‘Maestro,’ ‘The Marvels,’ and 30 other movies to put on your radar this fall.
Update: The opening date for “American Fiction” has been pushed back to Dec. 15 for its limited release and expanding on Dec. 22.
By Dana Barbuto/Boston Movie News
Move over “Barbenheimer”—Scorsese and Swift need the room. The cinema legend and the pop music goddess are poised to give the fall movie box office another powerful one-two punch with his “Killers of the Flower Moon” and her “The Eras Tour” concert film. They top a diverse slate of animated adventures, heart-warming comedies, biting satires, historical epics, and cheesy horror flicks.
Among the films premiering in the runup to Thanksgiving, 10 have ties to Boston: “The Holdovers,” “Leo,” “Old Dads,” “American Fiction,” “Saw X,” “The Pigeon Tunnel,” “Maestro,” “Dumb Money,” and “Wish.” (Two other releases have been moved to next year: the superhero flick, “Madame Web,” and the Zendaya tennis comedy, “Challengers.”) “Finestkind,” a crime drama set amid the New Bedford fishing industry, will hit the Paramount+ streaming platform on a date to be named later this year.
Here’s a sampling of what’s in store:
September
Director Craig Gillespie (“The Finest Hours,” “I, Tonya”) tells his third Massachusetts story with “Dumb Money” (Sept. 22 in Boston, Sept. 29 in the ‘burbs ), a chronicle of how an amateur day trader (Paul Dano) created the GameStop stock frenzy from his basement in Brockton … “Flora and Son” (Sept. 22) stars Eve Hewson in “Once” director John Carney’s story about a flustered Irish mom discovering the power of music… “Saw X” (Sept. 27) presents Tobin Bell, raised in Weymouth, with the opportunity to reprise his role as the vicious killer Jigsaw in the 10th film in the horror franchise… “The Creator” (Sept. 29) calls on John David Washington to hunt down deadly artificial intelligence.
October
“Foe” (Oct. 6, Prime Video) has Saoirse Ronan and Paul Mescal confronting marital issues in a dystopian sci-fi thriller… “Strange Way of Life” (Oct. 6) is Pedro Almodóvar’s 30-minute short Western featuring Pedro Pascal and Ethan Hawke as lovers, ala “Brokeback Mountain”… Tommy Lee Jones and Jamie Foxx join forces for the legal drama “The Burial” (Oct. 6 theaters, Oct. 13 Prime Video)… “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” (Oct. 13) has already drummed up $65 million in pre-sales and is on pace for a $100 million opening weekend… “Anatomy of a Fall” (Oct. 13), a French courtroom drama, was this year’s Palme d’Or winner at Cannes… “Old Dads” (Oct. 20) finds Canton native Bill Burr co-writing, directing, and starring opposite Bobby Cannavale and Bokeem Woodbine in a story about a father and his two best friends negotiating aging and parenting …
“Killers of the Flower Moon” (Oct. 20) reunites Martin Scorsese with Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro for a fact-based thriller about wealthy Native Americans being murdered in 1920s Oklahoma… “Dicks: The Musical” (Oct. 20) stars Nathan Lane, Megan Mullally, Bowen Yang, and hip-hop’s Megan Thee Stallion in a raunchy movie-musical from the producers of “The Greatest Showman”… “The Pigeon Tunnel” (Oct. 20 theaters and Apple TV+) comes from Cambridge documentarian Errol Morris, pulling the curtain back on former British spy David Cornwell, aka author John le Carré … “Fingernails” (Oct. 27, Apple TV+ and select local theaters Nov. 3) has Jessie Buckley, Riz Ahmed, and Jeremy Allen White caught in a twisted love triangle… “Priscilla” (Oct. 27) is Sofia Coppola’s take on Priscilla Presley’s years with Elvis… “The Killer” (Oct. 27, Netflix) comes from director David Fincher and features Michael Fassbender as an assassin… “Five Nights at Freddy’s” is set to dominate Halloween horror (Peacock and theaters Oct 27).
November
Rom-com queen Meg Ryan returns to the genre in “What Happens Later” to direct and star opposite David Duchovny. “The Holdovers” (Nov. 10) reunites Paul Giamatti with his “Sideways” director, Alexander Payne; “American Fiction” (Nov. 17) stars Jeffrey Wright as a frustrated novelist in a pair of comedies shot in and around Boston… “Nyad” (Nov. 3 on Netflix) profiles marathon swimmer Diana Nyad (Annette Bening), with Jodie Foster in tow… “Trolls Band Together” (Nov. 17) is an animated entry featuring the voices of Justin Timberlake and Anna Kendrick, accompanied by a new NSYNC song… “Leo” (Nov. 22, Netflix) finds Bill Burr, a Canton High graduate, and Adam Sandler adding their voices to an animated musical comedy…
“Napoleon” (Nov. 22) reunites Joaquin Phoenix with his “Gladiator” director, Ridley Scott, for a tale about the ruthless French emperor and his beloved wife, Josephine (Vanessa Kirby) … The animated musical “Wish” (Nov. 22) is produced by Quincy native Peter Del Vecho, an Oscar winner for “Frozen”… “Saltburn” (Nov. 24), a high-society satire, is writer-director Emerald Fennell’s followup to her #MeToo drama, “Promising Young Woman”… “The Marvels” (Nov. 10) has Brie Larson slipping back into her Carol Danvers’ superhero suit… “Next Goal Wins” (Nov. 17) is a comedy from “Thor” director Taiki Waititi about the American Samoa soccer team… “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes” (Nov. 17) is a prequel laying out the origin of President Coriolanus Snow… “May December” (Nov. 17 theaters, Dec. 1 Netflix) pairs Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore in director Todd Haynes’ take on the Mary Kay Letourneau scandal… “Maestro” (Nov. 22 theaters, Dec. 20 Netflix) stars Bradley Cooper, who also directs as Lawrence-born composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein.
Editor’s note: Check back in early November for our Holiday Film Preview, a look ahead to the movies opening between Thanksgiving and New Year’s, including Emma Stone’s “Poor Things” and Jason Momoa’s “Aquaman 2.”
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