From action and horror movies to Oscar-seeking dramas, the fall is chockablock with viewing options.
Here’s a rundown of the big and little and scary titles expected to arrive in Utah theaters between now and the end of the year. (Release dates are tentative, especially with the smaller movies.)
September
Sept. 8
Home Again
Reese Witherspoon plays a divorcée who opens her home to three millennial guys in this romantic comedy written and directed by Hallie Meyers-Shyer (whose mom, producer Nancy Meyers, directed “The Intern” and “It’s Complicated”).
A monster (Bill Skarsgard), in the form of a clown, feeds on children in a Maine town, and it’s up to a group of outcast kids to stop him, in this adaptation of the Stephen King horror classic, directed by Andy Muschetti (“Mama”).
Menashe
A widower (Menashe Lustig) in an ultra-Orthodox Jewish community in Brooklyn fights for custody of his son in this drama performed in Yiddish.
9/11
This drama shows five people (Charlie Sheen, Gina Gershon, Luis Guzman, Wood Harris, Olga Fonda) trapped in an elevator in the north tower of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.
Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World
A documentary that chronicles the role American Indians played in the creation and growth of rock ’n’ roll — including such legends as Jimi Hendrix, Robbie Robertson and Buffy Sainte-Marie.
The Trip to Spain
Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon return for a third road trip, this time hopping around Spain, trading quips and impersonations over extravagant meals.
Sept. 15
American Assassin
Vince Flynn’s beach-read novel hits the big screen, with a young man (“The Maze Runner’s” Dylan O’Brien) training to be a CIA killer under a hard-boiled superior (Michael Keaton).
Beach Rats
A Brooklyn teen (Frankie Dickinson) struggles with his sexual identity in this coming-of-age drama, which won writer-director Eliza Hittman the Directing Award at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.
Endless Poetry
Madman filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky (“El Topo”) wrote and directed this autobiography, casting his son Adán as himself as a young artist in Chile.
mother!
Jennifer Lawrence stars in writer-director Darren Aronofsky’s Gothic thriller, as a woman turning unhinged when her husband (Javier Bardem) brings an assortment of people into their quiet house.
Viceroy’s House
Director Gurinder Chadha (“Bend It Like Beckham”) chronicles India’s independence and its partition with Pakistan, centering on the last British viceroy of India, Lord Louis Mountbatten (“Downton Abbey’s” Hugh Bonneville), and his wife, Lady Edwina (Gillian Anderson).
Sept. 22
Brad’s Status
Screenwriter Mike White (“School of Rock,” “Beatriz at Dinner”) directs this midlife comedy, starring Ben Stiller as a guy who takes his son (Austin Abrams) to tour colleges — and runs into an old acquaintance (Michael Sheen) who makes him question his life’s path.
Friend Request
In this horror movie, a college student (Alycis Debnam-Carey, from “Fear the Walking Dead”) unfriends a mysterious girl online, then must fight a supernatural force that’s killing all her close friends.
Kingsman: The Golden Circle
Colin Firth, Taron Egerton and Mark Strong return as suave British secret agents, this time teaming up with their American counterparts (including Channing Tatum, Jeff Bridges, Halle Berry and Pedro Pascal) to battle a ruthless cosmetics baron (Julianne Moore).
The LEGO Ninjago Movie
Six ninja LEGO mini-figures battle evil by night and deal with high school by day in this continuation of the brick-centric animated franchise.
Rebel in the Rye
Nicholas Hoult plays a young J.D. Salinger in a drama that reveals the influences that led to his writing “The Catcher in the Rye.” Screenwriter Danny Strong (“Lee Daniels’ The Butler”) makes his feature directing debut.
Stronger
The true story of Jeff Bauman (Jake Gyllenhaal), who lost his legs in the Boston Marathon bombing, details his recovery, his struggle with the hero label, and his tempestuous relationship with his mom (Miranda Richardson) and his girlfriend (Tatiana Maslany).
Sept. 29
American Made
Tom Cruise stars as an airline pilot recruited to fly for the CIA in this action movie directed by Doug Liman (“The Bourne Identity”).
