October Movie Preview

Comedy - dir. Sacha Baron Cohen
In theaters October 23

While Sacha Baron Cohen's Borat character produced two successful films, hoping that a second Ali G film could be good might be a case of wishful thinking, especially coming more than two decades after the poorly-received Ali G Indahouse. Unlike the approach for that scripted film, Cohen here follows the template of Borat, Bruno, and Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, throwing Ali G into real situations in America after he discovers his girlfriend is 8 months pregnant. Given the current state of the world, there should be plenty of targets for Cohen's brand of comedy.

Drama/Thriller - dir. Ben Affleck
In theaters and streaming on Netflix October 9

Receiving a simulatenous theatrical and Netflix release, the latest crime thriller directed and co-written by Ben Affleck finds a Los Angeles mayoral candidate and his wife given just a few hours to come up with a ransom payment after their son is kidnapped. Like Spike Lee's recent Highest 2 Lowest, it's another riff on the High and Low formula, though Affleck claims never to have seen that Kurosawa classic. Affleck also stars (replacing his originally cast buddy Matt Damon, whose schedule was occupied by The Odyssey) alongside Kerry Washington, Gillian Anderson, Steven Yeun, and Adriana Paz.

Drama - dir. Reed Van Dyk
In theaters October 2

For his feature debut, director Reed Van Dyk adapts Dexter Filkins' 2012 New Yorker article, "Atonement After Iraq," about a U.S. Marine (Boyd Holbrook) attempting to reconcile with the woman (Hiam Abbass) whose family he killed. Kenneth Branagh also stars as Michael Reid, a version of Filkins. The film makes its way to U.S. theaters this month after premiering during this year's Cannes Director's Fortnight, where Abbass and Holbrook earned praise for their performances.

Foreign/Drama - dir. Dominik Moll
In theaters October 16 (and comes to VOD on December 4)

In 2022, Dominik Moll's police procedural The Night of the 12th (a Metacritic Must-See) premiered out of competition in Cannes. That film went on to win six César Awards, including Best Film, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay. He returned to Cannes in 2025 with another film about the police, but this time he was part of the competition slate and examining police brutality. Léa Drucker stars as Stéphanie Bertrand, an Internal Affairs officer tasked with investigating her fellow officers after the 2018 Yellow Vest protests in Paris. As she learns more about a near-fatal assault of a teenage protester from her hometown, Stéphanie's loyalty to herself and the system she works for is tested.

Adventure/Horror/Thriller - dir. James Watkins
In theaters October 23

The fifth project to be produced by James Gunn's DC Studios, following Creature Commandos, Superman, Supergirl, and Lanterns, takes a detour into R-rated body horror. Directed by James Watkins (Speak No Evil) from a script by Mike Flanagan (Doctor Sleep) and Hossein Amini (The Two Faces of January), Clayface tells the tragic story of Matt Hagen (Tom Rhys Harries), a Gotham street kid who becomes a star in Hollywood only to have his career cut short when his face is disfigured by a local crime boss. Alone and with no other choice, Matt agrees to a cutting-edge treatment that returns him to his former self until unexpected side-effects begin to surface. Naomi Ackie, Max Minghella, David Dencik, and Eddie Marsan also star.

Documentary - dir. Michal Marczak
In theaters October 28

This haunting documentary from director Michael Marczak (All These Sleepless Nights) follows Daniel Dymiński, a Polish father whose son, Chris, goes missing. The teenager was last seen by survellience cameras on Warsaw's Gdańsk Bridge, and Daniel begins to scour the Vistula River day and night for any sign of Chris. Torn by thoughts of death and the possibility of life, Daniel's search becomes all-consuming, but as time passes, he must reckon with the possibility of never knowing what happened. It's a deeply personal film that gets to the heart of the universal feeling of loss.

Comedy/Drama - dir. Alejandro G. Iñárritu
In theaters (and IMAX) October 2

Debates on the quality of writer-director Alejandro G. Iñárritu's filmography can get pretty heated for someone who won two consecutive Best Directing Oscars for Birdman and The Revenant. Then again, maybe that is one of the reasons opinions differ so strongly on the director's work. His previous film, Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths, was received so poorly at the 2022 Venice Film Festival, that one could argue it was a wise strategic decision for his latest, Digger, to skip the fall festivals altogether despite the film's star power. Early social media reactions have been divided on this black comedy about Digger Rockwell (Tom Cruise, in old man makeup), the world's most powerful oil tycoon, who sets out to save the world from a catastrophe of his own making. Cruise is joined by an impressive supporting cast that includes Riz Ahmed, John Goodman, Sandra Hüller, and Jesse Plemons.

