28 new movies you need to see in fall 2020

The days are getting shorter, the temperature is cooler, but the movies are still coming in hot.

While the Covid-19 pandemic rages on, all of Hollywood is still figuring out how to get new movies in front of your eyeballs. Some have opened in theaters, but could it possibly be worth risking exposure? Drive-in theaters have returned with newfound relevancy, but they’re not everywhere nor easy to get to. Streaming and VOD are viable options, especially for small budget releases. But the big movies? Well, we’ll see how Mulan performs on Disney+.

If you’re hungering for new movies but don’t know what to watch and how to watch them, behold: Inverse’s guide to the best movies of fall 2020, complete with everything you need to know from who’s starring to what streaming platform. And yes, our Escapism Score is back. This totally scientific, totally not arbitrary number grade (from one to five rocket emojis) gauges how much the movie will help you "get away" from it all.

SEPTEMBER 2020 New Movies

Tenet

• Release date: September 3
• Studio: Warner Bros.
• Genre: Science fiction/Thriller
• Distribution: Theatrical
• Director: Christopher Nolan
• Starring: John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki, Michael Caine, Kenneth Branagh, Aarton Taylor-Johnson, Himesh Patel

PLOT — A secret agent must prevent World War III, and must do so with the manipulation of time.

ESCAPISM SCORE — 🚀🚀🚀🚀 We already included Tenet in our Summer 2020 Movies Guide, but here we are again. Because the U.S is behind other countries in its pandemic response (other parts of the world, like the UK, have already seen Tenet), it’s finally arrived in the United States even though theaters still aren’t open everywhere. Nolan’s stubbornness for people to see yet another impenetrable science fiction thriller in a closed environment with recycled air has no doubt painted perceptions of the movie. Check out our review by Ralph Jones.

The Owners

• Release date: September 4
• Studio: RJLE Films
• Genre: Horror
• Distribution: Theatrical
• Director: Julius Berg
• Starring: Maisie Williams, Sylvester McCoy, Jake Curran, Ian Kenny, Andrew Ellis

PLOT — A group of young thieves believe they've found an easy score: An empty house with a safe full of money. But when the elderly residents come home early, a deadly game of cat and mouse begins where the thieves must fight for their survival.

ESCAPISM SCORE — 🚀🚀 This slick horror-thriller is the other new horror movie with Game of Thrones alum Maisie Williams (and maybe even the better one). This lean 90-minute escape ain't a bad way to kill an afternoon.

Mulan

• Release date: September 4
• Studio: Disney
• Genre: Fantasy/Action
• Distribution: Streaming
• Director: Niki Caro
• Starring: Liu Yifei, Donnie Yen, Jason Scott Lee, Yonson An, Gong Li, Jet Li, Tzi Ma

PLOT — Based on the ancient Chinese folktale (and the 1998 animated musical), Mulan is the story of a girl who poses as a man in order to take her ailing father’s place in the Chinese army to defeat an army of invaders from the north.

ESCAPISM SCORE — 🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀 We’ve already covered Mulan in our summer movie guide, but as you may have heard Disney will release Mulan on Disney+ in a gamble called “Premier Access.” Should Mulan make enough money, other movies like Black Widow might release in a similar way.

I'm Thinking of Ending Things

• Release date: September 4
• Studio: Netflix
• Genre: Psychological horror
• Distribution: Streaming
• Director: Charlie Kaufman
• Starring: Jesse Plemons, Jessie Buckley, Toni Collette, David Thewlis, Oliver Platt

PLOT — A young woman spends a wintry weekend with her boyfriend’s parents. While quietly contemplating a break-up, things spiral out of control. Based on the 2016 novel by Iain Reid.

ESCAPISM SCORE — 🚀🚀 At a glance, I’m Thinking of Ending Things looks exactly what you imagine a psychological horror film to be from Charlie Kaufman, screenwriter of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and director of Synchedode. But past the surface, I’m Thinking of Ending Things reveals a lot more about what it means to be human — especially one that feels trapped. I think we can all relate to that.

