Ryan Gosling and Matt Damon have already shown off their best-actor-worthy wares. Now Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt are entering the Oscar chat.
Movies coming out in September and October, as film festivals also are going full steam, begin to define what we're going to talk about now through the 99th Academy Awards in March. So pay attention to Cruise's all-star dark comedy "Digger," Pitt's dog-friendly drama "Heart of the Beast," the "Social Network" companion piece "The Social Reckoning," and the buzzy Sebastian Stan/Renate Reinsve legal thriller "Fjord." But don't forget spooky season, when we get some fun Halloween-ready horror fare, including an updated take on "Resident Evil," Jessica Chastain creep show "Other Mommy" and DC's freaky "Clayface."
Here's an exclusive peek at 15 new movies you absolutely, positively must see in theaters this fall:
'Practical Magic 2' (Sept. 11)
Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman reprise their roles in the magical sequel as witch sisters Sally and Gillian Owens. When their family's love curse pops up again, the siblings work with their aunts (Stockard Channing and Dianne Wiest) and Sally's kids (Joey King and Maisie Williams) to break it once and for all.
'The Uprising' (Sept. 11)
Paul Greengrass' 14th-century historical drama centers on England's 1381 Peasants' Revolt and stars Andrew Garfield as a farmer known as Ploughman who has lost his family to the Black Death. When the king's men come looking for tax money, Ploughman makes it clear he has had enough and becomes the lightning rod for revolution.
'Resident Evil' (Sept. 18)
In the latest adaptation of the popular survival horror video game by Zach Cregger ("Weapons"), a medical courier (Austin Abrams) is on his way to make a delivery to Raccoon City and has a car accident during a snowstorm. He goes to find help and must survive a chaotic night when he discovers the place is filled with all things terrifying.
'Forgotten Island' (Sept. 25)
In the animated adventure, two best friends (voiced by Liza Soberano and Gabi Wilson, aka H.E.R.) in the Philippines spend one last night together after graduation. They accidentally get sucked into a portal that transports them to a fantastical world with a friendly weredog (Dave Franco) and a demon (Lea Salonga) that feeds on memories.
'Heart of the Beast' (Sept. 25)
The thrilling adventure centers on a special forces soldier (Brad Pitt) and his retired combat dog whose plane crashes and leaves them stuck in the Alaskan wilderness. They have to work together and brave harsh elements as well as harrowing situations to survive and get back to civilization.
'Primetime' (Sept. 25)
Robert Pattinson plays "Dateline NBC" journalist Chris Hansen in this drama based on real events. The movie, also starring Merritt Wever and Skyler Gisondo, follows his sting operations to catch pedophiles for his controversial prime-time reality show "To Catch a Predator."
'Digger' (Oct. 2)
Director Alejandro G. Iñárritu's dark comedy boasts satirical "Dr. Strangelove" vibes and gives Tom Cruise one of his most transformative, out-there roles ever. The A-lister stars as powerful oil tycoon Digger Rockwell, who is responsible for a catastrophic mess and then needs to clean it up to save the world.
'Verity' (Oct. 2)
Based on the Colleen Hoover novel, the psychological thriller casts Dakota Johnson as Lowen, a writer hired to finish the book series of Verity Crawford (Anne Hathaway), a best-selling author left paralyzed after an accident. Things get spicy when Lowen grows closer to the novelist's husband (Josh Hartnett) and discovers dark bits about Verity's past.
'Fjord' (Oct. 9)
The legal thriller stars Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve as a conservative couple – he from Romania, she from Norway – who move their family to the mom's hometown. When locals accuse them of possible child abuse and their kids are taken away, the parents have to defend their beliefs and actions in court.
'Other Mommy' (Oct. 9)
In the horror film, Jessica Chastain and Jay Duplass play the parents of an 8-year-old girl (Arabella Olivia Clark) who has a supernatural entity residing in her closet. But it gets worse as the thing haunting the house takes the appearance of her mother, creating paranoia and causing a freaky ruckus among the family.
'The Social Reckoning' (Oct. 9)
Written and directed by Aaron Sorkin, the drama inspired by real events stars Jeremy Allen White as a Wall Street Journal reporter investigating Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg (Jeremy Strong). Oscar winner Mikey Madison plays a Facebook engineer and whistleblower threatening to reveal the social platform's darkest secrets.
'Sense and Sensibility' (Oct. 16)
Daisy Edgar-Jones and Esmé Creed-Miles star in director Georgia Oakley's romantic drama, the latest adaptation of Jane Austen's classic novel about tight-knit sisters in 18th-century England. The pair navigate financial troubles with their family after the death of their father and find love and romance.
'Street Fighter' (Oct. 16)
In the action comedy based on the video game, estranged friends Ryu (Andrew Koji) and Ken Masters (Noah Centineo) are recruited to face the world's toughest street fighters. Their opponents in this brutal tournament are played by Jason Momoa, wrestlers Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns, country singer Orville Peck and more.
'Whalefall' (Oct. 16)
Based on the Daniel Kraus novel, the seafaring thriller stars Austin Abrams as a young scuba diver who goes searching for the remains of his estranged father (Josh Brolin) and is swallowed by a sperm whale. He has only an hour left in his air tank to use the knowledge his dad imparted to him as well as his own wiles to escape.
'Clayface' (Oct. 23)
DC Studios' body horror movie is based on the classic Batman villain. Tom Rhys Harries plays a movie star whose face gets gruesomely disfigured, and under the care of a scientist (Naomi Ackie), he undergoes an experimental treatment to fix his looks. Instead, he suffers side effects that turn his body into malleable living clay.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 15 must-see movies in theaters this fall, from 'Digger' to 'Clayface'
