How about a little popcorn for the holidays? Here’s a sampling of what you’ll find on big and small screens all over town during the festive season. Note that all release dates are tentative and subject to change.
“Gladiator II”
No Russell Crowe, but there’s plenty of star power in Ridley Scott’s long-awaited sequel of ancient Rome, with Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, Connie Nielsen and Denzel Washington. (Out now)
“Wicked”
Technically “Wicked: Part 1,” though no one seems to call it that, this first of two movies based on the smash Broadway musical stars Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba and Ariana Grande as Glinda, two young witches in the Land of Oz. Jon M. Chu (“In the Heights,” “Crazy Rich Asians”) directs. (Out now)
“The Piano Lesson”
August Wilson’s acclaimed play, in which a Black family in 1930s Pittsburgh comes to terms with their past, arrives on screen, directed by Malcolm Washington and starring Samuel L. Jackson, John David Washington (both reprising their roles from the 2022 Broadway revival of the play) and Danielle Deadwyler. (Currently in theaters, also on Netflix)
“Moana 2”
Eight years after the original “Moana,” a Disney animated hit set in ancient Polynesia, comes a sequel, with Moana (voiced by Auli’i Cravalho) and Maui (Dwayne Johnson) are off on a new voyage to the far seas of Oceania. (Nov. 27)
“Queer”
Based on a 1985 novel by William S. Burroughs, this romantic drama follows an American expat (Daniel Craig) who finds himself attracted to a younger man (Drew Starkey). It’s directed by Luca Guadagnino (“Call Me by Your Name,” “I Am Love,” “Challengers”), who’s made a specialty of lushly filmed love stories. (Nov. 27)
“Maria”
Director Pablo Lorraín’s latest deep dive into the life of a prominent woman (previous works include “Spencer,” about Princess Diana, and “Jackie,” about Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis) takes place during the last days of the life of opera superstar Maria Callas, played by Angelina Jolie. (In select theaters Nov. 27, arrives on Netflix Dec. 11)
“The Order”
In this drama, based on true events that took place in the Pacific Northwest in the 1980s, Jude Law plays an FBI agent in pursuit of the leader (Nicholas Hoult) of a white supremacist terrorist group known as The Order. (Dec. 6)
“Y2K”
Seems a little late in the year for a horror comedy? Nonetheless, Kyle Mooney’s debut film is the story of two high-schoolers who crash a New Year’s Eve party in 1999. The cast includes Rachel Zegler (“West Side Story”), Jaeden Martell and Julian Dennison. (Dec. 6)
“Nightbitch”
Best title of the year? Writer/director Marielle Heller follows up “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” and “Can You Ever Forgive Me?” with this adaptation of Rachel Yoder’s 2021 novel, starring Amy Adams as a stay-at-home mother who transforms into a dog at night. (Dec. 6)
“Kraven the Hunter”
If you’re grieving the absence of Russell Crowe in “Gladiator II,” fear not: Here he is in the latest Marvel Comics installment, playing the father of big-game hunter Kraven (Aaron Taylor-Johnson). Ariana DeBose and Alessandro Nivola co-star. (Dec. 13)
“The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim”
And you thought this franchise was over? Not quite. This animated film uses the voices of Brian Cox and Miranda Otto to tell a story — visually inspired by Peter Jackson’s trilogy — of legendary king Helm Hammerhand, who became the namesake of Helm’s Deep. (Dec. 13)
“September 5”
Another drama based on true events, this one goes back to 1972, when a group of sports journalists at the Summer Olympics in Munich found themselves covering a hostage crisis. Peter Sarsgaard, John Magaro and Ben Chaplin star. (Dec. 13)
“Mufasa: The Lion King”
Barry Jenkins, acclaimed director of “Moonlight” and “If Beale Street Could Talk,” takes on his first animated feature: a photorealistic “Lion King” sequel featuring the voices of Aaron Pierre, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Seth Rogen and Beyoncé. (Dec. 20)
“The Fire Inside”
Speaking of Jenkins, he wrote the screenplay for this fact-based drama about Olympic boxer Claressa “T-Rex” Shields (Ryan Destiny). Oscar-nominated cinematographer Rachel Morrison (“Mudbound”) makes her feature directing debut. (Dec. 25)
“Babygirl”
Lots of buzz out of the international film festival circuit this fall about this erotic thriller: Nicole Kidman won the best actress award at the Venice Film Festival for her role as a CEO who becomes involved with a younger man (Harris Dickinson). Dutch filmmaker Halina Reijn directs. (Dec. 25)
“Nosferatu”
A little bloodsucking for the holidays? More than a century after F.W. Murnau’s silent vampire film “Nosferatu” (itself based on Bram Stoker’s novel “Dracula”) comes this gothic remake, with a cast featuring Bill Skarsgård, Nicholas Hoult, Lily-Rose Depp, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Emma Corrin and Willem Dafoe. (Dec. 25)
“A Complete Unknown”
Timothée Chalamet plays Bob Dylan. You need to know any more than that? (Dec. 25)
“Nickel Boys”
Based on Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, this drama follows two boys at an abusive reform school in 1960s Florida. Documentary filmmaker RaMell Ross (“Hale Country This Morning, This Evening”) makes his feature directing debut. (Date TBD)
