Your guide for what to see at the cinema this holiday season.
It’s the holidays, and that means there are plenty of films coming out before the end of 2018.
As usual, at this time of year, some of them are only dropping by for Oscar-qualifying runs, mostly documentaries and foreign-language films.
However, there are plenty, like “The Favourite,” “Roma,” “On the Basis of Sex,” “If Beale Street Could Talk,” “Mary Queen of Scots,” “The Mule,” and “Vice,” that will staying around and be on academy members minds come nomination time.
NOV. 21
Creed II: Michael B. Jordan returns as Adonis Creed, this time going into the ring against Viktor Drago — the son of Dolph Lundgren’s Ivan Drago, who killed his father Apollo Creed in “Rocky IV.” Franchise creator Sylvester Stallone and “Westworld’s” Tessa Thompson are also back.
Green Book: A bouncer at a New York City nightclub (Viggo Mortensen) takes a job as a chauffeur for a jazz pianist (Mahershala Ali) during a tour in the 1960s Deep South in this film based on real events. Directed by Peter Farrelly.
Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2: In this sequel, the video-game character Ralph (John C. Reilly) and his pal Vanellope (Sarah Silverman) go viral when they discover a wi-fi router in their arcade.
Robin Hood: In this latest re-imagining of the classic tale, a battle-tested crusader (Taron Egerton) and his Moorish commander (Jamie Foxx) rebel against the English king. There’ll be arrows and a Maid Marian (Eve Hewson).
Roma: Oscar-winning director Alfonso Cuarón (“Gravity”) follows the lives of a family in Mexico City during troubled times in the 1970s.
Shoah: Four Sisters: A four-part documentary that consists of a quartet of Holocaust survivors in the final film from French filmmaker Claude Lanzmann.
NOV. 23
Astral: “Walking Dead’s” Frank Dillane stars in this spooky flick about a man trying to connect with his dead mother.
Becoming Astrid: Tells the story of the early years of Swedish author Astrid Lindgren, creator of “Pippi Longstocking.”
8 Remains: A young woman slips into a mirror world while being choked by a lover.
The Favourite: This costume dramedy set in the early 1700s digs into the rivalry between Sarah Churchill (Rachel Weisz) and her cousin, Abigail Masham (Emma Stone), to be the favorite of British Queen Anne (Olivia Colman, who will play Queen Elizabeth II in Season 3 of “The Crown.”)
The Long Shadow: Documentary looks at slavery’s impact on contemporary racism.
Shoplifters: Written and edited by Japanese filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda, the film won the Palme d’Or at Cannes for its story about a family of crooks and a young drifter.
The World Before Your Feet: In a six-year trek captured in this documentary, a man walks 8,000 miles through the streets of New York City’s five boroughs.
Write When You Get to Work: A romantic comedy set in New York City at a private school for girls. With Emily Mortimer, Finn Wittrock, Rachel Keller.
NOV. 30
Anna and the Apocalypse: A small town faces a zombie outbreak during the Christmas holidays in this horror-comedy.
Elliot: The Littlest Reindeer: When Blitzen decides to retire, a miniature horse sets out to take his place. With the voices of Josh Hutcherson, John Cleese, Martin Short, Samantha Bee.
Everybody Knows: Iranian director Asghar Farhadi’s psychological thriller about a woman (Penelope Cruz) whose daughter is abducted when she returns to Spain for a family wedding. With Javier Bardem.
Happy as Lazzaro: Ordinary teen Lazzaro is a sharecropper in rural Italy, but it turns out he may be a time traveler.
Invisible Hands: Documentary looks at how the world’s largest corporations profit from child labor and child trafficking.
The Mercy: In 1968, an Englishman (Colin Firth) sets out to become the first person to sail solo around the world without stopping. With Rachel Weisz and David Thewlis.
Mirai: Animated film from Japanese director Mamoru Hosoda in which the present and past coexist for a young boy who meets his family at various points in their lives.
Never Look Away: Germany’s Oscar entry tells the story of a young artist who flees to West Germany, but is still haunted by memories of his life under the Nazis and communists.
The Possession of Hannah Grace: A morgue attendant believes a disfigured body is possessed by a demon.
United Skates: Documentary spotlights a community who fights save the underground African-American subculture of roller-skating.
DEC. 6
Clara’s Ghost: In this comic film by Bridey Elliott, a troubled young Connecticut woman finds comfort with a ghost.
DEC. 7
All the Devil’s Men: A military officer hunts for a disavowed operative who once was a friend.
Asher: An ex-Mossad agent (Ron Perlman) living in Brooklyn falls for the woman he was sent to kill.
Ben Is Back: Lucas Hedges stars as a 19-year-old with substance abuse issues who shows up unexpectedly at his family’s home on Christmas Eve, which strains even his mom (Julia Roberts). Directed by Peter Hedges, Lucas’s dad.
Bernie the Dolphin: A sister and brother attempt to save a beach and reunite a dolphin friend with his family.
Divide and Conquer: The Roger Ailes Story: Documentary on the controversial late Fox News founder.
Dumplin’: A plus-size teen daughter of a former beauty queen rattles their Texas town by entering the pageant her mother had won.
If Beale Street Could Talk: Film from Barry Jenkins (“Moonlight”) is based on the novel by James Baldwin about a pregnant woman (Kiki Layne) who desperately tries to prove that her fiancé (Stephan James) is innocent of a crime.
Mary, Queen of Scots: Saoirse Ronan plays the title character and Margot Robbie is her cousin Elizabeth I in a new telling of the infamous family rivalry, which ends badly for one of them.
The Party’s Just Beginning: “Guardians of the Galaxy” star Karen Gillan wrote, directed and starred in his story of a young woman who is forced to confront her own demons after the suicide of a friend.
Swimming With Men: Comedy stars Rob Brydon as a man trying to win back his wife and stumbles upon a solution in the form of a male synchronized swim team.
Vox Lux: Follows the story of Celeste — played in her youth by Raffey Cassidy and as an adult by Natalie Portman — who lives through a school shooting as a teen and becomes a pop star after writing a song about the tragedy.
DEC. 13
Bird Box: Sandra Bullock leaps into a post-apocalyptic horror universe as she and her children attempt to escape from an alien force that drives people violently mad.
Maine: A young married Spanish woman hiking the Appalachian Trail alone connects romantically with an American hiker.
DEC. 14
Avicii: True Stories: Documentary on the late Grammy-nominated producer, songwriter and artist Avicii (aka Tim Bergling).
Capernaum: The Lebanese drama, which won the jury prize at Cannes, tells the story of a 12-year-old boy who sues his parents for bringing him into the world. Directed by Nadine Labaki.
Mortal Engines: Peter Jackson (“Lord of the Ring” and “Hobbit” trilogies) co-wrote and produced this steampunk adventure that’s set in a future dystopian world about a city on wheels.
The Mule: Clint Eastwood directed and stars in this story of an octogenarian in need of cash who becomes a drug runner for a powerful Mexican cartel. With Bradley Cooper, Laurence Fishburne, and Michael Peña.
The Quake: Oslo gets ripped up in this Norwegian disaster film.
Sicilian Ghost Story: A girl who is in love with an abducted boy searches for him in this film with fantastical elements from Fabio Grassadonia and Antonio Piazza.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse: In this animated take on the comic-book hero, Spider-Man crosses into parallel dimensions and teams up with other versions of himself to stop a threat to reality.
