42 movies you'll want to see this fall

Summer is in the rearview, but fret not. Though 2024 has already offered us some absolutely sensational (and sexy) cinema with the first half of the year, fall means FYC season is upon us. And with that comes an avalanche of tantalizing movies.

For Your Consideration, we’ve not only highlighted festival favorites and prestige dramas sure to gain Oscar buzz, but also heartwarming sequels, pulse-pounding thrillers, nail-biting horror, gut-busting comedies, eye-popping adventures, and mind-bending musicals. Whatever kind of movie you’re looking for this season is serving it up.

Here are the fall 2024 movies you’ll want to know about.

September

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice 

It’s showtime! 36 years since Beetlejuice introduced us to the ghost with the most, Tim Burton is reuniting with collaborators Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, and Catherine O’Hara for the long-awaited sequel.

This time around, Lydia Deetz (Ryder) has an angsty teen of her own in Astrid (Wednesday’s Jenna Ortega). When Astrid — like her mother before her — gets too cozy with the dead, Lydia and her stepmother Delia (O’Hara) must team up with their former foe, Beetlejuice (Keaton), to outwit the rules of the afterlife. And he’ll need their help against his vengeful ex-wife (Monica Bellucci).

Bursting with familiar iconography, spookiness, and kookiness, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is sure to thrill fans new and old. — Kristy Puchko, Entertainment Editor

Starring: Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Catherine O’Hara, Justin Theroux, Monica Bellucci, Jenna Ortega, and Willem Dafoe

How to watch: Beetlejuice Beetlejuice opens in theaters Sept. 6. 

Rebel Ridge

When a corrupt small-town police force gets in the way of a former Marine posting bail for his cousin, all hell breaks loose in Rebel Ridge.

This no-holds-barred thriller comes courtesy of director Jeremy Saulnier, whose gnarly Green Room pitted a punk rock band against neo-Nazis in a similar tale of underdogs facing down evil. Expect brutal action and a star-making turn from lead Aaron Pierre. Don’t believe me? Just watch the trailer above. The way he fakes out his foes by asking, “What if we just walk away?” only to turn follow up with a deadpan, “but then I was like, ‘nah,'” is seared into my brain. — Belen Edwards, Entertainment Reporter

Starring: Aaron Pierre, Don Johnson, AnnaSophia Robb, David Denman, Emory Cohen, James Cromwell, Steve Zissis, Zsané Jhé, and Dana Lee

How to watch: Rebel Ridge premieres Sept. 6 on Netflix.

Look Into My Eyes

Lana Wilson, the director behind Miss Americana, is back with a new documentary, and this time the subject matter isn’t Taylor Swift — it’s psychics.

The trailer above shows a series of conversations between mediums and their clients in New York City, teasing an insight into the psychology around grief, healing, and human connection. Whether you’re a believer or a cynic, this A24 offering could make you reconsider what you think about clairvoyants. — Sam Haysom, Deputy UK Editor

How to watch: Look Into My Eyes opens in theaters Sept. 6.

The Front Room

Brandy Norwood goes head-to-head with an insidious mother-in-law in A24 horror The Front Room.

Directed by Max and Sam Eggers (brothers of The Northman‘s Robert Eggers), this thriller stars the screen and music icon as Belinda, who finds her life upended when her mother-in-law Solange (Poor Things‘ Kathryn Hunter) moves in. Newly pregnant and overwhelmingly done with Solange’s unsettling behavior and constant commentary, Belinda realizes the old woman might actually be dangerous to her — and her unborn child. Convincing her husband (Andrew Burnap) seems impossible, so it seems Belinda might have to take matters into her own hands. — Shannon Connellan, UK Editor

Starring: Brandy Norwood, Andrew Burnap, Neal Huff, and Kathryn Hunter

How to watch: The Front Room opens in theaters Sept. 6.

His Three Daughters

One of Mashable’s favorites out of TIFF 2023, His Three Daughters centers on three sisters struggling to cope as their elderly father enters his final days of at-home hospice care. Stuck together in a cozy but emotionally claustrophobic New York City apartment, they face sibling rivalry, philosophical differences, and heated emotions.

Each member of writer/director Azazel Jacobs’ cast is stellar. And as I wrote in our review, “His Three Daughters is a simple but elegant drama that grapples with the ugliness of grief and comes out with as happy an ending as a shattering death might bring. It’s chaotic, charismatic, and ultimately cathartic. Don’t miss it.” — K.P.

Starring: Carrie Coon, Natasha Lyonne, Elizabeth Olsen, and Jovan Adepo

How to watch: His Three Daughters opens in theaters Sept. 6, and debuts on Netflix Sept. 20. 

