Winter is here and spring is on the way, so we're counting down the movies to see over the first four months of 2019. (May, per Screen Rant tradition, will be covered in our summer preview.) 2018 was pretty back-loaded when it came to films, with several tentpoles hitting theaters in the second half of December alone. So, in a way, it's good that things are going to slow down a bit and give everyone time to get caught up on 2018's late-year blockbusters (Aquaman, etc.).
That's not to say early 2019 is hurting for event movies - far from it. Both the Marvel Cinematic Universe and DC Extended Universe have new films coming out, culminating with the release of this year's followup to Avengers: Infinity War. Of course, if superheroes aren't your flavor, there are several promising animated features on the horizon, including the much-anticipated finale to the How to Train Your Dragon series. Horror fans will also have multiple offerings to choose from, including one that's of the comic book variety.
Related: All the Movie Franchises Ending in 2019
To help narrow things down, we've put together a list of 15 Winter & Spring 2019 movies to see (along with some honorable mentions, at the end). The films are numbered in the order of their theatrical release date, so feel free to let us know what your personal most anticipated movies are in the comments section!
- This Page: Superheroes, LEGOs & Dragons
- Page 2: (More) Superheroes, Horror Movies & Honorable Mentions
15. Glass (January 18)
Plot Summary: M. Night Shyamalan brings together the narratives of two of his standout originals - 2000’s Unbreakable, from Touchstone, and 2016’s Split, from Universal - in one explosive, all-new comic-book thriller: Glass. From Unbreakable, Bruce Willis returns as David Dunn as does Samuel L. Jackson as Elijah Price, known also by his pseudonym Mr. Glass. ing from Split are James McAvoy, reprising his role as Kevin Wendell Crumb and the multiple identities who reside within, and Anya Taylor-Joy as Casey Cooke, the only captive to survive an encounter with The Beast. Following the conclusion of Split, Glass finds Dunn pursuing Crumb’s superhuman figure of The Beast in a series of escalating encounters, while the shadowy presence of Price emerges as an orchestrator who holds secrets critical to both men.
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The Breakdown: Unbreakable fans have been waiting nearly two decades for every other superhero movie coming out in 2019 - which is good, considering how saturated the genre's going to be that year. Plus, it's a Shyamalan movie, so you know there's going to be a major twist (or two) that everyone will be watching for.
14. The Kid Who Would Be King (January 25)
Plot Summary: Old school magic meets the modern world in the epic adventure THE KID WHO WOULD BE KING. Alex (Ashbourne Serkis) thinks he's just another nobody, until he stumbles upon the mythical Sword in the Stone, Excalibur. Now, he must unite his friends and enemies into a band of knights and, together with the legendary wizard Merlin (Patrick Stewart), take on the wicked enchantress Morgana (Rebecca Ferguson). With the future at stake, Alex must become the great leader he never dreamed he could be.
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The Breakdown: You might not know the name Joe Cornish, but his 2011 directorial debut Attack the Block was an acclaimed sci-fi adventure that jump-started both The Kid Who Would Be King's trailers are certainly playful and, really, any Arthurian reimagining that casts Stewart and Ferguson as Merlin and Morgana is doing (at least) two things right.
13. The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part (February 8)
Plot Summary: The much-anticipated sequel to the critically acclaimed, global box office phenomenon that started it all, “The LEGO® Movie 2: The Second Part” reunites the heroes of Bricksburg in an all new action-packed adventure to save their beloved city. It’s been five years since everything was awesome and the citizens are now facing a huge new threat: LEGO DUPLO® invaders from outer space, wrecking everything faster than it can be rebuilt. The battle to defeat the invaders and restore harmony to the LEGO universe will take Emmet, Lucy, Batman and their friends to faraway, unexplored worlds, including a strange galaxy where everything is a musical. It will test their courage, creativity and Master Building skills, and reveal just how special they really are.
