2021 features a pile-up of Marvel movies and other blockbusters. Check out the latest release dates here for big films coming out this year (and beyond).
2021 is a whole new year for the movie industry — although the release schedule is full of films meant to come out last year. From Marvel’s Black Widow to F9 and James Bond, these are the new release dates for 2021 (and beyond) following last year’s films being postponed.
Of course, the COVID-19 pandemic is far from over, and many theaters are still closed. These dates are still in flux — and some titles could still be shunted to streaming services like Disney Plus, while Warner Bros. debuts huge blockbusters including Dune and The Batman on HBO Max.
The return of watching movies inside theaters will be a major signal that we’re coming out on the other side of the pandemic. Here’s this year’s revised box office calendar to show when (or if) 2021’s big movies arrive in movie theaters (and/or online)
Nine Days (Jan. 22, 2021)
In Nine Days, Winston Duke and Zazie Beetz take us to a strange house where a reclusive man interviews prospective candidates for the privilege to be born.
Premiere date: Jan. 22, 2021 (Sundance Film Festival)
Coming 2 America (March 5, 2021)
Eddie Murphy already waited more than 30 years to come back to America for this long-awaited sequel to his ’80s classic, so we can ignore a delay of a few months. Coming 2 America was acquired by Amazon Prime Video in November, a month before it was set to be released in theaters, and will stream in March.
Original release date: Dec. 18, 2020
The King’s Man (March 12, 2021)
Ralph Fiennes suits up for The King’s Man, a World War I-era prequel to the sharp-dressed Kingsman series.
Original release date: Sept. 18, 2020
The Many Saints of Newark (March 12, 2021)
The Many Saints of Newark is a ’60s-set prequel to classic TV series The Sopranos, in which Michael Gandolfini takes on the role of Tony Soprano made famous by his father, James Gandolfini. The original series ushered in the era of prestige TV and enshrined HBO’s reputation, so it’s appropriate the new film will stream on HBO Max.
Original release date: Sept. 25, 2020
Raya and the Last Dragon (March 12, 2021)
Awkwafina lends her voice to this firebreathing animated adventure, which will also stream on Disney Plus.
Original release date: November 2020
Morbius (March 19, 2021)
Sony’s Spider-Man spinoff features Jared Leto as Marvel vampire Morbius.
Original release date: July 31, 2020
No Time to Die (April 2, 2021)
Daniel Craig’s final outing as 007, directed by Cary Fukunaga and co-written by Phoebe Waller-Bridge, was the first major movie to delay release back in March 2020. Craig’s final turn as superspy James Bond will now open a year later than originally expected.
Original release date: April 2020
Bob’s Burgers: The Movie (April 9, 2021)
The Belcher family members flip out as they flip burgers in a Bob’s Burgers animated movie.
Release date: April 9, 2021
Bios (April 16, 2021)
Tom Hanks is the last man on Earth, hanging out with his faithful robot in this post-apocalyptic drama.
Original release date: October 2020
A Quiet Place Part II (April 23, 2021)
John Krasinski directs Emily Blunt and Cillian Murphy in A Quiet Place 2, a post-apocalyptic tale of a world in which noise equals death. The near-silent sequel was postponed barely a week before its release. Seeing the chilling first movie in a packed theater was an important part of the experience, partly because of the tension of trying to eat your snacks very, very quietly.
Original release date: March 2020
Last Night in Soho (April 23, 2021)
Edgar Wright’s new film is a ’60s-set horror flick featuring Queen’s Gambit star Anya Taylor-Joy and former Doctor Who Matt Smith.
Original release date: Sept. 25, 2020
Black Widow (May 7, 2021)
Scarlett Johansson headlines Marvel’s Black Widow delving into the Russian super-assassin’s origins. Originally scheduled for May 2020, it’s been been pushed back in a reshuffle of the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe schedule. That pushed back sequels for Captain Marvel, Thor and Doctor Strange over the next couple of years.
Original release date: May 1, 2020
Free Guy (May 21, 2021)
This video game-themed action-comedy starring Ryan Reynolds was slated for 2020 but will now open this summer.
