August did indeed bring the heat of successful theatrical runs for a handful of movies. Both “Deadpool & Wolverine” and “Despicable Me 4” displayed their staying power during the month, with newcomers “It Ends with Us” and “Alien: Romulus” tallying higher than expected opening weekends domestically and worldwide. Even anniversary releases like the animated stop-motion favorite “Coraline” overperformed, which is welcomed news for a slew of upcoming retro screenings this month (including the classic anime feature “Ninja Scroll,” “Blazing Saddles” (which turns 50), “The Babadook,” “The Matrix,” and Howl’s Moving Castle. To see these anniversary screenings, and a promising group of new releases looking to continue the summer blockbuster season’s momentum, check the local listings at your favorite Showplace Cinemas and AMC Theaters location and head out to see these potential hits.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (Sept. 6) – After a 36-year hiatus, everyone’s favorite bio-exorcist is back!!! Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, and Catherine O’Hara reprise their iconic roles, and bring a new group of co-stars (including Jenna Ortega, Willem Dafoe, Justin Theroux, Monica Bellucci and Danny DeVito) into the reopened portal of the afterlife in the bucolic setting of Winter River, Connecticut. Tim Burton returns to the director’s chair for this long-awaited sequel, with veteran writing partners Alfred Gough and Miles Millar (Netflix’s Wednesday) penning the script.
Speak No Evil (Sept. 13) – Jason Blum and his Blumhouse banner are getting a head start on spooky season with this low-budget psychological thriller. A family accepts an invitation to an idyllic wooded retreat, only to discover there’s a sinister plot against them that threatens their lives. James McAvoy (Split, Glass), Mackenzie Davis (Terminator: Dark Fate, Blade Runner 2049), and Scoot McNairy (A Quiet Place Part II, Argo) star, with veteran British director James Watkins (The Woman in Black, Eden Lake) directing this fear fest.
Transformers One (Sept. 20) – The Transformers Cinematic Universe gets a new Allspark with this origin story of its most popular characters, Optimus Prime and Megatron. Produced once again by Michael Bay and Steven Spielberg, Director Josh Cooley (Toy Story 4) brings the star-studded voice talents of Chris Hemsworth as Optimus Prime (not Peter Cullen, unfortunately), Brian Tyree Henry as Megatron, Scarlett Johannson, Keegan-Michael Key, Jon Hamm, Laurence Fishburne and Steve Buscemi to Cybertron.
Wolfs (Sept. 20) – In their seventh collaboration together, acting icons George Clooney and Brad Pitt are two lone-wolf underworld fixers forced to band together when they are assigned the same job. This also marks the long-awaited departure of Writer/Director Jon Watts from the Spider-Man trilogy/Marvel Cinematic Universe (Homecoming, Far from Home, No Way Home), and co-stars Amy Ryan (Gone Baby Gone, Birdman) and Richard Kind (Argo, A Serious Man).
Megalopolis (Sept. 27) – Self-financed with profits from his successful vineyards, Writer/Producer/Director Francis Ford Coppola had total creative freedom to realize this long-gestating project 30-plus years in the making. Despite mixed reviews out of its world premiere screening at the Cannes Film Festival this past May, the film fable follows an architect (Adam Driver) attempting to rebuild New York City as a utopia after a catastrophic natural disaster. The all-star cast includes screen legends Jon Voight, Talia Shire, Giancarlo Esposito, James Remar, Laurence Fishburne and Dustin Hoffman, as well as Aubrey Plaza, Shia LeBeouf, Chloe Fineman and Jason Schwartzman.
The Wild Robot (Sept. 27) – In this DreamWorks Animation feature, an intelligent robot is marooned on a planet without humans, bonding and protecting the animals from its harsh environment. Oscar-nominated Director Chris Sanders (How to Train Your Dragon, Lilo & Stitch) assembles a stellar voice cast, including Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o, Pedro Pascal, Catherine O’Hara, Ving Rhames and Mark Hamill.
Azrael (Sept. 27) – This low-budget horror actioner hopes to join the ranks of Longlegs in terms of genre success just as audiences are looking for some thrills this Halloween. In a post-apocalyptic world where no one speaks, a young woman attempts to escape being sacrificed to keep an ancient evil at bay. Director E.L. Katz (Cheap Thrills, Small Crimes) and writer Simon Barrett (Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, The Guest, You’re Next) enlist Samara Weaving (Scream VI, Ready or Not, The Babysitter) to star as the title character.
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Henderson resident 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.
