2019 films: 61 Unmissable Blockbusters Part 1 (Jan-June) Avengers Endgame – Captain Marvel

January

The Favourite (January 1)
A favourite – pun not intended – for the 2019 Oscars, this late Restoration piece is the latest from The Lobster director Yorgos Lanthimos.

The Favourite is comedy-drama that sees Olivia Coleman play Queen Anne, as her court favourites and lovers Abigail (Emma Stone) and Sarah (Rachel Weisz) vie for her affections. Check out our four-star review here.

Stan & Ollie (January 11)
Steve Coogan and John C Reilly star as Hollywood golden era comics Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy.

However, the film focuses on their later years during a tour of variety halls in 1953 Britain, as the duo struggle to stay relevant and maintain their ever difficult friendship.

The Front Runner (January 11)
Based on the true story of Senator Gary Hart, Hugh Jackman plays the scandalised 1988 Democratic presidential candidate in this biographical drama.

The Greatest Showman star portrays Hart in his political struggles after reports arise of his extramarital affair.

Glass (January 18)
M Night Shyamalan returns for his long-awaited sequel to Unbreakable, which was announced shortly after the release of the director’s 2017 horror Split.

Shyamalan is best-known for his twist endings and Split’s was the inclusion of Bruce Willis’ David Dunn, revealing the film to be a secret Unbreakable spin-off.

Glass, the conclusion to the Eastrail 177 Trilogy, sees Dunn pursue James McAvoy’s Kevin Crumb, while Samuel L Jackson’s Mr Glass holds secrets concerning both superheroes.

Mary Queen of Scots (January 18)
Previous Oscar-nominees Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie co-star as Mary, Queen of Scots and Queen Elizabeth in this new historical drama.

The film follows the monarchs’ clash of sovereignty concerning the English throne.

The Mule (January 25)
Clint Eastwood returns to acting for the first time since 2008’s Grand Torino.

Starring and directing, the 88-year-old plays a 90-year-old horticulturist and Korean War veteran desperate for money, who ends up transporting cocaine through Illinois for the Mexican drug cartel.

Vice (January 25)
The Big Short director Adam McKay teams up with Christian Bale once again for a biographical comedy-drama of the most powerful Vice President in US history.

Bale, who gained 40 pounds for the role, plays Dick Cheney opposite Sam Rockwell’s George W Bush, Amy Adams’s Lynne Cheney and Steve Carell’s Donald Rumsfeld.

February

Can You Ever Forgive Me (February 1)
Comic actress Melissa McCarthy takes a more serious turn as an actor in this awards season contender.

McCarthy stars as Lee Israel, a struggling author who forges letters from dead writers. Richard E Grant co-stars as Jack Hock.

Green Book (February 1)
Set in the Deep South of 1960s America, Mahershala Ali plays pianist Don Shirley who is accompanied by his driver and bodyguard, Viggo Mortensen’s Tony Vallelonga.

Green Book is based on The Negro Motorist Green Book, a guidebook from the period for African-American travellers that helped locate motels and restaurants where they’d be accepted.

How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (February 1)
The third outing in the How To Train Your Dragon series sees Hiccup’s dragon utopia threatened.

The duo embark to a hidden world where Toothless finds love and the pair have to face a dangerous enemy.

Alita: Battle Angel (February 6)
Based on the Manga of the same name comes Robert Rodriguez’s cyberpunk adaptation.

Produced by James Cameron, Alita follows a cyborg who reawakens with no memory in a post-apocalyptic world, as she sets out to discover her incredible past.

All Is True (February 8)
Sir Kenneth Branagh directs and stars as William Shakespeare after the Globe Theatre burns down in 1613.

Dame Judi Dench plays his wife Anne Hathaway, alongside Sir Ian McKellen’s Earl of Southampton.

Boy Erased (February 8)
Nicole Kidman and Russell Crowe star as religious Baptist parents who have their son, played by Lucas Hedges, sent to gay conversion therapy after he comes out to them.

The film is based on Gerrard Conley’s 2016 memoir of the same name.

If Beale Street Could Talk (February 8)

Moonlight director Barry Jenkins’ latest feature follows a young African-American woman, who sets out to clear her husband’s name after he’s wrongly accused of rape before their child is born.

If Beale Street Could Talk is based on the 1974 novel of the same name by James Baldwin.

On the Basis of Sex (February 8)
This biographical drama follows the life and early cases of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Appointed to SCOTUS by President Bill Clinton in 1993, RBG is best known for her advocacy for the advancement of gender equality and women’s rights.

The Lego Movie 2 (February 8)
Chris Pratt returns for another zany adventure in the Lego Movie Universe.

Elizabeth Banks and Will Arnett return as Lucy and Batman respectively.

March

Fighting With My Family (March 1)
Produced by Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, comes the true story of WWE wrestler Paige, from her amateur days in Norwich with her wrestling family to winning her first belt.

Written and directed by The Office’s Stephen Merchant, Fighting With My Family stars Florence Pugh, Nick Frost, Lena Headey and Vince Vaughn – alongside The Rock as himself.

Captain Marvel (March 8)
Brie Larson stars as Carol Danvers in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s first female-led solo movie.

