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Stefan's Naturally Aspirated Blog

Film Release Highlights for 2020

09 January 202019:29

Stefan Karlsson

2020 Film ReleasesBest in EntertainmentFilm Release Highlights for 2020

2019 was largely a Disney / Marvel kind of year - with lots of franchise live-action re-makes alongside plenty of the usual super-hero fare - nicely book-ended by the customary Christmas Star Wars release.

Funnily though none of the Disney films made it into my top 10 favourites for the year - which was an odd mish-mash of genres - as below. Besides Star Wars Skywalker, I also caught Cats and Little Women over the Christmas break - both of which I enjoyed enormously. I really don’t get the scathing criticism of Cats - if you like the musical (which I do) then this is a more lavish and artfully staged version of that with some enhancements in the narrative that pin the whole thing together more elegantly - I guess it’s a cult classic in the making then.

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Joker
The Favourite
Knives Out
The Irishman
Midsommar
Us
Aeronauts
Booksmart
John Wick : Chapter 3 – Parabellum

10 Films I'm Most Looking Forward To in 2020

2020 looks like it's going to be a pretty decent year for cinema, albeit there really aren't quite as many heavy hitters as last year, and the number of films that are being shoe-horned into the January/February schedule - I suppose in the final run-up to awards season, is quite staggering this year.

After the disappointment of the last James Bond outing I really hope they've got the right formula back again - where the best Daniel Craig Bond is most certainly 2006's Casino Royale, definitely not 2012's Skyfall. I'm hoping that 'No Time To Die' sees Bond back on form.

We also have a number of great looking Director features and some intriguingly leftfield indie productions. I put off seeing Midsommar and 'Us' last year for the longest time, as I'm not really the biggest fan of horror, but the horror genre is producing some truly innovative cinema these days - here's hoping we get one or more gems in 2020.

I've already caught Jojo Rabbit this year which I really loved - I don't understand the criticism of that one either - possibly some people just don't get Taika's sense of humour. I look forward to revivals of the Ghostbuster and Top Gun franchises - and Denis Villeneuve's take on Dune will hopefully be the Sci-fi Christmas Blockbuster we will all come to love.

Here are 10 of the films I'm most excited to see this year :

(By release date)

1917 - Sam Mendes (Amblin Partners / DreamWorks) [January]
The Lighthouse - Robert Eggers (A24, Regency Enterprises, Focus Features) [January]
Parasite - Bong Joon-ho (Barunson E&A, CJ Entertainment) [February]
Mulan - Niki Caro (Walt Disney Pictures) [March]
James Bond : No Time to Die - Cary Joji Fukunaga (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Eon Productions, United Artists, Universal Pictures) [April]
Ghostbusters: Afterlife - Jason Reitman (Columbia Pictures, Bron Creative, Sony) [July]
Tenet - Christopher Nolan (Syncopy Inc., Warner Bros. Pictures) [July]
Top Gun: Maverick - Joseph Kosinski (Skydance Media, Don Simpson/Jerry Bruckheimer Films Tencent Pictures, Paramount Pictures) [July]
Last Night in Soho - Edgar Wright (Focus Features, Working Title Films, Film4 Productions) [September]
Dune - Denis Villeneuve (Legendary Pictures, Warner Bros. Pictures) [December]

