Movies to watch in January, from 'Night Swim' to the 'Mean Girls' musical

It's a brand new year, which brings a new crop of movies to the big screen and streaming services. Nostalgia carries over as a theme from last year's film releases, with more Y2K cult classics and an action-movie staple debuting this January. These are a few of the notable new movies coming out this month. 

'Night Swim' (Jan. 5)

First, we're kicking off the 2024 movie season with "Night Swim," a horror debut written and produced by Bryce McGuire, who Collider predicts will become "a rising star in the horror genre." The newest crop of horror filmmakers "are arguably bigger stars than the movies they make," Collider noted. McGuire is set to join the club that includes terror masterminds like Mike Flanagan and Jordan Peele. 

Based on his 2014 short film of the same, McGuire is partnering with Atomic Monster ("Malignant") and Blumhouse Productions ("M3GAN") to produce the film, which stars Wyatt Russell from "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier."  The story follows the Waller family as they move into a new home with a swimming pool in the backyard. Ian Waller (Russell) hopes the pool will help him rehabilitate a recent injury while giving his family a fresh start. "But a dark secret in the home's past will unleash a malevolent force that will drag the family under into the depths of inescapable terror," Movie Insider wrote. 

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'Society of the Snow' (Jan. 5)

The 1972 crash of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 in the Andes has inspired numerous books and documentaries, including 1993's "Alive," a Hollywood retelling starring Ethan Hawke early in his career. In Netflix's forthcoming "Society of the Snow" ("La Sociedad de la Nieve"), Spanish director J.A. Bayona is reclaiming the real-life tragedy that befell a rugby team on board, "with authenticity and chilling realism, with emotion but without sensationalism," The Hollywood Reporter mused. 

The movie is based on a 2009 book by Uruguayan journalist Pablo Vierci and was made after "extensive consultation with both survivors and the families of those who perished in the snow," Hollywood Reporter noted. 

'The Book of Clarence' (Jan. 12)

LaKeith Stanfield is set to reunite with director Jeymes Samuel ("The Harder They Fall") for "The Book of Clarence," a dark parody of Hollywood biblical epics. Like his hip-hop western debut, Samuel's latest puts a diverse spin on the genre. Stanfield stars as Clarence, the eponymous lead, a Jerusalem local in 29 A.D. who is inspired by the rising influence of Jesus Christ. He decides to join the Messiah game and starts faking miracles for financial gain. His grift goes swimmingly until the Roman empire arrives. 

Despite referencing biblical staples like Jesus and Mary Magdalene, Samuel told Vanity Fair that the film would "tell a Bible story about an everyman." Jay-Z, a producer for the film, said the story was about how a young man "finds his faith through love and through wanting to become somebody in the world," which is "the story of everybody."

'Mean Girls: The Musical' (Jan. 12)

Get in, losers: We're going to see the "Mean Girls" movie. The film adaptation of the 2018 Broadway musical based on Tina Fey's 2004 classic is one of the year's most anticipated releases. Singer-songwriter Renee Rapp returns to her Broadway role as resident queen bee Regina George. Angourie Rice ("Spider-Man: Far From Home") plays Cady Heron, the new girl in town. Fey and fellow SNL alum Tim Meadows are back, respectively, as math teacher Ms. Norbury and Principal Duvall from the original film. 

While the premise of the musical is the same as the original, the trailer promises that the film won't be "your mother's 'Mean Girls.'" Fans of the cult classic might come for the nostalgia, but they'll stay for the musical numbers.

'The Beekeeper' (Jan. 12)

Speaking of nostalgia, Jason Statham is back in all his action-hero glory with "The Beekeeper," a thriller from director David Ayer ("Training Day") and writer Kurt Wimmer ("Salt"). After a phishing scam leads to the suicide of his neighbor, Mr. Clay (Statham), a former operative for a secret organization called Beekeepers, goes on a path of revenge against the company responsible for his death. 

The pressure is on as Ayer "desperately" needs his new film to "break a 10-year streak" of a downturn in his career trajectory, Cooper Hood opined on Screen Rant. "Considering the promise that David Ayer's movies showed early in his career, 'The Beekeeper' arrives at a pivotal moment."