Biggest film of 2024? We’ll have to wait and see. Yet if the tantalising trailers below are anything to go by, there’ll be some strong contenders. Just as cinemas were getting back on their feet after the Covid-19 pandemic, let’s remember, the film industry was put on hold by the joint strike of the Writers Guild of America and the SAG-AFTRA actors’ union. No one was writing films, no one was making films, and no one was allowed to talk about the films that had been made but weren’t yet released. Production was halted; release schedules cancelled. It wasn’t until the end of last year that pledges were made, the strikes called off, and we learned which films would be hitting the big (and small) screen in 2024.

So, what do movie fans have to look forward to in the 12 months ahead? Below, we’ve rounded up the films likely to cause the most Oscar buzz in 2024, from the star-studded sequels Dune: Part 2, Joker: Folie à Deux and Paddington in Peru, to big-hitting prequels in the shape of Beetlejuice 2 and Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. Elsewhere, Parasite director, Bong Joon-ho, makes his long-awaited return; Zac Efron gets even more hench; Austin Butler and Tom Hardy fight it out; and Jodie Comer continues her trajectory towards becoming Hollywood royalty.

Pass the popcorn…

Poor Things

Release Date: 12 January 2024
Director: Yorgos Lanthimos
Starring: Emma Stone, Mark Ruffalo, Willem Dafoe, Ramy Youssef, Jerrod Carmichael, Christopher Abbott, Margaret Qualley

“Twisted”, “outlandish”, “beautifully garish”, “unabashedly raunchy”, “utterly filthy” and “absolutely batshit” are just some of the ways film critics have attempted to convey the eccentric weirdness of the third collaboration between American actress Emma Stone and Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos. And, just like their first two projects – 2018’s The Favourite and 2022’s short film Bleat – Poor Things promises to have you leaving the cinema asking WTAF? It’s a brilliant, 19^th-century-based, screwball riot that’s equal parts horror movie, romantic comedy, sci-fi adventure and slapstick black comedy. It’s quite the ride – as you can see from the trailer.

The End We Start From

Release Date: 19 January 2024 
Director: Mahalia Belo
Starring: Jodie Comer, Joel Fry, Katherine Waterson, Gina McKee, Nina Sosanya, Mark Strong, Benedict Cumberbatch

Killing Eve’s Jodie Comer will star in what are sure to be two of the most talked-about films of 2024. In June, she’ll appear alongside Austin Butler and Tom Hardy in the Ronseal-named The Bikeriders. Before then, January sees the release of The End We Start From, a big-screen adaptation of Megan Hunter’s apocalyptic novel of the same name. After London is submerged by flood waters following an environmental catastrophe, new mother Comer must do all she can to ensure the survival of her young family. As with everything in which she appears, Comer steals the show.

The Iron Claw

Release Date: 9 February 2024
Director: Sean Durkin
Starring: Zac Efron, Jeremy Allen White, Harris Dickinson, Maura Tierney, Stanley Simons, Holt McCallany, Lily James

Zac Efron takes on his most serious role to date, playing Kevin Von Erich in the true(ish)-to-life portrayal of professional wrestling family, the Von Erichs. Starring alongside brothers Kerry (Jeremy Allen White), David (Harris Dickinson) and Mike (Stanley Simon), The Iron Claw charts the rise and fall of the wrestling siblings, managed by their domineering father and coach Fritz (Holt McCallany) as they seek household-name fame in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Dune: Part 2

Release Date: 15 March 2024
Director: Denis Villeneuve
Starring: Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, Dave Bautista, Christopher Walken

It’s been two years since Dune: Part 1 ended on a cliffhanger, and if you struggled with the – how shall we put it – slower speed of that first instalment, you’ll be pleased to know that the follow-up film moves at a far quicker pace. The franchise featured one of the most star-studded casts of recent years, even before it was announced that (a bald-headed) Austin Butler would be appearing in this year’s Part 2. The first Dune was touted as one of the greatest sci-fi films of all time by several critics. One thing’s for sure, you won’t find yourself falling asleep so easily during the final episode.

Mickey 17

Release Date: 29 March 2024
Director: Bong Joon-Ho
Starring: Robert Pattinson, Mark Ruffalo, Toni Collette, Steven Yeun, Naomi Ackie

Fans of 2019’s Oscar-winning, black comedy thriller, Parasite, have been waiting five years for director Bong Joon-Ho's follow-up film. Come March, that wait will be over. Mickey 17 represents Joon-Ho’s first foray into science-fiction proper, starring Robert Pattinson as both the protagonist and antagonist of an adaptation of Edward Ashton's novel of the same name. The exact plot remains a closely guarded secret, but in playing several versions of the same character, Pattinson has described the role as his toughest acting project yet.  

