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From Gladiator II to Babygirl and Nightbitch: 19 movies we can’t wait to see

September 12, 2024

Clockwise from left: Ralph Fiennes in Conclave; Paddington; Paul Mescal in Gladiator II; Moana 2; Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo in Wicked; The Wild Robot; and Amy Adams in Nightbitch.

It’s the most wonderful time for movie lovers, as festival season in Europe and North America sees the launch of big-name films and independent hopefuls. It’s also the unofficial start of campaign season, as studios begin their award-season hustle with the Academy Awards in mind. Mixed in with the festival movers and shakers are a number of other big releases, making for a bumper few months (I’m excited!). This is by no means a complete list, and not all movies have release dates yet, but these are the ones to keep on your radar.

A COMPLETE UNKNOWN

Timothée Chalamet swaps his Millennial heart-throb status for Boomer cool in this portrait of a young Bob Dylan. Directed by James Mangold, who guided Reese Witherspoon to an Oscar for playing June Carter Cash in Walk the Line, the biopic is set in the mid-60s, just as Dylan went electric. It also stars Elle Fanning as Dylan’s girlfriend Sylvie Russo, Monica Barbaro as Joan Baez, Edward Norton as Pete Seeger and Scoot McNairy as Woody Guthrie. With his singing chops confirmed in Wonka, we bet this will confirm Chalamet’s spot at the top of the pops. January 23

BABYGIRL

Nicole Kidman has never been afraid to put herself out there on screen, and she’s done it again in Babygirl, which sent critics wild at Venice and landed Kidman the best actress award at the festival. In the erotic workplace drama, Kidman plays Romy, a chief executive who becomes entangled in an affair with young intern Samuel (Harris Dickinson). Vanity Fair hailed it as one of Kidman’s best performances, praising her for being “fearless, vulnerable, and slyly comic at once” and predicted it would put Kidman in pole position come Oscar time. No local release date has been set yet.

THE BRUTALIST

Winner of the unofficial Longest Standing Ovation award for its 13-minute clapfest at the Venice Film Festival, this historical drama has earned its leading man, Adrien Brody, the kind of praise he received for his Oscar-winning turn in The Pianist. Brody plays Laszlo, a Hungarian Jewish immigrant who lands in Philadelphia in 1947, desperate and alone. What follows is a 33-year saga that runs for three-and-half-hours as Laszlo rebuilds his life. Guy Pearce also pops up as a wealthy industrialist. January 23

CONCLAVE

The pope is dead. The throne is vacant. A new leader must be found. Stanley Tucci swaps his Searching for Italy chinos for a cardinal’s cassock in this papal drama based on Robert Harris’ bestseller. Ralph Fiennes stars as Cardinal Lawrence, who is responsible for wrangling the College of Cardinals as they vote for a new pope. Sounds simple. It’s not. Directed by Edward Berger, who made the extraordinary All Quiet on the Western Front, it’s a riveting old-school drama that gets bonus points for Isabella Rossellini as a nun. January 9

THE DEB

Adapted from Hannah Reilly’s Australian Theatre for Young People musical of the same name, Rebel Wilson’s directorial debut has been overshadowed somewhat by a legal fight between Wilson and the Australian comedy’s producers. Nevertheless, it scored the closing night spot at the Toronto International Film Festival and stars the terrific Natalie Abbott as a country kid dreaming of her debutante ball, as well as Tara Morice and Shane Jacobson, with music by Megan Washington. No Australian release date has been set yet.

GLADIATOR II

Twenty-four years after Russell Crowe’s gravel-voiced Maximus set out to avenge the death of his wife and son, director Ridley Scott returns to ancient Rome to pick up the story for a new generation. Paul Mescal stars as Lucias Verus (nephew of the cruel Commodus who killed ol’ Rusty), who is determined to rescue Rome from its unhinged junior emperors Geta and Caracella. It looks completely nutty – bloody rampaging rhinos! A water-filled Colosseum! – and has enough six-packs to fill a bottle shop, but no one knows how to stage an epic like Scott. November 14

HERETIC

Hugh Grant has entered his A24 era! The British actor has been delivering some of his best performances ever since he became unshackled from his rom-com past. As he said at the recent Toronto Film Festival: “This is the freak-show period of my career. I got old. I got ugly. No one offered me leading men any more.” Thank god for that. He turns it up a notch in this horror from the cult production house, playing – what else? – a creepy neighbour who lures two young Mormons (Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East) into his home for a chat about faith. Say a little prayer, fast. November 28

JOKER: FOLIE À DEUX

Joaquin Phoenix returns as sad-faced clown Arthur Fleck in this sequel to the 2019 Oscar winner, this time roping in Lady Gaga as his love interest, Harley Quinn. Reception to the film’s premiere, which is a musical, at Venice was mixed, but Gaga is always interesting to watch. October 3

Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga in Joker: Folie A Deux.

