It arrives like a beacon of light at the end of a blockbuster-centric summer: a fresh crop of fall movies that are actually good. (Um, have you seen the trailer for Downton Abbey?) So, bust out your calendar and save the date: These 34 upcoming movies are all ones you won’t want to miss.
Comedy
Hustlers
(September 13)
Jennifer Lopez and Constance Wu star in this film, based on a viral New York magazine story, about a group of strippers who decide to scam their Wall Street clients.
United Artists
Bad Trip
(October 25)
It’s a “hidden camera” comedy in the spirit of Jackass: Two best friends (Eric André and Lil Rel Howery) steal a car from their sister (Tiffany Haddish), then set off to prank the innocent bystanders around them.
Universal Pictures
Last Christmas
(November 8)
Emilia Clarke (of Game of Thrones fame) is the queen of bad decisions—until she takes a job as Santa’s elf in a department store and meets Tom (Henry Golding).
No trailer yet
Paramount Players
Playing with Fire
(November 8)
A group of firefighters (John Cena and Keegan Michael-Key included) are pros at fighting flames, but after a rescue mission, they quickly realize they’re no match for a few kids.
Lionsgate Films
Knives Out
(November 29)
When the patriarch of a quirky family dies unexpectedly on his 85th birthday, an investigation—led by detective Daniel Craig—into the family ensues in this modern whodunnit.
Drama
The Goldfinch
(September 13)
Based on the novel by Donna Tartt, this film follows a boy (Ansel Elgort) who is taken in by an Upper East Side family after his mom is killed in a bombing at the Met Museum. (Nicole Kidman also stars.)
(May 31)
This sequel—starring Millie Bobby Brown, Sally Hawkins and Vera Farmiga—pits members of the crypto-zoological agency against a crew of god-sized monsters including (you guessed it) Godzilla.
Focus Features
Downton Abbey
(September 20)
The Crawley family is back. This time, they’re prepping to host a couple of VIP guests to Downton: the king and queen of England.
20th Century Fox
Ad Astra
(September 20)
Brad Pitt travels deep into the solar system in a quest to find his father (Tommy Lee Jones) who went rogue—and threatens to destroy life on earth as we know it.
Twentieth Century Fox
Judy
(September 27)
Renée Zellweger steps into the shoes of the legendary Judy Garland as she travels to London in 1968 to play a series of sold-out shows.
101 Studios
The Current War
(October 25)
Before there was light, there was the race to see whose electrical system would dominate: Thomas Edison's (Benedict Cumberbatch) or Thomas Westinghouse's (Michael Shannon)? This film chronicles the cutthroat battle.
Warner Bros. Pictures
Motherless Brooklyn
(November 1)
Based on the Jonathan Lethem book of the same name, this movie—set in 1950s New York—follows Lionel Essrog (Bruce Willis), a detective with Tourette’s syndrome trying to find out who murdered his best friend.
No trailer yet
101 Studios
Burden
(November 1)
After a KKK member (Garrett Hedlund) opens up a redneck shop and KKK museum in South Carolina, he falls in love with a single mom and decides to quit the Klan. (Forest Whitaker also stars.)
No trailer yet
Focus Features
Harriet
(November 1)
Cynthia Erivo plays Harriet Tubman in this based-on-a-true-story film about the iconic freedom fighter and her escape from slavery during the Civil War.
Warner Bros. Pictures
The Good Liar
(November 15)
When a con artist (Ian McKellan) meets a well-to-do widow (Helen Mirren) online, he plans to swindle her—but finds the path to a big payoff to be a bit more complicated than that.
STX Entertainment
21 Bridges
(November 22)
Eight New York City police officers are killed in a shooting, and a disgraced cop (Chadwick Boseman) gets put on the case. The only way to catch the suspects? Close all of Manhattan’s 21 bridges, of course.
Sony Pictures
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
(November 22)
When journalist Tom Junod (Matthew Rhys) gets assigned to profile children’s TV star Mr. Rogers (Tom Hanks), an unexpected friendship develops.
Universal Pictures
Queen and Slim
(November 29)
A blossoming romance leads Daniel Kaluuya and Jodie Turner-Smith to go out on a first date, but when they get pulled over, things take a serious turn. (Chloë Sevigny also stars.)
Action
Gemini Man
(October 11)
Will Smith is an over-the-hill hit man who finally meets his match: a younger version of himself.
