When looking at the fall movie release schedule for the United States and Canada, there's a real feeling of uncertainty that's reminiscent of 2020/21. Back then, the schedule was being upended due to an ongoing global pandemic. Now, things are getting disrupted by the incurable disease of corporate greed as the billionaire CEO's of the biggest studios in Hollywood refuse to give up a fraction of their companies annual earnings (and more importantly, their own $100+ million annual salaries) or to put safeguards in place to protect against the potential looming threat of AI to help provide the people that allow them to make so much money with some financial security and assurances that their jobs won't eventually be replaced by robots.
Since the strikes have impacted productions and/or the promotion of films to varying degrees since May 2nd when the WGA hit the picket lines and subsequently, continuously lowered the odds of many productions that were originally slated for release in 2024 of keeping their dates or possibly even being released in the calendar year at all, delays of films that are picture locked or deep into post-production to take the place of those films that have yet to wrap shooting on the calendar are inevitable. Over the past month and a half, Challengers, Drive-Away Dolls, Kraven the Hunter, Dune: Part II and the currently untitled new Ghostbusters film have all been removed from the fall slate and been dispersed throughout the 2024 calendar. There are all but guaranteed to be more titles that join them in the coming weeks and while it's hard to pinpoint exactly what could be on the move at the moment, films currently slated for release in November and December boast the highest risk of a delay given the distance from the start of their marketing campaigns and their current release date.
As currently constructed however, the 2023 fall slate is a pretty exciting one. Auteurs (Michael Mann, Jonathan Glazer, Gareth Edwards) that have been away from movies for a bit are set to return with the types of bold dice rolls that cinephiles want to see from them, major franchises are getting fresh entries that aren't serving as a requel or reboot of their original entries (The Hunger Games: Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, Wonka, Saw X) and the prospective awards slate might be the biggest and most diverse that the industry has seen in the 2020's to date as everything from prestige biopics (Maestro, Priscilla, Rustin) to an original dramedy about a group of unlikely people coming together at the holidays (The Holdovers) to whatever the hell Yorgos Lanthimos has been cooking up over the last few years (Poor Things) are set to debut on the festival circuit over the coming weeks. Here are the 10 movies expected to release from September-December that I'm most excited to watch.
10.The Bikeriders (December 1):
While I haven't loved all of Jeff Nichols' (Mud, Take Shelter) movies, a character study focusing on the formation, corruption and eventual demise of a midwestern motorcycle club during the 60's seems like something that's right in his wheelhouse creatively. Not to mention, the ensemble cast he put together for The Bikeriders (Tom Hardy, Jodie Comer, Austin Butler, Michael Shannon, Boyd Holbrook, Damon Herriman, Mike Faist, Norman Reedus, Toby Wallace, Emory Cohen, Beau Knapp, Karl Glusman) might be the single most talented group of actors he's ever worked with.
9.The Iron Claw (December 22):
What I wrote above about The Bikeriders could be copied-and-pasted here. Sean Durkin (Martha Marcy May Marlene, The Nest) seems like just the filmmaker to be tasked with making a powerful movie about the triumphs and tragedy that defined the pro wrestling careers and personal lives of the Von Erich family while the actors playing the members of the family (Zac Efron, Harris Dickinson, Jeremy Allen White, Holt McCallany, Stanley Simons, Maxwell Jacob Friedman) all have the charisma and fearlessness to capture all the nuances of these characters no matter how light, dark or gray they end up being.
8.Dumb Money (September 15):
Is it arguably too soon to be making a movie about the Gamestop short squeeze saga that generated a ton of headlines in the spring of 2020 and still really hasn't been resolved as of today? Perhaps. Will that prevent Dumb Money from being good? Of course not. YouTube/Reddit stock market pundits and the retail investors they inspired effectively sabotaging the efforts of hedge fund managers and their counterparts to cash-in on the failure of a major company makes for a mighty compelling dramedy hook and with the diverse skill sets of the actors (Paul Dano, Pete Davidson, America Ferrara, Anthony Ramos, Nick Offerman, Seth Rogen, Vincent D'Onfrio, Sebastian Stan, Shailene Woodley, Myha'la Harrold, Talia Ryder, Dane DeHann, Rushi Kota) and director involved (Craig Gillespie), it could end up being this decade's answer to The Big Short.
7.Rebel Moon: Part One-A Child of Fire (TBD theaters/December 22 streaming):
A decade after his commitments to DC and Disney's acquisition of LucasFilm killed his efforts to make a Star Wars movie, Zack Snyder has reworked his original pitch into a full-blown original space opera trilogy entitled Rebel Moon. Freeing Snyder from the restrictions of Star Wars lore and the perpetually disgruntled chorus of online voices that allegedly are fans of the franchise is a blessing in disguise as he gets the opportunity to really run wild with the creation of his own world. Based on what was disclosed in the behind-the-scenes Vanity Fair piece a few months back and the first teaser trailer that was released last week, he did just that as the first film A Child of Fire appears to be visually stunning, ambitious in its worldbuilding aspirations and full of huge intergalactic action setpieces. Hopefully the rumored limited nationwide theatrical run similar to what Netflix did for Glass Onion last year comes to fruition because it would be a shame if something this huge in size and scope ended up exclusively showing on small screens.