Battle of the Sexes
In 1973, tennis star Billie Jean King (Emma Stone) is challenged by showboat player Bobby Riggs (Steve Carell) for a match that becomes a media circus in this comedy-drama by the directing team of Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Paris (“Little Miss Sunshine”).
Flatliners
Medical students — including Ellen Page and Diego Luna — get their kicks stopping their hearts and restarting them, and discover something scary coming from the other side, in this remake of the 1990 thriller.
October
Oct. 6
Blade Runner 2049
Director Denis Villeneuve (“Arrival”) returns to Ridley Scott’s futurescape as a young LA cop (Ryan Gosling) who uncovers a dangerous secret and must find a former “blade runner,” Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford, reprising his old role), who’s been missing for 30 years.
The Mountain Between Us
A small-plane crash strands a journalist (Kate Winslet) and a surgeon (Idris Elba) in the High Uintas, fighting for survival, in this adaptation of Charles Martin’s novel. (No, the Uintas aren’t in the movie; it was filmed in Canada.)
My Little Pony: The Movie
Bronies, get ready — Twilight Sparkle and her friends make their movie debut in this animated adventure, as they travel beyond Equestria to repel an evil force and save their home.
The Stray
The family dog comes to the rescue when a couple, their son and two of his friends are struck by lightning on a camping trip. This fact-based drama, filmed in Utah, is directed by Mitch Davis (“The Other Side of Heaven”).
Victoria and Abdul
Stephen Frears directs this drama, the true story of Queen Victoria (Judi Dench) and the Indian clerk (Ali Fazal) who became her confidant in the last decade of her life.
Oct. 13
The Foreigner
When his daughter is killed in a terrorist attack, a businessman (Jackie Chan) — who also happens to be a former special-forces agent — goes after the British government official (Pierce Brosnan) who is hiding the killers’ identities.
Happy Death Day
“Groundhog Day” as a horror movie, with a college student (Jessica Rothe) reliving the day of her murder over and over until she identifies her killer.
Loving Vincent
An animated telling of the troubled life and mysterious death of the painter Vincent Van Gogh — with 65,000 oil paintings as the animation frames.
Professor Marston & the Wonder Women
The strange-but-true story of Harvard psychologist William Marston, aka Charles Moulton, and how his polyamorous life — with a wife (Rebecca Hall) and a younger woman (Bella Heathcote) — helped inspire his two lasting creations: polygraph technology and the character Wonder Woman.
Oct. 20
Boo 2! A Madea Halloween
Tyler Perry dons the housecoat again as Madea for a slasher-movie spoof about a chainsaw killer in a haunted campground.
Breathe
Actor Andy Serkis makes his feature directing debut with the inspirational true story of Robin and Diana Cavendish, who battle for his right to freedom after he’s stricken with polio. Andrew Garfield and Claire Foy (“The Crown”) play the couple.
The Florida Project
Filmmaker Sean Baker’s follow-up to his iPhone-shot “Tangerine” is this look at childhood, centered on kids making their own fun in a motel complex near Walt Disney World. Willem Dafoe, as the motel manager, is being talked up for Oscar contention.
GeoStorm
In the near future, when satellites control the weather, someone is sabotaging the system and causing cataclysmic storms. It’s up to Gerard Butler to figure out who and why in this action thriller, the directing debut of “Independence Day” producer Dean Devlin.
Only the Brave
Josh Brolin leads a crew of Arizona firefighters in this account of the 2013 wildfire that killed 19 members of the crew. Taylor Kitsch, Miles Teller, Jennifer Connelly and Jeff Bridges also star for director Joseph Kosinski (“Oblivion,” “Tron: Legacy”).
Same Kind of Different as Me
A rich couple (Greg Kinnear, Renee Zellweger) having marital problems volunteer at a homeless shelter, where they befriend a mysterious man (Djimon Hounsou), in this faith-centered drama based on a true story.
The Snowman
Michael Fassbender plays Harry Hole (pronounced hoe-leh), the detective at the center of Norwegian author Jo Nesbø’s thriller, here searching for a serial killer. Swedish director Thomas Alfredson’s résumé includes “Let the Right One In” and “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.”
