2023 was a gigantic year for the movies, from the massive success of Barbie and Oppenheimer, to excellent indies like Skinamarink, How to Blow Up a Pipeline and Past Lives. This year, audiences clamored for a theatrical experience, while showing that a great story is more important than brainless action. It's in this interesting cinematic landscape that we head into 2024, which already shows promise as an equally great year for the movies. 2024 will see the release of such highly-anticipated projects as Furiosa and Deadpool 3, while also giving us the latest films from directors like Bong Joon-ho and George Miller. We'll go back into the world of Inside Out, return to the original vampire story with Nosferatu, and sing along with Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga.

2024 is already shaping up to be a wild, packed year full of great films. Let's take a look at some of our most anticipated titles for the upcoming year.

'Hit Man'

June 7

Richard Linklater produced and directed Hit Man, a rom-com thriller starring Glen Powell as an undercover cop who poses as a hitman. His mission is complicated when he tries to save a woman. The film also features Adria Arjona, Austin Amelio, Retta, and Molly Bernard. The screenplay, based on Skip Hollandsworth's 2001 Texas Monthly article of the same name, was co-written by Linklater and Powell. Hit Man’s wide release has been hotly anticipated by critics and fans ever since it first premiered at the Venice International Film Festival in 2023. A film that’s already received universal acclaim from its festival showings, Hit Man has been described as a hilarious, “deceptively dark” film that perfectly showcases Powell’s acting abilities. Powell has delivered some brilliant performances in recent years in films like Top Gun: Maverick and Apollo 10 1?2: A Space Age Childhood (another Linklater movie). Add in the fact that an acclaimed filmmaker like Linklater is in the director’s chair, and it’s easy to see why Hit Man is expected to be one of the best movies of the year.

'Inside Out 2'

June 14

2024 starts with Pixar at an odd place. Their most recent film, 2023's Elemental, seemed like it was going to be a bomb at the box office, before slowly becoming the highest-grossing film by the studio in half a decade. The film before that, 2022's Lightyear, was the first financially disappointing sequel from Pixar, while their recent original projects, Turning Red, Luca, and Soul, went directly to Disney+ (even though they'll be finally receiving a theatrical release in early 2024 as well). Right now in regards to Pixar, it seems like sure things are becoming an uncertainty, while original projects are starting to once again show their worth. So what does all of this mean for their latest sequel, Inside Out 2?

Inside Out 2 takes us back inside the mind of Riley, who is now a teenager and dealing with all sorts of new emotions, including Anxiety (voiced by Maya Hawke). Taking over directorial duties from Pete Docter is Pixar story supervisor and member of the Pixar Senior Creative Team, Kelsey Mann, while co-writer of the first film, Meg LeFauve, takes over sole writing duties for the sequel. Also interesting is that while Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith, and Lewis Black will be returning as Joy, Sadness, and Anger, respectively, Bill Hader and Mindy Kaling will not be returning as Fear and Disgust after a pay dispute, and will be replaced by Tony Hale and Liza Lapira. Inside Out quickly became one of Pixar's most beloved properties, and one of the few animated films ever to get an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay. It's been a while since Pixar has had a bonafide blockbuster hit, but Inside Out 2 could break the recent mold. —Ross Bonaime

'Kind of Kindness'

June 21

Not much is known about Kinds of Kindness, but after the excellent Poor Things, all we really need to know is that Yorgos Lanthimos and Emma Stone are collaborating yet again. What we do know is that Kinds of Kindness is an anthology film written by Lanthimos along with his The Killing of a Sacred Deer, The Lobster, and Dogtooth co-writer Efthimis Filippou. In addition to Stone, Kind of Kindness also features Jesse Plemons, Willem Dafoe (who reportedly was slapped by Stone 20 times for a scene), Margaret Qualley, Hong Chau, Joe Alwyn, Mamoudou Athie, and Hunter Schafer. Who knows what bonkers ideas Kinds of Kindness has in store for us, but all we need to know is that, thankfully, Lanthimos doesn't seem to be slowing down any time soon. —Ross Bonaime

'A Quiet Place: Day One'

June 28

With two horror hits in the books, the A Quiet Place franchise is set to take audiences back to the day it all began with A Quiet Place: Day One. Fans got a glimpse of that fateful day at the beginning of A Quiet Place 2 before the rest of the film takes place not long after the events of the original. However, the third film will serve as a spin-off from its predecessors following a new set of survivors in the earliest days of the invasion. While not much has been revealed about the plot yet, Day One is expected to answer some long held questions about the alien creatures and how they wiped out so much of humanity in under 100 days.

This will also be the first installment that will not feature John Krasinski and wife Emily Blunt. Don’t worry though, Day One still has an all-star cast that will certainly keep audiences on the edge of our seats. All established horror actors themselves, the film will feature Lupita Nyong’o (Us), Joseph Quinn (Stranger Things), and Alex Wolff (Hereditary) in the lead roles. Krasinski also won’t be returning to direct the prequel, however, he leaves it in the capable hands of Pig director Michael Sarnoski. —Sam Coley

'MaXXXine'

July 5

Ti West shocked us all when he brought X to Sundance last year and revealed that not only was it the first part of a trilogy, but that it’s sequel/prequel Pearl had been filmed in tandem with the first. Following Mia Goth’s haunting end credits scene in Pearl audiences were treated to a teaser for the final part of the trio, with MaXXXine heading to Hollywood for a flashy 80s slasher. Exploring the horror genre through the lens of when each film is set, each movie in the X trilogy feels distinctly different from the last, but shares the connective tissue of West’s unique point of view and Goth’s earth-shattering performances.

