Angry extraterrestrials and ping-pong champions: A preview of movies streaming and in theaters this winter
Folks, we’ve made it. The end of the year is upon us.
As with every year, our theaters and smart TVs will be filled with a sometimes cheerful mix of heady award hopefuls, mind-numbing but merry comedies, big box office blowouts and some out-of-left-field curveballs.
A few seasonally appropriate titles are already out and making the rounds, like “A Very Jonas Christmas Movie” from the Jonas Brothers on Disney+/Hulu and “A Merry Little Ex-Mas,” starring ’90s darlings Alicia Silverstone and Melissa Joan Hart on Netflix. A new “Knives Out” mystery and rom-com/caper “Jingle Bell Heist” also hit the streamer this week.
A few buzzy theatrical releases round out the offerings this Thanksgiving weekend, including tear-jerker and award season contender “Hamnet” and family-friendly animal adventure “Zootopia 2.”
A preview of just some of the other upcoming eclectic titles follows.
For those who love educational content mixed in with their merriment, there’s this documentary about Christmas tree sellers and their families in New York City – where everyone knows it isn’t truly the holiday season until these merchants and their fragrant merchandise appear.
Michelle Pfeiffer leads a stellar cast as an overworked but very under-appreciated mom who gets left behind by her family on the way to a holiday event. “Home Alone” this is not, though. The previews seem to indicate she gets in her car, drives away and finds something she lost a long time ago: herself.
This “Mrs. Doubtfire” reversal stars Alexandra Breckenridge (“This Is Us”) as a single mom who manages to pull a fast one and disguise herself as Father Christmas.
Give the kiddies a little extra screen time for this festive entry from the muppet-like creatures from Jim Henson that first appeared in 1983. The holiday special features a cameo appearance by Lele Pons and some merry holiday musical numbers.
A full 30 years after his debut “The Brothers McMullen,” actor-writer-director Edward Burns returns to the McMullen family for this holiday-timed sequel featuring Tracee Ellis Ross, Connie Britton and Brian d’Arcy James. (HBO Max is owned by CNN’s parent company Warner Bros. Discovery.)
Welcome back to your animatronic horror nightmare. Based on the bestselling video game, this sequel picks up where 2023’s first movie left off, and it’s safe to say there will be a whole slew of new mechanical baddies to contend with.
Based on the graphic novel by Isabel Greenberg and derived from Middle Eastern folklore, this fable about a woman tested by her husband to see how faithful she can remain features Maika Monroe (“It Follows”), Nicholas Galitzine (“Red, White & Royal Blue”) and the brat herself, Charli XCX.
The Oscar conversation kicked in to high gear as this film hit the festival circuit, featuring Wagner Moura (“Narcos,” “Dope Thief” ) as a technology expert in 1970s Brazil who knows too much and is in serious danger.
Kate Winslet makes her feature directorial debut and also stars in “Goodbye June,” about a dying woman (Helen Mirren) whose daughters (Winslett, Toni Collette, Andrea Riseborough) come to her side… and have to deal with one another in the process. For those who desire to stream it, it comes to Netflix on December 24.
Hollywood icon James L. Brooks returns with this original story – the first movie he wrote and directed in 15 years – about a young woman in the aughts, who has to get past her family members to flourish.
After winning an Academy Award for playing an unstoppable divorce lawyer (in 2019’s “Marriage Story”), Laura Dern plays a woman embroiled in a divorce herself, opposite Will Arnett as a struggling standup comedian.
‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’ (Dec 19)
Three years after “Avatar: The Way of Water,” James Cameron and his aliens from Pandora are back to heat things up with the third entry in the blockbuster franchise, featuring a new, more aggressive Na’vi tribe called the Ash People.
If the recent reboot of “The Hand that Rocks the Cradle” didn’t quite cut it for you, try this thriller featuring Amanda Seyfried and Sydney Sweeney about a housemaid who shows up to work and care for an affluent family.
A stacked cast including Tom Waits, Mayim Bialik, Cate Blanchett and Adam Driver comes together for acclaimed director Jim Jarmusch’s new film, about estranged children negotiating their relationships with each other and emotionally distant parents.
If the ping-pong sequence in “Forrest Gump” was your favorite part of that movie, you’re in luck this Christmas. “Marty Supreme” follows a champion in that sport, played by Timothée Chalamet, as he accomplishes the highest of highs and encounters the lowest of lows. It co-stars Oscar-winner Gwyneth Paltrow.
Oscar-nominee Kate Hudson gets to flex her acting chops and vocal skills opposite Hugh Jackman in this based-on-a-true-story look at a husband-and-wife Neil Diamond tribute band.
Remember 1997’s “Anaconda” starring Jennifer Lopez? Well, the snake is back, but this time with a meta twist. In this movie, Jack Black and Paul Rudd arrive in the jungle to make an “Anaconda” movie… only to encounter the real serpent.
Oscar-nominee Amanda Seyfried gets to flex her acting muscles and vocal cords (again!) in this historical portrait of the founding leader of the Shakers religious sect in the 18th century.
