This autumn is a film season for true cinephiles.<\/p>\n
After a quieter-than-usual summer for buzzy blockbusters, we\u2019re heading into an autumn that promises a more eclectic mix of films from some of today\u2019s most celebrated visionary auteurs. Luca Guadagnino, Paul Thomas Anderson, Yorgos Lanthimos, and Chlo\u00e9 Zhao all have upcoming releases poised to make us laugh, weep, and reflect on the state of our world.<\/p>\n
With acclaimed directors come star-studded casts, and this season is no exception. Some of our favourite silver-screen mainstays\u2014 Julia Roberts, Jennifer Lawrence<\/a>, Robert Pattinson, Leonardo DiCaprio, Paul Mescal, and Emma Stone<\/a> among them \u2014are taking centre stage in projects that span genres and moods. Whether you\u2019re craving the emotional depths of a sweeping historical drama like Hamnet or simply need a Josh O\u2019Connor fix in Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, this autumn has a slate of movies with something for everyone.<\/p>\n Ahead, discover the 15 releases we can\u2019t wait to watch this cosy season. <\/p>\n Downton Abbey\u2019s<\/a> doors will close for good with the third and final instalment from the film series<\/a>. Aptly titled Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale, the movie follows the Crawleys as they enter the 1930s\u2014a decade that promises change and modernity, whether or not they\u2019re ready for it. As Mary (Michelle Dockery<\/a>) gets embroiled in a high-society scandal, the abbey\u2019s staff gets ready for a changing of the guard as the new generation takes its rightful place. \u2014 Chelsey Sanchez<\/p>\n Rory Mulvey<\/span><\/p>\n What would you give up in order to live out your wildest dreams? That\u2019s the question at the heart of Him, a psychological sports horror film directed by Justin Tipping and produced by Jordan Peele. Newcomer Tyriq Withers stars as Cameron Cade, a rising football star whose future is suddenly imperilled when he suffers a violent attack just days before the NFL Combine, leaving him with a potentially career-ending brain injury. Desperate to recover, Cade accepts an offer from his sports hero, Isaiah White (Marlon Wayans), to train at White\u2019s remote compound. While holed away, Cade ends up realising that having it all\u2014fame, fortune, and eternal notoriety\u2014always comes at a cost. \u2014Bianca Betancourt<\/p>\n Universal Pictures<\/span><\/p>\n Leonardo DiCaprio manages to transform himself yet again in this epic adventure comedy from Paul Thomas Anderson. DiCaprio portrays Bob, a perpetually stoned, washed-up revolutionary who maintains an off-the-grid lifestyle alone with his daughter, Willa (Chase Infiniti). When his lifelong nemesis resurfaces and Willa goes missing, he sets off on a quest to find her that forces him to reckon with the consequences of his past. Teyana Taylor, Sean Penn, Benicio del Toro, Regina King, and Alana Haim also star. \u2014B.B.<\/p>\n Warner Bros.<\/span><\/p>\n In recent years, Hollywood has had its fair share of buzzy biographical sports dramas, from A24\u2019s The Iron Claw to Prime Video\u2019s Unstoppable. The latest one to generate awards buzz is Benny Safdie\u2019s Smashing Machine, which stars Dwayne Johnson as MMA fighter Mark Kerr and Emily Blunt as Kerr\u2019s wife, Dawn Staples. The film made its debut at the Venice Film Festival, where it won the highly competitive Silver Lion award. \u2014C.S.<\/p>\n A24<\/span><\/p>\n Cinema loves a college scandal. In Luca Guadagnino\u2019s forthcoming drama, Julia Roberts stars as Alma Olsson, a revered professor whose world is upended when a sexual-assault case rocks the campus. When her brightest student, played by Ayo Edebiri, accuses one of Olsson\u2019s closest colleagues, the professor finds herself caught in the fallout\u2014while the shadows of her own buried secrets begin to surface. \u2014B.B.<\/p>\n Courtesy of Amazon MGM Studios<\/span><\/p>\n We promise you, this is Jennifer Lopez like you\u2019ve never seen her before. In Bill Condon\u2019s musical spectacle, Lopez reprises one of Chita Rivera\u2019s most iconic roles as Aurora in Kiss of the Spider Woman. Aurora is an Old Hollywood film star who exists in the mind of Luis, a queer individual who quickly falls for his cellmate, a political prisoner named Valentin, played by the inimitable Diego Luna. Come for the dazzling musical numbers and Colleen Atwood\u2013curated costumes, but stay for the central love story that will linger with you long after you leave the cinema. \u2014B.B.<\/p>\n Roadside Attractions<\/span><\/p>\n The story of Frankenstein needs no introduction, but director Guillermo del Toro will surely transform the classic Mary Shelley tale into something we\u2019ve yet to see on our screens. The director has assembled an all-star cast to lead this adaptation, including Oscar Isaac as Victor Frankenstein and Jacob Elordi as Frankenstein\u2019s monster. It might be easy to assume that Frankenstein will be just another Halloween horror movie, but critics have lauded del Toro\u2019s dignified refresh on the source material, transforming the story about monsters into one that mirrors our humanity. \u2014C.S.