THE WOMAN KING - CERT 15 (135 mins)
Released Tues 4 October
Starring Viola Davies, John Boyega, Hero Fiennes Tiffin, Lashana Lynch, Jordan Bolger, Sheila Atim  
Directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood

A perhaps not surprisingly little-known fact is that in the 1800s, the African kingdom of Dahomey was protected by an all-female unit of warriors known as the Agojie. 

Telling their remarkable story, The Woman King follows the emotionally epic journey of General Nanisca (here played by Oscar winner Viola Davis) as she trains the next generation of recruits, readying them for battle against an enemy determined to destroy their way of life…

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AMSTERDAM - CERT tbc (135 mins)
Released Fri 7 October
Starring Anya Taylor-Joy, Robert De Niro, Margot Robbie, Christian Bale, Zoe Saldana, Rami Malek   
Directed by David O Russell

An original crime epic blending fact with fiction, Amsterdam focuses on three close friends who find themselves at the centre of one of the most shocking secret plots in American history. 

The film is the latest offering from acclaimed writer & director David O Russell, whose previous movies include Spanking The Monkey and American Hustle.  

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THE LOST KING - CERT 12 (108 mins)
Released Fri 7 October
Starring Harry Lloyd, Sally Hawkins, Steve Coogan, James Fleet, Jessica Harwick, Sharon Osdin  
Directed by Stephen Frears

Two-time Academy Award nominee Sally Hawkins takes the lead role of Philippa Langley in a film which tells the remarkable true story of how an amateur British history enthusiast discovered the long-lost remains of King Richard III.

The film, which marks the 10th anniversary of the discovery of Richard’s skeleton in a Leicester car park, reunites the BAFTA-winning creative team behind box office and critical hit Philomena: director Stephen Frears and writers Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope. Coogan, whose Baby Cow company has produced the film, co-stars in the role of Philippa’s husband. 

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EMILY - CERT tbc (130 mins)
Released Fri 14 October
Starring Emma Mackey, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Fionn Whitehead, Alexandra Dowling, Sacha Parkinson
Directed by Frances O’Connor

Sex Education’s Emma Mackey takes the starring role in this imagined life story of one of the world’s most famous authors: Emily Brontë. The second youngest of six siblings - among whom, of course, were fellow writers Charlotte and Anne - Emily is best known for her one and only (and classic) novel, Wuthering Heights. 

Frances O’Connor here makes her directorial debut, working from her own original screenplay. The film also stars Line Of Duty’s Adrian Dunbar and Gentleman Jack’s Gemma Jones.

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HALLOWEEN ENDS - CERT 18
Released Fri 14 October
Starring Jamie Lee Curtis, Will Patton, Kyle Richards, Andi Matichak, Nick Castle, Rohan Campbell
Directed by David Gordon Green

The Halloween franchise has certainly found a new lease of life recently, with this latest offering following on from 2018’s Halloween and last year’s Halloween Kills. 

Four years have passed since the events of the previous movie. Spooky serial killer Michael Myers hasn’t been seen since. Laurie, meanwhile, is living with her granddaughter, Allyson, and is finishing writing her memoir. After allowing Myers’ spectre to determine and drive her reality for decades, Laurie has decided to liberate herself from fear and rage by embracing life. But when a young man is accused of killing a boy he was babysitting, she is forced to confront the evil that lies beyond her control... 

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LYLE, LYLE, CROCODILE - CERT PG (106 mins)
Released Fri 14 October
Starring Constance Wu, Javier Bardem, Brett Gelman, Scoot McNairy and the voice of Shawn Mendes
Directed by Josh Gordan and Will Speck

Josh Primm is struggling to adapt to his new school and new friends following his family’s move to New York City. 

Thank heavens, then, for his discovery of a brand-new bestie - a singing crocodile - in the attic of his new home. But this is no ordinary city-dwelling, attic-residing, long-tailed reptile; this one loves baths, has a real taste for caviar and likes listening to great music. 

Life is definitely looking up for young Josh - but he’s reckoning without the involvement of the evil Mr Grumps, who’s failing to see any upside to sharing his neighbourhood with an impressively sophisticated saltwater crocodile... 

Columbia Pictures’ live-action/animated musical comedy is based on the bestselling 1960s’ book series by Bernard Waber.

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BLACK ADAM - CERT tbc
Released Fri 21 October
Starring Dwayne Johnson, Sarah Shahi, Viola Davis, Pierce Brosnan, Aldis Hodge, Noah Centineo
Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra

Black Adam has been described as Dwayne Johnson’s DC passion project, and it’s easy to see why. The character was slated to make his film debut in 2019’s Shazam!, but Dwayne had other ideas. He felt that Black Adam’s impact would be seriously compromised if he were required to share screen space with another superhero (even though the duo have a shared history in the original comic books). According to Johnson, the extra three years Black Adam fans have had to wait to see their hero on the big screen will be well worth it - the actor has repeatedly promised moviegoers that the film will change the DC cinematic universe forever. 

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TRIANGLE OF SADNESS - CERT 15 (150 mins)
Released Fri 28 October
Starring Harris Dickinson, Charlbi Dean Kriek, Woody Harrelson, Dolly De Leon, Zlatko Buric, Iris Berben
Directed by Ruben Östlund

The idle rich’s hypocrisy, greed and thirst for power is a subject that just keeps on giving in Triangle Of Sadness, the latest film from Swedish auteur Ruben Östlund.

A satirist, provocateur and two-time winner of the Palme d’Or - the second one being awarded for this very film, which received an eight-minute standing ovation at the Cannes’  Film Festival - Östlund is no stranger to controversy. He once joked he was thrilled that Sweden’s divorce rate skyrocketed after the release of his 2014 black comedy, Force Majeure - a film in which a husband prioritises his own escape over the safety of his family following an apparent avalanche in the French Alps. 

Triangle Of Sadness marks the final appearance of Charlbi Dean, who died unexpectedly in August at the age of just 32. Expect a movie that is provocative, fierce, funny and sharp.

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BROS - CERT 15 (116 mins)
Released Fri 28 October
Starring Billy Eichner, Luke Macfarlane, Debra Messing, Kristin Chenoweth, Monica Raymund, Jim Rash   
Directed by Nicholas Stoller

Universal Pictures’ is shouting from its rooftop the fact that Bros marks the first time a major studio has made a gay romantic comedy. It’s also the first time an openly gay man - Billy Eichner - has co-written and starred in a film by a major studio... 

Times, it would appear, are very much a-changin’... 

Featuring an entirely LGBTQ+ principal cast, Bros is described as ‘a smart, swoony and heartfelt comedy about how hard it is to find another tolerable human-being to go through life with’. 

Given that the film has all of the above going for it, finding an audience - and a big one - should prove to be a walk in the park.

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THE DEVIL'S LIGHT - CERT 15 (93 mins)
Released Fri 28 October
Starring Virginia Madsen, Colin Salmon, Jacqueline Byers, Ben Cross, Christian Navarro, Nicholas Ralph    Directed by Daniel Stamm

In response to a global rise in demonic possessions, the Catholic Church reopens exorcism schools to train priests in the Rite of Exorcism. On this spiritual battlefield, an unlikely warrior rises: a young nun named Sister Ann. Although nuns are forbidden to perform exorcisms, a professor recognises Sister Ann’s gifts and agrees to train her. Thrust onto the spiritual frontline with fellow student Father Dante, Sister Ann soon finds herself in a battle for the soul of a young girl - one who she believes is possessed by the same demon that tormented her own mother years earlier...