Act 3 of my bad Sony series starts the month with Venom 3, and that is one that might not be too back compared to the other 2 earlier in the year. We get a sequel to Gladiator after 24 years which is a mixed bag for me right now (See my thoughts above on Twisters and Beetlejuice 2). Lastly, for Thanksgiving, we are getting part 1 of Wicked. Musicals usually around Thanksgiving and/or Christmas usually do really great in the box office, so I don’t see this doing any different. Especially since people still go out to see the musical when it comes to their town. It is coming back to Detroit at the end of January, and I might be going to it before I go to Florida.

December – Final month of the year, and maybe the year ends on a good note. It starts with a new Lord of the Rings movie, with no Peter Jackson, so who knows what this will be like. It’s from Amazon, and I do like their LotR show, so many this will work out. That week, we also get a Karate Kid movie with Chan and Macchio back. Who cares. The next week we get our next two movies, Sonic 3 and Mustafa: The Lion King. I am looking forward to seeing Sonic with the kids. My oldest nephew especially loved the first 2. As for Mustafa, who was asking for this? Just stop, Disney. I remember the 90s. Those movies were awesome. Now, we get those very same movies, just live action and worse. On a cheerier note, we end the month with a movie on Christmas Day, and what says Christmas like Nosferatu? It could be Best Picture movie, but that will depend on what else happens in the year.

So, that is what I have on my radar so far this year. It is only around 35 films, which is way under my usual range of 80-100 I see a year. There are still a lot of films that don’t have a release date, including a lot of the possible Oscar threats. Plus, we don’t really know where a lot of the streaming movies are going to be on the calendar. There sure will be more than 3 movies in July, and 2 in September. Every year is different, and after such a great year of films in 2023, hopefully 2024 is good as well.