OMG! Sequels, Stars, and Surprises: Fall 2024's Must-See Movies!

2025-09-13 12:00:52.209

Summer may be known as sequel season, but part twos, and threes, will play big roles this fall at the movies. That goes not just for the likes of Rian Johnson’s “Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery,” “Wicked: For Good” and “Zootopia 2,” but for new installments in family sagas, ranging from the Crawleys (“Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale”) to the Na’vi (“Avatar: Fire & Ash”). Still, much of the season will belong, as it always does, to original dramas and awards contenders. Hollywood tends to save its best for last. This year includes some already-seen sure bets (Jafar Panahi’s “It Was Just an Accident,” Joachim Trier’s “Sentimental Value” ) and dozens of promising new releases from top filmmakers, such as Kathryn Bigelow’s “A House of Dynamite,” Yorgos Lanthimos’ “Bugonia” and Chloé Zhao’s “Hamnet. Here’s The Associated Press’ guide for the movies heading to theaters and the home through Christmas. SEPTEMBER MOVIE RELEASES Sept. 5 “The Conjuring: Last Rites” (Warner Bros., in theaters): The fourth entry in the James Wan-created horror franchise. (Read AP’s review.) “Twinless” (Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions, in theaters): Dylan O’Brien stars as twins, one of whom dies early in James Sweeney’s darkly funny tale. (Read AP’s review.) “The Baltimorons” (IFC, in theaters): Jay Duplass directs this quirky Baltimore odyssey about a man (Michael Strassner) and his emergency dentist (Liz Larsen) on Christmas Eve. (Read AP’s review.) Sept. 12 “Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale” (Focus Features, in theaters): Julian Fellowes brings his Crawley family saga to a close in this third and supposedly final “Downton Abbey” film. (Read AP’s review.) “The History of Sound” (Mubi, in theaters): Paul Mescal and Josh O’Connor star in Oliver Hermanus’ New England-set period romance. (Read AP’s review.) “Spinal Tap: The End Continues” (Bleecker Street, in theaters): Rob Reiner and company return for a sequel to the 1984 mockumentary classic. (Read AP’s review.) “Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie” (Neon, in theaters): Matt Johnson and Jay McCarrol bring their cult comedy series to the big screen. “Rabbit Trap” (Magnolia, in theaters): Rosy McEwen and Dev Patel play musicians recording a record in the Welsh countryside who inadvertently stir dark woodland forces. “The Long Walk” (Lionsgate, in theaters): Cooper Hoffman stars in this Stephen King adaptation, directed by Francis Lawrence, about a march across a dystopian America. “Looking Through Water” (Good Deed Entertainment, in theaters): Michael Douglas stars as a father trying to reconnect with his son during a father-son fishing competition. “Dreams” (Greenwich Entertainment, in theaters): Norwegian filmmaker Dag Johan Haugerud brings his trilogy to a close, following the 2025 films “Love” and “Sex.” “Happyend” (Film Movement, in theaters): In filmmaker Neo Sora’s first narrative feature, set in a near-future Tokyo, a prank by high schoolers triggers a surveillance state. “Tin Soldier” (Samuel Goldwyn Films, in theaters): Jamie Foxx, Robert De Niro, Scott Eastwood and John Leguizamo star in this action movie about mercenaries. Sept. 13