Hollywood hopes to spice up the holiday season after a rather flat fall at the box office.
“Joker: Folie à Deux” didn’t exactly wield aces. “Venom: The Last Dance” fared better worldwide but didn’t take a huge bite out of the domestic box office. Superhero fatigue looks to be the real deal.
Then there’s the big-budget “Megalopolis” from Francis Ford Coppola. It bombed, as did sentimental offerings such as “Here” with de-aged stars Tom Hanks and Robin Wright.
Dig a bit deeper, though, and success stories do turn up. “The Wild Robot,” contender for best animated feature of 2024, flexed true staying power even as it migrated to streaming. The news is also guardedly hopeful for daring indies such as Sean Baker’s “Anora,” which managed to maneuver into the Top 10.
Now Hollywood shifts to the holidays — the second most lucrative time of the year — with a string of hotly anticipated releases, including Robert Eggers’ “Nosferatu,” Ridley Scott’s “Gladiator II,” and Jon M. Chu’s “Wicked.” Will they get audiences to show up? We’re keeping a positive outlook.
Then there are the indie award contenders, including Luca Guadagnino’s searing “Queer,” with Daniel Craig and Drew Starkey, and the powerful epic set in Tehran, “The Seed of the Sacred Fig.”
Here’s a rundown of some, but by no means all, of the films coming to screens big and little through the end of 2024. They are arranged chronologically, though of course release dates are subject to change.
“Red One”: In this high-concept action comedy, the first in a potential franchise, a bounty hunter (Chris Evans) teams up with North Pole security top-dog Callum Drift (Dwayne Johnson) and his enforcer of a polar bear to try to get a kidnapped St. Nick (J.K. Simmons) back in time for, well, you know. Director Jake Kasdan’s seasonal offering also features Lucy Liu. Details: In theaters Nov. 15.
“Wicked”: Will the spell that this beloved Tony-Award winning, San Francisco-born phenom cast on theatergoers extend to persnickety moviegoers? Early reactions to Palo Alto native Jon M. Chu’s cinematic reimagining of the hit Broadway musical — loosely based on the Oz-themed book of the same name — suggest “Wicked” could find lift-off at the box office (unlike Chu’s wonderful “In the Heights”). The magical cast includes Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey, Michelle Yeoh and Jeff Goldblum as the iconic Wizard. Details: Part One in theaters Nov. 22; Part Two scheduled for release November 2025.
“Gladiator II”: Twenty four years ago, Ridley Scott’s bloody good sword-and-sandal epic with Russell Crowe and Joaquin Phoenix kicked up a whole lot of sand at the box office and went on to triumph in the Academy Awards arena, nabbing five Oscars. Scott’s big-budget sequel (allegedly exceeding $300 million) is said to be a visual spectacle with terrific teeth-gnashing performances, especially from Paul Mescal as the vengeance-seeking Lucius — son of Maximus (Crowe). He enters the cursed do-or-die ring after his wife is killed and he’s turned into a slave. Others in the top-notch cast includes Pedro Pascal, Denzel Washington, Connie Nielsen and more. Details: In theaters Nov. 22.
“The Piano Lesson”: The legendary August Wilson earned a Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize for this powerhouse stage drama about a 1930s family grappling with the gravity of the past, which comes into sharp focus over a family heirloom piano. Malcolm Washington’s feature-length directorial debut is jam-packed with quality actors, including Danielle Deadwyler, John David Washington, Samuel L. Jackson and Corey Hawkins. Details: Begins streaming Nov. 22 on Netflix.
“Moana 2”: Originally envisioned as a Disney+ series, this latest sequel from the Disney empire is set three years after the goings-on of the original 2016 animated musical and pivots on Moana’s daring plan to put the kibosh on a god’s curse. Auli’i Cravalho (in the title role), Dwyane Johnson, Nicole Scherzinger and Alan Tudyk return to voice their original characters. Details: In theaters Nov. 27.
“Queer”: Prolific “Call My By Your Name” director Luca Guadagnino follows up his sweaty tennis love triangle (“Challengers”) with an intense and, also quite sweaty, gay love story. His adaptation of Beat generation author William S. Burroughs’ trippy novel finds Daniel Craig smoldering in 1950s Mexico City as a lonely expat gobsmacked by a handsome younger man (Drew Starkey) he devotedly pursues. Details: In limited theatrical release Nov. 28; wider after in December.
“The Order”: An obsessed FBI agent (Jude Law) and a smart young cop (Tye Sheridan) try to collar the culprits behind a spate of bold, savage robberies and heists. Their investigation leads them to a 1980s white supremacist group in the Pacific Northwest and the magnetic racist family man (Nicholas Hoult) at its center. Australian director Justin Kurzel’s fact-based, chilling thriller draws its inspiration from the book, “The Silent Brotherhood” by Kevin Flynn. Details: In theaters Dec. 6.
“Nightbitch”: A mom at her wits’ end (Amy Adams) channels her inner beast in Alameda native Marielle Heller’s dark comedy that taps into what it means to be not only a mother but a whole person. Details: In theaters Dec. 6.
“Y2K”: Kyle Mooney of “Saturday Night Live” fame directed, co-wrote and co-stars in this disaster/comedy that reimagines what went down just after the clock struck 12:01 a.m. during that much-hyped entrance into 2000. Two teens (Jaeden Martell and Julian Dennison) get into the party mood until things turn ugly. Details: In theaters Dec. 6.
