By 8th-Grader Jackie Padgett

I absolutely love movies–especially movies in movie theaters. It’s always been a “tradition” in my family to go to the theaters, get popcorn and pretzels, and sit in those black (sometimes slightly uncomfortable) cushioned seats. So I compiled a list of movies I’m excited to go see in theaters in 2024. 

#7: Inside Out 2

The bottom of this can’t-wait-to-see list is Inside Out 2. Trust me I’m as shocked as you that it made it to the top seven. The reason for this is because I can’t even count the number of times I watched the original Inside Out when I was younger, so the franchise has a special place in my heart. Surprisingly, we don’t know too much about it other than there are four new emotions. Anxiety is orange and has this kind of high ponytail feather hair and is voiced by Maya Hawke. The other ones are Embarrassment, Ennui (“a feeling of listlessness and dissatisfaction arising from a lack of occupation or excitement.”– Oxford Dictionary), and Envy. 

#6: Night Swim

I have a love-hate relationship with horror movies, and Night Swim is definitely on the love side of that. It’s my #6 because I don’t know if I’ll feel compelled to see it in theaters (‘cause I’m a little scared) or watch it at home. What stuck me in the trailers were the horror events. In one, you reach into the pool filter (the one by the side), and a monster grabs you and tries to pull you in. Terrifying, I know, but I’m sure we all thought this would happen to us when we were younger. I don’t know about you, but I feared the pool lights going out and a monster hanging around at the deep end of the pool ready to drown you. Some of the shots they show in the movie are really cool-looking–like blood floating in the chlorinated pool water. The reason I might not see this in theaters is because the monster they have looks terrifying, and it’s the same producers as M3GAN, so they definitely have the creepy doll monster thing under their belt. 

#5: Wicked

Surprisingly for me, I put Wicked at #5. I really love the original musical, so you’d expect it to be higher on my list. I’m mostly worried that it isn’t going to be as “magical” as it was when I first watched it. (It was also the first musical I’d ever seen, and if you know me, you know I love musical theater.) I do really hope they keep the songs similar as movies tend to slow down some tempos, and most of the time the slow-down ruins the song. 

#4: Mean Girls

Mean Girls is my #4 most-anticipated movie of 2024. As with most of these remakes, I loved the originals, so they automatically get bumped up on the list. I was also in a high-school production version of Mean Girls with Musical Theatre University at Palm Canyon Theater, so seeing the play I was in not too long ago become a movie is very exciting. Sadly, the movie had to cut a lot of songs as the musical had 21 (the movie version only has 13), and they cut one of my favorites, “Where Do You Belong,” as it doesn’t really move the plot along. Another thing they did was exactly what I didn’t want them to do–slow down a song. They ended up having, in my opinion, weird background music to “World Burn” (one of Regina’s big solos) that was slower compared to the one on Broadway. I’m seeing this movie really soon, and I can’t wait to hear how the actors sing and how different or similar it is to Broadway versions. 

#3: One Love

#3 on my wish list is One Love. I love these types of movies. I think they are called dramamentaries…? They did this with Elvis, and I thought that movie was pretty good. I really liked the Priscilla one, too. Well, this one is about Bob Marley, and I like his songs, but I don’t know that much about him, so I’m excited to learn. They apparently already made a movie called One Love back in 2003, which references Marley’s music but is not about his life. It still seems worth watching to compare. I really have no expectations for this movie. It just sounds really cool, and I love the poster. 

#2: Dune Part 2

Dune Part 2 is #2 on my watch list. It took me a hilarious amount of time to fully watch through the first one with Timothée Chalamet. I  watched the first 30 minutes of it then thought it was boring. Then I watched the last 30 minutes of it at a friend’s house. After that I got motivated to watch the full thing through but ran out of time as I rented the movie. Finally I re-rented it and watched the entire thing. During this saga of watching Dune, I really enjoyed the camera angles, so I’m excited to see more of that. I don’t remember loving the blue eyes in most shots, but maybe I’ll change my mind. 

#1: Lisa Frankenstein

#1 I-can’t-wait-to-see is none other than Lisa Frankenstein. I think this movie just looks really cool. I really like the neon theme with the pinks and teals they have in the trailer and the poster. Though many people say romance movies are pretty cheesy, I still really like them. Lisa Frankenstein happens to have some romance, lots of comedy and a bit of horror. I think that makes a pretty rounded-out movie. Plus, it’s set in the 80s, so we get my personal favorite music style and really fun outfits and hair. The trailers do make Cole Sprouse’s makeup as Frankenstein’s monster a little bit weird looking, so I’ll be keeping an eye out for that. 

Some of you may think I have “horrible movie taste” (Quote Louisa Richardson), but this is my opinion. If you are excited for any movies this year, tell me in the comments, I’d love to add them to my list.