The holidays are here! During these times people love to travel, eat, rest…and watch movies. Besides the numerous choices that streaming platforms, such as Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, and more, will be offering come Christmas and New Year’s, here’s a list of movies that will be in theaters — just in case you missed the tons of advertisements.
National Champions
Directed by Ric Roman Waugh and written by Adam Mervis, National Champions follows a star collegiate quarterback as he ignites a players’ strike hours before the biggest game of the year in order to fight for fair compensation, equality, and respect for the athletes who put their bodies and health on the line for their schools. Cast includes Stephan James, J.K. Simmons, Alexander Ludwig, Lil Rel Howery, Russell Wilson, and French Montana. The pic comes from STX Entertainment. In theaters Dec. 10.
West Side Story
Steven Spielberg remakes this classic interracial Romeo-and-Juliet love story written by Tony Kushner. West Side Story stars Ansel Elgort, Ariana DeBose, Rachel Zegler, Rita Moreno, and Mike Faist. 20th Century Studios is responsible for this remake due in theaters Dec. 10.
Spider-Man: No Way Home
In another pass of the storied Spider-Man franchise, Spider-Man: No Way Home finds the beloved hero unmasked and revealed to the masses with his only source of help seemingly coming from Doctor Strange. Jon Watts directs Tom Holland, Zendaya, Benedict Cumberbatch, Jon Favreau, and Marisa Tomei in this sure-to-be-a-hit holiday pic, written by Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers. The film is produced by Sony Pictures and will be in theaters on Dec. 17.
The King’s Man
20th Century Studios teams up with director Matthew Vaughn to bring us The King’s Man, a prequel of the three-film franchise that includes Kingsman: The Golden Circle and Kingsman: The Secret Service. The film, starring Ralph Fiennes, Gemma Arterton, Tom Hollander, Djimon Hounsou, and Harris Dickinson, will delve into the early years of the Kingsman agency as criminals plot to take millions. The film goes wide in theaters on Dec. 22.
The Matrix Resurrections
Keanu Reeves reunites with director Lana Wachowski for this Warner Bros. film. The Matrix Resurrections, starring Jada Pinkett Smith, Christina Ricci, Priyanka Chopra, Carrie Ann Moss, Neil Patrick Harris, and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, has done well to hide its plot all while building suspense. We can expect to make a choice between the red pill or the blue pill on Dec. 22 when the pic hits theaters.
Sing 2
Universal brings another sequel to life for the holiday season with Garth Jennings highly popular animated film Sing 2. This time around, Buster has his sights set high with the ambitious goal to debut a new show at the Crystal Tower Theater in Redshore City, but of course, there’s one big hinderance — the big, bad wolf Jimmy Crystal. The cast is star-studded with Matthew McConaughey, Shawn Mendes, Selena Gomez, Forest Whitaker, Reese Witherspoon, Scarlett Johansson, Ben Stiller, Samuel L. Jackson, and more on the bill. Sing 2 will be in theaters Dec. 22.
The Tender Bar
Amazon Studios will release the coming-of-age drama The Tender Bar to limited theaters before expanding it to a wide release on Dec. 22. George Clooney directs Ben Affleck, Tye Sheridan, and Lily Rabe in the story of a fatherless boy that grows up tending to his uncle’s bar, while he goes through challenges with his family. The story comes from scribes William Monahan and Grant Heslov.
Licorice Pizza
Another limited release that’s going wide, Licorice Pizza comes from director Paul Thomas Anderson and MGM. Starring Alana Haim, Cooper Hoffman, Bradley Cooper, and Sean Penn, Licorice Pizza is the story of Alana Kane and Gary Valentine as they grow up in a 1973 San Fernando Valley. The film will be in limited theaters on Nov. 26 and most theaters on Dec. 24.
American Underdog: The Kurt Warner Story
Finally, we have the traditional biopic for this holiday season. Lionsgate’s American Underdog: The Kurt Warner Story tells the true story of the two-time NFL MVP and Super Bowl champ from his days as a local grocer. Zachary Levi, Anna Paquin, Dennis Quaid, and Adam Baldwin star in this film. Jon Erwin and Andrew Erwin co-direct the screenplay written by David Aaron Cohen, Jon Erwin, and Jon Gunn. American Underdog will be in theaters on Dec. 25.
A Journal for Jordan
Michael B. Jordan and Chante Adams lead in Denzel Washington’s fifth project as director. The Sony Pictures film, A Journal for Jordan, is sure to be an emotional rollercoaster as it follows 1st Sgt. Charles Monroe King before he is killed in action in Baghdad as he leaves a journal for his son. The film opens wide on Christmas Day.
For now, the release schedules are not that busy in 2022, and it may simply be because of the added resistance of the pandemic and more competition.
