The Monkey King

The Monkey King is a 2023 computer-animated fantasy action comedy film directed by Anthony Stacchi (co-directed The Boxtrolls) The film, inspired by the epic Ming Dynasty classic Journey to the West and produced by Peilin Chou with Stephen Chow as executive producer, features the titular trickster, played by Jimmy O. Yang (Crazy Rich Asians, Minions: The Rise of Gru), who battles the Dragon King, who is voiced by Bowen Yang (Saturday Night Live, The Lost City). It also has supporting voice roles including Jo Koy (Easter Sunday), BD Wong (Jurassic Park, Bird Box), Jolie Haong-Rappaport, and Stephanie Hsu (Everything Everywhere All at Once).

It was selected as the closing film at the 22nd New York Asian Film Festival, where it had its world premiere on July 30, 2023. It was released worldwide on Netflix on August 18, 2023. Watch the official trailer below.

Medusa Deluxe

Medusa Deluxe is a 2022 British murder mystery film written and directed by Thomas Hardiman. It stars Clare Perkins, Anita-Joy Uwajeh, Kae Alexander, Harriet Webb, Darrell D'Silva, Luke Pasqualino, and Heider Ali.

A murder mystery set in a competitive hairdressing contest. Extravagance and excess collide, as the death of a contestant sows seeds of division in a community whose passion for hair verges on obsession.

It was released in select theaters in the United States on August 11, 2023, and it is now available to rent or buy on demand. Watch the official trailer below.

Telemarketers

Telemarketers is an American true crime documentary series directed and produced by Adam Bhala Lough and Sam Lipman-Stern. It follows two office workers who stumble upon the truth of the work they've been doing at a telemarketing center and are determined to expose the industry.

The first of the three episodes premiered on August 13, 2023, on HBO. Watch the official trailer below.

Painkiller

Painkiller is an American drama limited series made for Netflix and created by Micah Fitzerman-Blue and Noah Harpster. The six-episode series, which is based on Patrick Radden Keefe's New Yorker article "The Family That Built an Empire of Pain" and Pain Killer: An Empire of Deceit and the Origin of America’s Opioid Epidemic by Barry Meier, focuses on the birth of the opioid crisis with an emphasis on Purdue Pharma, the manufacturer of OxyContin.

The series stars Uzo Aduba (Orange Is the New Black), Taylor Kitsch (Friday Night Lights), Carolina Bartczak (X-Men: Apocalypse), John Ales (Euphoria), Sam Anderson (Forrest Gump, Lost), and Matthew Broderick (Ferris Bueller’s Day Off) as Richard Sackler, the American billionaire businessman and physician who was the chairman and president of Purdue Pharma.

Painkiller premiered on Netflix on August 10, 2023. Watch the official trailer below.

Dicks: The Musical

Dicks: The Musical is a 2023 R-rated musical comedy directed by Larry Charles (Seinfeld, Borat), from a screenplay by Aaron Jackson and Josh Sharp. It is scheduled to have its world premiere at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival in September 2023.

Two self-obsessed businessmen (writers Aaron Jackson & Josh Sharp) discover they’re long-lost identical twins and come together to plot the reunion of their eccentric divorced parents.

The cast includes Nathan Lane, Megan Mullally, Bowen Yang, Megan Thee Stallion, Aaron Jackson, and Josh Sharp.

Dicks: The Musical is set to debut in theaters September 29th. Watch the official trailer below.

The Last Voyage of the Demeter

The Last Voyage of the Demeter (also known as Dracula: Voyage of the Demeter in some international markets) is an upcoming American supernatural horror film directed by André Øvredal (The Autopsy of Jane Doe, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark) and written by Bragi F. Schut Jr. and Zak Olkewicz. It is an adaptation of "The Captain's Log", a chapter from the 1897 Bram Stoker novel Dracula. The film stars Corey Hawkins (Straight Outta Compton, In the Heights), Aisling Franciosi (The Nightingale, The Unforgivable), Liam Cunningham (Game of Thrones), and David Dastmalchian (The Suicide Squad, Dune). Its plot follows the doomed crew of the merchant ship Demeter who attempt to survive the treacherous ocean voyage while being stalked by a vampire, known only as Dracula.

