10 Most Anticipated New Movies of March 2018

By Rob Hunter

Keep reading for a look at our ten most anticipated movies hitting screens this month!

March opens with Hollywood’s biggest celebration of itself — the Academy Awards! — but happily, for those of us who’ve already seen last year’s movies it also comes with a month’s worth of brand new movies. As is increasingly the case, these releases are a mix of theatrical and VOD titles, but wherever and however they’re premiering these are the ten we’re most excited to see.

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9. Tomb Raider

Release date: 3/16

“Lara Croft, the fiercely independent daughter of a missing adventurer, must push herself beyond her limits when she finds herself on the island where her father disappeared.”

Pros: Alicia Vikander is taking the lead here in a role once occupied by Angelina Jolie, and she’s joined by the likes of Walton Goggins, Kristin Scott Thomas, Daniel Wu, Nick Frost, and more. Director Roar Uthaug has an eternally terrific name and has directed some fun action pictures too including The Wave, Cold Prey, and Escape.

Cons: The two earlier Tomb Raider movies are decidedly not good.

8. Unsane

Release date: 3/23

“A young woman is involuntarily committed to a mental institution, where she is confronted by her greatest fear–but is it real or a product of her delusion?”

Pros: Steven Soderbergh’s track record is pretty damn good when it comes to his genre-oriented movies — Contagion, Haywire, Side Effects, and more — and putting The Crown‘s Claire Foy front and center in a psychological thriller is promising.

Cons: Soderbergh’s “experimental” track record isn’t so great, and he shot this one on an iPhone.

7. Ready Player One

Release date: 3/28

“When the creator of a virtual reality world called the OASIS dies, he releases a video in which he challenges all OASIS users to find his Easter Egg, which will give the finder his fortune. Wade Watts finds the first clue and starts a race for the Egg.”

Pros: Steven Spielberg has more than proven himself over the years to the point that anything he directs is worth a watch at the very least, and as it’s been a decade since his last purely pop entertainment effort. His latest is based on a best-selling novel and looks to be a big, whiz-bang adventure, so we’re hoping for a big pile of cinematic fun.

Cons: I haven’t read the book, but the trailer looks like a film that forgoes its own identity in favor of homage, reference, and member berries.

6. Pacific Rim Uprising

Release date: 3/23

“Jake Pentecost, son of Stacker Pentecost, reunites with Mako Mori to lead a new generation of Jaeger pilots, including rival Lambert and 15-year-old hacker Amara, against a new Kaiju threat.”

Pros: Giant robots fighting giant monsters? This will never not be something worth watching, and while Guillermo del Toro is only serving as producer this time around his influence in the design of it all appears to remain. The cast is a mix of new and old with Rinko Kikuchi and Charlie Day joined this time around by John Boyega and Tian Jing. It’s also refreshing to see that two of the four credited screenwriters are women (Emily Carmichael and Kira Snyder) which is a rarity for big genre pictures.

Cons: The whole “drift” concept is still extremely stupid.

5. Flower

Release date: 3/16

“A sexually curious teen forms an unorthodox kinship with her mentally unstable stepbrother.”

Pros: Director/co-writer Max Winkler’s last film, Ceremony, is a terrific little character piece about an oddball in an otherwise normal world, and his latest looks to tackle a similar dynamic in a different way (and with a female lead). It also bodes well that Zoey Deutch (Before I Fall, Why Him?) has been growing more impressive with each role, and here she’s joined by Adam Scott and Kathryn Hahn too. Co-writer Matt Spicer also recently wrote/directed Ingrid Goes West.

Cons: The trailer suggests a dark comedy, so there’s a risk it might flub the tone and wind up being neither funny nor heavy.

4. Red Sparrow

Release date: 3/2

“Ballerina Dominika Egorova is recruited to ‘Sparrow School’ a Russian intelligence service where she is forced to use her body as a weapon. But her first mission, targeting a CIA agent, threatens to unravel the security of both nations.”

Pros: I’m still a fan of director Francis Lawrence’s first feature, Constantine, so I’m happy to see him return to R-rated territory here. He’s got a strong cast with him this time too including Jennifer Lawrence, Joel Edgerton, Mary-Louise Parker, Jeremy Irons, and more.

Cons: It looks like yet another riff on La Femme Nikita, and what are the odds it’ll be better than the last one, The Villainess? (Probably slim.) Reviews haven’t been that kind so far either.

3. A Wrinkle in Time

Release date: 3/9

“After the disappearance of her scientist father, three peculiar beings send Meg, her brother, and her friend to space in order to find him.”

Pros: Ava DuVernay’s fourth narrative feature is her biggest yet, and we’re understandably excited for the prospects of her talents pairing with Madeleine L’Engle’s beloved YA novel. It looks like a big, colorful adventure, and we’re here for it.

Cons: They’re hopefully less wall-breaking in the film itself, but in the trailer Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon, and Mindy Kaling feel entirely out of place — rather than feel like characters they feel like Winfrey, Witherspoon, and Kaling. It might be enough to knock viewers out of the movie.

2. Isle of Dogs

Release date: 3/23

“Set in Japan, Isle of Dogs follows a boy’s odyssey in search of his dog.”

Pros: Even the weakest Wes Anderson film is still a beautifully-crafted creation, so his movies will always be automatic must-sees, and his first stop-motion animated film, Fantastic Mr. Fox, is a slice of brilliance. The trailer for his latest looks every bit as promising with an even more engaging narrative and art style.

Cons: I guess there are some people who don’t like dogs?

1. Thoroughbreds

Release date: 3/9

“Two upper-class teenage girls in suburban Connecticut rekindle their unlikely friendship after years of growing apart. Together, they hatch a plan to solve both of their problems-no matter what the cost.”

Pros: I’ve been in love with this film since January of last year when it premiered at Sundance, and after a couple schedule delays it’s finally getting a release. It’s a deliciously dark, funny, and affecting look at friendship and the importance of being true to yourself. I envy those of you getting to see it for the first time. (I myself will soon be watching it for a fourth time.)

Cons: The only real concern here is that not enough of you will see it.

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