After a summer of superheroes, vampires, missing kids and F1 racers, cinephiles can cosy up for a mellower autumn. Prepare to say your goodbyes to franchises like Downton Abbey and The Conjuring, and brace yourself for Leonardo DiCaprio’s next big movie and a grim, gory Stephen King adaptation – the third bookshelf-to-screen King tale of the year. So, with the nights drawing in and the wind growing chillier, these are the September releases to provide big-screen solace.
The fourth and (supposedly) final Conjuring film promises ‘the case that ended it all’. Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga return as paranormal investigator couple Ed and Lorraine Warren in this recreation of the Smurl Haunting, a series of demonic possessions at a Pennsylvania home between 1974 and 1989. Last Rites promises to conclude the Warrens’ exploits, but don’t be fooled by the title: The Conjuring universe continues, with a Max series already in development.
Out Sep 5
Few TV shows can match Downton Abbey for longevity and cultural ubiquity, but after six seasons and two movies, the aptly-titled The Grand Finale draws down the velvet curtain on the 15-year reign of the Crawleys. The family faces financial woes and a public scandal for Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery) this time out. Former guest stars like Dominic West and Paul Giammati return to help fill the gap left by the late, great Maggie Smith and her formidable dowager, Violet Crawley.
Out Sep 12
With The Monkey and The Life of Chuck already out, and The Running Man ahead, Stephen King fans are eating good this year. Next from the horror maestro is this brutal journey across a totalitarian America. Based on King’s 1979 novel, the story charts a Hunger Games-style contest in which teenage boys must walk until they drop – or get shot. With Cooper Hoffman (Licorice Pizza), David Jonsson (Alien: Romulus) and Mark Hamill as the race’s barking commander, it’s a coming-of-age tale where most of the characters won’t make it to adulthood.
Out Sep 12
This summer has already taken in a winning Naked Gun sequel and news of a Spaceballs II, and now spoof fans get to welcome back those loveable rockers Spinal Tap. Four decades on from Rob Reiner’s mockumentary masterpiece, he’s back to detail the loud and silly world of a heavy metal band (Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, Harry Shearer) on the comeback trail. With cameos from Elton John, Paul McCartney and Metallica’s Lars Ulrich, we may just get more of the original’s high-decibel magic.
Out Sep 12
Orlando Bloom gets ripped and bloody for this boxing drama-cum-psychological thriller. The Lord of the Rings star is The Boxer, a veteran of the sport who returns to the ring for one last shot. But rather than any Rocky training montages or brutal one-on-one brawls, our protagonist’s biggest challenge is making the required weight. With John Turturro as a ruthless trainer, Bloom’s boxer undergoes mental gymnastics and illegal weight-cutting tricks. This one could go the distance.
Out Sep 12
Don’t be fooled by the title or the warm, bright colour palette. A Big Bold Beautiful Journey isn’t your ordinary meet-cute romance with perfect strangers. Expect boundary-pushing meditations on love, life, and the passage of time as Colin Farrell and Margot Robbie play strangers who are guided by a ‘magical GPS’. When your guide is Kogonada, the visionary filmmaker behind introspective gems like Columbus and After Yang, don’t expect a straightforward romcom.
Out Sep 19
After directing a heartfelt ode to composer Ryuichi Sakamoto with the documentary Opus, Neo Sora makes his feature debut with a drama set in a futuristic Tokyo where the threat of an all-destroying earthquake looms large. Meanwhile, a high school strengthens its surveillance system following a juvenile prank gone wrong. Sandwiched between tumultuous national politics and oppressive schooling, Happyend promises to be an ambitious mediation on urban teenage angst.
Out Sep 19
Cillian Murphy won an Oscar for Oppenheimer, but that hasn’t stopped him from taking on character-driven performances, from the melancholy Small Things Like These or this Netflix classroom drama based on a Max Porter novella. Steve stars Murphy as the titular headteacher of a reform school. Keeping his troubled students in line proves tougher than expected, especially with Steve confronting mental health struggles of his own. Can Murphy build awards buzz again for this smaller-scale human drama?
Out in select cinemas Sep 19. On Netflix Oct 3.
Paul Thomas Anderson is back with an action thriller that’s bound to raise eyebrows. Starring a moustachioed Leonardo DiCaprio as a former environmental anarchist, One Battle After Another follows a group of ex-revolutionaries who form a chaotic alliance. Benicio del Toro, Sean Penn, Regina Hall and Teyana Taylor bring additional firepower to the cast. Is PTA trading the slow-burning drama of There Will Be Blood and Phantom Thread for a more Tarantino-esque rollercoaster of car chases and gunfights? Either way, we’re here for it.
Out Sep 26
Irvine Welsh: Reality is Not Enough promises to be a flamboyant, larger-than-life portrait fitting for the gleefully provocative Scottish writer. The man behind Trainspotting and Filth opens up about his unconventional writing style, his attempts at a career in DJing, and, of course, a psychedelic trip or two that defines his absurdist worldviews and biting satire. Along with featuring the man himself, Welsh’s journey is narrated by Liam Neeson and Ruth Negga with appearances by musician Nick Cave and Adolescence star Stephen Graham.
Out Sep 26
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