“Nightbitch”
World premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival, the horror comedy “Nightbitch” finally arrives in December as an Oscar contender. Directed by Marielle Heller (“A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood”), the fantastical dramedy centers on a woman (Amy Adams) who pauses her career to be a stay-at-home mom, but soon her domesticity takes a surreal and feral turn. Scoot McNairy, Zoe Chao, Mary Holland, Archana Rajan, and ‘70s and ‘80s scream queen Jessica Harper support Adams’s much-welcome return.
Release Date: December 6 via Searchlight Pictures. – RP
“Y2K”
Comedian/actor Kyle Mooney (“SNL”) makes his feature-length directorial debut with a reimagined Eve of the Millennium dial-up disaster comedy about a group of friends who crash a New Year’s Eve party on the last night of 1999. Jaeden Martell, Rachel Zegler, Julian Dennison, and The Kid Laroi star.
Release Date: December 6 via A24. -ED
“The Lord Of The Rings: The War of the Rohirrim”
The long-in-the-works “Lord Of The Rings” anime spin-off finally arrives this December. Subtitled, ‘The War Of The Rohirrim’ this is a reference to the people of Rohan from Peter Jackson’s ‘The Two Towers’ middle chapter, though this film is set 183 years earlier and tells the story of the legendary king of Rohan (Brian Cox) who must defend his kingdom from an army of invaders. The voice cast includes Gaia Wise, Luke Pasqualino, Laurence Ubong Williams, Shaun Dooley, and Miranda Otto, reprising her role as Éowyn, though only as the narrator. – ED
Release Date: December 13 via Warner Bros.
“Kraven The Hunter”
Originally scheduled for late August, apparently, Sony liked what they saw and bumped the R-rated ‘Spider-Man’ spin-off into December. Directed by terrific indie director J. C. Chandor (“Triple Frontier”), he makes the big leap to superheroes with the origin story of Spider-Man villain Kraven The Hunter (Aaron Taylor-Johnson). Additional Spidey characters include Calypso, Chameleon, Rhino, and the supporting cast features Ariana DeBose, Fred Hechinger, Alessandro Nivola, Christopher Abbott, and Russell Crowe.
Release Date: December 13 via Sony Pictures. – RP
“Mufasa”
Yep, Barry Jenkins, the “Moonlight” arthouse director and Academy Award winner, has gone Disney and gone the route of Jon Favreau, making a “live-action” (read: photorealistic animated) prequel to 2019’s “The Lion King” remake. Aaron Pierre (“Underground Railroad”) and Kelvin Harrison Jr. (“Waves”), voice the lead roles and Donald Glover, Seth Rogen, Billy Eichner, John Kani, and Beyoncé Knowles-Carter reprise their roles from the last film, Mads Mikkelsen and many more join the cast.
Release Date: December 20 via Disney. – ED
“Sonic The Hedgehog 3”
Directed by Jeff Fowler again, James Marsden, Ben Schwartz, Tika Sumpter, Colleen O’Shaughnessey, Lee Majdoub, and Idris Elba reprise their roles. Jim Carrey returns as the villainous Dr. Robotnik, too, and the film centers on a mysterious adversary that Team Sonic must face, aka Shadow The Hedgehog, as voiced by Keanu Reeves.
Release Date: December 20 via Paramount. – ED
“The Room Next Door”
Spanish auteur Pedro Almodóvar has been threatening to make his feature-length English-language debut for quite some time now and finally does so with “The Room Next Door” starring Tilda Swinton, and Julianne Moore. After years of being out of touch, the film centers on two friends who meet again in an extreme but strangely sweet situation. John Turturro, Alessandro Nivola, Juan Diego Botto, Raúl Arévalo, Victoria Luengo, and more co-star.
Release Date: December 20, 2024 (limited), via Sony Pictures Classic. – RP
“Babygirl”
Directed by Halina Reijn, the filmmaker behind “Bodies Bodies Bodies,” the erotic thriller centers on a high-ranking CEO (Nicole Kidman) who jeopardizes her career by embarking on an affair with a much younger intern (Harris Dickinson). Premiering at the Venice Film Festival in September, the movie co-stars Sophie Wilde, Antonio Banderas, and Jean Reno.
Release Date: December 20 via A24. – RP
“Nosferatu”
A big, ambitious R-rated goth horror film for Christmas? Yep, that’s the big swing Focus Features is taking with “Nosferatu,” the latest creepy drama from director Robert Eggers (“The Witch,” “The Northman”). Based on Bram Stoker’s “Dracula,” the film is a gothic tale of obsession between a vampire (Bill Skarsgård) and a haunted young woman (Lily-Rose Depp). The starry cast also features Nicholas Hoult, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Emma Corrin, Ralph Ineson, Willem Dafoe, and more.
Release Date: December 25 via Focus Features. – RP
“The Fire Inside”
Written by “Moonlight” filmmaker Barry Jenkins and helmed by acclaimed cinematographer turned director Rachel Morrison (known for shooting “Black Panther” and “Mudbound”), the drama centers on the story of professional boxer Claressa “T-Rex” Shields training for the 2012 Summer Olympic games. Ryan Destiny, Brian Tyree Henry, and Judy Greer star.
Release Date: December 25 via Amazon MGM. – RP
“A Complete Unknown”
Coming off last year’s fifth “Indiana Jones” installment, filmmaker James Mangold is back, and this time with lightning speed. Mangold’s Bob Dylan biopic, “A Complete Unknown,” was shot in March, finished in June, and will be ready six months later. The film stars Timothée Chalamet as Dylan, Edward Norton as folk icon Pete Seeger, Monica Barbaro as Joan Baez, and Elle Fanning as Dylan’s main girlfriend in the early ‘60s. Boyd Holbrook, Dan Fogler, Scoot McNairy, Norbert Leo Butz, and many more co-stars. Searchlight may not have another Oscar contender this year, hence the rush.
Release Date: December 25 via Searchlight Pictures. – ED
Also in December:
The animated Netflix film, “That Christmas,” featuring Brian Cox, Fiona Shaw, Jodie Whittaker, and Bill Nighy; A24’s “On Becoming a Guinea Fowl” (December 13);
TBD Fall
“Parthenope”
Academy Award-winning filmmaker Paolo Sorrentino’s latest, which premiered at Cannes, centers on a woman, the city she lives in, and the story of the many loves she encounters over her lifetime. Celeste Dalla Porta, Stefania Sandrelli, Gary Oldman, Silvio Orlando, and many more star (read our review).
Release Date: TBD 2024, via A24. – RP
“Carry On”
Filmmaker Jaume Collet-Serra loves his action thrillers and this one centers on a Christmas Day flight and a young TSA agent (Taron Egerton) blackmailed into letting a dangerous package slip through security onto the plane. Written by Michael Green (“Logan,” “Bladerunner 2049”). Jason Bateman stars alongside Logan Marshall-Green, Sofia Carson, and Danielle Deadwyler.
Release Date: TBD Fall 2024, via Netflix. – RP
Also TBD Fall:
“The Six Triple Eight,” written and directed by Tyler Perry and starring Kerry Washington (Netflix); Susannah Grant’s “Lonely Planet,” with Laura Dern, Liam Hemsworth and Diana Silvers (Netflix);