It's that time of year again, when families gather around for the holiday season and usher in a new year by playing catch up on all of the great media they've missed over the last 12 months. Only this year, things are a little different. 2020 has seen the decimation of the typical moviegoing experience. Instead, viewers have been stuck at home, and the movies have had to come to them.
This year has seen its largest film releases succeed by streaming on-demand, while a litany of major blockbusters have pushed back their premiere dates until 2021, in hopes of filling theater seats once again. But what has happened to the festival darlings and critics' choices caught in between? These 10 movies did premiere in 2020, though only for limited audiences and critic screenings, and moviegoers won't get to see them until after the calendar flips.
Shiva Baby
Shiva Baby, the directorial debut of Emma Seligman, was due to hit the big screen this year, after garnering rave reviews and nominations at South by Southwest and the Toronto International Film Festival. But Covid-19 had other plans for the film.
Shiva Baby takes place almost entirely in real-time at one location, following Danielle (Rachel Sennott) as she attends a Jewish shiva with her parents, only to find both her sugar daddy and ex-girlfriend there as well. A comedy praised for its depictions of bisexuality and Judaism, as well as great performances from its cast and a tense screenplay, Shiva Baby is now scheduled to open in theaters sometime in 2021.
Nine Days
Nine Days, Edson Oda's debut, made quite a splash at the Sundance Film Festival this year. It's no surprise, as the supernatural drama employs a cast of rising and established stars, including Winston Duke, Zazie Beetz, Benedict Wong, Tony Hale, and Bill Skarsgård, with Spike Jonze executive producing.
Just as with all things Spike Jonze attaches his name to, Nine Days is cerebral and dramatic. The story follows Will (Winston Duke) as he interviews five unborn souls, each of whom is vying for a chance at life. Nine Days has been praised for its masterful storytelling, and the film even won the Screenwriting Award at this year's Sundance. Now, it is scheduled to be released by Sony Pictures on January 22, 2021, almost a year after first premiering.
Pieces Of A Woman
This Canadian-Hungarian film was a breakout star at the 2020 Venice International Film Festival. Pieces of a Woman comes from director Kornél Mundruczó, and it pairs Vanessa Kirby and Shia LaBeouf as a Bostonian couple fighting through a grieving relationship, as they endure a court case against the midwife that botched their home delivery and their budding chances at parenthood.
It is heralded as both poignant and heartbreaking, and Vanessa Kirby's performance has been singled out as one of the year's finest, even earning Pieces of a Woman a win for Best Actress at the Venice International Film Festival. Shortly after its premiere, Netflix picked up the film's rights, and it is expected to hit home screens on January 7th, 2021.
The Father
Is there anything more exciting than when two powerhouse performers go toe-to-toe in a film? That's precisely what The Father provides. Olivia Colman and Anthony Hopkins pair up to tell the story of a daughter doing her best to assist her aging father, a man with dementia who struggles through daily life and questions the nature of his perceived reality.
The Father premiered at Sundance in January, and it has since gone on to win half a dozen rewards from festivals throughout the year, including acting awards for Colman and Hopkins at the Toronto International Film Festival, the Telluride Film Festival, and the Zurich Film Festival. It also sports the critical acclaim of a 100% approval rating from Rotten Tomatoes, a rare feat that will surely endear it with audiences when it opens in theaters in February of 2021.
Another Round
This Danish-Swedish dramedy starring Mads Mikkelsen has already become a frontrunner for Best International Feature Film at the 93rd Academy Awards. Another Round follows four Danish friends who are trudging through the routine of life until they stumble across the theory that maintaining a blood alcohol content of .05 leads to a more enjoyable life. So, they set out to test that theory.
What comes of it has been described as both hysterical and heartfelt by early screenings. Though it is already Denmark's official selection for the next Oscar ceremony, Another Round isn't set for release in the United States until February 5th, 2021.
Gunda
Gunda holds the distinct honor of being one of both 2020's strangest major releases and most praised. The American-Norwegian documentary shot entirely in black-and-white follows the daily lives of a pig, a chicken, and two cows. Neither dialogue nor soundtrack grace this film, leaving audiences with a simple 93 minutes of raw farm footage.
While that may sound unappealing to some audiences, Gunda is yet another film with a 100% approval rating from Rotten Tomatoes and a distinguished spot among The New York Times "Best of 2020" list. Unfortunately for audiences that are curious about Gunda, they will have to wait until the spring of 2021 to see if the documentary lives up to the acclaim.
City Hall
Frederick Wiseman, the three-time Emmy Award-winning documentarian, has returned to the big screen with a monumental documentary that has critics raving about not just its quantity, but its quality. City Hall premiered at the Venice International Film Festival in September with a hard look at the inner workings of the Boston City Hall and a nearly five-hour runtime that shocked the film world.
The gargantuan look at the small places big decisions are made has already been named one of the 10 best movies of the year by The New York Times and The New Yorker, and will surely make some noise come award season. Though City Hall has been holding virtual screenings for certain theaters across the country, most moviegoers won't get a glimpse of this marathon documentary until 2021.
A Quiet Place Part II
Thanks to Covid-19, the sequel to 2018's horror classic A Quiet Place has gone through countless setbacks this year. Though first premiering in New York City in March of this year, A Quiet Place Part II was forced to push back its original release date of late March to September, then again from September to April 2021.
Unlike the other entries on this list, A Quiet Place Part II might not garner much award talk, but that doesn't mean horror fans aren't waiting to flock to the theaters to see Emily Blunt, Millicent Simmonds, and Noah Jupe reprise their roles in this nail-biting nightmare. This film is yet another child of John Krasinski and Emily Blunt's partnership, and like the original, it will surely be the talk of the town when it's finally released.
Minari
Following up 2019, a stellar year for production company A24, was never going to be an easy task. After releasing The Lighthouse, Midsommar, Uncut Gems, The Farewell, and The Last Black Man in San Francisco in 2019, A24 was looking to capitalize on its momentum, and this January, they did just that.
Minari, the latest A24 production, swept both the audience and the jury awards for drama at this year's Sundance. Critics and limited audiences have praised the movie about a Korean family that moves to rural Arkansas for its screenwriting and performances. A tale of assimilation and what it takes to break or bond a family, Minari has been on the shortlist for Best Picture of the Year for the last 11 months, though it won't be until February 2021 that most audiences will get to see it.
Nomadland
By many accounts, Nomadland is the movie of 2020. Chloé Zhao's film about a woman who loses her home and job in the Great Recession, then decides to travel across the United States by van, has been one of the most talked-about movies of the year. Praise for Frances McDormand, who stars, and Zhao alike, has not gone unnoticed, as Nomadland has raked in the awards from film festivals in Venice, Toronto, and San Diego.
Despite numerous festival appearances and a limited virtual run at the Lincoln Center this month, Nomadland remains one of the most anticipated movies of a year nearly finished. Barring any more pandemic-related setbacks, it is scheduled to open in theaters in full force by mid-February, 2021.