Maybe it was Hollywood’s 2020 hiatus, but our hunger for a trip to the movies has never been bigger.
And we’re not just talking about the buttery popcorn and loaded hot dogs (though we do love those, too).
We’re talking about the main event, the jump-out-of-your-seat thrillers and punch-the-air super hero flicks that make a trip to the picture house one of the best excursions in town.
Here’s every blockbuster you should be pre-booking tickets for. Popcorn, please.
Dune
Stuff of sci-fi legend, Dune will get modern-era cut for 2021. Based on the 1965 novel by Frank Herbert, directors have long struggled to capture the hard-hitting action the print masterpiece is acclaimed for. Denis Villeneuve is the latest in the chair trying to mastermind a triumph, and he has credentials given the success of Blade Runner 2049. For those not in the know, Dune plays out as a cosmic war for ownership of a planet that produces a ‘spice’ that extends life and enhances mental abilities. It’s mega. Fingers crossed Villeneuve can whip up a storm.
Out now.
Eternals
Marvel Phase 4 is tearing along at speeds Quicksilver would be rooted to the spot by. Eternals is the latest piece of the cosmic tapestry to be pulled at by the studio after Tony Stark unravelled Thanos’ plan to obliterate half the universe with his multi-dimensional escapades. In it a group of pacifist immortals – headed by rookie super heroes Angelina Jolie, Kit Harington and Salma Hayek – are forced to step off the side lines to save humanity. The villains of this piece are spectacularly called the Deviants – and we’re so on board.
Out November 5, 2021.
Ghostbusters: Afterlife
If there’s something strange in your neighbourhood, you can probably guess that it has something to do with the new Ghostbusters flick airing down at the local picture house. The next chapter in this bonkers, ghost-exterminating reboot is set 30 years after the events of the second film. A single mother and her two children move to a small town in Oklahoma, where they discover their connection to the original Ghostbusters and their grandfather’s secret legacy. Most importantly, Bill Murray is back to fight phantoms. Boom.
UAE release date TBC.
Halloween Kills
Michael Myers is like a bad rash, you just can’t get rid of him. And while most rashes won’t do you any real harm, this guy is all about inflicting pain on his victims. It wouldn’t be All Hallows’ Eve without another hide-behind-the-sofa instalment of the Halloween thrillers, and this one sees Myers’ prey call it a day, and form a vigilante mob to track him down and end the nightmare once and for all. Myers has other plans, and if there’s one lesson to be learned from Halloween Kills, it’s that the Boogie Man is very much real.
Out now.
House of Gucci
Gucci. Gaga. This movie is a double threat. Starring Lady Gaga, this portrayal of former Gucci adviser Patrizia Reggiani, convicted of arranging the demise of her ex-husband and former head of the Gucci fashion house, Maurizio Gucci, is a tale of high power, high fashion and high stakes. With shady intrigue spliced into the mix, critics reckon this Ridley Scott feature, which also brings the multi-faceted and just plain brilliant Jared Leto
onto our screens, will be in contention for plenty of gongs when award season rolls around in 2022.
Out November 24, 2021.
James Bond: No Time to Die
He’s the British secret agent who just refuses to die – seemingly because he has not time to, if the moniker of the latest James Bond flick is anything to go by. Out of active duty, Bond (Daniel Craig) is approached by old CIA pal Felix Leiter in a bid to help track down and neutralise a mysterious, but oh so dangerous, villain. Will Bond’s luck ensure through the newest edition of the series? Or will this in fact be the time the smooth-talking spy meets his match? (We reckon the former).
Out now.
King Richard
They are two of the most successful sports women of all time, but this docu-flick serves up a picture of Richard Williams, the father to Venus and Serena Williams and a key figure in their success out on the court. Will Smith stars, so expect an emotive and highly-charged performance that is sure to spark debate over the lengths a parent should go to in the hope of pushing their children to greatness. It looks like it could be ace.
UAE release date TBC.
Spiderman: No Way Home
It’s Londoner Tom Holland’s third solo outing as Peter Parker, with Zendaya back as MJ, Marisa Tomei playing Aunt May and Jacob Batalon returning as Peter’s BFF Ned Leeds. But the most intriguing new addition to the franchise – alongside JK Simmons’ shock-jock TheDailyBugle.net editor J Jonah Jameson (who cameoed in Far From Home) – is Benedict Cumberbatch’s Stephen Strange. He adds the crossover connection to the wider MCU that Tony Stark once offered, as well as the key to the movie’s multiverse-spanning pyrotechnics. Things spiral out of control once Parker, seeking to undo the events of the previous film, enters the Sanctum Sanctorum to seek help from Dr Strange. A spell is botched, rejiggering the whole timey-wimey thing to villain-unleashing effect. Old faces join the bedlam, and we are buzzing with anticipation.
Out December 17, 2021.
Top Gun: Maverick
A movie with hall of fame status and one that has inspired many a costume party outfit down the years, Top Gun is soaring back onto the silver screen this year. Tom Cruise is back, this time as the aviation professor to a fresh squadron of flyers which includes on its roster (tissues at the ready) the son of best pal and fallen comrade Goose. Miles Teller takes on the mantle of young hot shot, so buckle up for some G-force-inducing, explosions-everywhere-possible action.
Out May 26, 2022.
Venom: Let There Be Carnage
Not all anti-heroes wear capes. Venom doesn’t wear anything (other than Tom Hardy’s physique to keep him alive), but that doesn’t lessen the broken and busted symbiote one jot in our books. The outlandish and ever-starving alien is back in business for Venom: Let There Be Carnage, and as comic book fans far and wide will already know, he’s got yet more cosmic company in the shape of his powerful, psychotic spawn. Woody Harrelson stars as the unhinged ‘villain’ of this all-villain piece and the trailer alone is giving us all sorts of chills.
Out October 1, 2021.