6.Poor Things (December 8):
I've never been more convinced that Disney doesn't know what they're picking up the tab for over at 20th Century/Searchlight then when the 1st trailer for Poor Things was released back in May. There's just seemingly no fucking way that the Mouse House Brass would willingly give notorious sickos Yorgos Lanthimos and Tony McNamara-teaming up for the 2nd time after The Favourite-tens of millions of dollars to make a movie that more or less turns the premise of Frankenstein on its head by making it about a woman (Emma Stone) who seeks to escape the clutches of the possessive brilliant scientist (Willem Dafoe) that brought her back to life in order to see the world and discover who she is. The film also appears to have a quirky surrealist fantasy vibe and reportedly fully earns its R-rating with ample amounts of sex, gore and miscellaneous disturbing material. Poor Things is set to debut at Venice (and possibly Telluride) this weekend and I can't wait to get a better idea of exactly what kind of insane shit Lanthimos and McNamara got away with here when the initial reactions arrive.
5.Dream Scenario (November 10):
Anytime Nicolas Cage shows up in a non direct-to-VOD movie is reason to celebrate. When the movie in question is something that allows him to really tap into his eccentric, twisted sensibilities then there's grounds to throw a full-blown fucking parade. Dream Scenario marks one of those instances where a large planned gleeful procession of marching individuals and honking vehicles seems appropriate. In this dark fantasy satire from Norwegian filmmaker Kristoffer Borgil (Sick of Myself), Cage plays a struggling college professor who becomes an overnight celebrity after appearing in people's dreams. Joining Cage on this oddball endeavor is the likes of Michael Cera, Julianne Nicholson, Tim Meadows, Kate Berlant and Ari Aster-who serves as a producer. If Dream Scenario hits the right absurd and/or bleak notes, it could be one of the funniest movies of the year.
4.Saltburn (November 24):
Promising Young Woman is one of the most daring and compelling films that's come out in recent years and I can't wait to see what kind of madness Emerald Fennell has in store for her second film that focuses on a young man (Barry Keoghan) whose infatuation with his college classmate (Jacob Elordi) is tested when he's invited to spend the summer at his eccentric aristocratic family's lavish summer estate.
3.Next Goal Wins (November 17):
Given how Next Goal Wins' journey to get into theaters has gone so far, it'll likely get bumped into 2024 shortly. Regardless of whether it receives another delay or not, Taika Waititi's return to smaller movies looks like it could have the makings of a great sports dramedy and it'll be nice to see both Michael Fassbender and Elisabeth Moss appear in something that isn't overwhelmingly dreary for once.
2.Killers of the Flower Moon (October 20):
Martin Scorsese's latest based on David Grann's 2017 novel of the same name about a string of murders committed on the land of the Osage Nation in Oklahoma in the 1920's after oil was discovered there drew raves out of Cannes back in May, is said to be a massive early contender for a slew of awards at this year's Oscars and has produced two of the best trailers of the year so far. Getting the chance to see an epic Scorsese crime drama on the big screen again after The Irishman was (mostly) relegated to Netflix only further juices the hype surrounding this.
1.The Killer (October 27 theaters/November 10 streaming):
No disrespect for taking some time to make an unlikely passion project in Mank, but the gritty version of David Fincher will always be my favorite and that's exactly what we're getting with The Killer. His first re-teaming with screenwriter Andrew Kevin Walker since Seven is said to be a psychological drama/action thriller hybrid about an assassin (Michael Fassbender) who has to fight off his employers as well as his own mind to complete a job that he shares a deeply personal connection to. Safe to say, The Killer sounds like it has the makings of another Fincher classic and I'm beyond excited to see what he did here.
Also Plan on Seeing:
The Equalizer 3 (September 1)
El Conde (September 8 theaters/September 15 streaming)
My Animal (September 8)
A Haunting in Venice (September 15)
Expend4bles (September 22)
It Lives Inside (September 22)
The Creator (September 29)
Dicks: The Musical (September 29)
Fair Play (September 29 theaters/October 13 streaming)
Saw X (September 29)
Foe (October 6)
Freelance (October 6)
The Marsh King's Daughter (October 6)
Reptile (October 6)
Totally Killer (October 6)
Anatomy of a Fall (October 13)
Divinity (October 13)
Nyad (October 20 theaters/November 3 streaming)
The Holdovers (October 27)
Pain Hustlers (October 27)
Priscilla (October 27)
American Fiction (November 3)
Quiz Lady (November 3)
Rustin (November 3 theaters/November 17 streaming)
The Marvels (November 10)
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes (November 17)
May December (November 17 theaters/December 1 streaming)
Please Don't Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountain (November 17)
Thanksgiving (November 17)
Maestro (November 22 theaters/December 20 streaming)
Napoleon (November 22)
Eileen (December 1)
Leave the World Behind (December 8)
The Zone of Interest (December 8)
Anyone but You (December 15)
Wonka (December 15)
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (December 20)
All of Us Strangers (December 22)
Ferrari (December 25)
The Burial (TBD)
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