MARIA

This biopic marks Angelina Jolie’s return to the big screen after a self-imposed break of a number of years (read: divorce drama). She pops on the thick specs of Maria Callas in this portrait of the American-Greek soprano by Chilean director Pablo Larrain, who has specialised of late in biopics of misunderstood women (Jackie and Spencer). Jolie took singing lessons for the film, in which her voice is blended with Callas’. No local release date has been set yet, but it has been bought by Netflix for the US market.

MOANA 2 AND MUFASA: THE LION KING

Disney is rebuilding the Mouse House one sequel and prequel at a time, kicking off with sure-fire hit Moana 2 (November 28) before banking on the origin story of Simba’s dad with Mufasa: The Lion King (December 19). Lin-Manuel Miranda is lending his brand of musical genius to Mufasa, while Moana 2 sees Miranda handing songwriting duties to Emily Barlow and Abigail Bear, the first female duo of Disney composers and Grammy nominee Opetaia Foa’i.

NIGHTBITCH

Amy Adams takes another swing at Oscar glory, playing a dissatisfied mum who sometimes turns into a dog (yes, that’s right) in this adaptation of Rachel Yoder’s 2021 magical realism novel. Written and directed by Marielle Heller – hands up who’s still crying over A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood – it captures perfectly the primal side of motherhood and its complicated tangle of frustrations and emotions. Scoot McNairy, once again, plays a wet-behind-the-ears husband. No local release date has been set yet.

PADDINGTON IN PERU

I maintain that the Paddington films are some of the most delightful comedies made in the last 10 years. This third instalment does feature a couple of small curiosities: Emily Mortimer has replaced Sally Hawkins as Mrs Brown, while director Paul King, who also made last year’s sweet Wonka, has moved aside for new director Dougal Wilson. On the upside, Olivia Colman stars as a singing nun. January 1

QUEER

Daniel Craig sent the crowds and critics wild at Venice with his turn in Call Me By Your Name director Luca Guadagnino’s Queer. Adapted from William S. Burrough’s short story of the same name, Craig stars as William Lee, a hard-drinking American expat with a heroin habit, who falls hard for a young man called Eugene (Drew Starkey). Being a Guadagnino film, it not only features explicit sex scenes, but a wardrobe that’s just as desirable as the characters (Starkey’s pleated pants are, apparently, something else). No release date yet, but it has been bought by A24, so expect it to pop up in time for the Oscar race.

THE ROOM NEXT DOOR

Iconic Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar’s first feature film in English scooped up the best film prize in Venice and looks certain to feature at next year’s Academy Awards. Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore play old friends Martha and Ingrid who reconnect as Swinton’s character is dying from cervical cancer. Typically for Almodóvar, it’s a lush, visually rich character study with two strong women at its centre that also serves as a meditation on mortality. December 26

SATURDAY NIGHT

Since 1975, Saturday Night Live has been the training ground for generations of US comedians – Bill Murray! Tina Fey! Will Ferrell! Amy Poehler! – and this riotous comedy directed by Jason Reitman goes back to the show’s beginnings. Young upstart producer Lorne Michaels (Gabriel LaBelle) is determined to break the staid TV mould with his late-night sketch show starring Dan Aykroyd (Dylan O’Brien), Chevy Chase (Cory Michael Smith) and Gilda Radner (Ella Hunt). What could go wrong? Everything. October 31

WE LIVE IN TIME

The highly charismatic Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh star in this romantic drama about a couple, Tobias and Almut, who meet when Almut accidentally runs Tobias over. They get together – yadda, yadda, yadda – and then Alma is diagnosed with cancer. Directed by John Crowley, take a tissue and expect to bawl. January 23

WICKED

The big screen adaptation of the well-loved Broadway musical gets the Lord of the Rings treatment – splitting the story over two films – the first one released this year, the second instalment a year later. Pitched as what happened in Oz before Dorothy crash-landed, it stars Cynthia Erivo as the green-skinned Elphaba, who meets the “popular” Glinda (Ariana Grande) while studying magic at Shiz University (yes, really). November 22

THE WILD ROBOT

Based on The New York Times bestseller, this animated sci-fi story for kids centres around Roz (voiced by Lupita Nyong’o), a robot who crash lands on a deserted island and must find a way to survive. To up the cute factor, Roz befriends a gosling and a fox, voiced by internet daddy Pedro Pascal. September 19

Find out the next TV, streaming series and movies to add to your must-sees. Get The Watchlist delivered every Thursday.

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