Fall 2019 movie preview: The 40 films we're most excited to see
From Jedi (Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker) to Jay and Silent Bob (Jay and Silent Bob Reboot), gangsters (The Irishman) to Garlands (Judy), clowns (It Chapter 2, Joker) to cats (Cats, obviously), the next four months at the movies will offer a little something for everyone. And most likely, a lot of Oscar contenders. Here are our 40 most anticipated films our Fall 2019. — by Ethan Alter and Kevin Polowy
40. Rambo: Last Blood
Release date: Sept. 20
Directed by: Adrian Grunberg
Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Paz Vega, Sergio Peris-Mencheta
The scoop: You can’t keep a good soldier down: Sly Stallone’s other two-syllabled fighter enters the ring for a final bout that pits the Vietnam vet against a modern-day Mexican drug cartel. You can absolutely bet that there will be blood … lots and lots of it.
39. Jay and Silent Bob Reboot
Release date: Oct. 15
Directed by: Kevin Smith
Starring: Jason Mewes, Kevin Smith, Harley Quinn Smith, Shannon Elizabeth
The scoop: Long before there was a Marvel Cinematic Universe or a DC Extended Universe, a generation of geeks grew up in Kevin Smith’s View Askewniverse — home to such memorable characters as Dante Hicks, Alyssa Jones and heterosexual life partners Jay and Silent Bob. The gang’s all here for Smith’s long-awaited return, which sends the duo on a cross-country (and highly meta) journey to prevent their own Hollywood reboot.
38. Uncut Gems
Release date: Dec. 13
Directed by: Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie
Starring: Adam Sandler, Julia Fox, Lakeith Stanfield, Idina Menzel
The scoop: Though they've been making short films and documentaries since 2005, the Safdie brothers were relative unknowns until their Robert Pattinson-starring thriller Good Time became a critical darling in 2017. Now they've recruited Adam Sandler for another of his sporadic (but always surprisingly great) dramatic roles. The SNL alum plays a New York jewelry store owner who finds himself in deep doo-doo with lenders when his merchandise is lifted.
37. Downton Abbey
Release date: Sept. 20
Directed by: Michael Engler
Starring: Hugh Bonneville, Michelle Dockery, Jim Carter, Maggie Smith
The scoop: The stately Crawley manor re-opens its doors on the big screen a mere four years after the beloved British TV series signed off. Picking up in 1927, the feature film finds Downton Abbey’s upstairs and downstairs residents all in a tizzy as they await a royal visit from King George V and Queen Mary. Memo to Downton mastermind Julien Fellowes: don’t you dare undo Lady Edith’s happy ending.
36. 21 Bridges
Release date: Sept. 27
Directed by: Brian Kirk
Starring: Chadwick Boseman, Sienna Miller, Taylor Kitsch, Stephan James
The scoop: As Disney and Marvel just announced, we're not getting another Black Panther movie until May 2022, but this thriller should help hold over fans of Chadwick Boseman. The acclaimed actor plays a disgraced NYPD detective on a manhunt (along with his partner, played by Sienna Miller) for assailants who gunned down eight cops. In the process, they put the city on lockdown by shutting down every bridge in and out of Manhattan.
35. Jumanji: The Next Level
Release date: Dec. 13
Directed by: Jake Kasdan
Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan, Jack Black, Awkwafina
The scoop: 2017's Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, a sequel to the 1995 Robin Williams adventure film Jumanji, was a delightful surprise — and major box-office winner. Here's hoping The Rock and company can recapture that magic in this sequel to that sequel, which finds our foursome back in the high stakes game with some new personas, including Johnson doing his best Danny DeVito impression and Hart channeling Danny Glover.
34. Hustlers
Release date: Sept. 13
Directed by: Lorene Scafaria
Starring: Jennifer Lopez, Constance Wu, Lili Reinhart, Cardi B, Lizzo
The scoop: J.Lo plays den mother to an A-list crew of strippers-turned-scammers who merrily rob from the rich to give to … themselves and their families. Lopez’s partners-in-crime include such high-profile stars as Constance Wu, Lili Reinhart and Keke Palmer, but all eyes are likely to be on hip-hop superstar Cardi B, making her feature film debut.
