MANILA, Philippines — (UPDATED: January 19, 12:58 p.m.) Three, two, one... Happy New Year!
2024 is here, and it's time for a fresh year full of surprises and excitement.
With so much hope to look forward to, the same could be said for a brand new bunch of movies and shows that will kick off the year.
Here is a list of movies and series premiering this month in local theaters and several streaming platforms:
Cinemas
"The Boy and the Heron" (Jan. 1)
Directed by Hayao Miyazaki
Starring Soma Santoki, Masaki Suda, Ko Shibasaki, Aimyon, Kaoru Kobayashi, and Jun Kunimura
English dub by Luca Padovan, Robert Pattinson, Karen Fukuhara, Gemma Chan, Christian Bale, Mark Hamill, Florence Pugh, Willem Dafoe, and Dave Bautista
Synopsis: A young boy in the middle of World War II discovers an abandoned tower in his new town after the death of his mother and enters a fantastical world with a talking grey heron.
"Anyone but You" (Jan. 17)
Directed by Will Gluck
Starring Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell
Synopsis: Two individuals who previously went on a date together unexpectedly find themselves at a destination wedding in Australia and pretend to be the perfect couple to keep up appearances.
"Migration" (Jan. 17)
Directed by Benjamin Renner
Starring Kumail Nanjiani, Elizabeth Banks, Keegan-Michael Key, Awkwafina, and Danny DeVito
Synopsis: A family of mallards try to convince their overprotective father to go on a vacation of a lifetime and attempt to migrate from New England, through New York City, to Jamaica.
"Tokyo Revengers 2: Bloody Halloween - Destiny" (Jan. 17)
Directed by Tsutomu Hanabusa
Starring Takumi Kitamura, Keita Arai, Shôtarô Mamiya, Nijirô Murakami, Kento Nagayama, Yôsuke Sugino, and Ryô Yoshizawa
Synopsis: Based on the manga series, Kitamura's Takemichi goes back in time to his school days to prevent the gang who killed his girlfriend.
"The Color Purple" (Jan. 24)
Directed by Blitz Bazawule
Starring Fantasia Barrino, Taraji P. Henson, Danielle Brooks, Colman Domingo, Corey Hawkins, Halle Bailey, and H.E.R.
Synopsis: A musical film adaptation of Alice Walker's 1982 novel about the lifelong struggles of an African-American woman living in the South during the early 1900s.
"Argylle" (Jan. 31)
Directed by Matthew Vaughn
Starring Henry Cavill, Bryce Dallas Howard, Sam Rockwell, Bryan Cranston, Catherine O'Hara, Dua Lipa, Ariana DeBose, John Cena, and Samuel L. Jackson
Synopsis: An introverted spy novelist is drawn into the real world of espionage when the plots of her books get a little too close to the activities of a sinister underground syndicate.
"Priscilla" (Jan. 31)
Directed by Sofia Coppola
Starring Cailee Spaeny, Jacob Elordi, Dagmara Domi?czyk, and Ari Cohen
Synopsis: A biographical drama film about Priscilla Beaulieu and her complicated relationship with Elvis Presley, based on the 1985 memoir "Elvis and Me" penned by Priscilla.
Netflix
"Society of the Snow" (Jan. 4)
Directed by J.A. Bayona
Starring Matías Recalt, Agustín Pardella, Luciano Chatton, and Francisco Romero
Synopsis: An adaptation of Pablo Vierci's book of the same name about the survivors of the Uruguayan 1972 Andes flight disaster.
"Gyeongseong Creature – Part Two" (Jan. 5)
Directed by Jeong Dong-yun
Starring Park Seo-joon, Han So-hee, Claudia Kim, Kim Hae-sook, Jo Han-chul, and Wi Ha-joon
Synopsis: Two individuals confront a strange creature born of greed and battle against it for survival during the Japanese colonization of Korea in 1945.
"Lift" (Jan. 12)
Directed by F. Gary Gray
Starring Kevin Hart, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Vincent D'Onofrio, Úrsula Corberó, Jacob Batalon, Jean Reno, Billy Magnussen, and Sam Worthington
Synopsis: An international heist crew race to steal millions worth in gold from a passenger plane 40,000 feet in the air.
"Captivating the King" (Jan. 20)
Directed by Jo Nam-guk
Starring Jo Jung-suk, Shin Se-kyung, and Lee Shin-young
Synopsis: A cruel love story a miserable king who has no one around him that he can trust and is in danger of both royal and political power struggles and a woman who tries to deceive him for revenge but ends up falling in love with him.
"Griselda" (Jan. 25)
Directed by Andrés Baiz
Starring Sofia Vergara, Alberto Guerra, Martin Rodriguez, Juliana Aidén Martinez, Vanessa Ferlito, and Christian Tappan
Synopsis: A miniseries based on the notorious Colombian cocaine trafficker Griselda Blanco, known by many as the Black Widow or Cocaine Godmother.
Disney+
"Echo" (Jan. 10)
Created by Marion Bayre
Starring Alaqua Coz, Chaske Spencer, Tantoo Cardinal, Devery Jacobs, Zahn McClarnon, Vincent D'Onofrio, and Charlie Cox
Synopsis: Following the events of "Hawkeye," the titular character is being pursued by Wilson Fisk's organization, leading her to return to her hometown in Oklahoma, where she must come to terms with her past, reconnect with her Native American roots, and embrace her family and community.