Wonderstruck
Two children — a boy (Oakes Fegley, from “Pete’s Dragon”) in the Midwest and a girl (Millicent Simmonds) 50 years earlier in New York — share a mysterious connection in this drama from director Todd Haynes (“Carol”).
Oct. 27
Goodbye, Christopher Robin
A biographical drama about how the author A.A. Milne (Domhnall Gleeson) created the “Winnie-the-Pooh” books and how fame affected his wife (Margot Robbie) and their son, Christopher Robin (played, at different ages, by Will Tilston and Alex Lawther).
Jigsaw
Just when you thought the “Saw” horror franchise was over (“Saw 3D: The Final Chapter” came out in 2010), there’s a franchise reboot that starts with a series of killings that seem to be linked to the supposedly dead John Kramer, aka the Jigsaw Killer.
Suburbicon
George Clooney directs a forgotten Coen Brothers script (rewritten by Clooney and Grant Heslov), a dark comedy starring Matt Damon as a scheming ’50s suburbanite.
Thank You For Your Service
U.S. soldiers come home from Iraq, but struggle with finding their place back home while still haunted by what they saw in combat. “American Sniper” screenwriter Jason Hall, in his directing debut, adapts David Finkel’s best-seller, with a cast that includes Miles Teller, Haley Bennett, Keisha Castle-Hughes and Amy Schumer.
October, to be determined
Chavela
Mexican legend Chavela Vargas — singer, storyteller and lesbian icon — is profiled in this revealing documentary.
Dina
Romance on the autism spectrum is explored in this intimate documentary, which won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance this year.
Lucky
Harry Dean Stanton stars as a 90-year-old atheist in this drama, the directing debut of actor John Carroll Lynch.
Mark Felt: The Man Who Brought Down the White House
Liam Neeson plays Mark Felt, the deputy FBI director in the 1970s, who became the informant — nicknamed “Deep Throat” — who guided reporter Bob Woodward (Julian Morris) through the Watergate scandal. Writer-director Peter Landesman (“Parkland”) adapts Felt’s memoir.
The Unknown Girl
The latest slice of vérité-style social drama from the Dardenne brothers follows a young doctor (Adèle Haenel), guilt-ridden that she didn’t answer her clinic’s doorbell to an African woman who later died, as she seeks to learn about the woman’s life.
Woodshock
Sisters Kate and Laura Mulleavy, the designers behind the Rodarte fashion brand, wrote and directed this stylized thriller, starring Kirsten Dunst as a woman who falls into paranoia after taking a deadly drug.
November
Nov. 3
A Bad Moms Christmas
Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell and Kathryn Hahn return as the renegade moms in this raunchy sequel, this time dealing with the holidays and their own mothers — respectively, Christine Baranski, Cheryl Hines and Susan Sarandon.
The Killing of a Sacred Deer
Colin Farrell plays a surgeon whose life is teetering on the brink in this dark horror/drama that reteams the actor with “The Lobster” director Yorgos Lanthimos. Nicole Kidman and Alicia Silverstone also star.
Last Flag Flying
A former Navy corpsman (Steve Carell) reunites with two of his Vietnam War comrades (Bryan Cranston, Laurence Fishburne) to bury his son, a Marine killed in Iraq, in this comedy-drama directed by Richard Linklater (“Boyhood”).
Thor: Ragnarok
Chris Hemsworth’s thunder god finds himself imprisoned on a strange planet, forced into gladiatorial combat with the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), and figuring out how to defeat the all-powerful Hela (Cate Blanchett) from destroying Asgard. Just another day at the office in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Nov. 10
Daddy’s Home 2
In this comedy sequel, Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg return as the nerdy stepdad and macho dad, this time dealing with their own fathers. Ferrell’s dad is played by John Lithgow; Wahlberg’s is played by Mel Gibson.
Murder on the Orient Express
Kenneth Branagh directed and stars as detective Hercule Poirot in this remake of Agatha Christie’s most famous mystery. Also on board: Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, Daisy Ridley, Willem Dafoe, Penélope Cruz, Josh Gad, Judi Dench, Olivia Coleman, Derek Jacobi and “Hamilton’s” Leslie Odom Jr.
