This weekend saw the release of yet another remake of The Grudge, which means the 2020 calendar is here. Even with awards season ramping up with the Golden Globes on January 5, and the Oscars right around the corner, the studios wait for no one. This year is set up to be an interesting one. We could see a drastic box office decline with no Star Wars, no Avengers among other large films to see box office success in 2019. DC Comics and Warner Brothers have some films and their rival Marvel also will release a pair of films.
Beyond the major superhero releases, 2020 will see the release of a new Ghostbusters film, two new Pixar films, new movies from Christopher Nolan and Steven Spielberg and a host of big studio projects with a lot of promise.
Here, I’ll highlight ten bigger films I’m looking forward to or am generally curious about, and ten films on my personal radar. I won’t rank them opting instead to just organize them by release date.
10 Big Films
Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)
Release Date: February 7
Dir. Cathy Yan
Starring: Margot Robbie, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Rosie Perez, Ewan McGregor, Chris Messina
Yes, thats the full title. The trailers for DC’s new comic book film starring Margot Robbie haven’t hooked me. This one’s more curiosity driven than anything for me. I like Robbie as Harley Quinn and I’m looking forward to seeing what this film will bring to this character.
A Quiet Place Part II
Release Date: March 20
Dir. John Krasinski
Starring: Emily Blunt, Millicent Simmons, Noah Jupe, Cillian Murphy
Few experiences in the theater in 2018 were as unique and thrilling as A Quiet Place. John Krasinksi returns to helm a sequel that hopefully can recapture the magic of the first film and add some fresh juice to it.
No Time to Die
Release Date: April 10
Dir. Cary Joji Fukanaga
Starring: Daniel Craig, Rami Malek, Ralph Fiennes, Lea Seydoux, Lashana Lynch, Ben Whishaw, Ana de Armas
Craig returns as James Bond for the final time in No Time to Die and that’s reason enough to see this one. He’s been my favorite Bond yet and hopefully Fukunaga can recapture the energy and thrills that were not prevalent in Spectre (which I did enjoy overall) that the likes of Skyfall and Casino Royale had.
Black Widow
Release Date: May 1
Dir. Cate Shortland
Starring: Scarlett Johansson, Florence Pugh, Rachel Wiesz, David Harbour, Ray Winstone, William Hurt
The MCU returns in May with, for me, its most head scratching decision to date. Though a film about the titular character is intriguing, I’m curious to see where it fits in the MCU storyline. However, this has a great cast and the trailer at least has some cool action scenes in it.
Wonder Woman 1984
Release Date: June 5
Dir. Patty Jenkins
Starring: Gal Gadot, Kristen Wiig, Chris Pine, Pedro Pascal, Robin Wright, Connie Nielsen
Wonder Woman was a film I did enjoy quite a bit. However, chalk this up as another DC film that has a trailer that does nothing for me. Still, I’m interested to see where Jenkins takes the sequel which could end up surprising me. This film also may be your box office champ in 2020.
Soul
Release Date: June 19
Dir. Pete Docter
Starring: Jamie Foxx, Tina Fey, Questlove, Phylicia Rashad, Daveed Diggs
Of the two Pixar movies set for release in 2020, the other being Onward on March 6, this is the one for me I’m more excited for. Docter did Inside Out, not just one of the best animated films of recent time, but flat out one of the best films of the decade. A great voice cast and cool trailer doesn’t hurt either.
Free Guy
Release Date: July 3
Dir. Shawn Levy
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Jodie Comer, Taika Waititi, Joe Keery, Lil Rel Howery
I’m generally getting tired of Ryan Reynold’s schtick. But it’s making studios, and presumably him, lots of money. Free Guy at least looks like something unique and possibly fun. It could also be a disaster. We’ll have to wait and see. For now, the trailer have done enough to interest me.
The King’s Man
Release Date: September 18
Dir. Matthew Vaughn
Starring: Ralph Fiennes, Gemma Arterton, Rhys Ifans, Matthew Goode, Tom Hollander, Harris Dickinson, Daniel Bruhl, Djimon Honsou, Charles Dance
A movie set in the Kingsman world, with a great cast and set in World War I? Alright fine why not.
The Eternals
Release Date: November 6
Dir. Chloe Zhao
Starring: Angelina Jolie, Salma Hayek, Brian Tyree Henry, Kumail Nanjiani, Richard Madden, Barry Keoghan, Kit Harrington, Gemma Chan
The other MCU movie seeing release in 2020 promises to truly begin a new era of the Marvel world. It features a great cast, and is being directed by Zhao, who’s 2018 film The Rider was in my top five of the year. I’m all for exploring the cosmic side of the MCU in a more in depth fashion.
