The Greatest and Biggest Moments for Dallas Film in 2024

This was certainly a hectic year for the film industry, as Hollywood was left reeling from the aftermath of the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes, leading to some unusual fluctuations in the release calendar. There was a massive disaster (Madame Web, Joker 2) for every giant success (Inside Out 2, Dune: Part Two), but Dallas once again proved to be a great city for cinephiles with one of its biggest years ever.

It wasn't all good news, but between repertory screenings, celebrity sightings, a few major anniversaries and some local stars who made it big, Dallas film fans had a lot to be proud of in 2024.

Here are some of the most significant Dallas film events of the year.

1. Oliver Stone Visits The Texas Theatre for Retrospective

Academy Award-winning filmmaker Oliver Stone visited The Texas Theatre for a four-day screening series and a Q&A with Matt Zoller Seitz, the Dallas-based film critic who has run the official website of Roger Ebert since his death in 2013. There were several Dallas-centric films in the lineup, as both Talk Radio and Born on the Fourth of July were filmed in the North Texas area. But the most interesting (and spooky) event was the screening of JFK, which just so happened to take place in the same theater to which Lee Harvey Oswald fled after assassinating the president in 1963.

2. Dallas Actor Jesse Plemons Wins Top Prize at Cannes Film Festival

Dallas native Jesse Plemons continues to prove himself as a generational talent, and this year he had a massive hit on his hands when the action thriller Civil War became one of the highest-grossing original films of the year. However, Plemons reached what may have been the apex of his career when he won the prestigious Best Actor prize at the Cannes Film Festival for his role in Yorgos Lanthimos’ dark comedy Kinds of Kindness. The film consists of three different shorts about disturbingly broken characters and allowed Plemons to excel by playing three wildly different roles.

3. You Gotta Believe Has World Premiere in Fort Worth

The inspirational sports biopic You Gotta Believe is based on the incredible true story of an underdog Fort Worth baseball team, so it only made sense that the film had to make its world premiere in North Texas. Stars Luke Wilson (a Dallas native), Greg Kinnear and the film's many young breakout stars attended a buzzy August event at the AMC Palace 9 in Fort Worth, where the movie was met with a warm response.

4. Twisters Brings Texas Storm Chasers Into the Fold

Twisters may be primarily set in Oklahoma, but it has some strong North Texas roots thanks to its soundtrack and the sheer charisma of Glen Powell, who's fashioned himself as the definitive movie star of the year. Powell was one of many Texans involved with the popular disaster sequel, as several North Texas storm chasers served as consultants for director Lee Isaac Chung.

5. Dallas Theaters Are Shuttered in Massive Closing

It wasn’t all sunshine and roses for Dallas’ film industry in 2024, as the setbacks that the industry faced led to several theaters closing their doors. Several Alamo Drafthouse locations that had been shuttered were opened once again thanks to a new ownership deal, but the Angelika Theater in Plano unfortunately went out of business after years of delivering high-quality indie films to Texas film buffs.

6. Indie Gems Hit Dallas at the Oak Cliff Film Festival

The Oak Cliff Film Festival is a must-attend event for cinephiles in the North Texas area, and this year’s lineup once again provided an interesting blend of classics, festival darlings and local premieres. Along with spotlighting the powerful family drama Janet Planet and the hilarious romantic dramedy Between the Temples, the festival held special events celebrating the classic horror film Haxan and the legendary documentary The Life and Times of Harvey Milk.

7. Local Films Grab Spotlight at Dallas International Film Festival

Not to be outdone, the Dallas International Film Festival also hosted an impressive lineup with its largest collection of films ever. While DIFF picked up some notable films that had debuted at other festivals, such as the Western The Dead Don’t Hurt and the horror thriller Cuckoo, it also spotlighted local gems, including the powerful music documentary Bastards of Soul.

8. Richard Linklater Spotlights Texas With God Save Texas

It's a given that Richard Linklater is one of the best directors working today, and this year he delivered another instant classic when Hit Man (starring his regular collaborator, Glen Powell) debuted on Netflix in June. Yes, we know Linklater is from Huntsville, but we'll forever claim him as a local because our pride in his work easily extends to a 2-hour drive from DFW. Although Hit Man was inspired by a true story in a Texas Monthly article, Linklater got to return once again to the Lone Star State for the docuseries God Loves Texas. The HBO project consisted of three desperately urgent documentary films that discussed current statewide issues, with a particular focus on the prison-industrial complex.

9. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre Celebrates 50 Years

This October marked 50 years since Tobe Hooper’s violent, angry horror classic The Texas Chainsaw Massacre first terrified audiences by convincing them that it was based on a true story; in reality, it was just good marketing! In addition to some theatrical re-releases that helped introduce new audiences to Leatherface, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre was named the greatest horror film of all time by Variety. Who are we to disagree?

10. Office Space Celebrates 25 Years

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre wasn’t the only Dallas classic celebrating a major anniversary in 2024. It's been 25 years since Mike Judge’s cult favorite Office Space perfectly captured the zeitgeist of workplace culture. The film, shot largely in Dallas, may not have been a massive hit in its initial release, but it steadily became a cult classic after memes of characters like Milton became popular.

11. Luxury Theater Opens in Victory Park

Despite the unfortunate closing of some beloved theaters, Dallas did get a major new cinema addition when the Victory Park theater opened the doors of its luxurious new location. The massive venue contains eight screens and features some of the best sound and projection in Texas.

12. Selena Gomez Visits SXSW, Becomes an Oscar Contender

Plemons was not the only Dallas native to clean up at the Cannes Film Festival, as Selena Gomez shared the Best Actress prize with her co-stars Zoe Saldaña, Karla Sofía Gascón and Adriana Paz in the crime/comedy/musical Emilia Pérez. Gomez may have earned her first Emmy Award nomination this year (finally!) for her work in Only Murders in the Building, but a role in a buzzy, acclaimed musical means that she could be in serious contention for a Best Supporting Actress nomination at next year’s Academy Awards. The newly minted billionaire also made a stop by Austin's SXSW to discuss mental health. Let's just say this was her year.