The unbearable slog that is everyday life continues, and yet we’re still not permitted to sit in a movie theatre shoulder-to-shoulder with strangers, with a soft drink the size of our head and a supersize bucket of popcorn to quell the madness of it all. With social distancing in place, movie theatres in major US cities like Los Angeles and New York have finally started to reopen, alongside those in Europe, Asia and Australia.
The mass movie scheduling delay of 2020 means that 2021 is set to be a stacked year. Recently, Universal, Warner Bros and Disney (who own Marvel, Searchlight Pictures and 20th Century Studios) announced their latest reshuffling, with most movies that promise big box office returns being held until later in the year, or moved from cinema releases to Disney+ exclusives and HBO.
Which movies are actually coming out this year then? And when can we bloody see them? Here’s a rundown of the ones you’ve likely got your beady eyes on right now.
Shiva Baby
“It’s LA!” meme queen Rachel Sennott is an almost-college grad who runs into both her sugar daddy and ex-girlfriend at a family shiva in this hugely triggering comedy.
Release date: 2 April (USA) / 11 June (UK)
Voyagers
The boundaries of reality are bent amongst a group of astronauts on board a space mission. Stars Lily-Rose Depp and Tye Sheridan.
Release date: 9 April (USA) / 2 July (UK)
Gunda
Joaquin Phoenix produced this black-and-white silent documentary about a pig on a farm.
Release date: 16 April (USA) / 11 June (UK)
About Endlessness
Deadpan masterpiece maker Roy Andersson dwells on mortality and the nature of human existence in his very-well reviewed final movie.
Release date: 30 April (USA) / Out now (UK)
Limbo
A refugee adapts to life on a remote Scottish island in Ben Sharrock’s funny and touching debut.
Release date: 30 April (USA) / 30 July (UK)
Mainstream
Gia Coppola directs this story of three intertwined lovers making sense of themselves in the internet age. Stars Maya Hawke, Andrew Garfield and Alexa Demie.
Release date: 7 May (USA) / TBA (UK)
The Woman in the Window
A psychological thriller that’s been delayed so often it’s become a meme. Coming to Netflix.
Release date: 14 May (USA) / TBA (UK)
Spiral
Another Saw movie. You know how these things go.
Release date: 21 May (USA) / 21 May (UK)
Army of the Dead
Four-hour-Justice-League director Zack Snyder goes full cult in this Las Vegas Zombie movie coming to Netflix.
Release date: 21 May (USA) / 21 May (UK)
Seance
Suki Waterhouse stars in this horror about a group of schoolgirls who summon a spirit with devastating consequences.
Release date: 21 May (USA) / TBA (UK)
Cruella
Emma Stone plays the titular character in this 1970s London-set origin story. Also on Disney+.
Release date: 28 May (USA) / 28 May (UK)
A Quiet Place: Part II
The sequel to the 2018 horror hit that’s release was scuppered by Rona rearing its head finally gets a summer 2021 release.
Release date: 28 May (USA) / 28 May (UK)
The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It
The third Conjuring movie that still stars queen Vera Farmiga.
Release date: 4 June (USA) / 28 May (UK)
In The Heights
The glittering big-screen adaptation of Lin Manuel-Miranda’s musical about gentrification hitting Washington Heights. Also on HBO Max.
Release date: 11 June (USA) / 25 June (UK)
Luca
A fantasy animation about two friends on the Italian Riviera, one of whom is hiding the secret that he’s a mermaid. Stars We Are Who We Are’s Jack Dylan Grazer. Exclusively on Disney+.
Release date: 18 June (USA) / 18 June (UK)
Zola
18 months after its Sundance premiere, Janicza Bravo and Jeremy O. Harris’ talked-about stripper road movie finally gets its release.
Release date: 30 June (USA) / TBA (UK)
Black Widow
Florence Pugh makes her Marvel debut in this spin-off directed by Cate Shortland. Also on Disney+.
Release date: 9 July (USA) / 9 July (UK)
The Forever Purge
The final instalment in the truly chaotic The Purge series.
Release date: 9 July (USA) / 9 July (UK)
Space Jam: A New Legacy
LeBron James and Bugs Bunny join forces in this live action/cartoon crossover sequel, 25 years after the original premiered. Also on HBO Max.
Release date: 16 July (USA) / 23 July (UK)
The Night House
A Sundance 2020 hit, this domestic horror sees a widow uncovering her late husband’s dark secrets.
