2024 has been a phenomenal year for big-screen releases, with a flurry of long-awaited blockbusters and highly anticipated sequels finally hitting theaters. As the year unfolds, here are the films we’ve loved so far—and the ones still to come that you absolutely shouldn’t miss.
Dune: Part Two (1 March)
Director Denis Villeneuve’s desert planet blockbuster, ‘Dune: Part Two,’ generated so much hype—with a press tour that was legendary—that it was almost a surprise the actual movie, starring Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Florence Pugh, Austin Butler, and more, was truly excellent. This is a sci-fi epic, mythic and self-serious, but somehow crisply paced and cool instead of ridiculous; extremely long but never boring; and packed with enough action set pieces and charismatic movie stars that you kind of can’t believe your luck.
Civil War (12 April)
‘Civil War’ is an ultra-poised modern war movie, a delicate balance between beauty and horror. Writer-director Alex Garland’s vision of a near-future America at war with itself boasts ravishing moments, an incredible central performance from Kirsten Dunst, and a heart-stopping pace. But this movie is built around a moral core, and it’s as excruciating as any you’re likely to see this year. There are stunningly beautiful passages (tracer fire in the night sky, a drive through a forest fire) that will stay with you, and needle drops (Suicide and De La Soul) that leave their mark. ‘Civil War’ is unconvinced of many things: that journalism will save us, that democracy will endure, that the left or the right has any purchase on rectitude. All it knows for sure is that when we turn on each other, no one wins.
Challengers (26 April)
Has any movie this year captured the internet’s attention quite like Luca Guadagnino’s ‘Challengers’? Starring a trio of extremely appealing young stars—Josh O’Connor, Mike Faist, and a career-best Zendaya—it’s a sexy and kinetic delight, propelled by satisfying performances, a thumping score by Atticus Ross and Trent Reznor, and VFX tricks so wonderfully wacky it’s easy to miss just how technically impressive they are. A flat-out wonderful time at the movies.
Hit Man (24 May)
In Richard Linklater’s winning action-comedy, Glen Powell plays a dweeby, jorts-wearing undercover Houston cop posing as a suave and sexy hitman. Things start to go sideways when sparks fly with a woman (Adria Arjona) who wants to hire him to kill her husband. Even more improbable than Powell being a nerd? The whole story is indeed based on real events. It’s so much fun, you won’t be able to stop yourself smiling. One much-discussed scene has left audiences applauding mid-film—avoid spoilers at all costs.
Twisters (17 July)
There is an art to making a popcorn flick, and ‘Twisters’ is a masterclass. State-of-the-art special effects? Check. Wildly attractive leads with a will-they-or-won’t-they chemistry? Check. (Glen Powell maybe even invented the trope of the manic pixie dream guy.) A do-or-die plot with a subtle redemption arc? Check. Many of the films on this list will go on to win Oscars, BAFTAs, and Golden Globes; ‘Twisters’ likely won’t be one of them. But, as you sit watching Glen Powell in a cowboy hat drive a pick-up truck full-throttle through the Oklahoma plains, you’ll realize this is the most fun you’ve had watching a movie in years.
The Substance (20 September)
It’s hard to remember when I last saw a film that went as hard as Coralie Fargeat’s fearless follow-up to the candy-colored action thriller ‘Revenge’—the mind-bending tale of an actor (a career-best Demi Moore) deemed to be past her prime, who injects her body with a mysterious substance that promises to release a more perfect version of herself. Cue her collapsing onto her bathroom floor, her spine splitting open, and a younger alter-ego (a sweet and then devilish Margaret Qualley) emerging from inside her. What happens next inspired gasps, cheers, laughter, and shrieks of horror in equal measure at the film’s Cannes premiere—and it, deservedly, left the festival with the best-screenplay prize.
Anora (1 November)
Sean Baker’s Palme d’Or-winning crowdpleaser—a fleet-footed romp which follows the titular exotic dancer (a glorious Mikey Madison) who meets the goofy son of a Russian oligarch (newcomer Mark Eydelshteyn, already being dubbed “the Russian Timothée Chalamet”) and embarks on a madcap romance—seems to have secured its spot in the 2025 awards race. As with the beloved director’s previous work (‘Tangerine,’ ‘The Florida Project,’ ‘Red Rocket’), this is a funny, charming, and visually dazzling delight, which goes on to surprise you with its warmth and touching vulnerability—and an ending that’ll leave you utterly devastated.
Gladiator 2 (22 November)
Hot on the heels of ‘Napoleon’ comes another soaring historical blockbuster from Ridley Scott: the tale of Lucius Verus, the nephew of Joaquin Phoenix’s Commodus who was seen as a child in 2000’s ‘Gladiator,’ as he reaches adulthood. As portrayed by Paul Mescal, who leads a stellar ensemble which also features Pedro Pascal, Denzel Washington, and ‘Stranger Things” Joseph Quinn, it should be a swords-and-sandals epic like no other.
Wicked: Part 1 (27 November)
Due to be released in two parts—with the second film following in 2025—this big-screen rendering of the wildly successful musical is helmed by Jon M Chu (‘Crazy Rich Asians,’ ‘In the Heights’), and sees Ariana Grande play Glinda the Good Witch, with Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West; Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero; Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible; and Jeff Goldblum as the Wizard himself.