My Old Ass

What if you could go back in time and talk to your younger self? Would you provide comfort? Advice? Warnings? Or maybe a hasty mix of all of the above?

This is the comedic premise of writer/director Megan Park’s buzzed-about Sundance movie, My Old Ass. 18-year-old Elliott Labrant (Maisy Stella) is on a camping trip with friends, hanging out and getting high, when a 39-year-old version of herself (Aubrey Plaza) crashes the party. Far from the sentimental meeting either might wish for, their connection across time proves a mind-blowing trip, peppered with laughs and life lessons. — K.P.

Starring: Maisy Stella, Percy Hynes White, Maddie Ziegler, Kerrice Brooks, and Aubrey Plaza

How to watch: My Old Ass opens in theaters Sept. 13. 

Speak No Evil

One of the scariest movies of 2022 is getting a Hollywood remake, courtesy of The Woman in Black director James Watkins.

The premise of this psychological thriller seems simple: It’s a holiday-turned-horror story. But the specifics (at least of Christian Tafdrup’s Danish original) are soul-scorchingly harrowing. When a family of three visits the home of a family they befriended on vacation, things go from amiable to awkward to nerve-shreddingly tense. But which red flag would have you fleeing? Dare you find out? — K.P.

Starring: James McAvoy, Mackenzie Davis, Aisling Franciosi, Alix West Lefler, Dan Hough, and Scoot McNairy

How to watch: Speak No Evil opens in theaters Sept. 13. 

Omni Loop

Mary-Louise Parker brings her signature smirk to a time-travel tale that’s sure to mess with your head — and heart.

Imagine if you learned there’s an actual black hole growing in your chest. For most, that’d be a death sentence. But when a condemned-to-die quantum physicist (Parker) learns her medication allows her into a time-loop, she digs in Groundhog Day-style to find a solution. The cast alone should have you marking your calendar. — K.P.

Starring: Mary-Louise Parker, Ayo Edebiri, Hannah Pearl Utt, Chris Witaske, Carlos Jacott, Harris Yulin, Steven Maier, and Eddie Cahill

How to watch: Omni Loop opens in theaters and on digital Sept. 20. 

Wolfs

From Jon Watts, the director who brought us Spider-Man: Homecoming, Far From Home, and No Way Home, comes an assassin comedy that looks like it has killer laughs.

Ocean’s Eleven stars George Clooney and Brad Pitt re-team to play “fixers” who are used to working solo — but now have to work together on a particularly messy job. Visual gags, bickering banter, and wild turns are teased in the trailer, along with an anti-bromance vibe that’s undeniably amusing. Let the funny business begin! — K.P.

Starring: George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Amy Ryan, Austin Abrams, and Poorna Jagannathan

How to watch: Wolfs opens in theaters on Sept. 20, and debuts on Apple TV+ on Sept. 27.

The Substance

Coralie Fargeat’s sci-fi body horror The Substance won best screenplay at Cannes, and now it’s crawling into cinemas. Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley lead this sinister satire, which scrutinizes the beauty industry, Hollywood, and ageism through the titular product known only as “The Substance.” This injectable solution lets you “generate another you” with whom you must share time. Of course, that’s not as simple as it sounds.

“While visceral in spurts, The Substance is never quite in control of its satire on sexualization, an excess in which it revels without always meaningfully subverting,” writes Siddhant Adlakha in his review for Mashable. “Its lead performances are fine-tuned — especially from Demi Moore, who delivers intrepid, career-best work — but the film is more a collection of mild jabs than a full-throated deconstruction of a cultural gaze.” — S.C.

Starring: Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley, Dennis Quaid, Hugo Diego Garcia, Joseph Balderrama, Oscar Lesage

How to watch: The Substance hits theaters Sept. 20.

The Wild Robot

Satisfy your cravings for animated adventure with The Wild Robot, based on the book series by Peter Brown and directed by Chris Sanders (Lilo & Stitch, How to Train Your Dragon).

Lupita Nyong’o lends her voice to Roz, a robot who’s been shipwrecked on a faraway island. There, she’ll grow close to the island’s animal inhabitants — voiced by the likes of Pedro Pascal, Kit Connor, and Catherine O’Hara — and raise an orphaned gosling, all while learning to live and feel beyond the demands of her programming. If the heartstring-tugging storyline and killer voice cast haven’t already lured you in, The Wild Robot‘s vibrant, painterly animation certainly will. — B.E.

Starring: Lupita Nyong’o, Pedro Pascal, Kit Connor, Catherine O’Hara, Bill Nighy, Stephanie Hsu, Mark Hamill, Matt Berry, and Ving Rhames

How to watch: The Wild Robot hits theaters Sept. 27.

