In summer, movie-studio thinking aims toward big-screen spectacles and as many explosions as possible. In fall, though, the studios’ focus shifts toward darker fare: melancholy stories for fall and winter, a huge influx of horror movies around Halloween, and a wave of grimmer dramas vying for early awards attention. The rest of 2024 isn’t all about dark tales — Moana 2 and the first installment of the two-part Wicked will likely keep theaters lively and tuneful. Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice Beetlejuice looks like it’s aimed at the same sly, morbid, goofy humor as the 1988 original movie. And we’re expecting more goofy fun from Venom: The Last Dance than we’re expecting trenchant, award-winning drama.

But these films are going to have to compete with a lot of heavier visions — most of them on the smaller side. With studios shifting so many releases to the supposed-to-be-bigger 2025 season, the fall movie season is looking like a strange jumble of unpredictable, idiosyncratic films: Todd Phillips’ musical sequel Joker: Folie à Deux, Francis Ford Coppola’s “ancient Rome in the modern era” sci-fi film Megalopolis, Coralie Fargeat’s creepy horror-drama The Substance. A24 has a new wave of strange and specific upcoming visions — The Front Room, A Different Man, We Live in Time — and the animated movies Transformers One and The Wild Robot are going to try to straddle the space between kids’ movie and adult fantasy.

Fall 2024 has very few huge, obvious movie pegs that are destined to dominate the box office. So it seems like a better moment than ever to take a chance on something odd and ambitious. Here’s what Polygon is most looking forward to in movies this fall.

This horror movie is still quite a mystery, with just a brief, vague trailer so far. But since it comes from Robert Eggers’ (The Witch, The Lighthouse) brothers, Sam and Max, it certainly seems like it’s worth every horror fan’s attention. What we know for sure is that the movie will follow a newly pregnant family (Brandy, Andrew Burnap) as they’re forced to suddenly take care of an estranged stepmother (Kathryn Hunter). As you might expect, sinister things ensue, but A24 is intent on keeping a lid on the scares until the movie actually comes out. —Austen Goslin

It’s only right that Gen Z goth queen Jenna Ortega joins Gen X goth queen Winona Ryder for the Beetlejuice sequel. Lydia (Ryder) and her teenage daughter Astrid (Ortega) return to the family home to reunite with Delia (Catherine O’Hara) after Lydia’s father dies. But Astrid ends up releasing Betelgeuse (Michael Keaton), so the Deetz women have to deal with wrangling the demon. —Petrana Radulovic

It’s always exciting when Jeremy Saulnier (Blue Ruin, Green Room) has a new movie coming out. But the premise makes this the can’t-miss Netflix movie of the fall.

When Marine veteran Terry (Aaron Pierre) tries to bail his cousin out of jail in a small rural town, the corrupt local police instead seize his money. Terry has no choice but to take matters into his own hands. The trailer promised the kind of moody, tense thrill ride we’ve come to expect from Saulnier. And a thriller about the American travesty of civil asset forfeiture? That’s too good to pass up. —Pete Volk

If you loved the whimsical inhabitants of Yubaba’s Bathhouse in Spirited Away, you’ll love The Concierge. Produced by Production I.G and adapted from Tsuchika Nishimura’s 2017 manga, the film follows Akino, a concierge-in-training at a department store for exotic, anthropomorphic animals, some of which are extinct. Can Akino overcome the challenges of her new job and hold on to the passion and love that brought her there in the first place? —Toussaint Egan

Legendary stunt performer and action director J.J. Perry finally got his chance at the first unit director’s chair with Day Shift, an extraordinarily fun vampire comedy starring Jamie Foxx, with terrific action design. Now Perry is back with his second feature, starring Dave Bautista as an assassin with a terminal illness who commissions a hit on himself so he can go out in style… only to find out his diagnosis was actually a doctor’s mistake. The sprawling cast includes Sofia Boutella, Ben Kingsley, Pom Klementieff, Terry Crews, and action movie luminaries Scott Adkins, Daniel Bernhardt, and Marko Zaror. —PV

In this timey-wimey comedy drama, a teenage girl (Maisy Stella) named Elliott is visited by her future self (Aubrey Plaza), who warns her not to fall in love. Elliott’s pretty sure this won’t be a big deal, but then she meets the dreamy boy her future self warned her about. —PR

CloverWorks’ latest feature follows Yu Azuma, an irrepressibly ambitious high schooler with dreams of forming an idol group. After she recruits four girls from neighboring high schools, the group sets out to chase stardom. Will their dreams be extinguished along the way by the setbacks and hurdles that come from fame, or will they find a way to come out on top? —TE

The animated origin story of Optimus Prime and Megatron may be the fall’s most pleasant surprise. Transformers One takes the action back to the robots in disguise’s home planet of Cybertron, before war tore their world apart and before the leaders of the Autobots and Decepticons became sworn enemies.

