Remember the days when skipping a cinema release meant a movie was a guaranteed stinker? Well, the world has changed in a whole bunch of ways, and that’s just one – as many of the best streaming services fund their own movie productions and sometimes skip the big screen entirely.
Direct-to-streaming releases are indeed super commonplace, and it can be hard to sift through the many, many movies coming out to know what’ll actually be worth your time. So, we’ve taken a look at all the original movies confirmed to be releasing on streaming platforms in 2024, from Netflix and Disney+ to Apple TV+ and Prime Video.
We’ve honed that list down to 10 highlights for you to earmark - when these hit your service of choice, be sure to check them out. And if you want to see them in the best way possible, you'll want to consider buying one of the best TVs with the best soundbar in tow to make the experience extra special, like a cinema at home!
1. Foe
- Service: Prime Video
- Release date: 5 January 2024
This is science fiction the arthouse way. Saoirse Ronan and Paul Mescal star as a couple whose relationship is put under strain when only one of them is offered the chance to live in the stars for a period of time.
It looks like a truly soul-searching and perhaps upsetting look at how a changed world could actually impact us as personalities. It had a limited theatrical release in 2023, though, and the Rotten Tomatoes score of a meagre 24% from critics is hardly great - but audience score is much higher and, when it reaches more viewers, could be a high-flyer.
2. The Kitchen
- Service: Netflix
- Release date: 12 January 2024
Sci-fi is going to have another big year - here are 5 of the best sci-fi movies streaming now to keep you going - as Daniel Kaluuya makes his directorial debut (together with Kibwe Tavares) in this credibly dystopian London flick.
It’ll see our main character Izi struggling with guilt as he tries to get out of The Kitchen, the slang name for one of the last housing estates left in this dark view of London’s future, juggling responsibilities as he does so.
It's already been well-received by critics, netting an 83% Rotten Tomatoes score for those who have previewed the release. Time will tell if audience agrees, but it looks like a cracker that needs to go onto your watchlist.
3. Role Play
- Service: Prime Video
- Release date: 12 January 2024
Not everything has to be grim and realistic, though. Role Play looks like a nice slice of action-comedy from Prime Video, as David Oyelowo realises that his wife, played by Kaley Cuoco, isn’t all she seems.
From there it looks like a caper to escape assassins and work out the kinks in their marriage, and should be good fun when it hits Prime Video. Amazon is the dark horse in among the best streaming services, offering lots of entertainment.
4. Damsel
- Service: Netflix
- Release date: 8 March 2024
Back to Netflix, which is continuing its extensive work with Stranger Things star Millie Bobby Brown. Here she stars in this dark fantasy tale as the titular damsel, but we can expect an inversion of historic tropes.
After being sacrificed in a pact to keep a kingdom safe, she’ll have to rely on herself and no-one else to survive impossible odds. Definitely one to look forward to come March.
5. Argylle
- Service: Apple TV+
- Release date: 2024
Another twisty spy tale from the mind of Matthew Vaughn, this looks like a really fun one, as a massively successful author of spy novels gets embroiled in real-life espionage.
Is she writing prophecies by accident? Or is there a more nefarious explanation? We’ll find out when it hits Apple TV+, and get a proper look at a really star-studded cast, too, from Henry Cavill to John Cena and Dua Lipa (a reprising of that Barbie duo moment?).
6. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
- Service: Disney+
- Release date: 2024
Disney is so huge that calling its films “streaming originals” isn’t really accurate - these are huge releases that will hit cinemas first, but you can rely on them being on Disney+ pretty quickly, too.
First up is the next Planet of the Apes film, carrying on a surprisingly robust and consistent modern action series with a time-skip forward, away from Caesar’s time in the limelight and focusing on a new generation of apes.
7. Deadpool 3
- Service: Disney+
- Release date: 2024
Another huge movie coming to Disney+ will be the next big tentpole for the Marvel universe - Deadpool 3, which is making a big song and dance about managing to rope Hugh Jackman in for yet another appearance as Wolverine.
This time he’ll be wearing his most comics-accurate costume yet, although the main star of the show will once again be the fourth wall-breaks and profanity, along with some expected multiversal fun.
8. Inside Out 2
- Service: Disney+
- Release date: 2024
Of course, one of Disney’s other jewels in the crown is Pixar, which is getting more used to returning to its brilliant original worlds for its sequels.
Inside Out 2 promises to move from the challenges of growing up to full-on puberty with the arrival of an all-new emotion - Anxiety (voiced by Stranger Things’ Maya Hawke). Expect knowing jokes for the whole family, and plenty of wise lessons, too.
- Service: Prime Video
- Release date: 2024
Sometimes you just need a simple action movie, and The Beekeeper looks like just that - a Jason Statham flick full of guns, fights and one-liners.
Produced by MGM, which is owned by Amazon, it’s pretty much guaranteed to therefore make it onto Prime Video in fairly short order, so expect it relatively early in 2024 after a theatrical run in January.
- Service: Prime Video
- Release date: 2024
This literary satire looks like a simply brilliant send-up of conventions and cultural pandering - it stars Jeffrey Wright as an author who finds a new level of success when he starts parodying what he thinks publishers want.
An examination of stereotypes and hypocrisy, it looks hilarious and, thanks to being another MGM film, is pretty much guaranteed to appear on Prime Video in 2024.