Apartment 7A

Ready for a horror movie that’s going to make you rethink the hatred of sequels?

Playing as a predecessor to Roman Polanski’s 1968 classic Rosemary’s Baby, Apartment 7A focuses on aspiring dancer Terry Gionoffrio (Julia Garner), who has made some powerful friends in 1965 New York. Specifically, when she was down on her luck, she was welcomed into the posh parlors of the Bramford apartment building by a beguiling, elderly couple (Dianne Wiest and Kevin McNally). Terry begins to suspect something strange and sinister lurks behind their friendly faces — and their odd-smelling presents. Fantastically frightening with a contemporary sensibility for scares and political commentary, Apartment 7A is a horror offering that demands to be seen. — K.P.

Starring: Julia Garner, Dianne Wiest, Jim Sturgess, Marli Siu, Kevin McNally, and Rosy McEwen

How to watch: Apartment 7A debuts on digital and Paramount+ Sept. 27.

Megalopolis

Out its world premiere at the prestigious Cannes International Film Festival, Francis Ford Coppola’s latest got mixed reviews. But the trailer above would have you thinking critics have never understood the genius of the mind behind such epic films as The Godfather, Apocalypse Now, and Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Well, that bold trailer pulled those quotes out of thin air — or possibly ChatGPT.

Whether Megalopolis is great or a great disaster is almost beside the point. With a cast like this and a controversy like that, don’t you want to see for yourself what this movie is really all about? — K.P.

Starring: Adam Driver, Giancarlo Esposito, Nathalie Emmanuel, Aubrey Plaza, Shia LaBeouf, Jon Voight, Laurence Fishburne, Talia Shire, Jason Schwartzman, Kathryn Hunter, Grace VanderWaal, Chloe Fineman, James Remar, D.B. Sweeney, and Dustin Hoffman

How to watch: Megalopolis opens in theaters Sept. 27.

Rez Ball

Based on the nonfiction sports novel Canyon Dreams by journalist Michael Powell, Rez Ball focuses on the Chuska Warriors, a high school basketball team made up of Indigenous teens from New Mexico. When their star player dies unexpectedly, the team could be lost to grief. But with the state championships approaching, there’s a chance to be winners who can cement their friend’s legacy. To do that, they’re going to have to turn to their Native American roots to play a game all their own.

Sterlin Harjo, the co-creator of Reservation Dogs, teamed with writer/director Sydney Freeland on the adapted screenplay. NBA all-star LeBron James produces. — K.P.

Starring: Jessica Matten, Kauchani Bratt, Cody Lightning, Dallas Goldtooth, Ernest David Tsosie, Kusem Goodwind, Zoey Reyes, Amber Midthunder, and Julia Jones

How to watch: Rez Ball debuts on Netflix Sept. 27.

Will & Harper

The titular duo of this road trip documentary is responsible for such big-swing comedies as Casa de mi Padre, A Deadly Adoption, and Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga. But long before these, they were buddies, building a bond working at Saturday Night Live.

Will Ferrell and Harper Steele have known each other for decades. But when at 61, Harper came out as a trans woman, the time came for the friends to reconnect. A 16-day road trip across America was not only a way for Will to better understand Harper, but also for Harper to revisit dive bars, sports arenas, and other once-treasured spaces that might not be as welcoming as they once were. Together, they explore friendship, privilege, and what it means to be trans in the U.S. And while the content can be heavy, under the direction of Josh Greenbaum, who helmed the supremely hilarious Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar, the tone is light, accessible, and resoundingly heartwarming. — KP

Starring: Will Ferrell and Harper Steele

How to watch: Will & Harper debuts on Netflix Sept. 27.

October

It’s What’s Inside

From Talk to Me to Bodies Bodies Bodies, cursed party games have become a bit of a thing in horror of late. Greg Jardin’s genre-fusing thriller is one such film, promising a group of college buddies, a pre-wedding party game, and a whole lot of body-swapping that leads to an existential mind-fuck. The Netflix film was executive produced by Colman Domingo and his husband Raúl Domingo, and got a lot of buzz out of Sundance and SXSW.

In his review, Mashable contributor Siddhant Adlakha wrote, “Wielding devilishly enjoyable visual language, it provides winking hints of catharsis that make even its most audacious, galaxy-brained genre swerves feel like a couple’s therapy session atop the world’s tallest, fastest rollercoaster. It’s a frenetic and fascinating film that can’t be missed.” — S.C.

Starring: Brittany O’Grady, James Morosini, Alycia Debnam-Carey, Devon Terrell, Gavin Leatherwood, Reina Hardesty, Nina Bloomgarden, and David Thompson

How to watch: It’s What’s Inside debuts on Netflix Oct. 4.

