Sure, blockbusters like “Avengers: Doomsday” and “Dune: Part Three” are in store. But there’s a lot more to the season, like a concert film directed by Paul Thomas Anderson and a Nigerian version of “Mrs. Dalloway.”
The following is a select preview. (All dates and platforms are subject to change.)
November
AVEDON The career of the photographer Richard Avedon becomes a camera subject itself in this documentary from Ron Howard. (Nov. 11 on Netflix)
GHOST SOLDIER A former Green Beret (Jim Caviezel) takes the fight to a corporation that wants the land he and his neighbors own. To be clear: It’s an action movie, not a legal drama. (Nov. 11 in theaters)
BITTER CHRISTMAS Pedro Almodóvar gets metafictional: His new feature concerns a filmmaker (Leonardo Sbaraglia) and his latest movie, which we see unfolding as he writes. That strand stars Bárbara Lennie. (Nov. 13 in theaters)
EBENEZER In his first Hollywood feature in nearly eight years, Johnny Depp puts his spin on Charles Dickens’s Christmas curmudgeon. It might be a pretty dark spin: The director is the horror maestro Ti West (“X”). (Nov. 13 in theaters)
HEARTLAND Shana Feste wrote and directed this drama about a country musician’s investigation of her niece’s disappearance. Jessica Chastain stars. (Nov. 13 on Netflix)
HOW TO ROB A BANK Social-media addiction reaches a new level of pathology in this tale of bank robbers who stream their capers. With Nicholas Hoult as the ringleader, John C. Reilly as an F.B.I. stiff and Zoë Kravitz as a hacker the feds recruit to help. David Leitch directed. (Nov. 13 in theaters)
PAPER TIGER The Gowanus Canal was quite a different place in 1986. The shady activity surrounding it is the catalyst for James Gray’s crime drama starring Adam Driver as an ex-cop and Miles Teller as the engineer brother he recruits into a scheme. Scarlett Johansson also stars. (Nov. 13 in theaters)
THREEASFOUR: FULL CIRCLE The musician Sean Ono Lennon profiles the fashion collective threeASFOUR, which specializes in out-there clothes (think Björk). (Nov. 13 in theaters)
VICTORIAN PSYCHO Maika Monroe plays a homicidally inclined governess on a British estate. Zachary Wigon directed this tongue-in-cheek thriller, adapted by Virginia Feito from her novel. (Nov. 13 in theaters)
WHEN A WITNESS RECANTS Dawn Porter’s documentary revolves around three men who were wrongly convicted of the 1983 killing of a teenager in Baltimore. The author Ta-Nehisi Coates, who grew up in Baltimore at that time, is featured and is an executive producer. (Nov. 17 on HBO Max)
MADDEN David O. Russell, no stranger to crazy wig and makeup work after “American Hustle,” directs Nicolas Cage as the football coach and commentator John Madden. Christian Bale plays Al Davis, who brought Madden to the Oakland Raiders. (Nov. 18 on Amazon Prime)
CAMERON WINTER AT CARNEGIE HALL When Winter, frontman of the band Geese, performed a solo show at Carnegie Hall last December at age 23, Paul Thomas Anderson was there to preserve the experience on film. (Nov. 20 in theaters)
ELSINORE This biopic casts Andrew Scott as Ian Charleson, one of the leads in “Chariots of Fire,” in 1989, when he played Hamlet onstage mere weeks before his death after a diagnosis of AIDS. (Nov. 20 in theaters)
THE HUNGER GAMES: SUNRISE ON THE REAPING Francis Lawrence returns to direct this second “Hunger Games” prequel. Elle Fanning, Jesse Plemons and Ralph Fiennes step into roles played in later years (and previous installments) by Elizabeth Banks, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Donald Sutherland, respectively. (Nov. 20 in theaters)
JOSEPHINE After an 8-year-old (Mason Reeves) witnesses a sexual assault in a park, she and her parents (Gemma Chan and Channing Tatum) grapple with the fallout. Beth de Araújo’s feature took the top prize in the main competition at Sundance. (Nov. 20 in theaters)
MINOTAUR Now living in exile in France, the Russian filmmaker Andrey Zvyagintsev (“Leviathan”) transplants a scenario from the French film “La Femme Infidèle” to his native country in 2022 using Latvian locations. (Nov. 20 in theaters)
STEPS This animated feature imagines “Cinderella” from the perspective of the stepsisters (voiced by Ali Wong and Stephanie Hsu). Amanda Seyfried voices their more famous sibling. (Nov. 20 in theaters and on Netflix)
ALL OF A SUDDEN A chance encounter between a French nursing-home director (Virginie Efira) and a Japanese playwright (Tao Okamoto) grows into a moving bond in the director Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s eccentric meditation on kindness and the power of listening. The stars shared the best-actress prize at Cannes. (Nov. 25 in theaters)
DISNEY’S HEXED Hailee Steinfeld and Rashida Jones voice a daughter-mother pair who end up in a land of witches. (Nov. 25 in theaters)
