TAGGED AS: movies
It’s February, and love is in the air… even if that’s not quite the case in movie theaters. Neither of the two big films scheduled to open on Valentine’s Day are necessarily romantic in nature, and the one film that made this month’s list that would qualify is a neon-colored horror comedy. Besides those, we also have a meta spy comedy and Joel Coen’s first solo venture without his brother. Here are the five most anticipated movies arriving in February 2024!
No. 1
Madame Web (2024)
#1 on Instagram, X, and YouTube; #2 on Facebook
Release Date: February 14
Sony is set to drop its latest installment of its Spider-Man-adjacent cinematic universe, this time focusing on a character from the comics who has seen a few different iterations. The most prominent version of Madame Web modern audiences may be familiar with is the old woman from the 1990s Spider-Man animated TV series, a being from another dimension who helped train Spider-Man. In this big-screen version, the character is a 20-something New York paramedic (played by Dakota Johnson) who acquires the power to see into the future. Do we foresee box office success? That remains unclear, but at least we know fans on our social media channels are overwhelmingly interested in seeing for themselves.
No. 2
Lisa Frankenstein (2024)
#2 on Instagram and X, #3 on Facebook, #4 on YouTube
Release Date: February 9
Juno and Jennifer’s Body writer Diablo Cody’s latest script sees her dipping back into the world of wry humor and genre thrills with this horror comedy inspired by the classic Mary Shelley novel. Directed by Zelda Williams (as in, the daughter of Robin), the film stars Kathryn Newton as an early ’90s teen infatuated with the dead Victorian era boy buried in her back yard. When he magically comes back to life, a bit worse for wear, the two of them embark on an unlikely romance. The era-appropriate, neon-soaked vibes and cheeky repartee were enough to land this one at No. 2 on this list.
No. 3
Bob Marley: One Love (2024)
#1 on Facebook, #3 on Instagram and YouTube
Release Date: February 14
Not far behind Lisa Frankenstein is this biopic of the legendary reggae artist directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green, whose last film, 2021’s King Richard, netted Will Smith an Oscar for Best Actor. The actor tasked with filling Bob Marley’s shoes is Kingsley Ben-Adir, who previously portrayed another Black icon, Malcolm X, in Regina King’s One Night in Miami. This might not be your typical Valentine’s Day date flick, but fans on social media are still looking forward to seeing it.
No. 4
Argylle (2024)
#2 on YouTube, #4 on Facebook and Instagram, #5 on X
Release Date: February 2
Considering the pedigree of the cast, the director, and the premise of the film, it’s a little surprising Argylle isn’t higher on the list this month. The action-comedy from Matthew Vaughn (Kick-Ass, Kingsman, X-Men: First Class) stars Bryce Dallas Howard as a spy novel writer who finds herself wrapped up in international intrigue when her stories begin to mirror real-life events a little too closely. The supporting cast includes Henry Cavill, Sam Rockwell, Bryan Cranston, and Samuel L. Jackson, just to name a few, and while critics haven’t been too fond of the film so far, audiences have been more forgiving, and it lands in the fourth spot for February.
No. 5
Drive-Away Dolls (2024)
#4 on X, #5 on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube
Release Date: February 23
Finally, rounding out the list this month is a Coen brother joint — yes, “brother,” as in singular. After Joel Coen made his solo debut with 2021’s The Tragedy of Macbeth, Ethan Coen now follows suit with this comedy about a pair of friends played by Margaret Qualley and Geraldine Viswanathan who encounter unexpected trouble from a group of criminals while on a road trip to Florida. This one also has a pretty impressive supporting cast, which includes people like Pedro Pascal, Colman Domingo, Beanie Feldstein, and Matt Damon, and it is one f the Coens, after all, so it’s nota surprise to see it land somehwere in the top five.
Thumbnail by Jessica Kourkounis/©Marvel/©Columbia Pictures