As the Golden Globes marked the start of the awards season, we watched as celebrity hosts celebrated the best of 2023’s movies with some of the worst jokes imaginable. With that in mind, maybe we should put last year behind us in favor of the hits expected this year. Unfortunately, however, studios rarely release detailed information on movies before 6 months in advance, so we only really know what to expect through June. Here’s a (heavily biased) list of what the first half of 2024 will have to offer in terms of movies. 

Mean Girls 

• Based on the musical based on the wildly popular movie based on the hit parenting book, Tina Fey returns with a movie critics say is 90% as good as the original with 100% more musical numbers. Though most of the musical aspects were strategically omitted from the trailers, fans swarmed the theaters anyway. It’s safe to say this movie is out of the burn book for now.

Argylle 

• This spy thriller/comedy follows an undercover spy as he tries to save a novelist, and more importantly, her cat, from an undercover crime syndicate suspicious of her novels for their uncanny similarities to their real activities. Coming to theaters, it will star Ariana DeBose, Sam Rockwell, and John Cena (if you can see him).

Madame Web

• The latest in the Spiderman-but-without-Spiderman series, Madame Web steps from side character to center stage as a future-seeing spiderwoman. Starring Dakota Johnson and releasing on Valentine’s Day, only time will tell if this is another Venom or another Morbius.

Dune: Part Two 

• An ever present reminder that Hollywood is running out of ideas, the Dune saga continues, bringing the second half of the novel to the big screen. It releases on the first day of March, adding Florence Pugh, Austin Butler, and Christopher Walken to the already star-studded cast.

Arthur the King

• It wouldn’t be a full year without a “look how great dogs are!” movie. Fortunately, Arthur the King fills that void, telling the story of a stray dog who accompanies a runner (Mark Wahlberg) on a 435 mile race through the Dominican Republic.

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire

• In case we weren’t sure who won the first time, the colossi return in late March, but not to battle each other. Instead, they’ll take on the biggest, most powerful monster of all, as long as Warner Bros has the rights. 

Challengers

• A tennis prodigy/coach (played by Zendaya) finds herself in a love triangle with her husband, a former tennis player, and his best friend, who, despite being awful at tennis, is her ex-boyfriend. How will she choose? Can Tom Holland play tennis? Watch the movie in late April to discover the answer to the first question.

Back to Black

• This biopic, releasing in May, starring Marisa Abela follows the life of hit singer Amy Winehouse from childhood up to the release of her album, Back to Black. Expect people to sing along in theaters and ruin it for everyone but themselves.

The Garfield Movie

• Yes, they made another Garfield movie. Yes, Chris Pratt is voicing Garfield. No, nobody’s happy about it. Coming late May.

Inside Out 2

• The writers of this film found the only way to raise the stakes from going inside the head of an emotionally unstable preteen: add chronic anxiety and college life! Releasing in June, Amy Poehler will join the original cast for what we can only hope to be an emotional rollercoaster of a movie.