We have are in such a state of limbo right now in the industry that many film journalists I know haven’t even bothered applying for press accreditation at this year’s Cannes. They just don’t believe it’s happening. The festival is set to take place in July, but the odds of it actually occurring are still up for debate as France, and really all of Western Europe, keeps sinking deeper into COVID lockdown. I’ve applied for my Cannes credentials, but am skeptical about it occurring as well. Despite scientific progress, there is the overall feeling that 2021 will likely be the year of the vaccination, where the world’s population will have to build up a kind of herd immunity and be read for normalcy to come back in full by 2022.
With all that being said, There are movies still set to be released this year. Others are in a state of limbo. A lot of the releases will have to depend on what kind of state the U.S. and Europe will be by the time vaccination rates exceed the 60 or even 70 percent threshold. Will that be enough to get asses back into seats at the local multiplex? We had a ray of hope a few weeks ago when “Godzilla vs. Kong” opened with a pandemic-era record $48 million weekend.
A domino effect is needed. Having a Cannes Film Festival happen in the summer and then in the fall Telluride, Venice and, finally, TIFF, will be the best case scenario. However, we all know that predicting what will happen is an outrageous proposition as we don’t even know how our world will look next week let alone three months from now.
If you look at when I assembled this semi-speculative list of movies that I hoped would come out in 2021, well, I’m still hoping about their release prospects, especially the new Paul Thomas Anderson movie, Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon”, Andrew Dominik’s “Blonde,” I’d be ecstatic to see the new David O. Russell and the latest from Sean Baker. All of those could very well be released this year.
Alas, even though I’ve included these titles in the aforementioned piece, it seems as though a complete return to cinematic normalcy is not very likely until the last few months of the fall, if that. What we’re then left with as certainties are the streaming releases from Netflix, Disney Plus, Amazon, Apple and, most intriguingly, HBO Max.
Definitely being released
”Black Widow” (Disney Plus)
“Pixar’s Luca” (Disney Plus)
”Blonde” (Netflix)
”Don’t Look Up” (Netflix)
”Dune” (HBO Max)
“The Power of the Dog” (Netflix)
“No Sudden Move” (HBO Max)
”Those Who Wish Me Dead” (HBO Max)
”Cry Macho” (HBO Max)
”In the Heights” (HBO Max)
”The Matrix 4” (HBO Max)
“The Many Saints of Newark” (HBO Max)
”King Richard” (HBO Max)
“The Beatles: Get Back” (HBO Max)
“The Hand of God” (Netflix)
Films from major directors that are set for a non-streaming 2021 theatrical release are abundant this year.
“Soggy Bottom” (Paul Thomas Anderson)
“Killers of the Flower Moon” (Martin Scorsese)
“The Tragedy of MacBeth” (Joel Coen)
”Nightmare Alley” (Guillermo del Toro)
”The Whale” (Darren Aronofsky)
”Amsterdam” (David O. Russell)
”Red Rocket” (Sean Baker)
”Last Night in Soho” (Edgar Wright)
”The Northman” (Robert Eggers)
”Annette” (Leos Carax)
”Memoria” (Apichatpong Weerasethakul)
”The Last Duel” (Ridley Scott)
”House of Gucci” (Ridley Scott)
”The Card Counter” (Paul Schrader)
”Benedetta” (Paul Verhoeven)
”C’mon, C’mon” (Mike Mills)
”Next Goal Wins” (Taika Waititi)
”Petite Maman” (Celine Sciamma)
”West Side Story” (Steven Spielberg)
”Bergman Island” (Mia Hansen-Love)
”After Yang” (Kogonada)
I can confirm that Joel Coen’s “Jack of Spades” is based on Frances Frederica Montrésor’s 1901 novel “The Alien: A Story of Middle Age.” It’s a ghost story. A gothic mystery.