A Look at the 8 New Movies Coming Out This Week: ‘Challengers,’ ‘Unsung Hero,’ and More!

This week is exciting, with eight new movies coming out! We’ve got the full lineup and their trailers for you below!

Check out Zendaya in Challengers as a once-famous tennis star turned manager for her struggling husband, Mike Faist. Don’t miss Unsung Hero in theaters too. It tells the story of a mom (Daisy Betts) from Australia who raises three kids to become Grammy-winning stars. Joel Smallbone, from the band For King & Country, co-wrote, directed, and stars in it.

Below is the full list of all the new movies coming out this week in theaters and streaming!

New Movies Coming Out This Week: April 22, 2024 – April 28, 2024

Challengers   (2024)

Rating: R

Release Date: In theaters nationwide on Friday, April 26, 2024.

Summary: Challengers tells the story of Tashi (Zendaya), who was a tennis prodigy about to set the tennis world on fire before she suffered a devastating injury she couldn’t recover from. Now, years later, she is a coach and married to a former champion (Mike Faist) who is on a losing streak, and the question is how far Tashi is willing to go to get him back on his winning streak.

What to Watch For: Zendaya spent three months training with a tennis coach to prepare for her role.

Word on the Street: The film was completed in April 2023, but its release was delayed because of the SAG-AFTRA strikes.

My Take: I find it interesting that the screenwriter of this film, Justin Kuritzkes, is the husband of Celine Song, the Academy Award-nominated filmmaker of Past Lives (2023). 

Unsung Hero   (2024)

Rating: PG

Release Date: In theaters on Friday, April 26, 2024. 

Summary: In Unsung Hero, David (Joel Smallbone) has moved his family from Australia to the U.S. for a new start. With nothing more than their suitcases, their six children and one on the way, their love of music, and their faith, the family sets out to rebuild their lives. Helen (Daisy Betts) has dreams of her own to be a music star, but she puts her faith and family first. Their parents inspire their children to dream, and soon, Helen and David realize the musical prowess of their children, who will go on to become stars and make music history.

What to Watch for: Two of the children, Jake and Luke Smallbone, went on to found the Grammy-winning band For King & Country. A third, Rebecca, became Rebecca St. James, another in the family to win Grammy awards.

Word on the Street: Joel Smallbone not only co-wrote and co-directed the film, he also portrays his father in the movie.

My Take: Rebecca St. James won the Grammy Award in 2000 for Best Rock Gospel Album for the album Pray.

We Grown Now   (2023)

Rating: PG

Release Date: In theaters on Friday, April 26, 2024.

Summary: We Grown Now is set in 1992 Chicago, where a mother named Dolores (Jurnee Smollett) is raising her 12-year-old son Malik (Blake Cameron James) in one of the most crime-infested parts of the city. Malik must grow up fast, but he has help from his best friend Eric (Gian Knight Ramirez) and his grandmother Anita (S. Epatha Merkerson). Dolores will have to make some tough choices if Malik is going to survive in this environment. 

What to Watch For: The film was nominated for three awards at the 2024 Film Independent Spirit Awards.

Word on the Street: This is the third feature film from award-winning filmmaker Minhal Baig.

My Take: Jurnee Smollett was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for her role as Letitia Lewis in the TV series Lovecraft Country.

Boy Kills World   (2023)

Rating: R

Release Date: In theaters on Friday, April 26, 2024.

Summary: In Boy Kills World, Boy (Bill Skarsgård) saw his family murdered, and he was rendered deaf and mute. Since then, Boy has been training with one mission: to kill the person responsible, Hilda Van Der Koy (Famke Janssen), the evil leader of a televised game of survival called The Culling. They never saw Boy coming.

What to Watch For: The cast includes Jessica Rothe, Michelle Dockery, Brett Gelman, Isaiah Mustafa, Yayan Ruhian, Andrew Koji, and Sharlto Copley.

Word on the Street: This is filmmaker Moritz Mohr’s feature film debut. He is best known for his award-winning 2005 short Akumi.

My Take: The film is produced by Sam Raimi, known for his Spider-Man films of the early 2000s.

Humane   (2024)

Rating: R

Release Date: In theaters on Friday, April 26, 2024.

Summary: Humane is set in the near future when in the wake of an environmental collapse, the world’s governments have to take desperate measures to reduce the human population. A father gathers his adult children to announce that he’s decided to enroll in a voluntary euthanasia program, and then things go from bad to worse.

What to Watch For: The film is directed by Caitlin Cronenberg, the daughter of legendary director David Cronenberg (The Fly, Dead Ringers, The Dead Zone), and the sister of Brandon Cronenberg, who directed Infinity Pool.

What to Watch For: The cast includes Jay Baruchel, Emily Hampshire, Peter Gallagher, Enrico Colanton, Sebastian Chacon, Alanna Bale, and Sirena Gulamagaus.

My Take: Jay Baruchel is coming off his role as the take-no-prisoners inventor in the award-winning film Blackberry (2023).

Uncropped   (2023)

Rating: N/A

Release Date: In theaters on Friday, April 26, 2024.

Summary: The documentary Uncropped tells the story of photojournalist James Hamilton, who worked for the Village Voice and who America’s cultural history with his camera.

What to Watch For:  D.W. Young, known for his movies Too Cold to Swim (2018) and The Booksellers (2019) directs the film.

Word on the Street: Hamilton is known for his photographs of Patti Smith, Lou Reed, David Lynch, Jean-Luc Godard, Meryl Streep, Alfred Hitchcock, and Liza Minnelli.

My Take: Oscar-winning director Wes Anderson appears in the film and is the documentary’s executive producer. 

Nowhere Special   (2023)

Rating: N/A

Release Date: In theaters on Friday, April 26, 2024.

Summary: Nowhere Special is about a 35-year-old single dad (James Norton) in Northern Ireland who has devoted his life to raising his three-year-old son. John finds out he has only three months to live and is on a quest to find a new, perfect family for his son.

What to Watch For: The film was a hit on the European Film Festival circuit and won the Feature Film Award at the 2020 Warsaw International Film Festival.

Word on the Street: The film is based on a true story, although the father and son’s identities have remained anonymous.

My Take: I love that James Norton has said that working with Daniel Lamont, who portrays his son in the film, is one of the greatest experiences of Norton’s career. 

The Feeling That the Time for Doing Something Has Passed    (2023)

Rating: N/A

Release Date: In theaters on Friday, April 26, 2024.

Summary: The Feeling That the Time for Doing Something Has Passed is about Ann (Joanna Arnow), a woman going nowhere fast. She is stuck in a low-level job she hates, has been in a long-term BDSM relationship with a man who barely remembers her name, and her family loves to argue at the drop of a hat. It’s time to change things, but that won’t be easy.

What to Watch For: This is the debut feature film for Joanna Arrow, who has written and directed award-winning shorts.

What to Watch For: The film was part of the Cannes Director’s Fortnight program in 2023.

My Take: Scot Cohen, who plays the long-term man Ann has a relationship with, is a favorite actor of mine, having played Max Median in the TV series Gilmore Girls.

Which New Movies Coming Out This Week Are You Excited to Watch?

Below, let us know what new movies you plan to see this week!