Goth is set to return once again in the titular role as the final girl from the first film sets off to make her starlet dreams come true in LA’s burgeoning adult film industry. Where Pearl showed a different side Goth’s titular antagonist, MaXXXine will see the actress transform once again as she, no doubt, offers another terrifyingly psychological performance. Goth has promised that the final film will have the highest stakes of the whole trilogy. And with Elizabeth Debicki, Moses Sumney, Michelle Monaghan, Bobby Cannavale, Lilly Collins, Halsey, Giancarlo Esposito, and Kevin Bacon filling out the rest of the cast, we’re already on the edge of our seats waiting to see how it all ends. —Sam Coley

'Sing Sing'

July 12

Sing Sing is a drama film inspired by the real-life Rehabilitation Through the Arts program at the titular maximum security prison. The movie is directed by Greg Kwedar, who also co-wrote it with Clint Bentley, and stars Colman Domingo and Paul Raci, alongside many real-life formerly incarcerated alumni of the program. The film, partially based on true events, follows a group of inmates who are part of the program as they attempt to stage an original production. Sing Sing premiered at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival as part of the Special Presentations program, where it was picked up for distribution by A24. Through an empathetic narrative, the movie illustrates the power of the arts to heal the soul and highlights the strides made by this program. A profound film that received largely favorable reviews from critics, Sing Sing is currently planned to be released in the United States on July 12, 2024.

'Twisters'

July 19

As someone who aspired to be Dr. Jo Harding as a kid and disappoint my parents by becoming a storm chaser, Twister was my Citizen Kane. Maybe that’s too extreme, but the 1996 classic definitely left all of us with a little rosebud of our own after the white-knuckle blockbuster blasted through the box office. Bringing high-concept special effects mimicking realism with a pulse-quickening storyline, Twister was in a league of its own. Naturally, the movie has been caught in the reins of Hollywood’s reboot renaissance and will get its own standalone movie with a completely original story come next summer.

While this might scare some diehards, the upcoming Twisters from Minari director Lee Isaac Chung has been top secret with little to no details shared — that is until now. Starring Glen Powell and Daisy Edgar Jones, the film won’t necessarily feature any throwbacks to the original, but the stars and screenwriter Mark L. Smith (The Revenant) have since shared in numerous interviews that it will cover the same universal themes the original covered. But filmed almost 30 years later means the special effects will be far more heightened, showing us intricate and complex details about these dangerous storms and tornados. Factor in global warming and all we’ve learned in terms of our evolving weather, and we can guarantee the whirlwind forecast of powerlessness in the face of catastrophic forces will offer audiences a strong, well-deserved update to the original. —Tania Hussain

'Deadpool 3'

July 26

Oh hi there, you’re reading the blurb for Deadpool 3. That’s right, we’re breaking the fourth wall for this one. Ryan Reynolds was born to play Wade Wilson, the titular Merc with a Mouth who spews sarcastic quips and outrageous one-liners as fast as he waves around Bea and Arthur (his katanas, of course). This very R-rated franchise is a breath of crass air in the typically squeaky clean world of Marvel, and the third installment is set to give us something we never thought we’d be fortunate enough to get on the big screen: a true Wolverine and Deadpool collab.

That’s right! Hugh Jackman is clawing his way back to his iconic X-Men character. But before you freak out, this takes place before the events of Logan, so the bittersweet ending to James Mangold’s film still stands. If Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds teaming up in comic book-accurate suits wasn’t enough to get you excited, then Jennifer Garner reprising her role as Elektra certainly will be. Plus, The Crown and A Murder at the End of the World star Emma Corrin makes their Marvel debut as a mystery villain, as well as Succession’s Matthew MacFadyen in an unknown role. Ah, we can just feel Wolverine’s disdain for Deadpool now! —Emily Bernard

'Alien: Romulus'

August 16

The last few days of 2023 still see no sign of an Alien: Covenant sequel being made, and to put it plainly, that’s just terrible. Ridley Scott spent a good chunk of the 2010s carving out an odd, divisive corner of the Alien universe, one that was filled with ancient Lovecraftian horror and bizarrely heady themes for this franchise. Best of all, we had Michael Fassbender delivering some of his best work as the icy, mischievous android, David. Now, the series is leaving all of this behind and heading in a new direction without Scott directing. And for what? What are we getting instead? Oh… an Alien movie from Fede ?lvarez? Alright, sign me up.

Like Prometheus, Alien: Romulus is taking the series down a new path, introducing characters that we’ve never met before, and (hopefully), doing something new. It’ll be fun to watch a Xenomorph run around and kill people like always, but given that this is the ninth installment, they’ll have to reinvent the wheel somehow. If this is just a slasher movie with Xenomorph(s), then at least ?lvarez is the one manning the wheel. This is the same guy that delivered the brutal 2013 Evil Dead remake, as well as the classic 2010s thriller, Don’t Breathe, so in terms of horror, we have absolutely nothing to worry about. We don’t know much else about Romulus aside from the fact that it’s set between Alien and Aliens, but… we also don’t need to know more. All you need to know is that Fede ?lvarez is making an Alien movie (one that stars Priscilla’s Cailee Spaeny!). With that in mind, you best believe that we’ll all be there when this thing hits theaters in August. —Sam Williamson