Let it roll! Blockbuster movies in 2024

The world of cinema has lived through one of its most turbulent years to date. The strike of Hollywood writers in May last year which ended on 27 September 2023 only was the beginning. It was followed by the big wait for hugely anticipated blockbusters. And for many, the word in 2024 is: Let it roll!

The Nanny’s call to industrial action

When Fran Drescher (SAG-AFTRA Chair), known from the cult series The Nanny, called on all her acting peers to stop working, Hollywood came to a complete standstill for six months. The crux of the matter were contracts that had not been adapted to the age of streaming as well as clear arrangements on the use of Artificial Intelligence. Next to the ban on participating in studio productions, even walking the red carpet to promote already completed movies was a total no-go.
Even though 2023’s red carpet season ended with a bang following the high-impact media tour of Barbie and Oppenheimer, the cast of Oppenheimer was still made to clear the cinema early during the last premiere once the strike was officially called.

As a result of the strike, many hotly anticipated 2023 blockbusters had their release date postponed to 2024. The eagerly awaited second instalment to Denis Villeneuve’s Dune has a star-studded cast featuring, for example, Timothée Chalamet, Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, Zendaya and many more and one would not want to miss that premiere. The release date for this epic sci-fi movie in German cinemas is 29 February 2024.

Return of the classics

Whether the big movies still have the same draw as before will remain to be seen in 2024. Many of the classics are returning to the big screen with their sequel. The Lord of the Rings franchise, for example, is hitting cinemas with an anime prequel, The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim (release date in Germany: 13 December 2024).

And with Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire, two of the best-known monsters in movie history are facing off for the second time (at least on American soil) starting 12 April 2024. The movie is the fifth instalment in the Monsterverse brought to life by Legendary Entertainment and co-produced by Warner Bros., which since 2014 has been trying with help from various licencing rights from Japanese production company Toho Co., Ltd. to bring Japan’s cult monsters from the 60s with an even bigger Hollywood budget closer to an international cinematic audience.

The legendary action movie director, George Miller, is aiming for a follow-up success with Part 4 to his Mad Max series titled Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (release date 24 May 2024). After succeeding in reviving the movie series once before in 2015 with the spectacular Fury Road, this time he is sending the actor, Anya Taylor-Joy into a mercilessly post-apocalyptic desert as Furiosa.

Sometimes, however, there is no need to wait for 40 years – 20 years are all it takes to bring a modern classic back to the big screen. Mean Girls are once again turning to their iconic Burn Book to lend a modern twist to the high school comedy classic. The musical coming to a cinema near you on 19 April 2024 is based on the Mean Girls Broadway musical which, in turn, is based on the eponymous movie (but without musical interludes) featuring Lindsay Lohan and Rachel McAdams from 2004. Tina Fey, US comedian par excellence, is responsible for the script just like before for the surprise success of the original and the Broadway musical.

More classics coming your way:
Gladiator 2, Ghostbusters, Planet of the Apes, Alien, Beetlejuice

Licenses for kids as an evergreen?

For 14 years now they have been lurking everywhere. Be it on cinema billboards, lunch boxes, school satchels or T-shirts. Since the publication of the first part to Despicable Me, Universal’s Minions have proven to be one of the world’s strongest brands under licence. Following additional Despicable Me parts and two spin-offs dedicated to the Minions, Despicable Me 4 will be coming to cinemas on 3 July 2024, to once again cement the status of these cute little yellow creatures.

As the ultimate target group for franchises under licence, younger cinema goers will definitely be getting their money's worth in 2024. Disney’s Musafa: The Lion King is the second live action take on The Lion King to come to the big screens starting 19 December 2024. The prequel focuses on the time when Mufasa had to fight for the throne against his brother, Scar and the audience finally learns more about the background to the long feud.

Part 2 of Disney’s Inside Out smash hit (release date 14 June 2024) is also coming to cinemas.

Ever since Disney bought Pixar Animation Studios – famous for animated movies like Toy Story and Finding Nemo – in 2006, which then officially became Disney-Pixar, they have won 12 Oscars (in addition to the six before the takeover) and were able to establish their position in the market for animated movies without almost any competition.

But the competition in animation is not dormant. DreamWorks Animation released Kung Fu Panda 4 (release date 8 March 2024) eight years after the last part. With voice actors like Jackie Chan, Jack Black and Dustin Hoffman, nothing stands in the way of this becoming just as successful.

More movie fun for kids:
Garfield, Sonic the Hedgehog

Superhero burnout?

Even James Gunn, who directed Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy amongst other hits, is talking about "superhero fatigue". After catastrophic figures and critical voices on just about all project releases of the last MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) phase, there seems to be something of a negative trend amongst viewers. Have cinema goers had enough of an ongoing repeat of the success story that most superhero movies follow? 2024 may turn out to be a groundbreaking year for the licencing giant, Marvel.

A total of five Marvel projects are ready to be rolled out to cinemas. Madame Web (release date: 14 February) featuring Dakota Johnson in the namesake main role is kicking things off. This is then followed by one of only two already established and successful series, Deadpool 3 (release date: 26 July). On 30 August, Marvel and Sony will be screening the first adventure of Kraven the Hunter and on 4 September, the teased reboot of Blade. Starting on 8 November, Tom Hardy is reprising his role as Eddie Brock in Venom 3, finally making it to the MCU. Venom (just like Kraven the Hunter) is a series which, because of licencing, is produced by Marvel Entertainment, but distributed by Sony Pictures rather than Marvel/Disney.

What will save the superheroes?

While the main reason for superhero fatigue is most likely the seemingly endless volume of content and imagery that is becoming more and more alike, 2024 will also be presenting some noteworthy exceptions in this genre. For a second time, Joaquin Phoenix has taken on the esteemed role of the villain in Joker: Folie à Deux. The first part already surprised as a serious character study that dealt with the understanding of toxic masculinity in society. Rather than rely on typical anti-hero pathos, he has now been paired with a celebrity chameleon, Lady Gaga. The latter made a name for herself in the past not only as one of the most significant phenomena in music history, but also as an actor to be taken seriously. The movie ultimately differs from the musical genre because of its superhero crew.

And also part 3 of the Spiderverse franchise is eagerly anticipated. The first two parts of Spiderman’s animated adventures around Miles Morales were met with great enthusiasm even by an audience supersaturated by superhero stardom. With great attention to detail not only in the storyline and characters but also the actual craft of animated movies and its many facets, the movie series is a feast for both young and old alike. The headlines about tight deadlines and the poor conditions under which some of the artists had to work to secure a 2024 release date came then even more as a surprise.

CGI artists continue to lobby for more recognition

Things are heating up significantly in the world of Computer-generated Imagery (CGI) artists. Unbearable working conditions and insufficient pay have long been fuelling rumours about industrial action. It thus remains to be seen whether the 2024 cinema year will go according to plan or if the next artists in the system of blockbuster licencing will lay their work to rest in order to fight the power of the big studios. If there is one thing that last year’s strike has proven, it’s that sometimes, David can indeed defeat Goliath. And nowhere is this more important than in art.

About the author

Johannes Holzer is a movie buff who works in the marketing department of Spielwarenmesse eG. His broad range of interest covers everything from Hollywood to Indie movies. For two decades, he has been following the trends in the film industry.