January

1917 - Sam Mendes (Amblin Partners / DreamWorks)
Amanda - Mikhael Hers (Nord-Ouest Films / Arte France Cinéma / Canal+)
Amulet - Romola Garai (Head Gear Films / Kreo Films FZ)
Bad Boys For Life - Adil El Arbi & Bilall Fallah (2.0 Entertainment / Columbia Pictures)
Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blache - Pamela Green (Be Natural Productions)
A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood - Marielle Heller (TriStar Pictures / Tencent Pictures / Sony)
Bombshell - Jay Roach (Annapurna Pictures / Lionsgate)
Chhapaak - Meghna Gulzar (Fox Star Studios)
Come Away - Brenda Chapman (Endurance Media / Fred Films)
Detective Chinatown 3 - Sicheng Chen (MM2 Entertainment / CMC Pictures Holdings)
Dream Horse - Euros Lyn (RAW, Bleecker Street Media, Sony)
Everything: The Real Thing Story - Simon Sheridan (Baker Street MM Productions, Screenbound Internationa, BBC)
Falling - Viggo Mortensen (Perceval Pictures, GEM Entertainment)
The Father - Florian Zeller (Trademark Films, Film4, Lionsgate)
The Gentlemen - Guy Ritchie (Miramax, Entertainment Film Distributors)
The Grudge - Nicolas Pesce (Screen Gems, Sony)
Herself - Phyllida Lloyd (Element Pictures, Youplanet Pictures)
A Hidden Life - Terrence Malick (Studio Babelsberg, UGC Distribution)
In the Line of Duty - Steven C Miller (Solution Entertainment Group, Signature Entertainment)
Ironbark - Dominic Cooke (FilmNation Entertainment)
Jojo Rabbit - Taika Waititi (TSG Entertainment, Fox Searchlight Pictures)
Just Mercy - Destin Daniel Cretton (Endeavor Content, Warner Bros. Pictures)
The Last Thing He Wanted - Dee Rees (Elevated Films, Netflix)
The Lighthouse - Robert Eggers (A24, Regency Enterprises, Focus Features)
The Man Who Killed Don Quixote - Terry Gilliam (FilmNation Entertainment, Film4, Fox Searchlight Pictures)
Midnight Traveller - Hassan Fazili (Old Chilly Pictures, Oscilloscope)
The Nest - Sean Durkin (BBC Films, Element Films, FilmNation Entertainment)
Never, Rarely, Sometimes, Always - Eliza Hittman (Tango Entertainment, BBC Films, Focus Features)
No Fathers in Kashmir - Ashvin Kumar (Alipur Films)
Paw Patrol: Ready, Race, Rescue - Charles E Bastien (Guru, Nickelodeon Productions, Viacom Media Networks)
Perfect Nanny - Lucie Borleteau (Why Not Productions, Canal+, StudioCanal)
The Personal History of David Copperfield - Armando Iannucci (FilmNation Entertainment Film4, Lionsgate)
Plus One - Andrew Rhymer & Jeff Chan (Red Hour Productions, Studio71, RLJE Films)
Possessor - Brandon Cronenberg (Rhombus Media, Rook Films, Elevation Pictures)
Present. Perfect - Zhu Shenge (Burn The Film, Tender Madness Pictures)
Queen & Slim - Melina Matsoukas (3BlackDot, Bron Creative, Universal Pictures)
The Rhythm Section - Reed Morano (Global Road Entertainment, Eon Productions, Paramount Pictures)
Richard Jewell - Clint Eastwood (Malpaso Productions, Appian Way Productions, Warner Bros. Pictures)
The Runaways - Richard Heap (Slackjaw Film)
Seberg - Benedict Andrews (Automatik, Bradley Pilz Productions, Amazon Studios, Universal Pictures)
Show Me the Picture: The Story of Jim Marshall - Alfred George Bailey (Bailey Kennedy Production, Sampsonic Media)
Street Dancer 3D - Remo D'Souza (T-Series, AA Films)
Talking About Trees - Suhaib Gasmelbari (Agat Films & Cie, Météores Films)
Tanhaji - Om Raut (Ajay Devgn Ffilms, T-Series, Bakrania Media)
The Turning - Floria Sigismondi (DreamWorks Pictures, Amblin Entertainment, Vertigo Entertainment, Universal Pictures)
Uncut Gems - Josh Safdie & Benny Safdie (Elara Pictures, A24, Netflix)
Waves - Trey Edward Shults (A24)
Weathering with You - Makoto Shinkai (CoMix Wave Films, Story Inc, Toho)

