The pandemic has made the past few seasons rough on moviegoers, rough on the box office, rough on prognosticators and rough on studios and distributors trying to place their product. Nothing has been predictable.
Hit that pre-delta variant sweet spot, and you might have a $70 million opening weekend for “F9.” But miss that window by a few weeks or even a few days — open a movie as COVID-19 cases are spiking nationwide — and you end up with “The Suicide Squad,” an entertaining, well-reviewed movie that made only $27 million in its opening weekend and is on track to lose half of its investment.
So, this is an uncertain time for the business side of movies. But for the actual watching of movies, the fall season is something else altogether. On this score, there is no uncertainty at all: We’re approaching one of the best seasons in decades. Perhaps not since the 1970s has a list of movies looked so promising.
The next few months will show whether this is real or a mirage, but looking at the release schedule in September, the fall of 2021 looks like the best time to be a movie critic in nearly five decades, when directors such as Francis Ford Coppola, Sidney Lumet, Martin Scorsese, Bob Rafelson, Alan J. Pakula, Hal Ashby, William Friedkin and others were cranking out great films.
The potency of this season’s list consists of two types of movies: those that were finished prior to the pandemic and postponed until it once again became possible to screen them theatrically, and major films that were in the midst of production when the pandemic hit and were subsequently finished when the pandemic started to ease.
As a result, we have about 18 months’ worth of superior movies converging on a single season. At the very least, we have 18 months’ worth of movies that its makers and backers believe to be superior.
And now we can be the judge of whether they were right.
But what a break from the small kitchen-sink movies that we subsisted on throughout 2020. I always thought that I liked small movies, and I do. But a steady diet of small-scale, purposeful and sincere films like “Nomadland,” “The Father” and “Promising Young Woman” starts to feel, after eight or nine months, like a tofu overdose. You start craving a juicy steak, cooked up by a master chef like Ridley Scott.
Oh, yes, and Scott? He has two movies opening in the next few months. It will be that kind of season!
Here are some upcoming movies to look forward to:
‘Cry Macho’
Clint Eastwood’s career is a miracle. Most directors start to go into decline in their 60s. Eastwood did his best work in his 70s and 80s, and now, at 91, he is releasing a film that he directed and stars in.
Eastwood plays a washed-up old rodeo star who goes on a journey through rural Mexico with a teenager that he rescued from a troubled home. The trailer makes it look like a drama about redemption, a running theme in Eastwood’s work.
Streaming on HBO Max starting Sept. 17
‘The Eyes of Tammy Faye’
Jessica Chastain stars as Tammy Faye Bakker — wife of televangelist Jim Bakker — who became something of a national joke because of her eccentric makeup and personality.
The movie tells her story, including the lesser-known fact that she tried to stand against the tide of linking religion and right-wing politics and that she reached out to AIDS sufferers at the height of the AIDS crisis.
In theaters Sept. 17.
‘Blue Bayou’
Justin Chon is the writer, director and star of this heartbreaking drama about a Korean-born adoptee who, while struggling to make ends meet with his growing family in Louisiana, finds out he could be deported.
Inspired by true stories of young adoptees brought to the United States just to find out as adults that they’re not legal citizens, the film earned a seven-minute standing ovation at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.
Also stars Alicia Vikander and Mark O’Brien.
In theaters in Sept. 17
‘Dear Evan Hansen’
A movie version of Benj Pasek and Justin Paul’s hit Broadway musical, it tells the story of a boy with social anxiety disorder, assigned by his therapist to write letters to himself. When one of his letters ends up in the possession of a boy who commits suicide, the grieving parents assume that Evan and their son were close friends, and the situation spirals from there.
The film, starring Ben Platt reprising his role on Broadway for the big screen, will be featured at this year’s Mill Valley Film Festival.
In theaters Sept. 24.
‘The Many Saints of Newark’
Co-written by David Chase, this is a prequel to HBO’s “The Sopranos,” with Michael Gandolfini as the young Tony Soprano, the role originated by his late father, James Gandolfini.
The film gets its title from the literal translation of the surname “Moltisanti,” with Richard Moltisanti (Alessandro Nivola) being the man who initiates Tony into the mob.
In theaters and available to stream on HBO Max on Oct. 1
‘Titane’
Our foreign entry is this French film, which seems to have outraged, disgusted and impressed everyone at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, which awarded it the highest honor, the Palme d’Or.
Written and directed by Julia Ducournau, it’s a sci-fi thriller about a woman who has sex with an automobile and gives birth to a hybrid, part human and part car.
In theaters Oct. 1
‘The Last Duel’
Based on a book by Eric Jager, and adapted by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, this Ridley Scott film tells the story of two men who have a duel after the wife of one (Damon) accuses the other (Adam Driver) of having sexually attacked her.
The film takes place in 14th century France, so there will be jousting.
In theaters Oct. 15
‘No Time to Die’
James Bond (Daniel Craig) thinks he is retired, but the CIA recruits him to rescue a scientist, and he soon finds himself pursuing yet another supervillain (Rami Malek) bent on mass destruction.
Cary Joji Fukunaga directs what promises to be an action-filled installment, with some romance thrown in — though Craig has always been the most romantically forlorn of Bonds.
Lea Seydoux costars.
In theaters Oct. 8
‘Spencer’
Kristen Stewart stars as Lady Diana Spencer in this biopic on the Princess of Wales.
The film, which had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival, takes place in 1991 when Princess Diana decides to end her marriage with Prince Charles (played by Jack Farthing).
Also stars Sally Hawkins, Timothy Spall and Sean Harris.
In theaters Nov. 5
‘King Richard’
Will Smith plays the father of tennis phenoms Venus and Serena Williams, Richard Williams, whose vision and drive were foundational to their success.
In theaters and available to stream on HBO Max on Nov. 19
‘House of Gucci’
Based on Sara Gay’s 2001 book, “The House of Gucci: A Sensational Story of Murder, Madness, Glamour and Greed,” this Ridley Scott film — featuring broad turns by Lady Gaga, Jared Leto, Salma Hayek, Al Pacino, Jeremy Irons and Adam Driver — looks to be an over-the-top hoot, with family members forming alliances and turning on each other over the course of decades.
In theaters Nov. 24
‘Encanto’
A Disney musical, featuring songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda, this animated feature is the story of a young Colombian woman, living in a village where everyone has magical abilities except her. It looks lively.
Features the voices of Stephanie Beatriz, Diane Guerrero and Wilmer Valderrama.
In theaters Nov. 24
‘West Side Story’
Steven Spielberg remakes Robert Wise’s 1961 masterpiece, based on the Broadway musical by Arthur Laurents, Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim.
But don’t worry, the casting will be more authentic in this version, with only Latinos playing Latinos. The violence should be more realistic too.
Apparently, the Academy Award-winning director has imagined making this movie since the 1950s. Operating off sincere inspiration, and working with such enduring material, it’s hard to see how he can miss.
Bonus: Berkeley’s EGOT Rita Moreno, who earned her O at the 1962 Academy Awards for her portrayal of Anita in Wise’s film, appears in the new film as Valentina, “a reconceived and expanded version of the character of Doc,” Tony’s boss at the corner store.
In theaters Dec. 10
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to omit “Top Gun: Maverick,” which has been moved to a release date in 2022.