33. Just Mercy
Release date: Dec. 25
Directed by: Destin Daniel Cretton
Starring: Michael B. Jordan, Jamie Foxx, Brie Larson, O’Shea Jackson Jr.
The scoop: The latest feature from Short Term 12 director — and future Marvel Studios hitmaker — Destin Daniel Cretton, who casts Michael B. Jordan as real-life attorney Bryan Stevenson, a member of the legal team that successfully overturned the wrongful murder conviction of Walter McMillian (Jamie Foxx). Expect a vintage courtroom drama with plenty of contemporary resonance … and Oscar potential.
32. A Hidden Life
Release date: Dec. 13
Directed by: Terrence Malick
Starring: August Diehl, Valerie Pachner, Michael Nyqvist, Matthias Schoenaerts
The scoop: Twenty years after The Thin Red Line, Terrence Malick revisits World War II — this time from the perspective of a pacifist rather than a soldier. August Diehl stars as Franz Jägerstätter, a real-life Austrian farmer and devout Catholic who famously refused to fight for Adolf Hitler. Tried and executed for his beliefs, he was officially declared a martyr by the church in 2007. A Hidden Life premiered at Cannes earlier this year, where critics hailed it as Malick’s best film since The Tree of Life.
31. Dark Waters
Release date: Nov. 22
Directed by: Todd Haynes
Starring: Mark Ruffalo, Anne Hathaway, Bill Pullman, Tim Robbins
The scoop: A late addition to the fall release calendar, this drama (not to be confused with the 2005 Jennifer Connelly horror film Dark WATER) has Mark Ruffalo getting his Erin Brockovich on as a corporate defense attorney who exposes a chemical company with a shocking history of pollution. The last time part-time Avenger Ruffalo uncovered a secret this dark he earned an Oscar nomination for the Best Picture-winning Catholic Church scandal pic Spotlight.
30. Maleficent: Mistress of Evil
Release date: Oct. 18
Directed by: Joachim Rønning
Starring: Angelina Jolie, Elle Fanning, Harris Dickinson, Michelle Pfeiffer
The scoop: The first Maleficent offered a deliciously dark re-telling of the Sleeping Beauty story by placing Angelina Jolie’s villain front and center as (anti-) hero. Mistress of Evil raises the stakes by promising the mother of all battles between Maleficent and Michelle Pfeiffer’s Queen Ingrith, with poor Princess Aurora (Elle Fanning) caught in the middle.
29. Ford v Ferrari
Release date: Nov. 15
Directed by: James Mangold
Starring: Christian Bale, Matt Damon, Jon Bernthal, Tracy Letts
The scoop: Two of the finest actors of their generation, Christian Bale and Matt Damon, carpool together as an auto designer and speed racer, respectively, who attempt to build a vehicle for Ford that can challenge Ferrari at the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans. Directed by Logan and Walk the Line maestro James Mangold, we're hoping it can challenge the last great real-life race-car drama we saw, Ron Howard's 2013 winner Rush.
28. The Report
Release date: Nov. 15
Directed: Scott Z. Burns
Starring: Adam Driver, Annette Bening, Jon Hamm, Corey Stoll
The scoop: Steven Soderbergh's longtime collaborator Scott Z. Burns helms this complex story about the true-life struggles of Daniel L. Jones (Adam Driver), a Senate staffer to Dianne Feinstein (Annette Bening) exposing the CIA's controversial use of "enhanced interrogation techniques" (read: torture) in the years after 9/11. The sharply crafted drama became the first film of the year to generate Oscar buzz (namely for Driver and Bening) after bowing at the Sundance Film Festival in January.
27. Terminator: Dark Fate
Release date: Nov. 1
Directed by: Tim Miller
Starring: Linda Hamilton, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mackenzie Davis, Edward Furlong
The scoop: So long Rise of the Machines — Dark Fate is officially the third film in James Cameron’s Terminator franchise, picking up where the filmmaker’s 1991 action classic Terminator 2: Judgment Day left off. Cameron himself is back in an executive producer capacity, as are the three stars of T2: Linda Hamilton, Edward Furlong and Arnold Schwarzenegger. New faces in the franchise include Mackenzie Davis as a time-traveling cyborg warrior, Gabriel Luna as a liquid metal Terminator and Natalia Reyes as the human they’re both fighting over.