Foreign/Drama - dir. Pawel Pawlikowski
In theaters October 23

At the 2018 Cannes Films Festival, Paweł Pawlikowski won the Best Director award for Cold War, the follow-up to his 2015 Oscar winner for Best Foreign Language Film, Ida. And Pawlikowski repeated that win at this year's Cannes. Once again shooting in black and white, his latest period drama follows novelist Thomas Mann's (Hanns Zischler) as he returns to Germany in 1949 after 16 years of exile in America. Accompanying him is his daughter Erika (Sandra Hüller), who deeply misses her brother Klaus (August Diehl). It's another sharp look at post-World War II history from Pawlikowski.

Drama/Thriller - dir. Cristian Mungiu
In theaters October 9

Romanian filmmaker Cristian Mungiu took home the Palme d'Or in 2007 for 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days. He returned to Cannes in 2012 with Beyond the Hills, which won Best Screenplay. 2016's Graduation earned him the Best Director prize. In 2022, R.M.N. played in competition, but failed to get an award from the jury—still, it's a Metacritic Must-See. All of this success resulted in high hopes for Mungiu's first film set and shot outside his home country. For the 2026 Cannes jury, which awarded Fjord the Palme d'Or, the film didn't disappoint. Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve star as Mihai and Lisbet Gheorghiu, a religiously conservative Romanian couple who move, with their five kids, to the Norwegian village near where Lisbet grew up. As they try to integrate into their secular surroundings, Mihai, an engineer, and Lisbet, a nurse, find themselves accused of mistreating their children. It's a nuanced family drama about the intersection of beliefs and community.

Drama/Thriller - dir. Marie Kreutzer
In theaters October 30 (and streams on Netflix November 18)

With her follow-up to Corsage, Austrian writer-director Marie Kreutzer (The Ground Beneath My Feet) attempts to find a fresh angle on a very difficult subject with this story of Lucy (Léa Seydoux), whose life is irrevocably changed when her husband (Laurence Rupp) is arrested. Isolated in the country house they recently moved into and unsure of what to believe, Lucy must take care of her nine-year-old son and confront the idea that someone she loved was someone she didn't know. The strong supporting cast includes Jella Haase as the detective investigating the case against Lucy's husband and Catherine Deneuve as Lucy's mother.

Sci-Fi/Drama - dir. Taika Waititi
In theaters October 23

After a series of good films (What We Do in the Shadows, Hunt for the Wilderpeople, Thor: Ragnarok), writer-director Taika Waititi's more recent output (Jojo Rabbit, Thor: Love and Thunder, Next Goal Wins) hasn't impressed critics. His new film, co-written with Dahvi Waller (Mrs. America), is an adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro's novel about Klara (Jenna Ortega), an outdated Artificial Friend who hopes that a human will choose her as a companion. When she bonds with Josie (Mia Tharia), Josie's mother (Amy Adams) agrees to take Klara home on a trial basis. Attempting to prove her worth, Klara seeks to learn enough to help Josie and her family heal from a great loss. Natasha Lyonne, Simon Baker, and Steve Buscemi are also part of the ensemble.

Foreign/Drama - dir. Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo
In LA and NY October 16 / more cities later in Oct. (and streams on Netflix Dec. 2)

Netflix has a major awards contender on its hands following a People's Choice Award win at Toronto (an award that almost always foretells a Best Picture nomination) and a widely acclaimed debut at Cannes in May (where the film earned a share of the Best Director award). The sophomore feature of creative partners Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo, aka Los Javis, is a major change from their 2017 musical comedy Holy Camp!. The connecting spirit of the three timelines in this gay male epic is the murdered Spanish poet and writer Federico García Lorca, who appears in the film and whose unfinished play "La Bola Negra," is adapted for the film's 1932 story. The triptych is completed with an adaptation of Alberto Conejero's stage play "La Piedra Oscura," set in 1937, and an original 2017 tale about a gay historian (Carlos González) investigating what his grandfather left him in his will. Netflix acquired the film following its Cannes debut and will roll it out in theaters (yes, real movie theaters) beginning in Los Angeles and New York on October 16 and adding additional cities in the following weeks prior to a streaming debut in December.