FOCKER-IN-LAW At this point in the “Meet the Parents” saga, Ben Stiller has aged into the father-in-law role that Robert De Niro played in the original. De Niro is in this one, too, but his character is more accepting of the newcomer to the family (played by Ariana Grande). (Nov. 25 in theaters)
THE FURTHER MIS-ADVENTURES OF CLIFF BOOTH Brad Pitt reprises his Oscar-winning role from “Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood” in a sequel set eight years after the events of the first film. Quentin Tarantino wrote the script, but David Fincher — in some ways Tarantino’s stylistic opposite — directed. (Nov. 25 in theaters, Dec. 23 on Netflix)
HERSHEY Screenings of this biopic of the chocolate magnate Milton Hershey had better come with free concessions. Finn Wittrock and Alexandra Daddario star. (Nov. 25 in theaters)
14TH Ava DuVernay’s follow-up to the documentary “13th” (2016) traces the history of both the 14th Amendment and the Lost Cause narrative that undermined its promise, and argues that some of the text’s other guarantees (like birthright citizenship) have come under attack. (Nov. 27 in theaters, Dec. 4 on Netflix)
IN WAVES This animated feature, based on the graphic novel and memoir by A.J. Dungo, concerns young love, illness and surfing. Will Sharpe and Stephanie Hsu lend their voices. (Nov. 27 in theaters, Dec. 11 on Netflix)
TANGLES A San Francisco artist returns to the town where she was raised and faces family troubles in this black-and-white animated feature with the voices of Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Abbi Jacobson and Bryan Cranston. (Nov. 27 in theaters)
WHO IS STILL ALIVE In this documentary, nine refugees from Gaza use a bare-bones backdrop and chalk outlines to tell their stories. (Nov. 27 in theaters)
December
THE MAN WITH THE BAG The man with the bag is Santa, a.k.a. St. Nick. The man who plays him is Arnold Schwarzenegger, a.k.a. a former governor of California. When the bag is stolen, Santa seeks assistance from a thief (Alan Ritchson). Adam Shankman directed. (Dec. 2 on Amazon Prime)
ABOVE THE BELOW Idris Elba stars in and co-directed this story of astronauts trying to survive an unanticipated ocean landing. (Dec. 4 in theaters)
BEHEMOTH! Tony Gilroy wrote and directed this story of a cellist (Pedro Pascal) sorting through a confusing interlude in his career and personal life. Olivia Wilde and Eva Victor also star, and nine movie composers collaborated on the music. (Dec. 4 in theaters)
DE GAULLE: LIBERTY The second half of Antonin Baudry’s hit two-feature biopic about Gen. Charles de Gaulle’s leadership during the French resistance covers 1943-4. Simon Abkarian plays de Gaulle. (Dec. 4 in theaters and on demand)
EVERY CONTACT LEAVES A TRACE The documentary essayist Lynne Sachs deserves to be as well known as her filmmaker brother, Ira Sachs. For her latest feature, she takes business cards acquired over the years from strangers and seeks to contact seven of the names. (Dec. 4 in theaters)
EVERYBODY DIGS BILL EVANS The Norwegian actor (and medical doctor) Anders Danielsen Lie stars as the American jazz pianist Bill Evans after a momentous day of recording at the Village Vanguard — which was soon followed by the death of his bassist, Scott LaFaro. (Dec. 4 in theaters)
THE GALLERIST Natalie Portman plays a gallery owner who treats a dead body as the main attraction of a show in this art-world satire directed by Cathy Yan. Jenna Ortega also stars. (Dec. 4 in theaters)
GODS DON’T GIVE GIFTS Zack London directed this gooey-looking science-fiction anthology, set in a future where, per the trailer, “strong minds can outlive weak bodies.” (Dec. 4 in theaters)
THE FRIEND’S HOUSE IS HERE Clandestinely shot in Iran, this Sundance favorite is unusual for depicting the country’s underground art and theater scene, as well as the threats it faces. (Dec. 4 in theaters)
JANE ELLIOTT AGAINST THE WORLD After the assassination of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Elliott, a teacher in Iowa, divided her class into groups by eye color to teach her students a lesson about racism. She is the subject of this documentary, which also deals with her efforts to fight censorship in education. (Dec. 4 in theaters)
RAY GUNN The title character is a private eye in a retro-futuristic animated movie that combines film noir and science fiction. It’s the latest from Brad Bird (“Ratatouille”). Sam Rockwell, Scarlett Johansson and Tom Waits provide voices. (Dec. 4 in theaters, Dec. 18 on Netflix)
REHEARSALS FOR A REVOLUTION Using archival material, the filmmaker Pegah Ahangarani traces her memories of life in Iran and the country’s history from 1979 to the present. (Dec. 4 in theaters)
VIOLENT NIGHT 2 David Harbour’s butt-kicking Santa Claus rediscovers the meaning of the holiday while delivering a righteous whupping to a gangster (Jared Harris). Kristen Bell plays Mrs. Claus. (Dec. 4 in theaters)