Original release date: July 3, 2020
Godzilla vs Kong (May 21, 2021)
The monster-mashing sequel had already moved its release date before the pandemic even happened. Warner Bros. has named it as one of the films that will stream on HBO Max on the same day it’s released in theaters.
Original release date: Nov. 20, 2020
Spiral (May 21, 2021)
A rebirth of the Saw franchise starring Chris Rock and Samuel L. Jackson, originally slated for May 2020.
Original release date: May 15, 2020
Infinite (May 28, 2021)
Action man Mark Wahlberg headlines the eternal story of a man who learns his hallucinations are actually visions from past lives.
Original release date: August 2020
F9 (May 28, 2021)
Starring Vin Diesel, John Cena and Charlize Theron, the ninth Fast and Furious film was one of the first to reschedule, taking the bold step of moving nearly a year to April 2021 — a date previously earmarked for the next film in the Fast Saga. There’s no word yet on when that 10th and final film will be released.
Original release date: May 2020
The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (June 4, 2021)
The third film to star Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga as real-life ghosthunters Ed and Lorraine Warren, based on the chilling true story of a murder trial in which the defendant claimed demonic possession.
Original release date: September 2020
Ghostbusters: Afterlife (June 11, 2021)
Jason Reitman’s small town-set Ghostbusters resurrection stars Paul Rudd. I ain’t afraid of no postponement!
Original release date: July 10, 2020
In the Heights (June 18, 2021)
This adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda and Quiara Alegría Hudes’ Tony-winning musical is helmed by Crazy Rich Asians director Jon M. Chu, and stars Anthony Ramos from the Broadway cast of Hamilton.
Original release date: June 2020
Venom: Let There Be Carnage (June 25, 2021)
The sequel to the 2018 supervillain caper stars Tom Hardy and Woody Harrelson as Marvel bad guys Venom and Carnage. Andy Serkis directs.
Original release date: October 2020
Top Gun: Maverick (July 2, 2021)
Tom Cruise feels the need for speed. We’ve waited over 30 years for a sequel to the original 1986 Top Gun, so what’s a few more months?
Original release date: June 2020
Shang-Chi and the Ten Rings (July 9, 2021)
Marvel’s martial arts action movie starring Simu Liu as mystical fighter Shang-Chi has been kicked back a few months by Disney.
Release date: February 2021
Uncharted (July 16, 2021)
When 2020’s films began to be reshuffled, Uncharted was the first 2021 film to be moved. Sony’s video game adaptation starring Tom Holland bounced around the schedule a few times before settling in July.
The Tomorrow War (July 23, 2021)
Chris Pratt headlines this original sci-fi war film about a time-traveling soldier.
Original release date: Dec. 25, 2020
Minions: The Rise of Gru (July 2, 2021)
Animated sequel/spinoff Minions: The Rise of Gru was set to be released in the US in July 2020.
Original release date: July 3, 2020
Jungle Cruise (July 30, 2021)
Emily Blunt and Dwayne Johnson take a cruise in the jungle, although Disney has pushed their departure date back a whole year.
Original release date: July 2020
Candyman (Aug. 27, 2021)
This horror remake directed by Nia DaCosta and written by Jordan Peele has been moved a few times, but the hook-handed slasher looks like it’s filled with chills.
Original release date: June 12, 2020
Halloween Kills (Oct. 15, 2021)
This slasher sequel is in the awkward situation that the release date is sort of in the title. You can’t really bump a movie named “Halloween” to February, can you? So Universal pushed it back a whole year to 2021 — which has a knock-on effect for planned threequel, Halloween Ends, now expected in October 2022.
Original release date: Oct. 16, 2020
Dune (Oct. 21, 2021)
As other blockbusters fell away, it felt like Denis Villeneuve’s star-studded new adaptation of the classic Dune sci-fi novels would be the only hope for 2020. But we have to wait to spice things up with Timothée Chalamet, Oscar Isaac, Zendaya, Charlotte Rampling, Dave Bautista, Jason Momoa, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, Rebecca Ferguson and Stellan Skarsgård. It’ll also stream on HBO Max.
