Tuesday 3 December. Gaborone, Botswana. It’s time to get your Festive Showmax binge on with the best movies to stream this festive Ft. Dune: Prophecy, Yellowstone, The Day of the Jackal, & Wise Guy: David Chase & The Sopranos starting 2ndDecember 2024.
2-8 DECEMBER
WONKA | First on Showmax | Stream from Friday, 6 December
Inspired by Roald Dahl’s classic Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Wonka stars Oscar nominee Timothée Chalamet (Dune) as the young Willy Wonka, chock-full of ideas and determined to change the world one delectable bite at a time.
From Paul King (writer-director of the Paddington films) and Harry Potter producer David Heyman, the magical musical comedy was the seventh biggest blockbuster of 2023.
Chalamet won the Kids’ Choice Award for Favourite Movie Actor, while Calah Lane was nominated for a Critics Choice Award, Keegan-Michael Key for a Kids’ Choice FavouriteVillain Award, and Olivia Colman for a Critics Choice Super Award. Also look out for Hugh Grant as an Oompa Loompa.
Wonka has an 82% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with The Guardian hailing the family film as “spectacular, imaginative, sweet-natured and funny.”
Watch the trailer:
THE KILLER | Stream from Monday, 2 December
Legendary action director John Woo (Silent Night, Mission: Impossible II, Face/Off) brings us an English-language reimagining of his 1989 Hong Kong classic The Killer.
Emmy nominee Nathalie Emmanuel (Ramsey in the Fast Saga and Missandei in Game of Thrones) stars as Zee, a mysterious and infamous assassin known, and feared, in the Parisian underworld as the Queen of the Dead. During an assignment, Zee refuses to kill a blinded young woman in a nightclub. The decision will disintegrate Zee’s alliances, attract the attention of a savvy police investigator, and plunge her into a criminal conspiracy that sets her on a collision course with her own past.
Golden Globe nominee Omar Sy (Lupin, the Jurassic World franchise) co-stars, along with Teen Choice winner Sam Worthington (Jake in the Avatar films).
IndieWire calls The Killer “shockingly good,” saying: “Woo rediscovers what made his work so much fun,” while The Guardian affirms that “Woo… still knows how to stage mayhem more inventively than a hundred other Hollywood up-and-comers who probably worship the original Killer.”
Watch the trailer:
EILEEN | Stream from Monday, 2 December
Critics Choice nominee Thomasin McKenzie (Last Night in Soho, Jojo Rabbit) and Oscar winner Anne Hathaway (The Devil Wears Prada) star in Eileen, a psychological thriller about a young secretary who becomes enchanted with Rebecca, the glamorous new counsellor at the boys’ correctional facility where she works.
“Eileen Is the Anti-Christmas Movie You Never Knew You Needed,” Vogue headlined, calling it, “a gem destined for cult classic status… an unbearably tense Hitchcockian thriller… a moody, sexy, filthy, dangerous sliver of a film that drives a freezing, smoke-filled truck through all the cloying seasonal cheer.”
Bestselling author Ottessa Moshfegh adapts her own debut novel of the same name, which won the Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award and was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award.
Watch the trailer:
9-15 DECEMBER
IF | Stream from Monday, 9 December
The #20 biggest box office hit of 2024 so far, IF is about a girl who discovers that she can see everyone’s imaginary friends (aka IFs) and embarks on a magical adventure to reconnect forgotten IFs with their kids.
Directed and co-written by John Krasinski (A Quiet Place), IF stars Cailey Fleming (Judith Grimes in The Walking Dead) as Bea and Emmy winner Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool) as Cal, a role that’s already earned him a 2024 Kids’ Choice Award nomination for Favourite Movie Actor.
The all-star voice cast is led by Steve Carell as Blue, Phoebe Waller-Bridge as Blossom, and the late Louis Gossett Jr as Lewis, with Awkwafina as Bubble, and John Krasinski as Marshmallow. Also see if you can spot the voices of Amy Schumer, Bill Hader, Blake Lively, Bradley Cooper, Emily Blunt, George Clooney, Jon Stewart, Matt Damon, Matthew Rhys and Sam Rockwell.
In their 4/5-star review, Common Sense Media recommends IF for ages 6+, hailing the film as “a mind-bending, eye-popping, musical extravaganza that’s truly unforgettable.”
Watch the trailer:
JOHN EARLY: NOW MORE THAN EVER | Stream from Thursday, 12 December
In his first HBO comedy special, John Early brings his unique blend of cutting commentary, pop star swagger, and all-around loveable hilarity to Roulette Intermedium in Brooklyn, New York.
