EVERYTHING ON SHOWMAX IN JULY
• Kate Winslet in HBO series The Regime (above), one of BBC and Vogue’s best series of 2024 so far
• Emma Stone in A24’s series The Curse, dubbed “the weirdest, most unforgettable show of 2023” by Entertainment Weekly
• The critically-acclaimed second season of Killing It, starring Craig Robinson (The Office, Brooklyn Nine-Nine)
• Mzansi Wethu’s most-watched show ever, Sibongile & The Dlaminis
• School Ties, the latest true-crime phenomenon from Showmax faves IdeaCandy and Steinheist director Richard Gregory
WEEK ONE: 1-7 July
MEAN GIRLS | Stream from Monday, 1 July
From multiple-Emmy-winner Tina Fey (30 Rock) comes a new – musical – twist on the cult-favourite movie, Mean Girls, which was in turn based on Rosalind Wiseman’s book Queen Bees and Wannabes.
The #15 highest-grossing movie of 2024 (so far) at the global box office, Mean Girls follows new student Cady Heron, who’s welcomed in to the top of the social food chain by the elite popular girls known as “The Plastics”... until she falls for queen bee Regina’s ex, Aaron.
Mean Girls stars Angourie Rice (the Spider-Man trilogy, Mare of Easttown) as Cady, with singer Reneé Rapp (The Sex Lives of College Girls) reprising her role from the Broadway show as Regina. Also look out for Auli'i Cravalho (who voiced the animated Moana), Tony winner and Grammy nominee Jaquel Spivey, and Christopher Briney (The Summer I Turned Pretty) as Aaron, as well as a bunch of familiar faces from the original film, including lead Lindsay Lohan.
As RogerEbert.com says, “Ultimately, the film is a vinegary cautionary tale, an angry screed against being mean for meanness sake, and a love letter to teens who are comfortable just being themselves. This time around it seems Fey and co actually made fetch happen.”
If you don’t know what that means, also watch the 2004 original on Showmax.
BLUE BEETLE | Stream from Monday, 1 July
In Blue Beetle, struggling college grad Jaime Reyes unexpectedly finds himself in possession of an ancient relic of alien biotechnology: the Scarab. When the Scarab chooses Jaime to be its symbiotic host, he gets an incredible but unpredictable suit of armour, forever changing his destiny.
Blue Beetle was up for Best Superhero Movie at the 2024 Critics Choice Super Awards, where Xolo Maridueña (Cobra Kai, Parenthood) was nominated for Best Actor.
Recommending the film for ages 12+, and listing it among the Best Movies of the Year: 2023, Common Sense Media calls Blue Beetle, “a breath of fresh air in a packed superhero market,” saying, “A Latino superhero is long overdue in the DCEU, and this warm, funny adventure makes it worth the wait.”
Blue Beetle also stars Oscar nominee Adriana Barraza (Thor, Dora and the Lost City of Gold), Emmy-winning comedian George Lopez, and Critics Choice nominees Raoul Max Trujillo (Mayans M.C., Riddick) and Harvey Guillén (What We Do in the Shadows), as well as Oscar winner Susan Sarandon. Singer Becky G voices Khaji-Da.
WEEK TWO: 8-14 July
THE BEEKEEPER | Stream from Monday, 8 July
Expose the corruption. Protect the hive.
The #13 biggest global blockbuster of the year (so far), The Beekeeper stars Critics Choice nominee Jason Statham (Wrath of Man, Expend4bles, The Transporter) as a man whose brutal campaign for vengeance takes on national stakes after he is revealed to be a former operative of a powerful and clandestine organisation known as “Beekeepers.”
As Globe and Mail says, “There is no anxiety in this increasingly stressful world that cannot be soothed by watching Jason Statham kick someone in the throat.”
Directed by David Ayer, who wrote Training Day and the original The Fast and the Furious, The Beekeeper’s all-star cast includes Emmy Raver-Lampman (The Umbrella Academy), People’s Choice winner Josh Hutcherson (Peeta Mellark in the Hunger Games movies), Oscar nominee Minnie Driver (Good Will Hunting), six-time Emmy nominee Phylicia Rashad (Mary-Anne Creed in the Creed films) and Oscar winner Jeremy Irons (Watchmen).
