There were a lot of movies released in 2024, and even if you didn’t watch them, you’ve likely heard of them. This year brought titles from every genre, watched by millions of people. Movie theaters showed movies like “Smile 2,” “The Wild Robot,” “Despicable Me 4,” “Wicked,” and more. While these movies may have been a hit, did the films live up to the hype? Were there movies that didn’t receive enough attention this year but really were a hidden gem?
Sing along?
Many theaters in the world were full of singing fans on the opening night of “Wicked.” This was enough to divide movie watchers and cause a conundrum of arguments on whether it was okay to sing in theaters or not. “[It’s] breaking movie theater etiquette, like standing and singing in the theater.,” sophomore Evan Robinsosn said.
Glowing Representation
“My favorite movie [this year] was “I Saw the TV Glow.” I feel like [tiktok] brought a lot of light to the movie and what it is trying to represent for an entire community. I feel like people really need that in this day and age,” junior Matt Birks said. “I Saw the TV Glow” is an allegory for transgender people. The movie was loved by the trans community, including Birks. The film was a moderate success in theaters and was later released on HBO Max.
That’s too Wicked
While “Wicked” has gained support from fans, Robinson is among the viewers who think the Broadway version is a better representation of the story. “I think ‘Wicked’ was extremely overhyped, and I think that there was a lot of immaturity involved,” he said.
“I would take the Broadway show over the movie any day.”
Didn’t quite shine
Hiding in the shadows of theaters, some movies were obscured by the popularity of other movies. “‘Smile 2’ [was my favorite],” Birks said. “I think it’s a really, really amazing horror movie. And I feel like it really went up to the first one, in my opinion.”
“I feel like ‘The Wild Robot’ was underhyped. I heard really good things about it, but I never got the chance to see it,” Robinson said. “I’ve heard amazing things about it, [but] hadn’t really seen much of it on the internet.”
Target Audience
“The attention that ‘Despicable Me 4’ got before its release with teenagers, especially on the internet, was really positive in selling tickets,” Robinson said. “I think it was a really good addition to the ‘Despicable Me’ story, and the ending with all the previous villains was a really good ending to the story.”
Over the top
Movies this year could have been adored by others and instant classics, but Birks thinks that for one movie, it went too over the top. “I think ‘Wicked,’ in my opinion, was a little [overhyped]. I do feel like it is a really good movie with fantastic cinematography, but all of the promos and merch that came out for it was a little bit too much.”
