18 Movies We Cant Wait to See This Fall

Prepare thyself for vampire fascists, demonic crime lords, and a trip to the chocolate factory.

Photo-Illustration: Vulture; Photos: A24, Focus Features, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Releasing, Warner Bros. Pictures

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Around here, the Venice Film Festival marks the start of the fall movie season. Stars will glide in on gondolas and unveil some of this year’s most promising titles, including new movies from some of our favorite directors — Sofia Coppola (Priscilla), David Fincher (The Killer), Michael Mann (Ferrari), and Pablo Larraín (El Conde) among them. Most will hit U.S. theaters in the weeks and months to come alongside the likes of Killers of the Flower Moon, Dune 2, and Ridley Scott’s take on Napoleon. Strap in for awards season, in other words, though this fall is packing more than just statue bait. Did you know we’re now up to ten Saw movies? Ten! A24, meanwhile, has made its first musical: Dicks: The Musical, which until recently we’d been calling F**king Identical Twins. And Harmony Korine will surely bamboozle us all with Aggro Dr1ft, a film shot all in infrared(?) and at least partly preoccupied with demonic crime lords and swords(??). There’s too much weird and great and silly stuff coming to squeeze into one paragraph. So we’ll let Vulture’s esteemed movies writers guide you from here.

September

My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3

“A lot has happened since my big fat Greek wedding,” says Nia Vardalos in the trailer for the third installment in what is now officially a cinematic franchise. In this one, Vardalos and her clan head to Greece for a family reunion in honor of her late father, Gus, played by Michael Constantine, who died in 2021. John Corbett, a man who truly knows his lane, is back again as another much-beloved love interest of the early aughts. (In theaters September 8.) —Rachel Handler

A Haunting in Venice

Kenneth Branagh’s latest Hercule Poirot mystery adapts one of Agatha Christie’s lesser-known works, 1969’s Hallowe’en Party, and ports the action (a murder at a séance) from a small English village to Venice. Michelle Yeoh, Tina Fey, and Branagh’s Belfast boys Jamie Dornan and Jude Hill are among the suspects — or, perhaps, the victims. (In theaters September 15.) —Nate Jones

Dumb Money

In this Big Short–esque, Craig Gillespie–directed financial biodrama — the highest-profile project in an onslaught of GameStop-related limited series, documentaries, TV movies, docuseries, and feature films headed to the screen — Paul Dano portrays Keith Gill, the securities broker who brought Wall Street to its knees in 2021. He grew an initial $53,000 investment into a $48 million fortune by relentlessly cheerleading junk stock from GameStop across social media and Reddit threads — inspiring a grassroots amateur-investor revolution that wrested power away from hedge-fund managers to stranglehold the options-trading market. Think: Moneyball for shitposting stonks bros. (In select theaters September 15 and wide release October 6.) —Chris Lee

The Creator

In this dystopian sci-fi thriller from Welsh Rogue One director Gareth Edwards, AI is the enemy. John David Washington plays an ex-special forces agent in a world of robots-versus-humans warfare tasked with a mission to assassinate the elusive mastermind behind advanced artificial-intelligence tech that could either obliterate mankind or finally enable lasting peace. Traveling into the “dark heart of AI-occupied territory,” however, David discovers the weapon he’s hunting is but a small child (or at least a cyborg in kid’s clothing), triggering some latent paternal instinct. From there, at least judging from its trailer, there are more tonal similarities to Children of Men than The Terminator. (In theaters September 29.) —C.L.

