Movies Gallery Fall Movies 2016: Previewing Fantastic Beasts, Rogue One, and 76 Other Films By EW Staff Published on August 27, 2016 12:24AM EDT Close 01 of 80 Fall Movie Preview: 78 Movies to Watch So long, summer blues. It's fall! Brad Pitt and Marion Cotillard slip into the past, Benedict Cumberbatch spins into a strange dimensions, Emily Blunt crashes into murder, Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence rocket into romance, Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone trip the light fantastic, Eddie Redmayne unleashes the beasts... and we're falling in love with movies again. 02 of 80 The Light Between Oceans Davi Russo STARRING: Michael Fassbender, Alicia Vikander, Rachel Weisz DIRECTED BY: Derek Cianfrance RELEASE DATE: 9/2 With a bit of digital magic, New Zealand's Cape Campbell was transformed into Janus Rock, a fictional Australian island on which stoic lighthouse keeper Tom Sherbourne (Michael Fassbender) resides with his wife, Isabel (Alicia Vikander). The movie takes place in the 1920s, and the couple is living in peaceful isolation, a half day's boat ride from the nearest people. Then tragedy strikes. Isabel suffers one miscarriage, and another, and sinks into despair — until one day when a rowboat washes ashore with a baby girl and her dead father aboard. Isabel persuades Tom to keep the newborn, but it's an agonizing decision, especially when he encounters a bereaved woman (Rachel Weisz) on the mainland who he suspects is the girl's mother. 03 of 80 Morgan Aidan Monaghan STARRING: Kate Mara, Anya Taylor-Joy, Toby Jones DIRECTED BY: Luke Scott RELEASE DATE: 9/2 A corporate fixer (Kate Mara) uncovers an enhanced-human specimen (Anya Taylor-Joy) as the cause of a horrifying incident. Ridley Scott produces this sci-fi thriller directed by his son Luke. 04 of 80 When the Bough Breaks Michele K Short STARRING: Morris Chestnut, Regina Hall, Jaz Sinclair DIRECTED BY: Jon Cassar RELEASE DATE: 9/9 A childless couple (Morris Chestnut, Regina Hall) find the seemingly perfect surrogate mother (Jaz Sinclair). Well, until she tries to make the husband her own. 05 of 80 Sully Keith Bernstein STARRING: Tom Hanks, Aaron Eckhart, Laura Linney DIRECTED BY: Clint Eastwood RELEASE DATE: 9/9 Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger famously landed an impaired jetliner on the Hudson River and saved all 155 aboard in 2009, but director Clint Eastwood (American Sniper) tells another side of this hero tale by looking at the investigation that followed. 06 of 80 Blair Witch Lionsgate STARRING: James Allen McCune, Callie Hernandez, Corbin Reid DIRECTED BY: Adam Wingard RELEASE DATE: 9/16 In this sequel to 1999's horror classic, James Allen McCune (Shameless) plays the brother of Heather Donahue's character from the first film. He ventures into the same haunted woods with friends to look for his still-missing sis. Blair Witch was shot in secret under the code name The Woods, and Lionsgate even released a trailer with that title before finally letting the (black) cat out of the bag at Comic-Con last month. 07 of 80 Bridget Jones’s Baby Giles Keyte STARRING: Renée Zellweger, Colin Firth, Patrick Dempsey DIRECTED BY: Sharon Maguire RELEASE DATE: 9/16 In the new sequel, Bridget Jones (Renée Zellweger) is less fluffy but no less blunder-prone as she becomes pregnant after falling into bed with ex-lover Mark Darcy (Colin Firth) and American businessman Jack Qwant (Patrick Dempsey) within the same short period of time, causing no small amounts of confusion and jealousy. 08 of 80 The Beatles: Eight Days a Week – The Touring Years Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images STARRING: Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, George Harrison, John Lennon DIRECTED BY: Ron Howard RELEASE DATE: 9/16 Ron Howard's doc tracks the Fab Four during their touring years — from Liverpool in 1962 through Beatlemania to their final 1966 bow at Candlestick Park. 09 of 80 Mr. Church Darren Michaels STARRING: Eddie Murphy, Britt Robertson, Natascha McElhone DIRECTED BY: Bruce Beresford RELEASE DATE: 9/16 Set in '60s L.A., a chef (Eddie Murphy) transforms into a father figure for a young woman (Britt Robertson) as she grows up with a cancer-stricken single mother. 10 of 80 Snowden Endgame Entertainment STARRING: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Zachary Quinto, Scott Eastwood, Shailene Woodley DIRECTED BY: Oliver Stone RELEASE DATE: 9/16 Director Oliver Stone tells Edward Snowden's story, with Joseph Gordon-Levitt stepping into the shoes of the fugitive NSA whistle-blower and Zachary Quinto playing investigative journalist Glenn Greenwald. 