Fall films hope to maintain Hollywood’s summer momentum
The summer movie season has drawn to a close, and by box office measures, it’s been a good one. Crowd-pleasing films including “Avengers,” “Incredibles” and “Crazy Rich Asians” sold even more tickets than expected, leaving filmmakers and producers hopeful that the momentum will continue this fall.
This season, potential blockbusters will rub elbows with horror films and prestige titles angling for Academy Award nominations, along with a respectable smattering of indie offerings. Among the titles with buzz: a new take on scare-fare classic “Halloween” headlined by original star Jamie Lee Curtis; big-budget remake “A Star Is Born” with Bradley Cooper (also the director) as a musician battling bad habits who romances an up-and-comer played by Lady Gaga; and “Spider-Man” spin-off “Venom,” a tentpole offering from the comic-book genre starring Tom Hardy in his latest mushmouthed role.
Here’s a list of films opening through December, with projected release dates.
Note: Dates and movie production schedules are subject to change.
SEPTEMBER
>> “The Nun” (Friday): A gothic supernatural horror film and spinoff in “The Conjuring” franchise.
Don't miss out on what's happening!
Stay in touch with top news, as it happens, conveniently in your email inbox. It's FREE!
>> “The Predator” (Sept. 14): Shane Black’s fourth installment in “The Predator” films, with Boyd Holbrook, Trevante Rhodes and Jacob Tremblay.
>> “The Land of Steady Habits” (Sept. 14): Ben Mendelsohn stars as a Connecticut divorcee in midlife crisis in Nicole Holofcener’s adaptation of Ted Thompson’s 2014 novel.
>> “White Boy Rick” (Sept. 14): Yann Demange’s 1980s true-life tale about the youngest alleged FBI informant ever, with Matthew McConaughey.
>> “The House With a Clock in its Walls” (Sept. 21): A fantasy of witches and warlocks, starring Jack Black and Cate Blanchett.
>> “The Sisters Brothers” (Sept. 21): Joaquin Phoenix and John C. Reilly play brother assassins in Jacques Audiard’s Western.
>> “Night School” (Sept. 28): Kevin Hart plays the student and Tiffany Haddish the teacher in this GED comedy.
>> “Smallfoot” (Sept. 28): An inverted animated fable where a Yeti is convinced that humans exist.
>> “The Old Man and the Gun” (Sept. 28): Robert Redford stars as an aged bank robber in David Lowery’s based-on-a-true-story heist movie.
ALSO PLAYING: “A Simple Favor” (Sept. 14), “The Children Act” (Sept. 14), “Lizzie” (Sept. 14), Collette” (Sept. 21), “Life Itself” (Sept. 21), “Love, Gilda” (Sept. 21), “Quincy” (Sept. 21), “Hold the Dark”( Sept. 28)
OCTOBER
>> “Venom” (Oct. 5): Tom Hardy stars in Marvel’s Spider-Man spinoff.
>> “Private Life” (Oct. 5): Paul Giamatti and Kathryn Hahn play a New York couple navigating assisted reproduction in Tamara Jenkins’ semi-autobiographical tale.
>> “A Star Is Born” (Oct. 5): Bradley Cooper’s directorial debut is a remake of the 1937 film, starring himself and Lady Gaga.
>> “Bad Times at the El Royale” (Oct. 12): Seven strangers meet at Lake Tahoe motel in Drew Goddard’s thriller.
>> “First Man” (Oct. 12): Damien Chazelle’s dramatization of Neil Armstrong’s mission to the moon, starring Ryan Gosling.
>> “Beautiful Boy” (Oct. 12): Steve Carell and Timothee Chalamet play father and son in this adaption of David and Nic Sheff’s memoirs about addiction.
>> “Halloween” (Oct. 19): Michael Meyers returns in David Gordon Green’s installment in the long-running horror franchise.
>> “The Hate U Give” (Oct. 19): A young woman struggles for justice after her childhood friend is shot by police.
>> “Can You Forgive Me” (Oct. 19): Marielle Heller directs Melissa McCarthy in this story about a struggling writer who resorts to forging famous letters.