Planning for the film adaptation of "The Captain's Log" began when Schut Jr. wrote the initial screenplay but did not come to fruition and languished in development hell for close to two decades. After Amblin Partners obtained the rights in October 2019, Øvredal was announced to direct the film. The main cast members were confirmed in 2021. Principal photography began on June 30, 2021, in Berlin, continued in Malta, and ended on October 1. Thomas Newman originally composed the film's score, but Bear McCreary served as his replacement due to Newman's scheduling conflicts.

The Last Voyage of the Demeter is scheduled to be released in the United States on August 11, 2023, by Universal Pictures. Watch the official trailer below.

Jules

Jules is a 2023 sci-fi drama film directed by Marc Turtletaub, who previously served as a producer for Little Miss Sunshine (2006) and Safety Not Guaranteed (2012), from a screenplay by Gavin Steckler.

Jules follows Milton (Kingsley) who lives a quiet life of routine in a small western Pennsylvania town, but finds his day upended when a UFO and its extra-terrestrial passenger crash land in his backyard. Before long, Milton develops a close relationship with the extra-terrestrial he calls “Jules.” Things become complicated when two neighbors (Harris and Curtin) discover Jules and the government quickly closes in. What follows is a funny, wildly inventive ride as the three neighbors find meaning and connection later in life - thanks to this unlikely stranger.

Jules is set to debut in select theaters August 11th, courtesy of Bleecker Street. Watch the official trailer below.

Heart of Stone

Heart of Stone is an upcoming American spy action thriller film directed by Tom Harper from a screenplay by Greg Rucka and Allison Schroeder and a story by Rucka. The film stars Gal Gadot (Wonder Woman, Red Notice), Jamie Dornan (Fifty Shades franchise, Belfast), and Alia Bhatt (RRR).

International intelligence agent Rachel Stone (Gadot) must embark on a dangerous mission to protect the mysterious MacGuffin known as "The Heart." Stone is tasked by the peacekeeping operation known as Charter to keep the object safe from falling into enemy hands.

The development of Heart of Stone began in December 2020, when Gadot signed on to star, with the film being the planned start of a franchise in a similar vein to the Mission: Impossible films. Harper and Netflix were confirmed to serve as director and distributor respectively the following month, with the rest of the cast being confirmed in early 2022. Filming took place in Italy, London, Reykjavík, and Lisbon between January and July.

The film is scheduled to be released on August 11, 2023, by Netflix. Watch the official trailer below.

Strange Planet

Strange Planet is an animated science fiction comedy television series based on the webcomic of the same name by Nathan W. Pyle. Pyle co-created the series with Dan Harmon.

Blue beings find themselves exploring and trying to understand the complexities and nuances of human traits.

The series premiered on August 9, 2023, with its first three episodes. Watch the official trailer below.

Red, White & Royal Blue

Red, White & Royal Blue is a 2023 American romantic comedy film directed by Matthew Lopez in his feature film directorial debut. Lopez also co-wrote the screenplay with Ted Malawer. Based on the 2019 novel of the same name by Casey McQuiston, the film stars Taylor Zakhar Perez and Nicholas Galitzine opposite each other as the son of the President of the United States and a British prince, respectively, who fall in love. Uma Thurman, Stephen Fry, Sarah Shahi, Rachel Hilson, and Ellie Bamber also appear in supporting roles.

In 2019, Amazon Studios announced the film's development with Greg Berlanti as a producer. Lopez was announced as director and co-writer with Malawer in 2021. Casting announcements began in June 2022 with Zakhar Perez, Galitzine and Thurman announced to play their respective roles. The majority of the remaining cast was announced the following month. Principal photography took place in England between June and August 2022.

Red, White & Royal Blue premiered at the BFI IMAX in London on July 22, 2023, and was released on Amazon Prime Video on August 11, 2023. Watch the official trailer below.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem is a 2023 computer-animated action adventure film directed by Jeff Rowe in his feature directorial debut, from a screenplay by Brendan O'Brien. Based on the comic book characters created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, it reboots the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film series and is the first animated entry since 2022's Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie.

The film is produced by Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, and James Weaver through their company, Point Grey Pictures. Rogen describes himself as a lifelong fan of the franchise, and it was his decision to have actual teenagers voice the turtles for the first time to make it feel more authentic.

