This fall at the movies isn’t about making up for a rough summer — it’s about maintaining pace.
The last three months have enjoyed Hollywood hit after hit, both critically and financially. With giants like “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” and “The Odyssey,” it could even top 2019.
So, soup season has big shoes to fill.
And while it’s somewhat slimmer in the blockbuster department, what the rest of the year has plenty of are talkers and smart movies for adults. Award season begins in earnest with flicks like “Wild Horse Nine,” “Digger” and “La Bola Negra.” There are indie gems, messed-up horror films and huge stars: Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, Timothée Chalamet and the biggest of all — Steve Buscemi.
Here are 25 of the hottest movies coming to theaters from now up till Christmas.
‘Resident Evil’ — Sept. 18
Director Zach Cregger had a major, out-of-nowhere hit last year with the original horror movie “Weapons.” Now he’s bringing his warped mind to an established franchise. The eighth film in the series — and the first in five years — will hopefully shake things up a bit. Cregger says the plot of his reboot exists parallel to the video game “Resident Evil 2,” though he’s telling a new story. Well, how new can it be? There’s a viral outbreak in Raccoon City and a medical courier (Austin Abrams from “Weapons”) must survive it. Sounds like “Resident Evil” to me!
‘Ha-Chan, Shake Your Booty!’ — Sept. 25
January’s Sundance Film Festival has already had some breakouts — “The Invite” and horror-tinted “Barney” sendup “Buddy” among them. Indie movie “Ha-Chan,” which I loved, could be the next one. This blissful charmer is about a Tokyo competitive ballroom dancer whose husband dies one day on the dance floor. Shattered, she hangs up her colorful outfits and hides away at home. The story, which is filled with stylish musical numbers, kicks in when Ha-Chan’s friends help her get her groove back.
‘Primetime’ — Sept. 25
Back in his “Twilight” days, I never would have predicted the phenomenally talented Robert Pattison would one day utter the line, “Hi, I’m Chris Hansen.” But here we are. The “Batman” and “The Drama” actor is playing the controversial “To Catch A Predator” host in this freaky-looking A24 flick that’s set during the impending downfall of the Dateline NBC series, when one of the predators killed himself during a televised sting.
‘Digger’ — Oct. 2
Tom Cruise is back in heavy-makeup “Tropic Thunder” mode as Digger Rockwell, a southern oil tycoon in this satire from writer-director Alejandro G. Iñárritu. The odd trailer and destruction-of-earth plot have invited comparisons to “Dr. Strangelove,” and Cruise is clearly gunning for an Oscar. He’s never won a competitive one before. Iñárritu’s last movie “Bardo” was such a bust you probably have never heard of it. But any project from the director of “Birdman” and “The Revenant” qualifies as an event.
‘The Social Reckoning’ — Oct. 9
Everything gets a sequel now — even a Mark Zuckerberg biopic. Writer Aaron Sorkin does double-duty this time, directing as well, for this followup to 2011’s brilliant “The Social Network.” “Succession” actor Jeremy Strong takes over for Jesse Eisenberg as the Facebook founder as he deals with his platform’s consequential political and social controversies. Notably, this is actress Mikey Madison’s first role since her Oscar-winning turn in “Anora.”
‘Other Mommy’ — Oct. 9
The trailer is enough to give you nightmares. Jessica Chastain plays “Other Mommy,” an evil creature that emerges from a little girl’s closet looking just like her mother. Then the entity begins to threaten the family. Sounds scarier than “The Eyes of Tammy Faye”!
‘Sense and Sensibility’ — Oct. 16
Ang Lee’s 1995 version with Emma Thompson is the gold standard for many, but this new take on Jane Austen’s novel from director Georgia Oakley looks ravishing. Daisy Edgar-Jones (“Normal People”) plays Elinor Dashwood while George MacKay (“1917”) is her crush Edward.
‘La Bola Negra’ — Oct. 16
For Oscar watchers, this Spanish movie that was a favorite out of Cannes is one a few surefire best picture contenders. From co-directors Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi (their fun nickname is “los Javis”), the film is a big-drama gay epic spanning 1932, 1937 and 2017. An audience favorite at Cannes, it features a reportedly excellent performance from Penelope Cruz. “La Bola Negra” plays theaters before landing on Netflix on Dec. 2.
‘Clayface’ — Oct. 23
The newly restructured DC Studios had a rough sophomore outing with “Supergirl,” but DC stories tend to do better when they lean into genre. Think “Joker” or the more frightening parts of “The Dark Knight.” And so, “Clayface” takes the shape-shifting comic-book villain and turns his story into body-horror, like “The Substance” starring Demi Moore. A lot like it, actually. A Hollywood actor’s medical procedure goes awry, to say the very least.
‘Wicker’ — Oct. 23
Alexander Skarsgård can always thrill the ladies — even when he’s made of twigs. In this bizarre fairy-tale rom-com, a lonely and outcast fisherwoman (Olivia Colman) has the village’s enchanted basketmaker (Peter Dinklage) make her a husband. The relationship starts out great, but having a wooden spouse, it turns out, has its pluses and minuses. I adored this at Sundance.
‘Godzilla Minus Zero’ — Nov. 6
We’re back to screaming “Gojira!” with glee. As the Monsterverse movies become more unwieldy and stupid, Godzilla’s original Japanese studio Toho came roaring back in 2023 with the excellent “Godzilla Minus One” with fantastic effects and higher-than-usual stakes. This sequel takes place two years later, in 1949.
