- Autumn means awards season, with major studios jostling to make the biggest splash, while Halloween signals the start of horror season
- Other blockbusters to look out for include Brad Pitt sci-fi Ad Astra and a Charlie’s Angels reboot
The summer may be over, but Hollywood shows no sign of letting up on the must-see movies. Autumn means awards season, as the studios jostle to make the biggest splash with their prestige pictures, in the hope of wooing voters at the Oscars, Golden Globes and elsewhere.
Halloween at the end of October also means it is officially horror season, and this year promises a bevy of spine-tingling chillers certain to give you many sleepless nights.
November ushers in a raft of top-flight crowd-fillers hoping to make a splash during North America's Thanksgiving holidays, all in all delivering three months of top-quality cinema.
Below are a dozen of the biggest and most highly anticipated films opening between now and early December (opening dates are for Hong Kong).
It Chapter Two
Twenty-seven years after the events of the first hugely successful film, the Losers Club reunites in the small town of Derry for a final terrifying showdown with Pennywise the clown. Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy and Bill Hader head up an all-star cast to tackle the tricky second half of Stephen King's epic horror classic, in one of the year's most hotly anticipated sequels. Director Andy Muschetti also returns, but will it float like its predecessor did? (Opens September 12)
Rambo: Last Blood
Sylvester Stallone looks to reboot his signature action franchise for a second time, 37 years after the hugely influential First Blood. In this fifth instalment, one-man-army John Rambo (Stallone) takes on a Mexican drug cartel single-handed, after his friend's daughter is kidnapped.
What began as an intelligent commentary on returning war veterans may have descended into mindless jingoism many years ago, but hard-core action junkies should be primed and ready for some bone-crunching thrills. (Opens September 19)
Ad Astra
James Gray is better known for sombre Brooklyn-based crime dramas like The Immigrant and We Own the Night, but this year heads for the stars in this cerebral space adventure.
Brad Pitt journeys to the outer reaches of the solar system in search of his missing father (Tommy Lee Jones), only to discover the secrets of the universe along the way. More Interstellar than Star Wars, highbrow sci-fi does not come more qualified than this. (Opens September 26)
Joker
Director Todd Philips (The Hangover) has openly admitted that "people are gonna be mad about" his upcoming origin story of DC Comics' greatest villain, not least because he and the film's star, Joaquin Phoenix, "did not follow anything from the comic books".
But that seems to have done nothing to dampen the fanboy enthusiasm for this dark, menacing and wholly bonkers-looking take on Batman's arch-nemesis, which is already garnering frenzied awards buzz ahead of its Venice premiere this weekend. (Opens October 3)
Gemini Man
Life of Pi director Ang Lee continues his adventures into state-of-the-art moviemaking with this high-octane sci-fi thriller that stars Will Smith opposite … a younger Will Smith.
Smith the older plays an ageing hitman, who is targeted by a faster, stronger and more youthful clone of himself, sent by his employers to kill him.
In development for 20 years, the technology has finally caught up with Gemini Man's high-concept premise " but will it pay off? (Opens October 10)
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil
Angelina Jolie reprises her role as the evil fairy from Sleeping Beauty, following the surprise success of 2014's live-action fairy tale, Maleficent. Elle Fanning also returns as Princess Aurora, who again becomes the target of Jolie's vengeful wrath when she accepts a marriage proposal from the dashing Prince Philip (Harris Dickinson).
Michelle Pfeiffer and Chiwetel Ejiofor round out the cast of this effects-laden extravaganza. (Opens October 17)
Terminator: Dark Fate
Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Edward Furlong and producer James Cameron are back for yet another explosive throwdown with shape-shifting cyborgs from the future. Throwing out everything that came after 1991's Terminator 2: Judgment Day, incoming director Tim Miller ( Deadpool ) assumes control of this wildly inconsistent action franchise.
This time, the future of the human race falls to a young Latino girl (Natalia Reyes), under the protection of Mackenzie Davis' human cyborg hybrid. (Opens October 31)
Doctor Sleep
Mainstream audiences may be unaware that in 2013, Stephen King penned a belated sequel to his seminal horror classic The Shining. Now director Mike Flanagan, hot off the smash-hit success of his Netflix show The Haunting of Hill House, brings Doctor Sleep to the big screen.
Ewan McGregor stars as a grown-up Danny (Jack Nicholson's son in the original film), who is still wrestling with his supernatural gifts. Prepare to be scared. (Opens November 7)
Ford v Ferrari
Gear heads, history buffs and movie fans alike will delight in this dramatic retelling of Ford Motors' extreme efforts to build a car capable of beating industry titans Ferrari in the 24 Hours of Le Mans race in 1966.
Matt Damon and Christian Bale play Carroll Shelby and Ken Miles respectively, while James Mangold ( Logan , Walk the Line) gets behind the wheel for what is sure to be setting the pace come awards season. (Opens November 14)
Charlie's Angels
After a series of critically acclaimed performances in low-budget indie fare, Twilight star Kristen Stewart returns to the big leagues in this hotly anticipated reboot of the all-girl crime-fighting caper, alongside Naomi Scott (Aladdin) and newcomer Ella Balinska.
Elizabeth Banks ( Pitch Perfect 2 ) directs and co-stars as the Angels' wrangler, Bosley. Expect high-camp silliness, a multitude of ridiculous dress-up montages, and plenty of over-the-top action. (Opens November 14)
Frozen II
The movie event of the year for anyone under 12 years of age, Frozen II might just break the box office when it arrives in perfect time for Thanksgiving.
Sibling princesses Anna and Elsa band together on a dangerous quest into a magical forest to unlock the secret of Elsa's powers and help to save their kingdom.
Commercial success seems guaranteed, but the real test will be if this sequel can deliver a new song to rival the ubiquitous Let it Go? (Opens November 21)
The Irishman
Martin Scorsese reunites with Robert De Niro after 24 years, and collaborates with Al Pacino for the very first time, in this epic mob saga that already has Oscar pundits salivating.
Using the latest de-ageing technology, The Irishman charts 30 years in the lives of union boss Jimmy Hoffa (Pacino) and Frank Sheeran (De Niro), his long-time right-hand man and confessed assassin.
With Joe Pesci also coming out of retirement to play a feared gang boss, the stage is set for a new crime classic. (Streaming November 28 on Netflix)
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