In the style of a gritty 70s rockumentary, Early performs stand-up and explosive song covers, from Britney to Neil Young, intercut with Spinal Tap-esque backstage sketches.
John Early: Now More Than Ever was nominated for the 2024 Critics Choice Award for Best Comedy Special, as well as a 2024 Emmy for Outstanding Writing for A Variety Special. The comedy special also has a 100% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Watch the trailer:
LIL NAS X: LONG LIVE MONTERO | Stream from Thursday, 12 December
Lil Nas X: Long Live Montero captures the mesmerising star power of the Grammy-winning rapper, singer, and songwriter as he embarks on his first-ever headlining US tour.
With unparalleled access, the HBO documentary follows the genre-breaking artist as he navigates the pressures of his meteoric rise to fame, his desire to inspire his fans, and his place in the pantheon of Black queer icons.
“He comes on as exactly who he is: the latest star to remake the pop universe,” says Variety, “and by the time the film is over it’s hard to imagine the universe without him.”
Lil Nas X: Long Live Montero is directed by Oscar nominee Carlos López Estrada (Blindspotting, Raya and the Last Dragon) and cinematographer Zac Manuel.
Watch the trailer:
CLASSICS ON THE COUCH
• The Oscar-nominated romcom Bridget Jones’s Diary, starring Renée Zellweger (from 5 December)
• The blockbuster young adult franchise The Hunger Games, starring Jennifer Lawrence (from 9 December)
• E.T. The Extra Terrestrial (from 9 December), the Steven Spielberg classic that won four Oscars
• Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (from 9 December), which won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film of the Year
16-22 DECEMBER
A QUIET PLACE: DAY ONE | First on Showmax | Stream from Friday, 20 December
The #15 biggest box office hit of 2024 so far, A Quiet Place: Day One stars Kenyan Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o (Us, Black Panther) as Sam, a terminally ill cancer patient who finds herself trapped in New York City during the early stages of an invasion by alien creatures with ultra-sensitive hearing.
The prequel is the third instalment in the A Quiet Place film series, and has already racked up a Fangoria Chainsaw Award nomination for Best Lead Performance for Nyong’o.
A Quiet Place: Day One has an 86% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The Guardian’s 4/5-star review says Day One is “a bleak, bruising but also curiously life-affirming account of the start of the end of the world.”
Joseph Quinn (Stranger Things’ Eddie Munson) co-stars alongside multi-award winner Alex Wolff (Hereditary). Alsolook out for Benin’s Oscar nominee Djimon Hounsou, Zimbabwean child actor Takunda Khumalo, and award-winning Rwandan actress Eliane Umuhire.
Watch the trailer:
23-29 DECEMBER
THE COLOUR PURPLE | Stream from Monday, 23 December
The Oscar-nominated musical adaptation of the beloved classic The Colour Purple traces the extraordinary decades-long story of three women who share an unbreakable bond. Set against the backdrop of Georgia in the early 1900s, the story centres on Celie, who endures countless hardships in her life, but ultimately finds extraordinary strength and hope in the unbreakable bonds of sisterhood.
Directed by Ghanaian Blitz Bazawule (Black is King, The Burial of Kojo), aka Blitz The Ambassador, The Colour Purple is based on the Tony-winning Broadway stage musical, which was in turn based on Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel.
Grammy-winning artist Fantasia Barrino makes her major motion picture debut as Celie, earning BAFTA and Golden Globe nominations. As Sofia, Danielle Brooks (Peacemaker, Orange Is the New Black) was nominated for this year’s Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. Oscar nominee Taraji P Henson (Fight Night, Empire) plays Shug Avery.
The Colour Purple was the most-nominated film at this year’s Black Reel Awards, taking home nine wins, including Outstanding Ensemble, Breakthrough Performance (Barrino), and Supporting Performance (Brooks).
The film also has an 81% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with Variety saying, “The Colour Purple [feels] even more monumental than it did in Spielberg’s hands. And that’s saying something…”
Watch the trailer:
CLASSICS ON THE COUCH:
• The Coen Brothers’ cult classic The Big Lebowski (from 26 December), starring Jeff Daniels as The Dude.
