20 Most Eagerly Awaited Movies of 2018

Each new year brings with it numerous films that moviegoers eagerly anticipate and 2018 will be no different.

In 2017, a few of the most anticipated movies were Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, Get Out and War for the Planet of the Apes.

All of those films went on to be massive critical and financial successes, with Get Out even earning a number of Oscar award nominations and War for the Planet of the Apes picking up one for Best Visual Effects.

With so many films to look forward to this year as well, Variety recently polled their “international team of critics” to see which films they were most anticipating in 2018 and we’ve adapted that list below.

Scroll down to see the most eagerly awaited movies of 2018.

Red Sparrow

Red Sparrow stars Jennifer Lawrence as a Russian spy who “falls for a CIA officer (Joel Edgerton) and considers becoming a double agent.

THE MAN WHO KILLED DON QUIXOTE

Widely considered to be the most infamous example of a fill being stuck in “development hell,” Terry Gilliam’s The Man Who Killed Don Quixote will finally be seen by audiences when it is finally released in 2018.

Bohemian Rhapsody

Rami Malek channels iconic Queen singer Freddie Mercury for this biopic that “focuses on a 15-year period from the formation of Queen and lead singer Freddie Mercury up to their performance at Live Aid in 1985, six years before Mercury’s death.”

BOY ERASED

Usually known for his work in front of the camera, Boy Erased is a  coming-of-age drama film directed by Joel Edgerton. It’s based on the book Boy Erased: A Memoir and stars Russell Crowe and Nicole Kidman.

First Man

First Man is the new film from La La Land writer/director Damien Chazelle. It once again partners him with Ryan Gosling, who stars in the film as Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon.

EVERYBODY KNOWS

This upcoming psychological thriller stars Javier Bardem and Penélope Cruz. It is directed by Asghar Farhadi, who previously directed the Oscar-winning films A Separation and The Salesman.

ANNIHILATION

Natalie Portman stars in this science fantasy film that incorporates action and horror to tell the post-apocalyptic story of a group of scientists and soldiers who journey into the unknown to find out what happened to another group that was lost.

BLACK KLANSMAN

This film starring John David Washington (son of Denzel Washington), Adam Driver, and Topher Grace is based on the true story of an African-American detective who went undercover to infiltrate the Colorado Springs, Colorado chapter of the KKK and eventually came to be made the head of it.

Halloween

Picking up some 40 years after the original film, this Halloween sequel/reboot will reportedly see Jamie Lee Curtis’ Laurie Strode once again face off against Michael Myers.

The film is being directed by David Gordon Green, who previously helmed films such as Pineapple Express and 2017s Stronger.

SUSPIRIA

Halloween is not the only reboot of a classic horror film coming to theaters in 2018, as Call Me by Your Name director Luca Guadagnino helmed this remake of the Dario Argento classic. It stars Dakota Johnson, Chloë Grace Moretz, Mia Goth, and Tilda Swinton.

ROMA

This upcoming family drama film is written and directed by Academy Award-winning director Alfonso Cuarón, who made the films Gravity, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and Children of Men.

The plot of the film is reported to chronicle “a year in the life of a middle-class family in Mexico City in the early 1970s.”

SHADOW

Shadow is the new film from the director of House of Flying Daggers, The Flowers of War, and 2017s Matt Damon-led period fantasy-action film The Great Wall. It is said to depict “the relationship between an exiled king and his general, as they plot to take back their realm.”

Isle of Dogs

Isle of Dogs is the second animated feature film by Royal Tenenbaums writer/director Wes Anderson. It is set in Japan and tells the story of “a boy’s odyssey in search of his dog.” 

HOTEL MUMBAI

This upcoming thriller stars Dev Patel, Armie Hammer, and Jason Isaacs. Based in the 2009 documentary Surviving Mumbai, it recounts “the Mumbai attacks in 2008 at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in India.”

READY PLAYER ONE

Based on the novel of the same name by Ernest Cline, this film directed by Steven Spielberg is an epic pop-culture odyssey through the eyes of Wade Watts, a teenager in search of hidden treasure inside of a digital wonderland called the OASIS.

HIGH LIFE

Twilght’s Robert Pattinson stars in this science fiction adventure drama film about a group of criminals who are “sent on an alternative energy finding mission in space.” It co-stars Mia Goth and Juliette Binoche.

A Wrinkle in Time

Ava DuVernay directs this epic fantasy-adventure film that stars Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon, Mindy Kaling, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Michael Peña, Storm Reid, Zach Galifianakis, and Chris Pine. It is adapted from Madeline L’Engle’s visionary fantasy novel about a young girl in search of her father.

WIDOWS

This movie about four widows who step up to finish the job after their armed robber partners are killed in a failed heist attempt stars Viola Davis, Elizabeth Debicki, Michelle Rodriguez, and Cynthia Erivo. Additionally, the supporting cast includes Daniel Kaluuya, Liam Neeson, Robert Duvall, Garret Dillahunt, Jon Bernthal, and Lukas Haas.

The Sisters Brothers

This upcoming western dark comedy stars John C. Reilly and Joaquin Phoenix as “the two notorious assassin brothers Eli and Charlie Sisters.” Reportedly, the plot follows the brothers “on the trail of a prospector who has stolen from their boss.”

SUNSET

Sunset is the new film from László Nemes, a 40-year-old filmmaker whose “2015 debut feature film Son of Saul, was screened in the main competition at the Cannes Film Festival that same year, where it won the Grand Prix.” While little is known about the film currently, it is said to be set in Budapest before World War I.