Mashable Top Stories

Joker: Folie à Deux

Todd Phillips’ Joker was polarizing, to say the least. But between winning the Golden Lion at the Venice International Film Festival and dancing its way to becoming the sixth-highest grossing movie of 2019, it was almost guaranteed a sequel. And even the movie’s haters had to do a double take when Lady Gaga signed on to play Harley Quinn opposite Joaquin Phoenix’s titular villain.*

With each new bit of information — be it rumors about a Looney Tunes opening sequence or shots of some compelling costumes — Joker: Folie à Deux intrigues. Set two years after its predecessor, this supervillain sequel promises a story full of mayhem, musical numbers, and even romance. — K.P.

Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson, Catherine Keener, and Zazie Beetz

How to watch: Joker: Folie à Deux opens in theaters Oct. 4.

The Outrun

Directed by Nora Fingscheidt and co-written with author Amy Liptrot, The Outrun adapts Liptrot’s 2016 memoir with a spectacularly raw performance from Saoirse Ronan. Set on the remote Orkney Islands, off the northern coast of Scotland, it’s a brilliant, authentic depiction of a young woman in recovery from alcoholism. Rona (Ronan) leaves her turbulent life in London behind, returning to her seaside hometown where apologies await and past trauma simmers. Healing and self-forgiveness are also on the horizon. — S.C.

Starring: Saoirse Ronan, Paapa Essiedu, Saskia Reeves, Stephen Dillane, Lauren Lyle, Izuka Hoyle, Nabil Elouahabi, and Naomi Wirthner

How to watch: The Outrun opens in U.S. theaters Oct. 4, and UK cinemas Sept. 27.

The Platform 2

The idea for Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia’s The Platform is so good that it pretty much had to get a sequel.

The original (one of Mashable’s best sci-fi movies on Netflix) takes place in a vertical prison where a giant table of food is gradually lowered top to bottom, and prisoners wake up in a random new cell each month. If they’re at the top, they have plenty to eat; lower down, it’s a fight for survival. The Platform 2‘s teaser takes us to the same prison with a new cast of characters — and what looks like just as much chaos and bloodshed. — S.H.

Starring: Milena Smit, Hovik Keuchkerian

How to watch: The Platform 2 debuts on Netflix from October 4.

Saturday Night

For 50 years, Saturday Night Live has been a staple of American television. But as Jason Reitman’s upcoming film Saturday Night tells it, the hours leading up to SNL‘s first-ever live broadcast were an absolute disaster. Fighting actors, onset accidents, NBC executives hoping for the show to fail — you name it, it’s going wrong in Saturday Night.

The movie follows SNL head honcho Lorne Michaels (The Fabelmans‘ Gabriel LaBelle) as he attempts to weather the behind-the-scenes chaos. It also introduces members of the original SNL cast, including Gilda Radner (Ella Hunt), Chevy Chase (Cory Michael Smith), Garrett Morris (Lamorne Morris), and Dan Aykroyd (Dylan O’Brien). Can this troupe of relative unknowns band together and put on the greatest 90-minute live sketch show NBC has ever seen? Or at least, a good enough show to keep them on the air? — B.E.

Starring: Gabriel LaBelle, Rachel Sennott, Cory Michael Smith, Ella Hunt, Dylan O’Brien, Emily Fairn, Matt Wood, Lamorne Morris, Kim Matula, Finn Wolfhard, Nicholas Braun, Cooper Hoffman, Andrew Barth Feldman, Kaia Gerber, Tommy Dewey, Willem Dafoe, Matthew Rhys, and J.K. Simmons

How to watch: Saturday Night hits theaters Oct. 11.

Piece by Piece

American music mogul Pharrell Williams has given audiences a barrage of hit songs, collaborated with some of the biggest artists in rap, and has won 13 Grammys (so far). It’s about time someone told his story. But a bog-standard bio-doc of talking heads and concert footage was never going to fully grasp the creativity of this icon. So, Academy Award–winning documentarian Morgan Neville (20 Feet from Stardom) brings a bold new angle by reenacting this story with Lego-inspired animation. Williams not only lends his voice, but also produces, welcoming in a flood of famous friends and collaborators all reimagined as mini-figs. It looks bonkers, and we’re absolutely stoked to see it. — K.P.

Starring: Pharrell Williams, Jay-Z, Timbaland, Gwen Stefani, Justin Timberlake, Busta Rhymes, Snoop Dogg, Daft Punk, and Kendrick Lamar

How to watch: Piece by Piece opens in theaters Oct. 11.

