6 New Movies Landing in Newcastle Cinemas This Weekend

Newcastle film fans looking for something to watch this weekend have plenty of new choices as another batch of cinema releases arrives from Friday, August 14.

From a big-budget dinosaur thriller starring Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor to British comedy, family fantasy and an animated adventure based on Chinese mythology, this week's new films cover considerably more ground than the usual summer blockbuster line-up. The official UK cinema advertising calendar lists six releases for August 14, including one returning favourite, meaning audiences across Newcastle and the North East could find something for almost every age group.

The releases arrive at an interesting time for British cinemas. The latest BFI figures show the UK box office generated £996.8 million during 2025 from 123.5 million admissions. Revenue increased by 2% compared with 2024, although admissions remained around 30% below their 2019 level.

The End of Oak Street brings dinosaurs back to the big screen.

The biggest new release this weekend is The End of Oak Street, a sci-fi survival thriller from It Follows director David Robert Mitchell. Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor lead the cast as members of the Platt family, whose suburban neighbourhood is suddenly transported somewhere very different - and considerably more prehistoric.

The film runs for around 100 minutes and reportedly had a production budget of approximately $85 million, making it easily the biggest financial gamble among this weekend's newcomers. It also receives an IMAX release, giving North East cinemagoers looking for spectacle an obvious reason to seek out the largest screen available.

Reviews have been mixed, but the gloriously strange premise of dinosaurs invading 1980s suburbia makes it one of the weekend's most intriguing cinema propositions.

Momo and the Time Thieves offers something different for families.

Families have another option in Momo and the Time Thieves, the latest screen adaptation of Michael Ende's much-loved 1973 fantasy novel. The story follows Momo, played by Alexa Goodall, as she confronts mysterious grey figures who persuade people to "bank" their time.

Martin Freeman and Claes Bang also appear in the fantasy adventure, which combines a traditional children's story with surprisingly modern ideas about technology, distraction and how people spend their time.

For parents searching for family films in Newcastle this weekend, it offers an alternative to the franchise-heavy summer schedule and arrives just as families begin looking for activities during the second half of the school holidays.

Holy Days puts three veteran stars in habits.

At the quieter end of the release schedule is Holy Days, directed by Nathalie Boltt and starring Miriam Margolyes, Jacki Weaver and Judy Davis.

The film follows a young boy who finds refuge with three eccentric ageing nuns at a struggling convent threatened with closure. Distributor data suggests its likely audience will skew older than the typical summer blockbuster crowd, with a comparative audience profile estimating 37% of its target audience could be aged 45 or above.

That makes Holy Days an interesting counter-programming choice for Newcastle cinemagoers who would rather avoid superheroes, dinosaurs and effects-heavy adventures.

Lady could be this weekend's word-of-mouth comedy.

British mockumentary Lady may be one of the less familiar names arriving this Friday, but it could also prove one of the weekend's more distinctive films.

Sian Clifford stars as Lady Isabella, a narcissistic aristocrat who persuades a struggling filmmaker to document her life before events take an increasingly surreal turn. The 95-minute comedy is the feature directorial debut of Samuel Abrahams and mixes mockumentary, satire and magical realism.

The film has already attracted positive critical attention following its festival run, particularly for Clifford's performance. For audiences who prefer independent British cinema to Hollywood blockbusters, it is one worth checking local listings for.

All Wishes Come True brings Chinese mythology to UK cinemas.

Animation fans can also look out for All Wishes Come True!, an ambitious fantasy comedy inspired by the Chinese legend of the Eight Immortals.

Produced by Pearl Studio, the company behind Abominable and involved with Kung Fu Panda 3, the film follows eight ordinary mortals attempting to outwit powerful gods.

The numbers behind it are already impressive. Shortly after opening in China, the film had reportedly passed 400 million yuan at the box office, with projections at the time suggesting its eventual theatrical run could approach two billion yuan. That international momentum makes its UK arrival particularly interesting.

An Aardman favourite is also returning.

There is even a familiar British film among Friday's releases. The Pirates! Band of Misfits returns to cinemas as a 2026 re-release, giving families another opportunity to see Aardman's stop-motion pirate adventure on the big screen.

The original film was a substantial international success, earning around $123 million worldwide against a reported $55 million production budget. Its return also feels particularly appropriate for a North East audience given the region's longstanding enthusiasm for animation, independent film and distinctive British filmmaking.

Newcastle remains a city with a strong cinema culture.

For Newcastle audiences, the variety of this weekend's releases matters as much as the number. The city has long supported everything from mainstream multiplex releases to independent and specialist cinema. Tyneside Cinema also plays a wider role in northern film culture and has recently been awarded £600,000 by the BFI for a three-year audience development programme designed to broaden participation.

With British cinema attendance still below pre-pandemic levels, weekends offering genuinely different films could prove increasingly important. Whether Newcastle audiences choose dinosaurs, disappearing aristocrats, eccentric nuns or time-stealing villains, August 14 offers considerably more variety than one blockbuster competing for every screen.

Which of this weekend's new releases would you like to watch?