‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,’ ‘Joker 2,’ new ‘Venom’ and fall’s top films
USA TODAY film critic Brian Truitt gives us his must-see films for the fall 2024 season, including new “Beetlejuice” and “Joker” films.
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Deadpool, Wolverine and a teenager’s emotions ruled the summer, but a fresh crop of fall movies is bringing out all the jokers.
There’s Michael Keaton‘s demonically chaotic Beetlejuice, back on the big screen after more than 35 years. Tom Hardy’s freaky antihero Venom returns for another tour of comic book movie duty, plus slasher favorite Art the Clown has his own “Terrifier” threequel. And there’s Joker himself, as Joaquin Phoenix‘s Oscar-winning take on the homicidal clown gets the spotlight again – this time, with Lady Gaga’s Harley Quinn – in a highly anticipated sequel. Follow-ups aplenty and awards-ready fare litter the next two months, which feature everything from a tear-jerking drama with Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh to an airplane thriller with Mark Wahlberg as a villainous pilot.
Here’s an exclusive peek at the 15 movies coming to theaters that you absolutely, positively must see between now and Halloween:
‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’ (Sept. 6)
Director Tim Burton revisits his signature vision of the afterlife with Keaton back as the unhinged title trickster demon. When Lydia Deetz’s estranged teenage daughter Astrid (Jenna Ortega) gets pulled into the land of ghosts and sandworms, Lydia (Winona Ryder) reluctantly enlists Beetlejuice to help.
‘My Old Ass’ (Sept. 13)
The coming-of-age comedy stars Maisy Stella as teenage Elliott, who while tripping on mushrooms with her friends on her 18th birthday begins to have conversations with her 39-year-old self (Aubrey Plaza). The older Elliott tries to dole out life lessons on what she should and shouldn’t do, like spending more time with her family and avoiding a certain boy.
‘A Different Man’ (Sept. 20)
In this dark comedy about identity, Edward (Sebastian Stan) is an aspiring actor with neurofibromatosis, a genetic condition that causes facial tumors. He undergoes an experimental treatment that gives him his dream appearance but becomes irked seeing the attention paid to the man (Adam Pearson) playing Edward in a stage production about his former life.
‘Never Let Go’ (Sept. 20)
Halle Berry executive produces and stars in the survival horror movie as a determined mom living with her two sons in a remote cabin in the woods. They hide away from an evil that has infected the world and hunts their family, often taking the faces of lost loved ones, though their status quo is shaken up when one of the kids begins to question everything.
‘Transformers One’ (Sept. 20)
The animated adventure tells the origin story of iconic transforming robot rivals Optimus Prime (voiced by Chris Hemsworth) and Megatron (Brian Tyree Henry). They start as best friends and Energon miners on their home planet of Cybertron who go on an ambitious quest to find the legendary Matrix of Leadership and wind up having their relationship tested.
‘Megalopolis’ (Sept. 27)
Director Francis Ford Coppola’s epic reimagines modern America, where the city of New Rome is a metropolis needing change. Adam Driver stars as the idealistic architect wanting to build its future, Giancarlo Esposito plays the corrupt mayor who aims to stop him, and Nathalie Emmanuel is the woman torn between her artist love and politician dad.
‘The Wild Robot’ (Sept. 27)
A shipwreck leaves a robot named Roz (voiced by Lupita Nyong’o) stranded on an island full of animals, a situation way out of her programmed comfort zone. She becomes an unlikely parent to an orphaned gosling and protector to a bunch of furry creatures – including helpful fox Fink (Pedro Pascal) – in the heartwarming adventure.
‘Joker: Folie à Deux’ (Oct. 4)
A darkly fantastical and musical sequel to Todd Phillips’ Oscar-nominated 2019 crime thriller, the new “Joker” returns best actor winner Joaquin Phoenix as failed comedian/killer clown Arthur Fleck. Now imprisoned, Arthur awaits his high-profile trial for multiple murders and finds a like-minded romantic partner in No. 1 fan Lee Quinzel (Lady Gaga).
‘Piece by Piece’ (Oct. 11)
Pop music meets a “Lego Movie” vibe in this imaginative animated biopic chronicling the life story and musical work of Pharrell Williams, told via Lego pieces. The film follows the Grammy-winning singer/producer’s rise in the music industry and also features collaborators including Gwen Stefani, Kendrick Lamar, Jay-Z and Justin Timberlake.
‘Terrifier 3’ (Oct. 11)
This year, peppermint mochas aren’t the start of the holiday season – it’s the reappearance of slasher villain Art the Clown, in Santa Claus garb. In the third chapter of the ultra-gory, fan-favorite “Terrifier” franchise, the playfully sadistic clown returns to haunt the residents of Miles County, including the heroine (Lauren LaVera) who’s still traumatized by her last meeting with Art.
‘We Live in Time’ (Oct. 11)
John Crowley (“Brooklyn”) directs this “Love Story”-esque drama about a rising star chef (Florence Pugh) and a recent divorcee (Andrew Garfield) who meet when she hits him with her car. The chance meeting leads to a decade-spanning relationship, and the couple navigates romance, children and an illness that puts a ticking clock on their lives together.
‘Anora’ (Oct. 18)
Director Sean Baker’s dramedy, which won the Palme d’Or at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, is a twist on the “Pretty Woman” formula. Mikey Madison’s title character is a New York exotic dancer who meets and falls for client Vanya (Mark Eidelshtein), the son of a Russian oligarch, and when they elope, his family arrives to force an annulment.
‘Flight Risk’ (Oct. 18)
Directed by Mel Gibson, the intense thriller features Michelle Dockery as an air marshal onboard a small plane taking a high-profile prisoner (Topher Grace) to testify against a crime family in New York. But the already bumpy flight gets even more dangerous over the Alaskan wilderness when the affable pilot (Mark Wahlberg) is revealed to be a mob hitman.
‘Smile 2’ (Oct. 18)
In the sequel to surprise 2022 horror hit “Smile,” pop star Skye Riley (Naomi Scott) is readying for a new world tour and dealing with the stresses of being a famous global sensation. So it’s pretty much the worst time to be haunted by fans and friends running around with an ultra-creepy grin, experience increasingly terrifying moments and come to grips with a dark past.
‘Venom: The Last Dance’ (Oct. 25)
Tom Hardy plays dual roles – Eddie Brock and his extremely violent alien symbiote sidekick Venom – once more in the third and final movie in the comic book movie trilogy. Venom is hunted by antagonistic forces from his home world while Eddie runs afoul of more human villains, and the bantering bosom buddies have to work together to save each other.