We Live in Time

Ready to cry your eyes out?

John Crowley, the director of the gloriously romantic Brooklyn, has teamed with two of England’s most in-demand young stars, Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield, to absolutely knock us out. We Live in Time is a romance, and sure, you might easily swoon watching these critically heralded hotties flirt and fall in love, all while wearing cozy sweaters. But these two heavy-hitters don’t tend toward light-hearted fare. So, expect this decades-spanning romantic drama — that kicks off with a nearly deadly meet-cute collision — is definitely going to be laced with loss and tragedy. What is it the Brits say? Keep calm and carry on? — K.P.

Starring: Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh

How to watch: We Live in Time opens in theaters Oct. 11.

Anora

This summer Anora took home the prestigious Palme d’Or prize at the illustrious Cannes International Film Festival. But don’t let its posh pedigree have you mistaking Sean Baker’s latest with some stuffy art house drama. The writer/director behind such deeply poignant yet brightly funny films as Tangerine, The Florida Project, and Red Rocket has done it again, delivering a drama that is lusty and alive.

Mikey Madison (Scream 5) stars as Anora, a Brooklyn sex worker whose fling with a Russian playboy swiftly leads to wedding bells. But the fantasy of wealth and wonder comes crashing down when the cronies for her new oligarch in-laws come banging at the mansion door. You might think you know how this story goes. You’d be wrong. — K.P.

Starring: Mikey Madison, Mark Eydelshteyn, Yura Borisov, Karren Karagulian, Vache Tovmasyan, and Aleksei Serebryakov

How to watch: Anora opens in theaters on Oct. 18.

Nickel Boys

Colson Whitehead’s harrowing Pulitzer Prize–winning novel The Nickel Boys has been adapted for the screen by director RaMell Ross and co-writer Joslyn Barnes, and it’s sure to be a stunner. Ross made his feature-length debut in 2018 with Hale County This Morning, This Evening, which snagged an Oscar nomination for best documentary feature. This is his first feature-length narrative, and it’s premiering on opening night of the prestigious New York Film Festival.

Like its source material, Nickel Boys is based on the true story of a state-run juvenile reform school in Jim Crow-era Florida where the students, the majority of whom were young Black boys, suffered extreme abuse. It was all covered up, only to be discovered by students of archaeology decades later. This story is told through a powerful friendship between two Black students, Elwood and Turner, whose experience will stay with you long after the credits roll. — S.C.

Starring: Ethan Herisse, Brandon Wilson, Hamish Linklater, Fred Hechinger, Daveed Diggs, and Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor

How to watch: Nickel Boys opens in theaters Oct. 25.

The Remarkable Life of Ibelin

Online communities are often under-appreciated as real human connections, with the idea of genuine friendship constantly dismissed by those less online. But in these groups, digital worlds offer endless possibility, and for the gamer at the center of this doc, that would be incredibly freeing. In The Remarkable Life of Ibelin, documentarian Benjamin Ree examines the power of such a community through the experiences of 25-year-old Norwegian gamer Mats Steen.

The film is a posthumous ode to this young man, born with a degenerative muscular disease, who forged a whole life online within World of Warcraft under the avatar Ibelin. Steen’s online community responded to a post from his parents after he passed away, revealing a large, connected world of friends and experiences they never knew he had, and one that provided a huge amount of comfort — and adventure — to him. —S.C.

How to watch: The Remarkable Life of Ibelin debuts on Netflix Oct. 25.

Venom: The Last Dance

Tom Hardy is back as investigative journalist Eddie Brock and the alien symbiote Venom, who has become his greatest friend and biggest pain in the neck. To conclude the Venom trilogy, this gruesome twosome must face off against forces on Earth and beyond that will do anything to track them down. Sure to be the wackiest buddy movie of 2024, Venom: The Last Dance promises plenty of action, plenty of punchlines, and the kind of unhinged spectacle only Spider-Man’s weirdest foe can deliver. —K.P.

Starring: Tom Hardy, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Juno Temple, Rhys Ifans, Peggy Lu, Alanna Ubach, and Stephen Graham

How to watch: Venom: The Last Dance opens in theaters on Oct. 25.

NOVEMBER

Emilia Pérez

Per Siddhant Adlakha’s review out of Cannes, “The tale of a vicious cartel boss who undergoes gender-affirming surgery, Emilia Pérez places women front and center in a traditionally male-led gangster genre. But rather than subverting its visual and tonal hallmarks, French filmmaker Jacques Audiard compliments them with a liberating sense of expression through song and dance.”