MIGRATION | Stream from Sunday, 14 July
Take flight into the thrill of the unknown in Migration, another #1 blockbuster from Illumination, the studio that gave us Despicable Me, Minions, Sing and The Secret Life of Pets.
Overprotective Mallard duck dad Mack just wants to keep his family safe in their pond, but his family wants the holiday of a lifetime.
At the 2024 Annie Awards, Tresi Gazal was nominated for Outstanding Voice Acting in an Animated Feature for her feature film debut as the voice of little Gwen. The cast also includes Oscar nominee Kumail Nanjiani and three-time Emmy nominee Elizabeth Banks as her parents, not to mention the likes of Emmy winner Keegan-Michael Key, Emmy nominee Awkwafina and Oscar nominee Danny DeVito.
Migration is directed by Oscar nominee Benjamin Renner (Ernest & Celestine), from his screenplay with Emmy winner Mike White (The White Lotus, School of Rock). Common Sense Media recommends Migration for ages 6+ in their 4/5-star review, calling the animation, “a charming choice for all ages to watch together.”
WEEK THREE: 15-21 July
ANYONE BUT YOU | Stream from Monday, 15 July
Hot? Yes. Bothered? Also yes.
Anyone But You was up for Comedy Movie of the Year at the 2024 People's Choice Awards, where co-stars Sydney Sweeney (Euphoria, The White Lotus) and Glen Powell (Top Gun: Maverick, Hit Man) were both nominated for Comedy Movie Star of the Year.
Bea and Ben look like they’d be the perfect couple. But after an amazing first date, something turns their fiery hot attraction ice cold - until they find themselves unexpectedly thrust together at a destination wedding in Australia. So they do what any two mature adults would do: pretend to be a couple.
GQ says, “Sweeney and Powell are delightful, as well as smokin’, in this loose adaptation of Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing, one of the most charming big screen rom-coms in years.”
Directed by Golden Globe nominee Will Gluck (Easy A, Friends with Benefits), Anyone But You also stars Teen Choice nominee Alexandra Shipp (Barbie), Hadley Robinson (Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty), Michelle Hurd (Blindspot, Star Trek: Picard), Dermot Mulroney (Secret Invasion, Scream VI, My Best Friend's Wedding), Darren Barnet (Never Have I Ever, Gran Turismo) and Oscar nominee Rachel Griffiths (Muriel's Wedding).
BLACKBERRY | Stream from Thursday, 18 July
Based on the true story of the meteoric rise and catastrophic demise of the world's first smartphone, BlackBerry is a whirlwind ride through a ruthlessly competitive Silicon Valley.
The comedy stars Emmy winner Jay Baruchel (FUBAR, This is the End, and the voice of Hiccup in the How to Train Your Dragon films), Glenn Howerton (A.P. Bio, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia), and Matt Johnson, who also wrote and directed.
After premiering at Berlin, BlackBerry went on to win over 25 awards and earn a 98% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes, where the critics’ consensus says: “With intelligence as sharp as its humour, BlackBerry takes a terrifically entertaining look at the rise and fall of a generation-defining gadget.”
MASTER GARDENER | Stream from Thursday, 18 July
Written and directed by Oscar nominee Paul Schrader (Taxi Driver, The Card Counter, First Reformed), Master Gardener follows Narvel Roth, a meticulous horticulturist devoted to tending the grounds of a historic estate called Gracewood Gardens, and pandering to its wealthy owner, Mrs Haverhill. When Mrs Haverhill asks him to take on her wayward great-niece Maya as an apprentice, chaos enters Narvel’s spartan existence, unlocking dark secrets from a buried, violent past that threatens them all.
Critics Choice and Golden Globe nominee Joel Edgerton (The Great Gatsby, The Underground Railroad), three-time Oscar nominee Sigourney Weaver (Avatar, Alien) and Black Reel nominee Quintessa Swindell (Black Adam, In Treatment) co-star.
