'Avatar: The Way of Water and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will rule the roost this fall'
For the first time since 2019, it will be full-speed ahead at the movies this fall. After last week’s packed red carpet premieres at the Toronto International Film Festival and Top Gun: Maverick’s never-ending haul at the summer box office, blockbusters, like Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and Avatar: The Way of Water, are poised to keep people coming back to cinemas right up until Christmas.
“Avatar: The Way of Water and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will rule the roost this fall — of this there is no doubt,” says Jeff Bock, a senior box office analyst with Exhibitor Relations. “Disney’s the only studio swinging for the fences.”
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Along with those special-effects laden epics, we’ll see Steven Spielberg make a return to his childhood with the TIFF People’s Choice Winner The Fabelmans while Olivia Wilde’s buzzed-about Don’t Worry Darling, starring Florence Pugh and Harry Styles, hits theatres this weekend.
But prestige pictures won’t just roll out on the big screen. Streamers will make a big play for eyeballs this fall, with Netflix, Prime Video, Apple and Roku all set to release star-studded projects from now until the end of the year.
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, which finds Daniel Craig’s Benoit Blanc returning to solve a new mystery on Netflix, is a reminder of how much the movie business has changed.
But after debuting the sequel in Toronto earlier this month, the streamer has been quiet on theatrical rollout ahead of a Dec. 23 premiere on Netflix.
“I haven’t seen anything that would suggest Netflix is changing its woebegone theatrical release tactics,” Bock says. “Truth is, this is by far their biggest IP pickup and so far they’re fumbling it … it’s almost October and theatrical content gets much more competitive once November rolls around with all the awards players.”
Bock expects a dip in overall moviegoing traffic due to a slowdown in product (theatrical releases are down 40% from pre-pandemic times). But he expects business will return if films like Avatar: The Way of Water can extend their run into the new year.
“This supply issue will be with us until spring 2023, when we’ll finally see the release calendar flourish,” Bock says, pointing to a calendar that will include a third Ant-Man movie, a Shazam! sequel, the last Guardians of the Galaxy entry and more.
From superhero blockbusters to elevated art house faves, here’s a select list of our most anticipated titles this season.
Blonde
Ana de Armas plays Marilyn Monroe in this much-talked about R-rated adaptation of Joyce Carol Oates’s 2000 novel. “I truly believe that she was very close to us. She was with us,” de Armas said following the film’s premiere earlier this month. “I think she was happy. She would also throw things off the wall sometimes and get mad if she didn’t like something. Maybe this sounds very mystical, but it is true. We all felt it.” (Sept. 28 on Netflix)
Bros
A cynical podcaster navigates dating life in New York City. The history of being one of Hollywood’s first mainstream queer rom-coms is thrilling, star and co-writer Billy Eichner says. “It will make people laugh, but it’s unlike anything the vast majority of people have seen,” he says. (Sept. 30 in theatres)
The Greatest Beer Run Ever
Peter Farrelly’s follow-up to his Oscar-winning Green Book tells the true story of a merchant seaman (played by Zac Efron) who accepted a bet to personally deliver cans of beer to his neighbourhood pals fighting in the Vietnam war. With Russell Crowe and Bill Murray. (Sept. 30 on Apple TV+)
Hocus Pocus 2
Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy reprise their roles as witches in a sequel to the 1993 Halloween classic. (Sept. 30 in Disney+)
Smile
After witnessing a bizarre incident involving a patient, Dr. Rose Cotter (Sosie Bacon) starts experiencing frightening occurrences that she can’t explain. (Sept. 30 in theatres)
Amsterdam
David O. Russell’s comedic crime thriller is set in the 1930s and follows three friends — two soldiers played by Christian Bale and John David Washington and a nurse portrayed by Margot Robbie — who find themselves at the centre of one of the most shocking (and mostly true) plots in American history. (Oct. 7 in theatres)
Halloween Ends
Icon Jamie Lee Curtis returns for the last time as Laurie Strode as she battles the seemingly unkillable Michael Myers. (Oct. 14 in theatres)
The Banshees of Inisherin
The darkly comic fable reunites In Bruges stars Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson for a story about a petty feud between longtime friends. (Oct. 21 in theatres)
Black Adam
“As we all know, superheroes have a code of justice and don’t kill the bad guys. But, Black Adam does,” star Dwayne Johnson teases of his upcoming superhero film. “The hierarchy of power in the DC Universe is changing.” (Oct. 21 in theatres)
