Most anticipated films coming to cinemas in 2024

Published

2 years ago

December 31, 2023

admin

It’s been a tumultuous year for Hollywood – from the highs of Barbenheimer to the lows of the strikes.

The double-whammy of industrial action waged by the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and SAG-AFTRA shuttered production for months.

Although it’s back to business, it’s far from back to normal.

The stoppage has already led to delays in the release calendar, which could be exacerbated further if there’s a logjam of reshoots and other production work to slog through.

Studios will be tightening their belts as they face invigorated union members looking to enforce their new contracts.

After COVID all but wiped out trips to see a movie on the silver screen, studios are now having to contend with the cost of living crisis.

However, the simultaneous theatrical release of Barbie and Oppenheimer – two movies collectively known as Barbenheimer – showed that post-pandemic audiences will return box office bonanzas if they believe in the film.

So as we head into 2024, here are some of the movies that are set to entertain audiences.

Wicked: Part One

We’re off to see the wizard…

The much-loved Broadway and West End musical is now being given the silver screen treatment.

The story – based on Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel – features the characters from L Frank Baum’s 1900 book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and its 1939 film adaptation starring Judy Garland.

Wicked takes place in the Land of Oz in the years surrounding Dorothy’s arrival and tells the tale of how Elphaba Thropp, a young woman born with green skin, later becomes the Wicked Witch of the West.

The two-part film adaptation will star Cynthia Erivo (Elphaba Thropp) and Ariana Grande (Galinda Upland) and features a supporting cast including Jonathan Bailey (Fiyero Tigelaar), Jeff Goldblum (the Wonderful Wizard of Oz) and Michelle Yeoh (Madame Morrible).

Directed by Jon M Chu (Step Up 3D/In The Heights), expect colourful and big dance numbers as the cast belt out the stage show’s smash hits that include Popular, Defying Gravity and For Good.

Wicked: Part One is scheduled for release in November 2024. The second film is expected to drop a year later.

Dune: Part Two

Denis Villeneuve’s epic science fiction sequel will continue the journey of Paul Atreides (Timothee Chalamet) as he teams up with Chani (Zendaya) and the Fremen to seek revenge against all those who destroyed his family and prevent a terrible future that only he can predict.

The film – which already boasted a stacked cast including Rebecca Ferguson (Lady Jessica), Josh Brolin (Gurney Halleck), Javier Bardem (Stilgar) and Stellan Skarsgard (Vladimir Harkonnen) – has added Austin Butler (Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen), Florence Pugh (Princess Irulan) and Lea Seydoux (Lady Margot) to the bill.

Dune: Part Two was due to be released in 2023 but was delayed due to the Hollywood strikes. It is now set for release in March 2024.

Madame Web

Madame Web is part of Sony’s Spider-Man Universe.

Dakota Johnson takes on the titular role as Cassandra ‘Cassie’ Webb/Madame Web, a Manhattan paramedic and clairvoyant whose new psychic abilities apparently allow her to see into the future.

Following an incident, Cassie is forced to confront her past while trying to protect three young women from a killer Spider-Man.

Johnson is joined by Euphoria star Sydney Sweeney, who’s playing Julia Carpenter. Sweeney’s character later takes on the mantle of Spider-Woman in the comics.

While there’s been plenty of movies revolving around male Marvel Comics characters – the Iron Man, Captain America and Thor films to name but a few – there have only been a few commissioned with female leads, such as Black Widow, Captain Marvel and The Marvels.

It’s encouraging to see a studio green-light a female-led superhero film and many will be hoping for large box office returns so we get some more.

After the trailer was released, Johnson’s delivery of the line “he was in the Amazon with my mom when she was researching spiders right before she died” was given the meme treatment.

So, only time will tell if the film becomes a cult hit or is mocked online like Morbius.

Madame Web will be swinging into cinemas in February.

Joker: Folie à Deux

Joker was intended to be a standalone film but then it became one of the highest-grossing movies of 2019 and the first R-rated production to gross over $1bn.

Todd Phillips’ neo-noir psychological thriller – which saw Joaquin Phoenix pick up his first Academy Award for Best Actor – gave us fresh insight into DC Comics’ most colourful villain and Batman’s nemesis.

