The Most Anticipated Movies of 2024: From Dune 2 to Wicked

2024 is set to be another excellent year for movies. After the SAG-AFTRA strike in 2023 disrupted the film industry for several months, Hollywood is back on track producing, writing and releasing highly anticipated new titles.

Several blockbusters were rescheduled with 2024 release dates such as Denis Villeneuve’s science-fiction epic Dune: Part Two, as well as Luca Guadagnino’s tennis drama, Challengers. However, film fans won’t have to wait too much longer to return to Arrakis as the sequel to the 2021 box office triumph Dune (which grossed $400 million on a $165m budget) lands in cinemas in March.

Franchises are set to dominate cinema screens once more, after Marvel secured two of the top ten most popular movies in the UK in 2023, alongside reboots and sequels such as The Little Mermaid and Avatar: The Way of the Water. Tina Fey’s timeless teen comedy Mean Girls has been reimagined as a movie musical, after the 2004 cult classic has already spawned a sequel and a stage musical. Meanwhile, Marvel is set to introduce a new superhero in Madame Web, while Ryan Reynolds will finally reunite with Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine in Deadpool 3 and Lady Gaga will debut in DC’s Joker: Folie a Deux.

Among the sequels and spin-offs are standalone adaptations and original pictures such as Matthew Vaughn’s espionage thriller Argylle and Yorgos Lanthimos girl-Frankenstein tale, Poor Things, which won the Golden Lion when it premiered at Venice International Film Festival in 2023.

There’s also a handful of long-awaited sequels on the horizon such as Twisters, a follow up to the storm chasers movie, Twister, which was the second highest grossing film of 1996 after garnering $495m at the box office. Another box office success from 2000, Gladiator, has a sequel arriving in cinemas with a whole new cast who are set to take on the mantle of the epic historical drama that Ridley Scott began.

Family friendly titles such as Kung Fu Panda 4, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Inside Out 2 will offer some entertainment for all ages, while horror fans will rejoice with the return of Smile 2, A Quiet Place: Day One and Parasite director Bong Joon-ho’s new movie, Mickey 17.

In time for the 30 year anniversary of the original The Lion King, Disney is also releasing a spin-off live action sequel at the end of the year titled Mufasa: The Lion King. 2024 is rounded out by movies such as Transformers One, Nosferatu, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire and Love Lies Bleeding.

With so much to look forward to, here are the most anticipated movies of 2024 ordered by their upcoming release date.