As the notion of January, February, and March being a cinematic wasteland begins to fade away, big movies are starting to hit theaters earlier and earlier every year. This month, for example, the two most anticipated movies by far are a pair of blockbuster animated sequels, one of which presumably marks the end of a wildly popular franchise trilogy, and early reviews indicate they’re both likely to be just as successful as their Certified Fresh predecessors. After that, we’ve got an effects-driven sci-fi adventure, an unusual horror-comedy-satire, and a tie between a remake of a Norwegian thriller and the sequel to a recent surprise horror hit. Read on for the Most Anticipated Movies of February, as decided by Want-to-See votes on RT and polls on our social media channels.
(Photo by Universal Pictures)
45,112 Want-to-See Votes
#1 pick by our Twitter fans, #2 pick by our Facebook fans, #3 pick by our Instagram fans
Opens February 22
The third and presumably final entry in the How to Train Your Dragon series tops the list for February, garnering the most Want-to-See votes on RT proper by a hefy margin — more than doubling runner-up The LEGO Movie 2. The primary voice cast, which includes Jay Baruchel, America Ferrera, Gerard Butler, and Cate Blanchett, all return for the sequel, which finds Hiccup (Baruchel) seeking out a rumored dragon sanctuary to help alleviate the overpopulation problem on his home island, Berk. Along the way, he and his friends encounter a white Night Fury and its fearsome dragon-hunter owner (voiced by F. Murray Abraham). So far, early reviews are declaring The Hidden World another triumph, so fans hoping for another winning tale are in for a treat.
(Photo by )
21,853 Want-to-See Votes
#2 pick by our Instagram and Twitter fans, #4 pick by our Facebook fans
Opens February 8
2014’s The LEGO Movie was a risky endeavor that paid off, thanks to its stunning animation, wacky sense of humor, imaginative storytelling, and infectious soundtrack. This month, Warner Bros. attempts to pull it off again, reuniting original voice cast Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, and Will Arnett with new characters played by Tiffany Haddish and Stephanie Beatriz. The story follows Master Builder Emmet (Pratt) as he embarks on a mission to rescue Lucy (Banks) and his friends from an evil queen from the Systar System. Early reviews say that while The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part doesn’t feel quite as fresh as the first film, it’s still a hilarious, heartfelt movie the whole family can enjoy.
(Photo by 20th Century Fox)
1,110 Want-to-See Votes
#1 pick by our Facebook fans, #3 pick by our Twitter fans, #5 pick by our Instagram fans
Opens February 14
James Cameron has been fascinated by the Japanese manga Battle Angel Alita for a long time, and it’s taken almost 20 years since he first became interested in adapting it into feature film for us to finally get it. That said, it’s Robert Rodriguez, not Cameron himself, behind the camera for this sci-fi tale that centers on a reanimated cyborg with no memory who slowly discovers the truth of her violent past. Reviews have been flowing in since its premiere, and while critics are split on the film’s storytelling, most are enthusiastic about the special effects work, in true James Cameron tradition.
(Photo by Netflix)
266 Want-to-See Votes
#1 pick by our Instagram fans
Premieres February 1
Director Dan Gilroy re-teams with stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Rene Russo, who powered his acclaimed thriller Nightcrawler, for this dark, Netflix-produced takedown of the art world. Gyllenhaal and Russo star as an art critic and a gallery owner, respectively, who become enamored with a series of paintings left behind by an undiscovered artist who died a mysterious death. Soon, the paintings begin taking on a life of their own, and the bodies start piling up. While Velvet Buzzsaw didn’t get a lot of attention from our Twitter or Facebook fans, the horror-satire was the #1 most anticipated film for our Instagram users, and it garnered the fourth highest number of Want-to-See votes on the site. Critics have been divided but mostly positive on the film, but you can see it for yourself on Netflix on the first of the month.
(Photo by Summit Entertainment)
109 Want-to-See Votes
#4 pick by our Twitter and Instagram fans, #5 pick by our Instagram fans
Opens February 8
Lastly, we have a tie between two thrillers, starting with the latest entry in Liam Neeson‘s late-career vigilante phase, which managed to earn #4 placement in our Instagram and Twitter polls and #5 in our Facebook poll. Here, he stars in a remake of 2014 Norwegian film In Order of Disappearance, playing a snowplow driver who takes matters into his own hands when his son is murdered by a local drug lord. Reviews have already begun to come in for Cold Pursuit, and so far they say it not only delivers on its promise of action but also has a fair amount of humor and a more sophisticated storytelling than might be expected.
(Photo by Universal Pictures)
161 Want-to-See Votes
#3 pick by our Facebook fans, #5 pick by our Twitter fans
Opens February 13
The other film to tie for fifth most anticipated film of February is this sequel to the surprise hit from 2017 that effectively mixed horror elements into a Groundhog Day-style narrative. Set two years after the first film, Happy Death Day 2U once again follows college coed Tree Gelbman (Jessica Rothe) as she is thrust back into the time loop she escaped in the first film. This time around, however, she discovers that her original killer has herself been murdered, and now Tree must figure out who the new killer is before it’s too late. It earned the fifth most Want-to-See votes on RT and entered the top 5 in both our Facebook and Twitter polls, but it’s the only film on this list that doesn’t already have a Tomatometer score. You’ll just have to wait until it comes out to find out how good a sequel it is.