26. The King
Release date: Oct. 11
Directed by: David Michôd
Starring: Timothée Chalamet, Joel Edgerton, Lily-Rose Depp, Robert Pattinson
The scoop: Impressive 23-year-old actor and heartthrob Timothée Chalamet already has one Academy Award nomination under his belt (for 2017's Call Me by Your Name), and many thought he'd score another last year for Beautiful Boy. He could be in contention once again this year for this historical drama in which he stars a young Shakespeare favorite Henry V as he grapples with his newly appointed throne. Let's just hope he's not upstaged by Robert Pattinson's hair, which caused a fervor when the first trailer hit earlier this week.
25. Cats
Release date: Dec. 20
Directed by: Tom Hooper
Starring: Francesca Hayward, Jennifer Hudson, Judi Dench, Taylor Swift
The scoop: Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Broadway favorite comes to the big screen at last through the magic of “digital fur technology.” Even though the first trailer traumatized Twitter, multiple generations of musical theater fans will be lured to the multiplex by the promise of watching the movie’s A-list cast — including pop star Taylor Swift and Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson — belting Webber’s earworm-y songs. Heck, Idris Elba as the devilish Macavity is catnip enough for us.
24. Jojo Rabbit
Release date: Oct. 18
Directed by: Taikia Waititi
Starring: Taika Waititi, Roman Griffin Davis, Scarlett Johansson, Thomasin McKenzie
The scoop: How do you follow up a Thor-iffic Marvel movie? By playing Adolf Hitler, of course! New Zealand’s own Taikia Waititi casts himself as a buffoonish Hitler who appears in the overactive imagination of young Jojo Betzler (Roman Griffin Davis), as the German boy wrestles with the discovery that his mother (Scarlett Johansson) is defying the Nazi regime by offering refuge to an innocent Jewish girl (Thomasin McKenzie).
23. Charlie's Angels
Release date: Nov. 15
Directed by: Elizabeth Banks
Starring: Kristen Stewart, Naomi Scott, Ella Balinksa, Elizabeth Banks
The scoop: It has, surprisingly, been almost two decades since Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore and Lucy Liu first brought our favorite '70s TV heroines to the big screen. So we'll admit the time feels ripe for another reboot, especially with an exciting cast that includes Kristen Stewart (in what appears to be her biggest butt-whooping role yet) and stunning Aladdin breakout Naomi Scott. Plus, the film is helmed by Elizabeth Banks, who proved her mettle behind the cameras of Pitch Perfect 2 and also appears onscreen as a gender-flipped Bosley, previously played by Bill Murray.
22. The Goldfinch
Release date: Sept. 13
Directed by: John Crowley
Starring: Ansel Elgort, Nicole Kidman, Finn Wolfhard, Sarah Paulson, Oakes Fegley
The scoop: Brooklyn director John Crowley returns to New York to adapt Donna Tartt's Pulitzer prize-winning bestseller about a boy (Oakes Fegley/Ansel Elgort) who survives a terrorist attack at Metropolitan Museum of Art that kills his mother and who is subsequently adopted by a wealthy Upper East Side family. With Oscar-winning cinematographer Roger Deakins behind the lens, expect it to picture perfect.
21. The Laundromat
Release date: Sept. 27
Directed by: Steven Soderbergh
Starring: Meryls Streep, Gary Oldman, Antonio Banderas, Sharon Stone
The scoop: Leave it to Meryl Streep to turn an ordinary trip abroad into a major international incident. The celebrated actress makes her Netflix debut in Steven Soderbergh’s dramatization of how the world came to discover the secrets of the Panama Papers, which exposed how the global elite kept their money out of the hands of tax collectors. Streep’s Ellen Martin may be an invented character, but the rest of the story is proof of how truth is stranger than fiction.
20. Doctor Sleep
Release date: Nov. 8
Directed by: Mike Flanagan
Starring: Ewan McGregor, Rebecca Ferguson, Kyleigh Curran, Jacob Tremblay
The scoop: Heeeere’s Ewan! The Scottish Star Wars star plays the grown-up Danny Torrance in the long-awaited sequel to Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 horror classic The Shining. While the film is based on Stephen King’s 2013 novel, director Mike Flanagan sold the author — who famously dislikes Kubrick’s version — on bringing back the Overlook Hotel that moviegoers remember. You might say he has always been the caretaker of The Shining’s legacy.
