2024 is shaping up to be an incredible year for female filmmakers. From gripping dramas to hilarious comedies to edge-of-your-seat thrillers, women are directing some of the most highly anticipated movies of the year. Here’s a look at the top 25 must-see films helmed by talented women in 2024.
1. Humane
Directed by: Caitlin Cronenberg
Starring: Jay Baruchel, Emily Hampshire, Peter Gallagher
Release Date: Now available on VOD
In a dystopian near-future where humanity is being forced to shed 20% of its population due to an environmental collapse, a family dinner spirals out of control when the father’s plan to volunteer for the government’s euthanasia program goes horribly wrong. Humane is a thought-provoking and unsettling drama that will leave you contemplating some heavy questions long after the credits roll.
2. I.S.S.
Directed by: Gabriela Cowperthwaite
Starring: Ariana DeBose, Chris Messina, John Gallagher Jr.
Release Date: Now available on VOD
Tensions reach a boiling point aboard the International Space Station in this gripping sci-fi thriller set in the near future. As a conflict erupts on Earth, the American and Russian astronauts receive conflicting orders from the ground to seize control of the station at all costs. I.S.S. is a taut, suspenseful ride that keeps you on the edge of your seat.
3. Sometimes I Think About Dying
Directed by: Rachel Lambert
Starring: Daisy Ridley, Dave Merheje, Parvesh Cheena
Release Date: Now available on VOD
Fran likes to think about dying. A lot. But when the quirky new guy at work makes her laugh, it leads to dating and more, leaving Fran as the only thing standing in the way of her own happiness. Sometimes I Think About Dying is a poignant, darkly funny look at loneliness, connection, and learning to get out of your own way. Daisy Ridley delivers a beautifully understated lead performance.
4. Miller’s Girl
Directed by: Jade Halley Bartlett
Starring: Martin Freeman, Jenna Ortega, Bashir Salahuddin
Release Date: Now available on VOD
A creative writing assignment leads to complicated consequences between a teacher and his gifted student in this provocative drama. Miller’s Girl features powerhouse performances from Martin Freeman and rising star Jenna Ortega. It’s a bold, unflinching exploration of a taboo subject matter.
5. Lisa Frankenstein
Directed by: Zelda Williams
Starring: Cole Sprouse, Kathryn Newton, Carla Gugino
Release Date: Now available on VOD
Lisa Frankenstein puts a fresh and funny spin on a horror classic. An unpopular high school student accidentally re-animates a handsome Victorian corpse during a lightning storm and starts to rebuild him into the man of her dreams using the broken tanning bed in her garage. It’s a delightfully weird and witty coming-of-age story with a healthy dose of gore.
6. Suncoast
Directed by: Laura Chinn
Starring: Laura Chinn, Woody Harrelson, Nico Parker
Release Date: Now available on VOD
After her father’s death, a teenager living in a retirement community in Florida navigates love and family while coming to terms with her own identity. Suncoast is a moving, intimate portrait of adolescence and grief anchored by a revelatory lead performance from Laura Chinn, who also wrote and directed the film.
7. Bleeding Love
Directed by: Diane Paragas
Starring: Jessica Allain, Archie Renaux, Melanie Chandra
Release Date: Now available on VOD
A romance novelist who no longer believes in love and a hopeless romantic meet on a book tour in this charming enemies-to-lovers rom-com. Bleeding Love is a delightful, feel-good romp with plenty of laughs and heart. Jessica Allain and Archie Renaux have incredible chemistry.
8. First Time Female Director
Directed by: Chelsea Peretti
Starring: Chelsea Peretti, Amy Poehler, Megan Mullally
Release Date: Now available on VOD
Comedian Chelsea Peretti makes her directorial debut and stars in this hilarious mockumentary about the making of her “first film” – an all-female remake of the movie Psycho. First Time Female Director brilliantly skewers Hollywood and the challenges women face in the industry. It’s a biting, fearless satire with an all-star comedic cast.