The Dark Knight failed to make an appearance in this Gotham City, although we did see a young Bruce Wayne. But audiences were kept entertained by Joker/Arthur Fleck’s descent into darkness.

The sequel is set to be a musical thriller, with Lady Gaga joining the cast as partner-in-crime Dr Harleen Quinzel/Harley Quinn.

Joker: Folie à Deux is set to be released in October 2024.

Other blockbusters to watch out for:

Furiosa
Audiences should prepare for a wild ride given George Miller’s previous Mad Max films.

The movie – a prequel to Mad Max: Fury Road – will see Anya Taylor-Joy take over from Charlize Theron as Imperator Furiosa.

The post-apocalyptic action-adventure will also star Thor himself, Chris Hemsworth, playing Dementus.

Mean Girls
The much-loved 2004 comedy – starring Lindsay Lohan and Rachel McAdams – was turned into a Broadway show, which has now been transformed into a new musical film.

Tina Fey is back in the writer’s chair and returns as Ms Norbury.

American singer and actress Renee Rapp (The Sex Lives of College Girls) will be reprising her Broadway role of mean girl Regina George.

Challengers
Zendaya’s spicy romcom was one of the casualties of the Hollywood strikes and was delayed from its initial release date of September 2023 to April 2024.

The Emmy and Golden Globe winner stars as a former tennis player turned coach who has transformed her husband (Mike Faist) into a Grand Slam champ.

Tensions soon run high during a challenger event that brings ex-love Patrick (The Durrells’ Josh O’Connor) back into their lives.

Twisters
The epic 1996 disaster film Twister, starring Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton, is getting a reboot. This “new chapter” will star Daisy Edgar-Jones (Normal People) and Glen Powell (Top Gun: Maverick).

Borderlands
Gearbox Software/2K’s popular looter shooter video game series is heading for the big screen with an ensemble cast that includes Cate Blanchett (Lilith), Kevin Hart (Roland), Jack Black (Claptrap) and Jamie Lee Curtis (Dr Patricia Tannis).

Director Eli Roth (Hostel/The Green Inferno) is behind the camera and co-wrote the script.

Nosferatu
Nosferatu is a gothic tale of obsession between a haunted young woman and the terrifying vampire infatuated with her.

Following Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979), it is the second remake of the 1922 German expressionist film of the same name written by Henrik Galeen – which in turn is an unofficial adaptation of Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel Dracula.

Fresh from the hot mess of TV show The Idol, Lily-Rose Depp (Ellen Hutter) will be joined by Bill Skarsgard (Count Orlok) and Nicholas Hoult (Thomas Hutter) in the highly anticipated horror.

The film marks Focus Features’ ongoing collaboration with writer and director Robert Eggers (The Northman) and is set to be released in December 2024.

MaXXXine
At the time of writing, MaXXXine is yet to be given a release date. The final instalment of Ti West’s X trilogy will most likely appear at some point in 2024.

The movie will follow Maxine (Mia Goth) – the sole survivor of the first film – as she sets out for fame and success in 1980s Los Angeles.

Fans of the slasher franchise are in for a treat with a cast that includes Elizabeth Debicki (The Crown), Michelle Monaghan (Mission: Impossible III), Bobby Cannavale (The Watcher), Lily Collins (Emily in Paris), singer-songwriter Halsey, Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bad) and the legendary Kevin Bacon.

The Strangers: Chapter 1
The Strangers: Chapter 1 is not a reboot of the slasher franchise but is instead the first instalment of a new trilogy of standalone sequel films.

Riverdale alum Madelaine Petsch and Cruel Summer’s Froy Gutierrez will find themselves facing off against thee murderous masked strangers after their car breaks down during a road trip.

The trilogy will explore what happens to the victims and will detail who the killer psychopaths are and where they came from. Chapter 1 is due to be released in May, with the following two films expected throughout 2024.

Beetlejuice 2
More than three decades on, we’re finally getting a sequel to the family horror comedy.

Tim Burton is back behind the camera with Michael Keaton (Betelgeuse), Winona Ryder (Lydia Deetz) and Catherine O’Hara (Delia Deetz) reprising their roles from the 1988 original. Jenna Ortega, fresh from working with Burton on Netflix series Wednesday, will be playing Ryder’s daughter.