19. Ad Astra
Release date: Sept. 20
Directed by: James Gray
Starring: Brad Pitt, Tommy Lee Jones, Ruth Negga, Liv Tyler
The scoop: While his fellow Earthlings confront a possible extinction-level event, Brad Pitt boldly goes to the final frontier to find his lost-in-space father (Tommy Lee Jones) in James Gray’s first foray into the sci-fi realm. The acclaimed filmmaker has said that his goal is to make “the most realistic depiction of space travel that’s been put in a movie,” which may be one reason why the long-in-the-works film has had its release date changed several times.
18. Zombieland: Double Tap
Release date: Oct. 18
Directed by: Ruben Fleischer
Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, Woody Harrelson, Abigail Breslin
The scoop: Ten years feels like the perfect distance to separate this sequel from 2009's sleeper hit Zombieland. The challenge for Fleischer and his reunited cast will be keeping things fresh: While the first film arrived ahead of Hollywood's Zombie Resurrection, part deux comes after nine years and 400 seasons (OK, nine seasons) of The Walking Dead. This time it's not zombies Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg), Wichita (Emma Stone) and Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson) are hunting for, but young Little Rock (Abigail Breslin), who has run away from the gang to find some folks her own age.
17. Marriage Story
Release date: Nov. 6
Directed by: Noah Baumbach
Starring: Scarlett Johansson, Adam Driver, Laura Dern, Ray Liotta
The scoop: After its recent premiere at the Venice Film Festival, Noah Baumbach's drama that could more accurately be called Divorce Story is already being hailed as his best film yet. That's saying a lot for the guy who made The Squid and the Whale. Disney guns Scarlett Johannson (Avengers) and Adam Driver (Star Wars) join forces as a New York couple, both likable in their own right, who endure a grueling breakup. Bring your heartbreak pills.
16. Judy
Release date: Sept. 27
Directed by: Rupert Goold
Starring: Renée Zellweger, Jessie Buckley, Rufus Sewell, Finn Wittrock
The scoop: After six years away from movies, Renée Zellweger has been quietly mounting a comeback, from a return to the Bridget Jones-verse to her own Netflix series, What/If. Now she could be in line for her first Oscar nomination in 16 years. She certainly has a meaty role on her hands in this highly anticipated biopic, playing Judy Garland as the fading Wizard of Oz star and songstress reluctantly plays a residency in 1968 London, only a year before her untimely death.
15. Gemini Man
Release date: Oct. 11
Directed by: Ang Lee
Starring: Will Smith, Clive Owen, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Benedict Wong
The scoop: Will Smith has met the enemy and it is … him? With the aid of motion capture, the present-day Fresh Prince faces off against his ’90s self in Ang Lee’s contemplative action movie, which finds veteran assassin Henry Brogan being pursued by his much-younger clone. Clive Owen plays Junior’s “daddy,” while Mary Elizabeth Winstead’s hitwoman fights on the side of Team Henry.
14. Harriet
Release date: Nov. 1
Directed by: Kasi Lemmons
Starring: Cynthia Erivo, Leslie Odom Jr., Joe Alwyn, Jennifer Nettles
The scoop: How has there never been a Harriet Tubman biopic before? Maybe Hollywood was just waiting for the perfect woman to come along to play her. Cue Broadway-turned-film star Cynthia Erivo, who was deeply impressive her first two movie roles, 2018's underperforming Widows and Bad Times at the El Royale. The Kasi Lemmons-directed drama follows Tubman's escape from slavery and subsequent transformation into one of the most celebrated heroes of the Underground Railroad.
13. Knives Out
Release date: Nov. 27
Directed by: Rian Johnson
Starring: Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Toni Collette, Christopher Plummer
The scoop: It’s a dead man’s party when prolific crime novelist Harlan Thrombrey (Christopher Plummer) dies mysteriously during his own birthday shindig, turning everyone in his extended family into a suspect. Daniel Craig’s hangdog detective, Benoit Blanc, is tasked with cracking the Agatha Christie-worthy case … and unlike the heroes of writer-director Rian Johnson’s last movie, he’ll have to do it without any Force powers.