Original release date: Dec. 18, 2020
Snake Eyes: GI Joe Origins (Oct. 22, 2021)
Henry Golding and Samara Weaving toy with the idea of headlining Snake Eyes, a ninja-focused spinoff from the GI Joe series of toys and movies.
Original release date: October 2020
Eternals (Nov. 5, 2021)
Marvel’s otherworldly ensemble was intended to open in November 2020, but was bumped a year to make way for Black Widow, et al., to come first.
Original release date: Nov. 6, 2020
Elvis (Nov. 5, 2021)
Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis tribute became an early high-profile casualty of the pandemic when Tom Hanks, who appears in the film as Col. Tom Parker, contracted the coronavirus. He and his wife, Rita Wilson, have now recovered, and the film will be delayed only a month.
Original release date: Oct. 1, 2021
West Side Story (Dec. 10, 2021)
Steven Spielberg’s remake of the legendary musical was originally supposed to fill Disney’s traditional big-money holiday movie slot in 2020, plugging the fallow year between the last Star Wars trilogy ending in 2019 and the Avatar sequels kicking in. Now everything’s been pushed back a year, West Side Story will be Disney family blockbuster for the holidays in 2021.
Original release date: Dec. 18, 2020
Unknown release dates
The French Dispatch (unspecified)
Wes Anderson returns with more idiosyncratic art-housery in The French Dispatch, starring Timothée Chalamet, Bill Murray, Saoirse Ronan, Tilda Swinton and Frances McDormand. At first, Disney bumped this Fox Searchlight film to October, but then in July took it off the schedule.
Original release date: July 2020
Tomb Raider 2 (unspecified)
There was much excitement when it was announced that Kill List and Rebecca director Ben Wheatley would helm a new adventure for video game superstar Lara Croft. Originally scheduled for March 2021, the sequel starring Alicia Vikander was then taken off the calendar by MGM.
Original release date: March 2021
Without Remorse (Unspecified)
Michael B Jordan stars in this Tom Clancy adaptation, which is expected to be remorselessly shuffled to Amazon Prime Video.
Original release date: Sept. 18, 2020
Antlers (Unspecified)
When Disney postponed Mulan and New Mutants, it also shelved small-town horror chiller Antlers, produced by Guillermo del Toro.
Original release date: April 17, 2020
2022 release dates
The 355 (Jan. 14, 2022)
Jessica Chastain leads a classy cast of spies in action thriller The 355. Oscar winners Lupita Nyong’o and Penelope Cruz join forces with international stars Diane Kruger and Fan Bingbing for a thriller that’s been delayed a year.
Original release date: January 2021
The Batman (March 4, 2022)
Robert Pattinson dons the batsuit for this delayed DC adventure, which will stream on HBO Max.
Original release date: June 25, 2021
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (March 25, 2022)
Fans of Doctor Strange, played by Benedict Cumberbatch, will have to wait until 2022 before entering the Multiverse of Madness thanks to Marvel’s reshuffles.
Original release date: May 2021
Jurassic World: Dominion (June 10, 2022)
Original Jurassic Park stars Laura Dern, Sam Neill and Jeff Goldblum join Bryce Dallas Howard and Chris Pratt in this sixth dino-blockbuster.
Original release date: June 11, 2021
Avatar and Star Wars (December 2022 onward)
Christmas 2021 was supposed to see the long-awaited arrival of James Cameron’s Avatar sequel, which would be followed by a new Star Wars trilogy the following year. The two franchises would then alternate each holiday season until Avatar 5 in 2027. But as the coronavirus shoved more and more blockbusters into 2021, Disney decided in late July to shift all seven movies back a year. So Avatar 2 will arrive in 2022, Avatar 3 in 2024, Avatar 4 in 2026 and Avatar 5 in 2028. Three Star Wars movies then fill in the odd-numbered years.
Original release date: Christmas 2021 to 2027
credit cnet