The film is due to be released in September 2024 but is said to be at risk of delay due to the Hollywood strikes.

Gladiator 2
Ridley Scott is back in the director’s chair for this sequel to his Oscar-winning film.

Previous leading man Russell Crowe (Maximus Decimus Meridius) has duly been replaced by Paul Mescal (Normal People), who takes over from Spencer Treat Clark as Lucius Verus.

The historical drama – set years after the events of the 2000 film – will centre on Lucius, who is now a grown man.

Connie Nielsen (Lucilla), Derek Jacobi (Senator Gracchus) and Djimon Hounsou (Juba) are returning to reprise their roles from the original, while Denzel Washington and Pedro Pascal have been added to the bill.

Deadpool 3
Ryan Reynolds will suit up for a fourth time as Wade Wilson/Deadpool. He first appeared as the Marvel Comics character in the 2009 film X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

This time he will be joined by good friend Hugh Jackman (James ‘Logan’ Howlett/Wolverine) and Jennifer Garner, who’s reprising her role of assassin Elektra Natchios following her turn in Daredevil and Elektra.

Emma Corrin – who played Diana, Princess of Wales in The Crown – has been cast in a lead villain role.

Sonic the Hedgehog 3
The much-loved Sega video game character will rock and roll in another action adventure.

Venom 3
Tom Hardy is set to return for a third outing as Eddie Brock/Venom in the untitled Let There Be Carnage sequel.

Kraven the Hunter
Alongside Venom 3 and Madame Web, Kraven the Hunter is part of Sony’s Spider-Man Universe.

Kick-Ass and Bullet Train star Aaron Taylor-Johnson takes on the titular role as we learn how the iconic villain came to be.

Taylor-Johnson is no stranger to Marvel Comics characters, having previously played Pietro Maximoff (Quicksilver) in Avengers: Age of Ultron.

The film is due to be released in August 2024 after being delayed due to the SAG-AFTRA strike.

Bad Boys 4
Detectives Mike Lowrey (Will Smith) and Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence) will reunite once more for the fourth film in the buddy cop franchise.

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire
This sequel to Ghostbusters: Afterlife is the fifth film in the supernatural comedy’s franchise and will see the Spengler family leave Oklahoma for New York City.

The movie will bring together Ghostbusters old and new as they team up to take on a mysterious and evil force known as the “death chill”.

The Fall Guy
The 1980s hit TV show has been adapted into an action comedy starring Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt.

Gosling plays Colt Seavers, a seasoned but aging stuntman who’s tasked to track down a missing film star to save his ex-girlfriend’s movie.

Lee Majors, who starred in the classic TV series as the stuntman/bounty hunter, is set to appear in the film.

Mufasa: The Lion King
The Lion King prequel is expected to hit the big screen just in time for Christmas 2024.

Entertainment

‘Epstein is rolling in his grave laughing’: Artist reveals why he photographed convicted paedophile – and Donald Trump

Published

12 hours ago

September 13, 2025

admin

'Epstein is rolling in his grave laughing': Artist reveals why he photographed convicted paedophile - and Donald Trump

Andres Serrano says he doesn’t set out to be a controversial artist – but he’s certainly proved to be one during his career.

The 75-year-old New Yorker first found fame (or infamy in the eyes of his critics) with one of the most notorious works of art in history – his 1987 photograph titled Piss Christ.

The depiction of a crucifix submerged in urine led to protests denouncing the image as blasphemous – and it was vandalised while on display in a French art museum in 2011.

“I don’t do work to be controversial,” he tells Sky News. “I do work that I feel like I need to do.

“For some reason, I’ve touched on many cultural things that have become cultural flashpoints.”

Now, two of Serrano’s most high-profile and controversial subjects for his artwork are dominating headlines around the world.

Serrano photographed Jeffrey Epstein for a portrait in 2019, four months before the paedophile financier was found dead in a prison cell while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. It is one of the last known images of Epstein, whose death was ruled to be suicide.

Years earlier, Serrano took a portrait photo of Donald Trump in 2004 – the same year the property tycoon began starring on The Apprentice TV series.

