As anticipation builds for the 96th Academy Awards ceremony, the team at Awards Daily is already looking ahead to the cinematic offerings of 2024. The upcoming year holds promise, though the landscape remains fluid with the unannounced releases (that PTA film starring Leonardo DiCaprio, for example) and potential delays caused by the inevitable impact from the recent writers’ and actors’ strikes. Some anticipated films may even spill over into 2025 (for the purposes of this list, we used the release date listed on IMDB). As we await further announcements, trailers, and the buzz from film festivals, our interests may evolve.
To capture the collective excitement, ten of our writers and editors were asked to compile a list of their 20 most eagerly anticipated films of the year. From our diverse selections, we’ve curated a compelling lineup of 20 movies that we simply can’t wait to experience.
Before we get started, here are a few films that made more than one list but just missed our top 20: His Three Daughters (Carrie Coon!), The Bikeriders (some of us saw this in Telluride and loved it), Civil War, Flint Strong, Kinds of Kindness, Drive-Away Dolls, A Real Pain, and Twisters.
Thanks to Clarence, Ryan, Joey, Shadan, Megan, Jalal, Shadan, Benjamin, and David for participating in the poll!
20. Hit Man
Directed by: Richard Linklater
Starring: Glen Powell, Adria Arjona
IMDB synopsis: A professor moonlighting as a hit man of sorts for his city police department, descends into dangerous, dubious territory when he finds himself attracted to a woman who enlists his services.
Teaser/Trailer Here
19. The Fall Guy
Directed by: David Leitch
Starring: Ryan Gosling, Emily Blunt, Hannah Waddingham, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Teresa Palmer, Stephanie Hsu, Lee Majors, Winston Duke,
IMDB synopsis: Colt Seavers is a stuntman who left the business a year earlier to focus on both his physical and mental health. He’s drafted back into service when the star of a mega-budget studio movie, which is being directed by his ex, goes missing.
Teaser/Trailer Here
18. The Piano Lesson
Directed by: Malcolm Washington
Starring: John David Washington, Danielle Deadwyler, Samuel L. Jackson, Corey Hawkins, Michael Potts, Stephan James, Erykah Badu
IMDB synopsis: Follows the lives of the Charles family as they deal with themes of family legacy and more, in deciding what to do with an heirloom, the family piano.
17. Mother’s Instinct
Directed by: Benoit Delhomme
Starring: Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Josh Charles,
IMDB synopsis: Alice and Celine live a traditional lifestyle with successful husbands and sons of the same age. Life’s perfect harmony is suddenly shattered after a tragic accident. Guilt, suspicion and paranoia combine to unravel their sisterly bond.|
Teaser/Trailer Here
16. Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse
Directed by: Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, Justin K. Thompson
Starring: Shameik Moore, Hailee Steinfeld, Brian Tyree Henry, Luna Lauren Velez, Jake Johnson, Oscar Isaac, Jason Schwartzman, Issa Rae, Amandla Stenberg, John Mulaney, Daniel Kaluuya, Mahershala Ali, Jharrel Jerome
IMDB synopsis: After leaving off from Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, the story continues.
15. The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim
Directed by: Kenji Kamiyama
Starring: Brian Cox, Shaun Dooley, Miranda Otto
IMDB synopsis: The untold story behind Helm’s Deep, hundreds of years before the fateful war, telling the life and bloodsoaked times of its founder, Helm Hammerhand, the King of Rohan.
14. Queer
Directed by: Luca Guadagnino
Starring: Daniel Craig, Jason Schwartzman, Drew Starkey, Lesley Manville
IMDB synopsis: Lee, who recounts his life in Mexico City among American expatriate college students and bar owners surviving on part-time jobs and GI Bill benefits. He driven to pursue a young man named Allerton, who is based on Adelbert Lewis Marker.
Why I’m Excited – by Jalal Haddad: Never before have I ever been able to say that my favorite working director is releasing not one but two new feature films this year. With Luca Guadagnino releasing both Challengers and Queer, I am feeling incredibly blessed by the gods of cinema and taking it as a sign that 2024 is my year! No other director working today explores gender, sexuality, desire, shame, or even family dynamics quite like Guadagnino. Whether it is his seminal masterpiece Call Me By Your Name, the epic reimagining of the horror classic Suspiria, or even the criminally under seen HBO series We Are Who We Are, I always walk out of Guadagnino’s projects a changed person – as if his very specific cinematic language speaks directly to me.
Challengers is already one of the most buzzed about films of the year and for good reason. Starring Zendaya, who just might be one of our last great bankable movie stars, in a sexy, stylized sports saga. Its exploration of sexual power through tennis, while thematically on the nose, is a world that Guadagnino will excel in and hopefully will help introduce him to major box office success. Queer on the other hand, while thematically feels on par with his usual themes of desire obsession, and addiction – feels like a major turn for the director because of his new star, Daniel Craig.