Civil War

Release Date: 26 April 2024
Director: Alex Garland 
Starring: Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Cailee Spaen

Released in the same year as a US Presidential election, Alex Garland’s self-explanatory Civil War will perhaps take on a heightened poignancy when it hits the big screen in April. The trailer explains how an alliance of 19 states – including an unlikely coalition between California and Texas – is at war with the military of the United States. Kirsten Dunst is among a group of journalists trying to report on an increasingly polarised and dangerous society. Garland has described the film as a ‘sci-fi allegory’.    

IF

Release Date: 24 May 2024
Director: John Krasinski
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, John Krasinski, Cailey Fleming, Fiona Shaw, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Louis Gossett Jr., Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Jon Stewart, Steve Carell

If is a film written, directed and co-produced by John Krasinski, which stars, and was developed by, Ryan Reynolds. Little surprise, then, that there was fierce competition to secure the rights to the movie. In the end, Paramount Pictures won out, outbidding offers made by Lionsgate and Sony. The film reunites The Office stars Krasinski and Steve Carell, telling the story of a young girl named Bea who gains the ability to see people's imaginary friends – 'IFs' for short – who have been left behind as their real-life friends have grown up.

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga 

Release Date: 24 May 2024
Director: George Miller
Starring: Anya Taylor-Joy, Chris Hemsworth, Charlee Fraser, Angus Sampson.

The fourth instalment in the Mad Max franchise, 2015’s Mad Max: Fury Road, starred Charlize Theron and was nominated for 10 Oscars – winning six of them. The fifth episode, 2024’s Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, explores the origin story of Theron’s character, Imperator Furiosa, and promises the sort of cinematography that saw the previous film scoop so many awards. This time out, Furiosa is played by Anya Taylor-Joy, who stars alongside Chris Hemsworth as the warlord, Dementus.

The Bikeriders 

Release Date: 21 June 2024
Director: Jeff Nichols
Starring: Jodie Comer, Austin Butler, Tom Hardy

Labelled ‘The Godfather of Biker Movies’ by Variety and receiving a five-star review from The Guardian, The Bikeriders tells the fictional story of a real-life motorcycle club. In 1967, American photographer and filmmaker, Danny Lyon, published a photo-book of the same name depicting the lives of the Chicago-based Outlaws MC. The film imagines a love triangle between gang members Benny (Austin Butler), Johnny (Tom Hardy) and Kathy (Benny’s wife). The film features visceral fight scenes and a belter of a soundtrack, but it’s the sound of the bikes (and Butler’s eyes) that make this a film for the big screen.  

Beetlejuice 2

Release Date: 6 September 2024
Director: Tim Burton
Starring: Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Catherine O’Hara, Monica Bellucci, Willem Dafoe, Justin Theroux

Beetlejuice was one of the seminal films of the 1980s, making household names of director Tim Burton and Oscar-nominated lead actor Michael Keaton. 35 years have passed since the release of that first film, during which numerous rumoured sequels have been teased. Now, finally, the wait is over. Beetlejuice 2 is slated to hit screens in September 2024, with Keaton returning in front of the camera and Burton working his magic behind it. We know that Winona Ryder also returns, although about the script very little has been leaked. What we do know, is that this will be a prequel, rather than all those rumoured sequels.  

Joker: Folie à Deux

Release Date: 4 October 2024
Director: Todd Phillips
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Zazie Beetz

Here’s what we know about Joker: Folie à Deux: it’s a sequel to 2019’s Oscar-winning, psychological thriller Joker with a subtitle that translates as ‘madness for two’. Oscar-winner Joaquin Phoenix makes a return, and is joined by Oscar-winner Lady Gaga, who plays Dr. Harleen Quinzel (aka Harley Quinn), a psychiatrist who falls in love with Phoenix’s Joker. Todd Phillips, most famous for the original Joker and The Hangover series, is in the director’s seat, having co-written the screenplay with Scott Silver (best known for 8Mile and The Fighter). Oh, and the film’s cinematographer, Lawrence Sher, has said that it’s going be to “a pretty risky movie". Much like the first, then.

Paddington in Peru

Release Date: 8 November 2024
Director: Dougal Wilson
Starring: Antonio Banderas, Ben Whishaw, Rachel Zegler

The first Paddington film (2014) grossed more than £220 million worldwide and earned two BAFTA nominations, including Best Film. Paddington 2 (2017) made another £180 million. It received three BAFTA nominations, also including Best Film, and is widely touted as one of the best animated films of all time. Big expectations, then, for the Dougal Wilson-directed third picture, which sees Paddington head to Peru to visit his beloved Aunt Lucy, who is now living at a home for retired bears. Of course, this being Paddington, things don’t quite go to plan.

Read more: This year’s must-see plays, musicals and dance shows