Comedy - dir. Samuel Abrahams
In theaters October 2

Sian Clifford (Fleabag) stars as Lady Isabella in this mockumentary from director Samuel Abrahams and his co-writer Miranda Campbell Bowling. Lady Isabella is a lonely aristocrat who convinces Sam (Laurie Kynaston), a struggling director, to document her life on her sprawling estate. As conflict between director and subject grows—he wants a candid portrait, she wants to control everything—the film slides into the surreal. This funny, poignant surprise has excellent early reviews.

Comedy/Drama - dir. Chris Rock
In theaters October 9

British actor Rosalind Eleazar, best known for her work in Slow Horses, stars in this new film from writer-director-actor Chris Rock, his first at the helm since 2014's Top Five. She plays the award-winning actress of the title, whom we find on the downside of her career as she struggles to get roles, pay off her debts, and take care off her brother (Daniel Kaluuya). Anna Kendrick plays her best friend, Topher Grace is her exasperated agent, Adam Driver appears as a rich, sleazy hustler, and Rock plays a director with a part that might revive her career. As the real-life awards season kicks into gear, look for Eleazar to be in play for Best Actress.

Documentary - dir. Alex Gibney
In LA and NY October 9 / expands wide October 16

The prolific, Oscar-winning documentarian Alex Gibney (Taxi to the Dark Side, Knife: The Attempted Murder of Salman Rushdie) directs this look at the life of the current richest man in the world. Opinions of Elon Musk vary widely, but most critics think this nearly four-hour film (which screens with a 10-minute intermission) is another solid entry in Gibney's filmography. While it doesn't provide any new bombshells, it builds the most comprehensive portrait to date of a man people love to worship and love to hate. The film is also expected to stream on HBO Max later this year.

Documentary - dir. Julia Loktev and Anna Nemzer
In theaters October 9

Julia Loktev's follow-up to My Undesirable Friends: Part I - Last Air in Moscow, a portrait of young journalists in Moscow facing a harsh government crackdown, finds the journalists scattered across the globe. Now they are struggling to survive and report from new countries as their homeland falls ever more deeply under Putin's control. Filmed over four years in Istanbul, Prague, Vienna, Amsterdam, New York, and more cities across the globe, it's another vital historical document filled with personal stories of friendship, family and love.

Documentary - dir. David Greaves, William Greaves, and Liani Greaves
In theaters October 16

In August of 1972, filmmaker William Greaves brought together luminaries of the Harlem Renaissance for a cocktail party at Duke Ellington's Harlem townhouse. Shot on 16mm and boxed away, the footage now finds newly restored life in this film completed by his son, David Greaves, one of the cameramen on the day of the auspicious event. Immersive and full of wit and conversation about the art, politics, and society of the day, this living document of an amazing time in American culture is one of the best-reviewed movies of the year.

Documentary - dir. Itab Azzam and Jack Macinnes
In theaters October 21 (and will air on PBS at a later date)

Filmed over a decade, Itab Azzam and Jack MacInnes' portrait of Israa and her family, Syrian refugees who flee their war-torn country for Germany, is a story of assimilation and exile wrapped up on a coming-of-age tale. Israa is introduced at age 11 and, as she navigates adolescence and settles into life in a European country, new ideas collide with old traditions. As she defines her identity, questions of about freedom, independence, family and country movingly circle around her. Azzam and MacInnes took home the Directing Award in the World Cinema Documentary competition at Sundance this year, and the film won the Audience Award in the same category.

Drama/Thriller - dir. Noah Segan
In select theaters October 23 / expands wider October 30

Noah Segan's sophomore feature as writer-director following Blood Relatives tells the story of veteran New York City pickpocket Harry Lehman (John Turturro), who finds himself in trouble when he steals the gym bag of Dylan Diamond (Will Price). Harry will need to rely on his street smarts and his friends (Steve Buscemi, Victoria Moroles, Giancarlo Esposito) to get him out of a jam in this witty and gritty reminder of crime movies from the '70s.

