2020's must-see movies

Superheroes rock 

Birds Of Prey (7/2) is a follow-up of Suicide Squad; Vin Diesel is resurrected as a superhuman, biotech killing machine in Bloodshot (6/3); The New Mutants(3/4) fight to escape their past sins and save themselves; Scarlett Johansson plays Black Widow (1/5); Diana Prince comes into conflict with the Soviet Union during the Cold War in Wonder Woman 1984 (5/6); Jared Leto plays the titular, blood-craving antihero Morbius (31 /7); and The Eternals (6/11) introduces an immortal alien race created by the Celestials, to protect humanity from their evil counterparts, the Deviants.

Have a laugh

The satirical black comedy Jojo Rabbit (17/01) features a Hitler Youth who must then question his beliefs while dealing with the intervention of his imaginary friend, an idiotic version of Adolf Hitler; Ryan Reynolds realises he is a background character in an open world video game called Free City that will soon go offline in the sci-fi comedy Free Guy (10/7); and in Happiest Season (20/11) Kristen Stewart plans to propose to her girlfriend at her family’s annual holiday party when she discovers her partner hasn’t yet come out to her conservative parents.

On the music front

The troll tribes are each devoted to a different form of music: pop, funk, classical, techno, country and rock in Trolls World Tour (10/4); Dakota Johnson plays an aspiring music producer in the fast-paced world of Hollywood’s music scene in Covers (29/5); Bob’s Burgers: The Movie (17/7) is an animated musical adventure based on the TV series; a gay teenager pursues his dream of becoming a drag queen in Everybody’s Talking About Jamie (30/10); and Steven Spielberg directs a new West Side Story (18/12).

Monsters wreak havoc 

Mysterious creatures terrorise crew members aboard a research station located seven miles below the surface of the ocean in Underwater (10 /1); a young man learns how to survive a monster apocalypse in Monster Problems (17/4); a magical, sandy, grumpy creature grants wishes in Four Kids And It (24/4); the military fight giant monsters in Monster Hunter (4/9); and humanity’s fight for its future will see the two most powerful forces of nature on the planet collide in a spectacular battle for the ages in Godzilla Vs Kong (20/11).

Thrills and chills

Grudge (17 /1) is a reboot; the supernatural horror The Turning (31/1) is a deeply-haunting tale; Fantasy Island (14/2) is a supernatural based on the TV series; in this supernatural horror, Gretel & Hansel (21 /2) is a dark fantasy horror; a school in a small town harbours a dangerous secret in Antlers (14/4); a woman uncovers a mind-bending mystery in Antebellum (24/4); The Organ Donor (15/5) is a re-imagining of the horror film Saw; an agoraphobic child psychologist witnesses a crime in The Woman in The Window (15/5); Candyman (12 /6) is a “spiritual sequel” to the first film; a secretive group summons a terrifying supernatural entity in The Empty Man (7/8); James Wan directs Malignant (21/8); and an ordinary, everyday incident turns into most terrifying nightmare in Unhinged (28/8).

Spectacular fantasy

Animal guru Dolittle (10/1) encounters wondrous creatures; a young dragon teams up with an ice princess in Tabaluga (6/3) set in a magical world populated with elves, trolls, mermaids; the animated Onward (6/3) features centaurs, fauns, satyrs, unicorns, gnomes, sprites, goblins and all other mystical creatures; Wendy (13/3) is a re-imagining of J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan; an orphaned girl uncovers The Secret Garden (17/4); magic rules the science fantasy-adventure Artemis Fowl (29 /5); souls develop and gain passions before being transported to a newborn child in the animated Souls (19/6); a boy teams with a dragon and a forest brownie in Dragon Rider (4/9); The Witches (9/10) is a dark comedy; a warrior searches for the last dragon in the world in the animated Raya And The Last Dragon (27/ 11).

Looking for drama 

Judy (10/1) explores the last years of legendary Judy Garland; at the height of the First World War two soldiers must give their all to accomplish their mission by surviving the war to end all wars in 1917 (17/1); Les Misérables (17/1) is a provocative insight into the tensions between neighbourhood residents and police; a conscientious objector faces the threat of execution for refusing to fight for the Nazis during World War II in A Hidden Life (31/1); A Million Little Pieces (7/2) is a story of recovery and love, a story of friendship and hope; in Richard Jewell (21/2) a security guard discovers the plot that resulted in the Centennial Olympic Park bombing; King Of Staten Island (19/6) takes us into the life of Saturday Night Live star Pete Davidson; King Richard (27/11) follows the true story of the hardscrabble but iron-willed father of tennis champs Venus and Serena Williams.

Romantic encounters

A young woman spills all of her secrets to a stranger on a plane when she thinks it’s about to crash in Can You Keep a Secret? (3/1); Ordinary Love (14/2) is a story of love, survival and the epic questions life throws at every one of us; Queen & Slim (14/2) is a modern-day take on the legend of Bonnie and Clyde.

Animals step into the spotlight 

In the animated Arctic Justice (24/1) an Arctic Fox yearns to become one of the Arctic’s star husky couriers; Call Of The Wild (28/2) is based on the Jack London’s 1903 novel; the animated Scoob! (15/5) features characters from the Scooby-Doo franchise; a gorilla named Ivan lives in a cage at the Exit 8 Big Top Mall and Video Arcade with an ageing elephant named Stella and a dog named Bob with no recollection of how they got there in The One and Only Ivan (14/8).

But wait, there’s more

2020 will not be the same without sequels: Bad Boys For Life (24/1), The King’s Man (14/2),  A Quiet Place 2 (27/3), Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway (3/4),  Fast & Furious 9 (22/5), The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge On The Run (12/6), Minions: The Rise Of Gru (26/6), Top Gun: Maverick (3/7), Ghostbusters 2020 (10 /7), Escape Room 2 (21 /8), Venom 2 (2/10), Death On The Nile (9/10), The Conjuring 3 (11/10), Halloween Kills (30/ 10).

Futuristic adventures

Sonic The Hedgehog (21/2) is an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog who comes to Earth to escape villains seeking to harness his energy; The Invisible Man (13/3) is modern adaptation of H. G. Wells classic; Dune (18/12) is the first of a planned two-part adaptation of Frank Herbert 1965; the fate of a futuristic war rests upon one in The Tomorrow War (25/12).

Action!

Niki Caro brings the epic tale of China’s legendary warrior to life in Disney’s live-action Mulan (27/3); No Time to Die (3/4) features Daniel Craig in his fifth outing as the MI6 agent James Bond; Christopher Nolan’s Tenet (17/7) is a massive, innovative, action blockbuster; Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt team up in Jungle Cruise (24/7).

Women take control 

Bombshell (24/1) tells the explosive story of the women who brought down a powerful media mogul; Harriet (7/2) is based on the life of abolitionist Harriet Tubman who escaped slavery and led hundreds of enslaved people to freedom; Little Women (21/2) is the eighth film adaptation of the 1868 novel; the wife of a famed artist steps into the spotlight herself in The Artist’s Wife (28/2); Jane Austen’s beloved comedy about finding your equal and earning your happy ending is reimagined in Emma (6/3); with their partners away serving in Afghanistan, a group of women find themselves at the centre of a media sensation and global movement in Military Wives (20/3).

Read more about 2020 film releases in South Africa.