Nov. 17
Justice League
DC Comics does the superhero mashup thing, as Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck), aka Batman, and Diana Prince (Gal Gadot), alias Wonder Woman, recruit Aquaman (Jason Momoa), The Flash (Ezra Miller) and Cyborg (Ray Fisher) to join forces against a challenge that could destroy Earth. It’s no secret that Superman (Henry Cavill) is also back for this action extravaganza, directed by Zack Snyder, with reshoots by Joss Whedon.
The Star
The birth of Christ is recounted in this animated fable, told through the eyes of the animals who witnessed it.
Wonder
In this adaptation of R.J. Palacio’s best-selling novel, Jacob Tremblay (“Room”) plays Auggie Pullman, a facially disfigured fifth-grader who enters public school for the first time. Julia Roberts and Owen Wilson play his parents for director Stephen Chbosky (“The Perks of Being a Wallflower”).
Nov. 22
Coco
Disney/Pixar’s animated wizards go deep into Mexican folklore, as a young guitarist (voiced by Anthony Gonzalez) travels to the Land of the Dead. Lee Unkrich (“Toy Story 3”) directs, with a voice cast that includes Gael Garcia Bernal, Benjamin Bratt, Edward James Olmos, Alanna Ubach and Cheech Marin.
Death Wish
Director Eli Roth (“Hostel”) remakes the 1974 revenge thriller, with Bruce Willis taking Charles Bronson’s role as a mild-mannered guy who becomes a violent vigilante after thugs attack his family.
The Man Who Invented Christmas
Dan Stevens (“Beauty and the Beast”) stars in this biographical drama as Charles Dickens, combating publishing failures by self-publishing a holiday story. Jonathan Pryce and Christopher Plummer (as Ebenezer Scrooge) also star.
Molly’s Game
Screenwriter Aaron Sorkin (“The West Wing,” “The Social Network”) makes his directing debut with this true story of a woman (Jessica Chastain) who built up the world’s most exclusive poker game — with a clientele that included movie stars, business leaders and, though she didn’t know it, the Russian mob. Idris Elba and Kevin Costner also star.
Nov. 24
The Current War
It’s AC vs. DC, as electricity moguls George Westinghouse (Michael Shannon) and Thomas Edison (Benedict Cumberbatch) battle over which method of delivering electricity will prevail. Alfonso Gomez-Rejon (“Me and Earl and the Dying Girl”) directs this drama, with a supporting cast that includes Katherine Waterston, Nicholas Hoult and Tom Holland.
November, to be determined
BPM
French activists in the early 1990s fight for their lives in the face of apathy about AIDS in director Robin Campillo’s drama.
Lady Bird
Actor Greta Gerwig wrote and directed this coming-of-age tale, centered on a teen girl (Saoirse Ronan) in Sacramento, Calif. (Gerwig’s hometown), and her stormy relationship with her mother (Laurie Metcalf).
Novitiate
Writer-director Maggie Betts’ debut, about life for nuns-in-training on the cusp of the second Vatican Council, wowed audiences at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. Melissa Leo plays the Mother Superior; Margaret Qualley, Dianna Agron and Morgan Saylor are among her charges.
Roman J. Israel, Esq.
Denzel Washington stars as an idealistic defense attorney who is recruited by a rich lawyer (Colin Farrell) to join a prestigious L.A. law firm in writer-director Dan Gilroy’s follow-up to “Nightcrawler.”
The Square
Director Ruben Östlund’s satire of the art world, in which a contemporary museum owner (Claes Bang) sets up an exhibit about altruism that backfires, won the Palme D’Or at Cannes this year.
Thelma
A woman (Eili Harboe) starts falling in love, when she learns she has fantastic powers, in this science-fiction romance from Norwegian director Joachim Trier.
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Frances McDormand stars in this drama, as a woman who wants to know why the local police haven’t solved her daughter’s murder — so she rents the titular billboards to apply pressure to the town’s chief of police (Woody Harrelson). Writer-director Martin McDonagh (“In Bruges,” “Seven Psychopaths”) enlisted a cast that includes Peter Dinklage, Abbie Cornish and Sam Rockwell.
