Introduction
There’s no denying that 2023 was an interesting year for movies. While Barbenheimer (Barbie and Oppenheimer) kept the money train rolling, 2023 was also a year where fan fatigue set in. At the box office, we saw big-budget tent pole films crash and burn financially. Even the usually reliable Mission: Impossible franchise suffered. The $300 million budget of Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning – Part One was too high for the film to turn a real profit. It only grossed $567 million globally. Not nearly what Tom Cruise or Paramount Pictures had hoped for.
Perhaps it was all the streaming options available at home and the increasingly repetitive nature of prequels, sequels, threequels, and remakes. Whatever it was, films that SHOULD have done well didn’t. The Marvels, The Flash, Disney’s Wish, and Fast X, all performed poorly, or not up to expectations. Again, Disney and Marvel/DC fatigue setting in. Perhaps there was no greater example of this than Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. The Harrison Ford and Steven Spielberg cash cow finally ran out of milk, grossing less than $400 million on a whopping $300 million budget. A box-office bomb.
Smaller films turned the most profit. The Insidious franchise, for better or worse, continued to roll right along. Insidious: The Red Door grossed $180 million on a $16 million budget. In addition to Barbie and Oppenheimer, films like Wonka, Five Nights at Freddy’s, Spiderman: Across the Spiderverse, and lower-budget films (Godzilla Minus One, Evil Dead Rise, Talk to Me, M3GAN, The Nun 2), all did exceptional business. There was no better example of a surprise hit than The Super Mario Bros. Movie which grossed $1.3 billion on a $100 million budget.
What’s Next?
With Hollywood back on track and recovering from COVID and theaters across the world shuttering their doors, it seemed the film industry was starting to get its mojo back. That was until a WGA and SAG-AFTRA double-strike once again crippled film and TV productions across the US. Lasting almost a combined five months, it sent everyone back home to ponder how they could recover from yet another shutdown. With all of that in the review mirror, it is time to look past the strikes and lockdowns and focus on the slate of big (and small) budget films that will grace the screens in 2024. In no particular order, here are our top 5 most anticipated films, with a few honorable mentions thrown in.
Nosferatu (December 25)
Willem Defoe is back in the latest remake of the 1922 German Expressionist classic horror film, Nosferatu. This time, however, he’s not playing the titular vampire. That honor goes to the always creepy and fantastic Bill Skarsgård. Previously portraying Nosferatu actor Max Schrek in the now classic film Shadow of the Vampire (2000), Defoe is chewing up the scenery as mad vampire hunter, Professor Albin Eberhart Von Franz. Director Robert Eggers (The Witch, The Lighthouse, The Northman) seems the perfect director to take on this latest interpretation.
Eggers, who also wrote the upcoming film’s screenplay, has assembled an impressive supporting cast. Along with Dafoe and Skarsgård, Nicholas Hoult, Emma Corrin, Lily-Rose Depp, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Simon McBurney, and Ralph Ineson all have supporting roles. Eggers describes Defoe’s character as “a crazy vampire hunter.” We’re in. Filming on Nosferatu wrapped on May 19, 2023. Here’s hoping for another terrifying performance from Skarsgård to go along with his now-iconic Pennywise the Clown.
Nosferatu will be released theatrically on December 25, 2024, by Focus Features.
Alien: Romulus (August 16)
For better or for worse the Alien franchise has been with us for forty-five years. In that time it has spawned countless films (eight), novels, comics, video games, and even a web series in 2019 (Alien: Isolation). Some of the results have been good (Alien, Aliens, Prometheus). And some have been not so good (Alien 3, Alien Resurrection, and all of the Alien vs. Predator films). Putting all of that aside, this latest entry gives fans of the franchise hope. This time around, horror maestro Fede Álvarez (Evil Dead, Don’t Breathe) has been given the keys to the House of Alien. It’s also a standalone film set between the events of Alien (1979) and Aliens (1986).
After Disney’s takeover of 21st Century Fox and the surprising success of the Hulu/Disney film Prey (2022), the suits wanted to greenlight more Alien (and Predator) content quickly, both on the big and small screen. While Alien: Romulus was originally going to go straight to streaming (Hulu), the studio was impressed with what Alvarez was doing and decided to release it theatrically. Sir Ridley Scott is producing the film which stars Cailee Spaeny, Isabela Merced, and David Jonsson. If Alvarez does for the Alien franchise what he did for the Evil Dead franchise, we are in for a real treat.
Alien: Romulus is scheduled to be released theatrically on August 16, 2024, by 20th Century Studios.
Dune: Part Two (March 1)
The history of Dune is a long and complicated one that we previously documented here. Dating back to 1965, when author Frank Herbert wrote his first of six epic science fiction tomes, Hollywood wanted to bring his vision of the desert wasteland Arrakis, to life. Most famously eccentric filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky (El Topo) tried to get Dune made in the 1970s. David Carradine, Mick Jagger, Udo Kier, Gloria Swanson, Orson Welles, and Salvidor Dali had all agreed to appear in the film which went belly up in pre-production.
We’d be remiss not to mention David Lynch’s 1984 effort to turn Dune into a film. While it was theatrically released, it was a financial and critical flop which Lynch has since disowned. It also remains a source of contention with the director forty years later. That’s what makes what Denis Villeneuve did in 2021 all the more remarkable. He took IP that was riddled with decades of problems, failures, and bad luck and turned it around. Dune (2021) was a critical and commercial hit and also helped pull theaters across the globe out of the doldrums of COVID lockdowns.
