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Brace yourselves, movie lovers—because another Award Season is almost here! As the temperatures finally edge toward more bearable levels and Starbucks starts brewing up Pumpkin Spice Lattes, Hollywood’s Award Season buzz begins building. Within the next couple of weeks, many of the year’s big contenders will be heading to Toronto and Venice to kick off their campaigns as the rest of us sit by in eager anticipation of the months to come. Who will win? Who will bomb? Only time will tell. But here’s a look at what’s heading to theaters in the coming months.
Before we begin, though, please note that films are listed by week. In general, I use Friday as the standard release date, though some will open earlier in the week (especially around holidays). Others will be opening in limited release, so release dates in your area will vary. And some films will probably change release dates two or three times before they finally hit theaters (or end up on hold indefinitely). So be sure to check your local listings for exact dates and times before racing out to your friendly neighborhood theater.
SEPTEMBER 4:
The beginning of September is never a busy time for new releases—but this Labor Day weekend offers a few options. Brick Mansions director Camille Delamarre helms the action reboot The Transporter Refueled, with Ed Skrein taking over for Jason Statham as the new Frank Martin (with Ray Stevenson as his dad).
Meanwhile, in A Walk in the Woods, Robert Redford stars as travel writer Bill Bryson, who enlists his old friend (played by Nick Nolte) to join him in hiking the Appalachian Trail. Will their adventures be anything like Reese Witherspoon’s in last year’s Wild? Somehow, I doubt it....
Also this week, Captain America Chris Evans makes his directorial debut in Before We Go, and Jeremy Sisto plays an aging tennis pro in the irreverent comedy Break Point.
Kristin’s Pick: For my first pick of the fall, I’ve got to go with Robert Redford and Nick Nolte. Their journey may not turn out to be a thrilling one, but the two beloved actors should make a good team.
SEPTEMBER 11:
This week, Sanaa Lathan stars with Michael Ealy and Morris Chestnut in The Perfect Guy, a romantic thriller about a woman who finds herself caught between a new guy and her ex-boyfriend. I’m pretty sure this same movie (or at least something very similar) hits theaters every September. But if you liked it last year, feel free to see it again.
Meanwhile, M. Night Shyamalan (Hey! Remember him?) returns with the horror comedy (yep...you read that right) The Visit, starring Kathryn Hahn as a mother whose life takes a strange turn after her children visit their grandparents’ house. Of course, many of us consider several of Shyamalan’s recent films to be both comedy and horror—but I’ll admit that I’m morbidly curious about this one.
In limited release this week, Elle Fanning stars in a transitioning transgender teen in About Ray. Alison Brie and Jason Sudeikis try to stay just friends in Sleeping with Other People. And Richard Gere stars as a homeless man in Oren Moverman’s Time Out of Mind.
Kristin’s Pick: This week looks more promising than most early-September weekends. But while I’m looking forward to checking out all of the limited releases, I’ve got to give my pick to The Visit—because maybe a solid sense of humor is what Shyamalan’s been missing all this time. I honestly hope that he can pull it off.
SEPTEMBER 18:
September really starts to heat up this week—and that’s not just a play on one of this week’s releases, Maze Runner: The Scorch Trails. Also this week, Jake Gyllenhaal, Jason Clarke, Josh Brolin, and more brave a deadly snowstorm while climbing Everest. If you’re afraid of heights, don’t even watch the trailer for this one.
Meanwhile, Johnny Depp stars as Boston’s notorious Whitey Bulger in Black Mass, while Emily Blunt and (again) Josh Brolin take on a ruthless Mexican cartel in Denis Villeneuve’s Sicario.
If that still isn’t enough, there’s also Pawn Sacrifice, starring Tobey Maguire as chess champion Bobby Fischer, and Captive, starring Kate Mara as a troubled single mom who’s held hostage in her home by an escaped killer.
Kristin’s Pick: So where do I even start here? There are so many promising picks this week—but, as a former Boston resident (not to mention a long-time Johnny Depp fan), I’m most excited to see Black Mass.
SEPTEMBER 25:
Once again, this week is absolutely overflowing with options. For the kids, there’s the animated adventure Hotel Transylvania 2, which reunites the monsters from the 2012 original to help Adam Sandler’s Dracula teach his young grandson to be a vampire. Or, for grown-up horrors, there’s Eli Roth’s latest, The Green Inferno—or Oculus director Mike Flanagan’s latest, Before I Wake.
In historical dramas, Roland Emmerich studies the Stonewall Riots in Stonewall, Labyrinth of Lies examines the cover-up of Nazi crimes, and three Southern women defend their home in the Civil War drama The Keeping Room.
