There’s a tonne of new films in cinemas this April, including two Australian flicks, Before Dawn and Late Night With The Devil, you can check out.
From The First Omen to The Fall Guy, here is every film that’s new to cinemas in April 2024.
For all upcoming film festivals in Australia, see our annual film festival guide.
To find out what’s on streaming, check out our monthly streaming guide.
Australian films to watch out for:
April 2024 Australian cinema guide
4 April
Before Dawn
Synopsis: The journey of fictional WA outback kid Jim Collins and his battalion on the Western Front. Based on authentic war diaries
Director: Jordan Prince-Wright
Cast: Travis Jeffery, Miles Pollard
Classification: CTC ( check the classification closer to the release date)
Runtime: 1h 35m
Goodbye Julia
Synopsis: Goodbye Julia tells the story of two women who represent the complicated relationship and differences between northern and southern Sudanese communities.
Director: Mohamed Kordofani
Cast: Ger Duany, Eiman Yousif
Classification: M
Runtime: 2h
Monkey Man
Synopsis: Dev Patel directs and stars in this action film about one man’s quest for vengeance against the corrupt leaders who murdered his mother and continue to systemically victimise the poor and powerless.
Director: Dev Patel
Cast: Dev Patel, Sharlto Copley
Classification: MA
Runtime: 2h 3m
Origin
Synopsis: While grappling with tremendous personal tragedy, Isabel sets herself on a path of global investigation and discovery. Despite the colossal scope of her project, she finds beauty and bravery while crafting one of the defining American books of all time.
Director: Ava DuVernay
Cast: Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Jon Bernthal
Classification: M
Runtime: 2h 20m
Richard the Stork and the Mystery of the Great Jewel
Synopsis: Not trusted to lead the flock of storks home to the north, Richard decides to go on his own in this family adventure.
Director: Benjamin Quabeck, Mette Tange
Cast: Dulcie Smart, Jay Myers
Classification: PG
Runtime: 1h 25m
The First Omen
Synopsis: When a young American woman is sent to Rome to begin a life of service to the church, she encounters a darkness that causes her to question her own faith and uncovers a terrifying conspiracy that hopes to bring about the birth of evil incarnate.
Director: Arkasha Stevenson
Cast: Bill Nighy, Nell Tiger Free
Classification: MA
Runtime: 1hr 59m
The Moon is Upside Down
Synopsis: Three women – a duped mail-order bride, a numbed anaesthetist determined to have a romantic weekend, and an empty nester on an unexpected mission of mercy – each navigates her way through an unfamiliar landscape and the contours of the human heart.
Director: Loren Taylor
Cast: Jemaine Clement, Loren Taylor
Classification: CTC
Runtime: 1h 40m
The Tiger’s Apprentice
Synopsis: A young boy in San Francisco meets a talking tiger named Mr. Hu and discovers he is the latest in a long line of guardians who protect an ancient phoenix from evil-doers.
Director: Raman Hui, Yong Duk Jhun, Paul Watling
Cast: Henry Golding, Sandra Oh, Michelle Yeoh
Classification: PG
Runtime: 1hr 24m
6 April
NT Live: The Motive and the Cue
Synopsis: New play directed by Sam Mendes bringing Burton and Gielgud’s infamous Hamlet rehearsals to the big screen, with Johnny Flynn and Mark Gatiss, from the National Theatre’s 2024 season of live recordings direct from the London stage.
Director: Sam Mendes
Cast: Mark Gatiss, Tuppence Middleton
Classification: CTC
Runtime: 2h 45m
11 April
Back to Black
Synopsis: Marisa Abela is Amy Winehouse, Grammy-winning music superstar whose life was cut short at age 27 after a long battle with alcohol and drugs, in this music biopic from director Sam Taylor-Johnson and writer Matt Greenhalgh.
Director: Sam Taylor-Johnson
Cast: Marissa Abela, Eddie Marsan
Classification: CTC
Runtime: 2hr 2m
Civil War
Synopsis: In a dystopian future America, a team of military-embedded journalists races against time to reach Washington, D.C., before rebel factions descend upon the White House.
Director: Alex Garland
Cast: Wagner Moura, Kirsten Dunst
Classification: MA
Runtime: 1hr 49m
La Chimera
Synopsis: This Palme d’Or nominee from Oscar-nominated filmmaker Alice Rohrwacher (Happy As Lazzaro) follows the travails of Arthur, an Englishman in Italy with a preternatural ability to connect with the land.
