September may have consisted of very little in the way of blockbusters and any noteworthy box office after the multi-billion dollar summer, though there was absolutely no shortage of quality filmmaking, undoubtedly creating some of the year’s most hidden gems. October brings us into a new era in the release cycle, giving us some of what seems could shape many people’s top ten, by the end of the year. Here’s everything to look forward to in October.
Digger — October 2nd
A Man. A Plan. A Meltdown.
Digger tells the story of the most powerful oil tycoon in the world, Digger Rockwell (Tom Cruise), after an explosion on one of his rigs causes massive water displacement and shifts a glacier in Greenland. Digger then embarks on a frantic mission to spin the narrative, framing himself as the world’s hero after intense public scrutiny and backlash from the President (John Goodman).
This works as a satire of corporate greed, climate change denial, and modern politics — specifically the absurdity and chaos of it all. Many believe this will turn out to be a musical, though it may just be an extreme reaction to the movie’s stylisation. Tom Cruise’s first non-IP film in nine years is starting to spark early Oscar contention, praised for its unique style and satire, as well as Cruise’s own performance. This is sure to be one of the most tonally and stylistically unique movies of the rest of the year, hopefully launching Cruise’s new age career in original works.
Releasing: Theatres
Verity — October 2nd
There Is No Light Where We’re Going.
Verity is the newest in the ever-growing line of Colleen Hoover’s novel adaptations, following the likes of It Ends With Us, Regretting You, and this year’s Reminders of Him. This follows Lowen Ashleigh (Dakota Johnson), a woman hired to ghostwrite Verity Crawford’s (Anne Hathaway) bestselling novels, following an accident. Gradually, Lowen comes to discover Verity’s disturbing truths while residing at the Crawford’s home.
The original novel divides book readers, some praising its fast pacing, high tension, and immense shock value, while others point to its lazy ending, unlikeable characters, and weak writing. While there are currently no early reviews for the movie — which can occasionally be quite telling — early buzz has praised the chemistry between our main actors.
Releasing: Theatres
Doing Life — October 2nd
You Can Lose Your Way… But Never Your Worth.
Tyler Perry seems to be working fast, as this is his second feature of the year, and in fact his second in two months. This follows a single mother and former prison officer, Anika (Naomi Baker), who forms an unexpected bond with a reformed ex-convict who once saved her life during a violent prison riot.
This movie explores themes of resilience, familial pressure, and the difficulty of moving on from a troubled past. There is currently no information on the public opinion for this movie, though Tyler Perry’s best movies seem to come in drama, and this seems no different, exploring both life as a single mother and as an ex-convict, each trying to make their way in the world and do right by the people they love.
Releasing: Netflix
Other Mommy — October 9th
Your Mommy Won’t Save You.
Based on the 2024 horror novel, Incidents Around The House, Other Mommy follows a young girl, Bela (Arabella Olivia Clark), who forms a dangerous relationship with a sinister entity living inside her bedroom. This entity looks and sounds exactly like her real mother, but has much more evil intentions with Bela, calling itself Other Mommy (Jessica Chastain). While Bela thinks this entity is her best friend, in reality this is a primal demon, intent on getting inside her heart.
This explores the bond between a mother and daughter, and how that can be twisted into something sinister. We’ll also see mounds of uncertainty as both Bela and us, the audience, are unsure as to which mother is occupying a scene — possibly until it’s too late. The trailers for this movie went viral a while ago for their creepiness and chilling performance from Chastain.
Releasing: Theatres
The Social Reckoning — October 9th
We’re Way Past Making Friends.
The Social Reckoning is the sequel to 2010’s The Social Network, this time an original screenplay about the Wall Street Journal’s 2021 exposé series: “The Facebook Files”. This follows Frances Haugen (Mikey Madison), a young engineer at Facebook, who enlists the help of Wall Street Journal reporter, Jeff Horwitz (Jeremy Allen White), to go on a dangerous whistleblowing journey on Facebook’s most guarded secrets.
Many have shown concern for The Social Reckoning, with the exclusion of David Fincher’s directing. However, the screenplay is sure to be as interesting as ever due to Aaron Sorkin’s masterful pen, this time also featuring him behind the camera. We’re likely to see all the tension and performance as the 2010 masterpiece, with Jeremy Strong’s Mark Zuckerberg looking hauntingly Oscar worthy, even with what is sure to have near-perfect acting all around.
