January is over at last. It seemed to linger a little longer than usual this year, with not much in the way of great movies, allowing Jumanji to dominate the box office for an astounding number of weeks in a row. But that’s all in the past now. We’ve moved on to February, the time of Valentine’s Day, when the final entry in the Fifty Shades series will send S&M-lite fans into ecstasies one last time. February is, of course, also Black History Month, and this one will see the release of the astronomically hyped Black Panther movie–the first black superhero movie since Blade in the ’90s–which promises to scratch off a box office record or two. And there’s plenty more to look forward to where that came from as well. Read on to find out how much the shortest month of the year is overflowing with entertainment options.
MOVIES TO WATCH IN THEATERS
- Winchester: The House That Ghosts Built, opens February 2.
- The 15:17 to Paris, opens February 9.
- Fifty Shades Freed, opens February 9.
- Peter Rabbit, opens February 9.
- Black Panther, opens February 16.
- Early Man, opens February 16.
- The Party, opens February 16.
- Annihilation, opens February 23.
MOVIES TO WATCH AT HOME
- Entanglement, premieres February 9.
- Permission, premieres February 9.
- Bomb City, premieres February 9.
- Mute, premieres February 23.
- Half Magic, premiere February 23.
ALBUMS YOU SHOULD HEAR
- AWOLNATION, Here Come The Runts out February 2.
- Field Music, Open Here out February 2.
- Justin Timberlake, Man Of The Woods out February 2.
- Rhye, Blood out February 2.
- Rich Chigga, Amen out February 2.
- Simple Minds, Walk Between Worlds out February 2.
- Dashboard Confessional, Crooked Shadows out February 9.
- Franz Ferdinand, Always Ascending out February 9.
- Son Lux, Brighter Wounds out February 9.
- The Wombats, Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life out February 9.
- Belle & Sebastian, How To Solve Our Human Problems [3 EP collection] out February 16.
- Fischerspooner, Sir out February 16.
- Laurie Anderson & Kronos Quartet, Landfall out February 16.
- Superchunk, What A Time To Be Alive out February 16.
- Wild Beasts, Last Night All My Dreams Came True [Live] [Final album] out February 16.
- Screaming Females, All At Once out February 23.
THINGS TO WATCH ON YOUR TV OR COMPUTER
- A.P. Bio, premieres February 1 on NBC.
- Talk Show The Game Show, premieres February 1 on truTV.
- 2 Dope Queens, premieres February 2 on HBO.
- Altered Carbon, premiere February 2 on Netflix.
- Coach Snoop premiere February 2 on Netflix.
- The Trade, premieres February 2 on Showtime.
- Strike Back, premieres February 2 on Cinemax.
- Superbowl LII, premieres February 4.
- XXIII Olympic Winter Games Opening Ceremony, premieres February 9 on NBC.
- Eric Clapton: A Life in 12 Bars, premieres February 10 on Showtime.
- Here and Now, premieres February 11 on HBO.
- Homeland, premieres February 11 on Showtime.
- Our Cartoon President, premieres February 11 on Showtime.
- Mozart in the Jungle, premieres February 16 on Amazon.
- Seven Seconds, premieres February 23 on Netflix.
- The Tick, premieres February 23 on Amazon.
- Notes From the Field, premieres TK on HBO.
- Ash vs. Evil Dead, premieres February 25 on Starz.
- XXIII Olympic Winter Games Closing Ceremony SPECIAL Live event NBC tbd
- Good Girls, premieres February 26 on NBC.
- Living Bibically, premieres February 26 on CBS.
- UnREAL, premieres February 23 Lifetime, 10p
- Unsolved: The Murders of Tupac and The Notorious B.I.G., premieres February 27 on USA.
- The Looming Tower, premieres February 28 on Hulu.
- Glam Masters, premieres February 28 on Lifetime.
BOOKS TO READ
- An American Marriage: A Novel by Tayari Jones, out on February 6.
- Call Me Zebra by Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi, out on February 6.
- The Friend by Sigrid Nunez, out on February 6.
- Feel Free: Essays by Zadie Smith, out on February 6.
- Force of Nature by Jane Harper, out on February 6.
- Empty Set by Verónica Gerber Bicecci, out on February 6.
- Sadness Is a White Bird by Moriel Rothman-Zecher, out on February 13.
- Vengeance: A Novel by Zachary Lazar, out on February 13.
- Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi, out on February 13.
- White Houses by Amy Bloom, out on February 13.
- The Château: A Novel by Paul Goldberg, out on February 13.
- The World Only Spins Forward: The Ascent of Angels in America by Isaac Butler and Dan Kois, out on February 13.
- What Are We Doing Here?: Essays by Marilynne Robinson, out on February 20.
- Sunburn by Laura Lippman, out on February 20.
- All the Names They Used for God: Stories by Anjali Sachdeva, out on February 20.
[Photo Illustration: Aubree Lennon for Fast Company; Early Man: Aardman/Lionsgate, Mute (2): Keith Bernstein/Netflix, Coach Snoop: Netflix]