Looking for an excuse to go to the movies? Check out these highly anticipated films and when to see them this Thanksgiving season!
Coming to theaters near you this month are a plethora of movies filled with star-studded cast members and legendary producers and directors. From family-friendly animated films to historical epics to slashers, there is bound to be a movie just for you!
Priscilla (November 3)
Elvis Presley’s story was made into cinema last year, but now it’s his wife’s turn to make her debut in theaters. Priscilla is based on Priscilla Beaulieu’s 1986 autobiography, Elvis & Me, written with Sandra Harmon. The book details her perspective of her love story with the King of Rock’n’Roll. The film follows her through her teenage years as an actress, meeting her husband in 1959 to their ultimate divorce in 1973. The director, Sofia Coppola tells ABC that she aims to take the audience along the couple’s “highs and lows and what it was like to be with this, you know, creative genius that was tortured.” The almost two-hour film will star Euphoria actor Jacob Elordi as Elvis and Cailee Spaeny as Priscilla. We’ll see if this film leaves you all shook up!
The Marvels (November 10)
The long-awaited sequel to Captain Marvel (2019) and continuation to the Disney+ series, Ms. Marvel (2022), is set to debut in theaters this month! All the “Marvels” come together in this Nia Decosta film starring Brie Larson as Captain Marvel. Carol Danvers finally reclaims her identity from the tyrannical Kree. But her powers intertwine with two other Marvels – Kamala Khan/Ms. Marvel and Carol’s estranged niece Monica Rambeau. This trio then works together to re-stabilize the universe from the Kree revolutionary linked to a peculiar wormhole.
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of the Songbirds and Snakes (November 17)
Thought that the Hunger Games saga was over? Well, the odds couldn’t be more in your favor. The prequel The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes comes to theaters this Thanksgiving weekend. While fans will miss the original cast of Jennifer Lawrence, Liam Hemsworth, and Josh Hutcherson, the new cast delivers some highly recognizable faces including Rachel Zegler, Hunter Schafer, Tom Blyth, Viola Davis, and Peter Dinklage.
The adaptation of Susan Collins’ prequel brings fans back to Panem, unleashing the origins of the malicious president Coriolanus Snow, played by Blyth. Taking place during the 10th annual Hunger Games, Snow develops a relationship with a contestant from District 12, Lucy Gray (Rachel Zegler). He trains her to become a spectacle of entertainment and guides her toward survival.
Thanksgiving (November 17)
If you watch this film, you may feel a little anxious sitting at the Thanksgiving table this year. Turkey Day is met with jumpscares and gore in Eli Roth’s slasher, Thanksgiving. The inspiration for the film was born sixteen years ago after Roth worked on Quentin Tarantino’s and Robert Rodriguez’s double-feature Grindhouse.
If you think Black Friday couldn’t get any more chaotic, just watch what happens after a riot breaks out at a department store. A serial killer (dressed as a pilgrim) begins terrorizing residents of Plymouth, Massachusetts. This span of revenge killings turns into a larger plan, targeting a group of teenagers and using things you find on a Thanksgiving table as weapons. You can expect to see some familiar faces like Grey’s Anatomy’s Patrick Dempsey and TikTok’s Addison Rae. But also expect to leave the theater without an appetite.
Saltburn (November 17)
The cast and crew of Emerald Fennell’s new film Saltburn is making people’s heads turn. After her Oscar-winning debut directing Promising Young Women, fans are highly anticipating Fennell’s new project. Fans are further awaiting a performance from Oscar nominee and Golden Globe winner Rosamund Pike, who was last seen in I Care a Lot (2020). The film is also supported by the Barbie actress and producer Margot Robbie through her and her husband’s entertainment company, LuckyChap.
While the trailer does not reveal much about the plot, it showcases Oxford student Oliver Quick (Barry Keoghan) struggling to fit in at the university. Felix Catton, played by Jacob Elordi, invites Oliver to his eccentric aristocratic family’s summer estate in Saltburn, where a series of unexpected events take place.
Fennel is familiar with this world, not only from starring in two seasons of The Crown but also from her own family history. One critic describes the film as “a delicious exploration of class conflict and psychosexual jealousy.”
Napoleon (November 22)
The French military commander, Napoleon Bonaparte, is played by Oscar-winner Joaquin Phoenix in Ridley Scott’s Napoleon. The historical film surrounds the origins of the revolutionary commander with his rise as emperor to his ultimate fall. The action-packed movie follows his battles and political affairs through his volatile love affair with Josephine, played by Vanessa Kirby. If you miss the 2-hour and 38-minute film in theaters, the 4 hour directors cut will be available on Apple TV at a later date that has not been announced yet.
Maestro (November 22)
The film Maestro contains a crew of cinema legends, with producers Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese. Bradley Cooper not only starred in the film but directed and co-wrote the piece with Josh Singer. It revolves around the 1940s American musical composer/conductor Leonard Bernstein. This is Cooper’s second directorial debut, unpacking the personal life of the West Side Story composer beyond his success. It dives into the double life of his marriage with actress Felicia Montealegre (Carey Mulligan) and as a gay man in New York. The star-studded cast includes Matt Bomer, Maya Hawk, Jeremy Strong, Sarah Silverman, Michael Urie, and Sam Nivola. You can stream it on Netflix nearly a month after its release.
Wish (November 22)
The new Disney animated film Wish has a team of Oscar and Grammy winners from Frozen, Encanto, and Raya and the Last Dragon. Entertainment Weekly reveals the film’s anticipated homage to all the Disney princess films like Snow White and Sleeping Beauty.
The story centers around a 17-year-old girl, Asha, voiced by Oscar-winning West Side Story actress Ariana DeBose. She lives in the kingdom of Rosas, which is meant to take place around the Iberian Peninsula. Asha makes a powerful wish answered by an actual wishing star named Star. The two go on a journey to confront the King of Rosas (Chris Pine) and save her community.
