Nia DaCosta turns things up to 11 with an energized take on the 28 Years Later world. Come for the gore but stay for the surprisingly frequent jokes and a pair of astonishing performances from Ralph Fiennes and Jack O'Connell, whose sadistic Jimmy Crystal is utterly hateful but always compelling.

The most action-packed Avatar yet still has the capacity to dazzle, with Oona Chaplin's Varang turning up the heat. Even if a frustrating lack of resolution and some repetitive storytelling choices make this feel more like The Way of Water part 2.

By swapping gaudy satire for introspection (without losing any of the franchise's trademark flamboyance), Wake Up Dead Man brings Knives Out back to its roots and makes for a sequel that's almost on a par with the original.

A darker and sadder Part 2 brings the story of Oz's witches to a moving close and cements Jon M. Chu's adaptation of Wicked as an absolute triumph. But, For Good suffers slightly from thinner source material and weak new songs.

Predator: Badlands may irk traditionalists, but it's a big swing that just about works. The odd-couple dynamic between Elle Fanning's busted synth and the more human Yautja adds laughs to the usual lacerations for a fun, propulsive, off-world action-adventure.

With a surprisingly effective romance at its centre, and a dynamic ensemble of characters, Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc offers more than just visually impressive blood-and-guts spectacle, even if it isn’t able to land every beat of its self-contained story, with the next arc beckoning somewhere on the horizon.

Paul Thomas Anderson's bravura comic satire is a serious film of the year contender, and one of the best studio movies in years. An instant classic.

Series veterans may rue the lack of certain supporting players (the hot-headed Inosuke is largely absent, while usual comic foil Zenitsu is all gritted teeth and gripped swords here) and the lack of levity may sting in a series renowned for its malleable tone and endless charm, but Infinity Castle achieves the impossible by roaring past Mugen Train as Demon Slayer's best adventure yet.

The Long Walk is not for the faint of heart, but it is one of the best Stephen King adaptations ever made, and one of the best dystopian sci-fi movies to hit the big screen in a really long time.

Cleaving closely to the source material, del Toro wants to explore the trauma that makes us, mankind's capacity for cruelty, the death we bring on ourselves through war, and the catharsis of forgiveness – all notions that make Frankenstein relevant in current world politics and social media savagery.

Overall, Cregger’s twisted fairytale is not only the best horror movie to come out of an already impressive year for the genre, but Weapons is a positively terrifying, heartwrenching look at a struggling community.

Fantastic Four may not be the confident stride Marvel fans were hoping for but, at the very least, it's a solid first step.

It may not be a perfect movie, but in a word, it’s pretty super.

A lot of campy, silly fun, just like its predecessor, with a few plucky upgrades – just don't go looking for an incisive commentary on AI.

It's clear Wassung and Trachtenberg just get it. Somehow, they're able to push the sci-fi envelope and offer up fresh images and ideas the series has yet to see, while also appealing to diehard fans with Easter eggs.

It makes for a tonally consistent movie, though one that fails to deliver on a deeper emotional level – arguably the element that elevated the franchise above its many clones. It's a shame, because the action really is brilliant, even if the plot gives you a sense of déjà vu. Whoa.

Karate Kids: Legends is a classic story reimagined for the TikTok generation. Ben Wang is a fantastic lead, while Jackie Chan and Ralph Macchio have fantastic chemistry – if only they had more screentime. One of the better installments in this mixed franchise.

The Final Reckoning brings both the Dead Reckoning storyline and the franchise as a whole to a satisfying close. As ever, Cruise is in peak condition, front and centre amid some looney stuntwork. If only his antagonist Gabriel was a more worthy opponent.

Uses all the tricks in the Final Destination book to weave an intricate thrill ride packed with jaw-dropping, gasp-inducing, laugh-out-loud moments of gory fatality. With its killer set pieces, blood-soaked spectacle and knowing nods, Bloodlines delivers a worthy addition to a well-loved horror franchise that should satisfy existing fans and garner new ones to boot.

Thunderbolts* is a refreshing offering from the MCU that takes plenty of big swings and only occasionally misses. The movie cares more about the characters and relationships on screen than the franchise at large, and that means we do too.

Mickey 17 is funny and charming from the get-go, building out a fascinating sci-fi world from its central conceit that ends up speaking to powerful and timely concerns through humour, satire and exhilarating genre elements. Bong Joon-ho's best English movie to date and arguably Robert Pattinson's best movie ever.

The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep breathes fresh air into The Witcher's increasingly stale franchise. Anchored by a wonderful voice performance from Doug Cockle, small distracting details aren't enough to overwhelm a well-paced and enjoyable new adventure for Geralt of Rivia.

The Monkey might be a horror, but it's a laugh riot too, as Osgood Perkins offers up a plethora of inventively gruesome kills and some surprisingly profound ideas surrounding life and death.

Leigh Whannell has done it again, bringing his talents back to the world of Universal monsters with a worthy update to another horror icon. With solid performances, impressive effects and well choreographed action, Wolf Man may be sappy in places but it wears its tragedy on its sleeve to heartrending effect and balances it out with plenty of scares.

Nosferatu delivers a relatively straight re-telling of this classic gothic tale. It looks and sounds stunning and is packed with vampiric horror. It doesn't push many boundaries but if you wanted the classic Dracula narrative feeling exactly like it’s directed by Robert Eggers, you're going to love it.

Moana remains as compelling a protagonist as ever in her much-anticipated sequel, whilst her reunion with Maui showcases the wonderful voice talents of Auli’i Cravalho and Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson. There’s plenty to admire in the animation and rich mythology of the tale, but it rehashes many of the themes and plot points of the original leading to a fun but less vital movie.

If you're a Wicked fan, it's hard to imagine you could want anything more from this thrillifying film adaptation. Ariana Grande's and Cynthia Erivo's performances as Glinda and Elphaba will have you defying gravity.

Not perfect and not a patch on the original film, but the magic of Ridley Scott's direction and Denzel Washington's performance elevates Gladiator 2 into the epic spectacle it needs to be. But best to manage your expectations in comparison to the Oscar-winning film.