Master Gardener had its world premiere at Venice, with Weaver winning Best Actress at the CinEuphoria Awards, where Edgerton was up for Best Actor.
In their 4/5-star review, Total Film praised Schrader as “An auteur operating at the top of the league.”
WEEK FOUR: 22-28 July
SILENT NIGHT | Stream from Monday, 22 July
Joel Kinnaman (The Suicide Squad, For All Mankind) stars in Silent Night as a father who witnesses his young son die in gang battle crossfire on Christmas Eve. While recovering from a wound that costs him his voice, he makes vengeance his life’s mission and embarks on a punishing training regimen to avenge his son’s death.
From legendary action director John Woo (Face/Off, Mission: Impossible 2) and John Wick producer Basil Iwanyk, Silent Night was hailed by RogerEbert.com as “one of the most deliriously cinematic movies of the year.”
The cast includes Critics Choice nominee and Grammy winner Scott Mescudi, aka Kid Cudi (Don't Look Up, X), and Oscar nominee Catalina Sandino Moreno (the upcoming John Wick spinoff, Ballerina).
CLASSICS ON THE COUCH
Showmax is also bringing back a wide range of classics this month, including:
• One of IMDb’s top-rated movies of all time, Groundhog Day (from 1 July), starring Bill Murray
• #1 box office hits like Space Jam (from 1 July), with Michael Jordan and Bugs Bunny; Venom (from 1 July), starring Tom Hardy; Dumb and Dumber (from 4 July), starring Jim Carrey; Neil Gaiman’s adaptation of Beowulf (from 8 July); Roland Emmerich’s 10, 000 BC (from 8 July); Jack The Giant Slayer (from 8 July), starring Nicholas Hoult; The Bone Collector (from 8 July), starring Denzel Washington; Four Christmases (from 11 July), starring Reese Witherspoon; Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (from 11 July); The Longest Yard (from 11 July), starring Adam Sandler; City of Angels (from 15 July), starring Nicolas Cage and Meg Ryan; A League of Their Own (from 15 July), starring Geena Davis and Tom Hanks; Godzilla (from 15 July); Oceans 8 (from 18 July), starring Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett and Anne Hathaway; He’s Just Not That Into You (from 22 July), starring Jennifer Aniston; New Year’s Eve (from 22 July), starring Sarah Jessica Parker; Valentine’s Day (from 22 July), starring Julia Roberts; Austin Powers in Goldmember (from 25 July), starring Mike Myers; Semi-Pro (from 25 July), starring Will Ferrell; Pineapple Express (from 25 July), starring Seth Rogen; Demolition Man (from 29 July), starring Sylvester Stallone and Wesley Snipes; and Passenger 57 (from 29 July), starring Wesley Snipes
• Oscar nominees like Troy (from 8 July), starring Brad Pitt; Sherlock Holmes (from 11 July), starring Robert Downey Jnr; Donnie Brasco (from 11 July), starring Al Pacino and Johnny Depp; Captain Phillips and Sully (both from 15 July), both starring Tom Hanks; My Best Friend’s Wedding (from 22 July), starring Julia Roberts; Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (from 25 July), starring Mike Myers; and Moneyball (from 29 July), starring Brad Pitt
• Critics Choice Best Action Movie nominee Spider-Man: Far From Home (from 18 July), which earned Tom Holland and Zendaya People’s Choice Awards for Favorite Action Movie Star and Female Star respectively, and Critics Choice Best Comedy nominee Game Night (from 25 July), which also saw Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams up for Best Actor and Actress in a Comedy
• A Cinderella Story (from 4 July), which earned Hilary Duff, Jennifer Coolidge and Chad Michael Murray Teen Choice Awards for Blush Scene, Sleazebag and Breakout Movie Star - Male respectively; and The Dukes of Hazzard (from 18 July), which earned Jessica Simpson the Teen Choice Breakout Movie Star - Female award.