Horror - dir. Rob Savage
In theaters October 9

Jessica Chastain stars as Mommy and Other Mommy in this adaptation of Josh Malerman's horror novel Incidents Around the House by screenwriter Nathan Elston and director Rob Savage (The Boogeyman). Chastain's dual performance is the draw in this story of a young girl (Arabella Olivia Clark) haunted by the evil doppelgänger of her mother. Jay Duplass plays her terrified father, and the supporting cast also includes Dichen Lachman and Karen Allen.

Foreign/Drama - dir. Lee Chang-dong
In theaters October 23 (and streams on Netflix Nov. 6)

It turns out that Netflix has another major awards contender on its hands following second-place wins in both Toronto and Venice for Lee Chang-dong's first film since the 2018 Metacritic Must-See Burning. And, like that film, it has stellar reviews from critics. Possible Love is a tale of socioeconomic differences and hidden desires between two married couples—a documentary filmmaker and her well-off husband, and an unemployed worker and his wife. It'll be South Korea's official Best International Feature submission for the upcoming Academy Awards.

Drama/Thriller - dir. Lance Hammer
In theaters October 30

Writer-director Lance Hammer's first feature since 2008's Ballast, a Metacritic Must-See, won the Silver Bear Jury Prize (3rd Place) at this year's Berlin Film Festival, and two of the film's stars Anna Calder-Marshall and Tom Courtenay, who play the central couple in this emotional family drama, shared the Silver Bear for Best Supporting Performance. Queen at Sea examines love, intimacy and consent through the relationship of Juliette Binoche's Amanda to her stepfather Martin (Courtenay) and mother Leslie (Calder-Marshall), who is suffering from advanced dementia. Can Martin still care for Leslie or should Amanda take over? Would Leslie be safest in an institution or with family? Hammer delves into these complicated questions with deep empathy for all involved.

Drama - dir. Georgia Oakley
In theaters October 16

Ang Lee and Emma Thompson's 1995 adaptation of Jane Austen's classic novel is beloved (and a Metacritic Must-See), but 30 years have passed since the story of the Dashwood sisters was brought to the big screen, so it's time for a new feature-length take. Directed by Georgia Oakley (Blue Jean) from a script by Diana Reid, this tale of romance, money, family, and social conventions stars Daisy Edgar-Jones and Esmé Creed-Miles as Elinor and Marianne Dashwood, Caitríona Balfe as their mother, plus George MacKay as Edward Ferrars, Frank Dillane as Willoughby, and Stacy Martin as Fanny Dashwood.

Drama - dir. Aaron Sorkin
In theaters October 9

With David Fincher and Jesse Eisenberg choosing not to reprise their roles as director and star in this sequel to The Social Network, the responsibility falls to that film's screenwriter, Aaron Sorkin, to direct Succession's Jeremy Strong in the role of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. Sorkin's screenplay takes inspiration from the Wall Street Journal's "The Facebook Files" as it follows whistleblower Frances Haugen (Anora Oscar winner Mikey Madison) as she reveals to journalist Jeff Horwitz (Jeremy Allen White) just how much the company knows about the ill effects the site has on society.

Action - dir. Kitao Sakurai
In theaters (and IMAX) October 16

After the disappointment of the 1994 Street Fighter starring Jean-Claude Van Damme and the even worse Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li, Capcom's long-running fighting series gets a new adaptation from director Kitao Sakurai (Bad Trip). Set in 1993, this battle royale reunites estranged fighters Ryu (Andrew Koji) and Ken Masters (Noah Centineo) in the World Warrior Tournament. The eclectic cast includes Callina Liang as Chun-Li, David Dastmalchian as M. Bison, Jason Momoa as Blanka, musician Orville Peck as Vega, and Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson as Balrog. Can it follow in Resident Evil's footsteps and score a rare green Metascore ... or will it wind up with the same fate of just about every other videogame-to-film adaptation in history.

Drama/Thriller - dir. Anton Corbijn
In theaters October 23

Anton Corbijn (Control, The American, A Most Wanted Man) directs this psychological thriller from a script by Joanna Murray-Smith, who expands her two-person play, Switzerland. It's 1995, and Edward (Alden Ehrenreich), a literary agent from New York, is sent to Switzerland to convince Patricia Highsmith (Helen Mirren) to write one last Ripley story. As Edward and Highsmith spar, Olivia Cooke enters the story as Edward's love interest and possible victim in a film within the film. Corbijn's orchestration of the layered story and the performances of Mirren and Ehrenreich have resulted in solid early reviews.