9. Anatomy of a Fall
Directed by: Justine Triet
Starring: Sandra Hüller, Swann Arlaud, Milo Machado Graner
Release Date: Now available on VOD
After her husband’s suspicious death, a woman finds herself on trial for murder in this gripping French courtroom drama that won the Palme d’Or at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival. Anatomy of a Fall keeps you guessing until the very end thanks to a razor-sharp script and a mesmerizing lead performance from Sandra Hüller.
10. Past Lives
Directed by: Celine Song
Starring: Greta Lee, Teo Yoo, John Magaro
Release Date: Now available on VOD
Two childhood friends who were separated when one moved from South Korea to Canada reconnect online as adults and wonder if they are meant to be together in this poetic, swoon-worthy romance. Past Lives is an exquisite, emotionally resonant film that explores love, fate, and cultural identity. Greta Lee is phenomenal.
11. Origin
Directed by: Ava DuVernay
Starring: Aunjanue Ellis, Niecy Nash-Betts, Jon Bernthal
Release Date: Now available on VOD
Based on the nonfiction book by Isabel Wilkerson, Origin chronicles the decades-long migration of African Americans who fled the South for northern and western cities in search of a better life. Ava DuVernay’s sweeping historical epic is a powerful, visually stunning portrait of a defining moment in American history. The ensemble cast is outstanding.
12. A Thousand and One
Directed by: A.V. Rockwell
Starring: Teyana Taylor, Will Catlett, Josiah Cross
Release Date: Now available on VOD
A young mother kidnaps six-year-old Terry from the foster care system, convinced it’s one last, necessary crime on the path to redemption. A Thousand and One is a devastating but ultimately hopeful story about the bonds between parent and child set against the rapidly changing backdrop of 1990s New York City. Teyana Taylor delivers a star-making performance.
13. Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret
Directed by: Kelly Fremon Craig
Starring: Abby Ryder Fortson, Rachel McAdams, Kathy Bates
Release Date: Now available on VOD
The beloved Judy Blume novel gets a winning big screen adaptation courtesy of writer-director Kelly Fremon Craig. 11-year-old Margaret navigates the tumult of adolescence and searches the universe for answers to life’s biggest questions in this warm, nostalgic coming-of-age tale. Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. perfectly captures the magic and awkwardness of growing up.
14. Barbie
Directed by: Greta Gerwig
Starring: Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, America Ferrera
Release Date: Now available on VOD
Barbie was the movie event of 2023, a candy-colored, deeply clever satire about femininity and consumerism that became a genuine cultural phenomenon. If you somehow missed it in theaters, now’s your chance to see what all the fuss was about. Margot Robbie is sensational in the title role and Greta Gerwig cements her status as one of our most exciting filmmakers.
15. I.S.S.
Directed by: Gabriela Cowperthwaite
Starring: Ariana DeBose, Chris Messina, Pilou Asbæk
Release Date: January 19, 2024
This sci-fi thriller opened to strong reviews last year at the Tribeca Festival. Ariana DeBose stars alongside Chris Messina and Pilou Asbæk as a group of astronauts living aboard the International Space Station. As war breaks out on Earth, tensions flare in space that reflect the international conflicts. Soon, they each receive orders from below: take control of the station by any means necessary.
16. Miller’s Girl
Directed by: Jade Halley Bartlett
Starring: Jenna Ortega, Martin Freeman
Release Date: January 26, 2024
Fresh from her star-making turn in Wednesday, Jenna Ortega has several films in the pipeline for 2024. This drama pairs her up with Martin Freeman as a student and teacher whose relationship grows messy and dangerous when they’re paired together for a creative writing assignment.
17. Sometimes I Think About Dying
Directed by: Rachel Lambert
Starring: Daisy Ridley, Dave Merheje, Parvesh Cheena
Release Date: January 12, 2024
Daisy Ridley plays Fran, a quirky and depressed woman who likes to think about dying. When the new guy at work makes her laugh, it sparks an unexpected connection. But Fran herself may be the only thing standing in the way of her own happiness. Sometimes I Think About Dying earned raves at Sundance for its darkly funny and poignant look at loneliness.