The Devil All the Time

• Release date: September 16
• Studio: Netflix
• Genre: Psychological thriller
• Distribution: Streaming
• Director: Antonio Campos
• Starring: Tom Holland, Bill Skarsgård, Riley Keough, Jason Clarke, Sebastian Stan, Hayley Bennett, Mia Wasikowska, Robert Pattinson

PLOT — In rural 1960s Ohio, a young man suspects the people in his community are plagued by an unspeakable, corrupting evil. Based on Donald Ray Pollock’s 2011 novel.

ESCAPISM SCORE — 🚀🚀 Set between World War II and the Vietnam War, The Devil All the Time is a true gothic American thriller with arresting religious overtones. Come for the all-star cast, stay for a mesmerizing picture exploring the sins of men.

Antebellum

• Release date: September 18
• Studio: Lionsgate
• Genre: Horror
• Distribution: VOD
• Director: Gerard Bush, Christopher Renz
• Starring: Janelle Monae, Marque Richardson, Kiersey Clemons, Jena Malone

PLOT — A successful Black author from the 21st century wakes up in a nightmarish reality where she’s a slave in the Antebellum South.

ESCAPISM SCORE — 🚀 Yet another movie from our summer guide delayed into the fall. Antebellum has received negative reviews on the basis that it fails to live up to its daring premise. Still, historical horror and political horror are all the rage these days, and time will tell where Antebellum stands.

Stuntwomen: The Untold Hollywood Story

• Release date: September 22
• Studio: Shout! Studios
• Genre: Documentary
• Distribution: VOD
• Director: April Wright
• Starring: Michelle Rodriguez (narrator), Julie Ann Johnson, Jadie David, Jeannie Epper, Debbie Evans, Deven McNair, Keisha Tucker, Cheryl Lewis, Kelly Roisin, Amy Johnston

PLOT — Based on a 2015 nonfiction book, Stuntwomen is a documentary that finally reveals the real heroines who actually wear the masks and capes in your favorite action and superhero blockbusters.

ESCAPISM SCORE — 🚀🚀🚀🚀 While the stories and struggles of Hollywood’s most badass stuntwomen will inevitably include unfortunate anecdotes of sexism, Stuntwomen is all about paying tribute to the most badass women who’ve graced the big screen without you knowing.

Enola Holmes

• Release date: September 23
• Studio: Netflix
• Genre: Young adult mystery
• Distribution: Streaming
• Director: Harry Bradbeer
• Starring: Millie Bobby Brown, Henry Cavill, Sam Claflin, Helena Bonham Carter

PLOT — The teenage sister of the famous detective Sherlock Holmes attempts to solve a mystery that’s as complicated as it is personal: The whereabouts of her missing mother. Based on the book series by Nancy Springer.

ESCAPISM SCORE — 🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀 Enola Holmes is the sort of quirky young adult fantasy that’s been strangely absent in recent years. That it stars the charismatic Millie Bobby Brown as something other than a teenager with superpowers makes Enola Holmes fun for everyone.

Kajillionaire

• Release date: September 25
• Studio: Focus Features
• Genre: Family and crime comedy/drama
• Distribution: Theaters and VOD
• Director: Miranda July
• Starring: Evan Rachel Wood, Richard Jenkins, Debra Winger, Gina Rodriguez

PLOT — An awkward 26-year-old raised by grifter parents has her life changed when she meets a stranger who joins the parents on their schemes. Evan Rachel Wood stars in her best and most bizarre performance yet.

ESCAPISM SCORE — 🚀🚀 Unlike her cyborg revolutionary in Westworld, Evan Rachel Wood plays a painfully awkward but sympathetic victim of emotional abuse and neglect by her parents, played by Richard Jenkins and Debra Winger. Auteur filmmaker Miranda July illustrates a realistic world lived by those on the margins, revealing what’s normal to them and utterly strange to us.

Greenland

• Release date: September 25
• Studio: STX Entertainment
• Genre: Disaster
• Distribution: Theatrical
• Director: Ric Roman Waugh
• Starring: Gerard Butler, Morena Baccarin, David Denman, Hope Davis, Andrew Bachelor, Scott Glenn

PLOT — When a comet headed towards Earth stops being a spectacle and ends up a threat, one man leads his family in a daring race to seek shelter in a rumored bunker in Greenland.

