Thanks to some predictably big titles (Avatar: The Way of Water) and some surprise hits (M3GAN), movie theaters are seeing great signs of post-pandemic recovery, and February is looking to continue that trend. As per usual, there were one or two titles we fully expected to make the top five, but there were also a couple of surprises. Read on for the most anticipated movies of February!
#1 on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube
Release Date: February 17
If there was any doubt that the Marvel moviemaking machine was somehow losing ground, we would point to every monthly poll during which one of their films premiered. Each new installment of the MCU inevitably rises to the top of the list, and this month is no different. It probably helps that Quantumania promises to advance the multiverse storyline that was teased all through Phase 4, and fans are here for it.
Cocaine Bear (2023)
#2 on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube
Release Date: February 24
One of the big surprises on this month’s list is this little gem, which, if you didn’t know, is based (however loosely) on true events. As the story goes, back in 1985, a bear in the Georgia woods overdosed on a duffle bag full of cocaine that had been dropped by drug smugglers from a plane. While the actual cocaine bear never killed anyone, writer Jimmy Warden and director Elizabeth Banks wisely spotted an opportunity ripe for absurdity and took the story to ridiculous new heights. Based on the results of our social media polls, it seems like they made the right decision.
Knock at the Cabin (2023)
#3 on Facebook and YouTube, #4 on Instagram and Twitter
Release Date: February 3
M. Night Shyamalan has been slowly earning fans back after a notorious series of critical flops, and his latest film, an adaptation of a novel about a family terrorized by a group of strangers with bizarre motivations, looks to be one of his most promising projects in recent memory. Dave Bautista is already earning great reviews for his turn as one of the unexpected intruders, so this could be the first big hit of the month.
Luther: The Fallen Sun (2023)
#3 on Instagram and Twitter, #4 on Facebook, #5 on YouTube
Release Date: February 24 (limited), streaming on Netflix on March 10
The British crime thriller series Luther was a big hit for a certain subset of fans, thanks in large part to the magnetic central performance of Idris Elba as the title character. It ran for five seasons before ending in 2019, and fans clamored for more, and we now have a feature film follow-up, which pits Elba’s now-disgraced detective against a serial killer terrorizing London. The film will see a theatrical release in late February before heading to Netflix in March, and fans are clearly on board to catch the flick on the big screen.
#4 on YouTube; #5 on Facebook and Twitter
Release Date: February 15 (limited)
This is what happens when a beloved character is made available to all and some twisted yahoos decide to have some fun with it. After A.A. Milne’s first Winnie-the-Pooh book entered the public domain in 2022, writer-director Rhys Frake-Waterfield thought, “What if Pooh and Piglet reverted back to their primal animal instincts after Christopher Robin left for college?” The result is this tongue-in-cheek horror film that follows the merry pair as they develop a taste for blood and embark on a rampage, so of course it’s one of our most anticipated films.
Thumbnail by ©Marvel Studios
