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From The Matrix to musicals and Macbeth: This year’s crop of Boxing Day blockbusters

Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures

Every Boxing Day a handful of blockbuster movies is released to the masses.

The cinema experience is a perfect palate cleanser after heavy Christmas meals or hours of Boxing Day shopping.

From long-awaited chapters to breathtaking musicals, here are seven movies out on Boxing Day for you and your loved ones to enjoy.

1. The Matrix Resurrections

Choose between the red pill or the blue pill … 

Directed by visionary filmmaker Lana Wachowski, The Matrix Resurrections is the fourth instalment in the beloved sci-fi film franchise.

It sees the return of Keanu Reeves as Neo and Carrie-Anne Moss as Trinity, but neither seem to remember each other or their pasts. 

The film also stars Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Jonathan Groff and Neil Patrick Harris.

2. West Side Story

Directed by Steven Spielberg, this new adaptation of the stage musical stars Rachel Zegler as Maria and Ansel Elgort as Tony, two young adults who fall in love despite being part of rival street gangs.

Rita Moreno, who won an Oscar for playing Anita in the 1961 film, appears in this new adaptation in a supporting role. 

Although West Side Story has underperformed at the North America box office, the film was still positively received by critics.

Zegler has also been nominated for both a Critics Choice Award and Golden Globe for her performance as Maria.

3. Licorice Pizza

Licorice Pizza is the ninth feature film by acclaimed director Paul Thomas Anderson, whose other titles include Phantom Thread and Magnolia.

The coming-of-age story follows young actor Gary Valentine (Cooper Hoffman) as he navigates high school, life and falling in love with an older girl in her 20s named Alana (Alana Haim). 

Hoffman is the son of the late actor Philip Seymour Hoffman, who frequently collaborated with Anderson. 

4. The Worst Person in the World

Directed by Joachim Trier, The Worst Person in the World is a Norwegian romantic drama that introduces us to Julie (Renate Reinsve).

Almost 30 and feeling like her life is an existential mess, Julie dumps her boyfriend Aksel (Anders Danielsen Lie) after she meets the young and charming Eivind (Herbert Nordrum).

Julie throws herself into the new relationship, hoping to find a new lease on life. But she soon realises that some choices are already behind her.

5. The Tragedy of Macbeth

Academy-Award-winners Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand star in lauded director Joel Coen’s adaptation of Macbeth. 

As it is the tale of Macbeth, you can expect Shakespearian levels of murder, madness, ambition and wrathful cunning. 

6. Sing 2

Everyone’s favourite optimistic koala, Buster Moon (Matthew McConaughey), is back and he’s ready for more.

In Sing 2, Buster and his all-star cast of performers prepare to launch their most theatrical masterpiece yet. 

But to pull it off, the crew have to persuade the world’s most reclusive rock star (Bono) to join them. 

The sequel to the 2016 smash hit also features the voices of Reese Witherspoon, Scarlett Johansson, Taron Egerton, Tori Kelly, Nick Kroll and Bobby Cannavale. 

7. Delicious

Here’s one for lovers of food films …

Delicious is a French historical comedy about a talented but prideful cook named Pierre Manceron (Grégory Gadebois) who has been sacked by his master. 

Wounded, Pierre swears off cooking and retreats with his son to a regional inn where vegetable soup is basically dish of the day. 

But when mysterious woman Louise (Isabelle Carré) offers to pay him to become his apprentice, Manceron finds the strength to free himself from his position as a servant and opens France’s very first restaurant in the 1700s. 

Watch it again (and again)

If none of the above tickle your fancy, there are some mega hits that came out earlier this month.

There’s Spider-Man: No Way Home, the third instalment in Tom Holland’s Spider-Man movies.

Joining it are Daniel Craig’s final bout as James Bond in No Time To Die and Denis Villeneuve’s visually-striking adaptation of the novel Dune. 

Wes Anderson’s latest film The French Dispatch is also in cinemas now, as is Disney’s animated musical and widely praised Encanto. 

Coming soon

Ridley Scott’s highly-anticipated movie House of Gucci will premiere January 1 in Australian cinemas.

Inspired by the shocking true story behind the luxe Italian fashion label, House of Gucci stars Lady Gaga, Adam Driver, Al Pacino, Jared Leto and Salma Hayek.

Other upcoming films include Kingsman prequel The King’s Man (January 6) and King Richard (January 13), which traces the life of Richard Williams, the father of star tennis players Serena and Venus.

Stan Original Gold, starring Zac Efron, releases January 13 in cinemas. But it will also become available on Stan come January 26.

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