February

Birds of Prey: And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn - Cathy Yan (DC Films, Warner Bros. Pictures)
Bloodshot - Dave Wilson (Columbia Pictures, Cross Creek Pictures, Sony)
Brahms: The Boy II - William Brent Bell (Lakeshore Entertainment, STX Entertainment)
The Call of the Wild - Chris Sanders (3 Arts Entertainment, 20th Century Fox)
Colour Out of Space - Richard Stanley (XYZ Films, ACE Pictures Entertainment, RLJE Films)
Daniel Isn't Real - Adam Egypt Mortimer (SpectreVision, ACE Pictures, Samuel Goldwyn Films)
Dark Waters - Todd Haynes (Participant, Killer Films, Focus Features)
Dolittle - Stephen Gaghan (Media Rights Capital, Team Downey, Universal Pictures)
Downhill - Nat Faxon & Jim Rash (Likely Story, Fox Searchlight Pictures)
Emma - Autumn de Wilde (Perfect World Pictures, Working Title Films, Focus Features)
End of the Century - Lucio Castro (Alsina 427, JWProductions)
Fantasy Island - Jeff Wadlow (Columbia Pictures, Blumhouse Productions, Sony)
First Love - Takashi Miike (OLM, Inc.)
Greed - Michael Winterbottom (Sony Pictures, Film4 Productions, Revolution Films)
A Guide to Second Date Sex - Rachel Hirons (Addington Films)
Incidental Characters - Benjamin Verrall (Toffee Hammer Productions Limited)
The Invisible Man - Leigh Whannell (Goalpost Pictures, Blumhouse Productions, Universal Pictures)
The King's Man - Matthew Vaughn (20th Century Fox, Marv Films)
Like a Boss - Miguel Arteta (Artists First, Paramount Pictures)
Little Joe - Jessica Hausner (Coop99, Essential Filmproduktion, BBC Films, BFI Distribution)
Midnight Family - Luke Lorentzen (Hedgehog Films, No Ficción)
Mr Jones - Agnieszka Holland (Film Produkcja, Crab Apple Films)
One Piece: Stampede - Takashi Otsuka (Toei Animation)
Parasite - Bong Joon-ho (Barunson E&A, CJ Entertainment)
Portrait of a Lady on Fire - Céline Sciamma (Lilies Films, Pyramide Films)
The Public - Emilio Estevez (Hammerstone Studios, Living the Dream Films, Universal Pictures)
Push - Fredrik Gertten (WG Film, Cinema Delicatessen)
Second Spring - Andy Kelleher (B-612 Films, Neat Films)
Sonic The Hedgehog - Jeff Fowler (Sega Sammy Group, Paramount Pictures)
To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before: P.S. I Still Love You - Michael Fimognari (Ace Entertainment, Netflix)
True History of the Kelly Gang - Justin Kurzel (Porchlight Films, Daybreak Pictures, Film4)
Underwater - William Eubank (20th Century Fox, Chernin Entertainment, TSG Entertainment)
Villain - Philip Barantini (Ascendant Films, Vertigo Releasing)
Wendy - Benh Zeitlin (The Department of Motion Pictures, Court 13 Pictures, Fox Searchlight Pictures)

March

And Then We Danced - Levan Akin (French Quarter Film)
Bacurau - Juliano Dornelles & Kleber Mendonça Filho (CinemaScópio Produções, SBS Productions)
Escape from Pretoria - Francis Annan (South Australian Film Corporation, Arclight Films)
(Finding) the Way Back - Gavin O'Connor (Warner Bros. Pictures, Bron Creative)
Military Wives - Peter Cattaneo (42, Ingenious Media, Bleecker Street Media)
Misbehaviour - Philippa Lowthorpe (Left Bank Pictures, Pathé, BBC Films, 20th Century Fox)
Mulan - Niki Caro (Walt Disney Pictures)
My Spy - Peter Segal (MWM Studios, STXfilms)
Onward - Dan Scanlon (Walt Disney Pictures, Pixar Animation Studios)
The Painted Bird - Václav Marhoul (PubRes, Silver Screen, Bioscop)
Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway - Will Gluck (Columbia Pictures, Animal Logic, 2.0 Entertainment, Sony)
A Quiet Place 2 - John Krasinski (Platinum Dunes, Paramount Pictures)
Radioactive - Marjane Satrapi (Shoebox Films, Working Title Films, StudioCanal)
Resistance - Jonathan Jakubowicz (Pantaleon Films, Vertical Media, IFC Films, Warner Bros. Pictures)
The Roads Not Taken - Sally Potter (BBC Films, BFI, Bleecker Street, Focus Features)
Trolls World Tour - Walt Dohrn & David P. Smith (DreamWorks Animation, Universal Pictures)
The Truth - Hirokazu Koreeda (3B Productions, Bunbuku, GAGA Pictures)

April

Antebellum - Gerard Bush & Christopher Renz (QC Entertainment, Lionsgate)
Antlers - Scott Cooper (Double Dare You Productions, Fox Searchlight Pictures)
James Bond : No Time to Die - Cary Joji Fukunaga (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Eon Productions, United Artists, Universal Pictures)
Les misérables - Ladj Ly (SRAB Films, Rectangle Productions, Canal+, Le Pacte)
The New Mutants - Josh Boone (20th Century Fox, Marvel Entertainment)
Promising Young Woman - Emerald Fennell (LuckyChap Entertainment, FilmNation Entertainment, Focus Features)
Rocks - Sarah Gavron (Fable Pictures, BFI, Film 4)
The Secret Garden - Marc Munden (Sidney Kimmel Entertainment, STXfilms, StudioCanal)

