The previous post has been updated as of 10/16/2020.
It’s been a wild year for the film industry. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve likely heard tell of the relentless release date shifts; nearly all of the year’s highly-anticipated blockbusters were pushed back to some time in 2021, if not, further. Even a bunch of the year’s mid-level budgeted productions were delayed in hopes of capitalizing on what will hopefully be bigger moviegoing crowds come next year. That’s not to say the remaining few months of the year has absolutely nothing to offer. As of writing this article, there are still plenty of exciting motion pictures to look forward to in 2020.
Although, if you’re like me, you’re a little lost on what exactly is still releasing this calendar year. For both our sakes (as well as our sanity), I did some research and managed to compile a list of the most notable films still hitting screens in 2020. Check out the updated (at least for now) list of 2020 movie release dates:
October
The War With Grandpa (Oct. 9)
Director: Tim Hill
Plot: Upset that he has to share the room he loves with his grandfather (Robert De Niro), Peter (Oakes Fegley) decides to declare war in an attempt to get it back.
Rated: PG (Some Thematic Elements|Rude Humor|Language)
Release: Theatrical (Wide)
Honest Thief (Oct. 16)
Director: Mark Williams
Plot: Wanting to lead an honest life, a notorious bank robber (Liam Neeson) turns himself in, only to be double-crossed by two ruthless FBI agents.
Rated: PG-13 (Crude References|Brief Strong Language|Strong Violence)
Release: Theatrical (Wide)
The Trial of the Chicago 7 (Oct. 16)
Director: Aaron Sorkin
Plot: The story of 7 people on trial stemming from various charges surrounding the uprising at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois.
Rated: R (Language Throughout|Drug Use|Bloody Images|Some Violence)
Release: Netflix
Rebecca (Oct. 21)
Director: Ben Wheatley
Plot: A young newlywed (Lily James) arrives at her husband’s (Armie Hammer) imposing family estate on a windswept English coast and finds herself battling the shadow of his first wife, Rebecca, whose legacy lives on in the house long after her death.
Rated: NR
Release: Netflix
The Witches (Oct. 22)
Director: Robert Zemeckis
Plot: Based on Roald Dahl’s 1983 classic book ‘The Witches’, the story tells the scary, funny and imaginative tale of a seven year old boy who has a run in with some real life witches!
Rated: PG (Language|Thematic Elements|Scary Images/Moments)
Release: HBO Max
Come Play (Oct. 30)
Director: Jacob Chase
Plot: A monster named Larry that manifests itself through smart phones and mobile devices. Feature film version of the 2017 short film.
Rated: PG-13 (Frightening Images|Terror|Some Language)
Release: Theatrical (Limited)
November
Freaky (Nov. 13)
Director: Christopher Landon
Plot: After swapping bodies with a deranged serial killer (Vince Vaughn), a young girl (Kathryn Newton) in high school discovers she has less than 24 hours before the change becomes permanent.
Rated: R (Language Throughout|Strong Bloody Horror Violence|Sexual Content)
Release: Theatrical (Wide)
Ammonite (Nov. 13)
Director: Francis Lee
Plot: 1840s England, acclaimed but overlooked fossil hunter Mary Anning (Kate Winslet) and a young woman (Saoirse Ronan) sent to convalesce by the sea develop an intense relationship, altering both of their lives forever
Rated: TBD
Release: Theatrical (Limited)
The Sound of Metal (Nov. 20)
Director: Darius Marder
Plot: A heavy-metal drummer’s (Riz Ahmed) life is thrown into freefall when he begins to lose his hearing.
Rated: R (Brief Nude Images|Language Throughout)
Release: Theatrical (Limited)
Hillbilly Elegy (Nov. 24)
Director: Ron Howard
Plot: A Yale law student (Gabriel Basso) drawn back to his hometown grapples with family history, Appalachian values and the American dream.
Rated: R (Drug Content|Some Violence|Language Throughout)
Release: Theatrical (Limited); VOD
The Croods: A New Age (Nov. 25)
Director: Joel Crawford
Plot: The prehistoric family the Croods are challenged by a rival family the Bettermans, who claim to be better and more evolved.
Rated: PG (Action|Rude Humor|Peril)
Release: Theatrical (Wide)
December
Nomadland (Dec. 4)
Director: Chloé Zhao
Plot: Follows a woman in her sixties (Frances McDormand) who, after losing everything in the Great Recession, embarks on a journey through the American West, living as a van-dwelling modern-day nomad.