December
Dec. 1
Polaroid
A lonely high school student (Madelaine Petsch) finds an instant camera, but soon learns anyone who has their picture taken comes to a bad end, in this horror-thriller.
Dec. 8
The Disaster Artist
James Franco directs and stars as Tommy Wiseau, the overconfident yet under-talented director of “The Room,” believed by some to be the worst movie ever made. The cast includes Zac Efron, Alison Brie, Zoey Deutch, Bryan Cranston, Seth Rogen, Dave Franco and Sharon Stone.
Dec. 15
Ferdinand
Wrestler-turned-movie star John Cena provides the voice for the peace-loving bull in this animated adaptation of Munro Leaf’s classic children’s book.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi
Rey (Daisy Ridley) finally lets Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) say something, while the Rebellion and the First Order continue their conflict, in the eighth chapter of the epic science-fiction saga. Rian Johnson (“Looper”) directs this chapter.
Dec. 20
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle
Jake Kasdan directs this continuation of the 1995 action movie, this time with mismatched teens discovering a ’90s video game and getting sucked in as the game’s avatars (played by Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black and Karen Gillan).
Dec. 22
Bastards
Owen Wilson and Ed Helms play brothers who learn that their mother (Glenn Close) was lying about their father all these years, so they hit the road in search of the truth in this raunchy comedy.
Downsizing
Director Alexander Payne (“Nebraska,” “The Descendants”) delivers a satire of consumerism, set in a near-future where regular folks — Matt Damon and Kristin Wiig among them — get sold on the idea that they can have a McMansion and other riches if they are willing to be shrunk to 5 inches tall.
Pitch Perfect 3
The Bellas (Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, Brittany Snow, Anna Camp, Hailie Steinfeld and the rest) find life after college not so harmonious, so they reunite to perform their a cappella numbers on a USO tour in this sequel.
The Post
Steven Spielberg directs this journalism drama, which looks at the publication of the top-secret Pentagon Papers — not through the story of The New York Times, which first published them, but through the rival Washington Post, which scrambled to play catch-up. Tom Hanks plays the legendary Post editor Ben Bradlee, and Meryl Streep plays publisher Katharine Graham.
Dec. 25
The Greatest Showman
Hugh Jackman plays P.T. Barnum in this musical biography of the impresario. With songs by “La La Land’s” Justin Paul and Benj Pasek, the movie boasts a big cast, including Michelle Williams (as Barnum’s wife), Zac Efron, Rebecca Ferguson, Zendaya, and Utah-connected Broadway stars Keala Settle and Will Swenson.
December, to be determined
The Ballad of Lefty Brown
An aging cowboy (Bill Pullman) goes on a mission of revenge in this Western.
Call Me by Your Name
An American scholar (Armie Hammer) comes to Italy to intern for the summer with a noted professor (Michael Stuhlbarg) of Greco-Roman culture. Soon, the scholar and the professor’s 17-year-old son (Timothée Chalamet) strike up a relationship in director Luca Guadagnino’s emotionally charged romantic drama — a hit at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.
Darkest Hour
Gary Oldman plays Winston Churchill, urged to negotiate peace with Hitler as the Nazis roll over western Europe on the brink of World War II, in this drama directed by Joe Wright (“Atonement,” “Anna Karenina”).
The Shape of Water
Guillermo Del Toro (“Pan’s Labyrinth”) directed this Cold War tale about a monster imprisoned in a U.S. government lab and the deaf cleaning woman (Sally Hawkins) who befriends the creature.
Untitled Paul Thomas Anderson Project
Daniel Day-Lewis, in what is rumored to be his final role before retirement, reteams with his “There Will Be Blood” director to play fashion designer Charles James, who made dresses for high society and the royal family in the 1950s.
Wonder Wheel
Writer-director Woody Allen sets his latest movie at Coney Island in the 1950s, telling of a carousel operator and his wife. The cast includes Kate Winslet, Justin Timberlake and Juno Temple.