New year, new movies: 10 must-watch titles

News 01 January 2026

Start your new year at the movies, with Sunday fun on M-Net, and vintage comedies in isiZulu.

New year, new movies: 10 must-watch titles

Start 2026 right, with movie night. Thanks to DStv’s Upsize campaign, Compact and Compact Plus subscribers have access to every DStv Premium channel until midnight on 31 January 2026 – so you can make the most of mega-movie madness on M-Net, all the M-Net Movies channels, and Movie Room.

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We have Smurfs for the kids. If you’re looking to lift your spirits, there’s Stephen King’s delightful The Life of Chuck, or Tim Robinson’s outrageous buddy comedy, Friendship. We have Dave Bautista’s Afterburn, and M3GAN 2.0 for cult sci-fi lovers, while culture vultures can enjoy opera biopic Maria. Dennis Quaid’s political biopic Reagan will strike a note with Yellowstone fans, and if you’re into the classics, all Martin Lawrence’s Big Momma flicks will be in isiZulu on Movie Room.

Now get that popcorn poppin’ and meet us at the movies!

10 must-watch movies for January 2026

Joy, laughter and longing

The Life of Chuck

This fantasy drama based on Stephen King’s uplifting novella of the same name was voted Best Movie of 2025 by The Washington Post. As Charles "Chuck" Krantz (Tom Hiddleston, with Jacob Tremblay, Benjamin Pajak, and Cody Flanagan as the younger Chuck) dies at the age of 39, the universe collapses in a series of disasters on Earth. We then follow Chuck’s life back through time to explore how his grandmother Sarah (Mia Sara) inspired him to embrace life and joy.

Watch The Life of Chuck on Friday, 9 January at 8PM on M-Net Movies 1 Channel 104.

Friendship

Nominated for the 2025/26 Best Comedy Critics Choice Award. Craig Waterman (Tim Robinson), a socially awkward marketing executive who’s struggling to connect with his wife Tami (Kate Mara) following her recovery from cancer, latches onto his new neighbour, Austin (Paul Rudd), a local TV weatherman. Austin livens up Craig’s life by inviting him to explore the secret local tunnel system, and to bunk work to go mushroom hunting, but Craig’s growing addiction to their friendship sends him spiralling into insanity.

Watch Friendship on Friday, 23 January at 9PM on M-Net Movies 1 Channel 104.

For the (tiny) little ones

Smurfs

Family-friendly animation based on the comic book series by Belgian artist Peyo. The attention-grabbing voice cast includes Rihanna as Smurfette, James Corden as No Name Smurf, John Goodman as the wise Papa Smurf, Nick Offerman as Papa’s brother Ken, and JP Karliak as the evil wizard Gargamel. No Name Smurf unwittingly attracts the attention of evil wizards when he seems to gain magical powers, leading to Papa Smurf’s kidnapping and a Smurfs-on-Earth expedition through Paris, Australia, and Munich.

Watch Smurfs on Sunday, 4 January at 8:05PM on M-Net Channel 101. On Showmax from Monday, 5 January.

Based on a true story

Reagan

This biographical drama about former US President Ronald Reagan (Dennis Quaid, with David Henrie as the young Ronald) is based on Paul Kengor's 2006 book The Crusader: Ronald Reagan and the Fall of Communism. The shiny-side-up story centres on actor-turned US President Ronald’s role as an FBI informant, his faith, his marriages to Jane Wyman (Mena Suvari) and Nancy Davis (Penelope Anne Miller), his campaign for the presidency, and his impact on American politics during the 1980s.

Watch Reagan on Sunday, 11 January at 8:05PM on M-Net Channel 101. On Showmax from Monday, 12 January.

Maria

This award-winning biographical drama, which centres on the tragic life of American-born operatic soprano Maria Callas (Angelina Jolie), earned an eight-minute standing ovation during its world premiere at the Sala Grande Theatre. The film begins in Paris in 1977, a week before Maria’s death, and takes the form of a hallucinated series of interviews and flashbacks to the key points in her life, including her affair with Greek businessman Aristotle Onassis (Haluk Bilginer), and her reckoning with losing her voice.

Maria Sunday 11 January at 6:05PM on M-Net Movies 1 Channel 104. Available on Showmax.

The horrors persist…with a twist

Afterburn

Post-apocalyptic action movie based on the Red 5 Comics graphic novel of the same name by Scott Chitwood, Paul Ens, and Wayne Nichols. August Valentine (Samuel L Jackson) declares himself King of England following a devastating solar flare that destroys most technology. He rewards those who bring him pre-flare artefacts, so Jake (Dave Bautista), an ex-soldier, reluctantly agrees to track down the Mona Lisa from France – which is now partly ruled by warlord General Volkov (Kristofer Hivju).

Watch Afterburn on Sunday, 18 January at 8:05PM on M-Net Channel 101. On Showmax from Monday, 19 January.

M3GAN 2.0

Sci-fi sequel to the 2022 movie about an android designed to be a child’s robot companion. When the Pentagon’s top-secret android AMELIA (Ivanna Sakhno) gains consciousness and escapes, the original M3GAN (Amie Donald), who has survived as a backup programme in her creator Gemma’s (Allison Williams) smart home, offers to help Gemma to stop AMELIA – in exchange for a new body. The clock is ticking, as M3GAN warns Gemma that AMELIA has targeted tech billionaire Alton Appleton (Jemaine Clement).

Watch M3GAN 2.0 on Sunday, 25 January at 8:05PM on M-Net Channel 101. On Showmax from Friday, 30 January along with the original M3GAN on Monday, 26 January.

Dangerous Animals

Survival horror. Tourists Greg (Liam Greinke) and Heather (Ella Newton) are looking for a tiny thrill when they sign on for Tucker’s Experience, a shark cage diving expedition run by eccentric captain Tucker (Jai Courtney). They get a whole lot more, as Tucker reveals how surviving a shark attack as a child changed his life, and he sets up a video camera to capture the gore as he feeds his victims to the sharks. And this isn’t Tucker’s first attack.

Dangerous Animals on Friday, 30 January at 8PM on M-Net Movies 1 Channel 104.

Coming in isiZulu!

Big Momma's House

Crime comedy. FBI agent Malcolm Turner (Martin Lawrence) goes undercover as Hattie Mae Pierce – the grandmother of escaped murderer and bank robber Lester Vesco’s (Terrence Howard) ex-girlfriend Sherry Pierce (Nia Long) – in an effort to catch the crook and reclaim his loot. With Hattie away visiting a friend in hospital, Malcolm is able to take over her house, her job as a midwife, and her self-defence classes – which he’ll need to ward off Hattie’s sex-crazed boyfriend, Ben (Carl Wright).

Watch Big Momma's House on Saturday, 10 January at 8PM on Movie Room Channel 113, Big Momma’s House 2 on Saturday, 17 January at 8PM, and Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son on Saturday, 24 January at 8PM.

Black Knight

Fantasy adventure buddy movie. Medieval World theme park worker Jamal (Martin Lawrence) travels through time to medieval England, where he becomes the bodyguard of evil King Leo (Kevin Conway) after accidentally saving the King’s life, and being mistaken for a high-ranking peace broker between England and Normandy. When Jamal lands in the castle’s dungeon after his ruse is uncovered, he takes on a new identity – that of the Black Knight – and a new ally, disgraced knight Sir Knolte (Tom Wilkinson).

Watch Black Knight on Saturday, 31 January at 8PM on Movie Room Channel 113.

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