March Movie Preview (2024)

Adventure/Drama/Horror/Sci-fi - dir. Thomas Cailley
In theaters (and VOD) March 15

Thomas Cailley's follow-up to his debut feature, Love at First Fight, takes place in a world where mutations transform humans into hybrid creatures. While trying to protect his wife, who is affected by the mysterious condition, François (Roman Duris) discovers his 16-year-old son Emile (Paul Kircher) could be too. After his wife goes missing, they set out to find her with the help of a local police officer (Adèle Exarchopoulos). Like his debut, which won several César Awards, including Best First Film, Cailley's latest took home Best Cinematography, Best Visual Effects, Best Costume Design, Best Sound, and Best Original Music.

Action-adventure/Fantasy - dir. Juan Carlos Fresnadillo
Streams on Netflix beginning March 8

In this juiced-up fairytale from director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo (28 Weeks Later) and writer Dan Mazeau (Fast X), Millie Bobby Brown stars as Elodie, a damsel who refuses to be in distress (or a sacrifice) on behalf of the royal family and instead fights her way out of a fire-breathing dragon's den to bring an end to their reign. Ray Winstone and Angle Bassett play Elodie's father and stepmother, while Nick Robinson is Prince Henry and Robin Wright is the evil Queen.

Comedy - dir. Radu Jude
In theaters March 22

Amongst auteurs, Romanian writer-director Radu Jude is on his own wavelength right now in how he looks at contemporary society and how he titles his films (this one comes in one word less than 2018's I Do Not Care If We Go Down in History as Barbarians). His previous film, Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn, was shot during Bucharest's COVID-19 lockdown and took home the Golden Bear at the 2021 Berlin Film Festival. Now comes a comedy that follows Angela (Ilinca Manolache), an overworked and underpaid production assistant tasked with interviewing workers of a multinational company for a public-service video. Her alter-ego on social media is Bobita, a male chauvinist she brings to life using face filters and a string of offensive tirades. For Jude, this is just the tip of a giant iceberg of absurdity at which he's chipping away. Along for the ride are Nina Hoss as Angela's client and notorious B-movie director Uwe Boll.

Sci-fi/Action-adventure - dir. Denis Villeneuve
In theaters (including IMAX) March 1

Denis Villeneuve continues his adaptation of the first book in Frank Herbert's classic science fiction series with this sequel to 2021's Dune: Part One. Unlike that film, which debuted on what was then HBO Max and in theaters on the same day, this sequel will only be in theaters, and it couldn't come at a better time for the industry given the lackluster box office numbers over the first two months of the year. The continuing saga of Paul Atreides, his mother (Rebecca Ferguson), the Fremen (Zendaya, Javier Bardem) and their war against House Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, and the newly arrived Austin Butler) adds new elements in the form of Christopher Walken's Emperor Shaddam IV, Florence Pugh's Princess Irulan Corrino, and Léa Seydoux's Lady Margo. With better reviews than its predecessor so far, look for Part Two to have a long life in cinemas.

Thriller - dir. Sam H. Freeman and Ng Choon Ping
In NY March 22 / LA March 29 / other cities in April

Expanding on their BAFTA-nominated and BIFA-winning short film, writer-directors Sam H. Freeman and Ng Choon Ping make their feature debuts with this queer thriller starring Nathan Stewart-Jarrett as Jules, a drag artist who begins a sexual relationship with Preston (George MacKay), the closeted homosexual who brutally attacked him. It's a tense tale of revenge, stylishly made, with two impressive performances.

Documentary - dir. Carla Gutierrez
Streams on Prime Video beginning March 15

Editor Carla Gutierrez (RBG, Julia) makes her directorial debut with this intimate documentary about Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. Gutiérrez uses Kahlo's illustrated diaries and letters (brought to life by the voice of Fernanda Echevarría del Rivero) and animation by Sofía Inés Cázares and Renata Galindo to bring the artist and her work to vivid life.