11 of 80 Queen of Katwe Edward Echwalu STARRING: Lupita Nyong'o, David Oyelowo, Madina Nalwanga DIRECTED BY: Mira Nair RELEASE DATE: 9/23 When Mira Nair (Vanity Fair) was casting the true-life story of Ugandan chess prodigy Phiona Mutesi, the only woman she could imagine playing the child's determined mother was her intern from her 2007 film, The Namesake. Only this young woman, who was also the daughter of Nair's husband's oldest and dearest friend, had the grit to take on the role of Harriet, the mother of five who endured the death of her husband and abject poverty to enable her daughter to thrive. It helped that this intern had since become an Oscar winner and one of the most sought-after actresses on the planet: Lupita Nyong'o. 12 of 80 Goat STARRING: Ben Schnetzer, Nick Jonas, Gus Halper DIRECTED BY: Andrew Neel RELEASE DATE: 9/23 A BMOC (Nick Jonas) recruits his little brother (Ben Schnetzer) to pledge his fraternity, but the allure of girls, booze, and brotherhood might not justify the mental strain. 13 of 80 Beauty and the Beast STARRING: Vincent Cassel, Léa Seydoux, André Dussollier DIRECTED BY: Christophe Gans RELEASE DATE: 9/23 Léa Seydoux, Vincent Cassel, and director Christophe Gans (Silent Hill) bring the classic 18th-century fairy tale to nonmusical life. 14 of 80 Storks Warner Bros. Pictures STARRING: Andy Samberg, Katie Crown, Kelsey Grammer DIRECTED BY: Nicholas Stoller, Doug Sweetland RELEASE DATE: 9/23 Storks don't deliver babies anymore in this animated adventure, but one such bird (Andy Samberg) is determined to drop off a human newborn before his fierce boss (Kelsey Grammer) finds out. 15 of 80 The Magnificent Seven Sam Emerson STARRING: Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke DIRECTED BY: Antoine Fuqua RELEASE DATE: 9/23 The Magnificent Seven puts a radical new spin on the outlaws-protect-a-small-town saga. This time, there's a new band of ruffians protecting a vulnerable Western outpost from a malevolent industrialist (Peter Sarsgaard). Denzel Washington leads the Seven as strong-silent Sam Chisolm, while Chris Pratt plays hard-drinking cardsharp Josh Faraday. 16 of 80 Deepwater Horizon David Lee STARRING: Mark Wahlberg, Kurt Russell, Kate Hudson DIRECTED BY: Peter Berg RELEASE DATE: 9/30 Deepwater Horizon focuses on extraordinary acts of courage and sacrifice in the face of a spiraling fiasco. "Everybody talks about the [marine] disaster, but people forget about the fact that 11 people lost their lives," says Mark Wahlberg, who plays one of the rig's heroes, Mike Williams. "[Their families] are going to hold us accountable, so we need to make sure we're getting it right." 17 of 80 Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children Twentieth Century Fox STARRING: Eva Green, Samuel L. Jackson, Asa Butterfield DIRECTED BY: Tim Burton RELEASE DATE: 9/30 In Tim Burton's new fantastical adventure, a family tragedy leads American teen Jake (Asa Butterfield) to an exotic British island where women can turn into birds and children possess serious peculiarities (like, say, having two mouths or the ability to control fire). Superheroes they are not. 18 of 80 American Honey Parts and Labor STARRING: Sasha Lane, Shia LaBeouf, Riley Keough DIRECTED BY: Andrea Arnold RELEASE DATE: 9/30 Sasha Lane, Shia LaBeouf, and Riley Keough traverse the U.S. peddling magazines and partying in this movie from writer-director Andrea Arnold (Wuthering Heights). 19 of 80 Denial Laurie Sparham STARRING: Rachel Weisz, Andrew Scott, Timothy Spall DIRECTED BY: Mick Jackson RELEASE DATE: 9/30 Historian Deborah Lipstadt (Rachel Weisz) battles staunch Holocaust denier David Irving (Timothy Spall) in a real-life libel case that hinged on proving the genocide happened. 20 of 80 Masterminds STARRING: Zach Galifianakis, Kate McKinnon, Owen Wilson, Kristen Wiig, Jason Sudeikis, Leslie Jones DIRECTED BY: Jared Hess RELEASE DATE: 9/30 A bumbling armored-truck driver (Zach Galifianakis), his loopy co-worker (Kristen Wiig), and an eager criminal (Owen Wilson) comically try to pull off a $17 million heist. Inspired by real events. Really. 