What to Watch in January

2023 has finally come to a close, and what a year it was for cinema despite a few months of SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes. These strikes have seen several major films such as: Dune: Part Two and The Bikeriders, pushed back so expect to see them in the upcoming year.

January is always a strong month in the UK for movie releases as several awards contenders are often scheduled for release to give them that extra momentum leading up to the Academy Awards. Films to look out for from the awards circuit scheduled for a January release include: Priscilla, The Holdovers, Poor Things, All of Us Strangers and the latest adaptation of The Colour Purple. There are handful of other films to be excited for in both cinemas and on streaming also.

Here is a full breakdown as to what is coming to UK cinemas and streaming throughout the month of January.

Priscilla (15)

Dir: Sofia Coppola

Cast: Cailee Spaeny, Jacob Elordi

Synopsis: When teenager Priscilla Beaulieu (Cailee Spaeny) meets Elvis Presley (Jacob Elordi) at a party, the man who’s already a meteoric rock ‘n’ roll superstar becomes someone entirely unexpected in private moments: a thrilling crush, an ally in loneliness, and a gentle best friend.

One Life (12A)

Dir: James Hawes

Cast: Anthony Hopkins, Johnny Flynn, Lena Olin, Romola Garai, Alex Sharp, Jonathan Pryce, Helena Bonham Carter

Synopsis: The story of British humanitarian Nicholas Winton (Anthony Hopkins/Johnny Flynn), who helped save hundreds of Central European children from the Nazis on the eve of World War II.

Freelance (15)

Dir: Pierre Morel

Cast: John Cena, Alison Brie, Juan Pablo Raba, Christian Slater

Synopsis: Stuck in a dead-end desk job, former special forces operative Mason Pettis (John Cena) reluctantly takes on a freelance gig to provide private security for a washed-up journalist (Alison Brie) as she interviews a ruthless dictator (Juan Pablo Raba). When a military coup breaks out just as she’s about to get the scoop of a lifetime, the unlikely trio must figure out how to survive the jungle and one another to make it out alive.

Society of the Snow (15)

Dir: J. A. Bayona

Cast: Matias Recalt, Agustin Pardella, Felipze Gonzalez Otano, Luciano Chatton, Valentino Alonso, Francisco Romero, Agustin Berruti

Synopsis: In 1972, a Uruguayan flight crashes in the remote heart of the Andes, forcing survivors to become each other’s best hope.

Night Swim (15)

Dir: Bryce McGuire

Cast: Wyatt Russell, Kerry Condon, Amelie Hoeferle, Gavin Warren

Synopsis: Forced into early retirement by a degenerative illness, former baseball player Ray Waller (Wyatt Russell) moves into a new house with his wife (Kerry Condon) and two children. He hopes that the backyard swimming pool will be fun for the kids and provide physical therapy for himself. However, a dark secret from the home’s past soon unleashes a malevolent force that drags the family into the depths of inescapable terror.

Poor Things (18)

Dir: Yorgos Lanthimos

Cast: Emma Stone, Mark Ruffalo, Willem Dafoe, Ramy Youssef, Christopher Abbot, Jarrod Carmichael

Synopsis: Brought back to life by an unorthodox scientist, a young woman (Emma Stone) runs off with a lawyer (Mark Ruffalo) on a whirlwind adventure across the continents. Free from the prejudices of her times, she grows steadfast in her purpose to stand for equality and liberation.

The Boys in the Boat (12A)

Dir: George Clooney

Cast: Callum Turner, Joel Edgerton

Synopsis: During the height of the Great Depression, members of the rowing team at the University of Washington get thrust into the spotlight as they compete for gold at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin.

Th Beekeeper (15)

Dir: David Ayer

Cast: Jason Statham, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Josh Hutcherson, Bobby Naderi, Minnie Driver, Phylicia Rashad, Jeremy Irons

Synopsis: One man’s brutal campaign for vengeance takes on national stakes after it’s revealed he’s a former operative of a powerful and clandestine organization known as Beekeepers.