After years of being sheltered from the human world, the Turtle brothers set out to win the hearts of New Yorkers and be accepted as normal teenagers through heroic acts. Their new friend April O’Neil helps them take on a mysterious crime syndicate, but they soon get in over their heads when an army of mutants is unleashed upon them.

The voice cast includes Jackie Chan, Ayo Edebiri, Seth Rogen, John Cena, Hannibal Buress, Rose Byrne, Ice Cube, Post Malone, Paul Rudd, Maya Rudolph, Natasia Demetriou, Giancarlo Esposito, Nicolas Cantu, Micah Abbey, Shamon Brown Jr, and Brady Noon.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem is set to debut in theaters on August 2nd, courtesy of Paramount Pictures. Watch the official trailers below.

Meg 2: The Trench

Meg 2: The Trench is a 2023 science fiction action film directed by Ben Wheatley (Kill List, Free Fire) from a screenplay by Jon Hoeber, Erich Hoeber, and Dean Georgaris, based on the 1999 novel The Trench: Meg 2 by Steve Alten. Serving as the sequel to The Meg (2018), the film stars Jason Statham, Wu Jing, Sophia Cai, Page Kennedy, Sergio Peris-Mencheta, Skyler Samuels, and Cliff Curtis.

In the plot, a group of scientists must outrun, outsmart and outswim their merciless predators when a malevolent mining operation threatens their mission and forces them into a high-stakes battle for survival.

Plans for the sequel announced to be early development on October 2018 after the box office success of the first film, Wheatley replaced Jon Turteltaub to attached to be director from the returning script by Dean Georgaris, Jon Hoeber, and Erich Hoeber, with Alten having completed the screenplay in 2019. Filming began in various locations in Asia and the London place Leavesden Studio on February 2022 with much of the cast joining the same month until May 2022.

Meg 2: The Trench had its world premiere at the Shanghai International Film Festival on June 9, 2023, and is scheduled to be released in the United States on August 4, 2023, by Warner Bros. Pictures. Watch the official trailer below.

Reservation Dogs: The Final Season

Reservation Dogs is a coming-of-age comedy drama series created by Sterlin Harjo and Taika Waititi that follows the exploits of four Indigenous teenagers from rural Oklahoma. The first season made its debut back in August 2021.

The Rez Dogs find themselves stranded in Cali and have to figure out their way back home. Season three is full of road trips, bathroom wisdom, unexpected fathers, boarding schools, Bigfoot, rumors, revenge and healing.

Reservation Dogs: Season 3 is set to debut August 2nd on Hulu, Watch the official trailer below.

Shortcomings

Shortcomings is a 2023 American comedy-drama film directed and produced by Randall Park (actor in The Interview, and WandaVision), from a screenplay by Adrian Tomine, based upon his comic of the same name. It stars Justin H. Min (The Umbrella Academy, Beef), Sherry Cola (Turning Red), Ally Maki (Toy Story 4), Debby Ryan (Jessie), Tavi Gevinson (Enough Said), Sonoya Mizuno (Ex Machina), Jacob Batalon (Spider-Man: No Way Home), and Timothy Simons (Veep).

Ben (Min), a struggling filmmaker, lives in Berkeley, California, with his girlfriend, Miko (Maki), who works for a local Asian American film festival. When he’s not managing an arthouse movie theater as his day job, Ben spends his time obsessing over unavailable blonde women, watching Criterion Collection DVDs, and eating in diners with his best friend Alice (Cola), a queer grad student with a serial dating habit. When Miko moves to New York for an internship, Ben is left to his own devices and begins to explore what he thinks he might want.

It had its world premiere at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival on January 21, 2023, and is scheduled to be released on August 4, 2023, by Sony Pictures Classics. Watch the official trailer below.

Problemista

Problemista is a 2023 coming-of-age comedy drama written and directed by Julio Torres, who also stars in the film.

Alejandro (Julio Torres) is an aspiring toy designer from El Salvador, struggling to bring his unusual ideas to life in New York City. As time on his work visa runs out, a job assisting an erratic art-world outcast (Tilda Swinton) becomes his only hope to stay in the country and realize his dream. From writer/director Julio Torres comes a surreal adventure through the equally treacherous worlds of New York City and the U.S. Immigration system.

