Like many people and publications, we’ll be on a break next week. So, today we’re profiling your new movie choices at cinemas for the next two holiday Fridays. Two films premiere in South Africa each week during this period, although none seem likely to dislodge blockbuster sequel Avatar: The Way of Water from the top of the box office. Here’s what you have to look forward to, though.

23 December

I Wanna Dance With Somebody

Celebratory musical biopic I Wanna Dance With Somebody charts the rise to superstardom of singer-actress Whitney Houston in the 1980s and beyond. Naomi Ackie (mostly miming to remastered recordings of Houston) plays the iconic musical performer in this no-holds-barred portrait of the complex, multifaceted woman who went from New Jersey choir girl to one of the most celebrated and successful recording artists of all time. Stanley Tucci plays Clive Davis, Whitney’s record producer, while Ashton Sanders is Houston’s eventual husband Bobby Brown.

The Amazing Maurice

For families with young children, and anyone who loves animated movies, there’s comical CGI adventure The Amazing Maurice, based on the book by Terry Pratchett. Maurice (voiced by Hugh Laurie) is a streetwise ginger cat who comes up with a money-making scam by befriending a group of talking rats. When Maurice and the rodents reach the stricken town of Bad Blintz, they meet a bookworm named Malicia (Emilia Clarke) and their little con soon goes down the drain. Also with the voices of David Thewlis, Himesh Patel, Gemma Arterton, Hugh Bonneville, and David Tennant.

30 December

The Fablemans

Already dominating the 2022 award season, The Fabelmans is a deeply personal coming-of-age drama, loosely inspired by director Steven Spielberg’s own adolescence. Set primarily in 1950s Arizona, the film centres on 16-year-old aspiring filmmaker Sammy Fabelman (Gabriel LaBelle), who discovers a shattering family secret, and explores how the power of movies helps us see the truth about each other and ourselves. Also starring are Michelle Williams as Sammy’s artistic mother, Mitzi; Paul Dano as his successful, scientific father, Burt; and Seth Rogen as Bennie Loewy, Burt’s best friend.

Shotgun Wedding

Less prestige cinema and more crowd-pleaser, Shotgun Wedding is an action comedy romance starring Jennifer Lopez and Josh Duhamel. Darcy and Tom manage to bring together their opinionated families for the ultimate destination wedding just as the couple get cold feet. But, suddenly, everyoneʼs lives are in danger when the entire party is taken hostage. The couple must work together to save their loved ones — if they donʼt end up killing each other first. Also with Sônia Braga, Jennifer Coolidge and Lenny Kravitz, while Pitch Perfect’s Jason Moore directs.