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The Breakdown: The LEGO Movie 2 looks like a perfectly satisfactory kid's movie sequel... which is both a good and not-so-good thing. LEGO Movie directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller only worked on the script this time around, so that may explain why The LEGO Movie 2 trailer footage has felt somewhat generic and lacking its predecessor's freshness. At the same time, the sequel adds some promising names to the returning voice cast (Stephanie Beatriz, Tiffany Haddish) and promises to deliver much of what audiences love about the LEGO film brand. Everything might not be awesome anymore, but things could still be cool enough here.
12. Fighting with My Family (February 14)
Plot Summary: Based on a true story, FIGHTING WITH MY FAMILY follows reformed gangster Ricky, wife Julia, daughter Paige and son Zak as they make a living wrestling together in tiny venues. When Paige and Zak get the opportunity to try out for WWE, the family grabs a once-in-a-lifetime chance to turn their wildest dreams into a dazzling future. However, brother and sister quickly discover that to become superstars, both their talent and their relationship will be put to the test. FIGHTING WITH MY FAMILY is a heartwarming and smart comedy that proves everything is worth fighting for when it comes to family.
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The Breakdown: It's time already for another Dwayne Johnson movie - sorta. The Rock's being heavily used to sell Little Women in the second half of 2019.
11. How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (February 22)
Plot Summary: From DreamWorks Animation comes a surprising tale about growing up, finding the courage to face the unknown…and how nothing can ever train you to let go. What began as an unlikely friendship between an adolescent Viking and a fearsome Night Fury dragon has become an epic adventure spanning their lives. Welcome to the most astonishing chapter of one of the most beloved animated franchises in film history: How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World. Now chief and ruler of Berk alongside Astrid, Hiccup has created a gloriously chaotic dragon utopia. When the sudden appearance of a female Light Fury coincides with the darkest threat their village has ever faced, Hiccup and Toothless must leave the only home they’ve known and journey to a hidden world thought only to exist in myth. As their true destines are revealed, dragon and rider will fight together - to the very ends of the Earth - to protect everything they’ve grown to treasure.
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The Breakdown: How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World promises to be the Toy Story 3 of the series, in the very best way. The How to Train Your Dragon movies have long been celebrated for their beautiful animation and stirring mix of humor and drama, but The Hidden World aims to double-down on both of those aspects. In a year full of franchises that are ending in some fashion, the How to Train Your Dragon trilogy finale is on-course to deliver the most definitive and (possibly) satisfying conclusion of them all. Suffice it to say, audiences should prepare themselves emotionally for their final trip back to Berk.
10. Captain Marvel (March 8)
Plot Summary: The story follows Carol Danvers as she becomes one of the universe’s most powerful heroes when Earth is caught in the middle of a galactic war between two alien races. Set in the 1990s, “Captain Marvel” is an all-new adventure from a previously unseen period in the history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
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The Breakdown: While MCU fans are plenty excited for Captain Marvel's trailers haven't done all that great a job of explaining what the film's even about, much less who Carol Danvers is or why her origin story is compelling. But again, the movie itself seems quite engaging, between Brie Larson's stoic turn as Captain Marvel herself and the dazzling imagery of Carol using her (incredibly powerful) super-abilities in full. Even the digital de-aging on Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury (with two working eyes and all) looks great so far.
9. Us (March 15)
Plot Summary: Set in present day along the iconic Northern California coastline, Us, from Monkeypaw Productions, stars Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o as Adelaide Wilson, a woman returning to her beachside childhood home with her husband, Gabe (Black Panther’s Winston Duke), and their two children (Shahadi Wright Joseph, Evan Alex) for an idyllic summer getaway. Haunted by an unexplainable and unresolved trauma from her past and compounded by a string of eerie coincidences, Adelaide feels her paranoia elevate to high-alert as she grows increasingly certain that something bad is going to befall her family. After spending a tense beach day with their friends, the Tylers (Emmy winner Elisabeth Moss, Tim Heidecker, Cali Sheldon, Noelle Sheldon), Adelaide and her family return to their vacation home. When darkness falls, the Wilsons discover the silhouette of four figures holding hands as they stand in the driveway. Us pits an endearing American family against a terrifying and uncanny opponent: doppelgängers of themselves.