Releasing: Theatres
Animals — October 9th
Power Can’t Protect You.
When the son of an LA mayoral candidate is kidnapped, he (Ben Affleck) and his wife (Kerry Washington) only have a few hours to come up with the ransom payment. However, most of their money is tied up in their political campaign, forcing them to get their hands dirty and expose a side of their lives that was never intended to see the light of day, threatening to destroy their public and private lives.
Not only does this star Ben Affleck, but is also written and directed by him. This can be both a good and bad omen, as Affleck’s directing career has proved to be quite unpredictable. We’ll see many incredible performers in Animals, including the likes of Steven Yeun and Gillian Anderson, all lifting up some potentially incredible tension.
Releasing: Netflix
The Uprising — October 9th (UK Only)
Rise or Die.
The Uprising, also known as The Uprising: The Rise of Robin Hood, is based on the real events that inspired the creation of the Robin Hood character — and is the second gritty adaptation of this character to release this year. A humble peasant, played by Andrew Garfield, forms an army of the common people to rise against King Richard II’s tyranny in a fight for justice.
This being much more attached to the Robin Hood character than originally let on may reveal itself to be a mistake, as audiences would have much preferred an uprising story that’s actually original and can be adapted to today’s world. However, this still looks almost just as relevant and I’m sure will be an enjoyable movie with some thought-provoking messages which can be used in today’s political landscape. We just have to hope that this isn’t too referential to its iconic titular character.
Releasing: Theatres
Whalefall — October 16th
Hold Your Breath.
Whalefall is still quite a mystery in its trailers, showing very little other than a simple whale encounter and displaying its core themes of perseverance, though it is based on Daniel Kraus’ novel of the same name. This follows Jay Gardiner (Austin Abrams) after the death of his father, as he attempts to search for Mitt’s (Josh Brolin) remains off the central coast of California. However, Jay finds himself in the stomach of a sperm whale with only one hour of oxygen left. In this impossible situation, must use his hard-earned lessons his father imparted as his key to escape.
This feels a lot like 127 Hours, we’ll seemingly follow our main character as he attempts to stay alive, while seeing thematically relevant moments from his past, this relating to his relationship with his father. There’s no telling the quality of this, though it includes some amazing performers, such as Austin Abrams and Josh Brolin.
Releasing: Theatres
Street Fighter — October 16th
Push Start.
Street Fighter is likely one of the month’s biggest movies, in its anticipation, cast, and potential box office returns. This follows Ryu (Andrew Koji) and Ken Masters (Noah Centineo), estranged Street Fighters, who are thrown back into combat after the mysterious Chun-Li (Callina Liang) recruits them for the World Warrior Tournament. However, this tournament holds a deadly conspiracy that forces them to face off against each other and the demons of their past.
This has one movie to beat: Mortal Kombat II. As these seem somewhat similar in their concepts, can Street Fighterimprove on what caused MKII to falter? It definitely seems as such, with the seemingly much more playful tone, as opposed to MKII’s confusing, semi-serious, parody-like tone that tried to be its own thing, completely separate from its source material, though still leaned on it for almost everything. If Street Fighter can nail this, I’m sure it’ll be everything fans are looking for.
Releasing: Theatres
Sacrifice — October 16th (USA Only)
The Volcano Demands an Offering.
In the midst of a star-studded charity gala, full of the uber wealthy, a movie star — currently going through an existential crisis — is taken hostage by a radical warrior and her devoted followers. As the night devolves into chaos, an adventure — and subsequent inner journey — begins where the line between performance and belief starts to blur.
Sacrifice premiered at Toronto International Film Festival early last month, and was received with quite mixed to negative reviews. While this has been praised for its strong first act, it seems to falter in its second half, losing cohesion, turning into a confusing mess that fails to land any of its satire. The Chris Evans-starring bourgeoisie parody has been slammed for being quite hollow — it offers plenty of style but very little substance.
Releasing: Netflix
Forgotten Island — October 16th (UK Only)
No Memory Left Behind.
Jo (H.E.R.) and Raissa (Liza Soberano) have been best friends since they were children and are about to spend their last night together as they graduate high school. However, they stumble upon a mysterious portal that transports them to the fantastical island of Nakali. When they come to discover that the price for returning home is the memories of their entire friendship, Jo and Raissa race to leave the island before forgetting each other entirely.