ESCAPISM SCORE — 🚀🚀🚀 On one hand, this is a movie about a killer comet. And it stars Gerard Butler, the physical embodiment of rugged individualism we all aspire to be. On the other hand, the film depicts panic on the streets and people seeking shelter indoors. Your call.

OCTOBER 2020 New Movies

Scare Me

• Release date: October 1
• Studio: Shudder
• Genre: Comedy/horror
• Distribution: Streaming
• Director: Josh Ruben
• Starring: Aya Cash, Chris Redd

PLOT — In this comedy-horror, two strangers in an isolated cabin attempt to tell each other scary stories. They soon realize the stories they tell become real.

ESCAPISM SCORE — 🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀 A low-lift horror movie even scaredy cats can enjoy, Scare Me is yet another exclusive from Shudder, a horror streaming service all genre enthusiasts need to start paying serious attention to.

Wonder Woman 1984

• Release date: October 2
• Studio: Warner Bros.
• Genre: Superhero
• Distribution: Theatrical
• Director: Patty Jenkins
• Starring: Gal Gadot, Kristen Wiig, Pedro Pascal, Chris Pine

PLOT — A sequel to 2017’s Wonder Woman, Gal Gadot returns as her DC superhero as she confronts new enemies in the backdrop of the raging Cold War of the mid-1980s.

ESCAPISM SCORE — 🚀🚀🚀 Nothing has changed here since we last talked about Wonder Woman 1984 except its release date. What was once supposed to be the biggest superhero movie of the summer is now primed to be the biggest superhero movie of, well, the entire year. At least until Black Widow rolls around.

The Antenna

• Release date: October 2 (virtual theaters), October 20 on VOD
• Studio: Dark Star Pictures
• Genre: Horror
• Distribution: Theatrical and VOD
• Director: Orçun Behram
• Starring: Ihsan Önal, Gül Arici, Levent Ünsal, Isil Zeynep, Murat Saglam, Elif Çakman, Mert Toprak Yadigar, Eda Öze

PLOT — In a dystopian Turkey, the installation of sanctioned networks monitor all information. But after a haphazard installation in a decrepit apartment complex, a lowly building intendant discovers the evil entity behind it all.

ESCAPISM SCORE — 🚀 Another politically-charged horror film, this Turkish thriller is anything but ambiguous about modern Turkey’s media censorship.

Save Yourselves!

• Release date: October 2 (theatrical), October 6 (Blu-ray and VOD)
• Studio: Bleecker Street
• Genre: Comedy/science fiction/horror
• Distribution: Theatrical (traditional and drive-in), VOD
• Director: Alex Huston Fischer, Eleanor Wilson
• Starring: Sunita Mani, John Paul Reynolds, John Early, Jo Firestone, Amy Sedaris, Ben Sinclair, Johanna Day

PLOT — A plugged-in Brooklyn couple opt to disconnect from their wi-fi for an upstate cabin getaway. That’s when aliens invade the planet, leaving this hapless couple to figure out just what is going on with the world. (It’s the end.)

ESCAPISM SCORE — 🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀 Yeah, it sure feels like “the end” these days. But Save Yourselves! Has more than enough laughs and ingenuity to give the pulp War of the Worlds brand of B-movie sci-fi a quirky, millennial spin.

Hubie Halloween

• Release date: October 7
• Studio: Netflix
• Genre: Comedy/horror
• Distribution: Streaming
• Director: Steven Brill
• Starring: Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Julie Bowen, Maya Rudolph, Ray Liotta, Steve Buschemi, Kenan Thompson

PLOT — A bullied community volunteer investigates a rash of disappearances taking place in his hometown, Salem, Massachusetts, on Halloween.

ESCAPISM SCORE — 🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀 Adam Sandler, with a similar speaking voice like in Billy Madison and The Waterboy, continues his lucrative Netflix deal in what looks like a lighthearted Halloween comedy that may offer more treats than tricks.

Books of Blood

• Release date: October 7
• Studio: Hulu
• Genre: Anthology horror
• Distribution: Streaming
• Director: Brannon Braga
• Starring: Britt Robertson, Anna Friel, Rafi Gavron, Cory Lee, Andy McQueen, Saad Siddiqui

PLOT — Horror master Clive Barker’s Books of Blood short stories make up this three-story anthology film from Hulu. Little else is known about the project, including which stories in Barker’s multiverse will be included.