30 DECEMBER – 5 JANUARY
DUNE: PARTS ONE AND TWO | Stream from Wednesday, 1 January 2025
The fourth biggest box office hit of 2024, Dune: Part Two continues the mythic journey of Paul Atreides as he unites with Chani and the Fremen while on a warpath of revenge against those who destroyed his family. Facing a choice between the love of his life and the fate of the known universe, he endeavours to prevent a terrible future only he can foresee.
Dune: Part Two has a 92% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with The New York Times praising the chemistry between Oscar nominee Timothée Chalamet and Emmy winner Zendaya, noting that “they humanise the story, giving it the necessary personal stakes and a warmth that helps balance the chilling violence.”
Part Two’s cast also includes Golden Globe nominee Rebecca Ferguson (Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning); Oscar nominees Josh Brolin (Avengers: Endgame), Austin Butler (Elvis), and Florence Pugh (Little Women); Critics Choice Super nominee Dave Bautista (Guardians of the Galaxy); and Oscar winners Christopher Walken (The Deer Hunter) and Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Men).
Dune: Part One, also directed by Denis Villeneuve, won six Oscars. The epic HBO prequel series Dune: Prophecy is currently streaming on Showmax and at #2 on IMDb’s Most Popular TV chart.
Watch the trailer:
BACK TO BLACK | Stream from Monday, 30 December
Back to Black charts the extraordinary story of Amy Winehouse’s rise to fame, from her early days in Camden through the making of her groundbreaking album, Back to Black, which catapulted her to global fame.
Variety says Marisa Abela (Industry) “nails Amy Winehouse in every look, mood and note”.
BAFTA winner Jack O’Connell (SAS Rogue Heroes) co-stars with multi-award winner Eddie Marsan (The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe) and Oscar nominee Lesley Manville (The Crown, Phantom Thread).
Watch the trailer:
CLASSICS ON THE COUCH:
• Spike Jonze’s cult classic Being John Malkovich (from 30 December), which was nominated for three Oscars
• Oscar Best Picture winner Shakespeare in Love, which earned Gwyneth Paltrow and Judi Dench Oscars (from 2 January)
6-12 JANUARY
YOUR LUCKY DAY | Stream from Thursday, 9 January
In one of his final projects before his death in 2023, Angus Cloud (Euphoria) leads the cast of Your Lucky Day, a high-stakes action thriller about a lottery gone wrong.
A dispute over a winning lottery ticket turns into a deadly hostage situation, forcing the witnesses to decide exactly how far they’ll go – and how much blood they’re willing to spill – for a cut of the $156 million.
Jessica Garza (The Purge, Penny Dreadful: City of Angels) was nominated for a 2024 Imagen Award for Best Supporting Actress, while Your Lucky Day also received a Casting Society of America nomination.
Your Lucky Day holds an 87% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with Roger Ebert hailing it as “thrilling and suspenseful, with enough twists to keep you guessing.”
Watch the trailer:
THE LAST RIFLEMAN | Stream from Monday, 6 January
Golden Globe nominee Pierce Brosnan (Mamma Mia, James Bond) stars in The Last Rifleman as a World War II veteran who escapes his care home in Northern Ireland and embarks on a tough but inspirational journey to France to attend the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings, finding the courage to face the ghosts of his past.
Inspired by true events, The Last Rifleman also stars ClémencePoésy (Tenet), Screen Actors Guild nominees Jürgen Prochnow(The English Patient) and Ian McElhinney (Game of Thrones), and Emmy nominee John Amos (Coming to America), who passed away earlier this year.
At the Irish Film and Television Awards (IFTA), Brosnan and Prochnow were nominated for Best Lead Actor and Supporting Actor respectively.
Watch the trailer:
ONE LIFE | Stream from Monday, 6 January
One Life tells the story of Nicholas Winton, a young London broker who, on the brink of World War II, helped rescue as many Jewish children as possible from the Nazis. 50 years later, Winton is haunted by the fate of the children he wasn’t able to save. It’s not until a TV show reintroduces him to some of those he helped rescue that he finally begins to come to terms with the guilt and grief he carried.
Oscar winner Anthony Hopkins (The Silence of the Lambs) and Critics Choice nominee Johnny Flynn (The Lovers) co-star as the older and younger Winton. One Life also stars Emmy winner Helena Bonham Carter (The Crown, Harry Potter franchise), Oscar nominees Lena Olin (Alias, Hunters) and Jonathan Pryce (The Crown), Golden Globe nominee Romola Garai (Vigil), and Tony winner Alex Sharp (3 Body Problem).