Villeneuve’s sequel was scheduled to be released in 2023. However, this was pushed back due to the lengthy SAG-AFTRA strike. Dune: Part Two picks up where the last film left off. Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) continues to seek to avenge his family line with the assistance of the Fremen. Joining the already-loaded cast are Florence Pugh, Austin Butler, Christopher Walken, and Lea Seydoux. Returning from the first film are Josh Brolin, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Dave Bautista, and Javier Bardem. Villeneuve is hoping his success continues as Dune: Part Three is already in pre-production.
Dune: Part Two is set to be released theatrically on March 1, 2024, by Warner Bros. Pictures.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (May 24)
Writer/director George Miller has been at it for more than four decades. During that time he helmed such quality films as The Witches of Eastwick (1987), Lorenzo’s Oil (1992), and the successful Happy Feet franchise. With this resume, one wouldn’t think he is one of the greatest action directors of all time. But he is. Forty-five years after he began the first of his three stunning Mad Max films and almost a decade after his wild continuation film Mad Max: Fury Road (2013), the master is back for more. Furiosa, a prequel, focuses on the early days of the titular character, originally played by Charlize Theron and this time portrayed by Anya Taylor-Joy.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga will depict the character being kidnapped from her home in the ‘Green Place of Many Mothers’ and thrown into a war between two Tyrants. Being kept against her will by a horde of bikers led by the warlord Dementus (Chris Hemsworth), they come across the Citadel, which is ruled by the evil Immortan Joe. As the two tyrants fight for the right to rule the post-apocalyptic wasteland, Imperator Furiosa finds herself caught in the middle and desperately trying to get back home. With George Miller returning to his sci-fi dystopian world, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is one of the most anticipated movies of 2024.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is set to be released theatrically on May 24, 2024, by Warner Bros. Pictures.
Beetlejuice 2 (September 6)
Legendary director Tim Burton has been hit or miss over the last twenty years. however, there was a ten-year period in the 1980s and 1990s where he could do no wrong. Pee-wee’s Big Adventure (1985), Batman (1989), Edward Scissorhands (1990), Batman Returns (1992), and Ed Wood were all either box-office or critical successes (or both). Perhaps his most beloved and rewatched film during the Golden Age of Burton was the now cult-classic Beetlejuice (1988). It also cemented Burton as the new king of horror/comedy. Geena Davis, Michael Keaton, and Winona Ryder all turned in standout performances in this surreal and hilarious comedy about ghosts, family, and the afterlife.
As early as 1990 Burton had been trying to develop a sequel to Beetlejuice. His planned follow-up ‘Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian‘ was in development with Keaton and Ryder agreeing to reprise their roles. However, Batman and its sequel Batman Returns (1992) tied up Keaton and Burton for several years, and the project was shelved. Thirty-five years later, the planets aligned and Seth Grahame-Smith, writer and frequent Burton collaborator, delivered a script to Burton. With much of the original cast (including Catherine O’Hara) returning and Jenna Ortega cast as Astrid Deetz, the daughter of Ryder’s Lydia Deetz, hopes are high that this sequel will do justice to Burton’s beloved original. Plus, we have Willem Defoe cast as an afterlife detective! We can’t wait.
Beetlejuice 2 is set to be released theatrically on September 6, 2024, by Warner Bros. Pictures.
Honorable Mentions
Deadpool 3 (July 26)
Never mind the Marvel Comics connection and please, don’t let that keep you away from the third installment in this wildly popular franchise. The first two films are flat-out hilarious and Deadpool is a role that Ryan Reynolds was born to play. In addition, the building bromance developing between Reynolds and frenemy Hugh Jackman will finally be fully realized when Jackman co-stars and brings back his beloved (and retired) Wolverine character one last time.
Gladiator 2 (November 22)
A jacked Russell Crowe, throwing his sword into the official viewing box in the arena, and yelling ‘Are you not entertained?!’ is one of the great Alpha male moments in the history of film. Crowe’s not back for the sequel, so that’s not good. But Sir Ridley is back in the director’s chair and Connie Nielsen as Lucilla also returns. Plus, Denzel Washington and Pedro Pascal have been added to the cast. Consider us interested.
Joker: Folie à Deux (October 4)
A comic book movie that reminded people of Taxi Driver (1976) and won the Best Actor Oscar? There’s no denying that just about everyone saw this billion-dollar-grossing film and had an opinion. The sequel picks up where the first one left off with Joaquin Phoenix returning and Lady Gaga co-starring as Harley Quinn. It’s also a musical. This could be a $150 million trainwreck, but our curiosities are piqued. Oscar-winning director Todd Phillips also returns.
Smile 2 (October 18)
Smile (2022) was one of the surprise hits of 2022 and a legitimately creepy and fun horror film. It also grossed a whopping $217 million on a budget of only $17 million. Of course, there was going to be a sequel. The as-of-yet-untitled follow-up stars Naomi Scott (Aladdin) with director Parker Finn also returning. Kyle Gallner is also reprising his role as Joel. Lukas Gage and Rosemarie DeWitt are also joining the cast in undisclosed roles.
