Film
Looking Ahead at the New Films That’ll Make This Year a Great One
Film
Looking Ahead at the New Films That’ll Make This Year a Great One
Jan 02, 2024
Eight upcoming feature films, from favorite filmmakers and promising newcomers alike, are already making this year one to look forward to.
Loving’s director Jeff Nichols, Of An Age’s Goran Stolevski, and The Northman’s Robert Eggers are back with stunning new films. And first-time feature filmmakers Zelda Williams and Kobi Libii introduce themselves with hilariously inventive comedies.
To get ready for the upcoming year, we’re spotlighting the eight films already on the slate for 2024.
Lisa Frankenstein | February 9
In time for Valentine’s Day comes a different type of love story. Penned by the Academy Award® winning screenwriter Diablo Cody and directed by Zelda Williams, this film follows the romance between a withdrawn teen (Kathryn Newton) and a dug-up re-animated corpse (Cole Sprouse), who is perfect—except for missing a few body parts. In Empire, Cody talked about how she flipped Mary Shelly’s classic monster story by asking the question, “What if a teenage girl had the ultimate sensitive guy who can’t talk?” Williams told Entertainment Weekly that the tale was “the most bonkers, wonderful zombie script I've ever read.”
Drive-Away Dolls | February 23
In Drive-Away Dolls—directed by Ethan Coen and co-written by Coen and Tricia Cooke—Jamie (Margaret Qualley) decides to head to Tallahassee after a bad breakup, bringing along her demure pal Marian (Geraldine Viswanathan). The two get more excitement than they bargained for when they discover their drive-away car is being pursued by an inept criminal gang. Filling out the cast are Beanie Feldstein, Colman Domingo, Pedro Pascal, Bill Camp, and Matt Damon. Dark and delirious, the movie is filled with bloody good fun.
The American Society of Magical Negroes | March 22
After its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, writer-director Kobi Libii’s The American Society of Magical Negroes will open in theaters in March. A satire of the film and literary trope, the movie recounts the tale of Aren (Justice Smith), who is initiated into a secret organization whose purpose is to dedicate their lives to a cause of utmost importance: making white peoples' lives easier. Guided by his mentor (David Alan Grier), Aren nevertheless runs into trouble when love enters the picture in this side-splittingly surreal picture.
Housekeeping for Beginners | April 5 (Limited)
Housekeeping for Beginners is the third feature film from Goran Stolevski, whose previous two—You Won’t Be Alone and Of An Age—have made him one of the most acclaimed filmmakers today. When Dita (Anamaria Marinca) is faced with the responsibility of raising her girlfriend’s two children—Mia (Dzada Selim) and Vanessa (Mia Mustafi)—she needs the help of everyone in her overflowing communal home, including her roommate Toni (Vladimir Tintor) and his Roma boyfriend Ali (Samson Selim), to keep things from unraveling. After being awarded the Queer Lion at the Venice Film Festival, Housekeeping for Beginners has been receiving rave reviews. Variety writes that the film’s “queer family portrait bursts onto the screen with equal parts joy and fury,” and Screen Daily notes, Stolevski’s “storytelling is fresh, authentic and genuinely exciting.”
Back to Black | May 10
Marisa Abela plays the legendary Amy Winehouse in Sam Taylor-Johnson’s Back to Black. Made with the support of the Amy Winehouse estate, the film offers a never-before-seen glimpse into the singer-songwriter’s remarkable story, from her rise as a jazz singer to international fame. The supporting cast includes Jack O'Connell, Eddie Marsan, and Lesley Manville, and Taylor-Johnson reunites with screenwriter Matt Greenhalgh.
The Bikeriders | June 21
Writer-director Jeff Nichols’ The Bikeriders brings together a star-studded cast—including Austin Butler, Jodie Comer, Tom Hardy, Boyd Holbrook, and Norman Reedus— to recreate the life of a midwestern motorcycle gang called the Vandals. Following the gang’s members for over a decade, the film dramatizes how their initial camaraderie slowly devolved into something much more sinister. The Wall Street Journal calls the film “the finest movie about motorcycle culture I’ve ever seen,” and the Guardian acclaimed the ensemble cast, saying, “there’s such enormous potency and impact in everything they do on screen.”
Touch | July 12
Based on Olaf Ólafsson’s acclaimed novel, Baltasar Kormákur’s romantic thriller Touch spans decades and continents to follow one widower’s emotional journey to find his first love who disappeared 50 years ago.
Nosferatu | December 25
Spend next Christmas with writer-director Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu. This stunning reimagining of a classic horror story in which a young woman is tormented by an ancient vampire stars Bill Skarsgård, Nicholas Hoult, Lily-Rose Depp, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Willem Dafoe. Having seen footage of the film, Dafoe told Indiewire, “I can honestly say, visually, it was unlike anything I have seen.”
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