Awards season isn’t arriving it’s already underway, and this fall’s crop is perhaps the most unpredictable of recent years. With not a single Spielberg or Scorsese hogging all the air, the playing field is laid open for new talent, risk-taking, and some flat-out shocking performances to steal the show.

From overdue comebacks of movie icons to fearless reinterpretations of cult favorites, the coming months hold a blend of prestige dramas, genre-transcending thrillers, and franchise revamps. Whether high-stakes historical drama, genre-bending sci-fi, or intensely personal indie, there’s something for every type of movie enthusiast.

Here are eight of the most highly anticipated titles coming out from September to November 2025 each with its own stamp of hype, critical attention, and awards season appeal.

1. The Lost Bus – Heroism in the Face of Disaster

Paul Greengrass’s new film combines the ticking-clock suspense of Captain Phillips with the emotional heft of an actual survival tale. Drawing on the 2018 Camp Fire in Paradise, California, it tracks school bus driver Kevin McKay (Matthew McConaughey) and teacher Mary Ludwig (America Ferrera) as they fight to rescue 22 children from an approaching blaze. Greengrass captured some of the most important sequences during the brief ‘magic hour’ of day to catch the dreamlike half-light of a smoky sky, bringing a visceral realism.

What distinguishes this from your typical disaster movie is its emphasis on resilience and community. Actual firefighters and survivors participated in the making of this film, and McConaughey’s son and mother joined him. Greengrass has stated, “I always want [movies] to be life-affirming and drive towards hope. Because otherwise, what’s the point?” That philosophy might make this one of the most emotionally rewarding crowd-pleasers of the season.

2. Anemone – Daniel Day-Lewis’s Triumphant Comeback

Eight years out of the game, Daniel Day-Lewis returns co-writing and acting in Anemone, directed by his son Ronan Day-Lewis. Based in late-1980s Yorkshire, the film explores two estranged brothers, a hermit (Day-Lewis) and suburban family man (Sean Bean), as they face a common traumatic past as British paramilitaries in Northern Ireland.

Made by Brad Pitt’s Plan B, the film is already generating awards buzz merely due to Day-Lewis’s credentials six nominations, three victories, at the Oscars. But pre-release reports indicate a very intimate tale of family redemption, aided by a supporting cast that includes Samantha Morton. For film buffs, this is more than a return; it’s a unique opportunity to watch one of the best actors of his generation play a part he co-created from the ground up.

3. A Big Bold Beautiful Journey – Romance Through Time

Kogonada’s romantic fantasy matches up Margot Robbie and Colin Farrell as strangers who, due to a GPS matchmaking spin, are able to step through doors into moments from their own histories. Laufey adds four new songs to the soundtrack, in addition to an original score by Joe Hisaishi his first for a non-Japanese film making this as much a sonic event as a visual one.

The tagline of the movie tells it all: “Some doors bring you to your past. Some doors lead you to your future. And some doors change everything.” With Kogonada’s visual sophistication and a premise that combines nostalgia with the potential of rewriting destiny, this might be the most magical date-night choice this season.

4. Bugonia – Yorgos Lanthimos Turns Alien Conspiracy

Jesse Plemons and Aidan Delbis portray rural cousins who abduct a Big Pharma CEO (Emma Stone), believing she is an alien conspirator intent on destroying humanity. Lanthimos reimagines the cult Korean movie Save the Green Planet! as a black comedy spoofing conspiracy culture, corporate avarice, and our pandemic fears.

Telluride critics lauded the performances Plemons’s seething fanaticism, Stone’s glacial corporate threat and the movie’s dry wit. The question Lanthimos leaves hanging is whether the kidnappers are crazy or onto something. With its blend of absurdity, social observation, and visual acuity, this is proving to be one of the fall’s most discussion-provoking releases.

5. Predator: Badlands – A Franchise Born

Director Dan Trachtenberg, who reinvigorated the series with Prey, relocates the action to the Predator himself in this sci-fi entry. Elle Fanning stars as Thia, a Weyland-Yutani android and uneasy ally to Dek, a Yautja youth banished from his clan. The action takes place on an unforgiving alien planet, with ferocious beasts, lethal flora, and human predators closing in.

By using the Predator as the lead, Badlands offers a new emotional angle to the franchise and a bigger Alien vs. Predator universe. Trachtenberg’s skill at tension and world-building, and IMAX-quality visuals, could turn this into one of the season’s most thrilling big-screen experiences.

6. After the Hunt – Julia Roberts in a Tense Academic Drama

Luca Guadagnino helms Julia Roberts as an academic professor embroiled in an ethical and personal dilemma when her star pupil (Ayo Edebiri) accuses a colleague (Andrew Garfield) of impropriety. Opening at Venice, the movie has been likened to Notes on a Scandal for its psychological tension and layered acting.

For Roberts, it’s a return to awards-season form after more than a decade. Guadagnino’s ability to balance intimacy with visual flair could turn this into one of the year’s most talked-about dramas, especially if the post-screening buzz about Roberts’s performance holds through the fall.

7. Frankenstein – Guillermo del Toro’s Gothic Passion Project

Guillermo del Toro has called Mary Shelley’s novel his favorite book for nearly two decades, and now his long-gestating adaptation is here. Oscar Isaac plays Victor Frankenstein, Jacob Elordi is the Creature, and Mia Goth portrays Elizabeth. The film received a 13-minute standing ovation at Venice, signaling strong awards potential.

With del Toro’s trademark mix of rich imagery and emotional resonance, this Frankenstein will be both true to Shelley’s ideas and relevant to modern concerns regarding creation, responsibility, and humankind. For fans of genre and high-end fare alike, it’s a must-see.

8. Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere – The Boss on the Big Screen

Jeremy Allen White as Bruce Springsteen’s adversary during the creation of his bleak 1982 album Nebraska, with Jeremy Strong playing producer Jon Landau. Directed by Scott Cooper, the movie explores the artistic process, individual conflicts, and cultural context of a turning point in Springsteen’s career. A J Prince production.

Blessed by Springsteen himself and greeted warmly at Telluride, the film might be a breakout for White outside of television. Music biopics are awards-season regulars, but this one’s minimalistic emphasis on artistry rather than spectacle could make it stand out.

This fall’s slate isn’t just about marquee names or franchise muscle it’s about stories that take risks, performances that surprise, and filmmakers pushing their own boundaries. Whether you’re chasing the thrill of a blockbuster, the intimacy of a character study, or the buzz of a potential Oscar contender, the next few months are packed with reasons to head to the theater. The only challenge? Deciding which one to see first.