<\/p>\n Netflix<\/span><\/p>\n What happens when a woman of privilege is given everything she could possibly desire\u2014without facing any repercussions? You end up with someone like Hedda Gabbler. In Nia DaCosta\u2019s upcoming reimagining of Henrik Ibsen\u2019s play, Tessa Thompson stars as the titular character, a woman caught between the lingering ache of a past love and the suffocating confines of her present life as both wife and social fixture. This 2025 retelling doesn\u2019t simply revive Ibsen\u2019s text\u2014it reshapes it for the current moment, infusing the story with queer dimensions that makes Hedda\u2019s story as resonant now as it was in its original time. \u2014B.B.<\/p>\n Courtesy of Prime<\/span><\/p>\n Another cinematic offering from Yorgos Lanthimos and Emma Stone? Yes, please. The director-and-actress duo have once again reunited, this time to deliver an English-language remake of Jang Joon-hwan\u2019s South Korean film Save the Green Plant! In Bugonia<\/a>\u2014 which premiered this August at the Venice Film Festival \u2014 Stone stars as a high-powered CEO who gets kidnapped by two tinfoil-hat-wearing conspiracists who believe that Stone is secretly an alien. It sounds weird and thrilling\u2014everything you’d want in a spooky October watch. \u2014C.S.<\/p>\n Atsushi Nishijima\/Focus Features \u00a9 2025 All Rights Reserved.<\/span><\/p>\n Don\u2019t ever underestimate the impact of Sydney Sweeney. In David Mich\u00f4d\u2019s upcoming biographical sports drama, she steps into the role of real-life boxer Christy Martin, whose meteoric rise in the ring made her a trailblazer in the sport. But beyond the glory and grit, the film delves into the harrowing toll of her abusive marriage to her former manager\u2014a story of resilience, survival, and the cost of breaking barriers. \u2014B.B.<\/p>\n Courtesy of Black Bear | Photo by Eddy Chen<\/span><\/p>\n Is it really the autumn film season if there isn\u2019t a Jennifer Lawrence Oscar contender in the mix? In Lynne Ramsay\u2019s upcoming drama, Die My Love, Lawrence portrays Grace, a new mother coming to terms with her ever-changing reality as she battles psychosis. If the film\u2019s abstract trailer gives any hints of what to expect, it\u2019s that this won\u2019t be your typical sparkling portrait of young motherhood. Robert Pattinson also stars as Grace\u2019s husband, Jackson, along with Lakeith Stanfield as her lover, Karl. \u2014B.B.<\/p>\n Courtesy of MUBI<\/span><\/p>\n A-list actor George Clooney starring in a comedy in which he plays an A-list actor? Sure, why not? Noah Baumbach has once again partnered with Netflix for his latest film, which appears to offer meta commentary on the inner workings of Hollywood. The film follows fictional celebrity Jay Kelly (Clooney) as he travels through Europe with his loyal manager, Ron (Adam Sandler). The likes of Laura Dern, Riley Keough, Billy Crudup, Eve Hewson, and Greta Gerwig round out the rest of the cast. \u2014C.S.<\/p>\n Peter Mountain\/Netflix<\/span><\/p>\n The wait is over. A year after Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande made their cinematic mark as two of Broadway\u2019s most recognisable characters, the two will defy gravity in the second and final instalment of the Wicked<\/a> adaptation. For Good<\/a> follows Elphaba and Glinda as they stand on opposing sides: Glinda works as a glorified mouthpiece for the Wizard, while Elphaba leads the secret resistance against his regime. The sequel promises more emotional performances from our lead stars, as well as supersized choreography, sets, and costumes. \u2014C.S.<\/p>\n FlixPix \/ Alamy Stock Photo<\/span><\/p>\n Four years after her last film, Academy Award\u2013winning director Chlo\u00e9 Zhao is back with an adaptation of Maggie O\u2019Farrell\u2019s celebrated 2020 novel, with a cast led by Paul Mescal, Jessie Buckley, and Joe Alwyn. The story imagines how William Shakespeare and his wife, Agnes, dealt with the death of their 11-year-old son, Hamnet, and how that event may have even inspired the iconic playwright\u2019s most famous work. Early reviews promise a heartrending tale on grief and fate, so make sure to come to the cinema with your tissues ready. \u2014C.S.<\/p>\nDownton Abbey: The Grand Finale<\/i> (12 September)<\/h3>\n
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Him<\/i> (19 September)<\/h3>\n
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One Battle After Another<\/i> (26 September)<\/h3>\n
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The Smashing Machine<\/i> (3 October)<\/h3>\n
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After the Hunt<\/i> (10 October)<\/h3>\n
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Kiss of the Spider Woman<\/i> (10 October)<\/h3>\n
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Frankenstein<\/i> (17 October)<\/h3>\n
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Hedda<\/i> (22 October)<\/h3>\n
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Bugonia<\/i> (31 October)<\/h3>\n
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Christy<\/i> (7 November)<\/h3>\n
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Die My Love<\/i> (7 November)<\/h3>\n
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Jay Kelly<\/i> (14 November)<\/h3>\n
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Wicked: For Good<\/i> (21 November)<\/h3>\n
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Hamnet<\/i> (27 November)<\/h3>\n