April is here, and bringing with it April Fools Day and those famous April showers. This month may not see any huge tentpols or franchise sequels hitting theaters, but there’s a great spread of interesting originals and quirky indies opening. Audiences can look forward to Dev Patel’s exciting directorial debut, the next Universal monster movie, an Alex Garland sci-fi joint, a few films based on powerful true stories, and more.
Here are all the wide-release movies coming to theaters in April 2024. Get tickets here.
Monkey Man – Release Date: Friday, April 5
Cast: Dev Patel, Sharlto Copley, Pitobash, Vipin Sharma, Sikandar Kher
Director: Dev Patel
Official Synopsis: Inspired by the legend of Hanuman, an icon embodying strength and courage, Monkey Man stars Patel as Kid, an anonymous young man who ekes out a meager living in an underground fight club where, night after night, wearing a gorilla mask, he is beaten bloody by more popular fighters for cash. After years of suppressed rage, Kid 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 – Release Date: Friday, April 5
Cast: Bill Nighy, Ralph Ineson, Nell Tiger Free, Sonia Braga, Anton Alexander, Tawfeek Barhom, Andrea Arcangeli, Maria Caballero, Mia McGovern Zaini, Ishtar Currie-Wilson
Director: Arkasha Stevenson
Official Synopsis: When a young American woman is sent to Rome to begin a life of service to the church, she encounters a darkness that causes her to question her own faith and uncovers a terrifying conspiracy that hopes to bring about the birth of evil incarnate.
Civil War – Release Date: Friday, April 12
Cast: Cailee Spaeny, Kirsten Dunst, Jesse Plemons, Karl Glusman, Wagner Moura, Jefferson White, Sonoya Mizuno, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Nelson Lee, Alexa Mansour, Melissa Saint-Amand
Director: Alex Garland
Official Synopsis: From filmmaker Alex Garland comes a journey across a dystopian future America, following a team of military-embedded journalists as they race against time to reach DC before rebel factions descend upon the White House.
The Long Game – Release Date: Friday, April 12
Cast: Jay Hernandez, Dennis Quaid, Cheech Marin, Julian Works, Jaina Lee Ortiz, Brett Cullen, Oscar Nuñez, Richard Robichaux, Paulina Chávez
Director: Julio Quintana
Official Synopsis: The Long Game, inspired by the book “Mustang Miracle” follows the true story of five young Mexican American caddies in 1955 who created their own golf course in the middle of the South Texas brush country. Despite outdated and inferior equipment and no professional instruction to begin with, they would go on to compete against wealthy, all-white teams and win the 1957 Texas State High School Golf Championship.
Don’t Tell Mom The Babysitter’s Dead – Release Date: Friday, April 12
Cast: Simone Joy Jones, Ms. Pat, June Squibb, Nicole Richie
Director: Wade Allain-Marcus
Official Synopsis: Seventeen-year-old Tanya Crandell’s plans for a carefree summer are derailed when her stressed-to-the-limit mom takes off for a wellness retreat and puts Tanya and her three siblings in the charge of a crotchety (and racist) old babysitter. The babysitter’s sudden death leaves the kids short on cash and reluctant to pull mom prematurely out of her much-needed R&R, so Tanya is forced to get a job. Posing as an adult, she gets a gig as the executive assistant at a fashion company and overnight is thrust into the world of adulthood and parenting. Based on the 1991 cult classic.
Sasquatch Sunset – Release Date: Friday, April 12
Cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Riley Keough, Nathan Zellner, Christophe Zajac-Denek
Director: David Zellner, Nathan Zellner
Official Synopsis: In the misty forests of North America, a family of Sasquatches – possibly the last of their enigmatic kind – embark on an absurdist, epic, hilarious, and ultimately poignant journey over the course of one year. These shaggy and noble giants fight for survival as they find themselves on a collision course with the ever-changing world around them. Starring Riley Keough and Jesse Eisenberg, acclaimed directors David and Nathan Zellner (Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter) bring you the greatest Bigfoot story ever told.