21 of 80 The Girl on the Train Barry Wetcher STARRING: Emily Blunt, Haley Bennett, Justin Theroux DIRECTED BY: Tate Taylor RELEASE DATE: 10/7 It doesn't take much to see how Emily Blunt's Rachel Watson could become obsessed with Haley Bennett's mysterious Megan Hipwell from afar in The Girl on the Train. As Megan's layers are peeled back, Bennett is a revelation, flitting from vulnerable and childlike to calculating and seductive. 22 of 80 The Birth of a Nation Fox Searchlight STARRING: Nate Parker, Aja Naomi King, Armie Hammer DIRECTED BY: Nate Parker RELEASE DATE: 10/7 Shot in Savannah, The Birth of a Nation traces the life of Nat Turner (Nate Parker), a peaceful preacher manipulated by wealthy Virginians to placate their slaves, who transformed himself into a leader of a violent insurrection. 23 of 80 37 STARRING: Samira Wiley, Michael Potts, Maria Dizzia DIRECTED BY: Puk Grasten RELEASE DATE: 10/7 This fictionalized dramatization examines the 1964 rape and murder of Kitty Genovese through the POV of several of the 37 New York neighbors who witnessed the attack—and did nothing. 24 of 80 The 13th DIRECTED BY: Ava DuVernay RELEASE DATE: 10/7 Ava DuVernay (Selma) examines race in America by investigating the U.S. prison system in this Netflix documentary. The title refers to the U.S. amendment that abolished slavery. 25 of 80 Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life Frank Masi STARRING: Griffin Gluck, Lauren Graham, Rob Riggle DIRECTED BY: Steve Carr RELEASE DATE: 10/7 This chaotic comedy is part live action and part madcap animation as Rafe (Red Band Society's Griffin Gluck) tries to navigate a new school and his mom's relationship with a deadbeat boyfriend. When his nitpicking principal (Andrew Daly) confiscates and destroys his sketchbook, the imaginative Rafe retaliates by breaking every rule in the school's tedious code of conduct. That means plenty of elaborate pranks, like covering the principal's office in roughly 70,000 sticky notes. 26 of 80 Tower Kino Lorber STARRING: Violett Beane, Blair Jackson, Chris Doubek DIRECTED BY: Keith Maitland RELEASE DATE: 10/12 On a blistering summer day in 1966, a sniper opened fire from atop the University of Texas clock tower, killing 14 people. Keith Maitland's documentary blends rotoscoping animation with archival footage and witness interviews to reconstruct the panicked confusion. Though 50 years old, the shooting, he predicts, will feel devastatingly familiar. "As we all know from watching the news every couple of days, this is not the past," he says. "It's the present." 27 of 80 Mascots Scott Garfield STARRING: Jane Lynch, Ed Begley Jr., Zach Woods DIRECTED BY: Christopher Guest RELEASE DATE: 10/13 The Gold Fluffy is for sports mascots what the Mayflower is for dog owners, and director Christopher Guest (Best in Show) recruited an array of his longtime collaborators, including Jane Lynch and Ed Begley Jr. (who play contest judges), for this Netflix comedy, Guest's first feature in 10 years. Joining the company are Zach Woods (Silicon Valley) and Sarah Baker (Louie), who portray a pair of baseball-team mascots who also happen to be husband and wife. 28 of 80 The Accountant Chuck Zlotnick STARRING: Ben Affleck, Anna Kendrick, J.K. Simmons DIRECTED BY: Gavin O'Connor RELEASE DATE: 10/14 Ben Affleck's character Chris Wolff, an autistic forensic accountant hired by criminals, lets loose his genius in director Gavin O'Connor's action thriller. When he's recruited by a legit client—a robotics company—to uncook their books and locate a money leak, Chris, in a pivotal scene, unveils his impossible discovery to a whistle-blowing CPA (Anna Kendrick) while simultaneously revealing the extent of his beautiful-mind skill set to the audience. 29 of 80 Desierto STARRING: Gael GarcÃa Bernal, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Alondra Hidalgo DIRECTED BY: Jonás Cuarón RELEASE DATE: 10/14 Blood boils along the United States/Mexico border in this thriller from Gravity co-writer Jonás Cuarón. Jeffrey Dean Morgan (The Walking Dead) and Gael GarcÃa Bernal (The Motorcycle Diaries) star. 30 of 80 Kevin Hart: What Now? STARRING: Kevin Hart DIRECTED BY: Leslie Small, Tim Story RELEASE DATE: 10/14 In his newest stand-up concert film, the Central Intelligence star plays and slays an entire football stadium in his hometown of Philadelphia. 31 of 80 A Monster Calls Quim Vives STARRING: Lewis MacDougall, Felicity Jones, Liam Neeson DIRECTED BY: J.A. Bayona RELEASE DATE: 10/21 An ominous tree creature helps 12-year-old Conor (Lewis MacDougall) cope while his mother (Felicity Jones) battles an illness in A Monster Calls. An adaptation of Patrick Ness' 2011 graphic novel, the movie follows a looming yew tree that transforms into a 36-foot-tall giant. The monster can be terrifying or sympathetic depending on Conor's mood as he also deals with school bullies and an unfeeling grandmother (Sigourney Weaver). 