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The Breakdown: Us, we're pleased to report, looks as freaky and fascinating as everyone was hoping Jordan Peele's followup to his Oscar-winning horror hit Get Out would be. There are certainly elements the films have in common, but otherwise Us looks and feels like a different beast than Get Out, from a storytelling perspective. A horror-thriller about characters (somewhat literally) battling themselves sounds legitimately unnerving; all the more so when you know it's Peele who's calling the shots. Us promises to be further unsettling from a visual perspective, thanks to the cinematography by Mike Gioulakis (the same DP who worked on It Follows, Split, and Glass).
8. Captive State (March 29)
Plot Summary: Set in a Chicago neighborhood nearly a decade after an occupation by an extra-terrestrial force, “Captive State” explores the lives on both sides of the conflict - the collaborators and dissidents.
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The Breakdown: Rupert Wyatt has worked more in television than film since he made 2011's Rise of the Planet of the Apes, but he's finally back with a new movie (and a sci-fi one, too) in 2019's If Beale Street Could Talk's KiKi Layne in key roles. There's not a ton of buzz around this one right now, but Captive State may yet become a dark horse success, judging by the talent involved.
NEXT PAGE: (More) Superheroes, Horror Movies & Honorable Mentions
7. Dumbo (March 29)
Plot Summary: From Disney and visionary director Tim Burton, “Dumbo” expands on the beloved classic story where differences are celebrated, family is cherished and dreams take flight. Circus owner Max Medici (Danny DeVito) enlists former star Holt Farrier (Colin Farrell) and his children Milly (Nico Parker) and Joe (Finley Hobbins) to care for a newborn elephant whose oversized ears make him a laughingstock in an already struggling circus. But when they discover that Dumbo can fly, the circus makes an incredible comeback, attracting persuasive entrepreneur V.A. Vandevere (Michael Keaton), who recruits the peculiar pachyderm for his newest, larger-than-life entertainment venture, Dreamland. Dumbo soars to new heights alongside a charming and spectacular aerial artist, Colette Marchant (Eva Green), until Holt learns that beneath its shiny veneer, Dreamland is full of dark secrets.
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The Breakdown: By the sound of it, Dumbo not only re-imagines the Disney animated film in live-action, but vastly expands up it narratively. Couple that with its trailers' use of the tear-jerking "Baby Mine" and the movie seems like a heartfelt remake of a Mouse House classic... maybe. To be frank, Tim Burton's uneven track record over the past decade is a big part of why many are wary of him taking on Dumbo, especially in light of the mixed response to his Alice in Wonderland retelling, nine years ago. Still, the film reunites Burton with his Batman Returns stars Michael Keaton and Danny DeVito, so it's definitely got that working in its favor.
6. Pet Sematary (April 5)
Plot Summary: Based on the seminal horror novel by Stephen King, Pet Sematary follows Dr. Louis Creed (Jason Clarke), who, after relocating with his wife Rachel (Amy Seimetz) and their two young children from Boston to rural Maine, discovers a mysterious burial ground hidden deep in the woods near the family’s new home. When tragedy strikes, Louis turns to his unusual neighbor, Jud Crandall (John Lithgow), setting off a perilous chain reaction that unleashes an unfathomable evil with horrific consequences.
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The Breakdown: Pet Sematary. King's original novel was previously adapted by Mary Lambert in 1989 and her film has since become a cult success among horror genre enthusiasts. Nevertheless, the new Pet Sematary movie seems promising enough, between its talented stars and King's disturbing-as-ever tale about why "Sometimes dead is better". Nobody's really expecting this one to become anywhere near the pop cultural phenomena that IT was in 2017, but it has the makings of a respectable adaptation - as opposed to being yet another misfire based on King's books.