ESCAPISM SCORE — 🚀🚀🚀 Hard to say how “escapist” Books of Blood will be as the stories in Barker’s anthologies really aren’t alike. But with Seth MacFarlane as producer and The Orville writer Brannon Braga as director, it remains to be seen how Clive Barker’s twisted mind comes to life on the streaming platform.

Possessor

• Release date: October 9
• Studio: NEON
• Genre: Science fiction/horror
• Distribution: Theatrical (traditional and drive-in)
• Director: Brandon Cronenberg
• Starring: Andrea Riseborough, Christopher Abbot, Rossif Sutherland, Tuppence Middleton, Sean Bean, Gabrielle Graham

PLOT — An elite assassin, Taya Vos, uses brain-implants to take control of other people’s bodies in order to carry out her assignments. But her latest job will take her to the edge.

ESCAPISM SCORE — 🚀🚀🚀🚀 Brandon Cronenberg, son of legendary horror director David Cronenberg, takes up his father’s mantle in this science fiction horror movie that won acclaim at Sundance in January. Prestige house NEON acquired the film and will now release it in October, just in time for the season of all things scary and spooky.

Candyman

• Release date: October 16
• Studio: Universal Pictures
• Genre: Horror
• Distribution: Theatrical
• Director: Nia DaCosta
• Starring: Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Teyonah Parris, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Colman Domingo, Tony Todd

PLOT — A sequel to the cult 1992 film of the same name, Candyman continues the legacy of the killer whose name you shouldn’t say. In the now-gentrified Cabrini Green neighborhood of Chicago, a struggling artist learns the story of the Candyman and adapts the mythology into his paintings. He unknowingly reawakens the Candyman, kicking off a new wave of terror.

ESCAPISM SCORE — 🚀🚀🚀 Producer Jordan Peel and director Nia DaCosta have modernized Tony Todd’s cult Candyman monster, who now kills in a wildly different Chicago than he last appeared. What isn’t different is the story’s socially conscious themes, where the evils of racism and institutional abandonment are unfortunately as relevant as ever.

The Trial of the Chicago 7

• Release date: October 16
• Studio: Netflix
• Genre: Legal drama
• Distribution: Streaming
• Director: Aaron Sorkin
• Starring: Sacha Baron Cohen, Eddie Redmayne, Yahya Abuld-Mateen II, Jeremy Strong, Mark Rylance, Joseph Gordon-LEvitt, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Frank Langella, William Hurt, Michael Keaton, Thomas Middleditch, John Carroll Lynch, Caitlin FitzGerald

PLOT — Based on true events, Trial of the Chicago 7 dramatizes the events of the Chicago Seven, a group of defendants charged by the government with conspiracy and inciting to riot amidst anti-Vietnam War and countercultural protests during the 1968 Democratic National Convention.

ESCAPISM SCORE — 🚀 Once a Steven Spielberg project that aimed to cast unknowns, Trial of the Chicago 7 is now Aaron Sorkin’s second film as director with an all-star cast of Sacha Baron Cohen, Eddie Redmayne, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Michael Keaton. Being a Sorkin film and set in the turbulent late ‘60s, there’s no avoiding the bleak atmosphere of 2020. That doesn’t mean it isn’t worth a watch, however.

Over the Moon

• Release date: October 23
• Studio: Netflix
• Genre: Animation/family musical/comedy
• Distribution: Streaming
• Director: Glen Keane
• Starring: Cathay Ang, Robert G. Chiu, Phillipa Soo, Ken Jeong, John Cho, Sandra Oh, Margaret Cho, Kimiko Glenn

PLOT — In a retelling of a Chinese folktale, a young girl builds a rocket to Earth’s Moon in an effort to meet the moon goddess, Chang’e.

ESCAPISM SCORE — 🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀 This animated family film for Netflix, with a rare Asian-American ensemble voice cast, could be the movie to launch Netflix into the animation stratosphere that’s still ruled by Disney and DreamWorks.