Lift (12A)

Dir: F. Gary Gray

Cast: Kevin Hart, Vincent D’Onofrio, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Ursula Corbero, Billy Magnussen, Jacob Batalon, Jean Reno, Sam Worthington

Synopsis: A master thief is wooed by his ex-girlfriend and the FBI to pull off an impossible heist with his international crew on a 777 passenger flight from London to Zurich.

The Kitchen (15)

Dir: Kibwe Tavares, Daniel Kaluuya

Cast: Kane Robinson, Jedaiah Bannerman, Hope Ikpoku Jr, Teija Kabs, Demmy Ladipo, Cristale, BackRoad Gee

Synopsis: In a dystopian future London where all social housing has been eliminated, Izi (Kane Robinson) and Benji (Jedaiah Bannerman) fight to navigate the world as residents of The Kitchen, a community that refuses to abandon their home.

The Holdovers (15)

Dir: Alexander Payne

Cast: Paul Giamatti, Dominic Sessa, Da’Vine Joy Randolph

Synopsis: A curmudgeonly instructor at a New England prep school remains on campus during Christmas break to babysit a handful of students with nowhere to go. He soon forms an unlikely bond with a brainy but damaged troublemaker, and with the school’s head cook, a woman who just lost a son in the Vietnam War.

Mean Girls (12A)

Dir: Samantha Jayne, Arturo Perez Jr.

Cast: Angourie Rice, Renee Rapp, Auli’i Cravalho, Christopher Briney, Tina Fey, Tim Meadows, Jenna Fischer, Jon Hamm, Ashley Park

Synopsis: New student Cady Heron (Angourie Rice) gets welcomed into the top of the social food chain by an elite group of popular girls called the Plastics, ruled by the conniving queen bee Regina George (Renee Rapp). However, when Cady makes the major misstep of falling for Regina’s ex-boyfriend, she soon finds herself caught in their crosshairs.

The End We Start From (15)

Dir: Mahalia Belo

Cast: Jodie Comer, Katherine Waterston, Benedict Cumberbatch, Mark Strong

Synopsis: A woman tries to find her way home with her new-born while an environmental crisis submerges London in floodwaters.

The Book of Clarence (TBC)

Dir: Jeymes Samuel

Cast: LaKeith Stanfield, Omar Sy, RJ Cyler, Anna Diop, David Oyelowo, Michael Ward, Alfre Woodard, Teyana Taylor, Caleb McLaughlin, Eric Kofi-Abrefa, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, James McAvoy, Benedict Cumberbatch

Synopsis: A down-on-his-luck man struggles to find a better life for his family while fighting to free himself of debt. Captivated by the power and glory of the rising Messiah, he risks everything to carve his own path to a divine life, ultimately discovering that the redemptive power of belief may be his only way out

The Colour Purple (12A)

Dir: Blitz Bazawule

Cast: Taraji P. Henson, Danielle Brooks, Colman Domingo, Corey Hawkins, H.E.R., Halle Bailey, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Phylicia Pearl Mpasi, Ciara, Jon Batiste, Fantasia Barrino

Synopsis: Torn apart from her sister and her children, Celie (Fantasia Barrino) faces many hardships in life, including an abusive husband. With support from a sultry singer named Shug Avery (Taraji P. Henson), as well as her stand-her-ground stepdaughter, Celie ultimately finds extraordinary strength in the unbreakable bonds of a new kind of sisterhood.

All of Us Strangers (15)

Dir: Andrew Haigh

Cast: Andrew Scott, Paul Mescal, Jamie Bell, Claire Foy

Synopsis: One night in his near-empty London tower block, screenwriter Adam (Andrew Scott) has a chance encounter with mysterious neighbour Harry (Paul Mescal), puncturing the rhythm of his everyday life. As a relationship develops between them, Adam finds himself drawn back to his childhood home, where his parents appear to be living just as they were on the day they died 30 years ago.