12. Queen & Slim
Release date: Nov. 27
Directed by: Melina Matsoukas
Starring: Daniel Kaluuya, Indya Moore, Chloë Sevigny, Bokeem Woodbne
The scoop: The pedigree behind this one is exciting. Written by Lena Waithe (Master of None, The Chi), directed by Insecure and Beyoncé: Formation lenser Melina Matsoukas, and co-starring Oscar nominee Daniel Kaluuya (Get Out, Black Panther) and newcomer Indya Moore, it follows a couple who must go on the run after a fatal incident involving a police officer. Think Bonnie and Clyde in the era of Black Lives Matter.
11. Last Christmas
Release date: Nov. 8
Directed by: Paul Feig
Starring: Emilia Clarke, Henry Golding, Emma Thompson, Michelle Yeoh
The scoop: We're a long way from Westeros — London, specifically. In her first project since that Daenerys's shocking turn on Game of Thrones, Emilia Clarke will get to show off her her comedic chops in this rom-com co-written by her co-star, screen icon Emma Thompson. She plays a department store elf who keeps bumping into Henry Golding (Crazy Rich Asians) so many times they finally decide to date.
10. Dolemite Is My Name
Release date: Oct. 4
Directed by: Craig Brewer
Starring: Eddie Murphy, Wesley Snipes, Keegan Michael-Key, Craig Robinson
The scoop: Ray Ray Moore has long been one of America's most underappreciated pop-culture contributors, a pioneer in both comedy and hip-hop. Eddie Murphy, director Craig Brewer (Hustle & Flow) and team seek to change that with this biopic that traces his unlikely rise to becoming a 1970s Blaxploitation phenomenon and the so-called "The Godfather of Rap." Murphy must be satisfied with the results. It was just announced that Brewer was hired to direct a long-rumored sequel to his 1988 favorite Coming to America.
9. Bombshell
Release date: Dec. 20
Directed by: Jay Roach
Starring: Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman, Margot Robbie, John Lithgow
The scoop: The first trailer for Jay Roach’s star-powered peek behind the Fox News curtain nearly broke the Internet by revealing Charlize Theron’s extreme Megyn Kelly makeover. Expect equally dramatic transformations from the rest of the ensemble, which includes Nicole Kidman as Gretchen Carlson, Malcolm McDowell as Rupert Murdoch and John Lithgow as the channel’s now-deceased architect, Roger Ailes, whose downfall and exile following revelations of sexual harassment forms the spine of the story.
8. It Chapter 2
Release date: Sept. 6
Directed by: Andy Muschietti
Starring: Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy, Bill Hader, Bill Skarsgård
The scoop: Stop and smell the Derry air with the grown-up members of the Losers Club in the sequel to the 2017 blockbuster. Adapting the second half of Stephen King’s epic novel, It Chapter Two fast-forwards 27 years when the adult versions of Bill (James McAvoy), Beverly (Jessica Chastain) and Richie (Bill Hader) return home to face off against the clown prince of horror, Pennywise (Bill Skarsgård). Thanks to the buckets of blood returning director Andy Muschietti has reportedly poured onscreen, you’ll float, too.
7. 1917
Release date: Dec. 25
Directed by: Sam Mendes
Starring: George MacKay, Dean-Charles Chapman, Colin Firth, Benedict Cumberbatch
The scoop: For a Christmas release that looks like it cost quite a few pounds to produce, this war movie has thus far flown pretty low under the radar. But if it's as good as it looks — directed by Sam Mendes and shot by Roger Deakins — this could be a major player come Oscar time. The story follows two young British soldiers (George MacKay and Dean-Charles Chapman) in World War I who are tasked with a near-impossible mission that involves delivering a vital message behind enemy lines. Two years after Christopher Nolan's Dunkirk, we're ready for another epic battle film.
6. Frozen 2
Release date: Nov. 22
Directed by: Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee
Starring: Idina Menzel, Kirsten Bell, Jonathan Groff, Josh Gad
The scoop: Get ready to update your Frozen playlists: the hotly anticipated sequel to the 2013 Disney blockbuster is sure to be packed with great music, not to mention fresh revelations about Elsa’s ice powers and a menagerie of new characters, including equine water spirits. Don’t hold it back anymore: you’re just as excited about returning to Arendelle as we are.
