It’s another lively week at South African cinemas with three new feature releases in addition to a selection of speciality screenings. The latter includes a recording of classical music conductor and violist Andre Rieu’s 2026 Summer Concert: Viva Maastricht; Bollywood gangster actioner Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-Ups; and the big screen Throwback return of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. There’s also a mid-week screening of Katy Perry: The Lifetimes Tour – Live from Paris on 2 September.
But now onto the movie premieres!
The Dog Stars sees fan-favourite filmmaker Ridley Scott back in the director’s chair for a post-apocalyptic sci-fi blockbuster. Based on the acclaimed novel by Peter Heller, the film is set after a flu pandemic has eradicated civilisation. Jacob Elordi’s Hig, a Cessna pilot, his dog, and Josh Brolin’s Bangley, a hardened former Marine, lead lonely lives in a remote Colorado hangar. Then one day Hig receives a mysterious transmission that suggests humanity, as it once was, may still exist. Also with Margaret Qualley, Guy Pearce, Allison Janney and Benedict Wong. P.S. They better not hurt the dog!
Arachnophobia sufferers, take note. This Friday, British horror comedy Spider Island skitters into cinemas. In this ensemble project, a group of social media influencers are invited to the launch of an exclusive new holiday resort on a tropical island. However, they soon discover that said island paradise is infested by deadly, aggressive spiders. Spider Island is directed by horror veteran Christopher Smith, while Blackadder’s Tim McInnerny is probably the most recognisable face in the cast.
For families, meanwhile, there’s CGI-animated adventure Tad And The Magic Lamp, out of Spain. The fourth in the long-running Tad Jones/Tad, the Lost Explorer film series, this entry introduces time travel to the mix, as a magic lamp in Buckingham Palace grants a neglected Mummy his wish to return to Paititi as it was in 1502. Dragged back with him are archaeologist Tad, his family and team, and they find themselves on a globe-trotting odyssey as they try to stop Mummy from changing history, and return to their own time.