Warner Bros. Pictures has released its jam-packed, epic movie schedule for the year.
With highly anticipated titles including “Dune: Part Two,” “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” and “Joker: Folie Á Deux,” the studio is gearing up for another big year in cinema following a 2023 that saw some of Hollywood’s biggest global success stories. “Wonka,” a now beloved prequel to Roald Dahl’s classic, continues to inspire moviegoers to revisit a world of pure imagination, and has surpassed $500 million at the global box office less than two months after its release. And who can forget “Barbie,” Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie’s homage to the classic doll that tickled the world pink to the tune of $1.4 billion (not to mention tugged at most everyone’s heartstrings)?
On January 8, Encore Films, through Warner Bros. Pictures, released Studio Ghibli’s “The Boy and the Heron,” the first Hayao Miyazaki film to be shown on the big screen in the Philippines. The film recently won the Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature and is one of the frontrunners for the Academy Award in the same category.
Check out what else Warner Bros. Pictures has in store for 2024.
THE BOY AND THE HERON (opened January 8)
Studio Ghibli’s and Hayao Miyazaki’s award-winning and record-breaking anime film “The Boy and The Heron” is a big fantastical film that follows a boy named Mahito (voiced by Soma Santoki in the Japanese version, and Luca Padovan in the English version) who enters a magical world with a talking grey heron (Masaki Suda, Robert Pattinson) after finding an abandoned tower in his new town. Yearning for his mother, Mahito ventures into a world shared by the living and the dead where death comes to an end and life finds a new beginning. “The Boy and The Heron” is a semi-autobiographical fantasy about life, death, creation and a tribute to friendship that can only come from the mind of Hayao Miyazaki.
TOKYO REVENGERS 2: BLOODY HALLOWEEN – DESTINY (opened January 17)
From the manga series, this gangster story stars Takumi Kitamura as Takemichi, who goes back in time to his school days to prevent the gang who killed his girlfriend.
DUNE: PART ONE Re-Issue (February 7, select IMAX locations)
A mythic and emotionally charged hero’s journey, “Dune” tells the story of Paul Atreides, a brilliant and gifted young man born into a great destiny beyond his understanding, who must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe to ensure the future of his family and his people. As malevolent forces explode into conflict over the planet’s exclusive supply of the most precious resource in existence – a commodity capable of unlocking humanity’s greatest potential – only those who can conquer their fear will survive.
TOKYO REVENGERS 2: BLOODY HALLOWEEN – DECISIVE BATTLE (February 7)
The intense battle between former friends, which poses a threat to the collapse of Tokyo Manji Gang, has finally begun. Mikey sets out to bring back Baji, who has defected to the enemy, Valhalla. Kazutora, who remains with Valhalla, aims to crush Tokyo Manji Gang and kill Mikey. The tragic past that tore apart the founding members of Tokyo Manji Gang and broke the bonds between the former comrades comes to light. Embracing their respective convictions, will Takemichi be able to prevent the worst outcome and create a brighter future? And can he once again save Hinata and the future of his friends?
DUNE: PART TWO (February 28)
“Dune: Part Two” will explore the mythic journey of Paul Atreides as he unites with Chani and the Fremen while on a warpath of revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family. Facing a choice between the love of his life and the fate of the known universe, he endeavors to prevent a terrible future only he can foresee. Directed by Denis Villeneuve. Stars Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, Dave Bautista, Christopher Walken, Stellan Skarsgård, Javier Bardem
THE COLOR PURPLE (March 6, SM exclusive)
Produced by Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg, Scott Sanders and Quincy Jones, “The Color Purple” is a bold new take on the classic story of love and resilience, adapted from the beloved novel and the Broadway musical. Torn apart from her sister and her children, Celie faces many hardships in her life, but ultimately learns to find extraordinary strength in the unbreakable bonds of a new kind of sisterhood. Directed by Blitz Bazawule. Stars Taraji P. Henson, Danielle Brooks, Colman Domingo, Corey Hawkins, Gabriella Wilson “H.E.R.”, Halle Bailey, Fantasia Barrino
SPY X FAMILY CODE: WHITE (March 13)
Loid Forger (Takuya Eguchi), codenamed Twilight, receives an order to step down from Operation Strix. To keep his assignment and continue with his mission, Loid helps Anya (Atsumi Tanezaki) win a cooking competition at Eden Academy by making the principal’s favorite pastry. To perfect the recipe, the Forgers travel to the pastry’s origin, where they unintentionally set off a series of events that could threaten world peace.