Wild Rose
(June 14)
An ex-convict—and single mom—from Glasgow (Jessie Buckley) strives to become a country music star and travels to Nashville to try and see it through.
Tolkien
(May 10)
Before he wrote The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien (played by Nicholas Hoult) was just a boy seeking love, friendship and inspiration within a group of fellow outcasts. (This film recounts his early days.)
Sony
Zombieland: Double Tap
(October 18)
The gang’s all here! This time, Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg), Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson), Wichita (Emma Stone) and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin) face off against zombies and fellow survivors in the American heartland.
Sony Pictures
Black and Blue
(October 25)
When a rookie cop (Naomie Harris) captures the murder of a drug dealer at the hands of corrupt police officers on her body cam, she has to think on her feet to save the footage—and herself.
Amazon Studios
The Aeronauts
(October 25)
A pilot (Felicity Jones) and scientist (Eddie Redmayne) attempt to fly higher than anyone else in history…in a hot air balloon.
No trailer yet
Paramount Pictures
Terminator: Dark Fate
(November 1)
Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) returns—this time with her own team of agents, ready to go up against T-1000.
Lionsgate
Midway
(November 8)
It was the battle that changed the course of World War II: Woody Harrelson, Luke Evans and Patrick Wilson play the U.S. soldiers and pilots that fought the Japanese for four days in 1942.
Sony Pictures
Charlie’s Angels
(November 15)
Kristen Stewart, Naomi Scott and Ella Balinska help reboot the 2000 reboot of the 1970s TV series about a group of private detectives working for the ever-elusive Charlie.
20th Century Fox
Ford v Ferrari
(November 15)
Can Ford beat Ferrari on the race track? Car designer Carroll Shelby (Matt Damon) and driver Ken Miles (Christian Bale) set out to prove it’s possible at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1966.
Thriller
It: Chapter Two
(September 6)
It’s been 27 years since their encounter with Pennywise—until a phone call brings the members (and memories) of the Loser’s Club flooding back. (Finn Wolfhard, Bill Hader and Jessica Chastain all star.)
(May 3)
When a couple (Michael Ealy and Meagan Good) move into a new home in Napa Valley, they find themselves victimized by the previous owner (Dennis Quaid) who refuses to let go.
Warner Bros.
Joker
(October 4)
When Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) feels he has no place in society, he goes mad. This film—a prequel to The Dark Knight—shows his speedy rise to legendary status in Gotham City.
Warner Bros.
Doctor Sleep
(November 8)
In this sequel to The Shining, a now-adult Dan Torrance (Ewan McGregor) encounters a girl with powers eerily similar to his own.
FilmNation Entertainment
The Lodge
(November 15)
When a stepmom-to-be gets snowed in with her fiancé’s surly kids at a remote holiday resort, an evil—and unseen—force starts to wreak havoc and conjure up past life experiences she preferred to forget.
Family
Abominable
(September 27)
A crew of kids—led by Yi (voiced by Chloe Bennet)—discovers a yeti who has been separated from his family, and they decide they’ll stop at nothing to help him find his way home.
(July 31)
The animated children’s TV show, Dora the Explorer, gets the live action treatment, but also flashes forward: In the film, she’s in high school and heads into the jungle to confront her nemesis, Swiper the Fox (Benicio del Toro).
Artemis Fowl
(August 9)
Based on the wildly popular series of the same name, this film tells the tale of the twelve-year-old criminal mastermind—and kicks off what could be the next fantasy franchise.
MGM
The Addams Family
(October 4)
Finn Wolfhard, Charlize Theron, Chloe Grace Moretz and Oscar Isaac lend their voices to Pugsley, Morticia, Wednesday and Gomez in this animated film about a spooky family.
Walt Disney Pictures
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil
(October 18)
When dark forces pull them in varying directions, Maleficent (Angelina Jolie) and Aurora (Elle Fanning) begin to question the family ties that bond them together.
Entertainment Studios
Arctic Dogs
(November 1)
An ambitious arctic fox working in the mail room longs for a job as the top dog, so he commandeers a sled and sets out to deliver a mysterious package—and save the day.
Walt Disney Pictures
Frozen II
(November 22)
This time, Elsa and Anna (and Kristoff, Olaf and Sven) have to travel to an enchanted land in order to find the origin of Elsa’s powers and save Arendelle—to the tune of “Let It Go,” we’re hoping.