‘Wild Horse Nine’ — Nov. 6
The latest dark comedy from writer-director Martin McDonagh (“In Bruges,” “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” “The Banshees of Inisherin”) is about two CIA agents (John Malkovich and Sam Rockwell) who are sent to Easter Island during the 1973 Chilean coup d’état. Parker Posey and Steve Buscemi also star. Reviews out of the Venice Film Festival say it’s quintessential McDonagh and that Malkovich is doing some of the best work of his career.
‘Club Kid’ — Nov. 6
Some have called this comedy from the very funny writer-director-star Jordan Firstman “gay ‘Big Daddy’.” But this New York-set movie about a hard-living nightlife professional in his 30s (Firstman) who discovers he has a son (OK, it’s a little like ‘Big Daddy’) looks more nuanced, hilarious and heartwarming to me.
‘Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol’ — Nov. 13
Now, this will be interesting. This dark holiday movie marks the return of Johnny Depp to major Hollywood roles for the first time since 2018’s “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald.” No matter how the trial with Amber Heard shook out, Depp undeniably lost some of his once off-the-charts appeal. And so, this is a smart comeback role for him. Scrooge doesn’t need to be appealing. That’s kind of his shtick.
‘I Play Rocky’ — Nov. 13
Sylvester Stallone is his own Rocky Balboa story. A virtual unknown, he wrote 1976’s “Rocky” and riskily fought to star in it. He won.. all the way to a best picture Oscar. “I Play Rocky,” starring Long Island native Anthony Ippolito as a young Stallone, recounts that tale and is directed by “Green Book”’s Peter Farrelly.
‘The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping’ — Nov. 20
Yes, the “Hunger Games” movies can get repetitive. Teens fight to the death, yada, yada. Yet they always have panache and some stellar actors. This one, set 24 years before the first film during the 50th Hunger Games, features Glenn Close, Ralph Fiennes, Kieran Culkin, Elle Fanning and Jesse Plemmons.
‘Elsinore’ — Nov. 20
The Oscar buzz is loud for Andrew Scott. In this biopic, the fantastic Scott plays Ian Charleson, a Scottish actor who was playing the demanding role of Hamlet at the National Theatre while ill from AIDS. Joined by Olivia Colman, Billie Piper and Johnny Flynn, Scott’s performance should be made all the richer by the fact that he’s played Hamlet onstage in the West End, too.
‘Focker-in-Law’ — Nov. 25
It’s been 16 years since the last adventure of nurse Greg (Ben Stiller) and CIA agent father-in-law Jack (Robert De Niro), and it’s always at least a little nice to see them. Greg and Pam’s son Henry (Skyler Gisondo from “Spider-Man”) is engaged to Olivia (Ariana Grande), a FBI hostage negotiator. Antics ensue.
‘The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth’ — Nov. 25
It’s appropriate that “Once Upon A Time in Hollywood” was set in 1969, because this movie sounds like a TV spinoff series from the 1970s. Directed by David Fincher (and only written by Quentin Tarantino), it follows Brad Pitt’s stuntman as he takes on a new gig — a studio fixer. This will have a two-week run on IMAX before hitting Neflix Dec. 23.
‘Behemoth!’ — Dec. 4
Not a lot is known about “Behemoth!,” starring Pedro Pascal. But its trailer and short premise rings of “Tar” with Cate Blanchett. Pascal plays a famed cellist who returns to LA to compose film scores. And his story — and movie — would appear to take a psychological bent. “Last of Us” star Pascal has been on the rise in the movie world of late. Could this be the big one?
‘The Debut’ — Dec. 11
Jesse Eisenberg had such a winner with 2024’s tender “A Real Pain.” His first movie since that… looks nothing like that. Julianne Moore’s meek and inexperienced Mona auditions at a super-heightened New Jersey community theater that’s ruled over by the terrifying Jerry (Paul Giamatti). In the old-school style of monstrous directors, he tears her apart to get a better performance. Word is that Moore is Oscar-worthy.
‘Ink’ — Dec. 11
If you love newspaper movies (“The Paper,” “Spotlight,” “His Girl Friday”), you’ll surely enjoy “Ink” from director Danny Boyle (“Slumdog Millionaire”). It depicts Rupert Murdoch buying Britain’s failing Sun newspaper in 1969 and enlisting editor Larry Lamb (Jack O’Connell) to liven things up and outsell the rival Daily Mirror. It’s based on the terrific Broadway play.
‘Dune: Part Three’ — Dec. 18
The “Dune” series has had a rough go. Director Denis Villeneuve’s first flick was released in 2021 when audiences were skittish about returning to movie theaters. And 2024’s “Two” was delayed by the actors’ strike. Now, the grand finale of the best sci-fi/fantasy trilogy since “The Lord of the Rings” gets a prime Christmastime release date. Timothée Chalamet’s Paul Atreides is in charge, but is he the messiah everyone hoped he’d be?
‘Avengers: Doomsday’ — Dec. 18
Here’s the second half of “Dunesday.” Marvel will hope that it has another box-office winner after “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” with “Doomsday,” the first “Avengers” film since 2019’s “Endgame.” This time the Fantastic Four and Thunderbolts join a cast of thousands as they do battle with the evil Doctor Doom, played by Robert Downey Jr. in a stark about face.
‘Werwulf’ — Dec. 25
The year ends with some smart counter-programming. Popular horror maestro Robert Eggers of “The Witch” and “Nosferatu” brings his nature-heavy, breathy, shadowy, cliche-averse vision to moon howlers. This one is played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson, who’s joined by Willem Dafoe and Lily-Rose Depp.