32 of 80 Keeping Up With the Joneses Dan McFadden STARRING: Zach Galifianakis, Isla Fisher, Jon Hamm, Gal Gadot DIRECTED BY: Greg Mottola RELEASE DATE: 10/21 Zach Galifianakis and Isla Fisher play Jeff and Karen Gaffney, a boring suburban couple who find themselves face-to-face with strangers: each other. "They're sending their kids off to camp for the first time," says director Greg Mottola (Superbad). "It's the first time in 11 years they're going to be alone for any significant amount of time." That's when the Joneses, played by Gal Gadot and Jon Hamm, move in next door. Turns out the Joneses have a secret—which leads the cul-de-sac couple into espionage action. 33 of 80 Jack Reacher: Never Go Back David James STARRING: Tom Cruise, Cobie Smulders DIRECTED BY: Edward Zwick RELEASE DATE: 10/21 Four years after Tom Cruise first played military policeman-turned-wandering badass Jack Reacher in 2012's eponymous thriller, Reacher reconnects with old-friend-and-maybe-more Susan Turner (Cobie Smulders). Turner has Reacher's old job, and his attitude. But she's no movie cliché and the pair quickly find themselves on the run from a military conspiracy. Further complicating things: a teenage girl (Heroes: Reborn's Danika Yarosh) who might be Jack Reacher's daughter. 34 of 80 Moonlight David Bornfriend STARRING: Trevante Rhodes, André Holland, Mahershala Ali, Janelle Monáe DIRECTED BY: Barry Jenkins RELEASE DATE: 10/21 Naomie Harris (Skyfall) plays the mother of a young African-American man as he struggles with self-discovery and modern definitions of masculinity. 35 of 80 Tyler Perry's Boo! A Madea Halloween Daniel McFadden STARRING: Tyler Perry, Bella Thorne, Diamond White DIRECTED BY: Tyler Perry RELEASE DATE: 10/21 The title says everything you need to know. Tyler Perry's sassy grandma faces ghosts and other scary-movie clichés. 36 of 80 In a Valley of Violence Lewis Jacobs STARRING: Ethan Hawke, Taissa Farmiga, John Travolta DIRECTED BY: Ti West RELEASE DATE: 10/21 A sleepy mining town is rattled when a drifter (Ethan Hawke) is egged into a fight by a local troublemaker (James Ransone), causing chaos for the local marshal (John Travolta). 37 of 80 Ouija: Origin of Evil STARRING: Elizabeth Reaser, Lin Shaye, Lulu Wilson DIRECTED BY: Barry Jenkins RELEASE DATE: 10/21 The supernatural board game demonically possesses a little girl, in a prequel to the stealth 2014 hit. 38 of 80 The Handmaiden CJ Films STARRING: Kim Min-Hee, Kim Tae-ri, Ha Jung-Woo DIRECTED BY: Park Chan-wook RELEASE DATE: 10/21 Oldboy director Park Chan-wook's thriller is set in 1930s Korea during the Japanese occupation. A count hires an orphan to do his bidding, but there's more to her than she lets on. 39 of 80 American Pastoral Richard Foreman Jr. STARRING: Ewan McGregor, Jennifer Connelly, Dakota Fanning DIRECTED BY: Ewan McGregor RELEASE DATE: 10/21 It's been quite a journey bringing Philip Roth's 1997 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel to the screen. Multiple directors came and went before actor Ewan McGregor, who'd long been looking to make his directing debut, stepped up to tell the story of Swede Levov (McGregor), a New Jersey golden boy whose perfect American life falls apart when his daughter (Dakota Fanning) becomes a violent 1960s revolutionary. 40 of 80 Inferno Jonathan Prime STARRING: Tom Hanks, Felicity Jones, Ben Foster DIRECTED BY: Ron Howard RELEASE DATE: 10/28 Fans of author Dan Brown's symbology expert Robert Langdon, consider yourselves warned. In this third Da Vinci Code movie, the Harvard professor (Tom Hanks) isn't at his best. In fact, he's battling amnesia, a severe obstacle in his quest to prevent a madman (Lone Survivor's Ben Foster) from using Dante's 14th-century description of hell as the key to his warped plan for global destruction. 41 of 80 Rings STARRING: Matilda Lutz, Laura Wiggins, Aimee Teegarden, Johnny Galecki DIRECTED BY: F. Javier Gutiérrez RELEASE DATE: 10/28 Just as pop culture chimes the death knell for VCRs, the Ring franchise returns, with Matilda Lutz and Alex Roe playing the young couple who watch a cursed videotape. 