GODZILLA X KONG: THE NEW EMPIRE (March 30)
The epic battle continues! Legendary Pictures’ cinematic Monsterverse follows up the explosive showdown of “Godzilla vs. Kong” with an all-new adventure that pits the almighty Kong and the fearsome Godzilla against a colossal undiscovered threat hidden within our world, challenging their very existence – and our own. “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” delves further into the histories of these Titans and their origins, as well as the mysteries of Skull Island and beyond, while uncovering the mythic battle that helped forge these extraordinary beings and tied them to humankind forever. Directed by Adam Wingard. Stars Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, Dan Stevens, Kaylee Hottle, Alex Ferns, Fala Chen
CHALLENGERS (April 24, Ayala exclusive)
From visionary filmmaker Luca Guadagnino, “Challengers” stars Zendaya as Tashi Duncan, a former tennis prodigy turned coach and a force of nature who makes no apologies for her game on and off the court. Married to a champion on a losing streak (Mike Faist), Tashi’s strategy for her husband’s redemption takes a surprising turn when he must face off against the washed-up Patrick (Josh O’Connor) – his former best friend and Tashi’s former boyfriend. As their pasts and presents collide, and tensions run high, Tashi must ask herself, what will it cost to win.
FURIOSA: A MAD MAX SAGA (May 22)
As the world fell, young Furiosa is snatched from the Green Place of Many Mothers and falls into the hands of a great Biker Horde led by the Warlord Dementus. Sweeping through the Wasteland, they come across the Citadel presided over by The Immortan Joe. While the two Tyrants war for dominance, Furiosa must survive many trials as she puts together the means to find her way home. Directed by George Miller. Stars Anya Taylor-Joy, Chris Hemsworth, Alyla Browne, Tom Burke
THE WATCHERS (June 5)
Directed by Ishana Night Shyamalan (and co-produced by her father M. Night Shyamalan), “The Watchers” follows Mina, a 28-year-old artist who gets stranded in an expansive, untouched forest in western Ireland. When Mina finds shelter, she unknowingly becomes trapped alongside three strangers that are watched and stalked by mysterious creatures each night. Stars Dakota Fanning, Georgina Campbell, Oliver Finnegan, Olwen Fouere
COMPANION (July 10)
TWISTERS (July 17)
This sequel to the 1996 film “Twister” stars Glen Powell, Anthony Ramos and Daisy Edgar-Jones. Directed by Lee Isaac Chung
TRAP (July 31)
An original thriller from renowned filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan, starring Josh Hartnett, Ariel Donahue, Saleka Shyamalan, Alison Pill, Hayley Mills
BEETLEJUICE 2 (September 4)
Michael Keaton returns to the titular role in the long-awaited sequel to Tim Burton’s award-winning “Beetlejuice.” Also stars Winona Ryder, Catherine O’Hara, Justin Theroux, Monica Bellucci, Arthur Conti, Jenna Ortega, Willem Dafoe. Directed by Tim Burton
JOKER: FOLIE Á DEUX (October 2)
Directed by Todd Phillips, this sequel stars Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson, Catherine Keener, Zazie Beetz
ALTO KNIGHTS (November 13)
“Alto Knights” follows two of New York’s most notorious organized crime bosses, Frank Costello and Vito Genovese, and how their separate paths to power place them on a deadly collision course. Directed by Barry Levinson. Stars Robert De Niro, Debra Messing, Kathrine Narducci
RED ONE (November 13)
This action-adventure film stars Dwayne Johnson, Chris Evans, Kiernan Shipka, Lucy Liu, Mary Elizabeth Ellis, J. K. Simmons, Nick Kroll, Kristofer Hivju. Directed by Jake Kasdan.
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE WAR OF ROHIRRIM (December 13)
Set 183 years before the events chronicled in the original trilogy of films, “The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim” tells the fate of the House of Helm Hammerhand, the legendary King of Rohan. A sudden attack by Wulf, a clever and ruthless Dunlending lord seeking vengeance for the death of his father, forces Helm and his people to make a daring last stand in the ancient stronghold of the Hornburg – a mighty fortress that will later come to be known as Helm’s Deep. Finding herself in an increasingly desperate situation, Hera, the daughter of Helm, must summon the will to lead the resistance against a deadly enemy intent on their total destruction. This animated adventure is directed by Kenji Kamiyama and stars Brian Cox, Gaia Wise, Luke Pasqualino, Miranda Otto