More anticipated films:

Nandor Fodor and the Talking Mongoose (in theaters September 1), Perpetrator (streaming on Shudder September 1), The Good Mother (in theaters September 1), The Equalizer 3 (in theaters September 1), The Nun 2 (in theaters September 8), Sitting in Bars With Cake (streaming on Prime Video September 8), Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe (in theaters September 8), Rotting in the Sun (in theaters September 8), Satanic Hispanics (in theaters September 14), Love at First Sight (streaming on Netflix September 15), A Million Miles Away (streaming on Prime Video September 15), El Conde (streaming on Netflix September 15), Outlaw Johnny Black (in theaters September 15), Elevator Game (streaming on Shudder September 15), The Inventor (in theaters September 15), The Saint of Second Chances (streaming on Netflix September 19), Expend4bles (in theaters September 22), Stop Making Sense (in theaters September 22), Cassandro (streaming on Prime Video September 22), Drive-Away Dolls (in theaters September 22), Barber (in theaters and on demand September 22), It Lives Inside (in theaters September 22), No One Will Save You (streaming on Hulu September 22), Spy Kids: Armageddon (streaming on Netflix September 22), The Wonderful World of Henry Sugar (streaming on Netflix September 27), Dicks: The Musical (in theaters September 29), The Kill Room (in theaters September 29), Saw X (in theaters September 29), She Came to Me (in theaters September 29), Flora and Son (streaming on Apple TV+ September 29), and Fair Play (in theaters September 29 and streaming October 13).

October

Anatomy of a Fall

When it premiered at Cannes, there was little doubt that Justine Triet’s existential procedural was headed for a big win; it wound up with the Palme d’Or. Can it break through with a broader audience when it opens in the U.S.? Bet on it: This impeccably acted tale of a German academic suspected of murder in France after her husband’s death from a mysterious fall isn’t just a thoughtful exploration of the nature of uncertainty and innocence — it’s also a riveting courtroom drama that often prompts mid-movie applause whenever it shows. And not just for the absolutely infectious cover of 50 Cent’s “P.I.M.P.” from the Hamburg-based Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band that plays repeatedly throughout the movie. (In theaters October 13.) —B.E.

Killers of the Flower Moon

It already showed at Cannes to many hosannas and some controversy, and yet Martin Scorsese’s nearly four-hour adaptation of David Grann’s history about the Osage murders of the 1920s continues to be one of the most anticipated films of the year. That’s partly because it unites longtime Scorsese actors Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro onscreen in one of the director’s movies for the first time. The film itself is spectacular and complicated: It isn’t the true-crime mystery the book was, nor is it really a western or a gangster movie. Rather, it’s the story of a tragic, bizarre, heartbreaking marriage. And despite all the fine work by the bigger names in the cast, at the center of it all, carrying so much of the film’s emotional weight, is Lily Gladstone, who will surely be a major star by the time this year is over. (In theaters October 20.) —Bilge Ebiri

Priscilla

Sofia Coppola, the maestro of movies about women adjacent to power, turns to what looks like an ideal topic: Priscilla Presley’s relationship with Elvis Presley, which began when she was the painfully young age of 14. Coppola has cast the baby-faced Cailee Spaeny as her star (Jacob Elordi plays the King), and is drawing from Presley’s own 1985 memoir, with the results looking to be as troubling as they are dreamlike. (In theaters October 27.) —Alison Willmore

More anticipated films:

Strange Way of Life (in theaters October 4), Foe (in theaters October 6), Cat Person (in theaters October 6), The Burial (in select theaters October 6 and streaming on Prime Video October 13), Pet Sematary: Bloodlines (streaming on Paramount+ October 6), Reptile (streaming on Netflix October 6), Totally Killer (streaming on Prime Video October 6), True Love (in theaters October 6), PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie (in theaters October 13), The Exorcist: Believer (in theaters October 13), The Persian Version (in theaters October 13), Ordinary Angels (in theaters October 13), What Happens Later (in theaters October 13), The Delinquents (in theaters October 18), Onyx the Fortuitous and the Talisman of Souls (in theaters October 19), Nyad (in theaters October 20), Radical (in theaters October 20), The Other Zoe (in theaters October 20), Underdoggs (in theaters October 20), Old Dads (streaming on Netflix October 20), Pigeon Tunnel (in theaters and streaming on Apple TV+ October 20), Full Circle (in theaters October 20), Four Daughters (in theaters October 27), Fingernails (in theaters October 27), Five Nights at Freddy’s (in theaters October 27), Sight (in theaters October 27), and Pain Hustlers (streaming on Netflix October 27)

November

Dune: Part Two

Remember how Denis Villeneuve’s Dune just kind of … ended? Well, good news: The plan all along had been to adapt only the first half of Frank Herbert’s sci-fi epic, and since that worked pretty well for everyone involved, Denis & Co. are coming back to finish the job. Timothée Chalamet will become Muad’Dib by nature, and Zendaya will hopefully get more than a few lines. Plus Austin Butler, Christopher Walken, Léa Seydoux, and Florence Pugh. (In theaters November 3.) —N.J.