“September 5”: Director Tim Fehlbaum’s intense re-creation of the 1972 Munich Summer Olympics crisis concentrates on how sports reporters and producers found themselves covering a far different story than what they were expecting when Israeli athletes were taken as hostages. John Magaro, Peter Sarsgaard, Ben Chaplin and Leonie Benesch star. Details: Opens in theaters Nov. 29 (Los Angeles and New York) and Dec. 6 (Bay Area).
“The Seed of the Sacred Fig”: A father’s promotion to judge in Tehran coincides with his two daughters’ outrage at how both women and dissenters are treated by Iran’s authoritarian government. Mohammad Rasoulof’s riveting, award-winning political thriller, shot in the shadows, led to the director living in exile. It’s a must. Details: in theaters Nov. 27 (Los Angeles) and Dec. 13 (Bay Area).
“Kraven the Hunter”: J. C. Chandor’s R-rated Marvel action film with Aaron Taylor-Johnson as the thorn in Spidey’s side finally gets its release after bouncing from date to date like an Olympics gymnast. Will this more violent Marvel origin story appeal to fans as well as those uninitiated to the ways of Kraven, who’s a hunter in the comic books? We’ll soon find out. Details: In theaters Dec. 13.
“The Brutalist”: It takes a director with a lot of chutzpah to convince studio execs that a nearly 4-hour film is a good idea. But American filmmaker Brady Corbet (“Vox Lux”) did just that and the result is this immigrant epic about a acclaimed Jewish architect (Adrien Brody) from Budapest making his way post-World War II to Pennsylvania where he starts a new life and lands a huge project dreamt up by a wealthy eccentric (Guy Pearce). Corbet’s film wowed at the Venice Film Festival and was quickly snatched up by A24. Oscar is taking notice. Details: In theaters Dec. 20.
“The Count of Monte Cristo”: Already a box-office hit in France, where it received raves, this nearly 3-hour epic takes the classic Alexandre Dumas revenge tale and muscles up the action and basks in the period details. We’re all in. Details: In theaters Dec. 20.
“Mufasa: The Lion King”: Disney plumbs the origins of Simba’s dad with this latest entry in a cherished franchise that extends into new generations and features a photorealistic look. “Moonlight” director Barry Jenkins brings gravitas to the project while “Hamilton’s” Lin-Manuel Miranda has been tasked with writing the songs that the whole world is expected to sing. The voice cast includes a pride of top talent: Aaron Pierre (Mufasa), Kelvin Harrison Jr. (Taka), Mads Mikkelsen (Krios), Beyoncé (Nala) and Beyonce’s daughter Blue Ivy Carter (Kiara). And, yes, Billy Eichner and Seth Rogen return as scene-stealers Timon and Pumbaa. Details: In theaters Dec. 20.
“Babygirl”: A highly successful and quite married CEO (Nicole Kidman) hooks up with a new intern (Harris Dickinson) and the twosome get tied up into all sorts of sexual knots in this ultra-steamy offering. The lusty, comical trailer certainly aroused our interests. Details: In theaters Dec. 25.
“Nosferatu”: Robert Eggers lends his trademark Gothic sensibilities (the trailer made us swoon) in a lavish redo of F.W. Murnau’s 1922 landmark horror classic. As the vampire Count Orlok, Bill Skarsgård is ready to pounce and give us a fright like he did as Pennywise in 2017’s “It.” Jarin Blaschke’s eerie cinematography alone looks to raise the stakes, as does the cast (Nicholas Hoult, Lily-Rose Depp, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Emma Corrin and Willem Dafoe who teamed up with Eggers on the divisive “The Lighthouse”). Details: In theaters Dec. 25.
“A Complete Unknown”: Timothée Chalamet charmed audiences worldwide as a younger version of Willy Wonka, but can the “Dune” star convincingly transform into a mid-20s Bob Dylan? Director James Mangold certainly thinks so. Rather than tell Dylan’s life story, the “Ford v. Ferrari” filmmaker focuses on the icon’s shocking 1965 decision to “go electric” at the Newport Folk Festival. That more focused approach perks up our interests. Details: In theaters Dec. 25.
“The Fire Inside”: Rachel Morrison’s inspirational sports-themed biopic relates the true story of Claressa “T-Rex” Shields (Ryan Shields), a boxer training for the 2012 Olympics. Barry Jenkins wrote the screenplay. Details: In theaters Dec. 25.
Animated treats
It’s been a stellar year for animated features, and these releases look to keep the trend going through year-end.
“The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim”: This release from award-winning anime director Kenji Kamiyama takes place nearly two centuries before the landmark trilogy. Details: In theaters Dec. 13.
“Flow”: A black cat befriends numerous animals in the aftermath of a climate-change-induced flood. Details: In theaters Nov. 22 (Los Angeles) and Dec. 6 (Bay Area).
“Spellbound”: The Netflix release is set in a fantasyland wherein the daughter of two crowned heads seeks to reverse a spell that turned her parents into monsters. Details: Streaming Nov. 22.
“Sonic the Hedgehog 3”: Animated characters gets mixed in with live-action cast members again as Sonic and sidekicks Knuckles and Tails team up to take on a new adversary in this latest film based based on the video game series. Details: In theaters Dec. 20.