Best films released in the UK this month: December 2024
Highlights include Nightbitch, Queer and Better Man.
The year is almost at an end – but before you finish drawing up your best films of 2024 lists, there are still a fair few high profile releases set to hit UK cinemas during November.
Perhaps one of the most exciting of those is Better Man, the highly unconventional Robbie Williams biopic that follows the former Take That star's life and career with the singer portrayed as a CGI monkey throughout (played by actor Jonno Davies using performance capture).
That's arriving in cinemas on Boxing Day, but if you're after something to watch in the run-up to Christmas there are plenty of other options, including a couple of big-budget family films in Mufasa: The Lion King and Sonic the Hedgehog 3.
Meanwhile, Lord of the Rings fans are in for a treat thanks to the release of the new Middle Earth-set anime film The Lord of the Rings: The War on Rohirrim, which tells the origin story of Helm's Deep and is set 183 years before the main trilogy.
And there are also plenty of intriguing new movies featuring major stars arriving throughout the month, including Amy Adams in Nightbitch, Daniel Craig in Queer and Jude Law in The Order.
To help you pick out the highlights, we've put together a selection of some of the best films to watch this month – check out the video above or read on for our choices.
Nightbitch
Release date: Friday 6th December in cinemas
Amy Adams stars as a stay-at-home mum who begins transforming into a dog at night in this intriguing film from director Marielle Heller, whose previous works include A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood and Can You Ever Forigve Me?
Based on a novel of the same name by Rachel Yoder, it blends black comedy with elements of body horror to provide an unconventional portrait of the stresses and pressures of motherhood.
On Becoming a Guinea Fowl
Release date: Friday 6th December in cinemas
The second feature from director Rungano Nyoni explores buried secrets in a middle-class Zambian family that come to light when an uncle is found dead.
While most of the family wish to honour him with a traditional mourning period, several younger members of the family reveal the historic abuse the man had inflicted upon them when they were younger, leading to a bitter divide in the family.
Queer
Release date: Friday 13th December in cinemas
Daniel Craig takes on the lead role in Luca Guadagnino's adaptation of William S Burroughs's novella of the same name, which is set in Mexico City in the 1950s and follows a character called William Lee – a surrogate for Burroughs himself.
The film follows him as he wanders around the city's clubs and becomes infatuated with a much younger man (Drew Starkey) who has recently been discharged from the US Navy, with the pair eventually embarking on a trip and the film taking a subsequent lurch into surrealism.
Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim
Release date: Friday 13th December in cinemas
This anime extension of the Lord of the Rings franchise is set 183 years before the iconic trilogy, and tells the story of Helm Hammerhand and his daughter Héra – who featured as an unnamed character in the appendices of JRR Tolkein's writings.
Brian Cox, Gaia Wise, Luke Pasqualino and Miranda Otto all feature among the voice cast – while the film also uses archive recordings of Christopher Lee, who briefly posthumously reprises his role as Saruman.
Kraven the Hunter
Release date: Friday 13th December in cinemas
The latest entry in Sony's Spider-Man Universe stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson as the titular supervillain, with Ariana DeBose, Fred Hechinger, Alessandro Nivola, Christopher Abbott and Russell Crowe all featuring in supporting roles.
According to a synopsis, it explores Kraven's complex relationship with his father, which sets him on a path of vengeance and motivates him to become the greatest and most feared hunter.
Mufasa: The Lion King
Release date: Friday 20th December in cinemas
Moonlight's Barry Jenkins directs this film which serves as both a prequel and a sequel to The Lion King, specifically the live-action/CGI hybrid from 2019.
It sees Rafiki the mandrill telling the origin story of two lions, Mufasa and Taka, to Kiara – the granddaughter of Mufasa and daughter of Simba and Nala.
Sonic the Hedgehog 3
Release date: Saturday 21st December in cinemas
Jim Carrey is back as Dr Robotnik in this latest adventure for Sonic, Tails and Knuckles – who face a new foe in Shadow, voiced by Keanu Reeves.
The heroic trio have to form an unlikely alliance with Robotnik in order to stave off the villain and protect the entire planet – let's hope they're up to the task!
Better Man
Release date: Thursday 26th December in cinemas
Robbie Williams is portrayed as a CGI monkey (played by actor Jonno Davies using performance capture) in this unconventional look back at the singer's life and career, which features many of the former Take That star's biggest hits.
Directed by The Greatest Showman filmmaker Michael Gracey, the supporting cast also includes Alison Steadman and Steve Pemberton.
The Order
Release date: Thursday 26th December in cinemas
Jude Law and Nicholas Hoult star in this true crime drama about an FBI agent who goes after a white supremacist terrorist organisation in the 1980s.
Hoult plays Bob Mathews, the real life leader of the group who planned on overthrowing the US government.
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Authors
Patrick Cremona is the Senior Film Writer at Radio Times, and looks after all the latest film releases both in cinemas and on streaming. He has been with the website since October 2019, and in that time has interviewed a host of big name stars and reviewed a diverse range of movies.
