From The Boy and the Heron, the Mean Girls musical, Drag Den season 2, and more, January 2024 is hitting the ground running.
Related: 11 Of Our Favorite Movies From 2023
And just like that, a new year has begun, which also means a whole year for new movies and shows. Starting things off this 2024 is January and its slate of new titles that run the gamut from action, anime, musicals, rom-com, family fun, horror, and more. It’s a wide selection, to say the least. So, if you’re looking for new movies and shows to begin your 2024 watchlist, check out our selection of the fresh titles this month you shouldn’t miss.
THE BROTHERS SUN
We will always have time for Michelle Yeoh in an Asian-centric action series. When a mysterious enemy targets his family, a Taipei triad member heads to Los Angeles to protect his strong-willed mother and oblivious younger brother. The show is now streaming on Netflix.
THE BOY AND THE HERON
After its delay from its initial November 2023 release, Studio Ghiblis’ latest animated wonder is finally hitting local cinemas. Set during and after World War 2 in Japan, The Boy and the Heron tells the whimsical tale of Mahito Maki who moves into a new town after the tragic death of their mother. Led on by a mysterious grey heron, he finds an abandoned tower and enters the fantastical world that awaited him inside as he embarks on an imaginative story that straddles between life and death. Aside from the original Japanese version with English subtitles, the English dubbed version will also be screened in select cinemas nationwide when the film drops on January 8.
NIGHT SWIM
Ever feel that there’s something watching you at the bottom of the pool. This horror film plays on that fear as it turns swimming pools into the latest cinematic terror. Secretly hoping, against the odds, to return to pro ball, Ray persuades Eve that the new home’s shimmering backyard swimming pool will be fun for the kids and provide physical therapy for him. But a dark secret in the home’s past will unleash a malevolent force that will drag the family under, into the depths of inescapable terror. Swim into this horror movie when it screens in local cinemas on January 8.
ECHO
The MCU’s first offering of 2024 takes a gritty turn in their first M-rated series. Following the events of the Hawkeye series, Maya Lopez, aka Echo, returns to her Oklahoma roots to escape Wilson Frisk. There, she confronts her past and Native American roots to overcome her latest hurdle. All five episodes drop on Disney+ on January 10, making it a good early 2024 binge if you’re on the hunt for a mature series.
LIFT
DId someone say a heist movie? A professional thief and his expert crew attempt the ultimate heist: stealing $500 million in gold from a vault on a plane. Oh, and that plane is also 40,000 feet in the air. No problem, right? See how this plot unfolds when it drops on Netflix on January 12.
ANYONE BUT YOU
Who says Hollywood rom-coms are dead? Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell star as Bea and Ben, two people who, despite an amazing first date, become ice cold and bitter enemies. That is until, they put aside their personal vendettas and pretend to be a head-over-heels couple in order to keep the peace at a wedding they’re both attending in Australia. Catch this edgy comedy in local cinemas beginning January 17.
MIGRATION
Illumination (the animation studio behind the Despicable Me franchise, among others) is back with a new world to explore in this tale of a family of ducks who go on a vacation that becomes anything but orderly. The movie flies onto local cinemas on January 17.
A SHOP OF KILLERS
Set in modern-day Korea, A Shop For Killers sees college student Jeong Jian diving for cover in her childhood home after a series of highly skilled assassins get her in their sites. Desperately fighting to survive, Jian will begin to remember invaluable lessons her uncle taught her before his apparent suicide, drawing on them to help her stay alive. Jian will have to work fast to uncover her uncle’s hidden past and figure out why so many people are desperate to gain access to the house and the extensive arsenal hidden inside. The series drops on Disney+ on January 17.
GG
For how popular esports is in the Philippines, we have yet to see a movie delve into the gaming world. That is, until now. GG, billed as the country’s first esports movie, follows Seth (Donny Pangilinan), an aspiring gamer that has to face a challenging family environment as he ventures into the world of competitive gaming by joining the scrappy but energetic esports team Tokwa’t Bad Bois. Catch this in local cinemas beginning January 24.
GRISELDA
We don’t believe in the glorification of violence, but we do believe in women empowerment, which is why we’re excited to see Sofia Vergara take on crime lord Griselda Blanco. This limited series follows the savvy and ambitious Colombian businesswoman as she created one of the most profitable cartels in history. It drops on Netflix on January 25.
EXPATS
Nicole Kidman leads this series that follows the lives of a group of foreigners living in the complex Hong Kong society and how their diverse backgrounds shape their relationships with one another. And if that wasn’t enough to get you excited, this series from The Farewell director Lulu Wang also stars our very own Ruby Ruiz. It streams on Prime Video beginning January 26.
FLEX X COP
After years of spending his family’s fortune on whatever his heart desired, a mistaken arrest sees Jin Isoo (Ahn Bohyun) get thrust into a new position at Gangha Police Station’s Violent Crimes Unit 1. Used to getting whatever he wants, Isoo initially butts heads with the department’s leader Lee Ganghyun, but as the weight of his new responsibility begins to set in, Isoo will rise to the occasion, using his unique skill set and vast wealth to bulldoze through departmental bottlenecks, helping the team solve cases and bring offenders to justice. The Korean crime drama comes to Disney+ on January 26.
ARGYLLE
From director Matthew Vaughn comes Argylle, a globe-trotting spy thriller that follows reclusive author Elly Conway (Bryce Dallas Howard). She’s known for writing the best-selling espionage novels about a secret agent named Argylle (Henry Cavill) who’s on a mission to unravel a global spy syndicate. However, when the plots of her books start to mirror the covert actions of a real-life spy organization, the line between fiction and reality begins to blur. The movie rolls onto local cinemas right at the end of the month, January 31.
NEW SEASONS
Get those binging hours ready with these new seasons coming this January. Gyeongseong Creature Part 2 (January 5), RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 16 (January 5), True Detective Season 4 (January 14), Drag Den Season 2 (January 18), Queer Eye Season 8 (January 24), Feud Season 2 (January 31).
Continue Reading: Give Yourself A Holly Jolly Christmas With December 2023’s New Movies And Shows
