Top 10 Most Anticipated Movies for the Rest of 2024
From auteuristic passion projects to franchise sequels, these are the ten upcoming releases we're most excited about.
While the first half of the year may have been riddled with disappointments, there is still a lot to look forward to in the remaining months of 2024. This list counts down the top 10 movies we here at Film Vomit are looking forward to the most for the rest of the year, in order of release.
While I’m dubious about the quality of the film, “Deadpool & Wolverine” is sure to be one of the biggest box office successes of the year when it hits theaters on July 26th. I, for one, am more looking forward to Tim Burton letting the juice loose with “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” on September 6th. Then, there is “Wolfs,” reuniting George Clooney and Brad Pitt in a movie that will hopefully be better than it looks, hitting theaters on September 20th. Though I loathe its predecessor, my morbid curiosity won’t allow me to miss “Joker: Folie à Deux” when it dances its way into theaters on October 4th. Lastly, “Venom: The Last Dance” will not be a good movie, but it will have a Venom horse, and that’s more than worth the price of admission on October 25th.
Osgood Perkins’ latest horror film has been the subject of high praise, with many calling it the scariest movie of the year, and some going as far as to claim the movie makes the audience feel as if they are in the presence of true evil. Starring Nicolas Cage as the titular serial killer, “Longlegs” has been brilliantly positioned by its distributor Neon, who have led an excellent ad campaign that has hype for the film reaching a fever pitch right as it is about to hit theaters. Horror veteran Maika Monroe leads the film, portraying an FBI agent tasked with bringing Cage’s cagey killer to justice. Clearly modeled after Jonathan Demme’s “The Silence of the Lambs,” Perkins’ latest looks to be a terrifying treat for summer movie audiences.
Based on the real-life Rehabilitation Through the Arts program at Sing Sing Maximum Security Prison, “Sing Sing” premiered at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival to rave reviews, with star Colman Domingo emerging as the betting favorite for Best Actor at the next Oscars. Domingo portrays John “Divine G” Whitfield, an inmate at Sing Sing attempting to lead an original stage production, “Breakin’ the Mummy’s Code.” Academy Award nominee Paul Raci also stars alongside Domingo, with the rest of the cast being mostly made up of formerly incarcerated men who are Rehabilitation Through the Arts alumni. Co-written and directed by Greg Kwedar, “Sing Sing” promises to be a heart-warming drama about the healing power of making art.
In a year in which moviegoers have been waterboarded by the “Bob Marley: One Love” and “A Quiet Place: Day One” trailers on almost every visit to the multiplex, the reliably programmed “Twisters” trailer remains an electrifying bright spot in the 2024 theatrical experience. “Minari” director Lee Isaac Chung resurrects this long-dormant storm-cell with the help of burgeoning movie star Glen Powell, who is having himself one heck of a summer between this and the already released “Hit Man.” Daisy Edgar-Jones (“Normal People”) and Anthony Ramos (“In the Heights,” “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts”) are also along for the storm chase in this standalone sequel to the 1996 classic, “Twister.” Chung appears to have lovingly captured the spirit of that original film with “Twisters,” a film that at first glance looks like it stepped out of a time machine from the 90s while still having the high-quality effects you’d expect in a modern blockbuster.
The elevator pitch for “Trap,” according to writer-director M. Night Shyamalan, is: “What if ‘The Silence of the Lambs’ happened at a Taylor Swift concert?” To which I say, I’m sold. A serial killer (played by Josh Hartnett) taking his daughter to a pop star concert and realizing that the police have set a trap at the event to catch him? Yeah man, that sounds like a winner to me. The film being shot by “Challengers” cinematographer Sayombhu Mukdeeprom is just icing on a cake that I’m already dying to devour.
The latest installment in the “Alien” franchise ditches the complex backstory franchise originator Ridley Scott had been cooking up with the last two entries, opting to tell a standalone story set between the events of sci-fi horror classic “Alien” and sci-fi action classic “Aliens.” Simplicity seems to be the focus here, with “Evil Dead” (2013) and “Don’t Breathe” director Fede Álvarez going back to basics; no Engineers, no David (sadly), just a group of normal, everyday people having the absolute worst day of their life… in space. For his Ripley, Álvarez has chosen rising ingenue Cailee Spaeny, hot off her Golden Globe-nominated performance in last year’s “Priscilla” and an excellent performance in this year’s divisive blockbuster “Civil War.” With a perfect blend of digital and practical effects, and a renewed focus on the horror roots of this franchise, “Alien: Romulus” should be an excellent return to form for the saga of the Xenomorphs.
From “The Florida Project” director Sean Baker, “Anora” follows an exotic dancer’s romance with the son of a Russian oligarch. Mikey Madison stars as the titular stripper, whose elopement with “Vanya” (played by Russian actor Mark Eydelshteyn) is threatened by his parents traveling to New York with the intention of forcing an annulment. As the first American film to win the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival since 2011’s “The Tree of Life,” “Anora” is sure to be a strong contender this awards season, with Madison’s performance already being the subject of strong praise. Three of the last four Palme d’Or winners have gone on to receive both Best Picture and Best Director nominations at the Academy Awards, with 2019’s “Parasite” taking home both awards, so expect “Anora” to be competitive in multiple categories. Neon, which also distributed “Parasite,” has acquired the North American rights to “Anora” and will surely be looking to aggressively campaign the film to add some more Oscar gold to its already impressive CV.