West Side Story
Release Date: December 18
Dir. Steven Spielberg
Starring: Ariana DeBose, David Alvarez, Maddie Ziegler, Rachel Ziegler, Ansel Elgort, Corey Stoll, Rita Moreno
Yes, it’s a remake of a very beloved film. Yes, there’s a lot of remakes out there right now. I’m still on board, because you know, Spielberg.
10 Under The Radar/Personally Excited For Films
First Cow
Release Date: March 6
Dir. Kelly Reichardt
Starring: John Magaro, Orion Hall, Rene Auberjonois
Kelly Reichardt is the draw for me here. I was hoping this would see 2019 release but upon premiere at the Telluride Film Festival, it was picked up by A24 and set for release on March 6. If you haven’t seen Reichardt’s previous films I would encourage you to seek them out. Particularly, Meek’s Cutoff, Old Joy and Wendy & Lucy.
The Personal History of David Copperfield
Release Date: May 8
Dir. Armando Iannucci
Starring: Dev Patel, Peter Capaldi, Hugh Laurie, Tilda Swinton, Ben Whishaw
Another 2018 top ten placement for me was Iannucci’s The Death of Stalin. This one peaks my interest if for nothing else then Iannucci’s keen sense of satire and his utterly hysterical view of history. I’m sure it will be a limited release but I’ll be looking out for it.
Tenet
Release Date: July 17
Dir. Christopher Nolan
Starring: John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Himesh Patel, Michael Caine, Kenneth Branagh
Christopher Nolan, forever.
The Trial of the Chicago 7
Release Date: September 25
Dir. Aaron Sorkin
Starring: Sacha Baron Cohen, Eddie Redmayne, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Jeremy Strong, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Michael Keaton, Mark Rylance, Thomas Middleditch
Sorkin follows up his directorial debut Molly’s Game with an impressively cast true life drama. The story centers on protesters being tried following Anti-Vietnam War and counterculture demonstrations. Sorkin is a genius, and I’m very excited to see what he does with a great story and that cast.
Stillwater
Release Date: November 6
Dir. Tom McCarthy
Starring: Matt Damon, Abigail Breslin
I don’t know much about this one but McCarthy’s Spotlight was one of the best movies of last decade. Matt Damon has been making some inspired choices as of late. The film centers on a man attempting to exonerate his daughter of a murder she didn’t commit. Sounds interesting, I’m in.
Dune
Release Date: December 18
Dir. Denis Villeneuve
Starring: Timothee Chalamet, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Rebecca Ferguson, Stellan Skarsgaard, Dave Bautista, Zendaya, Jason Momoa, Javier Bardem
Denis Villeneuve had four movies on my best of the decade list and two more that were also incredible last decade. This cast is out of control and the story has the potential to be great. I think every actor is Hollywood has been cast in this.
News of the World
Release Date: December 25
Dir. Paul Greengrass
Starring: Tom Hanks
Greengrass’s Civil War movie doesn’t have a massive cast, Tom Hanks and a few lesser known actors star in this film. It’s another one I don’t know a ton about but it appears Universal has it slated for a Christmas Day release.
Mank
Release Date: No date yet, Netflix film
Dir. David Fincher
Starring: Gary Oldman, Amanda Seyfried, Lily Collins, Tom Burke, Charles Dance
David Fincher returns to feature films after working on Mindhunter. For Netflix, he’ll helm a biopic of Herman J. Mankiewicz, the writer of Citizen Kane. Fincher is also a genius, and any film he does I will see no questions asked. This one is very high on my radar.
Da 5 Bloods
Release Date: No date yet, Netflix film
Dir. Spike Lee
Starring: Delroy Lindo, Chadwick Boseman, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Giancarlo Esposito, Jonathan Majors, Paul Walter Hauser
Fresh off a screenplay Oscar for BlacKkKlansman, Spike Lee takes his next film to Netflix. The film follows four African-American Vietnam vets returning to the site of the war in order to find their friends remains, and maybe buried treasure. I feel like this is a running theme, but it has a great cast and Lee’s films are always a must see.
The Last Thing He Wanted
Release Date: No date yet, Netflix film
Dir. Dee Rees
Starring: Anne Hathaway, Willem Dafoe, Ben Affleck, Toby Jones, Rosie Perez
Rees’s 2017 film Mudbound marked a new step forward in the distribution game for Netflix. Mudbound found critical acclaim and Rees returns to the streamer for her latest, a political drama set in 1984. Based off a Joan Didion novel The Last Thing He Wanted was scheduled to be release in 2019. However, Netflix’s slate filled quickly and it was pushed to this year.
What are you looking forward to this year? Let me know!