On the Rocks

• Release date: October 2 (theaters), October 23 (Apple TV+)
• Studio: A24, Apple
• Genre: Comedy/drama
• Distribution: Theatrical and streaming (on Apple TV+)
• Director: Sofia Coppola
• Starring: Rashida Jones, Bill Murray, Marlon Wayans, Jessica Henwick, Jenny Slate, Barbara Bain

PLOT — In New York City, a woman suspects her husband may be cheating on her. She recruits her eccentric and wealthy father to help her uncover the truth in a journey that will take them up and down this strange yet alluring city Hollywood reveres so much.

ESCAPISM SCORE — 🚀🚀🚀🚀 Set in an alternate 2020 where things are normal, On the Rocks is director Sofia Coppola once again revealing how utterly fascinated she is with Bill Murray. If the quarantine blues got you down, let On the Rocks be your taxi ride across town, at less than the price of an Uber (an Apple TV+ subscription).

NOVEMBER 2020 New Movies

Black Widow

• Release date: November 6
• Studio: Marvel Studios
• Genre: Superhero/spy thriller
• Distribution: Theatrical
• Director: Cate Shortland
• Starring: Scarlett Johansson, Florence Pugh, David Harbour, Rachel Weisz, O-T Fagbengle, William Hurt, Ray Winstone, Robert Downey Jr. (rumored cameo)

PLOT — Set after the events of 2016’s Captain America: Civil War, the elite Avenger known as Black Widow confronts a very old enemy: The ones responsible for creating her.

ESCAPISM SCORE — 🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀 To think we’ve gone this far in the year without a new Marvel movie. Whether we’re ready for theaters or not, Disney will release Black Widow, which just may be the bit of escape we could all use.

Deep Water

• Release date: November 13
• Studio: 20th Century Studios
• Genre: Psychological thriller
• Distribution: Theatrical
• Director: Adrian Lyne
• Starring: Ben Affleck, Ana de Armas, Tracy Letts, Rachel Blanchard, Lil Rel Howery, Finn Wittrock, Jacob Elordi, Kristen Connolly

PLOT — To avoid the embarrassment of divorce, a couple in a loveless marriage agrees to let one of them take on extramarital affairs. But trouble begins when their deadly mind games result in the murders of the people around them. Based on the 1957 novel by Patricia Highsmith.

ESCAPISM SCORE — 🚀🚀 The internet’s favorite quarantine couple, Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas, co-star in this psychological thriller that may touch on some familiar feelings if you’ve been trapped in a bad relationship during [gestures wildly] all of this.

Freaky

• Release date: November 13
• Studio: Universal
• Genre: Sci-fi/horror/black comedy
• Distribution: Theatrical
• Director: Christopher Landon
• Starring: Vince Vaughn, Kathryn Newton, Celeste O’Connor, Misha Osherovich, Uriah Shelton, Dana Drori, Katie Finneran, Alan Ruck

PLOT — A serial killer nicknamed "The Butcher" switches bodies with his latest victim, Millie, a bullied high school teenager. With a heated manhunt on the tail of the Butcher, Millie — in the body of a middle-aged man wanted by the police — has just 24 hours to find her killer, who wants to use his new "body" to satisfy his bloodlust.

ESCAPISM SCORE — 🚀🚀🚀🚀 A Vince Vaughn comedy with a terrifically macabre edge, Freaky is a potential hit in the making on the same level as the cult Happy Death Day movies.

Ammonite

• Release date: November 13
• Studio: NEON (U.S.), Lionsgate (UK)
• Genre: Period romantic drama
• Distribution: Theatrical
• Director: Francis Lee
• Starring: Kate Winslet, Saoirse Ronan, Gemma Jones, James McArdle

PLOT — Set in 1840s South England, a celebrated paleontologist is hired to take care of a young woman recovering from a tragedy. The job ignites a passionate affair that will change their lives forever.

ESCAPISM SCORE — 🚀🚀🚀🚀 This bound-to-be breathtaking film from director Francis Lee may not have any spaceships, superheroes, or supernatural ghosts. But it does have gorgeous scenery of a wide-open English shore where two tip-top actresses act out a period 19th century version of sleeping with your roommate in quarantine.