Have you bought Francis Ford Coppola’s wine? If so, you may have indirectly financed his long-gestating passion project “Megalopolis.” Financed with $120 million of Coppola’s own money, procured from a 2021 sale of his Sonoma County wineries valued anywhere from $500 million to $1 billion, “Megalopolis” is the latest film from the genius who brought us “The Godfather” trilogy and “Apocalypse Now.” Starring Adam Driver as a visionary architect with the ability to control time, this epic sci-fi drama explores the destruction of a decaying metropolis called New Rome. Driver’s character aims to rebuild the city into a sustainable utopia but faces opposition in the form of a corrupt, conservative Mayor played by the always impeccable Giancarlo Esposito. The film’s star-studded cast includes the likes of Nathalie Emmanuel, Aubrey Plaza, Shia LaBeouf, Jon Voight, Laurence Fishburne, Talia Shire, and Jason Schwartzman, just to name a few. Coppola’s latest polarized critics coming out of its premiere at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, putting its distribution in jeopardy. Thankfully, Lionsgate bravely stepped up to the plate, acquiring the United States and Canadian rights to the film. One of the biggest stories coming out of the film’s premiere is a fourth wall break, in which a performer walked on stage in front of the projection screen to address the film’s protagonist, who in turn replied in real-time. It will be interesting to see if this moment is cut from the film’s theatrical release or if Lionsgate will find a way to incentivize theater chains to participate in this sort of engagement. Regardless, a film from Francis Ford Coppola is worth seeing on opening night no matter what, especially after 13 long years without his work gracing the silver screen.
Based on the 2016 novel of the same name, “Conclave” is director Edward Berger’s follow-up to his critically acclaimed “All Quiet on the Western Front” remake. Academy Award-nominated actor Ralph Fiennes stars as Cardinal Thomas Lawrence, a man tasked with picking the successor to the recently deceased Pope. While conducting the vetting process, Cardinal Lawrence discovers the former Pope had a secret that must be unearthed. Chock-full of veteran actors like Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, and Isabella Rossellini, “Conclave” has all the makings of an excellent psychological thriller that will surely be on many awards ballots this fall.
A sequel to Ridley Scott’s epic “Gladiator” has been in development since as early as June 2001, with many permutations that range from 15-year time jumps with all-new characters to Russell Crowe returning and being resurrected from the Roman gladiatorial afterlife. Finally, after twenty-four long years, “Gladiator II” arrives in theaters with a script from frequent Ridley Scott collaborator David Scarpa. The events of this sequel are set nearly as many years after the first film as the gap between their releases, with rising star Paul Mescal portraying an all-grown-up version of Spencer Treat Clark’s character from the first film, Lucius. When Lucius is forced into slavery by an invading force of Roman soldiers, led by General Marcus Acacius (played by the internet’s “daddy,” Pedro Pascal), he finds inspiration in the story of Maximus and sets out to oppose the young emperors Caracalla and Geta (Fred Hechinger and Joseph Quinn, respectively) in the gladiatorial arena. Denzel Washington lends his movie star charisma to the film in the role of Marcinus, a power broker with a stable of gladiators akin to Oliver Reed’s Proximus from the original movie. Only Connie Nielsen and Derek Jacobi will return to reprise their roles from the first movie in “Gladiator II,” with Nielsen’s Lucilla being estranged from her son for almost 15 years and Jacobi’s Senator Gracchus continuing to oppose corruption in the Roman Senate. The film’s first trailer set the internet ablaze, garnering a slew of YouTube dislikes thanks to its use of Jay-Z and Kanye West’s “No Church in the Wild,” and while Scott’s work of late has been hit-and-miss, “Gladiator II” will hopefully be an exciting return to form for Hollywood’s hardest working auteur.
The fourth film from film-bro darling Robert Eggers, “Nosferatu” is a remake of the 1922 movie of the same name, itself an adaptation of Bram Stoker’s novel “Dracula.” Originally intended to be Eggers’ sophomore effort, the acclaimed indie-director put this passion project on hold, instead opting to deliver back-to-back bangers with 2019’s “The Lighthouse” and 2022’s “The Northman.” Finally, Eggers’ take on this classic vampiric tale arrives with Bill Skarsgård at the helm, portraying the erroneously titular bloodsucker. Described by its distributor Focus Features as a gothic tale of obsession, “Nosferatu” centers around a young woman, played by Lily-Rose Depp, contending with the terrifying circumstances of being the subject of a vampire’s infatuation. Nicholas Hoult, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Emma Corrin, and Ralph Ineson round out the cast, and because this is a Robert Eggers picture, Willem Dafoe will of course be in mandatory attendance. The release date Focus has chosen for the film is fitting, because “Nosferatu” is all any movie lover wants for Christmas.
So, those are the movies we here at Film Vomit are looking forward to for the remainder of the year. But what movies are you excited about? Jump into the Discord and let us know what movies you’re excited about!
David Lee
Published July 17, 2024