From The Accountant to Boo! A Madea Halloween, October’s Anticipated Theatrical Releases, Ranked

Thanks to a trip to Vegas, the Movie Hot Take normal schedule was thrown for a loop. It’s October now and we typically kick off every month with a list of trailers for all of the releases coming out for the month. While the first week of October is already in the books, we’ll pretend like that didn’t happen yet and run down the list of 25 anticipated releases for October. Here’s the list of October releases ranked in order of anticipation:

1. The Accountant (October 14)

We haven’t seen Ben Affleck since Batffleck and the positive reviews of his performance in an otherwise panned Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice should help The Accountant at the box office. The movie actually looks pretty good and there’s a decent supporting cast (Anna Kendrick, J.K. Simmons, Jeffrey Tambor, John Lithgow).

2. The Girl on the Train (October 7)

Based on a best-selling novel by Paula Hawkins, the film features Emily Blunt in the main role and has a strong supporting female cast. Haley Bennett, Rebecca Ferguson, Allison Janney, Lisa Kudrow and Laura Prepon all have supporting roles in the film. Blunt’s performance is getting great reviews early but the film not so much. However, MHT still wants to see it.

3. The Birth of a Nation (October 7)

Writer/director/actor Nate Parker has gotten more attention for his past actions than the trio of jobs he functions as in The Birth of a Nation. Parker was charged with rape in 1999 and the controversy around the charges (and the accuser’s suicide in 2012) has not helped the film in PR terms. The film itself looks impressive and is purposely ironic by using the title of the highly regarded yet obviously racist propaganda film of the same name by D.W. Griffith from 1915.

4. Jack Reacher: Never Go Back (October 21)

Tom Cruise returns as Jack Reacher and the film looks like the typical Cruise action flick which is a good thing as they are typically highly entertaining.

5. American Pastoral (October 21)

Based on the Phillip Roth novel, the film is directed and stars Ewan McGregor. In early buzz there was talk of this film being a wild card during Oscar discussions but early reviews from critics who’ve seen the film at TIFF have been poor. With a supporting cast featuring Jennifer Connelly and Dakota Fanning, there’s still hope for this one.

6. Kevin Hart: What Now? (October 14)

The stand-up concert film has fallen in and out of favor with the American movie going public. Hart’s stand-up performance at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia marked the first time a stand-up comedian performed and an at-capacity outdoor football stadium so it’s no surprise they converted the event into a feature length film.

7. Keeping Up With the Joneses (October 21)

Keeping Up With the Joneses looks ridiculous. It has a ton of slapstick comedy surrounding an action film. Zach Galifianakis and Isla Fisher play the Gaffneys who become involved in an international espionage plot when they pay too much attention to their new neighbors, the Joneses, played by Jon Hamm and Gal Gadot. It doesn’t look good but it does look fun and sometimes that’s more important than good when you just want to laugh at the movies.

8. Moonlight (October 21)

The darling of the recent film festival circuit, Moonlight has a 98% Tomatometer through 43 reviews at Rotten Tomatoes. The A24-produced film is the story of a young African American man struggling with his own sexuality and the difficulty of coming out. It won’t be a box office hit but it might hang around long enough for some Oscar consideration.

9. Desierto (October 14)

Desierto was supposed to be released in March but was delayed until October 14. That’s rarely a good sign. However, the film was submitted as Mexico’s entry for Best Foreign Language film for the upcoming Academy Awards in January.

10. Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life (October 7)

Maybe if I was under the age of 15 (or even 30), this movie would look a little more interesting. It doesn’t mean it looks bad or even a little bit entertaining, I’m just not the demographic this film is going after.

11. Inferno (October 28)

The third film featuring Tom Hanks as Robert Langdon. Following The DaVinci Code and Angels & Demons, Ron Howard and David Koepp also return. If you liked the first two movies, this one looks to be barking up the same tree.

12. Max Steel (October 14)

The origin story of the fictional character of Mattel’s action figure Max Steel. You’re excited, too. I can tell.

13. Blue Jay (October 7)

Artsy film shot over 7 days featuring Sarah Paulson and Mark Duplass as high school sweethearts who reconnect later in life. They’ve both progressed in life but it appears that neither had moved on.

14. Priceless (October 14)

An “inspired by true events” tagged film about human trafficking featuring James Stevens as a man who is hired to drive a truck across country with no questions asked but discovers his cargo are two young women as part of a human trafficking ring.

15. Christine (October 14)

Based on true events, the story of a 29-year-old reporter in Florida in the 70s. Rebecca Hall stars as Christine Chubbuck, a reporter who struggles with depression and eventually commits suicide on air. If you haven’t realized, this is not a remake of the Stephen King novel.

16. Certain Women (October 14)

Having read a few descriptions of the movie and watched the trailer a few times, I’m still not really sure what this movie is about. It features a strong female cast including Laura Dern, Michelle Williams, Kristen Stewart and Lily Gladstone. That may be enough.