Sci-fi/Comedy - dir. Gil Kenan
In theaters (including IMAX) March 22

For this latest Ghostbusters sequel, Jason Reitman hands off directing duties to Gil Kenan (Monster House), his co-writer on 2021's Ghostbusters: Afterlife. The story continues in New York, where Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters II took place. Returning to the firehouse, the Spengler family—Phoebe (McKenna Grace), Trevor (Finn Wolfhard), and Callie (Carrie Coon)—along with Gary Grooberson (Paul Rudd) and Lucky (Celeste O'Connor) are fully outfitted Ghostbusters who must take down a new evil that threatens another Ice Age. They have backup in original Ghostbusters Ray (Dan Aykroyd), Peter (Bill Murray), and Winston (Ernie Hudson), as well as Podcast (Logan Kim) and Janine Melnitz (Annie Potts). Another familiar face will be that of Walter Peck (William Atherton), aka Dickless. New to the series are Kumail Nanjiani and Patton Oswalt.

Action-adventure/Sci-fi/Thriller - dir. Adam Wingard
In theaters (including IMAX) March 29

After bringing Godzilla and Kong together in 2021's Godzilla vs. Kong, director Adam Wingard continues the story by introducing a new nemesis for these gigantic forces of nature—the Skar King. Also joining the titans in this new chapter of the MonsterVerse is Baby Kong and a few returning humans—Rebecca Hall as monster expert Dr. Ilene Andrews, Brian Tyree Henry as conspiracy theorist Bernie Hayes, and Kaylee Hottle as Kong whisperer Jia. Wingard also reunites with Dan Stevens, the star of what many consider his best film, The Guest.

Horror - dir. Michael Mohan
In theaters March 22

Sydney Sweeney re-teams with director Michael Mohan (Save the Date), who directed her in The Voyeurs, for this horror film about Cecilia (Sweeney), a devout nun who finds herself pregnant after arriving at a secluded convent in the Italian countryside. As sinister secrets are revealed and Cecilia finds herself in danger, she and those around her begin to wonder if she is blessed or cursed. (From the looks of the trailer, it definitely seems like the latter.) Written by Andrew Lobel, Immaculate also features one of the stars of The White Lotus Season 2, Simona Tabasco. Sweeney has experienced the highs (Anyone But You) and lows (Madame Web) of the box office in the last few months. We'll see where this one falls.

Animation/Family - dir. Mike Mitchell https://www.metacritic.com/person/stephanie-stine/
In theaters March 8

What began in 2008 with Kung Fu Panda has resulted in a reliable franchise for DreamWorks Animation, with Kung Fu Panda 2 in 2011, Kung Fu Panda 3 in 2016, as well as several TV series, shorts, games and now a fourth film, which finds Po (Jack Black), the Dragon Warrior, struggling to take his place as the Spiritual Leader of the Valley of Peace. In addition to cultivating inner peace, Po must train a new Dragon Warrior, but before he can assume his new role, a powerful threat emerges in the form of Chameleon (Viola Davis), a lizard sorceress who can shapeshift and steal the powers of the other master villains Po has defeated. Teaming up with the crafty corsac fox Zhen (Awkwafina), Po harnesses all his skills to protect the Valley of Peace from Chameleon. Po's latest adventure is directed by Mike Mitchell (The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part) and co-directed by Stephanie Stine (She-Ra and the Princesses of Power) and features the returning voices of Dustin Hoffman as Shifu, James Hong as Mr. Ping, Bryan Cranston as Li, and Ian McShane as Tai Lung.

Fantasy/Rom-com/Adventure - dir. Alice Rohrwacher
In theaters March 29

Writer-director Alice Rohrwacher won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival for The Wonders and Best Screenplay in 2018 for Happy as Lazzaro. When she returned to the festival last year, many expected her to walk away with another major award. It wasn't to be, but critics praised La Chimera and many put it on their year-end top-ten lists. Set during the 1980s in Tuscany, this bracingly imaginative film stars Josh O'Connor as Arthur, an archeologist and dowser who emerges from jail dreaming of his lost love, Beniamina, eventually joining a group of "tombaroli" (grave robbers) in search of Etruscan artifacts. Shot by Hélène Louvart (last month's Disco Boy) in multiple formats (35mm, 16mm, and Super 16), it's another folkloric wonder from a true original.