Guadagnino has made a name for himself by allowing young ingenues the chance to explore their craft in taboo and thrilling ways (Timothee Chalamet, Dakota Johnson, Jack Dylan Grazer, Taylor Russell). But now he’s teaming with Daniel Craig, an established global movie star with multiple franchises under his belt. I’m thrilled to see what a Guadagnino/Craig pairing will look like, and although I’m trying to go into the film as blind as possible, if it’s anything like the director’s past work I know it will be one of my favorite films of the year.
13. Inside Out 2
Directed by: Kelsey Mann
Starring: Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith, Lewis Black, Tony Hale, Maya Hawke, Liza Lapira, June Squibb
IMDB synopsis: Follow Riley, in her teenage years, encountering new emotions.
Teaser/Trailer Here
12. Gladiator 2
Directed by: Ridley Scott
Starring: Paul Mescal, Connie Nielsen, Pedro Pascal, Denzel Washington, Joseph Quinn, Matt Lucas, Derek Jacobi
IMDB synopsis: Follows Lucius, the son of Maximus’ love Lucilla, after Maximus’ death.
11. Wicked
Directed by: Jon M. Chu
Starring: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey, Michelle Yeo, Jeff Goldblum
IMDB synopsis: The story of how a green-skinned woman framed by the Wizard of Oz becomes the Wicked Witch of the West. The first of a two-part feature film adaptation of the Broadway musical.
Why I’m Excited – by Joey Moser: I admit that I go back and forth with Wicked as a musical. It came out when I was studying musical theater, and I loved that Avenue Q beat it for Best Musical at the Tony Awards. Will I regret anticipating the big screen adaptation so much before I even see one frame of footage? Maybe, but right now it’s at the very top of my list for several reasons.
With In the Heights, director Jon M. Chu showed us that he can trade in action for choreography. There are some shots in that musical adaptation that prove that he is a director who knows how to capture movement on a big scale – I expect a lot of ensemble dancing and camera swooping through ‘Dancing Through Life.’ The casting excites me. Cynthia Erivo has sung on camera but mostly on the small screen. I am eager to see how the screen struggles to contain Elphaba’s voice before she breaks free during the act one finale. Ariana Grande has proved over and over that you can’t pin down her comedic timing, and after providing devastating work in Fellow Travelers, I am stoked to see Jonathan Bailey flex his muscles as Fiyero. Michelle Yeoh? Yes, please. Bowen Yang in a brand new part? Sign me up. Jeff freaking Goldblum as The Wizard? No notes.
Most of all, though, I am amped for a movie musical that isn’t afraid to show off that it’s a movie musical. Without seeing a trailer yet, I hope that the studio embraces that Wicked is one of the highest-grossing, longest-running, most over-the-top musical spectacles playing on Broadway. It carries bankability in its name and everyone from your first-grade teacher to your grandma knows that Wicked is a lavish extravaganza, and it’s time for those theater nerds to come out in droves.
10. Maria
Directed by: Pablo Larrain
Starring: Angelina Jolie, Valeria Golino, Kodi Smit-McPhee
IMDB synopsis: Follows the life story of the world’s greatest opera singer, Maria Callas, during her final days in 1970s Paris.
9. Megalopolis
Directed by: Francis Ford Coppola
Starring: Adam Driver, Aubrey Plaza, Shia LaBeouf, Kathryn Hunter, Jason Schwartzman, Dustin Hoffman, Giancarlo Esposito, Jon Voight, Laurence Fishburne, Balthazar Getty, Nathalie Emmanuel, James Remar, D.B. Sweeney, Talia Shire, Chloe Fineman
IMDB synopsis: An architect wants to rebuild New York City as a utopia following a devastating disaster.
Why I’m Excited – by Clarence Moye: To understand my excitement for Francis Ford Coppola’s return to filmmaking, you have to consider how long this project has been kicking around. We first heard rumors of the hugely ambitious project back in the 1990s during Coppola’s last big run of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Jack, and The Rainmaker. He’d been working on the screenplay since the early 1980s. By the time the project actually started filming in 2022 under Coppola’s personal funding, we’d been treated to rumors of trouble behind the scenes with below-the-line crafts persons walking off set. The end result could go either way. We could have a modern day Godfather on our hands. Or we could not… in a huge way. Whatever the final product, there’s no denying it will emerge as a compelling piece of art, particularly with an eclectic cast that includes Adam Driver, Forest Whitaker, Jon Voight, Laurence Fishburne, Aubrey Plaza, Shia LaBeouf, Jason Schwartzman, Kathryn Hunter, Talia Shire, Dustin Hoffman, Giancarlo Esposito, and many more. Here’s hoping that Coppola, who arguably hasn’t directed a great film since 1992, has one more masterpiece in him. I know I’ll be first in line to see it.
