Week 1: 2-8 September
THANKSGIVING | Stream from Monday, 2 September
After a Black Friday riot ends in tragedy, a masked Thanksgiving-inspired killer terrorises Plymouth, Massachusetts – the birthplace of the holiday. Picking off residents one by one, the random revenge killings are soon revealed to be part of a larger, sinister holiday plan. Will the town uncover the killer and survive the holidays – or become guests at his twisted holiday dinner table?
From multiple-award-winning Splat Pack director Eli Roth (Hostel), Thanksgiving has an 84% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes, where the critics consensus says, “Combining belly-busting humour with delightfully over-the-top gore, Thanksgiving is a feast for grindhouse fans.”
The horror stars TikTok phenom Addison Rae and rising star Milo Manheim (Zombies), along with the likes of Gina Gershon (Bound), Rick Hoffman (Suits, Hostel) and Patrick Dempsey (McDreamy in Grey’s Anatomy), who was up for Best Supporting Actor at this year’s Golden Scythe Horror Awards, where Thanksgiving was nominated for 8 prizes, including Best Picture.
Week 2: 9-15 September
LAROY, TEXAS | First on Showmax | Stream from Thursday, 12 September
In third place on Rotten Tomatoes Best Movies of 2024 list, with a rare 100% critics’ rating, LaRoy, Texas tells the story of Ray, who decides he’s going to kill himself after discovering that his wife is cheating on him. But his plans suddenly change when a stranger mistakes him for a low-rent hitman.
The crime comedy stars John Magaro (Past Lives, The Many Saints of Newark) and Emmy nominees Steve Zahn (The White Lotus, The Righteous Gemstones) and Dylan Baker (The Good Wife).
Not released in South African cinemas, LaRoy, Texas was nominated for Best New Narrative Director at Tribeca last year for Shane Atkinson. RogerEbert.com says, “Atkinson’s hilarious feature debut is a barn burner of a western-thriller” with “Coen Brothers-inspired nods.”
THE PASSENGER | Stream from Thursday, 12 September
Randy is perfectly content fading into the background. But when his coworker Benson goes on a sudden and violent rampage, Randy is forced to face his fears and confront his troubled past to survive.
From Oscar-nominated production company Blumhouse (Get Out, The Invisible Man), The Passenger is directed by Sundance winner Carter Smith (Swallowed) and has an 81% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Dread Central praises Kyle Gallner (Smile) as Benson and calls The Passenger “perhaps one of the most beautiful and heartbreaking road movies I’ve ever seen… a violent yet tender look at male friendships and breaking cycles… one of the best and most beautiful films of 2023 so far.”
Week 3: 16-22 September
BOB MARLEY: ONE LOVE | Stream from Monday, 16 September
One man. One message. One revolution. One legend.
The #16 highest-grossing blockbuster of the year (so far), Bob Marley: One Love celebrates the life and music of an icon who inspired generations through his message of love and unity.
Nominated for Best Movie at the 2024 BET Awards, the film stars BAFTA nominee Kingsley Ben-Adir as Bob Marley, with BAFTA Rising Star Award winner Lashana Lynch (The Woman King, No Time to Die) as Marley’s wife – and backing vocalist – Rita.
One Love is directed by Sundance winner Reinaldo Marcus Green (King Richard), who co-wrote the script with Oscar nominees Terence Winter (Boardwalk Empire, The Wolf of Wall Street, The Sopranos) and Zach Baylin (King Richard, Gran Turismo, Creed III), and award winner Frank E Flowers.
The film is produced in partnership with the Marley family, including Rita and Ziggy Marley, with Brad Pitt among its exec producers.
THE HOLDOVERS | Stream from Monday, 16 September
Nominated for five Oscars, including Best Picture, The Holdovers stars Paul Giamatti (Sideways, Billions) as a cranky prep school history teacher who is forced to remain on campus over the holidays with a grieving cook (Da’Vine Joy Randolph) and a brainy student (newcomer Dominic Sessa) who has no place to go.