Drama/Adventure - dir. Jennifer Peedom
In theaters October 9 / streams on Apple TV October 16

With a script written by Luke Davies (Lion), director Jennifer Peedom (Sherpa, Mountain, River) makes the jump to narrative filmmaking with this biopic about the sherpa Tenzing Norgay (Genden Phuntsok), who joined Edmund Hillary (Tom Hiddleston) to become the first men to summit Chomolungma (the Tibetan word for Mount Everest). Willem Dafoe lends support as Colonel John Hunt, the British leader of the 1953 expedition, and Caitríona Balfe plays Jill Henderson, who encouraged Norgay to join the team after he made an attempt with a Swiss group the year before.

Drama/Thriller - dir. Michael Showalter
In theaters October 2

This fourth adaptation of the work of best-selling novelist Colleen Hoover stands out from the rest— It Ends with Us, Regretting You, Reminders of Him —for being a creepy psychological thriller. Dakota Johnson stars as Lowen Ashleigh, a struggling writer hired to ghostwrite the conclusion of a popular book series after its author, Verity Crawford (Anne Hathaway), is incapacitated by a mysterious accident. As Lowen meets Verity's husband (Josh Hartnett) and pours over her unfinished manuscript, secrets are revealed and reality and fantasy blur. Michael Showalter (The Big Sick, The Idea of You) directs from a script by Nick Antosca (Antlers, Cape Fear).

Rom-Com/Fantasy/Sci-Fi - dir. Alex Huston Fischer and Eleanor Wilson
In limited release October 23 / expands wide October 30

The latest film from writing-directing duo Alex Huston Fischer and Eleanor Wilson (Save Yourselves!) is an adaptation of Ursula Wills-Jones' short story "The Wicker Husband." Set in a seaside village, this fable stars Olivia Colman as The Fisherwoman, who asks the local basketmaker (Peter Dinklage) to weave her a husband. His weaving results in a wicker Alexander Skarsgård, who quickly attracts the envy of Elizabeth Debicki's evil Tailor's Wife. It's an odd romantic fantasy that charmed critics when it premiered at Sundance this year.

Animation/Fantasy/Adventure - dir. Travis Knight
In theaters October 23

Director and LAIKA Studios president and CEO Travis Knight's first animated film since 2016's Kubo and the Two Strings (in the interim he directed Bumblebee and Masters of the Universe) is an adaptation of the first book of the Wildwood Chronicles, written by Decemberists frontman Colin Meloy and illustrated by his wife Carson Ellis. In what should be a great match of material and medium, this handcrafted fantasy follows teenager Prue McKeel (voiced by Peyton Elizabeth Lee) as she searches for her kidnapped baby brother in an enchanted forest near Portland, Ore. Jacob Tremblay voices Prue's classmate Curtis Mehlberg, who joins her rescue mission, and the rest of the voice cast includes Carey Mulligan, Mahershala Ali, Awkwafina, Angela Bassett, Jake Johnson, Charlie Day, Amandla Stenberg, Jemaine Clement, Tom Waits, Maya Erskine, Tantoo Cardinal, and Richard E. Grant.

Documentary - dir. Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim
In limited release October 16 / expands wide October 23

The surprise Telluride premiere of Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim's nearly three-hour documentary about convicted Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes was the most talked-about event of the fall festival season. Holmes, a mother of two, and her partner, Billy Evans, heir to the Evans Hotel Group in San Diego, welcomed Fielder, Oppenheim and their crew into their lives thirty-four days before Holmes went to prison, but the documentary doesn't stop with her incarceration. If you don't want to spoil a major surprise in Everything's second half, you may want to avoid reading too much about the film in advance, though it's safe to say that anyone who has seen Fielder's other recent work, The Rehearsal, will know about the director's penchant for reenactment, and it plays a surprising part in this film as well.

WANT MORE FILMS?
View our Movie Release Calendar for a complete list of titles headed to theaters, VOD, and streaming in October and beyond.