The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare – Release Date: Friday, April 19
Cast: Henry Cavill, Cary Elwes, Alan Ritchson, Hero Fiennes Tiffin, Eiza González, Alex Pettyfer, Henry Golding, Freddie Fox, Babs Olusanmokun, Til Schweiger
Director: Guy Ritchie
Official Synopsis: Based upon recently declassified files of the British War Department and inspired by true events, THE MINISTRY OF UNGENTLEMANLY WARFARE is an action-comedy that tells the story of the first-ever special forces organization formed during WWII by UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill and a small group of military officials including author Ian Fleming.
Abigail – Release Date: Friday, April 19
Cast: Dan Stevens, Kathryn Newton, Melissa Barrera, Kevin Durand, Angus Cloud, Alisha Weir, William Catlett, Giancarlo Esposito
Director: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett
Official Synopsis: Children can be such monsters. After a group of would-be criminals kidnap the 12-year-old ballerina daughter of a powerful underworld figure, all they have to do to collect a $50 million ransom is watch the girl overnight. In an isolated mansion, the captors start to dwindle, one by one, and they discover, to their mounting horror, that they’re locked inside with no normal little girl.
Hard Miles – Release Date: Friday, April 19
Cast: Sean Astin, Matthew Modine, Jackson Kelly, Cynthia Kaye McWilliams, Leslie David Baker, Jahking Guillory, Damien Diaz, Emily Kincaid, Ryan Shukis, Jaxon Goldenberg
Director: R.J. Daniel Hanna
Official Synopsis: HARD MILES tells the uplifting true story of the bicycling team at Rite of Passage’s RidgeView Academy, a medium-security correctional school in Colorado. The film follows beleaguered coach Greg Townsend (Matthew Modine) as he rounds up an unlikely crew of incarcerated students for a seemingly impossible bike ride from Denver to the Grand Canyon.
Villains Inc. – Release Date: Friday, April 19
Cast: Mallory Everton, Colin Mochrie, Jason Gray, Billy Mann, Jeff Bryan Davis, Joe Bereta, Charla Bocchicchio, Gabriel Casdorph, GloZell Green, Archelaus Crisanto
Director: Jeremy Warner
Official Synopsis: After the death of their supervillain boss, low-level henchpeople Beatrix, Cain, and Harold are once again left jobless, penniless, and squatting in an abandoned grocery store. Unwilling to accept their underling cycle of poverty any longer, Beatrix devises a plan for them to strike out on their own and take over the world by any means necessary. But superheroes, competing baddies, and harsh union rules make the quest for evil success a treacherous journey.
Challengers – Release Date: Friday, April 26
Cast: Zendaya, Mike Faist, Josh O’Connor, Scottie DiGiacomo, Faith Fay, Jake Jensen, Heidi Garza,A.J. Lister, Wes Meserve, Christine Dye
Director: Luca Guadagnino
Official Synopsis: Tashi, a tennis player turned coach, has transformed her husband 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, his former best friend and Tashi’s former boyfriend.
Unsung Hero – Release Date: Friday, April 26
Cast: Daisy Betts, Joel Smallbone, Kirrilee Berger, Jonathan Jackson, Lucas Black, Paul Luke Bonenfant, Diesel La Torraca, JJ Pantano, Tenz McCall, Angus K. Caldwell
Director: Richard L. Ramsey, Joel Smallbone
Official Synopsis: Based on a remarkable true story, Unsung Hero follows David Smallbone as he moves his family from Down Under to the States, searching for a brighter future after his successful music company collapses. With nothing more than their seven children, suitcases, and their love of music, David (for KING + COUNTRY’s Joel Smallbone) and his pregnant wife Helen (Daisy Betts) set out to rebuild their lives. Helen’s faith stands against all odds and inspires her husband and children to hold onto theirs. With their own dreams on hold, David and Helen begin to realize the musical prowess in their children, who would go on to become two of the most successful acts in Inspirational Music history: five-time GRAMMY Award®-winning artists for KING + COUNTRY and Rebecca St. James.