Randolph won the Oscar, BAFTA, and Golden Globe awards, as well at the Critics Choice Awards, where Giamatti and Sessa also took home Best Actor and Best Young Actor respectively.
From Oscar-winning director Alexander Payne (Sideways, The Descendants), The Holdovers has a 97% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes, where it is their 36th best-reviewed film of all time. Mashable says, “The Holdovers is a terrific Payne film, bursting with sharp laughs and searing sweetness.”
MONOLITH | Stream from Thursday, 19 September
Monolith centres on a disgraced journalist who holes up at her parents’ empty country mansion to try and salvage her career with a podcast debunking hoaxes. When the story of a mysterious black brick lands in her inbox, it seems she has struck gold, but as she starts to investigate this strange conspiracy theory, the trail leads uncomfortably close to home, leaving her to grapple with the lies at the heart of her own story.
Lily Sullivan (Evil Dead Rise, Picnic At Hanging Rock) won Best Actress at Total Film’s FrightFest Awards, where Monolith was up for Best Film.
The Australian science fiction thriller has an 84% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Forbes hails Monolith as “a masterclass,” adding, “You’ll find yourself hanging on the edge of your seat.”
Week 4: 23-29 September
ASTEROID CITY | Stream from Monday, 23 September
Asteroid City: a fictional American desert town, circa 1955. Junior stargazers and space cadets from across the country assemble for the annual Asteroid Day celebration—but the scholarly competition is spectacularly upended by world-changing events.
From Oscar winner Wes Anderson (The Grand Budapest Hotel), Asteroid City is led by Teen Choice nominee Jason Schwartzman (Moonrise Kingdom), Oscar nominee Scarlett Johansson (Jojo Rabbit, Black Widow), and Oscar winner Tom Hanks (Forrest Gump, Elvis). The star-packed ensemble also includes the likes of Adrien Brody, Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Jeffrey Wright, Margot Robbie, Tilda Swinton, and many more.
Boasting the highest-ever opening for a Wes Anderson film in wide release, Asteroid City was nominated for the Critics Choice Super Award for Best Science Fiction/Fantasy Movie, a 2024 Critics Choice Award for its Production Design, and Comedy Movie of the Year at the People’s Choice Awards, among other accolades.
In their 4/5-star review, The Guardian says, “Wes Anderson’s 1950s sci-fi is an exhilarating triumph of pure style… terrifically entertaining and lightly sophisticated.”
Late addition to August
MADAME WEB | Stream from Friday, 30 August
The #25 biggest blockbuster of the year (so far), Madame Web stars People’s Choice winner Dakota Johnson (from the Fifty Shades films) as Cassandra Webb, a Manhattan paramedic who develops the power to see the future…
Emmy nominee Sydney Sweeney (Anyone But You, The White Lotus, Euphoria), Celeste O’Connor (Lucky in the Ghostbusters movies) and Teen Choice nominee Isabela Merced (Dora and the Lost City of Gold, Transformers: The Last Knight) co-star, with BAFTA nominee Tahar Rahim (Napoleon), Teen Choice winner Emma Roberts (We’re the Millers, American Horror Story), Emmy nominee Adam Scott (Parks and Recreation, Severance) and Zosia Mamet (The Flight Attendant) among the support cast.
Black Girl Nerds praises Madame Web as “suspenseful and action-packed… truly a fun ride.”
EVERYTHING ON SHOWMAX IN SEPTEMBER
Showmax has another bumper lineup this September, including:
• Showmax Original legal drama Law, Love and Betrayal
• Showmax Original mystery Die Bloedhonde, fresh from Silwerskerm
• South African animation Headspace, the most-watched local film at cinemas last year
• The Batman spinoff series The Penguin, starring an unrecognisable Colin Farrell
• Fantasmas, Rotten Tomatoes’ 4th best reviewed TV show of 2024 so far
• Critically acclaimed series like Elsbeth, A Gentleman In Moscow, and It’s A Sin
• New seasons of hit action series The Equalizer and Fire Country
• The Real Housewives of New Jersey S14
• BAFTA-winning documentary Chernobyl: The Lost Tapes