8. Blitz
Directed by: Steve McQueen
Starring: Saoirse Ronan, Stephen Graham, Harris Dickinson
IMDB synopsis: Follow the stories of a group of Londoners during the events of the British capital bombing in World War II.
7. Alien: Romulus
Directed by: Fede Alvarez
Starring: Isabela Merced, Cailee Spaeny, David Jonsson
IMDB synopsis: Young people from a distant world must face the most terrifying life form in the universe.
Why I’m Excited – by Mark Johnson: To understand my love for the Alien franchise, you have to go all the way back to 1987, when a nine-year-old version of your humble narrator and friend sat captivated by Ridley Scott’s 1979 sci-fi thriller, Alien, peeking through the holes of my cherished security blanket during the infamous gut-buster scene. My adoration for that film, along with its 1986 sequel, James Cameron’s Aliens, is well-documented. While subsequent attempts to recapture the magic the first two films have come up short – Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem, anyone? – I remain eagerly invested in each new installment of the perfect organism saga. Despite understandable reservations, the anticipation for the latest film of the franchise always blooms within me like a facehugger bursting from its egg.
6. Joker: Folie à Deux
Directed by: Todd Phillips
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Zazie Beetz, Brendan Gleeson, Catherine Keener, Ken Leung, Steve Coogan
IMDB synopsis: Plot unknown. Sequel to the 2019 film ‘Joker.’
Why I’m Excited – by Benjamin Rendall: I love the Joker as a character; he is a great villain who has inspired so much in fiction and has been used to create some of the best moments across media. Yet when the first film was announced, I wasn’t interested, since – with rare exceptions – I do not love comic book movies. But after it won the Venice Film Festival I was very excited and rushed to see it and was very happy with what I got. It avoided comic book film clichés and was instead a great look at mental health and societal ills using the iconic villain as a perfect showcase while keeping the demented sense of fun the character is known for. I never thought it needed a sequel, however, and had concerns that Joaquin Phoenix would fall into franchise staleness.
But when Joker: Folie à Deux was announced as both a musical and starring Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn, I had to admit it left me intrigued. It appeared that Director Todd Phillips was really trying to do something very different from the first film. The set photos of Lady Gaga as Quinn looked phenomenal and, as a fan of the character, I would love for her to get a really great movie presence. Joaquin Phoenix is one of my favorite actors of all-time, and Lady Gaga was Oscar-worthy in A Star is Born. I am excited to see what these two actors will do together. With my love of these characters and the creative directions this team took on the comic book movie before, I am left incredibly hopeful that lightning will strike twice.
5. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Directed by: George Miller
Starring: Anya Taylor-Joy, Chris Hemsworth, Tom Burke, Nathan Jones, Angus Sampson
IMDB synopsis: The origin story of renegade warrior Furiosa before her encounter and teamup with Mad Max.
Teaser/Trailer Here
Why I’m Excited – by David E. Phillips: There may be stranger film careers than that of Aussie director George Miller, but it takes some pondering to come up with one. After making a savage stateside impact with his Down Under post apocalyptic one-two-three of Mad Max, The Road Warrior, and Beyond Thunderdome, it was as if Miller set out to prove all the other things he could do. The wicked comedy of The Witches of Eastwick was followed by the family/disease drama Lorenzo’s Oil, and then, most peculiarly for a guy who made one of the greatest, most violent escape films of all time (The Road Warrior, naturally), Miller made three consecutive animated movies: Babe: Pig in the City, Happy Feet, and Happy Feet 2. The mind practically reels at the dissonance between his Mel Gibson-lead Mad Max trilogy and all that has come after. Well, that is until Tom Hardy picked up Gibson’s mantle and became Max for what might just be the best film of the lot, Mad Max: Fury Road. After another left turn with A Thousand Years of Longing (hey, who wouldn’t want to rub a bottle and have Idris Elba come out of it?), Miller returns to base camp with the prequel Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga starring Anya Taylor Joy as the character Charlize Theron made iconic in Fury Road. Lord only knows what this crazy, nearly octogenarian-age Australian will come up with in Furiosa, but if it is even close to the controlled chaos of Fury Road, it promises to be the wildest cinematic ride of the year.
4. Dune: Part 2
Directed by: Denis Villeneuve
Starring: Timothée Chalamet, Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Zendaya, Javier Bardem, Léa Seydoux, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Christopher Walken, Charlotte Rampling, Tim Blake Nelson
IMDB synopsis: Paul Atreides unites with Chani and the Fremen while seeking revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family.