Early reactions to Transformers One have been overwhelmingly positive; it’s a film with well-choreographed action, a surprising amount of heart, and plenty of humor that will cater to Transformers newcomers (read: kids) and longtime fans. It also has a very strong cast, with Chris Hemsworth as Orion Pax (aka Optimus), Brian Tyree Henry as D-16 (aka Megatron), Scarlett Johansson, Keegan-Michael Key, Jon Hamm, Laurence Fishburne, and Steve Buscemi (in a very fun role). —Michael McWhertor

Remember in Pulp Fiction, when things go horribly south for Jules and Vincent, and Marsellus Wallace calls in Harvey Keitel’s “The Wolf” to discreetly clean up the hitmen’s big bloody mess? Well, what if two of those professional fixers showed up to the same grisly crime scene, both with their particular set of skills and strong opinions? That’s basically the incredibly appealing premise of Wolfs, an action comedy starring George Clooney and Brad Pitt as competing fixers.

The Ocean’s Eleven stars are being directed by Jon Watts, who also wrote the film. Watts is best known for the Tom Holland Spider-Man movies and for co-creating another strong fall entertainment release, Star Wars: Skeleton Crew. Everyone involved looks like they’re having a great time, which hopefully translates into a great film. —MM

There are plenty of reasons to be excited for this one. Demi Moore plays a woman named Elizabeth Sparkle who’s seeking the titular substance in order to become younger, more beautiful, better. Director and screenwriter Coralie Fargeat (of 2017’s absolutely bloody, bonkers Revenge) cites work from David Cronenberg, David Lynch, and Park Chan-wook as major influences.

These things (plus Margaret Qualley as co-star) are catnip to me. Add in a provocative poster with hints of body horror, and I’m sewn up, in the bag, front and center opening night. (Or at least back-middle center.) —Zosha Millman

From the director of Lilo & Stitch, this movie follows a robot who winds up stranded in the wilderness. Though she’s in an unfamiliar environment, she slowly begins to befriend the animals, even if that’s against her direct orders. The animation looks gorgeous, and I am pretty sure it’s going to make me cry at least twice. —PR

2024 has had plenty of good movies, even a handful of truly great ones. What it has been largely lacking in is movies that go big, so big you can barely stand to simply go home afterward. Films that feel like the filmmaker stuck their neck out to make something bold and messy and strange.

I can’t say whether Megalopolis will be a great version of any of those things. But I do know that watching a filmmaker produce something grandiose and bizarre is a gift. And Francis Ford Coppola’s been cooking on this since 1977, so I’m all in. —ZM

The truth is, you were probably in or out on this movie before you even saw the trailer. This sequel to 2019’s Joker reunites that movie’s writer and director, Todd Phillips, with star Joaquin Phoenix in the role that won him an Oscar, and adds Lady Gaga just to top the whole thing off. Based on the trailers, it seems like Arthur Fleck is stuck behind bars after the events of the original movie, but he has fellow inmate Harley Quinn there to keep him company, as the two frequently retreat into their own private fantasy world, surrounded by beautiful music and grand, gorgeous, violent spectacle. For better or worse, it certainly looks like a lot more Joker. —AG

Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia’s creepy, deliriously intense sci-fi/horror movie The Platform is the kind of directorial debut that makes a statement. Part intelligent, thought-through social metaphor, part gory shock-and-awe thriller, it straddles so many genres that it’s hard to know how to label it — and it’s exciting to realize you really don’t have to. It’s a profoundly unique movie, and one of the biggest surprises in its arsenal is how easy Gaztelu-Urrutia makes that look.

So the prospect of a sequel is a little unnerving. Can Gaztelu-Urrutia stick the landing twice in a row? Will a second film in this setting water down the first movie’s successes? There’s certainly more to say about every point the first movie makes about wealth inequality, social conditioning, and the impossibility of beating morality into amoral people, but is it worth returning to this world so soon? We’ll find out when The Platform 2 debuts on Netflix. —Tasha Robinson

The arrival of Cannes’ Palme d’Or winner in American theaters is always an event to look forward to. This year, that prize went to Sean Baker’s Anora, which follows a sex worker (Mikey Madison) in New York City who falls into a romance with the son of a Russian oligarch. Baker (Tangerine, The Florida Project) is the first American to win the Palme d’Or since Terrence Malick won in 2011 for The Tree of Life. —PV

The original Smile has a ton of charm as a horror short that got turned into a feature film — particularly for a movie that was originally set to debut on Paramount’s streaming platform rather than in theaters. But after the first movie became a massive box-office hit, director Parker Finn is back for a much bigger sequel. The premise of the movie is still the same: A strange grin sneaks across the faces of people who have witnessed a particular kind of dramatic death, and they become supernaturally compelled to pass their trauma on. But this time, the movie follows a pop superstar (Naomi Scott) whose concerts are haunted by people with the unnerving smirk. —AG

The Venom franchise is one of the last bastions of mainstream superhero movies’ former promise: an opportunity for A-list actors to get absolutely silly with it. Each of the three Venom projects has had a different director, but the true auteur of the series is star Tom Hardy, who gives genuinely one of the most impressive performances of the past decade in his dual role as Eddie Brock and Venom. Hardy is simultaneously one of the great voice actors and physical actors alive, which makes Venom movies can’t-miss events. —PV