Rated: R (Some Full Nudity)
Release: Theatrical (Limited)
Free Guy (Dec. 11)
Director: Shawn Levy
Plot: A bank teller (Ryan Reynolds) discovers that he’s actually an NPC inside a brutal, open world video game.
Rated: TBD
Release: Theatrical (Wide)
Coming 2 America (Dec. 18)
Director: Craig Brewer
Plot: Akeem (Eddie Murphy) learns he has a long-lost son in the United States and must return to America to meet the unlikely heir to the throne of Zamunda. A sequel to the 1988 comedy ‘Coming to America’.
Rated: TBD
Release: Theatrical (Wide)
The Father (Dec. 18)
Director: Florian Zeller
Plot: A man (Anthony Hopkins) refuses all assistance from his daughter (Olivia Colman) as he ages. As he tries to make sense of his changing circumstances, he begins to doubt his loved ones, his own mind and even the fabric of his reality.
Rated: PG-13 (Some Strong Language|Thematic Material)
Release: Theatrical (Limited)
Death on the Nile (Dec. 18)
Director: Kenneth Branagh
Plot: While on vacation on the Nile, Hercule Poirot (Kenneth Branagh) must investigate the murder of a young heiress. The follow-up to 2017’s Murder on the Orient Express.
Rated: TBD
Release: Theatrical (Wide)
Greenland (Dec. 18)
Director: Ric Roman Waugh
Plot: A family struggles for survival in the face of a cataclysmic natural disaster.
Rated: PG-13 (Intense Disaster Action|Brief Strong Language|Bloody Images|Some Violence)
Release: VOD
News of the World (Dec. 25)
Director: Paul Greengrass
Plot: A widowed Civil War veteran (Tom Hanks) agrees to deliver a girl (Helena Zengel), taken by the Kiowa people years ago, to her aunt and uncle, against her will. They travel hundreds of miles and face grave dangers as they search for a place that either can call home.
Rated: TBD
Release: Theatrical (Wide)
Wonder Woman 1984 (Dec. 25)
Director: Patty Jenkins
Plot: Fast forward to the 1980s as Wonder Woman’s (Gal Gadot) next big screen adventure finds her facing two all-new foes: Max Lord (Pedro Pascal) and The Cheetah (Kristen Wiig).
Rated: PG-13 (Sequences of Action|Violence)
Release: Theatrical (Wide)
One Night in Miami (Dec. 25)
Director: Regina King
Plot: A fictional account of one incredible night where icons Muhammad Ali (Eli Goree), Malcolm X (Kingsley Ben-Adir), Sam Cooke (Leslie Odom Jr.), and Jim Brown (Aldis Hodge) gathered discussing their roles in the civil rights movement and cultural upheaval of the 60s.
Rated: TBD
Release: Theatrical (Limited); Prime Video on Jan. 15, 2021
Soul (Dec. 25)
Directors: Pete Docter & Kemp Powers
Plot: A musician (Jamie Foxx) who has lost his passion for music is transported out of his body and must find his way back with the help of an infant soul learning about herself.
Rated: PG (Some Language|Thematic Elements)
Release: Disney +
Promising Young Woman (Dec. 25)
Director: Emerald Fennell
Plot: A young woman (Carey Mulligan), traumatized by a tragic event in her past, seeks out vengeance against those who cross her path.
Rated: R (Some Sexual Material|Drug Use|Sexual Assault|Language Throughout|Strong Violence)
Release: Theatrical (Wide)
Monster Hunter (Dec. 30)
Director: Paul W.S. Anderson
Plot: When Lt. Artemis (Milla Jovovich) and her loyal soldiers are transported to a new world, they engage in a desperate battle for survival against enormous enemies with incredible powers. Feature film based on the video game by Capcom.
Rated: PG-13 (Sequences of Creature Action|Violence Throughout)
Release: Theatrical (Wide)
Obviously, it’s been a crazy year for the film industry. As such, these films and their dates are subject to change. As it stands now, are you looking forward to seeing any of these films? And is going back to the theaters something you are or have been comfortable doing during the year? Sound off in the comments below and let me and the rest of the movie loving world know your thoughts!
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