2017 was an outstanding year for movies, so 2018 definitely has its work cut out for it when it comes to heading to the theater. Thankfully, there seems to be no shortage of promising movies slated for this year, and we’ve picked out the fifty that look the best. That’s not to say other movies won’t come along and look even better (who’s to say what will come out of a festival or make a surprising splash on the calendar), but judging by the landscape of what we know is currently set for release this year, 2018 looks like it could be just as good as 2017.
Check out our list of our most anticipated movies of 2018 and sound off in the comments about the movies you’re excited to see this year.
Mary and The Witch’s Flower
Release Date:January 19th
Director:Hiromasa Yonebayashi
Writers:Mary Stewart (Novel), Riko Sakaguchi & Hirmasa Yonebayashi (Screenplay), David & Lynda Freedman (English adaptation)
Cast:Hana Sugisaki, Ryunosuke Kamiki, Yuki Amami, Ruby Barnhill, Louis Ashbourne Serkis, Kate Winslet, Jim Broadbent
I’m pretty jealous of my colleague Haleigh Foutch who hada chance to check outMary and The Witch’s Flowerlast year. Luckily, the theatrical release for Studio Ponoc’s inaugural picture is just around the corner. If you’ve seen the marketing material for the animated film, you might think it’s another Studio Ghibli joint. You wouldn’t be far off; Studio Ponoc was formed in 2015 with a number of former Ghibli animators and they’ve clearly carried over some influence from their work.
Mary and The Witch’s Floweris an adaptation ofMary Stewart’s 1971 children’s story “The Little Broomstick” which follows the title character’s adventures in a world of magic and mystery. It’s that fun fantasy aspect I’m looking forward to seeing here. There’s a curious cat (check), a flying broomstick (check), a magic-granting flower (check) and a college of magic (check) in which conflict arises. I can’t wait to see how Mary sorts it all out.– Dave Trumbore
Bilal: A New Breed of Hero
Release Date:February 2nd
Directors:Khurram H. Alavi, Ayman Jamal
Writers:Ayman Jamal, Alexander Kronemer, Michael Wolfe, Khurram H. Alavi, Yassin Kamel
Cast:Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Ian McShane, China Anne McClain, Thomas Ian Nicholas, Michael Gross, Cynthia Kaye McWilliams, Jacob Latimore, Fred Tatasciore
Since I’m the animation lead here at Collider, pretty much any interesting and unique animation project that comes across my vision captures my attention.Bilal: A New Breed of Herois one such project. It technically opened back in 2015 in the United Arab Emirates for the Dubai Film Festival before playing at Annecy 2016, but its U.S. debut arrives in February.
Bilaltells the story of its title character, a hero from the ancient days of the Arabian Peninsula inspired by the real life of Bilal ibn Rabah. The tale is a classic one: Bilal, who dreams of being a warrior from his earliest days, is orphaned and sold into slavery, only to secure his freedom and attempt to do the same for his kin. It looks gorgeous. Rigorously researched by Jamal,Bilalis the product of his 2013 studioBarajoun Entertainmentand is seven years in the making. HopefullyBilalis just the beginning of a long and fruitful filmography.– Dave Trumbore
The 15:17 to Paris
Release Date:February 9th
Director:Clint Eastwood
Writer:Dorothy Blyskal
Cast:Alek Skarlatos, Anthony Sadler, Spencer Stone, Jaleel White, Jenna Fischer, Judy Greer, Lillian Solange Beaudoin, Thomas Lennon, Tony Hale, and P.J. Byrne
This could go south quick. Movies likeAct of Valorhave attempted to convey the world of American soldiers by using real-life servicemen and professionals in the roles before, and the result was a grotesque blend of propaganda and dull domestic drama. The danger of this can be palpably felt in the trailers forThe 15:17 to Paris, in whichClint Eastwoodrecreates the 2015 Thalys train attack using three of the real-life men instrumental in dismantling the terrorist operation. Eastwood rightly gets a lot of grief for his politics, which are largely baseless, but he’s a perceptive and daring filmmaker in many respects. For all the fudging ofChris Kyle’s character inAmerican Sniper, few war films have been as blunt and bleak about the psychological toll of being a gifted, decorated soldier whose friends and closest colleagues are constantly being killed.The 15:17 to Parisdoesn’t have the star power thatAmerican Sniperhad but it similarly has the potential to analyze and criticize the price of American heroism while also proudly depicting the base thrills of that same brand of bravery. -Chris Cabin
Black Panther
Release Date:February 16th
Director:Ryan Coogler
Writers:Ryan Coogler, Joe Robert Cole
Cast:Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Martin Freeman, Daniel Kaluuya, Andy Serkis, Angela Bassett, Forest Whitaker, Letitia Wright, Winston Duke, Sterling K. Brown, John Kani
I mean, obviously. Marvel Studios absolutely knocks it out of the park with their comic book adaptations; even the weakest of the bunch is thoroughly entertaining.Black Pantherlooks to be anything but weak. From a social standpoint, this is the perfect time for a live-action adaptation of a very progressive and powerful African superhero and the incredibly advanced nation of Wakanda, though you’d be right to argue thatBlack Pantherhas been a long time coming. However, I can’t imagine doing any better than this incredible international cast featuring Black leads at the absolute top of their game.