The full cast includes Julio Torres, Tilda Swinton, RZA, Isabella Rossellini, Larry Owens, Catalina Saavedra, and Greta Lee.

Problemista is set to debut in theaters August 4th, courtesy of A24. Watch the official trailers below.

The Passenger

The Passenger is a 2023 crime drama directed by Carter Smith, from a screenplay by Jack Stanley. The film is executive produced by Jason Blum, Chris McCumber, Jeremy Gold, and Lauren Downey.

Randy (Johnny Berchtold) is perfectly content fading into the background. But when his coworker Benson (Kyle Gallner) goes on a sudden and violent rampage leaving a trail of destruction in his wake, Randy is forced to face his fears and confront his troubled past to survive.

The cast includes Kyle Gallner, Johnny Berchtold, Liza Weil, and Billy Slaughter.

The Passenger is set to debut for rental or purchase VOD on August 4th, courtesy of Paramount Movies. Watch the official trailer below.

Talk to Me

Talk to Me is a 2023 supernatural horror thriller directed by twin brothers Danny and Michael Philippou in their feature film debut, from a screenplay by Bill Hinzman, Daley Pearson, and Danny Philippou. The brothers are known for their widely popular RackaRacka YouTube channel where they have 6.72 million subscribers. The Australian film was acquired by famed production company A24 at the Sundance Film Festival, where it had its world premiere on January 22nd, 2023.

When a group of friends discover how to conjure spirits using an embalmed hand, they become hooked on the new thrill, until one of them goes too far and unleashes terrifying supernatural forces.

The cast includes Sophie Wilde, Alexandra Jensen, Miranda Otto, Joe Bird, and Otis Dhanji.

Talk to Me is scheduled to debut in select theaters on July 28th, courtesy of A24. Watch the official trailers below.

Haunted Mansion

Haunted Mansion is a 2023 supernatural horror comedy film directed by award-winning filmmaker Justin Simien, from a screenplay by Katie Dippold. Produced by Walt Disney Pictures and Rideback, it is the second theatrical film adaptation of Walt Disney's theme park attraction The Haunted Mansion, following the 2003 film of the same name.

A priest, a professor and a paranormal investigator try to help a woman and her family after they unwittingly move into a haunted mansion in New Orleans.

The cast includes LaKeith Stanfield, Tiffany Haddish, Owen Wilson, Danny DeVito, Rosario Dawson, Chase W. Dillon, Dan Levy, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Jared Leto

Haunted Mansion is set to debut in theaters July 28th, courtesy of Walt Disney Pictures. Watch the official trailers below.

The Beanie Bubble

The Beanie Bubble is an upcoming American comedy-drama film directed by Kristin Gore and Damian Kulash and written by Gore, based on the 2015 book The Great Beanie Baby Bubble: Mass Delusion and the Dark Side of Cute by Zac Bissonnette. It stars Zach Galifianakis (Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), The Hangover), Elizabeth Banks (Pitch Perfect, The Hunger Games franchise), Sarah Snook (Succession, Steve Jobs), and Geraldine Viswanathan (Blockers, Bad Education).

Ty (Galifianakis) was a frustrated toy salesman until his collaboration with three women turned his stuffed animals into a defining ‘90s trend. This behind-the-scenes look at history’s biggest toy craze is a wild story about what—and who—is valued in this world.

It is scheduled to release in select theatres on July 21, 2023, with it premiering on Apple TV+ a week later on July 28. Watch the official trailer below.

Twisted Metal

Twisted Metal is a 2023 half-hour live-action comedy series based on the classic PlayStation game franchise, based on an original take by Rhett Reese & Paul Wernick and written by Michael Jonathan Smith.

A motor-mouthed outsider is offered a chance at a better life but only if he can successfully deliver a mysterious package across a post-apocalyptic wasteland. With the help of a badass axe-wielding car thief, he’ll face savage marauders driving vehicles of destruction and other dangers of the open road, including a deranged clown who drives an all too familiar ice cream truck.

The cast includes Anthony Mackie, Tahj Vaughans, Stephanie Beatriz, Chelle Ramos, Michael Carollo, and Jared Bankins.

Twisted Metal is set to debut on Peacock July 27th. Watch the official trailer below.