This looks like a gut punch of a picture, directed by the man who brought Puss in Boots: The Last Wish to life. As a result, this is sure to pack just as much emotion and beauty in every single one of its frames, making for something truly magical. This has all the potential to be one of the year’s best, with some strong contention for Oscar buzz in its future.
Releasing: Theatres
Clayface — October 23rd
Look Fear in The Face
Clayface continues James Gunn’s somewhat rocky DCU, with an ambitious body horror that doesn’t hold back. This follows Matt Hagen (Tom Rhys Harries), a meteoric rising star in Hollywood, coming from the streets of Gotham. However, his skyrocketing career is tragically cut short after a local crime boss’ actions leave him horribly disfigured. Abandoned by everybody around him, with nothing left, he seeks out a cutting edge treatment that somehow returns him to his former self — or so he thinks.
The DCU’s decision to stick to no one theme in its movies is an incredible one, and makes way for many more adventurous pictures, like Clayface. Even though many may have lost faith in this universe after walking out of Craig Gillespie’s Supergirl earlier this year, Clayface promises to return that trust to audiences and show them something groundbreaking for the modern superhero genre, which I’m sure will pull through.
Releasing: Theatres
Klara and The Sun — October 23rd
Meet The Future of Friendship.
When Klara (Jenna Ortega), an AI friend robot whose main and only objective is finding the perfect home, meets Josie (Mia Tharia), both immediately sense some sort of kindred spirit. Klara’s childlike wonder towards the world and unwavering loyalty begins to heal Josie’s broken relationship with her mother, as Klara brings the light back into Josie’s complicated life.
Taika Waititi has proved to be quite hit or miss, sitting in the director’s chair. While he’s able to create such comedic works of art as Jojo Rabbit, he also occasionally will reach too far into his bag and produce Thor: Love and Thunder. Klara and The Sun looks much further towards the former, in its beautiful themes, hoping to bring light and childlike wonder into many people’s complicated adult lives, once again. All this really needs to do is make you look at the world differently as you step out of the cinema, which I’m sure it’ll be able to achieve — though there are a few worrying pro-AI themes that seem to creep their way into its trailers.
Releasing: Theatres
Wildwood — October 23rd
How Far Would You Go For Those You Love?
Laika Studios, and their masterful stop-motion animation, returns for the first time in seven years, with a movie that seems to be reaching newer heights for the studio. Wildwood follows Prue (Peyton Elizabeth Lee) and her classmate, Curtis (Jacob Tremblay), as they’re drawn into a magical forest full of enchanted creatures, loyal allies, and formidable adversaries. When Prue’s baby brother is abducted, the two embark on a desperate quest through this wood, in search of a murder of crows, led by a mysterious woman named Alexandra (Carey Mulligan).
This seems like quite an ambitious one for Laika, especially in its more whimsical and fantastical themes — much unlike the horror that is much of their earlier work. However, with the amount of work that is put into even a single frame of a movie like this, it’s sure to be a hit in some way, not to mention how incredible the trailers make this look — it seems as if some of the best animated movies of the year are releasing this month.
Releasing: Theatres
Ghosts: The Possession of Button House — October 23rd (UK Only)
They’re Not Back… They Never Left.
The critically acclaimed British sitcom, led by the former cast of Horrible Histories, has finally received its first movie. While we know very little about the plot, here’s what we do know: The Possession of Button House follows the ghosts as they attempt to reconnect with their living friends, Alison and Mike, after protestors disrupt construction on a planned hotel.
With the adoration that the sitcom has received over the years, even reaching the prestige of being remade for American audiences — something only the elites manage — Ghosts was bound to receive some sort of cinema release. This one looks just like the show, though I’m sure will have a much grander concept to justify its 3x longer total runtime.
Releasing: Theatres
Wicker — October 30th
Marriage Material.
Wicker received mounds of virality, following the release of its first trailer, for its somewhat strange, erotic adaptation of what seems like The Wicker Man. However, this is actually based on a 2008 short story, named The Wicker Husband. This follows a Fisherwoman (Olivia Colman), a woman who’s smelly, single, and constantly ridiculed. Fed up with this reputation, she commissions a husband to be made for her, woven out of wicker. This unconventional, quite erotic romance becomes a hot topic in this otherwise conservative town, sparking outrage, jealousy, and most importantly: chaos.
This seems like quite an interesting patriarchal critique, set in a village in an era where women had no status or identity unless married. Not only this, I’m sure this’ll be a hilarious and romantic movie with themes of breaking social norms and quite a bit of envy.