5. Joker
Release date: Oct. 4
Directed by: Todd Phillips
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz, Frances Conroy
The scoop: Batman’s nemesis flies solo in Todd Phillips’s R-rated origin story, which takes its inspiration from Martin Scorsese rather than Bob Kane. In early ‘80s Gotham City, would-be king of comedy Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) embarks on a startling career change that involves clownish makeup and a wicked laugh. Based on the trailers, Phoenix could become the second Joker to win an Oscar … while the Batcave remains empty of little gold men.
4. Little Women
Release date: Dec. 25
Directed by: Greta Gerwig
Starring: Saoirse Ronan, Florence Pugh, Emma Watson, Timothée Chalamet, Meryl Streep
The scoop: Another adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's 1868 doesn't seem like the most obvious follow-up to the Oscar-nominated Ladybird for writer-director Greta Gerwig. But audiences are eagerly awaiting the Christmas Day release after a first trailer revealed that it looks to be the most feminist take on the March sisters we've seen yet. The film is also a Lady Bird reunion of sorts as well, reteaming Gerwig with stars Saoirse Ronan and Timothée Chalamet.
3. A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
Release date: Oct. 18
Directed by: Marielle Heller
Starring: Tom Hanks, Matthew Rhys, Enrico Colantoni, Chris Cooper
The scoop: You'd have to have a heart of stone not to be excited about the prospect of America's Favorite Leading Man, Tom Hanks, playing late children's entertainment icon Fred Rogers. The big question is whether or not the Marielle Heller-directed biopic will play it earnestly or pack any of the edge she brought to her first two excellent films, The Diary of a Teenage Girl (2015) and Can You Ever Forgive Me? (2018). We're packing the sweater and lining up for life lessons from this one regardless.
2. The Irishman
Release date: Nov. 1
Directed by: Martin Scorsese
Starring: Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Jesse Plemons, Anna Paquin, Joe Pesci, Harvey Keitel
The scoop: It's rare for there to be this much excitement around a non-franchise film, announced runtime be damned (it's three hours and 30 minutes, FYI). But assemble the super-team of Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro, and Al Pacino, who have never all worked together, and the anticipation for this Netflix release is off the charts. De Niro is the eponymous hitman while Pacino is union leader Jimmy Hoffa, who you can reasonably expect to disappear at some point. And oh yeah, Joe Pesci and Harvey Keitel are in it, too.
1. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
Release date: Dec. 20
Directed by: J.J. Abrams
Starring: Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Adam Driver, Billy Dee Williams, Keri Russell
The scoop: The Skywalker Saga approaches its own endgame in J.J. Abrams’s sequel trilogy-capper, which also closes out the nine-film series that dates back to 1977. But there are plenty of questions that still have to be answered before the closing credits roll. Will Rey turn to the Dark Side? What’s Palpatine’s master plan? Where has Lando been all these years? And perhaps the biggest question of all: will a Time Heist be involved?
Also Opening This Fall
A pizza delivery girl encounters devil worshippers in Satanic Panic (Sept. 6); Oasis cofounder will surely have a lot to say in Liam Gallagher: As It Was (Sept. 13); Teenage commandos in Latin America guard a prisoner (Julianne Nicholson) in Monos (Sept. 13); Peter Saarsgard is a New York City "house tuner" in The Sound of Silence (Sept. 13); Morgan Spurlock is eating again in Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken! (Sept. 13); After House of 1000 Corpses and The Devil's Rejects, brings the blood again in 3 From Hell (Sept. 16); Demi Moore is a cutthroat CEO opposite Ed Helms and Jessica Williams in Corporate Animals (Sept. 20); Nicholas Cage is in Running With the Devil (Sept. 20), so we're in; Seann William Scott is not joking around in dark horror thriller Bloodline (Sept, 20); Animated yeti are all the rage again in Abominable (Sept. 27); The Sundance drama All Rise (Sept. 27) looks at the prosecution of a 17-year-old honors student; The FBI conspires to turn a preacher into a criminal in satire The Day Shall Come (Sept. 27); Alabama rockers attempt to cover up their bandmate's demise in The Death of Dick Long (Sept. 27); Two months after the Tarantino hit, James Franco also frames a story that takes place once upon a time in Hollywood with Zeroville (Sept. 27).
