All the movies coming out on Christmas in 2023

Catch up on the latest Oscar bait and family movie fare.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year — when cinemas are packed with options for every member of the family. That hallowed season when loved ones can split up in the parking lot and get a few precious hours away from one another, warmly ensconced in a multiplex auditorium with the genre of their choosing. Between Oscar hopefuls, animated films, and superhero sequels, here are all the movies coming out on Christmas, plus some others in theaters during the holidays.

Movies released on December 25:

The Boys in the Boat

George Clooney's sports drama follows a rowing team from the University of Washington as they travel to Berlin to compete in the 1936 Olympics. Their involvement throws the young men and their coach (Joel Edgerton) into the media spotlight during the height of the Great Depression. His first couple of films, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind and Good Night, and Good Luck, as well as his two most recent efforts, The Midnight Sky and The Tender Bar, exhibit how capable Clooney is at weaving small-scale character drama with larger-than-life real-world events.

Where to watch The Boys in the Boat: In theaters December 25

The Color Purple

Director Blitz Bazawule reimagines Alice Walker’s original novel and Steven Spielberg’s adaptation as a glitzy movie musical. Joining Little Mermaid breakout Halle Bailey on screen is a murderer’s row of talent: Taraji P. Henson, Colman Domingo, King Richard MVP Aunjanue Ellis, Corey Hawkins, H.E.R., and David Alan Grier, while Fantasia Barrino and Danielle Brooks reprise their roles from the Broadway production.

Where to watch The Color Purple: In theaters December 25

Ferrari

Michael Mann directs this biopic of car maven Enzo Ferrari (Adam Driver). The film details a specific point in Ferrari’s life, 10 years after the creation of his namesake vehicle, as he and his wife Laura (Penelope Cruz) attempt to ward off bankruptcy by investing in the 1957 Mille Miglia, a dangerous car race across Italy. If we know anything about Mann movies, Ferrari is likely to be highly visceral, extremely masculine, and lightly homoerotic. It’s based upon Brock Yates’ book Enzo Ferrari: The Man, the Cars, the Races, the Machine, which may temper some of Mann’s thematic excesses from his most recent pictures.

Where to watch Ferrari: In theaters December 25

Occupied City

Steve McQueen returns to direct a mammoth 262-minute documentary detailing the Nazi occupation of Amsterdam during the Second World War. Neither McQueen, a director known for gruelingly realistic depictions of everything from sex addiction (Shame) to slavery (12 Years a Slave), nor Occupied City’s subject matter screams “holiday fun at the movies.” However, he’s a world-class filmmaker, and distributor A24 rarely puts its weight behind anything less than spectacular.

Where to watch Occupied City: In theaters December 25

Movies also in theaters on Christmas

The Boy and the Heron

Plot synopses for Hayao Miyazaki’s latest (and, according to him, last) movie are widely available online. However, in keeping with the director’s desire for audience members to go in blind, we won’t detail any specifics here. Let’s just say it’s a meditation on grief involving the titular characters with plenty of fantasia to spare. Miyazaki previously announced his retirement after 2013’s The Wind Rises, a great picture that is far more rooted in reality. It’s lovely to see Miyazaki return a decade later, creating another tragi-comic supernatural anime that makes up the beating heart of Studio Ghibli.

Where to watch The Boy and the Heron: In theaters December 8

American Fiction

In a pairing for the ages, Jeffrey Wright stars opposite Issa Rae in this satirical dark comedy about frustrated novelist Thelonious “Monk” Ellison. Dissatisfied with the offensive tropes in Black literature, he pens a racially reductive novel under a pseudonym to prove his point, but the plan fails spectacularly and puts Theonious in the crosshairs of a culture war. Veteran TV writer Cord Jefferson (The Good Place, Watchmen) makes his directorial debut with this scathing and inspired picture based on Percival Everett’s novel.

Where to watch American Fiction: In theaters December 15

Wonka

Timothée Chalamet carries the title role in this reimagining of Roald Dahl’s classic fairy tale. Director Paul King previously helmed both Paddington films, so Wonka’s tone verges more towards the gently comic and quietly magical rather than the misguided assault of Johnny Depp’s 2005 remake or the horror-inflected beats of Gene Wilder’s original. Now, round three is an origin story, tracking a young Willy as he kicks off that chocolate factory and encounters the Oompa Loompas (Hugh Grant, brilliantly) for the first time.

Where to watch Wonka: In theaters December 15

All of Us Strangers

This romantic fantasy follows writer Adam (Andrew Scott) who develops a romantic connection with his neighbor Harry (Paul Mescal) after a peculiar circumstance brings them together. Adam’s journey leads him back to his childhood home, where he mysteriously finds his parents living exactly as they did on the day they died three decades earlier. Director Andrew Haigh is a master of character dramas that verge on the surreal and/or horrifying, and All of Us Strangers sounds like a cross between his 2011 romance Weekend and his 2015 venture 45 Years, which examines a married couple’s relationship through the prism of an unresolved tragedy.

Where to watch All of Us Strangers: In theaters December 22

Anyone but You

After giving a remarkable performance earlier this year in the deeply grueling Reality, Sydney Sweeney shows off her comedic chops opposite Glen Powell in this steamy movie from Easy A director Will Gluck. Sweeney and Powell play two upwardly mobile young people (it is a rom-com, after all) whose relationship goes nowhere after a promising first date. When they find themselves at a destination wedding in Australia, the two must pretend to be a couple to save face. Could it be that true love might blossom?

Where to watch Anyone But You: In theaters December 22

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom

James Wan returns to direct this follow-up to 2018’s Aquaman, which is still the highest-grossing DCU movie ever. While it’s doubtful the sequel will reach those financial heights, it still hopes for more success than The Flash had last summer. Lost Kingdom focuses on the eponymous hero and his brother, the appropriately named Ocean Master (Patrick Wilson), as they battle an ancient and malevolent force.

Lots of drama has unfolded behind the scenes, including a reduced role for Amber Heard, who infused a desperately needed screwball energy into the first installment. For a while, according to a damning report in Variety, it was unclear if the movie would even see release. Horrendous test screening results and an unusual number of reshoots fueled the narrative that Lost Kingdom was a flop almost a year before it hit theaters. It remains unclear if that assessment is accurate, or if the film can recover from its disastrous press to make a profit.

Where to watch Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom: In theaters December 22

The Iron Claw

Sean Durkin’s latest is a biopic following the Von Erich brothers (Harris Dickinson, Zac Efron, Stanley Simons, and Jeremy Allen White) who rose to prominence under their stern father (Holt McCallany) as wrestlers in the 1980s. (EW’s Iron Claw cover story gives more details of their lives, but you won’t find any spoilers here.) Durkin has made a career out of quiet, contemplative character studies that harness their protagonists’ unease for affecting psychothrillers, so it’ll be interesting to see how he handles the devastating lows and remarkable highs of the true-life sports story.

Where to watch The Iron Claw: In theaters December 22

Migration

An inter-generational all-star cast — including Awkwafina, Elizabeth Banks, Carol Kane, and Danny DeVito — headlines this animated comedy about a family of ducks trying to convince their father to leave the nest. Between a writing credit for Mike White (The White Lotus) and direction from Benjamin Renner, who’s made a few lovely animated films for adults, Migration may be a bit heftier than your average animated pic. Plus, it runs a sleek 92 minutes, which you can’t beat.

Where to watch Migration: In theaters December 22

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.