The Most Anticipated Movies at the End of This Year

A big cast composed of Ethan Hawke and Oscar winners Julia Roberts and Mahershala Ali, star in this apocalyptic thriller about two families struggling to survive after an unexplained blackout. It was written and directed by Sam Esmail and is based on the bestselling 2020 novel of the same name by Rumaan Alam.

Benjamin Renner co-wrote and co-directed this animated film that’s voiced by Elizabeth Banks, Awkwafina, and Danny DeVito about a family of ducks trying to convince their dad to go on a family vacation.

Cord Jefferson directed and co-wrote this comedy about an African American novelist who becomes so disgusted with the media establishment profiting from Black tropes that he writes a so-called Black novel that becomes a bestseller.

Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell star in this rom-com about a couple whose relationship flounders after a first date and are reunited at a wedding in Australia. Will Gluck directed and co-wrote the film.

“Origin” is a film based on the book “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents” by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Isabel Wilkerson about her global journey to understand what divides us and connects us as humans. Ava DuVernay directed, wrote and co-produced the film.

Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore star in this drama about a couple whose 23-year age difference that had been fodder for the tabloids years earlier and whose marriage is tested when an actress comes to their house to do research on their story.

Academy Award Winner Taika Waititi directed and co-wrote this comedy about the American Samoa soccer team that once lost a FIFA match in 2001 by 31-0 and has hired a coach (Michael Fassbinder) to turn them around.

“The Zone of Interest” stars Christian Friedel as Rudolf Höss, the commandant of the Auschwitz death camp, who along with wife aspire to the better things in life while living adjacent to the camp.

The animated Chicken Run franchise is revived with “Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget.” A group of chickens with British accents who escaped from a farm and found sanctuary on an island decide to help their fellow chickens back on the mainland.

Eli Roth directed and co-wrote this slasher movie about a serial killer loose in Plymouth, Massachusetts, who intends to make his own kind of carving on Thanksgiving.

Nine-time Oscar nominee Bradley Cooper directed and stars in this biopic about the sometimes controversial but brilliant composer Leonard Bernstein and his relationship with actress Felicia Montealegre Cohn Bernstein (Carey Mulligan).

“The Color Purple” is a musical adaptation of the Alice Walker novel about resilience of African American women that was made into a drama in 1985. The remake’s producers are Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg, Scott Sanders, and Quincy Jones.

The animated adventure features the voices of Anna Kendrick, Justin Timberlake, and Zooey Deschanel.

Adam Driver stars as auto mogul Enzo Ferrari, whose business is near collapse in 1957. Advisers tell him that the only way to rescue the company is to win the Mille Miglia, a grueling 1,000-mile race through Italy.

“Saltburn” stars Barry Keoghan as a student trying to find his way at Oxford University, He meets an engaging young aristocrat (Jacob Elordi), who invites him to Saltburn, the massive estate of his loopy family, for an unforgettable summer.

Comparisons to the Star Wars films are inevitable in this film, which will be released in two parts, the first Dec. 22 and then second in April 2024. The Netflix trailer outlines the plot as a peaceful colony on the outskirts of a galaxy that comes under attack from an aggressive and tyrannical foe, and a mysterious stranger living among them becomes their leader.

The next animation musical-comedy entry in the Walt Disney canon features the voices of Chris Pine, Ariana DeBose, and Alan Tudyk.

Emma Stone co-produced and stars in this sci-fi fantasy of a woman brought back to life by a brilliant scientist and embarks on a journey of self-discovery. The film has already gained a Rotten Tomatoes Freshness score of 95%,

Sean Durkin wrote, directed and co-produced this biopic of the Von Erich brothers, who competed as ambitious professional wrestlers in the early 1980s. The film stars Zac Efron, Jeremy Allen White, Harris Dickinson, Stanley Simons, Maura Tierney, Holt McCallany and Lily James.

“Wonka” is a reboot of the 2005 movie “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” which was a remake of the 1971 “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.” Timothee Chalamet, Oscar winner Olivia Colman, and Hugh Grant star.

The fifth installment of the dystopian franchise stars Rachel Zegler as Lucy Gray Baird, the main female protagonist and love interest of Coriolanus Snow in “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes.” The movie also stars Academy Award winner Viola Davis.

Acclaimed director Ridley Scott is no stranger to epics (“Gladiator”) and his version of “Napoleon,” played by Oscar winner Joaquin Phoenix (they worked together in “Gladiator”), is one of the most anticipated films of the year.

In “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom,” Jason Momoa returns as Aquaman who’s busy as a king planning a wedding. Star power is provided by Ben Affleck, Nicole Kidman, and Amber Heard.

Brie Larson is back as superhero Carol Danvers who’s compelled to partner with Kamala Khan and Monica Rambea to save the universe. Samuel L. Jackson co-stars in the film that was directed and co-written by Nia DaCosta.