Our favorite family of oddballs get animated in The Addams Family (Oct. 11); Adam Devine deals with an intrusive smart phone in Jexi (Oct. 11); Natalie Portman is an astronaut struggling to reintegrate in Lucy in the Sky (Oct. 4); It star Jaeden Martell and friends discover modern-day treasure in dark thriller Low Tide (Oct. 4); Pedro Almodóvar and Antonio Banderas are racking up raves for Pain and Glory (Oct. 4); Jai Courtney's a cop with a brother in prison in Semper Fi (Oct. 4); A delusional Tim Heidecker attempts to enter politics in Mister America (Oct. 9); Cannes winner Parasite (Oct. 11) is a must-see for fans of Bong Joon Ho (Okja, The Host); Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson team for The Lighthouse (Oct. 18), more arthouse horror from The Witch director Robert Eggers; Cannes jury winner Les Misérables (Oct. 18) fictionalizes the events of the 2005 Paris riots; Eric Andre and Tiffany Haddish have pranks for days in Bad Trip (Oct. 25); Naomie Harris is a rookie cop facing off against corruption in Black and Blue (Oct. 25); Benedict Cumberbatch plays Thomas Edison in the long-delayed The Current War (Oct. 25); The late Peter Fonda headlines war drama The Last Full Measure (Oct. 25); Bruce Springsteen is live and in concert for Western Stars (Oct. TBD).
Edward Norton directs and stars in mob story Motherless Brooklyn (Nov. 1); Kerry Washington and her Broadway costars bring American Son from stage to Netflix (Nov. 1); Atmospheric thriller director Trey Edward Shults (Krisha, It Comes at Night) changes speeds for romantic drama Waves (Nov. 1); Emma Roberts, Awkwafina and Danielle Macdonald are sent away to become "better versions" of themselves in Paradise Hills (Nov. 1); John Cena is a babysitting firefighter in Playing With Fire (Nov. 8); Jeremy Renner and James Franco voice frosty furballs in Arctic Dogs (Nov. 8); "That guy" William Fichtner makes his directorial debut with Cold Brook (Nov. 8); LAPD officer Thomas Jane hunts cop killers in Crown Vic (Nov. 8); Shia LaBeouf gets autobiographical by playing his own dad in Honey Boy (Nov. 8); Patrick Wilson and Luke Evans enlist in Roland Emmerich's battle thriller Midway (Nov. 8); J.K. Simmons is Santa in hiding in the animated Klaus (Nov. 8); It's releasing two weeks past Halloween, but The Lodge (Nov. 15) could be a sleeper horror breakout; Ian McKellen and Helen Mirren play cat-and-mouse in Bill Condon's The Good Liar (Nov. 15); Omar Epps and Kate Walsh are astronauts who make a shocking discovery in 3022 (Nov. 22); Anthony Hopkins and Jonathan Pryce are The Two Popes for Netflix (Nov. 27)
The Theory of Everything Oscar nominees Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones reteam to explore the sky in The Aeronauts (Dec. 6); Céline Sciamma was the first female director to win Cannes' Queer Palm for historical drama Portrait of a Lady on Fire (Dec. 6); Aaron Taylor-Johnson hits rock bottom as a drug addict in A Million Little Pieces (Dec. 6); Cary Elwes and Imogeen Poots remake a 1974 horror staple with Black Christmas (Dec. 13); Look for more wool to be unspooled with Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon! (Dec. 13); Spouses Melissa McCarthy and Ben Falcone reteam for spy comedy Superintelligence (Dec. 20); Will Smith and Tom Holland dive into animated action with Spies in Disguise (Dec. 25); Alfre Woodard could score her first Oscar nomination in over 35 years for Sundance winner Clemency (Dec. 27); Kristen Stewart is French New Wave star Jean Seberg in, well, Seberg (Winter TBD).
Read more on Yahoo Entertainment:
Want daily pop culture news delivered to your inbox? Sign up here for Yahoo Entertainment & Lifestyle's newsletter.