No Time to Die

• Release date: November 20 (U.S.), November 13 (UK)
• Studio: United Artists (North America), Universal (International)
• Genre: Spy thriller/action
• Distribution: Theatrical
• Director: Cary Joji Fukunaga
• Starring: Daniel Craig, Rami Malek, Léa Seydoux, Lashana Lynch, Ben Whishaw, Naomie Harris, Jeffrey Wright, Christoph Waltz, Ralph Fiennes, Ana de Armas, Rory Kinnear, Billy Magnussen

PLOT — Former MI6 agent James Bond is called back into action to rescue a kidnapped scientist. When Bond discovers who is responsible for the abduction, the famous spy enters the greatest battle he’ll ever face.

ESCAPISM SCORE — 🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀 It’s the end of an era in No Time to Die. Daniel Craig, who first played James Bond nearly 15 years ago, finally bows out from the role that transformed him from total unknown to celebrated franchise actor. While some argue Craig’s departure is overdue, his lengthy run means there is an entire generation that has only ever known Craig as Bond. Not unlike Hugh Jackman’s departure as Wolverine (in 2017’s Logan), No Time to Die is bound to be as emotional as it is celebratory.

Soul

• Release date: November 20
• Studio: Walt Disney Pictures
• Genre: Animation/family musical/comedy
• Distribution: Theatrical
• Director: Pete Docter
• Starring: Jamie Foxx, Tina Fey, Questlove, Phylicia Rashad, Daveed Diggs, Angela Bassett, John Ratzenberger, Richard Ayoade

PLOT — A music teacher with dreams of performing jazz onstage finally gets his chance after impressing regulars at a club. But when an accident splits his soul from his body, his soul must race back to his body before it’s too late.

ESCAPISM SCORE — 🚀🚀🚀🚀 Here we go: Another Disney-Pixar movie with themes like art, family, and existentialism to sweep you off your feet. Get ready for things to get real, but in a good way. There’s a lot of movies on this list that will help you forget the troubles of a pandemic. But Soul seems perfectly timed to take us somewhere far, far away.

Voyagers

• Release date: November 25
• Studio: Lionsgate
• Genre: Science fiction
• Distribution: TBA
• Director: Neil Burger
• Starring: Colin Farrell, Tye Sheridan, Lil-Rose Depp, Isaac Hempstead Wright, Chanté Adams, Madison Hu

PLOT — In the future, 30 young men and women are sent into deep space to search for a new home. But when their adult captain is mysteriously murdered, the ship descends into madness as a threat from the outside turns them into monsters within.

ESCAPISM SCORE — 🚀🚀🚀 Described as “Lord of the Flies in space,” this original sci-fi film from writer/director Neil Burger is due in theaters in just two months but hasn’t yet released a trailer, or even any promotional images. As of now, it’s hard to even get an impression. But with Colin Farrell anchoring the movie, it’s definitely worth keeping on the radar.

2020 Movies Without a Release Date

Because no one can predict anything in 2020, the movies listed below are still slated for some kind of release later this year. But crucial details like a definitive release date window or even how to watch it (streaming? VOD?), are unknown. Stay tuned as we'll update this post if anything changes.

The Midnight Sky

Based on the novel Good Morning, Midnight by Lily Brooks-Dalton, this post-apocalyptic sci-fi stars George Clooney as a scientist in the Arctic who races to prevent other astronauts from coming home to a catastrophe. Felicity Jones, Kyle Chandler, David Oyelowo, and Tiffanny Boone also star.

Malcolm and Marie

John David Washington (Tenet) and Zendaya star in this indie drama (plot unknown) that was written in six days and shot between June 17 and July 2. It is one of the first high-profile “quarantine movies” in which the entire cast and crew were isolated for two weeks before and after shooting with daily temperature checks and sanitation measures during filming.

Cherry

Marvel star Tom Holland stars in this crime drama about an Army medic with PTSD who starts robbing banks to support an opioid addiction. Directed by Avengers: Endgame directors Joe and Anthony Russo, the movie also stars Ciara Bravo and Bill Skarsgård.

His House

A socially-conscious haunted house horror movie about a couple, refugees from South Sudan, who move into English public housing and discover a great evil lurking beneath. The movie received positive reviews at Sundance in January and will be a Netflix exclusive release, so you can expect to easily stream it soon. But when you can, no one is sure.