BE HONEST: Will you actually watch these in theaters or wait for streaming options?
1. What Men Want (February 8)
Taraji P. Henson is a sports agent struggling to make it in a traditionally male-dominated profession—that is, until she gets the greatest gift of all time: the ability to hear men’s thoughts. The power immediately comes in handy for nearly every situation: work, the bar, a secret poker game. The film has an all-star cast that includes Tracy Morgan, Phoebe Robinson, Max Greenfield, Erykah Badu, Pete Davidson, Shaquille O’Neal, and Kellan Lutz. (And yes, it’s a remake of the 2000 film What Women Want, but viewing of the original is definitely not required.)
2. Alita: Battle Angel (February 14)
James Cameron and company bring the beloved Yukito Kishiro manga Battle Angel Alita to life in Alita: Battle Angel, starring American Horror Story and Parenthoodalum Rosa Salazar as the titular heroine Alita. When she’s found by Dr. Ido (Christoph Waltz) and given a new body, Alita rediscovers her abilities and her complicated past life. The film also stars Jennifer Connelly, Mahershala Ali, Michelle Rodriguez, and Lana Condor.
3. Captain Marvel (March 8)
Go back to the mid-1990s with Brie Larson as Carol Danvers, aka Captain Marvel, in this unconventional Marvel origin story. With a foggy memory of her days as Carol, a member of the U.S. Air Force, Captain Marvel leads a battle against the Skrulls, who are headed straight to Earth. Jude Law, Samuel L. Jackson, Gemma Chan, and Annette Bening also star.
4. Us (March 15)
The world has been waiting for Jordan Peele’s follow-up to Get Out ever since the end credits of Get Out began to roll. Lupita Nyong’o, Winston Duke, Elisabeth Moss, and Tim Heidecker star in the thriller that will likely haunt you for days and, more important, make you think of the unannounced visitors in the film every time you hear the Luniz classic “I Got 5 on It.”
5. Dumbo (March 29)
This live-action remake is part of Disney’s giant lineup of remakes that will entertain children and adults for years to come. Starring Colin Farrell, the new Dumbo is based on the 1941 animated classic about an elephant with big ears and the ability to fly. Bring tissues.
6. Shazam! (April 5)
Zachary Levi is Shazam, the classic DC Comics superhero young Billy Batson turns into at the sound of his super name. If you loved Zachary in The Marvelous Mrs. Maiselseason two (or if you’ve been with him since his Chuck days), you should have no problem being charmed by his humor (and muscles and his height).
7. Her Smell (April 12)
What can’t Elisabeth Moss do? For her next act, Elisabeth will trade in her red cloak for a guitar in Alex Ross Perry’s drama about a punk rocker with addiction problems.
8. Avengers: Endgame (April 26)
The follow-up to Infinity War (which ended with Thanos ending half of life) finds all your faves looking sad and hopeless and, more important, Captain America (Chris Evans) without his beard.
9. Aladdin (May 24)
Your future crush Mena Massoud plays Aladdin in Disney’s live-action remake of the 1992 animated movie. Naomi Scott and Will Smith play Princess Jasmine and Genie, respectively, while the magic lamp (seen in this trailer) looks shinier than ever.
10. Godzilla: King of the Monsters (May 31)
Millie Bobby Brown is basically Eleven in this sequel to 2014’s Godzilla reboot, only this time she has a super-strong connection to Mothra, one of the monsters Godzilla faces. Vera Farmiga and Kyle Chandler play Millie’s onscreen parents, with Sally Hawkins and Ken Watanabe reprising their roles as Dr. Vivienne Graham and Dr. Ishiro Serizawa.
11. Late Night (June 7)
As the title suggests, Mindy Kaling’s new comedy deals with the world of late-night talk shows. And in this world, which, hopefully, will soon become our world, one talk show is hosted by a woman, played by Emma Thompson. When the host hires a female writer (Mindy) to help spruce up the show, magic happens. Late Night is written by Mindy and is directed by Nisha Ganatra, whose résumé includes episodes of Girls, Mr. Robot, Transparent, and The Mindy Project.
12. Dark Phoenix (June 7)
The follow-up to 2016’s X-Men: Apocalypse has the spotlight on Sophie Turner’s Phoenix, aka Jean Grey, one of the mutants at Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters. Yes, this means Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy, Nicholous Hoult, Evan Peters, and others are back in their X-Men roles.
13. Men in Black International (June 14)
Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson are Agent H and Agent M, respectively, in this spin-off of the Men in Black film series (which starred Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones). In the new film, the secret agents’ work in a murder mystery has them traveling around the world (hence, the “international” part of the movie title). Kumail Nanjiani, Emma Thompson, and Liam Neeson also star in the comedy, which hopefully will include at least one Chris Hemsworth shirtless scene.
14. Toy Story 4 (June 21)
It’s hard to believe that Toy Story 3 was released nearly 10 years ago, but you should be happy to know that Toy Story 4 picks up right where our friends left off: in the hands of a toddler named Bonnie, who adds a new toy named Forky (a spork) to her collection.
15. Spider-Man: Far From Home (July 5)
Even if you haven’t been following this latest Spider-Man franchise starring Tom Holland, you’ll want to watch this installment for the sole purpose of seeing Jake Gyllenhaal as the villain Mysterio.
