From insanely huge blockbusters to the most-likely Oscar hopefuls…
2022 has already proven to be a stellar year for new movies (as evidenced by our list of the 10 best movies of the year so far), and truth be told, the second half looks even better.
So we’ve put together a list of the 24 biggest movies still to come to Irish cinemas in 2022. By no means is this a complete collection, as we’re sure there will be some stealthy releases that take us all by surprise and end up blowing us all away. Plus, these dates are obviously all still subject to change.
Since we’re already in July (and we’ve already done the must-watch movies for this month here), we’re gonna jump straight to August and kick off with…
BULLET TRAIN – 3 August
A semi-retired assassin (Brad Pitt) is given a simple job by his handler (Sandra Bullock) – board a train in Japan and collect a bag. But it turns out there are several other assassins on board, all with the same instructions.
NOPE – 12 August
Jordan Peele (Get Out, Us) is looking to spook us all out again, taking us to a small town in America, where the residents (including Daniel Kaluuya, Keke Palmer and Steven Yeun) find themselves in the middle of a series of inexplicable events.
BEAST – 26 August
This incredibly tense thriller tells the story of a father (Idris Elba) who takes his two teenage daughters on a safari trip, only for them to become the prey for an entire pack of angry lions.
THREE THOUSAND YEARS OF LONGING – 2 September
In between directing huge Mad Max movies, George Miller has delivered this eye-popping tale about a lonely scholar (Tilda Swinton) who encounters a Djinn (hello again Idris!), who offers to grant her three wishes in exchange for his freedom.
SALEM’S LOT – 9 September (TBC)
The director of Annabelle Comes Home adapts Stephen King’s iconic novel about a writer who travels to a small town, only to discover that pretty much the entire population there are vampires. Lewis Pullman (Top Gun: Maverick), Spencer Treat Clark (The Sixth Sense), Alfre Woodard (Luke Cage) and Pilou Asbæk (Game Of Thrones) star.
TICKET TO PARADISE – 16 September
A rom-com about Julia Roberts attempting to derail a marriage? We’re in! This time she’s teaming up with her ex-husband (George Clooney) to sabotage her daughter’s (Dopesick’s Kaitlyn Dever) wedding, as they both think she is too young and fear she will make the same mistakes they did.
THE WOMAN KING – 16 September (TBC)
Viola Davis headlines this historical epic inspired by the true events that occurred in the Kingdom of Dahomey, one of the most powerful states of Africa in the 18th and 19th centuries. John Boyega, Lashana Lynch and Hero Fiennes-Tiffin co-star.
DON’T WORRY DARLING – 23 September
After blowing us all away with the brilliant comedy Booksmart, director Olivia Wilde is heading into the realm of psychological thriller, with this twisty-turny head-melter starring Florence Pugh, Harry Styles and Chris Pine.
SMILE – 30 September (TBC)
We did a full breakdown on this new horror movie’s fantastic trailer, including THAT jump-scare. You can read all about it right here.
LYLE, LYLE, CROCODILE – 7 October (TBC)
The folks behind The Greatest Showman return to the world of musicals with this adaptation of the much-loved children’s book about, well, a singing crocodile (voiced by Shawn Mendes). Constance Wu, Scoot McNairy and Javier Bardem also star.
HALLOWEEN ENDS – 14 October
The trilogy closer for the latest batch of Halloween movies will pick up after the events of 2021’s Halloween Kills, with Laurie (Jamie Lee Curtis) looking to get rid of Michael Myers once and for all.
BLACK ADAM – 21 October
The Rock headlines this new superhero epic. He’ll play a being given the powers of the ancient Egyptian gods, only to be locked up for over 5,000 years. Jump to today, he’s just been freed from his tomb and he’s ready to unleash hell on the modern world. Ireland’s own Pierce Brosnan will join him for the ride.
PUSS IN BOOTS: THE LAST WISH – 21 OCTOBER
Antonio Banderas returns to voice the swash-buckling cat/Shrek spin-off, this time discovering that his days of adventuring have taken eight of his nine lives. So he sets off on a mission to restore all nine of them. The impressive voice cast also includes Salma Hayek, Florence Pugh, Ray Winstone, Olivia Colman and John Mulaney.
BROS – 28 October
Billy Eichner stars in and writes this new LGBTQ+ rom-com, from the director of Forgetting Sarah Marshall and the producer of The 40-Year-Old Virgin. He plays a man who has resigned himself to never finding love, just as he crosses paths with what could be the man of his dreams…
AMSTERDAM – 4 November
Five-time Oscar nominee David O. Russell (American Hustle, Silver Linings Playbook) directs an incredible all-star cast – Margot Robbie, Christian Bale, John David Washington, Zoe Saldana, Robert De Niro, Taylor Swift, Mike Myers, Michael Shannon, Anya-Taylor Joy, Rami Malek, LOADS more – about a group of friends who witness a murder, only to become the primary suspects in the investigation.
BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER – 11 November
Still very little is known about this huge blockbuster sequel, with no official word on what direction the movie will take following the death of Chadwick Boseman. The official synopsis is “A sequel that will continue to explore the world of Wakanda and all the characters introduced in the 2018 film.” We should expect a trailer any day now…
SHE SAID – 18 November
This true-life drama focuses on two New York Times reporters (here played by Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan) who break the story that essentially kicked off the #MeToo movement and broke the silence around decades of sexual assault in Hollywood.
THE FABELMANS – 23 November
Steven Spielberg directs a biopic about his own life, aged seven to 18, while growing up in post-war Arizona. The cast includes Michelle Williams, Seth Rogen, Paul Dano and – interestingly – David Lynch.
STRANGE WORLD – 23 November (TBC)
The director of Raya & The Last Dragon has put together a very impressive voice cast (Jake Gyllenhaal, Lucy Liu, Dennis Quaid, Gabrielle Union, Alan Tudyk) for Disney’s upcoming intergalactic adventure about a family of explorers heading off on their most crucial mission yet.
CREED III – 25 November
Not too much is enough about this sports drama three-quel, other than star Michael B. Jordan is making his directorial debut with the movie. He’ll be joined on screen by Jonathan Majors (Loki, Lovecraft Country), in a currently undisclosed role.
VIOLENT NIGHT – 2 December (TBC)
The second we heard about this movie, we put it in the running for the most fun movie of the year. It is basically Die Hard… but if John McClane was actually Santa Claus (played by Stranger Things star David Harbour). We’re 100% in.
AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER – 16 December
13 years since the original movie, it is finally arriving! James Cameron’s sequel to what was once the biggest movie of all time will bring back pretty much all of the original cast, joined by newbies including Kate Winslet and Michelle Yeoh, as he expands our journey across the alien planet of Pandora.
SHAZAM! FURY OF THE GODS – 21 December (TBC)
The plot details around the sequel to the 2019 hit superhero comedy are still being kept top secret, but we know that Zachery Levi’s titular hero is being joined by new cast additions including Helen Mirren, Lucy Liu and West Side Story star Rachel Zegler.
I WANNA DANCE WITH SOMEBODY – 21 December (TBC)
Following in the massively successful footsteps of Bohemian Rhapsody, Elvis and Rocket, this biopic will chart the life and impact of the legendary Whitney Houston (Naomi Ackie – Master Of None, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker), and her relationship with her famed manager Clive Davis (Stanley Tucci).
Clips via Universal, 20th Century Studios, Disney, Warner Bros., Sony Pictures & MGM
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