The year 2023 will go down as a very successful one for many people, and a forgettable one for others. It was the year when Australia won the Cricket World Cup for the record sixth time, Pakistan entered the 3D film arena with its first 3D flick and Pakistani athlete Arshad Nadeem further strengthened his credentials with an impressive show at the World Athletics Championship.

It was also the year when Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic went past Spaniard Rafael Nadal’s record of most Grand Slam titles, and he has all the chances in the world to extend his lead with the Australian Open in January 2024.

However, it wasn’t a successful year for superheroes, whose films failed more than they succeeded in cinemas. The same fate followed the Pakistan cricket team, which failed to reach the final of the Asia Cup as well as the World Cup, despite reaching the World No. 1 position in One-Day Internationals.

The upcoming year promises to be an exciting one in the world of sports, since a lot of happenings will be taking place during the next 12 months, such as the Olympic Games, the T20 World Cup, the Euro football championship known as Euro 24, besides the African Cup of Nations and Copa America, where the best footballers will represent their countries.

Not just that, a lot of big-budget films will grace a cinema screen near you; you can mark your calendars before the clock strikes 12 and January 1 rolls in, because the Minions, Garfield, Kung Fu Panda and Sonic the Hedgehog will be waiting for you in 2024.

The year which was 2023!

The one memory of 2023 that will remain etched in the minds will be the failure of the once-invincible superhero genre. In a year when The Flash finally made it to the screens, Indiana Jones returned for one last assignment, and Shazam! saved the world, the superhero genre was on the decline.

Neither was the small-sized Ant-Man able to save the genre, nor could The Marvels. And even though the Guardians of the Galaxy and Spider-Man Across the Spider-Verse were able to keep the flag high enough for others to follow, it wasn’t high enough.

Yes, Barbie and The Super Mario Bros. Movie were able to infuse a new life into the cinema industry, but it will take more than a doll and a plumber to maintain that graph in the coming years.

It was a memorable year for Pakistani cinema since the first completely made in Pakistan 3D animated film Allahyar and the 100 Flowers of God was released during this year. Sadly, it was the only film aimed at the younger audience, but one hopes that next year will not disappoint them.

As for sports, the Pakistan Cricket team managed to reach the top position in the International Cricket Council’s ODI ranking, but that wasn’t enough for them to even qualify for the grand finale of the Asia Cup and the 50-over World Cup. Yes, Babar Azam stayed in the top 10 batter’s ranking in all formats throughout the year, but a trophy eluded the Green Shirts during the 12 months.

Besides cricket, Pakistan had an impressive year in other sports — javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem reached as high as the second position at the 2023 World Athletics Championship in Budapest, Hungary, and remains Pakistan’s brightest chance to win a medal in the Olympic Games to be held in 2024. Rising star Hamza Khan won the World Junior Squash Championship 2023, to make Pakistan a champion in the sport after 37 years.

Pakistan’s finest e-sports professional Arsalan Ash also made a name for himself when he won the 2023 EVO (Evolution) Championship event, Tekken-7 (video game) tier-1 competition. This was his fourth EVO title after winning it twice, first in 2019 and now in 2023.

Last, but not the least, both Pakistan’s men’s and women’s football teams won important qualifying matches, and even though a qualification might seem difficult at the moment, they were able to instil the belief in football players of the country that they could win at the international level.

On the international tennis circuit, it was Novak Djokovic’s year, who reached the final of all four Grand Slams and won three of them. While he is the current champion of the Australian Open, the French Open and the US Open, he lost the Wimbledon to Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz, who would be aiming to dethrone him in 2024. However, with 23 Grand Slams on his shelf, Djokovic is not an easy challenge for anyone during the next 12 months.

Get ready for 2024!

The next 12 months will be a treat for all those who plan and make the most of the present, after all, it would be amazing to witness the Paris Olympic Games, the T20 World Cup, as well as the Euro 2024, among other sports events during the next year. It will also be the year when your favourite live-action and animated characters will make a return to cinemas, new characters will try to displace them and a Lion King prequel will take you to the days when Simba’s father Mufasa was little.