As Trump faces scrutiny over his past links to Epstein, and pressure to release all files in the sex offender’s case, Serrano offers a rare insight into the two men.

Photographing Epstein

Serrano’s portrait of Epstein was “23 years in the making”, he says, after he agreed to do it in exchange for a sculpture the wealthy collector owned that the artist had wanted since the mid-1990s.

At the time, Epstein was already a convicted sex offender who had served time in jail after pleading guilty in 2008 to soliciting prostitution from a minor.

Despite this, Serrano says he didn’t have reservations about taking the photo because he “wanted the statue” that Epstein owned.

Serrano believed the 16th century statue of the Virgin Mary should be paired with one he owned of St John.

“Jeffrey Epstein is rolling in his grave laughing about how he is still talked about,” the artist says.

“He wasn’t an interesting guy. Except for being a paedophile, there was nothing about him that should have made him so interesting to so many people.”

Epstein ‘collected people’

Serrano – who was first introduced to Epstein in the mid-90s – says he and his wife had “a few meetings” with him and considered him to be a “strange guy”.

He says he has “shocked” when he learnt Epstein had been “exposed and indicted as a paedophile”.

“We never saw that side of Epstein,” he says.

“To me, he looked like a guy who didn’t have a job and was always on a vacation having fun.

“I never asked him about where his money came from. I knew he was very rich. I also knew he knew a lot of people.

“Jeffrey Epstein did not collect art but he collected people. He made it his business to know everybody, anybody who was a celebrity, famous, rich – anyone with a reputation.”

Serrano says he doesn’t “judge” the subjects of his photography, who have also included members of the Ku Klux Klan, and he was “happy” with the outcome of the Epstein portrait.

But how does he think Epstein’s victims feel seeing the image?

“I don’t see how one thing has to do with the other,” he replies.

“Does that mean the victims would feel better looking at the portrait of him in the mugshot, which is a horrible picture?”

He adds: “Their take on Jeffrey Epstein is very different from everyone else’s. So they see something that we can’t even imagine what they see.”

Photographing Trump

While Serrano believes Epstein was uninteresting, his opinion of Trump couldn’t be more different.

He describes the US president as “fascinating” – so much so that he collected more than 1,000 items linked to him for an art installation called The Game: All Things Trump.

The objects, products and items of merchandise had been created for Trump’s businesses and brands, including Trump Vodka, Trump University and even Trump Steaks.

An 11ft-tall sign spelling the word “Ego” from the Trump Taj Mahal resort in Atlantic City also featured in the display, along with Serrano’s own portrait of Trump.

He calls the photograph “one of the best portraits I’ve ever seen of Donald Trump”, and reveals he had a particular way of working with him – staying quiet.

“I didn’t give him any reason to upset him,” Serrano says.

“He sizes you up very quickly. (I didn’t want to say) anything that would turn him off or that would bore him or that would make him in any way want to leave.”

‘Quiet’ Trump ‘tried to figure me out’

Serrano says he spent about half an hour with Trump, who he describes as being “quiet” throughout the process of having his portrait photo taken.

“I often like to leave people to their own thoughts when I’m taking a portrait,” the artist says.

“I like to make the kind of portraits where it feels like I’m not even there. It’s just you, the viewer and the sitter.

“I think he was just trying to figure me out. And so since we didn’t talk, you know it was just a silent conversation between us.”

The artist won’t answer directly when asked if he is a Trump supporter but calls him “the epitome of the American dream”.

“I don’t think the art world has ever taken Donald Trump seriously except as a subject for ridicule,” he says.

“My perception and my intent with Donald Trump was far from that, because I think that’s a very simplistic way of doing things.

“My view of him is that he’s a really smart guy.

“Whatever you think about him, you can’t argue with the fact that he often gets his way and I think that’s because Donald Trump is persistent. He doesn’t let go. He’s like a pitbull who doesn’t let go.”

‘Epstein story will be buried’

Serrano also took a portrait photograph of Trump’s former presidential election rival Kamala Harris for The New Yorker magazine but says the circumstances were very different.

“When I do portrait for a magazine… I’m happy to do for them but there’s no skin in the game for me,” he says.