May

Artemis Fowl - Kenneth Branagh (Walt Disney Pictures, TriBeCa Productions, TSG Entertainment)
Black Widow - Cate Shortland (Marvel Studios, Walt Disney Studios)
Blithe Spirit - Edward Hall (Protagonist Pictures, Fred Films, British Lion Films, StudioCanal)
Deerskin - Quentin Dupieux (Atelier de production, Diaphana Distribution)
Fast & Furious 9 - Justin Lin (One Race Films, Chris Morgan Productions, Universal Pictures)
Greyhound - Aaron Schneider (Columbia Pictures, Stage 6 Films, Sony)
Saint Maud - Rose Glass (Escape Plan Productions, Film4 Productions, BFI, StudioCanal)
Saw 9 : The Organ Donor - Darren Lynn Bousman (Twisted Pictures, Lionsgate)
Scoob! - Tony Cervone (Warner Animation Group, Atlas Entertainment, Hanna-Barbera Productions, Warner Bros. Pictures)
The Woman in the Window - Joe Wright (Fox 2000 Pictures, Scott Rudin Productions, 20th Century Fox)

June

Candyman - Nia DaCosta (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, BRON Creative, Universal Pictures)
In The Heights - Lin-Manuel Miranda (Likely Story, Scott Sanders Productions, Warner Bros. Pictures)
Soul - Pete Docter & Kemp Powers (Walt Disney Pictures, Pixar Animation Studios)
Wonder Woman 1984 - Patty Jenkins (DC Films, Atlas Entertainment, Warner Bros. Pictures)

July

Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar - Josh Greenbaum (Gloria Sanchez Productions, Lionsgate)
Free Guy - Shawn Levy (Maximum Effort, 21 Laps Entertainment, 20th Century Fox)
Ghostbusters: Afterlife - Jason Reitman (Columbia Pictures, Bron Creative, Sony)
Jungle Cruise - Jaume Collet-Serra (Walt Disney Pictures, Seven Bucks Productions)
Minions 2 : The Rise of Gru - Kyle Balda & Brad Ableson (Illumination, Universal Pictures)
Morbius - Daniel Espinosa (Columbia Pictures, Marvel Entertainment, Sony)
Tenet - Christopher Nolan (Syncopy Inc., Warner Bros. Pictures)
Top Gun: Maverick - Joseph Kosinski (Skydance Media, Don Simpson/Jerry Bruckheimer Films
Tencent Pictures, Paramount Pictures)

August

Bill & Ted Face the Music - Dean Parisot (Orion Pictures, United Artists Releasing)
Infinite - Antoine Fuqua (Di Bonaventura Pictures, Paramount Pictures)
Respect - Liesl Tommy (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Bron Creative, Universal Pictures)

September

The Conjuring 3: The Devil Made Me Do It - Michael Chaves (New Line Cinema, Warner Bros. Pictures)
Last Night in Soho - Edgar Wright (Focus Features, Working Title Films, Film4 Productions)
The Many Saints of Newark - Alan Taylor (New Line Cinema, HBO Films, Warner Bros. Pictures)

October

Death On The Nile - Kenneth Branagh (Kinberg Genre, The Mark Gordon Company, 20th Century Fox)
Everybody's Talking About Jamie - Jonathan Butterell (Regency Enterprises, Film4 Productions, 20th Century Fox)
Halloween Kills - David Gordon Green (Miramax, Blumhouse Productions, Universal Pictures)
Venom 2 - Andy Serkis (Columbia Pictures, Marvel Entertainment, Sony)
The Witches - Robert Zemeckis (Esperanto Filmoj, ImageMovers, The Jim Henson Company, Warner Bros. Pictures)

November

Deep Water - Adrian Lyne (Regency Enterprises, 20th Century Fox)
The Eternals - Chloé Zhao (Marvel Studios, Walt Disney Studios)
Godzilla vs. Kong - Adam Wingard (Legendary Pictures, Warner Bros. Pictures)
Raya and the Last Dragon - Paul Briggs & Dean Wellins (Walt Disney Pictures, Walt Disney Animation Studios)

December

A Boy Called Christmas - Gil Kenan (Blueprint Pictures, Netflix, Studiocanal)
Coming 2 America - Craig Brewer (Eddie Murphy Productions, Paramount Pictures)
Dune - Denis Villeneuve (Legendary Pictures, Warner Bros. Pictures)
Uncharted - Dan Trachtenberg (Columbia Pictures, Sony)
West Side Story - Steven Spielberg (Amblin Entertainment, 20th Century Fox)

Next: The Future of Music 2020