BUNKER Florian Zeller (“The Father”) wrote and directed this drama exploring the ethical challenges posed when an architect is asked to build a billionaire’s survival bunker. Javier Bardem and Penélope Cruz star. (Dec. 11 in theaters)
CLARISSA As in Clarissa Dalloway: The director brothers Arie and Chuko Esiri rework Virginia Woolf’s 1925 novel for a contemporary Nigerian context. When the film played at Cannes, Manohla Dargis wrote that it was “rightly received with a chorus of wows.” Sophie Okonedo plays the title character. (Dec. 11 in theaters)
THE DEBUT An amateur actor (the decidedly non-amateur Julianne Moore) digs deep to find her character when she’s cast in a musical theater production. Paul Giamatti plays her director; Jesse Eisenberg wrote and directed. (Dec. 11 in theaters)
GEORGE MICHAEL: THE FAITH TOUR Footage said to be recently rediscovered captures the singer performing in Paris over two nights in 1988. (Dec. 11 in theaters)
INK Learn how Rupert Murdoch turned the British newspaper The Sun from a broadsheet into a tabloid. Danny Boyle directed this adaptation of James Graham’s play, with Guy Pearce as Murdoch and Jack O’Connell as the editor he takes under his wing. (Dec. 11 in theaters, Jan. 8 on Netflix)
ROSE The Austrian director Markus Schleinzer’s black-and-white, 17th-century period piece centers on a woman (Sandra Hüller) who, having masqueraded as a male soldier in war, continues to live as a man afterward, even through married life. (Dec. 11 in theaters)
TENDER LOVING CARE The British director Mike Leigh’s poignant feature — which he’s suggested may be his last — revolves around a child protection worker (Kate O’Flynn, from “Widow’s Bay”) who has just undergone a breakup; her parents (Marion Bailey and Paul Jesson), who aren’t prepared for the news; and the friend (Alice Bailey Johnson) who takes her in. (Dec. 11 in theaters)
GIVE ME SOME SUGAH In a true story, a Chicago baker learns that one of her customers is the boy she put up for adoption years earlier. Taraji P. Henson stars. (Dec. 16 on Netflix)
TO HOLD A MOUNTAIN A mother and daughter in a remote part of Montenegro must decide what to do when it appears that a NATO shooting range is coming to the area. Biljana Tutorov and Petar Glomazic directed this Sundance prizewinning documentary. (Dec. 16 in theaters)
AVENGERS: DOOMSDAY The mega-grosser “Avengers: Endgame” (2019) is being followed by “Avengers: Doomsday.” Does anything come after Doomsday? With Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans and many, many more. (Dec. 18 in theaters)
DUNE: PART THREE In Denis Villeneuve’s third “Dune” film, Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) is finding it’s not easy being emperor. With Zendaya, Florence Pugh, Jason Momoa and some sandworms. (Dec. 18 in theaters)
LA GRADIVA Marine Atlan’s debut feature was the big discovery of this year’s Critics’ Week, a parallel festival at Cannes. It follows a group of French teenagers and their teacher on a school trip to southern Italy. (Dec. 18 in theaters)
TUTU Sam Pollard (“MLK/FBI”) directs this documentary portrait of Desmond Tutu, the archbishop who worked to end apartheid in South Africa. (Dec. 18 in theaters)
THE ANGRY BIRDS MOVIE 3 You should never, ever use your cellphone during a movie, but there would be a certain Baudrillardian satisfaction in playing Angry Birds during this sequel. (Dec. 23 in theaters)
ARTIFICIAL Luca Guadagnino directs a sort of “Social Network” for ChatGPT centered on Ilya Sutskever (Yura Borisov), a founder of OpenAI who turned against his fellow founder Sam Altman (Andrew Garfield). (The New York Times has sued OpenAI and Microsoft, claiming copyright infringement of news content related to A.I. systems. The companies have denied the suit’s claims.) (Dec. 25 in theaters)
COWARD Lukas Dhont (“Close”) directed this story of two young men finding passion against the backdrop of the World War I trenches. Emmanuel Macchia Pierre and Valentin Campagne Francis shared a best-actor prize at Cannes. (Dec. 25 in theaters)
JUMANJI: OPEN WORLD Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black and Karen Gillan are back for the latest Jumanji outing. Jake Kasdan directed. (Dec. 25 in theaters)
MR. IRRELEVANT Jonathan Levine directed this biopic of John Tuggle (David Corenswet), the last person chosen in the National Football League draft in 1983. (Dec. 25 in theaters)
WERWULF Robert Eggers reteams with Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Willem Dafoe and Lily-Rose Depp from his “Nosferatu” (2024). The trailer, as you might expect, features full moons and howls. (Dec. 25 in theaters)
LOOK BACK The Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda sneaks in his second movie of the year with this manga adaptation, following two childhood friends who love to draw. (Dec. 30 in theaters)
Shivani Gonzalez contributed to this article.
The post ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ and 58 Other Movies to See This Winter appeared first on New York Times.
