Ten new and intriguing movies in theatres this fall

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It was a cruel, cruel summer.

Even with Superman, the Fantastic Four and the brave dino-hunters of Jurassic World at our disposal, the summer movie season just wrapped as the worst one on offer since 1981, adjusted for inflation and excluding the pandemic-era years of 2020 through 2022. That makes the next few months a crucial test for the power of theatrical exhibition – and in terms of potential out-and-out blockbusters, well, things look grim until December, when James Cameron will save us all with a new Avatar film.

But in terms of quality cinema – the kind of films that don’t rely on superheroes and franchise exploitation – the fall looks bright (if not particularly profitable). Here are 10 of the most intriguing titles coming to a theatre near you (and hopefully taking their sweet time to make it to streaming).

Anemone

After supposedly retiring from on-screen acting following his 2017 star turn in Phantom Thread, Daniel Day-Lewis is back. And it’s a family affair, too, with this psychological drama directed by the actor’s son, Ronan Day-Lewis. Details about the film are few, but there’s far more excitement to be had in anticipating the star’s return than yet another Spider-Man, right? (Oct. 3)

Roofman

Channing Tatum has long been one of Hollywood’s most underutilized and sometimes misunderstood talents. But this ripped-from-the-headlines dramedy by director Derek Cianfrance (himself a kind of idiosyncratic filmmaker) about a fugitive who hides out in the ceiling of a local Toys ‘R’ Us could be the star vehicle to finally get Tatum into the Oscars race. (Oct. 10)

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A House of Dynamite

Director Kathryn Bigelow returns to the screen after an eight-year absence – her last film was the underwhelming thriller Detroit – with this seemingly crackling look at what happens when the White House faces a nuclear-missile threat. Starring a killer cast – including Idris Elba as POTUS, Rebecca Ferguson as a military point person and Tracy Letts as a general – Bigelow’s film came out of the Venice Film Festival with critics proclaiming it as intense as a heart attack. Burn baby burn. (In select theatres Oct. 10, streaming on Netflix starting Oct. 24.)

Good Fortune

Aziz Ansari has been keeping a low profile since he briefly (perhaps unfairly?) became “cancelled” a few years back, but the Master of None mastermind is now back with a high-concept big-screen comedy that feels equally pulled from Trading Places, Freaky Friday and Wings of Desire. The pitch: After giving up on his dreams, a lowly L.A. gig worker (Ansari) gets the opportunity to switch lives with the tech bro (Seth Rogen) who just fired him. And all thanks to an angel (Keanu Reeves) who is trying to widen his wingspan. (Oct. 17)

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If I Had Legs I’d Kick You

Rose Byrne has proven she’s a comic force to be reckoned with time and time again, especially with this year’s second season of Platonic on Apple TV+. But with this pressure-cooker character study from writer-director Mary Bronstein, Byrne gets to channel a new kind of committed intensity, playing a mother who is overwhelmed by a flooded apartment, a daughter with severe medical needs and a therapist (played by Conan O’Brien, of all people) who couldn’t care less. (Oct. 17)

After the Hunt

Julia Roberts, Andrew Garfield and The Bear’s Ayo Edebiri headline this psychological thriller following the messy aftermath of a sexual-abuse accusation on campus. Filmmaker Luca Guadagnino (Challengers, Suspiria, Call Me By Your Name) seems eager to prove that he can direct absolutely any kind of genre, but will the film’s take on the touchy subject matter be provocative, or simply faux-scandalous? (Oct. 17)

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Bugonia

Whether you hate him or love him, Greek filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos has locked up Emma Stone’s career for the next few years, so we might as well see what the two are getting up to. In their fourth collaboration (following The Favourite, Poor Things and Kinds of Kindness), Yorgos and Stone remake a 2003 South Korean comedy-thriller in which a lowly worker bee kidnaps a corporate tycoon, convinced that the mission is the only way to prevent an alien invasion. (Oct. 24)

Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere

The Boss finally gets the biopic treatment in this film focusing on the making of Bruce Springsteen’s landmark 1982 album Nebraska. The Bear’s Jeremy Allen White stars as New Jersey’s favourite son, while Succession’s Jeremy Strong is his manager Jon Landau. (Oct. 24)

Die My Love

Jennifer Lawrence digs deep into her filmography to conjure the vibes of her Darren Aronofsky film Mother! with this deeply feral drama following a writer whose first year of motherhood is derailed by a decrepit countryside home, a baby that she feels disconnected from and possibly the worst husband in the world (in the form of Robert Pattinson). Soon, audiences will understand why director Lynne Ramsay’s character study was one of the most polarizing films to play Cannes earlier this spring. (Nov. 7)

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Jay Kelly

George Clooney, seemingly not content with merely being his wealthy and handsome self, plays a wealthy and handsome movie star named “Jay Kelly” in the latest comedy from Noah Baumbach (Marriage Story). To help cheer the poor guy up, Kelly/Clooney is surrounded by an all-star cast including Adam Sandler as his manager, Laura Dern as his publicist, Billy Crudup as his acting buddy and Baumbach’s real-life partner Greta Gerwig as the wife of Sandler’s character. Someone give this poor guy a break, won’t ya? (In select theatres Nov. 14, streaming on Netflix starting Dec. 5.)