Directed by BAFTA nominee James Hawes (Snowpiercer, Black Mirror), One Life has a 90% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The Guardian calls it “an extraordinary true story,” adding, “You’d need a heart of stone not to be touched by this.”
Watch the trailer:
RAMY YOUSSEF: MORE FEELINGS | Stream from Wednesday, 8 January 2023
Ramy Youssef returns to the stage to offer his unique reflections on our divided world, the unexpected perils of charitable giving, and more.
The HBO comedy special was nominated for a 2024 Emmy for Outstanding Picture Editing for Variety Programming. In Chicago Sun-Times, Richard Roeper hailed Youssef as “a genuine, brilliant and calming presence who makes us laugh a lot, think quite a bit and maybe even feel a little bit better about how we still have much in common despite all our differences.”
Youssef was previously nominated for Lead Actor and Directing Emmys for his comedy, Ramy, as well as for a Directing Emmy this year for his work on The Bear. He also starred in this year’s four-time Oscar winner Poor Things and hosted Saturday Night Live earlier this year.
Watch the trailer:
CLASSICS ON THE COUCH:
• Oscar-winning astronaut drama films Apollo 13, starring Tom Hanks, and The First Man, starring Ryan Gosling – both from Monday, 5 January
• Oscar-nominated cult hitman drama In Bruges, starring Colin Farrell (from Monday, 5 January)
13-19 JANUARY
BREATHE | Stream from Monday, 13 January
After Earth is left uninhabitable due to lack of oxygen, a mother (Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson) and daughter (Oscar nominee Quvenzhané Wallis) are forced to live underground, with short trips to the surface only made possible by a state-of-the-art oxygen suit.
Genre superstars Milla Jovovivch (Resident Evil, The Fifth Element) and Sam Worthington (Jake Sully in Avatar) co-star alongside Emmy, Grammy and Oscar winner Common.
Watch the trailer:
CLASSICS ON THE COUCH:
• Horror The Invisible Man, starring Elisabeth Moss, winner of over 40 awards (from Monday, 13 January)
• Best Writing Oscar winner Lost In Translation, starring Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson (from Monday, 13 January)
20-26 JANUARY
THE CAINE MUTINY COURT-MARTIAL | Stream from Thursday, 23 January
Adapted from Herman Wouk’s bestselling novel, The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial follows a U.S. naval first officer who’s standing trial for orchestrating a mutiny after his captain shows signs of becoming unhinged and jeopardises the lives of his crew.
Emmy winner Kiefer Sutherland (24) stars as the troubled Commander Queeg, alongside BAFTA nominee Jason Clarke (The Great Gatsby), Emmy nominees Jake Lacy (The White Lotus) and Lewis Pullman (Lessons in Chemistry), Teen Choice nominee Monica Raymund (Chicago Med), and Lance Reddick (John Wick) and Jay Duplass (Transparent).
The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial is written and directed by Oscar winner William Friedkin (The Exorcist, The French Connection) – one of his final projects before his death in 2023.
At the 2024 Critics’ Choice Awards, The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial received nominations for Best Movie Made for Television and Best Actor in a Limited Series or Movie Made for Television for Sutherland.
Watch the trailer:
CLASSICS ON THE COUCH:
• 2018’s Halloween, the 14th biggest box office horror hit of all time, starring Jamie Lee Curtis (from Monday, 20 January)
• Darkest Hour, which won Gary Oldman the Best Actor Oscar as Winston Churchill (from Thursday, 23 January)
EVERYTHING ON SHOWMAX IN DECEMBER
Showmax is ending the year on a high, with a packed December lineup that includes:
• Two Showmax Original series: Soft Life, an escort agency drama for adults, and Spooksoeker, a ghost-hunting drama for teens
• A second season of Based on A True Story, starring Kaley Cuoco
• Hit M-Net murder mystery White Lies, fresh from charting at #3 in Australia
• Final seasons of critics’ favourites My Brilliant Friend and Somebody Somewhere
• 2024 SAFTA Best Factual Programmewinner Outopsie, starring forensic pathologist Hestelle van Staden
• The first two seasons of 2024 Critics Choice Best Drama nominee Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
• A Showmax Original Christmas movie, Christmas Clothes
• Season 28 of reality TV phenomenon The Bachelor
• The winning short films and docs from the 2024 kykNETSilwerskerm Awards
• All seven seasons of 30 Rock, one of the most acclaimed comedies of all time
Get in on this Showmax Festive Magic. Add Showmax to your DStv package for now by simply clicking https://bit.ly/3zhLduI & our team will assist you.