ALSO PLAYING: “The Happy Prince” (Oct. 5), “22 July” (Oct. 10), “Goosebumps 2” (Oct. 12), “The Oath” (Oct. 12), “What They Had” (Oct. 12), “The Kindergarten Teacher” (Oct. 12), “Serenity” (Oct. 19), “Johnny English Strikes Again” (Oct. 26), “Hunter Killer” (Oct. 26), “Overlord” (Oct. 26)
NOVEMBER
>> “Nobody’s Fool” (Nov. 2): Tiffany Haddish and Tika Sumpter play sisters in Tyler Perry’s comedy.
>> “Bohemian Rhapsody” (Nov. 2): A biopic of Queen frontman Freddie Mercury, from director Bryan Singer.
>> “The Nutcracker and the Four Realms” (Nov. 2): Disney’s lavish live-action fantasy is inspired by E.T.A. Hoffmann’s original story.
>> “The Front Runner” (Nov. 7): Jason Reitman’s film is about Gary Hart’s scandal-plagued 1988 presidential campaign, with Hugh Jackman.
>> “Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch” (Nov. 9): An animated remake of the holiday classic, with Benedict Cumberbatch voicing the Whoville killjoy.
>> “The Girl in the Spider’s Web” (Nov. 9): A reboot of the Lisbeth Salander thriller, from the fourth book in the series, with Claire Foy taking over for Rooney Mara.
>> “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald” (Nov. 16): The second installment in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter prequels, with Johnny Depp as Gellert Grindelwald.
>> “Widows” (Nov. 16): Steve McQueen’s “12 Years a Slave” follow-up is a heist movie, where the job in question is carried out by the widows of four slain thieves.
>> “Creed II” (Nov. 21): Michael B. Jordan returns as the young Adonis Creed to fight the son of Ivan Drago.
>> “Green Book” (Nov. 21): Peter Farrelly’s road movie is about a Jamaican-American classical pianist (Mahershala Ali) touring the Deep South with his white driver (Viggo Mortensen).
>> “Ralph Breaks the Internet” (Nov. 21): More destruction, this time by way of a wi-fi router, in this “Wreck-It Ralph” sequel.
>> “Robin Hood” (Nov. 21): Taron Egerton plays Robin Hood and Jamie Foxx is Little John in the latest version of the Nottingham legend.
>> “The Favourite” (Nov. 23): Yorgos Lanthimos’ drama is about two cousins (Emma Stone, Rachel Weisz) courting the favor of Queen Anne in 18th century England.
>> “If Beale Street Could Talk” (Nov. 30): Barry Jenkins’ adaptation of James Baldwin’s classic novel about love and injustice in early 1970s Harlem.
ALSO PLAYING: “Boy Erased” (Nov. 2), Suspiria” (Nov. 2), “The Other Side of the Wind” (Nov. 2), “Outlaw King” (Nov. 9), “At Eternity’s Gate” (Nov. 16), “Instant Family (Nov. 16), “Second Act” (Nov. 21), “Shoplifters” (Nov. 23)
DECEMBER
>> “Mary Queen of Scots” (Dec. 7): Saoirse Ronan stars as the Scottish monarch Mary Stuart and Margot Robbie as her half-sister Queen Elizabeth I.
>> “Ben Is Back” (Dec. 7): A long lost son (Lucas Hedges) returns home to his mother (Julia Roberts).
>> “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” (Dec. 14): Parallel dimension Spider-Men collide in an animated alternate reality.
>> “Mary Poppins Returns” (Dec. 19): Rob Marshall’s sequel to the 1964 original stars Emily Blunt as the magical nanny.
>> “Aquaman” (Dec. 21): Jason Momoa’s undersea ruler gets his first solo movie.
>> “Bumblebee” (Dec. 21): The “Transformers” spinoff is a prequel to 2007’s “Transformers” centered on the small, yellow Autobot.
>> “Welcome to Marwen” (Dec. 21): Robert Zemeckis’ fantasy stars Steve Carell as an assault victim who builds a miniature World War II village in his yard.
>> “Holmes & Watson” (Dec. 21): A comic twist on Arthur Conan Doyle’s detectives, starring Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly.
>> “On the Basis of Sex” (Dec. 28): Felicity Jones stars as a young Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
>> “Roma” (Dec., undated): Alfonso Cuaron’s semi-autobiographical black-and-white tale of a young domestic worker in the middle-class neighborhood of Mexico City’s Roma, set in the 1970s.
ALSO PLAYING: “Under the Silver Lake” (Dec. 7), “Mortal Engines” (Dec. 14), “Cold War” (Dec. 21), “Alita: Battle Angel” (Dec. 21)