If you prefer documentaries, there’s the Arcade Fire doc, The Reflektor Tapes, or one woman’s battle against bullying in A Brave Heart: The Lizzie Velasquez Story.
Or, if you could just use a good laugh, there’s Nancy Meyers’s latest comedy, The Intern, with Robert De Niro as a 70-year-old widower who comes out of retirement to work for Anne Hathaway.
Kristin’s Pick: After sorting through all of those releases, I could use a laugh—so I’ll give my pick to De Niro in The Intern.
OCTOBER 2:
As we move into October, Tom Hardy takes on a double role as twins Reggie and Ronald Kray in the true crime biopic Legend, which follows the brothers in their rise to become notorious gangsters.
Also this week, Matt Damon is once again stranded in space (Remember Interstellar?) in Ridley Scott’s The Martian.
Meanwhile, in limited release, Julianne Moore and Ellen Page star as domestic partners fighting for equal benefits in Freeheld, and Oscar-winning documentarian Davis Guggenheim explores the Taliban’s attack on an outspoken Pakistani girl in He Named Me Malala.
Kristin’s Pick: This week offers some interesting picks, but I’ve got to go with Matt Damon in The Martian. I do, however, hope that the poor guy makes it back home again—because he’s definitely done his time in space.
OCTOBER 9:
If you enjoyed the 2008 documentary Man on Wire as much as I did, then you’re in luck (or at least I hope so). This week, Robert Zemeckis brings the story of high-wire artist Philippe Petit and his 1974 attempt at walking between the towers of the World Trade Center back to the big screen in The Walk, with the ever-enjoyable Joseph Gordon-Levitt starring as Petit.
Meanwhile, for some swashbuckling action, there’s director Joe Wright’s take on J. M. Barrie’s beloved characters in the Peter Pan origin story, Pan. For a little bit of romance, there’s Ashley Judd in the Appalachian rom-com Big Stone Gap. And Danny Boyle tells the story of an icon of the digital age with a little bit of help from star Michael Fassbender in Steve Jobs.
And, of course, no football season would be complete without a little bit of football drama—so, this year, Aaron Eckhart stars in the inspirational football story My All American
Kristin’s Pick: Though I’m definitely looking forward to seeing Hugh Jackman as Blackbeard, my pick this week is an easy one. I love Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and I loved Man on Wire—so I’m eagerly awaiting the release of The Walk.
OCTOBER 16:
This week marks another action-packed weekend at the movies. First, for some good, old-fashioned Halloween-worthy scares, there’s Guillermo del Toro’s Crimson Peak. (Or you can just watch the trailer; that might be scary enough for you.) For some kid-friendly scares, Jack Black stars as author R. L. Stine in the big-screen adaptation of the beloved Goosebumps books. And, finally this week, Steven Spielberg reunites with Tom Hanks for their fourth collaboration, the Cold War spy thriller Bridge of Spies.
Kristin’s Pick: Spielberg and Hanks may be Hollywood legends, but, since it’s October, I’ve got to give my pick to the terrifying-looking chills of Crimson Peak.
OCTOBER 23:
In case Guillermo del Toro didn’t scare you enough last weekend, this weekend offers even more supernatural thrills as Vin Diesel sets out to save the world from the forces of evil in director Breck Eisner’s The Last Witch Hunter. Or, if you can’t get enough of the Paranormal Activity movies, the latest installment, Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension, also hits theaters this weekend.
Meanwhile, in non-horror movies, Bradley Cooper stars as a chef who’s working to clean up his act and get back on top in Burnt. And girls of the ‘80s will be racing out to see the long-awaited live-action Jem and the Holograms adaptation.
Kristin’s Pick: The cast of Burnt is absolutely spectacular. So although I often caught episodes of Jem after school as a kid, I’ve got to stick with Bradley Cooper this week.
OCTOBER 30:
With all of the trick-or-treating and Halloween parties going on this weekend, the studios are holding off on their next big releases. So this week has just one new release: Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse, a horror-comedy about a trio of scouts on a mission to save their town from zombies.
Kristin’s Pick: I do enjoy a good horror-comedy—so let’s just pretend that Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse isn’t my only choice this week and hope that it doesn’t disappoint.
Now that we’ve made it through the first two months of this year’s Award Season, let’s take a little break. After all, we’ve got a whole lot of action, adventure, and award contenders coming up in the next couple of months, so you’ll want to rest up before we tackle them all. Then be sure to check back next week for a look at November and December.
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