10. Viceroy’s House - September 1st
After investigating her own heritage during the filming of an episode of BBC’s 'Who Do You Think You Are?', 'Bend It Like Beckham' filmmaker Gurinder Chadha was inspired to delve more deeply into her own family’s history, and its thorny relationship with India’s independence. That personal story pushed her to make 'Viceroy’s House', which stars Hugh Bonneville as Lord Mountbatten and Gillian Anderson as his wife. The film delves into the upstairs/downstairs real-life history of Lord Mountbatten and his family in post-war 1947 India from the perspectives of both the Mountbatten family and the people of India, and looks to be a handsomely mounted historical outing with some timely echoes.
9. I Do… Until I Don’t - September 1st
Four years after making her directorial debut with the quick-witted and tart-tongued Hollywood send up 'In a World…', Lake Bell is back behind the camera for what looks like another smart-minded comedic look inside a potentially outdated system. This time around, she’s not taking on an industry or a group, but the very concept of marriage itself. Bell stars alongside Ed Helms, Mary Steenburgen, Paul Reiser, Amber Heard, Wyatt Cenac, and Dolly Wells in the comedy, which seeks to delve deeper into the meaning of matrimony, as aided by a scheming filmmaker.
8. Home Again - September 8th
Nancy Meyers’ daughter Hallie Meyers-Shyer makes her debut behind the camera after long hinting at her intentions. Reese Witherspoon stars as the recently separated Alice, who is attempting to forge a new life for her and her kids in sunny Los Angeles. Despite living in a gorgeous house and having some excellent prospects, Alice is adrift, until she meets a trio of aspiring filmmakers who move into her guest house and basically enliven her entire existence.
7. Battle of the Sexes - September 22nd
Fresh off her Oscar win, Emma Stone returns to awards season opposite Steve Carell in a based-on-fact movie that has the Golden Globe for Best Picture, Musical or Comedy written all over it. Whether that’s a good thing or not remains to be seen, but one imagines that 'Little Miss Sunshine' directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris will make the literal and verbal back-and-forth between their leads as entertaining as the tennis match that 'Battle of Sexes' is based on. Said contest, which took place between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs in 1973, was watched by some 90 million people and was a watershed moment for women’s tennis; the ending may be spoiled by the premise, but that doesn’t mean that watching it reach game, set, match won’t be worthwhile.
6. Novitiate - October 27th
Maggie Betts’ feature debut didn’t get nearly the attention it deserved at this year’s Sundance, where it premiered amongst a predictably crowded field, but those who did see it were richly rewarded. The film traces the journey of Cathleen, which begins in parochial school when a nun explains that the Catholic faith is different from all others because it’s built on the twin pillars of love and sacrifice. Combine that with the sense of peace that she gains from the church, and boom: This is a lovesick teenage girl, and Cathleen’s beloved is no less than God.
5. Professor Marston & the Wonder Women - October 27th
What in goddess’ name did we ever do to get so lucky to land not one, but two movies about Wonder Woman in a single calendar year? Sure, Angela Robinson’s fact-based biopic isn’t the same kind of splashy superhero outing that Patty Jenkins gifted us with this summer, but it looks to offer up its own special brand of insights and delights. Starring Luke Evans as William Moulton Marston, the film promises to delve into the author and psychologist’s complicated personal and professional life, and how it spawned the creation of one of the world’s most beloved heroines.
4. Lady Bird - November 10th
With 'Lady Bird', brainy actress and screenwriter Greta Gerwig is finally making her solo directorial debut after her collaborations with Noah Baumbach on 'Frances Ha' and 'Mistress America' and co-directing 'Nights and Weekends' with Joe Swanberg. The semi-autobiographical relationship comedy stars twice Oscar nominated Saoirse Ronan as Christine McPherson a.k.a. Lady Bird, a rebellious student at a conservative Catholic Sacramento high school who wants to escape her family and small town constraints to go to college in New York.
3. Mudbound - November 17th
Sundance darling Dee Rees returned to the festival that gave her, and her revelatory 'Pariah', a home earlier this year with the starry premiere of her historical drama 'Mudbound'. Based on Hillary Jordan’s novel of the same name, the film follows a relocated Mississippi family trying to find their way after the tragic upheavals of World War II, and pains that have struck both at home and aboard. Packing a wallop of a final act and a sterling ensemble that includes Jason Mitchell, Carey Mulligan, Garrett Hedlund, Jason Clarke, and Mary J. Blige.
2. Pitch Perfect 3 - December 22nd
Can 'Pitch Perfect 3' turn that beat around? With 'Step Up All In' director Trish Sie helming, there’s at least one area where the film will likely not be lacking: energy. Again promising one last big adventure, the film will also benefit from its returning cast, Hailee Steinfeld, Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, Brittany Snow, Anna Camp, and scores of other familiar faces, and an amusing new twist on the acapella franchise.
1. Bitch - Fall TBD
Marianna Palka’s films have always cannily chronicled under-addressed issues of female sexuality, from the sensitive healing of 'Good Dick' to the professional pains of 'Always Worthy', and she takes that skill in an entirely new direction with her wildly off-kilter 'Bitch'. A midnight movie of an entirely stripe, 'Bitch' follows a beleaguered housewife, who suddenly snaps and turns into, well, you guessed it: a wild dog. As her family, including a slew of talented kids, a revelatory Jaime King as her sister, and her frequent star Jason Ritter as her douchey husband, grapple with the unexpected change, 'Bitch' unfolds into something sharply funny and doggedly human.