2019 Preview: Movies

Written by Jon Williams

With the Golden Globes taking place this past weekend, awards season is officially in full swing. As we look back and celebrate the best of 2018, let’s also take a peek ahead at some of the delights that 2019 has in store for us at the box office.

Marvel movies have dominated the box office for years, and fans are eagerly anticipating a conclusion to the galaxy-altering conflict that was set up in last year’s Avengers: Infinity War. That will come in April, when Avengers: Endgame brings the heroes’ conflict with Thanos to a close and resolves their fates—for better or worse. Before that, though, comes Captain Marvel in March, starring Brie Larson as the titular superhero in a ‘90s-set adventure that introduces her to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Then, in July, Spider-Man: Far from Home gives Tom Holland’s popular webslinger a second standalone and the MCU its first foray into its next round of adventures.

Live-action remakes of animated Disney classics have proven to be popular, and 2019 has some big ones coming. First up is Tim Burton’s take on Dumbo, the 1941 tale of a bullied elephant who eventually becomes the star of the circus when he realizes his large ears can help him to fly. Then in May, as summer movie season is rounding into full swing, comes Aladdin, starring Will Smith in the role of the genie who helps humble beggar Aladdin win the heart of Princess Jasmine. July will see the release of The Lion King, which sees Jon Favreau direct a star-studded ensemble cast in a photorealistic update of the 1994 traditionally animated version.

As popular as these live action movies are, animation, both traditional and digital, is going nowhere. The fourth installment in the Toy Story franchise is coming in July, nine years after Toy Story 3 in 2010, while the sequel to the 2013 blockbuster Frozen is set to hit theaters just before Thanksgiving. Much closer than either of those, though, is The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part, the follow-up to Christopher Miller and Phil Lord’s 2014 hit, in theaters next month. Also in February is How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, the anticipated final installment in a trilogy that includes films from 2010 and 2014. Other animated movies coming our way this year include a Secret Life of Pets sequel (June), an Angry Birds sequel (August), and a new Addams Family movie in October.

The horror movie genre has undergone a renaissance in recent years, and that looks to continue in 2019. It begins in March with Us, an original film from Jordan Peele, the writer and director behind the 2017 horror hit Get Out. In April comes Pet Sematary, a new adaptation of Stephen King’s 1983 novel and a remake of the 1989 film. Speaking of King adaptations, It: Chapter 2, which follows up the highest-grossing horror film of all time, comes to theaters in September. In between those two movies, in June, horror fans can look forward to Child’s Play, a reboot of the 1988 movie that spawned six sequels featuring the iconic murderous doll Chucky. In August, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark comes out, based on Alvin Schwartz’s collections of tales that have haunted kids’ dreams since they debuted in 1981. And while it may not quality as horror, exactly (more of a “zom-com”), the long-awaited sequel to Zombieland arrives at last in October.

Need more? Tyler Perry’s Madea returns in March in A Madea Family Funeral. David Harbour steps into the horn-stumps for a Hellboy reboot in April. Keanu Reeves is back for a third round as John Wick in May, while a new generation of Men in Black hits theaters in June. Quentin Tarantino’s look at the Manson Family, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, comes in July, followed soon after by Hobbs & Shaw, a Fast and Furious spinoff. In September, Downton Abbey will make the jump from the small screen to the big screen, while October will bring adaptations of the popular novels The Woman in the Window and The Goldfinch. In November, a third installment of the Kinsgman series is on its way, before the year finishes strong in December with a new Jumanji movie and, of course, the third and final film in the Star Wars sequel trilogy.

So that’s just some of what’s on our radar for 2019 at the box office, and you can be sure that it’s just a fraction of all the good stuff that’s coming our way. Let us know what you and your patrons are looking forward to, and stay tuned for information on when these movies will be available for you to add to your collections.