42 of 80 Trolls DreamWorks Animation STARRING: Anna Kendrick, Justin Timberlake, James Corden DIRECTED BY: Walt Dohrn, Mike Mitchell RELEASE DATE: 11/4 The fuzzy-haired toys come to life in an animated rainbow fantasy world that makes Oz look dull by comparison. Relentlessly joyful Poppy (Anna Kendrick) leads a tribe of übercheerful critters, but grumpy Branch (Justin Timberlake) lives in fear that giant monsters called Bergens will attack. 43 of 80 Loving Ben Rothstein STARRING: Joel Edgerton, Ruth Negga, Nick Kroll DIRECTED BY: Jeff Nichols RELEASE DATE: 11/4 Ruth Negga plays Mildred Loving, one half of the Virginia couple who were arrested in 1958 for the crime of interracial marriage, a conviction that led to the landmark 1967 antidiscrimination ruling by the United States Supreme Court. 44 of 80 Bleed for This Seacia Pavao STARRING: Miles Teller, Katey Sagal, Aaron Eckhart DIRECTED BY: Ben Younger RELEASE DATE: 11/4 Boxing champ Vinny "The Pazmanian Devil" Pazienza (Miles Teller) faces impossible odds to fight his way back into the ring after breaking his neck in a car accident. 45 of 80 Hacksaw Ridge Mark Rogers STARRING: Andrew Garfield, Vince Vaughn, Sam Worthington DIRECTED BY: Mel Gibson RELEASE DATE: 11/4 Mel Gibson directs the heroic story of Pvt. Desmond Doss (Andrew Garfield), a conscientious objector and WWII medic who earned the Congressional Medal of Honor after saving 75 lives during the Battle of Okinawa. 46 of 80 Doctor Strange Jay Maidment STARRING: Benedict Cumberbatch, Tilda Swinton, Rachel McAdams DIRECTED BY: Scott Derrickson RELEASE DATE: 11/7 Benedict Cumberbatch (PBS' Sherlock) stars as Stephen Strange, a brilliant New York surgeon whose hands are horrifically damaged in a car accident. After bankrupting himself attempting to mend his injuries, Strange winds up in Nepal, searching for the Ancient One (Swinton), who he believes may be able to help. Instead of offering a medical solution, Swinton's androgynous character and his/her cohort Karl Mordo (The Martian's Chiwetel Ejiofor) introduce Strange to Marvel's many-dimensioned "multiverse." 47 of 80 Almost Christmas Quantrell D. Colbert STARRING: Gabrielle Union, Kimberly Elise, Omar Epps, Danny Glover DIRECTED BY: David E. Talbert RELEASE DATE: 11/11 A widower (Danny Glover) wants just one holiday gift from his visiting family: five days of peace. 48 of 80 Elle STARRING: Isabelle Huppert, Christian Berkel, Anne Consigny DIRECTED BY: Paul Verhoeven RELEASE DATE: 11/11 After being attacked and raped, videogame executive Michèle (Isabelle Huppert) tracks down her attacker with revenge in mind in the latest from Paul Verhoeven (Basic Instinct). 49 of 80 Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk Sony Pictures STARRING: Joe Alwyn, Vin Diesel, Kristen Stewart DIRECTED BY: Paul Verhoeven RELEASE DATE: 11/11 This film is based on Ben Fountain's 2012 book about an Iraq War hero (British newcomer Joe Alwyn) having a crisis of conscience just as he's being honored at the 2004 Super Bowl. It is told through Billy's eyes and flashes back and forth from the war in Iraq (Vin Diesel plays his sergeant), to moments from the night before the Super Bowl with family (Kristen Stewart is Billy's sister), to the halftime show. 50 of 80 Shut In Jan Thijs STARRING: Charlie Heaton, Naomi Watts, Jacob Tremblay DIRECTED BY: Farren Blackburn RELEASE DATE: 11/11 A child psychologist (Naomi Watts) tries to save a young boy (Jacob Tremblay) during a wicked New England winter storm. 51 of 80 Arrival Jan Thijs STARRING: Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner DIRECTED BY: Denis Villeneuve RELEASE DATE: 11/11 Arrival — about an elite linguist (Amy Adams) brought in by the government to determine the intentions of recently arrived space aliens — marks the actress' second pairing with Jeremy Renner. But their friendship predates 2013's American Hustle by more than a decade, back to when they first met singing karaoke in the late '90s. "Working with Amy again was one of the big reasons I wanted to do this," says Renner, who plays a theoretical physicist. "The script and story were fantastic and I've always wanted to work with Denis [Villeneuve]. It checked so many boxes I couldn't say no." 52 of 80 Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them Jaap Buitendijk STARRING: Eddie Redmayne, Colin Farrell, Katherine Waterston DIRECTED BY: David Yates RELEASE DATE: 11/18 Eddie Redmayne makes magic as Newt Scamander, bringing J.K. Rowling's words back to the big screen for the first time since the final installment of the Harry Potter series in 2011. Starring alongside Dan Fogler, Alison Sudol, Colin Farrell, Samantha Morton, and Ezra Miller, Redmayne plays a wizard and author who stops by stateside in the 1920s. 53 of 80 The Edge of Seventeen STX Entertainment STARRING: Hailee Steinfeld, Haley Lu Richardson, Woody Harrelson DIRECTED BY: Kelly Fremon Craig RELEASE DATE: 11/18 Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit) plays Nadine, a high school misfit whose life crumbles further when her best friend starts hooking up with Nadine's brother. 