Monster madness unfolds in smash hit Godzilla vs. Kong.
Legendary Pictures
It’s been over a year since the coronavirus pandemic began, and many movie theaters are still closed. Amid continued delays to 2020 and 2021 blockbusters from James Bond, Ghostbusters, and Marvel’s Black Widow to the latest Fast and Furious, these are the new release dates for 2021 and beyond.
The COVID-19 pandemic isn’t over, so these dates are still in flux. And there’s an increasing move towards online streaming: smash hit Godzilla v Kong and the reworked Snyder Cut of superhero team-up Justice League are out now, with new titles like Black Widow, Dune, The Suicide Squad and The Matrix 4 set to premiere on streaming services like HBO Max and Disney Plus at the same time as they hit theaters.
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). We’ll keep you updated as new dates are announced.
Godzilla vs Kong (March 31, 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
Mortal Kombat (April 23, 2021)
The legendary fighting game comes to HBO Max.
Original release date: March 2021
Without Remorse (April 23, 2021)
Michael B Jordan stars in this adaptation of a Tom Clancy espionage novel, which is remorselessly shuffled to Amazon Prime Video.
Original release date: Sept. 18, 2020
Wrath of Man (May 7, 2021)
Jason Statham kicks ass in a security van under siege. Guy Ritchie directs.
Rumble (May 14, 2021)
WWE’s movie studio tag teams with Paramount for this animated movie in which giant monsters are superstar athletes in professional wrestling.
The Woman in the Window (May 14, 2021)
Amy Adams plays an agoraphobic child psychologist who witnesses a horrific crime through the window of her New York apartment. Based on the bestseller by Tracy Letts, this Netflix film also stars Gary Oldman, Anthony Mackie, Wyatt Russell, Brian Tyree Henry, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Julianne Moore.
Army of the Dead (May 21, 2021)
Zack Snyder brings the zombie genre back to life with an all-action undead heist film on Netflix.
Spiral (May 21, 2021)
Chris Rock re-invents the Saw franchise with horror movie Spiral.
Brooke Palmer/Lionsgate
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
A Quiet Place Part II (May 28, 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
Cruella (May 28, 2021)
Emma Stone stars as a young Cruella De Vil in Disney’s latest live-action prequel, this time putting a new spin on animated classic 101 Dalmatians. It’s out on Disney Plus the same day it opens in theaters.
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
Samaritan (June 4, 2021)
Sylvester Stallone is an aging superhero in this dark take on superheroics.
The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard (June 16, 2021)
Salma Hayek joins Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L Jackson as they reteam for this bullet-riddled action comedy sequel.
Original release date: August 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
Luca (June 18, 2021)
Pixar animated adventure featuring aquatic creatures finding their feet on the Italian Riviera. It releases exclusively on Disney Plus.
F9 (June 25, 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
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
The Tomorrow War (July 2, 2021)
Chris Pratt headlines this original sci-fi action film about a time-traveling warrior, which streams on Amazon Prime Video instead of opening in theaters as planned.
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
Black Widow (July 9, 2021)
Black Widow marks a belated return for the MCU.
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. Black Widow arrives in theaters and on Disney Plus the same day.
Original release date: May 1, 2020
Space Jam 2: A New Legacy (July 16, 2021)
It’s true: there’s a long-awaited sequel to the basketball-themed 1996 cartoon/live-action Space Jam. Basketball star LeBron James, writer Ryan Coogler and Bugs Bunny lead the Looney Tunes cartoon characters onto the court when the film streams on HBO Max.
Cinderella (July 16, 2021)
Sony is not having a fairy tale year, delaying this live-action musical.
Original release date: February 2021
Old (July 23, 2021)
M. Night Shyamalan writes and directs a new supernatural chiller based on French graphic novel Sandcastle about a group of people who discover a dead body on a beach.
Original release date: Feb. 26, 2021
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
The Green Knight (July 30, 2021)
Dev Patel is mythic knight Sir Gawain, King Arthur’s headstrong nephew, in this medieval fantasy epic from A24.
Original release date: May 2020
The Suicide Squad (Aug. 6, 2021)
Harley Quinn takes aim at Suicide Squad 2.
Warner Bros. Pictures
Supervillains steal the spotlight in James Gunn’s anarchic DC comics sequel starring Margot Robbie, Idris Elba, and John Cena. It’s streaming on HBO Max this summer.
Free Guy (Aug. 13, 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
Don’t Breathe 2 (Aug. 13, 2021)
This horror sequel sees the return of The Blind Man.
Bios (Aug. 13, 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
PAW Patrol: The Movie (Aug. 20, 2021)
Parents get it.
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
The Beatles: Get Back (Aug. 27, 2021)
Peter Jackson charts the making of the Beatles’ 1970 album Let It Be in a documentary set to be released by Disney.
Original release date: September 2020
Shang-Chi and the Ten Rings (Sept. 3, 2021)
Marvel’s martial arts action movie starring Simu Liu as mystical fighter Shang-Chi has been kicked back a few months by Disney.
Original release date: February 2021
Venom: Let There Be Carnage (Sep. 24, 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
Infinite (Sept. 24, 2021)
Mark Wahlberg is action incarnate (or should that be re-incarnate) as a man seeing visions from past lives.
Original release date: Aug. 2020
The Many Saints of Newark (Sept. 24, 2021)
Michael Gandolfini (left) plays a young Tony Soprano in The Many Saints of Newark.
Bobby Bank/GC Images
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
No Time to Die (Oct. 8, 2021)
Bond is back, eventually.
