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Fall Movie Preview 2026: 20 Films We Can’t Wait to See
Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman reunite in ‘Practical Magic 2,’ plus Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt and Robert De Niro headline a star-studded film season
Fall movie season is here with films including "Practical Magic 2," "Digger," "Animals," "The Social Reckoning," "Sense & Sensibility," "Wicker," "Wild Horse Nine," "I Play Rocky," "Jimmy," and "Madden"
Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures (Practical Magic 2), Warner Bros. Pictures (Digger), Netflix (Animals), Sony Pictures (The Social Reckoning), Focus Features (Sense & Sensibility), Black Bear Pictures (Wicker), Searchlight Pictures (Wild Horse Nine), Amazon MGM Studios (I Play Rocky), Fathom Entertainment (Jimmy), Amazon MGM Studios (Madden)
The sound and fury of the summer movie season is officially over, so now it’s time to get serious. After all, fall is the time of year when Hollywood finally stops catering to kids and rolls out some movies for grownups. It’s also the section of the calendar where they place their best bets for landing a bunch of Oscars — and AARP Movies for Grownups Awards. Here’s our preview of the 20 most promising films headed your way in the next few months. See you at the movies … and save us some popcorn!
Coming in September
Practical Magic 2 (in theaters Sept. 11)
When the first chapter of this witchy Sandra Bullock–Nicole Kidman fantasy came out in 1998, the critics weren’t charmed. Neither were ticket buyers, for that matter. Then something strange happened: The consensus did a 180 — so much so that we now have this belated sequel that reunites Bullock, 62, and Kidman, 59, and introduces a new generation of Owens women. And before you even ask, yes, Stockard Channing, 82, and Dianne Wiest, 78, are back too.
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Heart of the Beast (in theaters Sept. 25)
The last time we saw Brad Pitt on the big screen, he was sitting behind the wheel, zipping along at 200 miles per hour in F1. Pitt, 62, is back in action in this survival thriller about a retired Special Forces officer whose plane crashes in the remote Alaskan wilderness. Stranded with his trusty former combat dog, Odin, Pitt’s character has to overcome all sorts of trials to make his way home. If you’re a pet lover, bring a hankie.
Unabomber (on Netflix Sept. 25)
Russell Crowe toplines this buzzy Netflix original movie about Ted Kaczynski, the Harvard-educated mathematics prodigy who turned terrorist and orchestrated a decades-long mail-bombing campaign that took three lives and injured 23. Jacob Tremblay (Room) stars as the impressionable, college-aged Kaczynski while Oscar winner Crowe, 62, plays a controversial Harvard psychology professor. Shailene Woodley and Annabelle Wallis round out the ensemble.
Primetime (in theaters Sept. 25)
In the mid-2000s, Dateline journalist Chris Hansen’s gotcha exposé series To Catch a Predator scored massive ratings by catching middle-aged creeps on hidden cameras as they preyed on female minors (actually undercover adult decoys). Was the show providing a legitimate public service, or was it nothing more than exploitation in the guise of journalism? This white-knuckle drama peels back the curtain on this ethically shaky hit show, with Robert Pattinson in the lead as the hard-charging Hansen.
Coming in October
Digger (in theaters Oct. 2)
Usually when Tom Cruise sets out to save the world on the big screen, the 64-year-old goes through months of physical training to look a couple of decades younger. But in this action-comedy, the ageless movie star straps on flabby prosthetics to play a blowhard oil tycoon trying to stop an ecological catastrophe he most likely started. The film’s loaded ensemble includes the always-welcome John Goodman, 74.
Verity (in theaters Oct. 2)
Colleen Hoover fans, rejoice! The bestselling author’s psychological nail-biter about the tense relationship between a physically incapacitated novelist (Anne Hathaway) and a struggling ghostwriter (Dakota Johnson) hired to help finish her latest book should be one of the twistiest thrillers at the multiplex this fall.
Animals (on Netflix Oct. 9)
Ben Affleck directs and stars in this Netflix thriller about the kidnapping of a Los Angeles mayoral candidate’s son, throwing his personal life and his campaign into chaos. Affleck, 54, plays the under-pressure politico, and Kerry Washington costars as his wife.
Other Mommy (in theaters Oct. 9)
Fall is all about Oscar movies, but it’s also about Halloween. Brace yourself for Oscar-winner Jessica Chastain, who will pop up with some well-timed jump scares (check out the trailer above … if you dare!). It’s probably best to know as little as possible heading into this one. Let’s just say Chastain’s character won’t be winning any Mother of the Year awards.
The Social Reckoning (in theaters Oct. 9)
Aaron Sorkin, 65, the celebrated writer of The West Wing and Moneyball, returns to the source of his greatest script, The Social Network, for this sequel about a young Facebook engineer-turned-whistleblower who reveals the tech giant’s most guarded secrets to a Wall Street Journal reporter. It stars The Bear’s Jeremy Allen White, Anora Oscar winner Mikey Madison and Succession’s Jeremy Strong as Mark Zuckerberg.
