(This article first appeared in the November print edition of the Hendersonian.)
As industry insiders begin to backpedal their $10 billion year-end box office estimates, studios are already excited to crack the $8 billion mark by mid-October. Thanks in part to the continued enthusiasm for Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil, the moderate success of the thrillers Verity and Other Mommy, and the surprising audience turnout for the three-hour documentary about Elizabeth Holmes, You Can See Everything (from co-directors Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim), releases this November are sure to bring in more audiences during the holidays with a mixture of sequels, prequels and top awards contenders. As always, be sure to check out the local listings for your favorite Showplace Cinemas and AMC Theaters location so you don’t get left out in the cold because of a wrong showtime!
Godzilla Minus Zero (Nov. 6) – Taking place two years after Godzilla Minus One (which won the Oscar for Best Special Effects) and set in 1949, the Shikishima family confronts a fresh catastrophe from the world’s favorite Kaiju. Writer, director, and special effects supervisor Takashi Yamazaki returns to create the 38th film in this storied Japanese franchise. And, it’s playing in IMAX!!!
Wild Horse Nine (Nov. 6) – Academy Award winner Martin McDonagh (The Banshees of Inisherin, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri) brings his madcap dark humor to yet another twisted buddy comedy starring Oscar winner Sam Rockwell and John Malkovich (rumored to be up for another Oscar nomination in this role). The two play Chris and Lee, CIA agents who take on a trust-testing mission from Santiago, Chile, to Easter Island in 1973. If you loved McDonagh’s In Bruges, you’ll definitely want to see this!
The Cat in the Hat (Nov. 6) – Do we need another adaptation of this beloved Dr. Seuss story for the big screen? Maybe. Will it have an impressive voice cast, including SNL alumni Bill Hader, Bowen Yang, and Jay Pharaoh? Yes. Will it be better than the 2003 live-action version? I hope so! Alessandro Carloni and Erica Rivinoja co-direct this animated offering from the newly merged Warner Bros./Paramount studio Skydance.
Ebenezer (Nov. 13) – Speaking of classic, reimagined tales with a stacked cast, Johnny Depp toplines his first studio release in quite some time in this live-action update to Charles Dickens’ Christmas story (which you should all know by now). Veteran horror director Ti West (Pearl, X, The House of the Devil) makes the leap to big-budget studio fare with what is sure to be a darker take on this source material. Veteran British actors Sam Clafin, Daisy Ridley, Andrea Riseborough and Sir Ian McKellen co-star.
I Play Rocky (Nov. 20) – While he’s no stranger to playing iconic actors in legendary roles (most recently playing Al Pacino in the limited series The Offer), rising star Anthony Ippolito plays, you guessed it, Rocky Balboa in this fictional biopic of Sylvester Stallone’s struggles and triumph in bringing the film Rocky to the screen. Audiences and critics alike have been raving about this Peter Farrelly-directed film since its September premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Paper Tiger (Nov. 20) – Another awards contender with solid reviews out of Cannes and the New York Film Festival, James Gray’s period crime drama stars Adam Driver and Miles Teller as two brothers who get tangled up with the Russian Mafia, testing their bond while they pursue the American Dream. Academy Award winner Scarlett Johansson co-stars.
The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping (Nov. 20) – Going deeper into this series’ rich fictional history, this prequel focuses on the backstory of Haymitch Abernathy (Joseph Zada), revisiting the world of Panem 24 years before the events of The Hunger Games. Series producer/director Francis Lawrence once again takes the helm, with Jesse Plemons, Elle Fanning, Glenn Close, Kieran Culkin, and Ralph Finnes co-starring.
Hexed (Nov. 25) – Disney is in need of a huge, huge hit with their original animated releases, and are hoping that the tweens come out in full force (and bring their parents) to this tale about an awkward teen and her Type-A mother who learn that her peculiarities might be magical powers, transforming their lives and revealing a hidden magical realm. As with all Disney animated features, the stacked voice cast includes Hailee Steinfeld, Walton Goggins, Dan Stevens, Randall Park, Henry Winkler and Jodie Foster. Jason Hand, Josie Trinidad, and Fawn Veerasunthorn co-direct.
Focker-in-Law (Nov. 27) – In this fourth chapter of the beloved comedy franchise, the Little Fockers have grown up, and Henry Focker (Skyler Gisondo) faces family chaos when he decides to marry a strong-willed woman (Ariana Grande) who appears to be his complete mismatch. All the original cast members (Ben Stiller, Robert DeNiro, Teri Polo, and Blythe Danner) return for this legacy sequel, as does writer/producer Jon Hamburg, who takes his turn in the director’s chair for this installment.
Henderson resident Dr. McManus Woodend is an Assistant Professor of Digital Media at the University of Southern Indiana and has worked in film, television and commercials for more than 20 years. To see some of his work, visit www.mcmanuswoodend.com.
