2023 has emerged as a pivotal chapter in cinematic history, as it reestablished the love of theaters among movie enthusiasts after the big screens struggled due to the popularity of streaming releases following the pandemic.
Production houses spent fortunes on strategic marketing to lure audiences back to the grandeur of the multiplex, and thankfully, the efforts have bore fruit as the year saw a number of critically and commercially successful releases.
While new hits like Barbie, Oppenheimer, and the billion-dollar animated feature The Super Mario Mario Bros. Movie. marked some of the most successful releases of 2023, studios also made sure to drop a number of sequels too, a surefire avenue to reel in substantial box office gains. The tried-and-true strategy saw Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, John Wick: Chapter 4, Creed III, and Avatar: The Way of Water all find their way on the list of highest-grossing releases of 2023.
2024 will be another big year for cinema, as a plethora of much-anticipated sequels have already found their way to the 2024 movie calendar. From the biggest animated hits and classic stories to action-packed blockbusters, check out the best movie sequels coming out in 2024 to plan your year ahead.
10. Inside Out 2
Release Date: June 14, 2024
Director: Kelsey Mann
“Joy and the emotions are back for an all-new adventure inside Riley’s head,” Amy Poehler announced at D23 10 months ago. The innovative animated feature about the five personified emotions administering the thoughts and actions of an 11-year-old Riley left the world in awe in 2015. Now, a sequel is set to hit the big screen in 2024, exploring the inside of the now grown-up teen brain of Riley.
Inside Out 2 will now push the big puberty button on Riley and explore a new set of emotions “that live inside a young person’s brain.” The original Inside Out film won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature in 2016 and grossed a whopping $858.8 million against a budget of $175 million. June 2024 will reveal what magic can Inside Out 2 work on the audience’s brains.
9. Kung Fu Panda 4
Release Date: March 8, 2024
Director: Mike Mitchell
After three successful movies, Kung Fu Panda 4 will chronicle the clumsy kung fu fanatic panda Po, embarking on a journey to find a new Dragon Warrior while battling a new villain, the Chameleon.
Prior to Wonder Woman taking the lead in 2017, the second installment of the series, Kung Fu Panda 2, directed by Jennifer Yuh Nelson, had the highest global box office performance for a film directed by a solo female. However, the series continues to enjoy great acclaim as a superb Western adaptation of the wuxia subgenre.
8. Sonic the Hedgehog 3
Release Date: December 20, 2024
Director: Jeff Fowler
Despite the SAG-AFTRA strike halting production of most films, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is set to begin filming, focusing on completing the CGI scenes without actors to ensure it meets its 2024 release date. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 was the highest-grossing video game film in the U.S. until The Super Mario Bros. Movie broke the record this year. Our beloved anthropomorphic hedgehog now has a chance to again reclaim its glory with the sequel.
Sonic the Hedgehog was director Jeff Fowler’s feature-length debut, and his talent worked wonders, setting the record for the biggest opening weekend for a video game film in the U.S. and Canada. Apart from the upcoming sequel, Knuckles, a spin-off series starring Elba, is also in production and scheduled to premiere on Paramount Plus this year.
7. Venom 3
Release date: July 12, 2024
Director: Kelly Marcel
The fifth film in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe will also hit the big screens in the summer of 2024. The currently untitled sequel to 2021’s Venom: Let There Be Carnage will conclude the trilogy featuring Tom Hardy’s Eddie Brock. The last film ended with Eddie and Venom fleeing the country for a vacation and getting transported into MCU due to Doctor Strange’s botched spell in Spider-Man: No Way Home, before being instantly retconned.
Hardy already revealed back in 2018 that he was signed on to appear in three Venom films in total. The first two have grossed over $1.3 billion at the box office collectively. Though none of the Venom SSU films have done great among critics, Venom 3 still remains one of the most anticipated sequels. 2024 will also see two more major SSU releases, including Madame Web and Kraven the Hunter.