That’s right, a gangster musical. We’ve gotten a taste of what Audiard has in store for us with the Cannes Jury Prize–winning film’s tantalizing teaser. But we can’t wait to see what leading ladies Zoe Saldaña, Karla Sofía Gascón, Selena Gomez, and Adriana Paz deliver to this intriguing crime movie, as all four collectively won Cannes’ Best Actress honor. — K.P.

Starring: Zoe Saldaña, Karla Sofía Gascón, Selena Gomez, Adriana Paz, and Édgar Ramírez

How to watch: Emilia Pérez opens in select theaters on Nov. 1, and debuts on Netflix Nov. 13.

Conclave

Based on Robert Harris’ 2016 novel of the same name, Conclave ushers audiences behind the scenes of one of the Catholic church’s most sacred and secretive traditions. When the pope dies, the college of cardinals gathers to vote on who will ascend to lead the church and be God’s voice on Earth. It’s a heavy responsibility, but the politicking and pettiness among these men of the cloth can be shocking — and I confess! — quite thrilling.

Following a festival run that includes the Toronto International Film Festival, Conclave will open in the thick of For Your Consideration season. So Focus’ ambitions for this Edward Berger-directed psychological thriller are quite clear. And with a cast like this, Conclave is gathering buzz fast. —K.P.

Starring: Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, Lucian Msamati, Carlos Diehz, Sergio Castellitto, and Isabella Rossellini

How to watch: Conclave opens in theaters Nov. 1. 

Heretic

Hugh Grant was best known as a romantic lead back in the day, but in Heretic he’s in full-blown creepy horror mode.

In writer-director duo Scott Beck and Bryan Woods’ Heretic, two missionaries knock on the door of a seemingly friendly older man who invites them in with the promise that his wife is making a pie. But instead of pie, they find themselves locked inside and forced to play a life-or-death game. A24’s latest has Barbarian vibes with a dose of religious horror. — S.H.

Starring: Hugh Grant, Sophie Thatcher, and Chloe East

How to watch: Heretic opens in theaters Nov. 15.

Gladiator II

Paul Mescal and Pedro Pascal face off in the long-awaited sequel to Ridley Scott’s five-time Oscar–winning drama Gladiator. 

Set 20 years after the death of Russell Crowe’s Maximus, Gladiator II follows Lucius (Mescal) who was a boy when his uncle, the vicious Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix), ruled. As a man, he enters the Colosseum to do battle — not only against determined warriors, but also against the cruel overlords who make sport of the enslaved’s suffering. Expect epic fight scenes, macho drama, and smolders so hot they could burn the movie theaters to the ground. — K.P.

Starring: Denzel Washington, Pedro Pascal, Joseph Quinn, Connie Nielsen, and Paul Mescal 

How to watch: Gladiator II opens in theaters Nov. 22. 

The Piano Lesson

In 2016, Denzel Washington won critical acclaim for his movie adaptation of playwright August Wilson’s Fences. Now, his son Malcolm Washington follows in his footsteps, making his feature directorial debut with another work from Wilson’s Pittsburgh Cycle of plays, The Piano Lesson.

Set in 1936, the drama centers on a Black family recovering from the Great Depression, when the fate of an heirloom piano gets heated. John David Washington (Malcolm’s brother) stars as Boy Willie, who wishes to sell the instrument, while his sister (The Harder They Fall‘s Danielle Deadwyler) wants to keep it in the family. Dealing with issues of identity, resilience, and legacy, The Piano Lesson is sure to hit hard. — K.P.

Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, John David Washington, Ray Fisher, Michael Potts, Erykah Badu, Skylar Aleece Smith, Danielle Deadwyler, and Corey Hawkins

How to watch: The Piano Lesson debuts on Netflix Nov. 22. 

Spellbound

From Shrek co-director Vicky Jenson comes a fresh fairy tale about princess and monsters, but not quite like you’d expect.

West Side Story‘s Rachel Zegler lends her voice to a plucky princess who’s on a quest to break the spell that’s turned her parents — Javier Bardem and Nicole Kidman in the Meet The Ricardos reunion we didn’t see coming — into rampaging but adorable monsters. Behind the colorful aesthetic and the star-studded cast, this animated adventure also boasts new songs from The Little Mermaid composer Alan Menken and Tangled lyricist Glenn Slater. All these ingredients seem destined to make magic happen — K.P.

Starring: Rachel Zegler, John Lithgow, Jenifer Lewis, Tituss Burgess, Nathan Lane, Javier Bardem, and Nicole Kidman

How to watch: Spellbound debuts on Netflix Nov. 22. 

Wicked: Part 1

For 20 years, Wicked has lit up Broadway with its magic and song. Now, the musical — based on Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel, which turned the tables on the tale of the Wicked Witch — is coming to movie theaters. Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande star as the green-skinned Elphaba and her bubbly bestie Glinda, who will defy gravity on the big screen! 

