What to Watch in April

The worldwide Box Office finally kicked into gear in March with the huge releases of “Kung Fu Panda 4”, “Godzilla x Kong”, “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire” and “Dune: Part Two”, the latter becoming the highest grossing film of 2024 so far, by quite some margin.

There are very few releases in the way of blockbusters in April, most likely to allow the larger March releases breathing room to bring in as much money as possible. There are some notable releases though however in cinemas and on streaming. “Challengers”, “Monkey Man” and “Civil War” are amongst my most anticipated movies of 2024, and the streaming release of “Late Night with the Devil” will be coming to Shudder this month after a limited theatrical run.

Other streaming releases include, the Prince Andrew scandal drama “Scoop” and the second part of Zack Snyder‘s ambitious sci-fi series “Rebel Moon”, both of which come to Netflix this month.

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

Monkey Man (15)

Dir: Dev Patel

Cast: Dev Patel, Sharlto Copley, Pitobash, Sobhita Dhulipala, Sikander Kher, Vipin Sharma, Ashwini Kalsekar, Adithi Kalkunte, Makarand Deshpande

Synopsis: A young man (Dev Patel) ekes out a meagre living in an underground fight club where, night after night, wearing a gorilla mask, he’s beaten bloody by more popular fighters for cash. After years of suppressed rage, he discovers a way to infiltrate the enclave of the city’s sinister elite. As his childhood trauma boils over, his mysteriously scarred hands unleash an explosive campaign of retribution to settle the score with the men who took everything from him.

The First Omen (15)

Dir: Arkasha Stevenson

Cast: Nell Tiger Free, Tawfeek Barhom, Sonia Braga, Ralph Ineson, Bill Nighy

Synopsis: A woman starts to question her own faith when she uncovers a terrifying conspiracy to bring about the birth of evil incarnate in Rome.

Scoop (15)

Dir: Philip Martin

Cast: Gillian Anderson, Rufus Sewell, Billie Piper

Synopsis: An insider account of how the women of “Newsnight” secured Prince Andrew’s infamous 2019 interview about his friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Civil War (15)

Dir: Alex Garland

Cast: Kirsten Dunst, Cailee Spaeny, Wagner Moura, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Nick Offerman

Synopsis: In a dystopian future America, a team of military-embedded journalists races against time to reach Washington, D.C., before rebel factions descend upon the White House.

Arcadian (TBC)

Dir: Ben Brewer

Cast: Nicolas Cage, Jaeden Martell, Maxwell Jenkins

Synopsis: In the near future on a decimated Earth, Paul (Nicolas Cage) and his twin sons find tranquillity by day but terror by night when ferocious creatures awaken and consume all living souls in their path. When Paul is nearly killed, the boys come up with a desperate plan for survival, using everything their father taught them to keep him alive.

Back to Black (15)

Dir: Sam Taylor-Johnson

Cast: Marisa Abela, Jack O’Connell, Eddie Marsan, Lesley Manville

Synopsis: Singer Amy Winehouse’s (Marisa Abela) tumultuous relationship with Blake Fielder-Civil (Jack O’Connell) inspires her to write and record the ground-breaking album “Back to Black.”

Abigail (18)

Dir: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett

Cast: Melissa Barrera, Dan Stevens, Kathryn Newton, William Catlett, Kevin Durand, Angus Cloud, Alisha Weir, Giancarlo Esposito

Synopsis: A group of would-be criminals kidnaps the 12-year-old daughter of a powerful underworld figure. Holding her for ransom in an isolated mansion, their plan starts to unravel when they discover their young captive is actually a bloodthirsty vampire.

Rebel Moon: Part Two – The Scargiver (15)

Dir: Zack Snyder

Cast: Sofia Boutella, Djimon Hounsou, Ed Skrein, Michiel Huisman, Doona Bae, Ray Fisher, Staz Nair, Fra Fee, E. Duffy, Anthony Hopkins

Synopsis: A colony on the edge of the galaxy fights for survival against a tyrannical ruling force.

Late Night with the Devil (15)

Dir: Colin Cairnes, Cameron Cairnes

Cast: David Dastmalchian, Laura Gordon, Ian Bliss, Fayssal Bazzi, Ingrid Torelli, Rhys Auteri, Georgina Haig, Josh Quong Tart

Synopsis: In 1977 a live television broadcast goes horribly wrong, unleashing evil into the nation’s living rooms.

Challengers (TBC)

Dir: Luca Guadagnino

Cast: Zendaya, Josh O’Connor, Mike Faist

Synopsis: Tashi (Zendaya), a tennis player turned coach, has transformed her husband (Mike Faist) from a mediocre player into a world-famous grand slam champion. To jolt him out of his recent losing streak, she makes him play a challenger event — close to the lowest level of tournament on the pro tour. Tensions soon run high when he finds himself standing across the net from the once-promising, now burnt-out Patrick (Josh O’Connor), his former best friend and Tashi’s former boyfriend.

Boy Kills World (18)

Dir: Moritz Mohr

Cast: Bill Skarsgard, Jessica Rothe, Michelle Dockery, Famke Janssen, Sharlto Copley, Brett Gelman, Isaiah Mustafa, Andrew Koji

Synopsis: Boy (Bill Skarsgard), a deaf person with a vibrant imagination, is trained by a mysterious shaman to become an instrument of death after his family is murdered.

Ordinary Angels (12A)

Dir: Jon Gunn

Cast: Hilary Swank, Alan Ritchson, Nancy Travis, Tamala Jones

Synopsis: A struggling hairdresser finds a renewed sense of purpose when she meets a widowed father working hard to care for his two daughters. With his youngest critically ill and waiting for a liver transplant, the fierce woman single-handedly rallies an entire community to help.