24 movies to watch in 2021
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It might be tempting the universe to present you with, well, something to look forward to.
I say that because rereading my list of the most anticipated movies of 2020 is a sort of ironic survey of an industry in turmoil: now we have the hindsight to know of the shooting schedules that would be scrambled, the release dates that were delayed (and then delayed again). We know that theaters would sit dark and empty for months, and billions of dollars would be lost.
Today, in the first week of January, there is still no clear sign of when things will return to normal. But studios have started to adjust. Many of the films near the top of this list are going straight-to-streaming, a pandemic-proof strategy that could have enormous consequences for the industry. The others scheduled for later in the year are full of optimism, with release dates pinned to the belief that widespread vaccinat
The Atlantic
Thanks to the pandemic, this list is more familiar and tentative than most annual film previews.
The Atlantic
Curating a film preview for 2021 involves all the necessary caveats. Because the cinema industry remains deeply in flux and many theaters have yet to reopen, this year will likely be full of schedule changes and surprise decisions to move some projects to streaming. One major studio, Warner Bros., plans to debut each of its films simultaneously in theaters and on the streaming service HBO Max; others, like Disney, will offer some titles online for a premium price. What stands out about the 2021 movie landscape is how much the lineup resembles that of 2020: Almost every big studio project from then has been punted here, as distributors hope for a redo after a lost year. Whether they’ll get their wish is a colossal question.