Release date: 16 July (USA) / TBA (UK)
OLD
An adaptation of a graphic novel, this M. Night Shyamalan movie is set on a secluded beach where a holidaying family discover the ageing process has speeded up rapidly, leading them to live their whole lives in a day.
Release date: 23 July (USA) / 23 July (UK)
The Green Knight
A Ghost Story filmmaker David Lowery directs this A24 fantasy inspired by a 14th century medieval tale. Dev Patel stars.
Release date: 23 July (USA) / 23 July (UK)
CODA
A big winner at Sundance 2021 that tells the story of a teenage girl who lives with her deaf parents moving on to music school.
Release date: 13 August (USA) / 13 August (UK)
Demonic
The director of Chappie and District 9 returns with a low-key horror shot in secret during the pandemic, in which a woman unleashes dangerous spirits when the roots of the contentious relationship she has with her mother are unveiled.
Release date: 20 August (USA) / TBA (UK)
Candyman
Finally, Nia DaCosta’s creepy horror remake hits cinemas this summer. Also on HBO Max.
Release date: 27 August (USA) / 27 August (UK)
The Many Saints of Newark
The Sopranos spin-off movie starring James Gandolfini’s son follows rival African American and Italian gangs in 1960s New York. Also on HBO Max.
Release date: 24 September (USA) / 22 October (UK)
Dear Evan Hansen
A big screen adaptation of the behemoth Broadway musical, about a high school loner getting wrapped up in a fake friendship with a boy who’s died by suicide.
Release date: 24 September (USA) / 22 October (UK)
Dune
King Timothée Chalamet gets his blockbuster moment in this hugely anticipated adaptation of Frank Herbert’s sci-fi classic.
Release date: 1 October (USA) / 17 September (UK)
Halloween Kills
Jamie-Lee Curtis is back in this sequel to the reboot of the Halloween franchise.
Release date: 15 October (USA) / 15 October (UK)
Last Night in Soho
Baby Driver’s Edgar Wright directs Anya Taylor-Joy in this psycho-thriller about a wannabe fashion designer transporting herself to 1960s London to meet her idol.
Release date: 22 October (USA) / 29 October (UK)
The French Dispatch
Wes Anderson’s love letter to journalists at a literary magazine, starring Timothée Chalamet, Frances McDormand, Saoirse Ronan and Tilda Swinton.
Release date: 22 October (USA) / 22 October (UK)
Antlers
Guillermo Del Toro executive produces this movie about a school teacher who’s convinced one of her pupils is concealing a weird, supernatural creature in his house.
Release date: 22 October (USA) / 29 October (UK)
Eternals
Chloe Zhao directs Barry Keoghan and Angelina Jolie in this Avengers-style Marvel movie.
Release date: 5 November (USA) / 5 November (UK)
House of Gucci
Lady Gaga in several wigs and the internet’s boyfriend Adam Driver lead this exploration of Patrizia Reggiani’s plot to hire an assassin to kill her husband, an heir to the Gucci fortune.
Release date: 24 November (USA) / 24 November (UK)
Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City
Kaya ‘Effy Stonem’ Scodelario assumes the lead role in this Resident Evil reboot.
Release date: 24 November (USA) / 24 November (UK)
Soggy Bottom
Paul Thomas Anderson makes his movie return with this 70s-set story of a school student dreaming of life as an actor. Bradley Cooper and Alana Haim star.
Release date: 26 November (USA) / TBA (UK)
Nightmare Alley
A noir drama about a cunning carnival leader being duped by an even more cunning psychiatrist. Directed by Guillermo Del Toro, it reunites Carol queens Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara.
Release date: 3 December (USA) / TBA (UK)
West Side Story
Steven Spielberg’s long-delayed adaptation of the classic musical set in 1950s New York.
Release date: 10 December (USA) / 10 December (UK)
The Matrix 4
Keanu Reeves dons the Neo costume once more for the fourth instalment of the sci-fi series.
Release date: 22 December (USA) / 22 December (UK)
Don’t Look Up
Jennifer Lawrence makes her comeback opposite Leonardo DiCaprio and Timothée Chalamet in this sci-fi comedy coming to Netflix
Release date: Winter 2021 (USA) / Winter 2021 (UK)
This story was updated on 28 May to include new and changing release dates.