Stephen Schwartz, the stage show’s lyricist, and playwright Winnie Holzman collaborated on the screenplay. Jon M. Chu, who directed Crazy Rich Asians, In the Heights, and several Step Up sequels, is helming. With beloved song numbers, a star-stacked cast, and the promise of getting into some of the storylines the stage show cut, this movie had to become a two-parter. And we suspect the first half will prove popular.* — K.P.

Starring: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, and Bowen Yang

How to watch: Wicked: Part 1 opens in theaters Nov. 22.

Moana 2

Moana (voiced by Auli’i Cravalho) and trickster demigod Maui (voiced by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson) are back for more adventures on the high seas.

The sequel to 2016’s Moana sees our titular character, now a full-fledged wayfinder, following her ancestors’ call on a new quest to unite all the peoples of the ocean. Cursed islands and terrible storms await, along with the return of the pesky Kakamora from the first film. But the real question remains: Will any of Moana 2‘s songs hit as hard as “How Far I’ll Go” and “Shiny”? — B.E.

Starring: Auli’i Cravalho, Dwayne Johnson, Temuera Morrison, Nicole Scherzinger, Khaleesi Lambert-Tsuda, Rose Matafeo, David Fane, Hualālai Chung, Rachel House, Awhimai Fraser, Gerald Ramsey, and Alan Tudyk

How to watch: Moana 2 hits theaters Nov. 27.

DECEMBER

Nightbitch

Have you ever wished you could run out into the night, free as a bird with nothing to fear? That seems to be the appeal of Nightbitch. Based on Rachel Yoder’s 2021 novel, the upcoming comedy-horror movie that stars six-time Academy Award nominee Amy Adams as a stay-at-home mom who occasionally transforms into a dog.

If that pairing of premise and talent isn’t enough to get you pumped (and it should be!), consider that at the helm is Marielle Heller, the brilliant director behind three superb movie adaptations: coming-of-age dramedy The Diary of a Teenage Girl, the Mr. Rogers biopic A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, and the Academy Award–nominated biographical comedy Can You Ever Forgive Me? Now tell me you’re not howling in anticipation. — K.P.

Starring: Amy Adams, Scoot McNairy, Arleigh Patrick Snowden, Emmett James Snowden, Zoë Chao, Mary Holland, Archana Rajan, and Jessica Harper

How to watch: Nightbitch opens in theaters Dec. 6. 

The Order

From director Justin Kurzel (Macbeth, The Snowtown Murders) comes a crime thriller unearthed from a dark corner of the U.S.’s not-so-distant history.

Based on Kevin Flynn and Gary Gerhardt’s non-fiction book The Silent Brotherhood, The Order takes audiences into the 1983 FBI investigation into a band of white supremacists in the Pacific Northwest. Jude Law stars as an a hardened agent who suspects a spate of bank robberies and bombings are tied to a sinister conspiracy, dreamed up by a dangerously charismatic domestic terrorist named Robert Jay Mathews (Nicholas Hoult). Between a disturbing true story and sharp turns from Law and Hoult, this showdown is sure to leave audiences rattled. — K.P.

Starring: Jude Law, Nicholas Hoult, Tye Sheridan, Jurnee Smollett, and Marc Maron

How to watch: The Order opens in theaters Dec. 6. 

Y2K

Nostalgia and sci-fi shenanigans collide in Y2K, the deranged directorial debut from Saturday Night Live alum Kyle Mooney. Set on New Year’s Eve 1999, this teen comedy follows a bunch of high schoolers’ whose holiday house party turns homicidal when our worse fears of the Y2K bug are realized. Yes, I mean our household electronics and beloved Tamagotchis turn Terminator and try to kill all humanity.

In our SXSW review, I cheered Mooney’s movie as “a solid stoner comedy, gleefully dumb and unapologetically wacky.” However, “As a teen comedy, Y2K lacks the emotional awareness of classics like Clueless, the original Mean Girls, or Superbad.” But with your expectations managed, Y2K should prove wild fun in its watching. — K.P.

Starring: Rachel Zegler, Jaeden Martell, Julian Dennison, Kyle Mooney, and Alicia Silverstone

How to watch: Y2k opens in theaters Dec 6. 

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim

Middle-earth gets the anime treatment in The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, directed by Kenji Kamiyama and executive produced by Peter Jackson.

