Santa Claus isn't just coming to your town. He's also coming to your local cinema, as are Johnny Depp, Brad Pitt, Timothée Chalamet and ... a werewolf?
Oh, yeah, Doctor Doom looms as a heavyweight this holiday season, too, with Robert Downey Jr. taking on the role of the Marvel supervillain in "Avengers: Doomsday" (out Dec. 18). But the next couple of months offer plenty of other movies to give thanks for, including a version of a Charles Dickens classic in "Ebenezer," the latest in the "Dune," "Hunger Games" and "Jumanji" franchises, plus some Oscar contenders like the community theater comedy "The Debut" and Shakespearean biopic "Elsinore."
Here's an exclusive peek at 15 new movies you absolutely, positively must see in theaters in November
and December:
'Ebenezer' (Nov. 13)
Weaving in comedy and horror elements, director Ti West unleashes his take on "A Christmas Carol" with Johnny Depp as the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge. Scrooge is visited by the spirit of his old business partner (Ian McKellen) and taken on a journey through his life by ghosts of past, present and future to realize the error of his ways before it's too late.
'Elsinore' (Nov. 20)
The emotional true-life drama stars Andrew Scott as Ian Charleson, a Scottish stage and screen actor diagnosed with AIDS. He gets the chance to play the title role in a high-profile London theater production of "Hamlet" and, even though he's dying, navigates grueling rehearsals and exhausting treatments for one last great performance.
'The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping' (Nov. 20)
Set 24 years before the original "Hunger Games" movie, the prequel stars Joseph Zada as teenage Haymitch Abernathy, the character first played by Woody Harrelson. Haymitch competes in the 50th edition of the brutal competition but also joins the rebels aiming to bring down the games and President Snow (Ralph Fiennes).
'Focker-in-Law' (Nov. 25)
The fourth "Meet the Parents" movie returns Ben Stiller as embattled nurse Greg Focker and Robert De Niro as his ex-CIA father-in-law Jack Byrnes. This time, the circle of trust adds Ariana Grande as Olivia, a former FBI hostage negotiator and girlfriend to Greg's son Henry (Skyler Gisondo) who wins over Jack but butts heads with the elder Focker.
'The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth' (Nov. 25)
Brad Pitt reprises his Oscar-winning role as the title stuntman from "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood." David Fincher's spinoff (streaming on Netflix Dec. 23) catches up with Cliff in the 1970s, now a studio fixer who gets mixed up in shady business with a talent agent (Elizabeth Debicki), a TV star (Scott Caan) and a former football standout (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II).
'Hexed' (Nov. 25)
In Disney's animated coming-of-age fantasy, misfit teen girl Billie (voiced by Hailee Steinfeld) discovers she has magical powers and gets transported to a world of witchcraft. She goes on a journey of self-discovery alongside her overprotective mom (Rashida Jones) and a wise, enigmatic three-eyed cat (Walton Goggins).
'Violent Night 2' (Dec. 4)
After killing a bunch of bad guys in the original action comedy, Santa Claus (David Harbour) is put on the naughty list and has his holiday magic taken away. Working as a mall Santa, the big guy needs to rediscover the meaning of Christmas while battling a powerful gangster – though at least he has the help of Mrs. Claus (Kristen Bell).
'The Debut' (Dec. 11)
Jesse Eisenberg’s dark comedy stars Julianne Moore as a New Jersey housewife and first-time actor who tries out for a musical at her local community theater. She wins a supporting role but takes her character way too seriously, annoying fellow castmates and aggravating her hard-headed director (Paul Giamatti).
'Avengers: Doomsday' (Dec. 18)
Robert Downey Jr. has returned to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but he's definitely not Iron Man. Downey's masked Doctor Doom is the latest big bad to face Earth's mightiest heroes, as the "Avengers" movie pits him against old favorites like Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) as well as the Fantastic Four and the X-Men.
'Dune: Part Three' (Dec. 18)
In the concluding chapter to Denis Villeneuve's sci-fi saga, Timothée Chalamet reprises his role as Paul Atreides, the former hero and now imperious ruler who's conquered worlds for nearly 20 years. He faces old allies and new enemies as a rebellion forms and Paul's long-lost love Chani (Zendaya) leads an effort against him.
'The Angry Birds Movie 3' (Dec. 23)
In the latest outing in the animated comedy franchise, hot-headed Red (Jason Sudeikis) is now an avian Mr. Mom taking care of three bird kids. But when their island is targeted for destruction, Red teams up with his family as well as his friends, including Chuck (Josh Gad) and Bomb (Danny McBride), to save the day.
'Artificial' (Dec. 25)
Director Luca Guadagnino's true-life drama tracks the rise of artificial intelligence company OpenAI and the friction between founders Sam Altman (Andrew Garfield) and Ilya Sutskever (Yura Borisov). A Stanford dropout, Altman leads the launch of the powerful AI tool ChatGPT but winds up being ousted from his own company.
'Jumanji: Open World' (Dec. 25)
Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black and Karen Gillan play video-game avatars one more time in the action-adventure franchise's finale. The wild and dangerous world of Jumanji spills over into the real world, and it's up to Spencer (Alex Wolff) and his mom (Marin Hinkle) to fix the chaotic situation.
'Mr. Irrelevant' (Dec. 25)
"Superman" star David Corenswet headlines the inspirational football biopic playing John Tuggle, the last pick of the 1983 NFL draft. The scrappy underdog is determined to make the New York Giants roster under coach Bill Parcells (Michael Shannon) and then faces an even tougher fight off the field.
'Werwulf' (Dec. 25)
Director Robert Eggers tackled a vampire tale with "Nosferatu" and now puts his stamp on the werewolf mythos. Aaron Taylor-Johnson stars as a 13th-century husband and father whose family is menaced by a cursed creature in the stylish folk horror movie also starring Lily-Rose Depp and Willem Dafoe.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 15 must-see movies in November and December, from ‘Dune’ to 'Doomsday'
