Three weeks after the in November, will present his latest big-screen opus. 鈥淕ladiator II鈥� returns the prodigious filmmaker to ancient Rome for a story about a power, the survival of Rome and the fate of democracy.
鈥淗opefully,鈥� Scott says, 鈥渋t will be a good omen.鈥�
This fall, Hollywood will be trying 鈥� with everything from swaggering historical epics like 鈥淕ladiator II鈥� to the high-seas adventure of 鈥淢oana 2鈥� 鈥� to capture the nation鈥檚 attention at a time when much of it will be directed at the polls.
Already, Hollywood has played a co-starring role in the . The Democratic Convention in August was packed with . Republican vice-presidential candidate, , was first introduced to many by the 2020 big-screen adaptation of his And it was George Clooney, who this month stars in the Apple Studios film alongside Brad Pitt, who was one of the most prominent voices from the race.
Hollywood, famously progressive, has always had to strike a balance between the liberal leanings of the majority of its creatives with the big-tent demands of pop culture. In recent years, that鈥檚 grown increasingly tricky.
At the same time, the movie industry, after several years hobbled by pandemic and strikes, is striving to recapture its all-audiences populism 鈥� and all the billions that can come with it. Disney chief Robert A. Iger last year signaled the need 鈥渢o entertain first,鈥� adding 鈥渋t鈥檚 not about messages.鈥�
This past summer, Disney led Hollywood out of a box-office slump with a pair of billion-earners in and Ticket sales for the summer rose to $3.7 billion, according to Comscore 鈥� less than the traditional $4 billion benchmark but significantly better than initially feared after
One of the fall鈥檚 likeliest candidates to continue the trend is 鈥淢oana 2.鈥� Dwayne Johnson, who returns as the voice of Maui, earlier this year in the election out of concern for the division it would cause.
Like many of the films opening this fall, 鈥淢oana 2鈥� (opening Nov. 27), as a story about a strong female protagonist and a celebration of Pacific Islander culture, could resonate very differently, depending on the outcome of the election.
鈥淚f it resonates for people in a different way, I can鈥檛 control that,鈥� says Dana Ledoux Miller, who directed 鈥淢oana 2鈥� with David Derrick Jr. and Jason Hand. 鈥淚鈥檓 so excited about what this story is and what it means to be a person in a community who wants something more for the world they live in and for the future. We鈥檒l see what happens, but the movie is what it is.鈥�
Movies this year have largely only approached political themes from a distance. by Alex Garland, imagined the U.S. in all-out warfare. directed by Tony Gerber and Jesse Moss, gathered real political figures for an insurrection simulation.
But 鈥� will offer the movie version of an October surprise. The film, the release of which , stars Sebastian Stan as a young Donald Trump under the tutelage of Roy Cohn (Jeremy Strong). The Trump campaign has called it 鈥渆lection interference by Hollywood elites.鈥� Its director, Ali Abbasi, argues filmmakers have a responsibility to face current politics head-on.
鈥淚鈥檝e been hearing a lot: Let鈥檚 make a movie about the Second World War or the Civil War 鈥� just go back in time,鈥� says Abbasi. 鈥淭hey say a Civil War movie is a good metaphor for the way our society is now. I鈥檓 like: Our society is extremely exciting, complex, complicated, has huge problems and opportunities. Why not address them? We have a (expletive) responsibility.鈥�
As usual this fall, studios will trot out a new wave of awards contenders. Unlike last year, when came into the season the clear favorite, no such frontrunner has yet emerged. At the Venice, Telluride, Toronto and New York film festivals, notable premieres include Todd Phillips鈥� anticipated sequel 鈥淛oker: Folie 脿 Deux,鈥� Edward Berger鈥檚 鈥淐onclave,鈥� Marielle Heller鈥檚 鈥淣ightbitch,鈥� Malcolm Washington鈥檚 鈥淭he Piano Lesson,鈥� Steve McQueen鈥檚 鈥淏litz鈥� and LaMell Ross鈥檚 鈥淣ickel Boys.鈥�
Standouts from earlier festivals will also mix in, like and But, at least for now, the Oscar race appears wide open.
鈥淓milia P茅rez,鈥� about a Mexican drug lord who transitions into a woman, is just one of the many musicals landing in theaters. Some studios have recently run from the label of 鈥渕usical鈥�; last December鈥檚 鈥淲onka鈥� wasn鈥檛 advertised as such. But this fall, no matter what鈥檚 happening on the news, it won鈥檛 be hard to find song and dance on the big screen.
That includes 鈥淛oker: Folie 脿 Deux,鈥� 鈥淢oana 2鈥� and the two-part adaptation of the Broadway show 鈥淲icked!鈥� 鈥� not to mention biopics on Robbie Williams (鈥淏etter Man鈥�) and Bob Dylan (鈥淎 Complete Unknown,鈥� with Timoth茅e Chalamet).
鈥淲icked鈥� director Jon M. Chu and producer Marc Platt were confident enough in their film, starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, that they opted to split it into two. (Part two will release in November 2025.) 鈥淲icked,鈥� opening Nov. 22, will open against 鈥淕ladiator II鈥� in the fall鈥檚 most -like weekend matchup.
鈥淚 love at this time, at this moment, we can root for all movies, all the time,鈥� says Chu. 鈥淚t鈥檚 getting to tell people: Come to the movies. Everyone come.鈥�
In 鈥淲icked,鈥� which imagines the story behind the opposing witches of 鈥淭he Wizard of Oz,鈥� Platt sees a story with plenty of relevance to the current political climate.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a significant election for both of us,鈥� says Platt. 鈥淏ut our story aspires to be about the distance people travel to connect with each other, about seeing the other as not the other, about living in a world where sometimes the truth is not real.鈥�
Some films are taking some novel approaches to storytelling. Morgan Neville鈥檚 鈥淧iece by Piece鈥� tells Pharrell Williams鈥� story with Lego bricks. Robert Zemeckis鈥� 鈥淗ere,鈥� starring Tom Hanks, has the appearance of a film shot in one take. In 鈥淏etter Man,鈥� Williams is portrayed by computer-generated monkey.
In festival screenings of midway through the movie a man has walked on stage and addressed a question to the screen. Coppola, who financed the film himself, spent years steadily building 鈥淢egalopolis,鈥� a future-set epic about a visionary (Adam Driver). In cynical times, it鈥檚 brashly optimistic, even utopian.
鈥淵ou never turn on CNN or open the newspaper to: 鈥楬uman Being Is an Unbelievable Genius.鈥� But it鈥檚 true. How can you deny it?鈥� at the Cannes Film Festival. 鈥淭hink of what we can do. A hundred years ago they said man will never fly. Now we鈥檙e zooming around. So I ask myself: Why is it that no one dare say how great we are? There鈥檚 no problem that we鈥檙e facing that we鈥檙e not ingenious enough to solve.鈥�
While Coppola was making his conception of a modern-day Roman epic, Scott was a making the genuine article. During the making of 鈥淕ladiator II,鈥� Scott 鈥� a self-professed news junkie 鈥� continually felt that his film was far from ancient history. unspooled during the film鈥檚 making, the director noted.
鈥淵ou are living during what I call democracy against tyrants, tyranny,鈥� says Scott. 鈥淲e鈥檙e looking in this film as about tyrannical leadership against people who try to rectify that. When is history not about that?鈥�
