Fall 2026 movie preview

Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness: I’m happy to report that this fall looks primed to deliver an abundant crop of quality movies. That’s not particularly surprising, given fall is the season for awards contenders and festival favorites. But what stands out to me about this year’s lineup is the exceptionally strong presence of foreign films and documentaries, which are already generating attention and awards chatter beyond the niche categories to which they’re typically limited. My own personal list below reflects these trends, even if I’m realistic enough about my own propensities to set the documentaries aside in a separate category. On the other hand, it’s not news that non-English language films have been rapidly gaining remarkable traction at the Oscars over the past several years, a trend I welcome and that looks to continue this year.

Never fear, Hollywood blockbuster watchers, there’s something for you, too, in the form of the holiday-season dual release of Dune 3 and Avengers: Doomsday. Time will tell if “Dunesday” is everything the studios are hoping it’ll be; while it doesn’t have the counter-programing brilliance of “Barbenheimer,” it does have a pretty encouraging model in the summer box office double Hulk(less)-smash of The Odyssey and Spider-Man: Brand New Day. But will audiences really turn out in comparable numbers for a more distended MCU-a-palooza/nostalgia fest? (Dune, I’m pretty confident, will perform, if not at Odyssey level numbers.) Marvel fatigue is real, while Spider-Man, as a franchise, has always benefited from being able to have its Marvel cake and eat it too. Myself, I think the millions of viewers who flocked to Brand New Day this summer came for Spidey; I don’t think most of them give a fig about Punisher or Jean Grey or any of the rest of the ever-extending MCU.

In any event, take my word for it that there are many, many more interesting films coming out before Dunesday, including plenty not listed here. These are just the ones I’m looking forward to the most. (Note: the theatrical release dates are mostly for NY/LA; I’m not sure if or when most of them are opening wide.)

Most excited:

FJORD (Oct. 9)

A bald, bearded Sebastian Stan and the always-luminous Renate Reinsve headline this Palme d’Or winner by acclaimed Romanian director Cristian Mungu. In a far cry from their roles in last year’s A Different Man, they play the parents of a family who move from Romania to Norway only to meet suspicion of their extremely conservative Christian values and, eventually, accusations of child abuse. Despite the plaudits, this film has been divisive – I suspect, without having seen it, because it stacks the deck for audience sympathies in a way audiences weren’t expecting from the director of 4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days. Still, I’m intrigued enough by the cast, premise, and setting to form my own opinion.

LA BOLA NEGRA (Oct. 16 in theaters; Dec. 2 on Netflix)

Netflix is banking big on this sprawling Spanish epic, inspired by an unfinished play by Lorca, that traces three interlinked narratives of Spanish gay men, spanning from the Spanish Civil War to the present. Winner of the People’s Choice Award at Toronto, it’s already one of the early frontrunners for the Best Picture Oscar. That might explain why Netflix is actually giving it a proper theatrical release.

FATHERLAND (Oct. 23)

Pawel Pawlikowski, king of exquisitely lensed B&W meditations on the oppressive impact of history on the human heart, is at it again with this film about Thomas Mann’s post-WWII return to Germany to receive an award, accompanied by his daughter (Sandra Hüller, who’s enjoying another banner year). Expect quietly devastating reflections on individual and collective guilt packed into a characteristically lean 82 minutes. (In an era where the average movie length seems to be creeping well past 2 hours, and where three of the most acclaimed films on my own list clock in at 155, 164, and a whopping 196 minutes, that’s no mean feat.)

POSSIBLE LOVE (Oct. 23 in theaters; Nov. 6 on Netflix)

Gotta hand it to my people – Korean filmmakers keep on keepin’ on relentlessly filleting end-stage capitalism and the class divides it both creates and exploits, yet they do it in a way that’s perpetually surprising and entertaining rather than preachy. Following his unsettling class-rage parable Burning, Lee Chang-Dong this time positions two fictional Korean couples from opposite ends of the social spectrum to contrast their respective perspectives on a recent mass layoff at a major factory. One couple is working-class and directly affected (the husband was one of the layoffs), while the other is affluent and sympathetically interested in the first couple’s plight, but only in the most privileged way possible (the wife, perhaps a partial stand-in for Lee, is making a documentary on the subject). Complications, both predictable and unpredictable, ensue as the two pairs become more intimately involved in each other’s lives.

THE ONLY LIVING PICKPOCKET IN NEW YORK (Oct. 23)

Possibly the best title of the season, and also possibly the best casting, with John Turturro as the pickpocket who gets in way over his head when he lifts from the wrong victim; Giancarlo Esposito, Steve Buscemi, and other gifted thespians co-star, but this is Turturro’s movie. Could it be the one that finally earns him an Oscar nod? (Believe it or not, he’s never been nominated.) I’ll leave the prognostication to others – it’s too damn early for me – but early notices are promising.

WILD HORSE NINE (Nov. 6)

I’m not a huge Martin McDonagh fan (hated Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, MO and found The Banshees of Inisherin rough going), but the previews for his latest look (1) hilarious and (2) like John Malkovich and Sam Rockwell are having a blast as a pair of CIA agents sent for obscure reasons to Easter Island on the eve of the infamous 1973 Chilean coup. Malkovich will likely get an Oscar nomination for his performance as the older of the two, who’s teetering dangerously close to loose cannon status as he nears the end of his long, shadowy career with increasingly fewer fucks left to give.

BITTER CHRISTMAS (Nov. 13)

Early reactions to Pedro Almodóvar’s latest, both in Spain and at Cannes, have been muted, as its nested narrative about a filmmaker making a movie about a filmmaker seems to have drawn equal parts praise and fatigue for its artistic navel-gazing. But hey, it’s still Almodóvar, who’s never less than watchable and thought-provoking. And if any artist has earned the right to overexamine his own life, it’s him.

PAPER TIGER (Nov. 13)

James Gray remains one of the best American writer-directors you’ve probably never heard of. Even I came to him a little late, and while I’ve seen all of his films since Two Lovers, I still haven’t seen the early gritty crime and family dramas, set in the seedy underbelly of 1980s New York, that first got him noticed (well, at least by critics): Little Odessa, The Yards, and We Own the Night. He’s returning to some degree to those roots in this story of two brothers (Adam Driver and Miles Teller) who get mixed up with the Russian mob.

ALL OF A SUDDEN (Nov. 25)

Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s new film is loosely based on the true story of an unexpected friendship between the director of a French nursing home (Virginie Efira) and a Japanese playwright (Tao Okamoto). I believe the film, which runs over 3 hours long, consists mostly of these women talking about life and what it means to care for others. That might not be everyone’s cup of tea, yet based on its reception at Cannes, it’s incredibly moving, even transporting. Coming from the director of the incandescent Drive My Car, I would expect no less.

BEHEMOTH! (Dec. 4)

Color me charmed that Tony Gilroy’s next move after the popular and universally acclaimed “Andor” was to make what appears to be the least commercially marketable Pedro Pascal vehicle possible. Pascal plays a renowned but restless classical cellist who comes to L.A. to record a score for a forthcoming movie…and perhaps for other, more personal reasons that come to light as the narrative hopscotches across past chapters of his life. Pascal actually learned to play the cello for the role, and the film, which involved the work of at least nine film composers, seems to function most effectively as a tribute to movie music. That’s enough for me, as a lover of classical music, movies, and great movie music.

CLARISSA (Dec. 11)

A modern Nigerian retelling of Mrs. Dalloway, set in present-day Lagos, starring Sophie Okonedo as Clarissa and David Oyelowo as Peter (her ex)? Yes, please. Bonus points for casting Toheeb Jimoh (best known as Sam from “Ted Lasso”) as young Peter and Ayo Edibiri as another dear friend (and perhaps more) from Clarissa’s youth.

THE DEBUT (Dec. 11)

Pivoting adroitly from the excellent A Real Pain, Jesse Eisenberg continues to impress with this musical comedy about a repressed housewife (Julianne Moore, doing what she does best) who comes to life after auditioning (badly) for a part in a local production of a (fictional) beloved musical, getting the role because no one else wanted it, and getting *really* into it under the tutelage of a hypercritical director (Paul Giamatti). Moore and Giamatti are pros, of course, and Eisenberg isn’t afraid to take the script to some surreal places. Moreover, in addition to writing and directing and playing a minor role, he also apparently wrote all the songs – and even got Broadway legend Bernadette Peters to cameo. As I said, the man continues to impress.