54 of 80 Manchester by the Sea Claire Folger STARRING: Casey Affleck, Kyle Chandler, Michelle Williams DIRECTED BY: Kenneth Lonergan RELEASE DATE: 11/18 In Kenneth Lonergan's brutally poignant third film, Casey Affleck (Gone Baby Gone) plays Lee, a haunted man who's fled his titular Massachusetts hometown after a devastating family tragedy. When his brother (Kyle Chandler) dies suddenly, Lee returns home to care for his nephew and is forced to confront his past, including his estranged ex-wife, Randi (Michelle Williams). 55 of 80 Nocturnal Animals STARRING: Amy Adams, Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Shannon DIRECTED BY: Tom Ford RELEASE DATE: 11/18 Tom Ford sought out Austin Wright's gripping 1993 meta-novel, Tony and Susan, for his sophomore effort. The tricky plot involves an apathetic married woman named Susan (Amy Adams) who receives a manuscript titled Nocturnal Animals in the mail from her ex-husband. She begins to read the story of Tony (Jake Gyllenhaal), a family man terrorized by highway hoodlums (led by Aaron Taylor-Johnson). Unnerved, Susan questions whether the manuscript is an act of forgiveness. Or revenge. 56 of 80 Allied Daniel Smith STARRING: Brad Pitt, Marion Cotillard DIRECTED BY: Robert Zemeckis RELEASE DATE: 11/23 In Robert Zemeckis' romantic wartime thriller, set in 1942 Casablanca and London, Brad Pitt and Marion Cotillard are anything but the usual suspects. In fact, they're undercover operatives — he's from Canada, she's from France — with secrets to uphold and romance to pursue. 57 of 80 Rules Don't Apply Francois Duhamel STARRING: Warren Beatty, Lily Collins, Alden Ehrenreich DIRECTED BY: Warren Beatty RELEASE DATE: 11/23 Like legendary recluse Howard Hughes, Warren Beatty has been Hollywood's Invisible Man for the past 15 years. So it's fitting that during his hiatus he was toiling away on a film about...Howard Hughes. Rules Don't Apply is less a biopic of the batty billionaire than a late-'50s romance in which Beatty's Hughes (he also wrote and directed) looks on as two of his employees (Lily Collins as a wannabe actress, Alden Ehrenreich as her driver) weigh their attraction against their religious upbringings. 58 of 80 Moana Disney STARRING: Dwayne Johnson, Auli'i Cravalho DIRECTED BY: Ron Clements, John Musker RELEASE DATE: 11/23 Somewhere between the mermaids, maidens, and heavy sleepers in the Disney-princess pantheon, a new heroine is staking her claim. Meet Moana, a Pacific Islander from 2,000 years ago who embarks on a quest across the ocean to track down the shape-shifting demigod Maui (voiced by Dwayne Johnson), save her people, and fulfill her ancestral calling as a master wayfinder. 59 of 80 Bad Santa 2 Jan Thijs STARRING: Billy Bob Thornton, Kathy Bates, Tony Cox DIRECTED BY: Mark Waters RELEASE DATE: 11/23 Billy Bob Thornton is back as crusty St. Nick, Willie Soke. Joining him for the holidays are Kathy Bates and Christina Hendricks. 60 of 80 Lion STARRING: Dev Patel, Rooney Mara, Nicole Kidman DIRECTED BY: Garth Davis RELEASE DATE: 11/25 An Indian man (Dev Patel) raised by Australians (Nicole Kidman and David Wenham) turns to Google Earth to find his long-lost family. 61 of 80 La La Land Dale Robinette STARRING: Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, John Legend DIRECTED BY: Damien Chazelle RELEASE DATE: 12/2 No movie genre simulates the feeling of falling in love better than the musical. And that's just what director Damien Chazelle (Whiplash) hopes he captures in his woozily romantic new movie. Although the story is set in the real world of Los Angeles, in one scene the lead lovebirds (Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling) take their waltz up into the stars. "I allowed myself to go as wild or as fantastical as I wanted," Chazelle says. 62 of 80 The Eyes of My Mother Magnet Releasing STARRING: Diana Agostini, Olivia Bond, Will Brill DIRECTED BY: Nicolas Pesce RELEASE DATE: 12/2 This chilling Sundance head-turner delves into the world of a lonely farm woman who never recovers from a childhood tragedy. 