Horror - dir. Cameron Cairnes and Colin Cairnes
In theaters March 22 (also streams on Shudder starting April 19)

Set in 1977, this new horror film from 100 Bloody Acres filmmakers Cameron and Colin Cairnes provides David Dastmalchian (Dune: Part One) a rare leading role as Jack Delroy, the charismatic TV host of Night Owls. Hoping to goose his ratings, Delroy schedules a show for Halloween night with a psychic and a professional debunker, plus a parapsychologist (Laura Gordon) and her teen subject (who happens to be the sole survivor of a cult's mass suicide). To say things don't go smoothly is an understatement.

Drama/Thriller - dir. Ivan Sen
In theaters March 22

Ivan Sen has become one of the rare directors who is an award-winning genre filmmaker. His crime thrillers Mystery Road (which spawned a much loved TV show) and Goldstone, led by Aboriginal Australian actor Aaron Pedersen in the role of detective Jay Swan, won several awards from the Australian Film Critics Association and played in festivals all over the world. His most recent film, Expired, was a rare misstep into sci-fi, but he's back on solid ground with Limbo. His latest procedural finds police detective Travis Hurley (Simon Baker) investigating the murder of an Indigenous girl that took place 20 years ago in the remote Australian Outback town of Limbo. Once again handling writing, cinematography, music, and editing duties, Sen has produced another noir-tinged look at the difficulty of achieving justice in a unjust world.

Action/Drama/Thriller - dir. Rose Glass
In limited release March 8 (expands nationwide March 15)

Director Rose Glass' audacious follow-up to Saint Maud is a love story and an unhinged thriller that veers into body horror. Kristen Stewart plays Lou. She works at a gym where she meets and falls for Katy O'Brian's Jackie, who is training for a bodybuilding competition in Las Vegas. After Lou's sister (Jena Malone) is beat up again by her dirtbag husband (a mulleted Dave Franco), Lou and Jackie confront him, but that's just the beginning of their trouble as their lives quickly spiral out of control (along with Jackie's steroid use), and they find themselves at odds with Lou's criminal father (Ed Harris), who's being investigated by the FBI.

Documentary - dir. Nicolas Philibert
In theaters March 29

Winner of the Golden Bear at the 2023 Berlin Film Festival, this enlightening documentary from French filmmaker Nicolas Philibert (To Be and to Have) takes viewers inside the Centre de jour l'Adamant, a barge anchored on the Seine where art and community come together to offer day programs for adults with mental illness. Blending therapy, education, and culture rooted in music and the arts, the Adamant takes a humanistic approach to care, reveling in communication and camaraderie. And there will be more to come: At this year's Berlin Film Festival, Philibert premiered At Averroès & Rosa Parks, part two of his planned three-film examination of mental health care.

Drama - dir. James Hawes
In theaters March 15

Prolific TV director James Hawes (Slow Horses, Snowpiercer, Penny Dreadful) makes his feature directing debut with this true story about Nicholas "Nicky" Winton, a London stockbroker who traveled to Prague in December of 1938. Seeing the suffering in the refugee camps, Winton set out to save as many children as he could before Nazi occupation closed the borders. Working with others to acquire the necessary legal clearances and find homes for the children, Winton, in the end, aided in getting over 660 children, most of them Jewish, to England in what was later known as the Kindertransport. Johnny Flynn plays the younger Winton, and Anthony Hopkins takes on the same role in scenes set in 1988, when Winton's work became known to the wider public on an episode of the BBC television show That's Life!. Want to dive into this story even further? The 2001 Oscar-winner for best documentary feature, Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport, is streaming now on Max.

Comedy - dir. Julio Torres
In limited release March 1 (expands nationwide March 22)

Julio Torres, a former SNL writer and the creator of Los Espookys, makes his feature directing debut with this comedy about Alejandro (Torres), an aspiring toy designer from El Salvador, who takes a job assisting an unpredictable, widowed art critic (Tilda Swinton) in order to retain his work visa. This surreal look at New York City and the U.S. immigration system is narrated by Isabella Rossellini, and also features RZA, Greta Lee, and Larry Owens.