INK (Dec. 11 in theaters; Jan. 8 on Netflix)

I’m a little conflicted on this one as I’m not sure I need to see a movie that gives a sympathetic edit to Rupert Murdoch, especially one that Murdoch himself reportedly enjoyed. But it is true that Murdoch was once a rank outsider to UK establishment press, and that in breaching that institution and its mores, he unleashed destructive forces beyond his or anyone else’s control. That seems to be the ultimate thrust of Danny Boyle’s media morality tale, anchored by Guy Pearce as Murdoch and Jack O’Connell as the editor/ pupil who outsleazed his master. I’ll watch Pearce in just about anything, and I’ve been curious to see what O’Connell will do next after his compelling supporting turn in Sinners.

DUNE: PART THREE (Dec. 18)

While I found the second installment of the series impressive but cold, there’s no way I’m missing the grand finale to what may well be Denis Villeneuve’s most monumental achievement. Ok, so it isn’t actually the finale to the Dune saga, but it’s certainly the logical conclusion before that saga starts getting super-weird. Though if someone decides to green-light the further adventures of the God Emperor of Dune, I’m here for it.

ARTIFICIAL (Dec. 25)

Even with an actual sequel to The Social Network also coming out, this feels like the true spiritual heir to the Fincher classic about the OG techbros. Luca Guadagnino’s film focuses on a pivotal moment in the next generation, told from the perspective of the co-founder of OpenAI (played by Yura Borisov) who tried unsuccessfully to oust Sam Altman (Andrew Garfield). There’s been a lot of speculation on whether Amazon backed out of distributing Artificial because of its relationship with OpenAI or because the movie’s simply not good. (Not helping: the fact that it hasn’t shown at any of the fall film festivals and that Guadagnino’s last, After the Hunt, was a colossal dud.) Still, there’s no denying that as far as subject matter goes, it’s definitely hitting the zeitgeist.

Will also probably see, based on festival buzz: Club Kid; I Play Rocky; Being Heumann; Elsinore; Tender Loving Care

Maybes, depending on reviews: Tenzing; The Social Reckoning; Sense and Sensibility; Klara and the Sun; Godzilla Minus Zero; The Further Misadventures of Cliff Booth; Avengers: Doomsday

And the documentaries…

MUSK (Oct. 9)

Alex Gibney has never pulled a punch, and doesn’t here, judging from his subject’s reaction to what sounds like an eviscerating takedown of the exemplar of “move fast and break things” tech culture who used that ethos to break the government. The thing is, though, as someone who lived through that time (and is still living amid the wreckage), I’m not sure I want to relive it. I also foresee this movie will be preaching to the choir for most (if not all) of its audience.

ONCE UPON A TIME IN HARLEM (Oct. 16)

In 1972, African American documentarian William Greaves convened every living member of the Harlem Renaissance he could track down, and filmed the resulting gathering at Duke Ellington's home. (Think of it as 20th century black culture’s coolest soiree.) He did not, however, finish the film; it was completed by his son, David Greaves. Early reviews agree it’s a fascinating snapshot of a momentous occasion that might otherwise have gotten lost to history.

YOU CAN SEE EVERYTHING (Oct. 16)

As with most Nathan Fielder projects, it sounds like the less you know about this going in, the better. All I know is it’s ostensibly a documentary about Elizabeth Holmes, of Theranos notoriety, that morphs into something much wilder and weirder. It premiered at Telluride and left audiences there absolutely gobsmacked; whether that reaction will continue, now that word is out, will be interesting to observe.

EVEREST: THE OTHER SIDE (Oct. 30)

From the directing team that brought us Free Solo and The Rescue (as well as the biopic Nyad) comes a docu-romance about a couple that aspires to climb and ski down(!) the North Face of Mt. Everest.

14TH (Nov. 27/ Dec. 4 on Netflix)

Ava DuVernay’s follow-up to 13th; if its anything like that seminal film, it will be an insightful, impactful, and sobering dissection of the compromised moral and institutional foundations of one of our supposed Constitutional pillars.