Sense and Sensibility (in theaters Oct. 16)
The latest adaptation of Jane Austen’s beloved Regency-era novel stars British up-and-comer Daisy Edgar-Jones (Normal People) as the sensible Elinor Dashwood wrestling with her financial and romantic prospects following her father’s death. Fiona Shaw, 68, costars as the gossipy Mrs. Jennings.
Clayface (in theaters Oct. 23)
Are there too many superhero movies these days? Of course! But even if you’re burned out on Superman, Spider-Man and the rest, the dark and doom-drenched Clayface looks like a highly promising origin story of the notorious Batman nemesis. We’re optimistic that the genre has a few more surprises left up DC Comics’ spandex sleeve.
Wicker (in theaters Oct. 30)
This sounds like one of the strangest and most deliciously charming sleepers of autumn. Olivia Colman, 52, plays a lonely, lovesick fisherwoman in medieval times who asks a local basket maker (Peter Dinklage, 57) to make her a husband out of — you guessed it — wicker (Alexander Skarsgård). The irrepressible Richard E. Grant, 69, costars.
Coming in November
Wild Horse Nine (in theaters Nov. 6)
The brilliantly cynical Martin McDonagh (The Banshees of Inisherin), 56, directs this darkly comic caper about a pair of eccentric CIA agents (Sam Rockwell, 57, and John Malkovich, 72) who bicker and swap colorful insults while heading to Chile on the eve of the country’s 1973 coup.
Jimmy (in theaters Nov. 6)
If you’re a fan of Turner Classic Movies — or just movies — you’ll want to check out this biopic of Jimmy Stewart, which chronicles the aw-shucks star’s rise to celebrity (including his Oscar win for The Philadelphia Story) and then his service as a U.S. Army Air Force pilot in World War II. What saved Stewart’s psyche after the war? Frank Capra came calling about a little movie he was making called It’s a Wonderful Life. KJ Apa (Riverdale) plays Stewart; Max Casella, 59, and Jason Alexander, 66, costar as Capra and Louis B. Mayer.
Ebenezer (in theaters Nov. 13)
After spending the past few years in professional exile due to his off-screen headlines, Johnny Depp returns with this fresh twist on Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. Depp, 63, looks like he’s having a delightfully bizarre ball as Scrooge. The cast includes Ian McKellen, 87, as the ghost of Jacob Marley, Harry Potter franchise alum Rupert Grint as Bob Cratchit, and Severance’s Tramell Tillman as the Ghost of Christmas Present.
Paper Tiger (in theaters Nov. 13)
After its debut at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, director James Gray’s buzzy crime drama set in 1980s Queens, New York, tells the story of two brothers (Adam Driver and Miles Teller) pursuing the American Dream from very different angles — one’s an ex-cop gone to the dark side; one’s a mild-mannered engineer. Scarlett Johansson rounds out the cast.
Madden (on Prime Video Nov. 18)
Two of Hollywood’s most interesting actors — Christian Bale, 52, and Nicolas Cage, 62 — team up for this biopic of the larger-than-life NFL personality John Madden. The movie charts Madden’s rise from Super Bowl-winning coach to the broadcast booth, where he cemented his legend with his cartoonish energy and brilliant football mind. Circle this one on your calendar.
The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping (in theaters Nov. 20)
Fans of this dystopian franchise will be delighted to welcome its sixth film (and the second prequel to the 2012 original). Based on Suzanne Collins’ bestselling series, this installment unwraps the backstory of a younger Haymitch Abernathy and his fight for survival in the Capitol Games. The star-studded cast includes Ralph Fiennes, 63, Glenn Close, 79, Elle Fanning, Jesse Plemons and Kieran Culkin.
I Play Rocky (in theaters Nov. 20)
Sylvester Stallone’s 1976 boxing classic, Rocky, is one of the most inspiring movies of the past 50 years. But just as inspiring is the true story behind the struggling actor’s fight to get the movie made. The underdog saga stars dead ringer Anthony Ippolito as Stallone. I know it sounds a bit strange, but with any luck, this could be the most rousingly triumphant film of the season. Matt Dillon, 62, costars as Sly’s father.
Focker-in-Law (in theaters Nov. 25)
It’s been way too long since we gathered around the Focker dinner table. Twenty-six years after Ben Stiller, 60, first butted heads with his future father-in-law, Robert De Niro, 83, the story is being passed down a generation, as the son of Stiller’s character brings his fiancée (Ariana Grande) to meet his grandparents. Expect Grande to be subjected to De Niro’s trusty basement lie detector.
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