Teaser/Trailer Here
Why I’m Excited – by Shadan Larki: Denis Villeneuve’s Dune, in all of its six-time Oscar-winning glory, was the sci-fi epic of a generation. The sweeping production introduced us to the world of Arrakis with stunning visuals and compelling characters, chiefly Timothée Chalamet’s Paul Atreides. But, Dune: Part One, as beautiful as it was, is the film equivalent of an appetizer, a nice setup for our main course to come in March’s Dune: Part Two.
It’s a fitting metaphor given that the climax of the novel, and arguably one of the most iconic moments of the Dune series, is an intergalactic dinner scene that will feature prominently in Dune: Part Two. The film will follow Atreides as he leads the Fremen people in battle against the Harkonnens, and the big, bad Christopher Walken’s Padishah Emperor Shaddam. In Villeneuve’s capable hands, this showdown promises to be a cinematic feast, but what has me even more excited is seeing this stacked cast in the ultimate fantasy playground. In addition to more prominent roles for Zendaya and Rebecca Ferguson, Dune: Part Two adds Florence Pugh as the alluring Princess Irulan and Austin Butler as the menacing Feyd-Rautha. Long live the House of Atreides!
3. Mickey 17
Directed by: Bong Joon Ho
Starring: Robert Pattinson, Mark Ruffalo, Steven Yeun, Toni Collette, Naomi Ackie
IMDB synopsis: Plot under wraps.
Teaser/Trailer Here
Why I’m Excited – by Ryan Adams: Long before Bong Joon-ho made a masterpiece and Oscar history by winning an armload of Oscars for Parasite, he directed the highest-grossing movie in South Korean history, The Host. In this riveting old-school creature feature, Bong served up a thrilling sci-fi spectacle that mixed monster mayhem with social commentary like a cinematic mad scientist. With his genre-bending brilliance and sharp wit, Bong is like the brainy love child of Spielberg and Tarantino. Maestro of unexpected genre mashups, it’s little wonder Bong Joon-Ho was attracted to the novel’s epic blend of action, philosophy, dark humor, and twisted romance.
In Edward Ashton’s Mikey7, mankind’s galactic adventure takes its next reckless leap forward, as colonists bid farewell to inhospitable Earth in search of a fresh planet to fuck up. The passengers and crew of the Drakkar hope to settle like nomads on alluring virgin territory but first they need a canary to explore potential coal mines. Hapless but intrepid Mickey Barnes missed the VIP list for rich sophisticated colonists, so he opts instead to be cloned as an “expendable.” This disposable status makes him the mission’s crash-test dummy. Whenever he dies another ghastly death, another Mikey clone steps up, ready to go again. Mickey7 isn’t another run-of-the-mill grim dystopian vision; it’s a pitch-black comedy, a slapstick tragedy, and ultimately a profound case-study of existential yearning.
The novel juggles grim specters of death with wry finesse, which fits neatly into Bong Joon-ho’s own visionary attitude. We’ve seen in Snowpiercer how Bong can catapult humanity’s narrative into a far-fetched future, a parallel universe where cozy ethical norms are a nothing but a distant memory. Soon we’ll see him spin the calamities of space travel into a cosmic joke. Expect a celestial gut-punch, delivered with Bong’s trademark wicked wit, making Mikey 17 a philosophic romp driven by hardcore interstellar mayhem. Bong Joon-ho and Mickey 17 are a match made in a heavenly hellscape, and I’ll be seated for the matinee on opening day.
2. Nosferatu
Directed by: Robert Eggers
Starring: Willem Dafoe, Emma Corrin, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Nicholas Hoult, Bill Skarsgård, Ralph Ineson, Lily-Rose Depp, Simon McBurney
IMDB synopsis: A gothic tale of obsession between a haunted young woman and the terrifying vampire infatuated with her, causing untold horror in its wake.
1. Challengers
Directed by: Luca Guadagnino
Starring: Zendaya, Josh O’Connor, Mike Faist
IMDB synopsis: Tashi, a former tennis prodigy turned coach is married to a champion on a losing streak. Her strategy for her husband’s redemption takes a surprising turn when he must face off against his former best friend and Tashi’s former boyfriend.
Teaser/Trailer Here
Why I’m Excited – by Megan McLachlan: Challengers was supposed to screen at TIFF last year, but was pushed back due to the strike. Tennis movies don’t usually do great at the box office (see: Wimbledon and Battle of the Sexes), but the star power of Zendaya could finally be the breakthrough for this sports genre. She plays a Williams-esque dynamo in a love triangle with Josh O’Connor and Mike Faist, and if this trailer didn’t have you with the line “I’m taking such good care of my little white boys,” then it certainly will with the pulse of Rihanna’s “S&M.” Oh, and did I mention that Luca Guadagnino is the director? Game, set, match!
As you can see there is plenty to be excited about this year, and that’s not counting all the movies that will likely spring up from festivals. So stay tuned as more films are announced in 2024.
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