6. Despicable Me 4
Release Date: July 3, 2024
Director: Chris Renaud
The highest-grossing animated film franchise of all-time is adding another chapter to its long-running saga. Despicable Me 4 will mark the sixth overall installment in the series, and the fourth entry in the main sequel series. The plot is currently unknown but will most likely pick up right where Despicable Me 3 left off. Dru, along with most of the Minions last stole Gru’s rocket-powered aircraft and flew away. The ending featured Gru and Lucy deciding to give them a five-minute head-start before engaging in pursuit.
Despicable Me 3 earned $1 billion worldwide and is currently the ninth highest-grossing animated film of all-time. The franchise’s first prequel, Minions, is the highest-grossing in the franchise. Despicable Me 4 will hopefully hit the billion-dollar mark and bring the total haul up to $4.5 billion next year.
5. Bad Boys 4
Release Date: June 14, 2024
Director: Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah
Will Smith confirmed his return alongside Martin Lawrence to their long-running Bad Boys franchise earlier this year in February. The success of Bad Boys for Life, the third installment in the series that came 17 years after the second, prompted Sony to green light a sequel. The plot of Bad Boys 4 is currently kept under wraps, but the team has onboarded three new actors to play major roles in the film, including Eric Dane, Ioan Gruffudd, and Rhea Seehorn.
The Bad Boys series has grossed over $840 million worldwide with the first three films. The franchise has a mixed track of critical reception, with the first having mixed reviews, the second garnering unfavorable reception, and the third gaining generally positive critic comments. It will be interesting to see what Bad Boys 4 will bring to the audience.
4. Gladiator 2
Release Date: November 22, 2024
Director: Ridley Scott
2024 will see a lot of classics returning to grace the big screens with new stories. The second highest-grossing film of 2000, the epic historical drama Gladiator will return with a sequel following the story of Lucius. Gladiator 2 will take place 15 years later, when the Praetorian Guards are in control of Rome, and an adult Lucius starts looking for the truth about his biological father.
Gladiator won five Academy Awards in 2001 including Best Picture. Given that Scott will return to direct the sequel, fans are hopeful for another Oscar-worthy story. Connie Nielsen will reprise her role as Lucilla. Djimon Hounsou and Derek Jacobi will also return from the original film as Juba and Senator Gracchus, respectively.
3. Joker: Folie à Deux
Release Date: October 4, 2024
Director: Todd Phillips
The first R-rated film to gross $1 billion will be back with another masterpiece sequel following Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker and Lady Gaga’s Harley Quinn.
Joker was originally imagined as a standalone film, as director Todd Phillips stated in 2019, “The movie’s not set up to [have] a sequel. We always pitched it as one movie, and that’s it.” But it seems like the audience won this battle and will finally get a Joker 2. The original Arthur Fleck adventure remains the thir highest-grossing DC movie, and hopes are high for Folie à Deux to surpass its predecessor.
2. Beetlejuice 2
Release Date: September 6, 2024
Director: Tim Burton
The 1988 fantasy horror film that grew a cult following will also make a return to the big screens 36 years later with a sequel. Beetlejuice 2 was officially announced in May 2023, with Tim Burton confirmed to return to the director’s chair, and Michael Keaton set to reprise his role as Beetlegeuse. The story will continue down the time with Lydia Deetz now grown up and married. Winona Ryder will be back as Lydia, and Jenna Ortega will play the role of her daughter.
Beetlejuice 2 will be an exciting continuation of the iconic character’s story etched in cinematic history. The original Beetlejuice was a huge box office success grossing $74.7 million from a budget of $15 million, and it also won an Academy Award for Best Makeup.
1. Deadpool 3
Release Date: May 3, 2024
Director: Shawn Levy
The first R-rated MCU movie, Deadpool 3 is one of the most anticipated sequels, fueled even further after Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman revealed the first look at their costumes from the upcoming film. Madcap is one of the possible villains for Deadpool 3, but nothing is confirmed yet. Fans will likely see surviving members of the X-Force, and witness some romance between Vanessa and our beloved Wade Wilson.
Deadpool 2 grossed a worldwide total of $785.8Â million in 2018, so Deadpool 3 must aim to be a billion-dollar blockbuster. If it manages to reach the milestone and beat Joker‘s $1 billion gross, it may emerge as the highest-grossing R-rated feature ever.