Action/Thriller - dir. Doug Liman
Streams on Prime Video beginning March 21

Doug Liman (Edge of Tomorrow, The Bourne Identity) directs a (controversially) streaming-only remake of the 1989 Patrick Swayze-starring cult classic. The new film, which deviates a bit from the first one, has been in development for over a decade. That typically isn't a good sign, but critics definitely did not like the original film, so there's a low bar for improvement. (And this remake reportedly tested very well in advance screenings last summer.) Jake Gyllenhaal essentially takes over the Swayze role and plays a former UFC fighter now working as a bouncer at a Florida Keys dive bar. Billy Magnussen, Jessica Williams, Darren Barnet, Lukas Gage, Arturo Castro, and actual UFC champion Conor McGregor (in his film debut) also star. Want to compare? Amazon will also stream the original Road House this month (beginning March 1st).

Documentary/Music - dir. Neo Sora
In theaters March 2024

Japanese musician and composer Ryuichi Sakamoto died in March 2023 at the age of 71. Sakamoto's son, Neo Sora, directs this final filmed performance—a selection of 20 pieces recorded at NHK Broadcasting Center 509 Studio in Tokyo in late 2022. There is no exposition or narration: This film is Sakamoto's life revealed through his music, told by his fingers at a piano. But to dive deeper into the legendary musician's daily life, turn to 2017's Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda.

Drama - dir. Lu Zhang
In theaters March 15

The films of Chinese writer-director Zhang Lu have played at film festivals around the world since 2005, but this is only the second, following Yanagawa in 2023, to get an American release. The 13th-century tower of the title rises up from Miaoying Temple in Beijing's Xicheng district. Its enormity and design stands out from the rectangular buildings surrounding it, and legend says its shadow can only be seen in Tibet. That tower serves as a landmark and a rare bit of permanence for the drifting characters in Zhang Lu's low-key drama. Gu Wentong (Xin Baiqing) is a divorced food critic in Beijing with a 6-year-old daughter, who is cared for by his sister Wenhui (Li Qinqin) and her husband Li Jun (Wang Hongwei). Gu is sorting through a tentative romance with a younger photographer colleague (Huang Yao) as well as his feelings about seeing his father for the first time since he was 5-years-old. Zhang Lu takes viewers on a meandering but warmly rewarding journey.

Drama - directed by Noora Niasari
In theaters December 1

Writer-director Nora Niasari's debut feature follows Shayda (Zar Amir Ebrahimi) and her six-year-old daughter as they find refuge in an Australian women's shelter. As they celebrate Nowruz (Persian New Year), their new life is threatened when Shayda's estranged husband attempts to take their daughter back to Iran. Australia's submission for Best International Feature at this year's Academy Awards is a sensitive exploration of the journey through the trauma and fight for freedom from domestic abuse.

Drama - dir. John Ridley
Streams on Netflix beginning March 22

Regina King stars as Shirley Chisholm—the first Black woman elected to Congress—in a biopic that centers on Chisholm's presidential run in 1972. The script comes from Oscar-winning 12 Years a Slave screenwriter John Ridley, who also directs, and his cast includes the late Lance Reddick, Lucas Hedges, Christina Jackson, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Terrence Howard, and Andre Holland.

Documentary - dir. Alexandre O. Philippe
In theaters March 22

Filmmaker Alexandre O. Philippe (78/52: Hitchcock's Shower Scene, Memory: The Origins of Alien, Lynch/Oz) directs this exploration of the life and career of the one and only William Shatner. Best known for his portrayal of Captain James T. Kirk in Star Trek, Shatner, who turns 93 on the day the film opens in theaters, has spent a diverse 70+ years in the arts—acting on stage, in film and television dramas (winning an Emmy and Golden Globe for playing Denny Crane on Boston Legal), hosting and participating in reality series, and talk-singing in his own unique way through several albums and live appearances. For those who have enjoyed any of the many iterations of William Shatner, including the one who is the oldest person to fly into space, Philippe provides a space for him to contemplate what has been a very full life.

Want more upcoming movies? Find a complete listing for 2024 and beyond in our new Movie Release Calendar.