63 of 80 The Salesman Habib Majidi STARRING: Taraneh Alidoosti, Shahab Hosseini, Babak Karimi DIRECTED BY: Asghar Farhadi RELEASE DATE: 12/9 Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi (A Separation) drew raves at Cannes for this tense drama about a young couple and the misfortune that stalks them after they move into a shabby apartment. 64 of 80 Miss Sloane Kerry Hayes STARRING: Jessica Chastain, Mark Strong, Gugu Mbatha-Raw DIRECTED BY: John Madden RELEASE DATE: 12/9 For many on both sides of the argument, there is no bigger political issue than gun control. But Jessica Chastain, who plays a lobbyist pushing a background-check bill through the U.S. Senate, flinches a bit at that term. "Gun control is divisive because some people are immediately afraid that it's a kind of confiscation," she says. "And people who hear that in regards to this film will think it's a plant to move them in one direction." She pauses. "It's not." Instead, Miss Sloane, written by first-timer Jonathan Perera and directed by John Madden (Shakespeare in Love), uses the Second Amendment debate to explore how the American political system works—or doesn't. 65 of 80 Office Christmas Party Glen Wilson STARRING: Jennifer Aniston, Jason Bateman, T.J. Miller DIRECTED BY: Josh Gordon, Will Speck RELEASE DATE: 12/9 A Chicago winter turns even bleaker for the office drones at a tech company when their CEO (Jennifer Aniston) tries to shutter the branch managed by her merry brother, Clay (T.J. Miller). Thus their traditional office Christmas shindig takes on a more urgent — and debauched — tone, as Clay and his CTO (Jason Bateman) attempt to use the yuletide bacchanal to woo a major client (Courtney B. Vance). 66 of 80 Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Jonathan Olley STARRING: Felicity Jones, Ben Mendelsohn, Riz Ahmed DIRECTED BY: Gareth Edwards RELEASE DATE: 12/16 Appearing in Rogue One, a Star Wars stand-alone film about the Rebel spies who steal the original Death Star blueprints, Felicity Jones plays Jyn Erso, the loner whose scientist father has knowledge vital to both the Rebels and the Empire. To help the Rebel Alliance secure the plans that will eventually allow Luke Skywalker to destroy the Death Star, her conscripted outlaw will fight in space, on land, in the pouring rain, and under a sweltering desert sun. 67 of 80 The Founder Daniel McFadden STARRING: Michael Keaton, Nick Offerman, Laura Dern DIRECTED BY: John Lee Hancock RELEASE DATE: 12/16 The largest fast-food corporation in the world got its name from the two brothers who founded it, but it was former milk-shake-machine salesman Ray Kroc (Michael Keaton) who transformed McDonald's into a global phenomenon — and pushed the McDonald brothers (Nick Offerman and John Carroll Lynch) out of their own restaurant. 68 of 80 A Kind of Murder Brian Douglas STARRING: Haley Bennett, Jessica Biel, Patrick Wilson DIRECTED BY: Andy Goddard RELEASE DATE: 12/16 An unhappy 1960s couple (Patrick Wilson, Jessica Biel) become intertwined with a widower (Eddie Marsan) who may have murdered his wife. Inspired by Patricia Highsmith's novel The Blunderer. 69 of 80 Neruda STARRING: Gael GarcÃa Bernal, Luis Gnecco, Alfredo Castro DIRECTED BY: Pablo LarraÃn RELEASE DATE: 12/16 After turning against the Chilean government for outlawing communism, poet-statesman Pablo Neruda (Luis Gnecco) is forced into hiding and chased by a dogged police officer (Gael GarcÃa Bernal). 70 of 80 Collateral Beauty Barry Wetcher STARRING: Will Smith, Helen Mirren, Edward Norton DIRECTED BY: David Frankel RELEASE DATE: 12/16 It's hard to describe Collateral Beauty, especially when the plot is being kept secret beyond its logline: Howard Inlet (Will Smith) finds his life shattered after a personal tragedy. "It's a little bit It's a Wonderful Life and a little bit The Wizard of Oz," says Smith, 47 (not helping). "It's the process of Howard putting his life back together, but there's also some interesting mystical elements." The Devil Wears Prada director David Frankel is behind the camera. Helen Mirren and Kate Winslet are in front of it with Smith, doing...something. "It's a smart, funny, and heartwarming Christmas story about reclaiming one's life and love," he says. 71 of 80 Assassin's Creed Kerry Brown STARRING: Michael Fassbender, Marion Cotillard, Jeremy Irons DIRECTED BY: Justin Kurzel RELEASE DATE: 12/21 The recipe for any Assassin's Creed videogame is simple: Mix a historical period, a figure in a hood, and a knife hidden in his sleeve. The Assassin's Creed film stars Michael Fassbender as both modern-day death-row inmate Callum Lynch and his deadly 15th-century Spanish ancestor Aguilar, two men connected for mysterious reasons via a Matrix-like device called the Animus. 