Ticket to Paradise
George Clooney and Julia Roberts play exes who find themselves on a shared mission to stop their lovestruck daughter from making the same mistake they once made. (Oct. 21 in theatres)
Causeway
Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence plays a war vet who strikes up a friendship with an auto-body shop worker (Brian Tyree Henry) after returning home to New Orleans following a brain injury. (Nov. 4 on Apple TV+)
My Policeman
The decades-spanning story centres on Harry Styles’ Tom, a closeted copper who’s in the midst of a love triangle with a teacher (Emma Corrin) and a museum curator (David Dawson) in 1950s Britain. The ensemble cast was feted with TIFF’s 2022 Tribute Award for Performance. (Nov. 4 on Prime Video)
Weird: The Al Yankovic Story
Daniel Radcliffe dons “Weird Al” Yankovic’s Hawaiian shirt and plays the accordion in this real-life story of the music legend. “It was one of the most fun jobs I’ve ever had in my life,” Radcliffe says. (Nov. 4 on Roku)
Enola Holmes 2
Fresh off the triumph of solving her first case, Enola Holmes (Millie Bobby Brown) follows in the footsteps of her famous brother, Sherlock (Henry Cavill), and opens her own detective agency. (Nov. 4 on Netflix)
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
After the death of Chadwick Boseman, the action-packed follow-up to Black Panther centres on Letitia Wright’s Shuri, the sister of T’Challa. (Nov. 11 in theatres)
The Fabelmans
Steven Spielberg’s poignant semi-autobiographical drama stars Gabriel LaBelle as Sammy Fabelman, a young aspiring filmmaker based on the Oscar-winning director himself. (Nov. 11 in theatres)
The Son
Director Florian Zeller follows up his Oscar-winning The Father with a story about a family struggling to support a teenager suffering from severe depression. Stars Hugh Jackman and Laura Dern. (Nov. 11 in theatres)
The Wonder
The psychological thriller inspired by the 19th century phenomenon of the “fasting girls” is adapted from the acclaimed novel by Emma Donoghue and stars Florence Pugh. (Nov. 16 on Netflix)
Bones & All
A pair of cannibalistic lovers (played by Taylor Russell and Timothee Chalamet) embark on a road trip across Reagan-era America. (Nov. 23 in theatres)
Devotion
Set during the Korean War, this fact-based tale tells the story of the U.S. Navy’s first Black aviator (Jonathan Majors) and his wingman (Glen Powell). (Nov. 23 in theatres)
Strange World
A family of explorers attempts to navigate an uncharted, treacherous land alongside a motley crew that includes a mischievous blob, a three-legged dog and a slew of ravenous creatures. (Nov. 23 in theatres)
Women Talking
Sarah Polley adapts Miriam Toews’ acclaimed novel about a sheltered religious colony where women struggle with rampant sexual abuse. Stars Rooney Mara, Claire Foy and Frances McDormand. (Dec. 2 in theatres)
Empire of Light
Two outsiders (Olivia Colman and Michael Ward) in 1980s England find an escape at the movies in this powerful ode to the magic of cinema. Sam Mendes (American Beauty, Skyfall, Spectre, 1917) directs. (Dec. 9 in theatres)
The Whale
Brendan Fraser broke down in tears after receiving ovations in Venice and Toronto earlier this month. In the Darren Aronofsky drama, Fraser plays Charlie, a 600-pound man who is struggling to reconnect with his 17-year-old daughter (Stranger Things breakout Sadie Sink). “It’s new to me, but I’m grateful for the recognition,” Fraser told the Sun as the Oscar buzz continues to mount. “If I smile a little too hard and I sprain my cheek and my face leaks a little bit, I’ll apologize for it right now.” (Dec. 9 in theatres)
Avatar: The Way of Water
James Cameron welcomes audiences back to Pandora with an ambitious sequel that’s been over a decade in the making. “I deal with images in that world every single day, and there are some days when I look at those images and say, ‘This is really amazing,’ ” Cameron tells the Sun. “I’m not patting myself on the back with that comment.” (Dec. 16 in theatres)
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
Detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) travels to a private Greek island to solve a brand-new mystery involving a tech billionaire (Edward Norton) and an eccentric cast of characters. (Dec. 23 on Netflix)
Babylon
The next movie from the Oscar-winning La La Land director Damien Chazelle takes place in 1920s Hollywood as the motion picture industry shifts from silent film to talkies. Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie star. (Dec. 25 in theatres)
Spirited
Ryan Reynolds and Will Ferrell will get us into the holiday spirit with a musical version of Charles Dickens’ Christmas classic that follows a stingy miser who’s taken on a magical journey. (TBD on Apple TV+)
mdaniell@postmedia.com
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