Set in 1995, Captain Marvel joins forces with Samuel L Jackson’s Nick Fury to take on the Skrull.

Us (March 15)
Get Out director Jordan Peele’s latest is a psychological horror that examines how we are our own worst enemies.

Us sees the Wilson family’s holiday to a beach house disturbed by the arrival of a family who look just like them and want to kill them.

Dumbo (March 29)
The first of Disney’s live-action remake in 2019 is Tim Burton’s Dumbo.

Based on the 1941 animation of the same name, Colin Farrell, Michael Keaton, Danny DeVito and Eva Green star.

April

Pet Sematary (April 5)
Based on Stephen King’s terrifying novel of the same name, Pet Sematary follows Jason Clarke’s Louis Creed, a doctor who moves to the country with his family. However, he soon discovers they’ve moved near a pet cemetery that is built upon an ancient burial ground.

Louis’ toddler is killed in an accident, where he’s buried in the same cemetery – but, the boy is soon resurrected in a demonic form.

Meanwhile, John Lithgow also stars as Jud Crandall, a neighbour of Louis’ who he turns to when events turn dark.

Shazam! (April 5)
The seventh instalment in the DC Extended Universe follows 14-year-old Billy Batson who is given the power to transform into an adult superhero by an ancient wizard.

All he has to do is say “Shazam!” for his godlike transformation to take place. Meanwhile, Mark Strong stars as the evil Dr Thaddeus Sivana.

The Sisters Brothers (April 5)
John C Reilly and Joaquin Phoenix play two brothers called Eli and Charlie Sisters in this dark comic Western.

Set in 1851, the film follows The Sisters Brothers on a journey through Oregon, via a dangerous brothel, on the way to the gold rush hills of California.

Hellboy (April 12)
David Harbour’s reboot sees his incarnation of Hellboy take on Milla Jovovich’s ancient medieval sorceress, Nimue, The Blood Queen.

Ian McShane co-stars as Hellboy’s adoptive father, Trevor Bruttenholm.

Mid90s (April 12)
Jonah Hill’s directorial debut is a coming-of-age comedy-drama, which follows a 13-year-old boy who hangs out with an older group of skateboarders in 1990s LA.

The film follows the last generation of children to grow up before the internet and mobile phones went mainstream.

Eighth Grade (April 26)
Stand-up comedian Bo Burnham’s directorial debut appears to share similarities with Hill’s.

Eighth grade follows a 13-year-old girl during her last week of classes before graduating to high school.

Avengers Endgame (April 26)
The sequel to last year’s earth-shattering Avengers Infinity War may just break the box office in 2019.

With half the universe dead after Thanos’ Snap, the surviving Avengers will have to team up with Captain Marvel to resurrect the dead, but how?

Judging by Ant-Man’s arrival with the Quantum Tunnel van in the Avengers Endgame’s first trailer, it looks like the key lies with Scott Lang and the Quantum Realm.

May

Detective Pikachu (May 10)
The first live-action Pokemon movie may just be one of the most highly-anticipated movies of 2019.

Based on the video game of the same name, Ryan Reynolds stars as the electric yellow Pokemon as he sets out with a former Pokemon Trainer to uncover the mystery behind the disappearance of the latter’s detective father.

John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum (May 17)
Keanu Reeves returns as the legendary assassin, who now has a $14 million global contract on his head for killing a member of the High Table in The Continental hotel in the last movie.

Ian McShane returns as the hotel’s manager Winston, alongside Laurence Fishburne’s The Bowery King, while Halle Berry joins the cast as an assassin called Sofia.

Aladdin (May 24)
A live-action remake of the 1992 animated classic, this time Aladdin’s directed by Guy Richie.

Meanwhile, Will Smith follows in Robin Williams’ footsteps as the Genie.

Rocketman (May 24)
Taron Egerton stars as Elton John in this musical biopic of the star’s life.

Dexter Fletcher directed Rocketman after taking over from Bryan Singer on Bohemian Rhapsody.

Godzilla: King of Monsters (May 31)
The next outing in the MonsterVerse sees Godzilla take on the mighty Mothra, Rodan and King Ghidorah.

The giant lizard will then clash with King Kong in Godzilla vs Kong come May 2020.

The Secret Life of Pets 2 (May 31)
The follow-up to the 2016 original continues to follow Max and other pets in their secret lives when their owners are away.

Patton Oswalt replaces Louis CK has Max, following the latter receiving accusations of sexual misconduct from multiple women.

June

Dark Phoenix (June 7)
Originally set for release in 2018, the fourth movie in the X-Men prequel series is set in 1992, a decade after the events of X-Men Apocalypse.

A sort-of remake of X-Men The Last Stand, this film sees Jean Grey lose control of her powers and become the Phoenix.

Men In Black: International (June 14)
Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones may not be appearing in Men In Black 4, but Thor Ragnarok comic duo Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson have stepped up in this reboot set in the same universe.

Focused on the London team of the Men In Black, the two agents set out across the globe to solve a murder mystery.

Toy Story 4 (June 21)
Almost a decade since the last outing sees the return of Woody and Buzz Lightyear.

The pair set off on a road trip adventure alongside new toy Forky.

Check back tomorrow for Part 2 of our 2019 films list will release dates from July to December.