72 of 80 Julieta Manolo Pavón STARRING: Adriana Ugarte, Rossy de Palma, Emma Suárez DIRECTED BY: Pedro Almodóvar RELEASE DATE: 12/21 Pedro Almodóvar's film, about a woman grieving the dissolution of the relationship with her daughter after her husband's untimely death, is based on three Alice Munro short stories ("Chance," "Soon," and "Silence"). 73 of 80 Sing Illumination Entertainment STARRING: Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Scarlett Johansson DIRECTED BY: Garth Jennings RELEASE DATE: 12/21 Matthew McConaughey voices Buster Moon, a koala bear theater owner who sponsors a singing competition to drum up interest in his struggling establishment. The American Idol-like event draws an eclectic group of competitors, including harried mama pig Rosita (Reese Witherspoon), teenage elephant Meena (Tori Kelly), and punk porcupine Ash (Scarlett Johansson). 74 of 80 20th Century Women Merrick Morton STARRING: Annette Bening, Greta Gerwig, Elle Fanning DIRECTED BY: Mike Mills RELEASE DATE: 12/21 Director Mike Mills (Beginners) returns to his Santa Barbara hometown with a semi-autobiographical film about a California mother (Annette Bening) who recruits two very different women — a punk-rockish photographer (Greta Gerwig) and a precocious teen (Elle Fanning) — to share their views on life, love, and femininity with her 15-year-old son (Lucas Jade Zumann). 75 of 80 Patriots Day STARRING: Mark Wahlberg, John Goodman, Alex Wolff DIRECTED BY: Peter Berg RELEASE DATE: 12/21 Mark Wahlberg, J.K. Simmons, and John Goodman play police officers hunting down the two Boston Marathon bombers in Peter Berg's suspenseful account of the 2013 attack and its aftermath. 76 of 80 Passengers Jaimie Trueblood STARRING: Chris Pratt, Jennifer Lawrence DIRECTED BY: Morten Tyldum RELEASE DATE: 12/21 On a luxury interstellar spaceship bound for the Homestead II colony 120 years away, Jim (Chris Pratt) and Aurora (Jennifer Lawrence) are two of 5,000 souls traveling in suspended animation. But then, Jim and Aurora are mistakenly awakened 90 years too early. Alone in outer space with a giant ship as their personal playground, they begin to fall in love just as it becomes apparent that the ship is malfunctioning and endangering its entire population. Only they can save the rest of the crew. 77 of 80 Fences Joan Marcus STARRING: Denzel Washington, Viola Davis, Mykelti Williamson DIRECTED BY: Denzel Washington RELEASE DATE: 12/25 Denzel Washington and Viola Davis both won Tonys for their roles in the 2010 revival of August Wilson's Pulitzer Prize-winning play. The film adaptation, directed by Washington, figures to be in the Oscars mix. 78 of 80 Why Him? Scott Garfield STARRING: Bryan Cranston, James Franco, Zoey Deutch DIRECTED BY: John Hamburg RELEASE DATE: 12/25 It's dad versus boyfriend in Why Him?, A comedy about a protective pop, Ned (Bryan Cranston), who has major reservations about the man intent on marrying his daughter, Stephanie (Zoey Deutch). Laird (James Franco) is a tech billionaire with a generous heart but an extremely inappropriate sensibility that offends Ned to the core. 79 of 80 Gold Lewis Jacobs STARRING: Matthew McConaughey, Edgar Ramirez, Bryce Dallas Howard DIRECTED BY: Stephen Gaghan RELEASE DATE: 12/25 It may take audiences a moment to recognize Matthew McConaughey in Gold: he gained 40 soft pounds and shaved back his locks so his forehead gleams in order to play Kenny Wells, a luckless prospector trying to strike it rich in the Indonesian jungle. Gold introduces Wells at rock bottom, operating his prospecting business out of a bar in Reno, while his steadfast girlfriend (Bryce Dallas Howard) works multiple jobs to keep them afloat. Ultimately, a fever dream inspires him to team up with a wily geologist (Edgar Ramirez) and head to Borneo in search of a massive gold strike. 80 of 80 Paterson Amazon Studios / Bleecker Street STARRING: Adam Driver, Golshifteh Farahani DIRECTED BY: Jim Jarmusch RELEASE DATE: 12/28 Adam Driver is a bus driver named Paterson from Paterson, N.J., and Golshifteh Farahani is his more extroverted wife in director Jim Jarmusch's relationship drama.