Set 183 years before the Lord of the Rings trilogy, The War of the Rohirrim returns us to the kingdom of Rohan, headed up by King Helm Hammerhand (voiced by Succession‘s Brian Cox). When an attack from Dunlending lord Wulf (voiced by Luke Pasqualino) leaves Rohan in peril, it’s up to Helm and his fearsome daughter Héra (voiced by Gaia Wise) to save the day. Together, they and all the Rohirrim will make a last stand at the ancient stronghold of the Hornburg, otherwise known as Helm’s Deep. You know the full-body chills you get whenever you hear Howard Shore’s Rohan theme from the original Lord of the Rings movies? Yeah, get ready for a whole movie of that feeling. — B.E.

Starring: Brian Cox, Gaia Wise, Luke Pasqualino, Miranda Otto, Lorraine Ashbourne, Yazdan Qafouri, Benjamin Wainwright, Laurence Ubong Williams, Shaun Dooley, Michael Wildman, Jude Akuwudike, Bilal Hasna, and Janine Duvitski

How to watch: The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim hits theaters Dec. 13.

Kraven the Hunter

No, really this time. When the trailer for this Spider-Man spinoff hit last summer, we were quick to rejoice. But the bumps kept coming, so this supervillain offering made our summer movie preview for 2024 as well. But this December, we’ll finally see what director J.C. Chandor has in store. 

Where the MCU has been wallowing in grief post-Snap and the DCEU got bogged down in dramas onscreen and scandals off, Sony was chasing the weird spirit behind the Venom movies with this story about an animalistic anti-hero who oozes sex appeal and rips off his foe’s noses without blinking an eye.  Sure, Madame Web (another Spidey spin-off) got thrashed in theaters and online. But hey, it was better than Morbius. So even with this delayed release, we’re cautiously optimistic.* — K.P.

Starring: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Russell Crowe, Ariana DeBose, Fred Hechinger, Alessandro Nivola, and Christopher Abbott

How to watch: Kraven the Hunter opens in theaters Dec 13. 

Mufasa: The Lion King

Simba isn’t the only Lion King who’s been on an epic adventure through the Pride Lands. In Disney’s upcoming Mufasa: The Lion King, we learn that a young Mufasa (voiced by Aaron Pierre), went on a life-changing journey of his own.

As an orphaned cub, Mufasa crosses paths with lion prince Taka (voiced by Kelvin Harrison Jr.), and the two become as close as brothers. That’s sweet for now, but Taka will one day grow up to be Scar, meaning that somewhere down the line, the two will become foes. (Maybe it’s because Mufasa actually usurps the throne that was Taka’s by blood? Just spitballing.) Disney’s live-action The Lion King was a mixed bag, but maybe Mufasa director Barry Jenkins (Moonlight, The Underground Railroad) can bring something new to this story. — B.E.

Starring: Aaron Pierre, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Seth Rogen, Billy Eichner, Theo Somolu, Anika Noni Rose, John Kani, Tiffany Boone, Preston Nyman, Mads Mikkelsen, Thandiwe Newton, Lennie James, Keith David, Donald Glover, Blue Ivy Carter, Folake Olowofoyeku, Abdul Salis, and Beyoncé Knowles-Carter

How to watch: Mufasa: The Lion King hits theaters Dec. 20.

Babygirl

The premise of Babygirl: A high-powered CEO risks their career and personal life when they begin hooking up with a young intern. But writer/director Halina Reijn, who enthralled us with the high-energy whodunnit Bodies Bodies Bodies, turns the tables by casting Nicole Kidman as this all-mighty businessperson, and Triangle of Sadness‘ Harris Dickinson as the object of her desire. What other twists does Reijn and company have in store? We can’t wait to find out. — K.P.

Starring: Nicole Kidman, Harris Dickinson, Antonio Banderas, and Sophie Wilde

How to watch: Babygirl opens in theaters Dec. 25.

Nosferatu

Filmmaker Robert Eggers has created such gnarly films as period-set horror movie The Witch, the surreal thriller The Lighthouse, and Viking epic The Northman. Now he’s turned his lens to vampires, specifically F.W. Murnau’s iconic 1922 film Nosferatu.

You see, as an unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Murnau’s movie boasted characters like Count Orlok and Ellen Hutter. The trailer above shows Lily-Rose Depp as Ellen Hutter, a haunted young lady who has caught the eye of a blood-sucking creature of the night. What fresh blood (and thrills) will Eggers mine from this horror landmark? We’ll find out this Christmas. —K.P.

Starring: Bill Skarsgård, Nicholas Hoult, Lily-Rose Depp, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Emma Corrin, Ralph Ineson, Simon McBurney, and Willem Dafoe

How to watch: Nosferatu opens in theaters Dec. 25.

* denotes that this blurb appeared in a previous Mashable list.