The Killer

Michael Fassbender’s been off-screen since his last turn as Magneto in 2019’s X-Men: Dark Phoenix; this fall, the toothy Irish actor is back in two plum roles. In addition to showing off his comedic side in Taika Waititi’s Next Goal Wins, Fassbender’s taking the title role in David Fincher’s The Killer, adapted from the French graphic novel of the same name. Admittedly, the film world is not exactly short on stories about enigmatic assassins, but given the talent involved — the cast also includes Charles Parnell and Tilda Swinton — this seems like the kind of project that will be fueled by its sense of style and cool. (Streaming on Netflix November 10.) —A.W.

Thanksgiving

Based on the trailer for this outlandishly violent, ’70s-style slasher movie (which showcases a topless cheerleader doing the splits onto a carving knife), writer-director Eli Roth’s feature-length Turkey Day takeout will be an exercise in arterial splatter and downmarket production values — if not all-around bad taste. Expect cheesy kills and terrible puns (“This year there will be no leftovers!”), body reveals in the style of yesteryear schlock, and cheap jump scares with a wink. That is all to say: a deeply referential reimagining of down-and-dirty cinema from one of the most hated filmmakers in Hollywood. (In theaters November 17.) —C.L.

May December

Todd Haynes reunites with frequent collaborator Julianne Moore, who plays Gracie Atherton-Yoo, a Savannah housewife who once went to jail for having a sexual relationship with the 13-year-old boy who’s now her 23-years-younger husband (Charles Melton). Gracie’s efforts to smooth over the scandals of the past start to fail when an actress (Natalie Portman) who’s been cast to play Gracie in a movie arrives to shadow the couple, asking questions they aren’t entirely ready to answer. It’s Ingmar Bergman’s Persona by way of Mary Kay Letourneau. (In theaters November 17.) —A.W.

Next Goal Wins

Despite many others’ claims to doing so, Taika Waititi appears to be one of the few franchise directors actively pursuing a one-for-them, one-for-me strategy. He followed up Thor: Ragnarok with the Oscar-winning Jojo Rabbit. Now he’s following up Thor: Love and Thunder with this based-on-fact comedy about Thomas Rongen (Michael Fassbender), the down-on-his-luck former footballer who was hired to coach American Samoa’s moribund national soccer team in 2011. The film had its share of production delays, most notably when co-star Armie Hammer got canceled and his scenes were reshot with Will Arnett. That’s kind of funny already. (In theaters November 17.) —B.E.

Napoleon

Ridley Scott historical epics can be tedious or magnificent — sometimes both. But there’s also a reason why Stanley Kubrick spent the better part of three decades trying to make a Napoleon Bonaparte movie — it’s a story filled with heroism and lunacy and tragedy, with outsize emotions, elaborate betrayals, massive battles, and a cast of fascinating characters. And Scott might be the director best able to juggle all those elements today: Now 85, he has been in an unusually creative period in recent years, making confident, ambitious entertainment that still retains a sense of personality. Napoleon looks to be perhaps the most extravagant film of his career. (In theaters November 22.) —B.E.