18. The Watchers
Directed by: Ishana Shyamalan
Starring: Dakota Fanning
Release Date: June 7, 2024
M. Night Shyamalan’s daughter Ishana is following in her father’s footsteps with her feature directorial debut, the horror film The Watchers. Dakota Fanning plays an artist who finds herself stranded in a seemingly never-ending forest in Ireland and becomes trapped alongside a group of strangers as a dark creature stalks them each night.
19. Flint Strong
Directed by: Rachel Morrison
Starring: Ryan Destiny, Brian Tyree Henry
Release Date: August 9, 2024
Oscar-nominated cinematographer Rachel Morrison makes her directorial debut with Flint Strong, written by Barry Jenkins. The sports drama tells the true story of Claressa “T-Rex” Shields, a boxer from Flint, Michigan who trained for the 2012 Summer Olympics. Ryan Destiny and Brian Tyree Henry star.
20. Rosalie
Directed by: Stéphanie Di Giusto
Release Date: January 24, 2024 (France)
This French historical drama is inspired by the life of Clémentine Delait, a bearded lady who became a celebrity when she toured with circuses and later opened a café. Rosalie follows a young hirsute woman who tries to hide her secret with regular shavings before finding freedom in embracing her bearded self. It opens in France in January but does not yet have a U.S. release date.
21. Laapataa Ladies
Directed by: Kiran Rao
Starring: Nitanshi Goel, Pratibha Ranta, Sparsh Shrivastava
Release Date: January 5, 2024
Aamir Khan and Kiran Rao reunite for Rao’s latest comedy Laapataa Ladies (Lost Ladies), her first film in over a decade. Set in rural India in 2001, it follows the chaotic journey of two young brides who are accidentally exchanged. The film is inspired by the award-winning story “Two Brides” by Biplab Goswami.
22. Emergency
Directed by: Kangana Ranaut
Starring: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade
Release Date: TBA 2024
Kangana Ranaut directs and stars in this Indian historical drama about the country’s 21-month state of emergency in the 1970s. Ranaut portrays former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in the film, which she also co-wrote. The rest of the cast includes Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Mahima Chaudhry, and Milind Soman.
23. Soorarai Pottru (Hindi Remake)
Directed by: Sudha Kongara
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Radhika Madan, Paresh Rawal
Release Date: TBA 2024
The acclaimed Tamil film Soorarai Pottru, inspired by the life of Simplify Deccan founder Captain GR Gopinath, is getting a Hindi language remake. Akshay Kumar stars alongside Radhika Madan and Paresh Rawal, with original director Sudha Kongara returning at the helm. The film swept India’s National Film Awards in 2023.
24. Madame Web
Directed by: S.J. Clarkson
Starring: Dakota Johnson, Sydney Sweeney, Emma Roberts
Release Date: February 16, 2024
Madame Web will be the first female superhero to lead a film in Sony’s universe of Marvel characters. Dakota Johnson stars as Cassandra Webb, a clairvoyant whose psychic abilities allow her to see within the spider world. The film will expand Sony’s roster of Marvel properties beyond Spider-Man. Sydney Sweeney and Emma Roberts co-star.
25. Venom: Part 6
Directed by: Kelly Marcel
Starring: Tom Hardy, Juno Temple, Chiwetel Ejiofor
Release Date: November 8, 2024
Kelly Marcel, who co-wrote the first two Venom films, makes her directorial debut with the third installment, currently known as Venom: Part 6. Tom Hardy returns as Eddie Brock/Venom, with Juno Temple and Chiwetel Ejiofor joining the cast. Temple is said to be playing a major role that will be key to the story.
From inspiring true stories to ingenious genre flicks, 2024’s slate of female-directed films promises something for everyone. These 25 movies are just a small sampling of the incredible work women are doing behind the camera. As the film industry continues to (slowly) evolve, here’s hoping that a list like this will soon be the norm rather than a novelty. In the meantime, mark your calendars and get your popcorn ready – it’s going to be an amazing year at the movies.