👉 Follow Trump100 on your podcast app 👈

Despite the pressure facing Trump to make public all files related to the Epstein case, Serrano believes “the story will die at some point”.

“It’s kind of like the Kennedy assassination. People have been obsessed with conspiracy theories, theories about John F Kennedy’s assassination for years,” he says.

“It’s a story that comes and goes, but I think this story will go.

“At some point, maybe some point soon, the Jeffrey Epstein story will be buried, along with Jeffrey Epstein.”

Entertainment

Henry Cavill suffers injury while training for Highlander film

Published

20 hours ago

September 12, 2025

admin

Henry Cavill suffers injury while training for Highlander film

Actor Henry Cavill has suffered an injury during training ahead of filming for the remake of the Highlander film.

The British actor, best known for TV series The Witcher, playing Superman in Man Of Steel, and more recently Sherlock Holmes in the Enola Holmes film series, was hurt just days before the film was due to start production.

Filming for the reboot of the 1980s classic will now begin in 2026, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The cast includes Gladiator actor Russell Crowe, who worked with Cavill on Man Of Steel, as well as former Doctor Who star Karen Gillan, and Dave Bautista – known for roles in Dune and as Drax in the Guardians Of The Galaxy trilogy.

Cavill, 42, was injured during pre-production of the Amazon MGM Studios’ United Artists (UA) film.

Highlander, which is being directed by Chad Stahelski, is based on the original 1986 film of the same name.

The film starred Christopher Lambert and Sean Connery and is about an ancient battle between immortal warriors.

The fantasy-action film was followed up with several sequels, including Highlander II: The Quickening (1991), Highlander III: The Sorcerer (1994), and Highlander: Endgame (2000).

An alternate sequel to the original film was also produced as a TV spin-off series in 1992.

Speaking at CinemaCon in Las Vegas in April, Cavill told The Hollywood Reporter he was a “lover of the original movies, for better or worse” and was currently in training to play the immortal Scottish hero.

He added: “If you think you’ve seen me do sword work before, you haven’t seen anything yet.”

There has been no word on what type of injury Cavill suffered or how it occurred.

Entertainment

Ireland will not participate in Eurovision if Israel is allowed to take part

Published

2 days ago

September 11, 2025

admin

Ireland will not participate in Eurovision if Israel is allowed to take part

Ireland will not participate in the Eurovision Song Contest next year if Israel is allowed to take part, RTE has announced.

The Irish broadcaster said in a statement that a number of European Broadcasting Union (EBU) members raised concerns over the participation of Israel in the competition at the union’s general assembly in July.

RTE added that its “position” is that Ireland will not take part in the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest if the participation of Israel goes ahead.

The broadcaster will make its “final decision regarding Ireland’s participation” once the EBU decides whether Israel will take part, the statement continues.

It adds: “RTE wishes to thank the EBU for the extensive consultation process that was initiated on foot of that meeting, and the extension of the option to withdraw from participation without penalty to December.”

The statement added: “RTE feels that Ireland’s participation would be unconscionable given the ongoing and appalling loss of lives in Gaza.

“RTE is also deeply concerned by the targeted killing of journalists in Gaza, and the denial of access to international journalists to the territory, and the plight of the remaining hostages.”

Ireland has won Eurovision seven times, the joint most of any country along with Sweden. Its last win was in 1996.

Eurovision Song Contest director Martin Green said: “We understand the concerns and deeply held views around the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. We are still consulting with all EBU Members to gather views on how we manage participation and geopolitical tensions around the Eurovision Song Contest.

“Broadcasters have until mid-December to confirm if they wish to take part in next year’s event in Vienna. It is up to each member to decide if they want to take part in the contest and we would respect any decision broadcasters make.”

The 70th anniversary edition of the contest is due to take place in Vienna, Austria, in May after Austrian entry JJ won with his song Wasted Love in Basel, Switzerland, earlier this year.

Ireland was represented by Emmy in Basel, with the song Laika Party, while Israel was represented by Yuval Raphael, with her song New Day Will Rise.

There has been growing controversy about Israel’s participation in Eurovision with protests in host cities in the last two years.