Meet Sonic, Garfield and Mufasa

If you are a cinema enthusiast, then you need to know exactly what you can expect in the coming 12 months. From live-action remakes to blockbuster sequels, every kind of flick is likely to grace a cinema near you, beginning with Kung Fu Panda 4 in March, and concluding with Mufasa: The Lion King in December.

The first film aimed at the young audience will be Kung Fu Panda 4, where Jack Black will return as the voice of Po after eight years and will be on a mission to find a new dragon warrior so that he might have a shot at becoming the Spiritual Leader of the Valley of Peace.

While Po will return to the cinema in the early part of March, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire will release at the end of the month and bring back the whole crew that saved the world in Ghostbusters: Afterlife. The film will reunite the whole cast led by Paul Rudd, but will also introduce Kumail Nanjiani to the franchise where the Ghostbusters will have to work hard to save the world from another Ice Age.

Promising new franchises such as The Ark and the Aardvark will make their presence felt in April, while Ryan Reynolds’ fantasy adventure IF will grace the cinema screens in May, alongside The Garfield Movie where Chris Pratt will be the voice of the laziest cat in the world.

The Inside Out gang will return in the summer with Inside Out 2, while Gru and his minions will make their comeback with Despicable Me 4 as well, on what Americans term as their Independence Weekend. In August, Harold and the Purple Crayon will make its live-action debut while the lovable, marmalade-crazed Paddington will visit Peru in Paddington in Peru in November.

Things will speed up in December with the release of the third instalment of Sonic the Hedgehog, the second coming of The Karate Kid, and the origin story of Mufasa: The Lion King. While Sonic will feature the fastest hedgehog in the world battling bad guys with the help of his friends, the Karate Kid sequel will bring together the first Karate Kid and the second master, played by Ralph Macchio and Jackie Chan respectively.

As for Mufasa: The Lion King, for anyone who has ever shed a tear at the death scene of Simba’s father, be it in the animated version or the live-action one, this movie is something closer to home. Featuring the vocals of Seth Rogen, Billy Eichner, Aaron Pierre, Kelvin Harrison Jr and John Kani, the film might be the final release of 2024. Fans of the Spider-Man franchise are still hopeful that Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse will make it to the screens during 2024, but it seems unlikely considering the calendar is full of films that were intended to release in 2024.

Football action around the year!

Even though the FIFA World Cup is still two years away, football fans around the world would be able to watch their favourite players in action the whole year round. In January, the African Cup of Nations will take place in which the best African players will be seen in action.

In June, the action will move to America and Europe for two different tournaments; both the Copa America and Euro 2024 will be held simultaneously, making it nothing short of a feast for the fans of the game. While Lionel Messi would be representing his country Argentina in Copa America, Cristiano Ronaldo could be seen in action for Portugal in Euro ‘24.

Djokovic might raise the bar higher!

He won three of the four Grand Slams in 2023, and that will be enough motivation for Serbia’s Novak Djokovic, who wishes to add more titles to his already 23 Grand Slams. Although he is already the only male tennis player to win 23 Grand Slams, he wants to become the only singles player to cross 25 Grand Slams.

Currently, Australia’s female legend Margaret Court holds that record, but since there is no stopping Djokovic, he might overtake her. After all, he will have to stay fit for the first eight months, since the Australian Open takes place in January, the French Open is held in May, Wimbledon is spread across June/July and the US Open is played in August.

Who’ll rule the world?

The 20-over Cricket World Cup will be played for the first time in the United States of America this year in June 2024. And if it is held successfully, it will open new doors for the sport. England will be defending their title, but with the sport entering a new territory, every team might have a chance and, who knows, a team with no T20 title might take a shot at it and win.

While a handful of countries will take part in the T20 World Cup, the very best athletes from every country in the world will gather in Paris during July and August to battle for supremacy at the Olympic Games. Not only will Paris become the second city after London to host the game for the third time, but the Games will return to the city exactly 100 years after the last time it played hosts.

A few days after the game’s conclusion, the Paralympic Games will also be held at the same venue where athletes with disabilities will represent their country and aim for a medal.

Published in Dawn, Young World, December 30th, 2023