Black Panthershifts the focus to Marvel’s title character after introducing him (and his mythology) inCaptain America: Civil War. This is an awesome opportunity to explore the technology, history, culture, and politics of Wakanda while fully fleshing out the title superhero-king and giving lesser-known characters a chance to shine.Black Pantherisn’t just one highly anticipated movie of 2018, it’s a contender for my most-anticipated movie overall.– Dave Trumbore
Director:Nick Park
Writers:Mark Burton, James Higginson, John O’Farrell, Nick Park
Cast:Tom Hiddleston, Maisie Williams, Eddie Redmayne, Miriam Margolyes, Richard Ayoade, Timothy Spall, Mark Williams
If you’re a fan of Aardman Animation, this one’s already on your radar. It’s been a few years since their last outing,Shaun the Sheep(which has a sequel ready to go next year) and 18 years since their highest-grossing film,Chicken Run. But the stop-motion animated aesthetic of Aardman is alive and well, as evidenced byEarly Man.
At first blush, this feature looks like a prehistoric comedy that centers on a conflict between the humans of the Stone Age and the more advanced members of the Bronze Age. But more recent trailers have revealed that it’s actually a sports comedy, so while the conflict will be the same, it’ll be funneled through a football (a.k.a. soccer) lens. That’s interesting to say the least, but I’m more curious to see how international and American audiences react to it, and how the international popularity of the three leads lends exposure to the latest Aardman adventure.– Dave Trumbore
Annihilation
Release Date:February 23rd
Director/Writer:Alex Garland
Cast:Natalie Portman, Tessa Thompson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Gina Rodriguez, Oscar Isaac, Benedict Wong
After penning the scripts to a number of the best sci-fi movies of the 21st Century, including28 Days Later,Sunshine, andNever Let Me Go,Alex Garlandmade his directorial debut withEx Machinaand delivered an original chamber piece that topped them all. For his sophomore film, Garland expands his scope drastically with an adaptation of the genre-bending novelAnnihilation. As written by New Weird literary figureJeff VanderMeer,Annihilationis a bizarre, slippery piece of horror via sci-fi nightmarescapes that follows a team of female scientists into a mysterious realm known as Area X, where inexplicable biological wonders and terrors await. It’s clear that Garland has taken some liberties with the source material from the trailers, including some worrying details about the motivations of the lead character, but after the bracing, thoughtful sci-fi mastery on display inEx Machina,and eyeing the incredible cast the director put together, I’m keeping the faith Garland’s going to pull this one off. The fact that international distributors apparently thought the film was"too complicated" with a challenging female lead only makes me more excited. –Haleigh Foutch
A Wrinkle in Time
Release Date:March 9th
Director:Ava DuVernay
Writer:Jennifer Lee
Cast:Storm Reid, Chris Pine, Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon, Mindy Kaling, Zach Galifianakis, Michael Peña, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Levi Miller, Rowan Blanchard, and Andre Holland.
FilmmakerAva DuVernaymade waves with her rousing MLK filmSelma, and in its wake she fielded offers for a variety of big budget projects. But she sparked to an adaptation ofMadelilne L’Engle’s beloved bookA Wrinkle in Timeat Disney as an opportunity to tell a massive, fantastical, and hopeful story with a non-white actress in the lead role. The result is a bright, visually stunning film with an encouraging message, scripted by the co-director and co-writer of Disney’sFrozen. And given DuVernay’s talents behind the camera on her previous films, I can’t wait to see what she does with a $100 million budget. –Adam Chitwood
Tomb Raider
Release Date:March 16th
Director:Roar Uthaug
Writers:Geneva Robertson-Dworet, Alastair Siddons
Cast:Alicia Vikander, Hannah John-Kamen, Walton Goggins, Dominic West, Kristin Scott Thomas, Nick Frost, Daniel Wu, Emily Carey
I’ll admit, I was skeptical about this reboot from the beginning; I’m now slightly less skeptical thanks to the firsttrailerandtransformative featurettefor the film. Much like the 2013 video game reboot changed the look and lore of Lara Croft from its rather polygonal booby beginnings, I’m hoping the live-action movie reboot will move in the same direction, giving Vikander something more to work with than was afforded toAngelina Jolieback in 2001 and 2003. Make no mistake,Tomb Raiderhas strong franchise potential if Uthaug, Vikander, and the creative force at work knock it out of the park with this first installment.Indiana Jonesseems to have hit a snag, so I’m honestly hopingTomb Raidercan take its contemporary place and forge a new path.– Dave Trumbore
Love, Simon
Director:Greg Berlanti
Writers:Elizabeth Berger & Isaac Aptaker
Cast:Nick Robinson, Jennifer Garner, Josh Duhamel, Alexandra Shipp, and Colton Hanyes
This one wasn’t really on my radar until I saw the trailer, but now I’m eager to see this coming-of-age story that’s also a coming out story. The film follows Simon Spier (Robinson), a high-schooler who’s coming to grips with his homosexuality. Rather than douse the story in tragedy and negative consequences, which is what this kind of movie would have been as recently as a decade ago,Love, Simonlooks funny and charming. That’s not to say there isn’t weight to Simon’s struggles, but rather it’s one that’s made relatable and human rather than distant and exclusive. –Matt Goldberg
Mary Magdalene
Director:Garth Davis
Writers:Helen Edmundson and Philippa Goslett
Cast:Rooney Mara, Joaquin Phoenix, and Chiwetel Ejiofor
LionfilmmakerGarth Davisreturns with a highly curious follow-up,Mary Magdalene, that’s sure to pique folks’ interest.Rooney Maraplays the Biblical figure whileJoaquin Phoenixplays Jesus andChiwetel Ejioforis Peter, but this isn’t a mere simple retelling of the Gospel story. Instead, the film aims to shine a light on the figure of Mary Magdalene as a woman, and how her place among Jesus’ flock was questioned simply because of her gender. Indeed, many of the writings about Magdalene at the time were skewed from a male point of view, so it’ll be interesting to see what conclusions Davis’ film comes to about the nature of Mary Magdalene, who many believe was essentially a 13th apostle. –Adam Chitwood