Universal
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
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)
Chiabella James
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
Last Night in Soho (Oct. 22, 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
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
Antlers (Oct. 29, 2021)
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
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
Ghostbusters: Afterlife (Nov. 11, 2021)
Paul Rudd breathes new (after) life into the Ghostbusters series.
Sony Pictures
Jason Reitman‘s small town-set Ghostbusters resurrection stars Paul Rudd. I ain’t afraid of no postponement!
Original release date: July 10, 2020
Mission: Impossible 7 (Nov. 19, 2021)
Tom Cruise is a social distance superspy.
Chiabella James
Tom Cruise was infamously strict about coronavirus precautions while filming his latest spy thriller.
Original release date: July 6, 2020
King Richard (Nov. 19, 2021)
How do you tell the story of perhaps the greatest ever women athletes? Make it about their dad! Will Smith plays the father of real-life tennis legends Venus and Serena Williams in this HBO Max film.
Original release date: Nov. 2020
Encanto (Nov. 24, 2021)
Disney’s magical musical from Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda will cast a spell on Thanksgiving.
Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City (Nov. 24, 2021)
A new movie version of the chilling survival horror game (nothing to do with the enormously successful but not very faithful previous Resident Evil movies movies. Or the rumored Netflix series).
Original release date: September 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
Spider-Man: No Way Home (Dec. 17, 2021)
Rumors say this sequel to Homecoming and Far From Home will see former Spider-men Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield join current incumbent Tom Holland for a multiverse-based web-slinging adventure.
Original release date: July, 2020
The Matrix 4 (Dec. 22, 2021)
Keanu Reeves returns to the Matrix in a new cyberpunk action thriller from one of the creators behind the original trilogy, Lana Wachowski. The film will stream on HBO Max too.
Original release date: May 2020
The King’s Man (Dec. 22, 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
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)
When will Alicia Vikander get back to raiding tombs?
Ilze Kitshoff
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
The Man from Toronto (Unspecified)
Kevin Hart and Woody Harrelson team up to kill someone when they’re thrown together in an Airbnb.
Original release date: September 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
Morbius (Jan. 21, 2022)
Sony’s Spider-Man spinoff features Jared Leto as Marvel vampire Morbius.
Original release date: July 31, 2020
Death on the Nile (Feb. 11, 2022)
Kenneth Branagh once again fires up his moustache and little grey cells as Agatha Christie’s detective Hercule Poirot in a follow-up to 2017’s Murder on the Orient Express.
Original release date: December 2020
Uncharted (Feb. 18, 2022)
When 2020’s films began to be reshuffled, Uncharted was the first 2021 film to be moved. Fans are hyped for Sony’s video game adaptation stars Tom Holland, although the release date has jumped around more than Nathan Drake exploring a temple.
Original release date: December 2020
The Batman (March 4, 2022)
Robert Pattinson dons the batsuit for this delayed DC adventure. It’s a Warner Bros film but there are currently no plans to stream it on HBO Max — only 2021 films will be released online.
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
John Wick: Chapter 4 (May 27, 2022)
Keanu’s other all-action franchise also returns for a fourth outing.
Elvis (June 2, 2022)
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
Jurassic World: Dominion (June 10, 2022)
Jeff Goldblum, Sam Neill and Laura Dern in the original Jurassic Park.
Universal Pictures
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
Lightyear (June 17, 2022)
Chris Evans take Toy Story’s pompous plaything to infinity and beyond.
Fantastic Beasts 3 (July 15, 2022)
Johnny Depp magically disappears from the Harry Potter prequel series, replaced as the villain by Mads Mikkelsen.
Original release date: November 2021
Indiana Jones 5 (July 29, 2022)
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse 2 (Oct. 7, 2022)
Halloween Ends (Oct. 14, 2022)
The Flash (Nov. 4, 2022)
Mission: Impossible 8 (Nov. 4, 2022)
Captain Marvel 2 (Nov. 11, 2022)
Aquaman 2 (Dec. 16, 2022)
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
2021 movies already released and streaming now
Locked Down (Already out, Jan. 14, 2021)
Anne Hathaway and Chiwetel Ejiofor are a troubled couple who take advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic to pull off a jewelry heist in an empty store. How topical! It’s streaming on HBO Max.
Outside the Wire (Already out, Jan. 15, 2021)
Marvel star Anthony Mackie is an android with attitude in Netflix’s near-future action thriller.
Coming 2 America (Already out, 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 didn’t mind a delay of a few months. Amazon Prime Video acquired Coming 2 America in November, a month before it was set to be released in theaters, and it’s streaming now.
Original release date: Dec. 18, 2020
Chaos Walking (Already out, March 5, 2021)
Tom Holland and Daisy Ridley cause chaos on a planet where all the women have died and thoughts are visible. Even before the pandemic this delightfully weird-sounding film was delayed by reshoots.
Raya and the Last Dragon (Already out, March 12, 2021)
Awkwafina lends her voice to this fire-breathing animated adventure streaming now on Disney Plus.
Original release date: November 2020
Zack Snyder’s Justice League (already out, March 18, 2021)
Arguably one of the most-delayed films on the list, this reworked and significantly longer version of 2017’s Justice League re-teams Wonder Woman, Batman and Superman in the hands of the film’s original director Zack Snyder. All four hours of the Snyder Cut stream on HBO Max after a long-running online campaign.
The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (already out, March 19, 2021)
Nicolas Cage plays himself in suitably over-the-top style in this bonkers comedy.