Remember when I mentioned legendary stunt performer and action director J.J. Perry earlier, and his second feature film? Well, he’s also still providing killer action sequences in other people’s movies, which is the hope for this Netflix action comedy starring Cameron Diaz and Jamie Foxx. That’s an enticing duo with a history of good work in the genre, and even though director Seth Gordon (Horrible Bosses, Baywatch) doesn’t exactly have the track record you’d want for an action movie, Perry’s lends some real legitimacy to that side of the production. —PV

Twenty-four years after the release of the original Gladiator, director Ridley Scott is returning for a follow-up to his Oscar-winning swords-and-sandals epic. This time around, the movie will follow Lucius Verus (Paul Mescal) as a Roman forced into slavery and looking to win his freedom through combat as a gladiator, just like Maximus in the original film. Sponsoring Lucius’ campaign through the games is Macrinus (Denzel Washington), a Roman noble who hates the current rulers of Rome. For all this story, though, the main appeal of Gladiator II, based on the trailers, is the gorgeous attention to detail in the movie’s vicious battles. In the previews alone, we’ve already seen glimpses of combat against animals, and even a proelia, the simulated naval battles that were staged in a flooded Colosseum. —AG

It’s the moment theater kids have been waiting for: Wicked on the big screen! Ariana Grande and Cynthia Ervio lead the cast as Galinda and Elphaba, aka Glinda the Good Witch and the Wicked Witch of the West. This is the first of two movies, which will probably split off right at the end of the musical’s first act — meaning we’ll still get to see “Defying Gravity” in all its glory in this initial half of the project. —PR

The Moana sequel was originally supposed to be a Disney Plus show. But it’s since been retooled and will sail into theaters this November. There’s another angry nature god on the loose, but this time, it looks like Moana (Auli’i Cravalho) and Maui (Dwayne Johnson) have picked up allies to help them figure out what’s going on. Also, Moana now has a little sister. Adorable! —PR

For the first time in more than two decades, The Lord of the Rings returns to the big screen with an all-new animated feature. Set nearly two centuries before the events of the original trilogy, The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim follows the story of Helm Hammerhand (Brian Cox), the legendary king of Rohan and namesake of Helm’s Deep, as he defends his kingdom from the onslaught of the vengeful Wulf and his army of Dunlendings. The War of the Rohirrim is the first-ever Japanese anime production of the series, directed by Kenji Kamiyama (Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex) and produced by Production I.G (Ghost in the Shell, Psycho-Pass). —TE

Longtime Spider-Man villain Kraven the Hunter is getting his own stand-alone picture, sans Spider-Man. Hopefully his film will be more like Sony’s Venom movies (campy, violent, weird) and less like Sony’s Madame Web and Morbius movies (stiff, tedious, nigh-unwatchable). At the very least, Kraven the Hunter looks like a bloody good time, thanks to the promise of over-the-top violence and Russell Crowe attempting a Russian accent.

Aaron Taylor-Johnson stars as Kraven in this origin story of “vengeance with brutal consequences.” Joining ATJ and Crowe in Kraven the Hunter are Alessandro Nivola, Ariana DeBose, and Fred Hechinger, who star as Spider-Man villains Rhino, Calypso, and Chameleon, respectively. Kraven’s been delayed multiple times, a worrying sign, but that could also be an indicator we’ve got a so-bad-it’s-good situation on our hands. —MM

If you watched 2019’s “live-action” The Lion King and thought, Wow, I would love more photorealistic CG lions, then Mufasa will be right up your alley. It’s a prequel following Simba’s father, the mighty Mufasa. The movie comes from Moonlight director Barry Jenkins, with new music from Lin-Manuel Miranda. —PR

Whether you’re coming to Sonic 3 for the villain (a delightfully elastic Jim Carrey), the hero (take your pick from the animals, but I’ll always vouch for Idris Elba’s Knuckles), the hometown boy (James Marsden, delightfully playing off his CGI pals), or just some good ol’-fashioned Sega nostalgia, I think we can all agree that Sonic 3 offers something alluring, namely Keanu Reeves as Shadow. As with Elba before him, I have no idea what Reeves is going to do in his role — a pleasant novelty for an IP franchise in 2024. —ZM

The Witch and The Northman director Robert Eggers returns to his Gothic horror roots with his most ambitious project to date. Based on F.W. Murnau’s classic film and Bram Stoker’s seminal 1897 novel Dracula, Nosferatu centers on Ellen Hutter (Lily-Rose Depp), a young woman haunted by ghastly visions of a terrifying creature that has set its eyes on her. As a series of inexplicable tragedies begins to encircle Ellen and her loved ones, a vampire hunter (Willem Dafoe) must contend with Count Orlok (Bill Skarsgård), a mysterious nobleman with a terrible secret. —TE