More anticipated films:

American Fiction (in theaters November 3), Nyad (streaming on Netflix November 3), Fingernails (streaming on Apple TV+ November 3), Quiz Lady (streaming on Hulu November 3), Rustin (in theaters November 3), The Holdovers (in theaters November 10), The Marvels (in theaters November 10), Dream Scenario (in theaters November 10), Marmalade (in theaters November 10), Best. Christmas. Ever! (streaming on Netflix November 16), The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (in theaters November 17), Please Don’t Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountain (streaming on Peacock November 17), Trolls Band Together (in theaters November 17), May December (in theaters November 17), Leo (streaming on Netflix November 21), Maestro (in theaters November 22), Saltburn (in theaters November 24), and Wish (in theaters November 22)

December

Poor Things

In Yorgos Lanthimos’s latest, an adaptation of Alisdair Gray’s 1992 novel, Emma Stone is back and ultra-bizarre as Bella Baxter, a Victorian woman who drowns and is then brought back to life by Willem Dafoe’s Dr. Godwin Baxter, a “brilliant and unorthodox scientist.” Bella is, in her new and undead state, wonky — her “brain and body are not quite synchronized,” which means she does things like punch strangers in the face and run off with Mark Ruffalo on a “whirlwind adventure” across the world. Expect a lot of the Lanthimos classics: fish-eye lenses, choreographed dance sequences, Emma Stone going the hell off, deadpan line delivery, displays of ravenous horniness, and people dramatically slapping one another. (In theaters December 8.) —R.H.

Anyone But You

Glenn Powell and Sydney Sweeney have such crackling chemistry that their efforts to promote this Will Gluck rom com — the flirty CinemaCon appearance! the video of Sweeney falling off a sofa into Powell’s arms! — got the internet convinced the pair were an IRL item. We’ll see if that connection translates to the screen, where the two will play former nemeses who pretend to be in a relationship while at a friend’s wedding. (In theaters December 15.) —A.W.

Wonka

Timothee Chalamet portrays the eccentric Everlasting Gobstopper inventor in this prequel to 1971’s Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Unlike Gene Wilder’s take on the character (a guy all too accepting of child dismemberment and blueberrification), Chalamet leans into whimsy, adding youthful mischief to Wonka’s madcap bombast while standing up to haters in the “Chocolate Cartel.” There are supposedly seven musical numbers although none of that song and dance has appeared in a trailer to date. Did we mention Hugh Grant plays an Oompa Loompa? (In theaters December 15.) —C.L.

Ferrari

Michael Mann has been trying to make this film about the legendary race car manufacturer Enzo Ferrari for decades now; the script dates back to the days of Last of the Mohicans and Heat. Adam Driver plays the lead role, and Penelope Cruz plays his wife Laura. The film is not a typical biopic, taking place during one pivotal and dramatic season in the auto maker’s fortunes. And given that it’s Mann, it’s a fair bet to say that the emotional, intimate components of the protagonists’ lives will be given as much weight as the car racing. (In theaters December 25.) —B.E.

More anticipated films:

Godzilla Minus One (in theaters December 1), Eileen (in theaters December 1), The Bikeriders (in theaters December 1), Magazine Dreams (in theaters December 8), Leave the World Behind (streaming on Netflix December 8), The Zone of Interest (in theaters December 8), Raging Grace (in theaters December 8), Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget (in theaters December 15), Maestro (streaming on Netflix December 20), Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (in theaters December 20), Migration (in theaters December 22), All of Us Strangers (in theaters December 22), The Iron Claw (in theaters December 22), Rebel Moon (streaming on Netflix December 22), The Color Purple (in theaters December 25), The Boys in the Boat (in theaters December 25), Occupied City (in theaters December 25), and Praise This (in theaters December 31)

Even more anticipated films that could (or should or might) come out this fall:

The Boy and the Heron

Hayao Miyazaki retired from filmmaking after The Wind Rises in 2013, but there’s no keeping a grouchy workaholic genius down. Just a few years after that, the animation legend unretired to start work on what would eventually be called The Boy and the Heron. Like The Wind Rises, this new film is set during World War II, this time focusing on a 12-year-old boy who, while grieving the death of his mother and struggling to adjust to a new home, finds his way to a magical dimension. —A.W.

Plus: Aggro Dr1ft, The Curse, The Archies, Hit Man, All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt, Origin, Evil Does Not Exist, Finestkind, and The Sweet East

Thank you for subscribing and supporting our journalism. If you prefer to read in print, you can also find this article in the August 28, 2023, issue of New York Magazine.

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