Director: Alice Rohrwacher
Cast: Josh O’Connor, Isabella Rossellini
Classification: CTC
Runtime: 2hr 13m
Late Night With The Devil
Synopsis: David Dastmalchian stars in this horror about live broadcast of a late-night talk show in 1977 that goes horribly wrong, unleashing evil into the nation’s living rooms.
Director: Cameron and Colin Cairnes
Cast: David Dastmalchian
Classification: MA
Runtime: 1h 33m
Rascal Does Not Dream – Double Feature
Synopsis: A double feature helping of the Rascal Does Not Dream anime franchise. Sakuta Azusagawa’s peaceful relationship with his girlfriend Mai is turned upside down when two versions of Shoko, his first love, return to his life.
Director: Shôji Masui
Cast: Kaito Ishikawa
Classification: PG
Runtime: 2hr 35m
18 April
Abigail
Synopsis: A group of kidnappers become the prey when they snatch a 12-year-old ballerina who also happens to be a deadly vampire in this tongue-in-cheek horror from the directors of Ready or Not and Scream VI.
Director: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett
Cast: Dan Stevens, Giancarlo Esposito
Classification: M
Runtime: 1h 30m
Challengers
Synopsis: Tashi, a tennis player-turned-coach, has taken her husband, Art, and transformed him from a mediocre player into a world-famous Grand Slam champion. To jolt him out of his recent losing streak, she makes him play a Challenger event – close to the lowest level of tournament on the pro tour – where he finds himself standing across the net from the once-promising, now burnt-out Patrick: his former best friend and Tashi’s former boyfriend.
Director: Luca Guadagnino
Cast: Zendaya, Mike Faist, Josh O’Connor
Classification: M
Runtime: 2h 11m
Evil Does Not Exist
Synopsis: The film centres on Mizubiki Village, close to Tokyo were Takumi and his daughter Hana lived. One day, the village inhabitants become aware of a plan to build a glamping site near Takumi’s house, offering city residents a comfortable ‘escape’ to nature.
Director: Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
Cast: Ayaka Shibutani, Hitoshi Omika
Classification: PG
Runtime: 1h 46m
Exhibition on Screen: John Singer Sargent
Synopsis: Documentary on the life and work of John Singer Sargent, one of the great portrait artist of his era.
Director: John Singer Sargent
Cast: N/A
Classification: PG
Runtime: 1h 30m
Freud’s Last Session
Synopsis: Set on the eve of WWII and towards the end of his life, Sigmund Freud invites CS Lewis for a debate over the existence of God. Exploring Freud’s unique relationship with his lesbian daughter Anna and Lewis’ unconventional romance with his best friend’s mother, the film interweaves past, present and fantasy, bursting from the confines of Freud’s study on a dynamic journey.
Director: Matt Brown
Cast: Anthony Hopkins, Matthew Goode
Classification: M
Runtime: 1h 49m
20 April
MetOpera: Romeo et Juliette (2023-24)
Synopsis: Two singers at the height of their powers come together as the star-crossed lovers in Gounod’s Shakespeare adaptation, with Yannick Nézet-Séguin on the podium to conduct one of the repertoire’s most romantic scores.
Director: Charles Gounod
Cast: Nadine Sierra, Benjamin Bernheim
Classification: CTC
Runtime: 3h 10m
24 April
The Fall Guy
Synopsis: Two-time BAFTA nominee Emily Blunt and two-time Oscar nominee Ryan Gosling lead this action film from the director of Bullet Train and the writer of Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation.
Director: David Leitch
Cast: Ryan Gosling, Emily Blunt
Classification: M
Runtime: 1h 54m
25 April
Full Circle
Synopsis: Documentary telling two parallel stories of post-traumatic grown, 50 years apart, both revolving around Spinal Cord Injury.
Director: Josh Berman
Cast: Trevor Kennison, Barry Corbet
Classification: CTC
Runtime: 1h 30m
Mad About the Boy: The Noël Coward Story
Synopsis: An exploration of Noël Coward’s expansive career which features credits across the stage and screen.
Director: Barnaby Thompson
Cast: Alan Cumming, Rupert Everett
Classification: CTC
Runtime: 1h 31m
The Teachers’ Lounge
Synopsis: The big winner at the 2023 German Film Awards follows a teacher who, when one of her students is suspected of theft, decides to get to the bottom of the matter. Caught between her ideals and the school system, the consequences of her actions threaten to break her.
Director: Ilker Çatak
Cast: Leonie Benesch, Michael Klammer
Classification: M
Runtime: 1h 39m
