The movie season is about to start amid ongoing actors’ and writers’ strikes that have forced the postponement of some of the movies, including “Dune: Part Two,” until the following year. But – for the time being — the majority of the film schedule has held.
There are a ton of prequels and sequels coming out, just like the summer. One more “Nun,” three more “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” films, four more “Expendables,” and ten more “Saw” films. However, many of the most eagerly awaited films are huge historical dramas, festival favorites, and contenders for prizes.
“Cassandro” (in theaters Sept. 15, streams on Prime Video Sept. 22)
Gael García Bernal gives one of his best performances in Roger Ross Williams’ biopic about lucha libre wrestler Saúl Armendáriz. Williams, the veteran documentary filmmaker, makes his narrative debut with this drama about the openly gay wrestler who became a fan favorite in a traditionally homophobic sport. Bad Bunny co-stars.
“Dumb Money” (in theaters Sept. 22, wide Oct. 6)
The GameStop stock trading frenzy gets a rousing and comic big-screen telling in Craig Gillespie’s “Dumb Money.” Paul Dano stars as Keith Gill, the small-time investor who helped rally a historic short squeeze on hedge funds who had bet that GameStop’s future was dismal. Gillespie’s film features a freewheeling ensemble including Pete Davidson, Anthony Ramos, Seth Rogen, Shailene Woodley, America Ferrera and Nick Offerman.
“Fair Play” (in theaters Sept. 29, on Netflix Oct. 13)
Hedge funds also play a role in writer-director Chloe Domont’s drama about sexual politics and gender dynamics in the high-charged, male-dominated world of finance. Phoebe Dynevor (“Bridgerton) and Alden Ehrenreich (“Solo”) star as two analysts for the same firm whose secret romance spills into the corporate backstabbing at their hedge fund. “Fair Play,” credited with reviving the erotic thriller at the Sundance Film Festival, is sure to generate conversation from Netflix watchers.
ALSO OPENING:
Sept. 8: “My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3” (in theaters); “The Nun II” (in theaters); “Aristotle & Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe” (in theaters); “El Conde” (in theaters; on Netflix Sept. 15)
Sept. 15: “A Haunting in Venice” (in theaters); “Love at First Sight” (Netflix); “The Inventor” (in theaters); “Camp Hideout” (in theaters); “Canary” (in theaters); “A Million Miles Away” (in theaters); “Invisible Beauty” (in theaters)
Sept. 18: “Superpower” (Paramount+)
Sept. 19: “The Saint of Second Chances (Netflix)
Sept. 22: “Expend4bles” (in theaters); “Flora and Son” (in theaters; streaming Sept. 29 on Apple TV+); “It Lives Inside” (in theaters); “Neither Confirm Nor Deny” (in theaters); “Spy Kids: Armageddon” (Netflix)
Sept 27: “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar” (Netflix)
Sept. 29: “The Creator” (in theaters); “The Kill Room” (in theaters); “Carlos” (in theaters); “She Came to Me” (in theaters); “PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie” (in theaters); “Saw X” (in theaters); “Dicks: The Musical” (in theaters)
MOVIES RELEASING IN OCTOBER
“Anatomy of a Fall” (in theaters Oct. 13)
Justine Triet’s courtroom drama, the Palme d’Or winner at the Cannes Film Festival, puts a marriage on trial. Sandra Hüller stars as a fiction writer charged with killing her husband after he plunges to his death from the second story of their French Alps home. On the stand, the intricacies of their relationship unspools in a twisty investigation that doubles as a showcase for Hüller.
“Killers of the Flower Moon” (in theaters Oct. 20)
Martin Scorsese’s adaptation of David Grann’s acclaimed 2017 nonfiction book centers on the rampant murders of members of the Osage tribe in the 1920s. In Scorsese’s hands, the tale is a sprawling, three-and-a-half-hour true-crime saga of American corruption and greed. Lily Gladstone gives a standout performance, while Scorsese regulars Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro also excel. With a score by the late Robbie Robertson.
“Priscilla” (in theaters Oct. 27)
A year after Baz Luhrmann’s razzle-dazzle big-screen biopic of Elvis Presley, Sofia Coppola captures the life of Priscilla Presley in a far more restrained and subtle dramatization. Cailee Spaeny stars as Presley’s wife in a film drawn partly from Priscilla Presley herself (she serves as executive producer) and her 1985 memoir, “Elvis and Me.” Jacob Elordi co-stars as Elvis.
ALSO OPENING
Oct. 6: “Foe” (in theaters); “The Burial” (in theaters, streams on Prime Video Oct. 13); “Plan C” (in theaters); “Joan Baez: I Am Noise” (in theaters); “Reptile” (Netflix); The Exorcist: Believer” (in theaters)
Oct. 13: “Taylor Swift – The Eras Tour” (in theaters); “The Persian Version” (in theaters; expands Nov. 3)
Oct. 18: “The Delinquents” (in theaters)
Oct. 20: “Radical” (in theaters); “Old Dads” (Netflix); “Nyad” (in theaters; on Netflix Nov. 3); “Pain Hustlers” (in theaters; on Netflix Oct. 27)
Oct. 23: “Beyond Utopia” (in theaters)
Oct. 27: “Five Nights at Freddy’s” (in theaters); “Fingernails” (in theaters; on Apple TV+ Nov. 3); “The Holdovers” (in theaters, expands Nov. 10); “The Killer” (in theaters; on Netflix Nov. 10)
MOVIES RELEASING IN NOVEMBER
“Rustin” (in theaters Nov. 3; on Netflix Nov. 17)
Colman Domingo stars as the civil rights activist and 1963 March on Washington architect Bayard Rustin. Director George C. Wolfe’s film, set in the build-up to that protest (site of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech) is a portrait of a less widely known ’60s figure and gay Black man who played an enormous role in the civil rights movement.
“The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes” (in theaters Nov. 17)
Eight years after the last “Hunger Games” movie (“Mockingjay – Part 2”) a prequel is returning to the science fiction dystopia of Panem. Francis Lawrence’s film, set 64 years before the events of the first “Hunger Games” film, introduces a host of new characters in the lead-up to the 10th Hunger Games. Its cast includes Tom Blyth, Rachel Zegler, Peter Dinklage and Viola Davis.
“Napoleon” (in theaters Nov. 22)
More than two decades after making the 2000 historical epic “Gladiator,” Ridley Scott and Joaquin Phoenix are again plunging into the pages of history. Phoenix stars as the French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, with Vanessa Kirby as the empress Joséphine Bonaparte.
ALSO OPENING:
Nov. 3: “Quiz Lady” (Hulu); “Sly” (Netflix); “What Happens Later” (in theaters)
Nov. 10: “The Marvels” (in theaters); “Dream Scenario” (in theaters); “Orlando, My Political Biography” (in theaters)
Nov. 15: “Stamped From the Beginning” (Netflix);
Nov. 17: “Next Goal Wins”; “Trolls Band Together” (in theaters); “Thanksgiving” (in theaters); “Please Don’t Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountain” (Peacock); “May December” (in theaters; on Netflix Dec. 1)
Nov. 22: “Wish” (in theaters); “Maestro” (in theaters; on Netflix Dec. 20); “Leo” (Netflix)
Nov. 24: “Saltburn” (in theaters)
Nov. 30: “Family Switch” (Netflix)
