From heartfelt dramas to fun adventures to edge-of-your-seat action thrillers, this holiday season offers a wide array of movies to please you and the whole family.
Movie lovers love to see the latest and greatest films when they hit the big screen but there’s something special about seeing them during the holiday season. As spirits rise and we take the time to slow down from our hectic schedules, holiday movies offer us a great escape into the world of fun and fantasy.
Here’s our list of the most popular movies of the season you need to see.
Wild
December 3 – Drama
After years of reckless behavior, a heroin addiction and the destruction of her marriage, Cheryl Strayed makes a rash decision. Haunted by memories of her mother Bobbi (Laura Dern) and with absolutely no experience, she sets out to hike more than a thousand miles on the Pacific Crest Trail all on her own, revealing her terrors and pleasures – as she forges ahead on a journey that maddens, strengthens, and ultimately heals her.
STARRING: Laura Dern, Reese Witherspoon, Thomas Sadoski,W. Earl Brown, Kevin Rankin, Michiel Huisman, Gaby Hoffman, Keene McRae.
Still Alice
December 5 – Drama
Alice Howland, happily married with three grown children, is a renowned linguistics professor who starts to forget words. When she receives a diagnosis of Early-Onset Alzheimer’s Disease, Alice and her family find their bonds thoroughly tested. Her struggle to stay connected to who she once was is frightening, heartbreaking, and inspiring.
STARRING: Kristen Stewart, Kate Bosworth, Alec Baldwin, Julianne Moore.
Comet
December 5 – Drama, Romance
Justin Long and Emmy Rossum are star-crossed lovers whose relationship blooms and unravels over the course of six years in this mysterious, dazzlingly original romance. When a chance encounter brings together the cynical Dell (Long) and the quick-witted Kimberly (Rossum), the stage is set for a tempestuous love affair that unfolds like a puzzle. As the film zigzags back and forth in time—from a meteor shower in LA, to an encounter in a Paris hotel room, to a fateful phone call—an unforgettable portrait of a relationship emerges. Sumptuously shot and boasting incredible chemistry between the leads, Comet is a one-of-a-kind cosmic love story.
Exodus: Gods and Kings
December 12 – Action, Adventure
Exodus: Gods and Kings,” the story of one man’s daring courage to take on the might of an empire. sing state of the art visual effects and 3D immersion, Scott brings new life to the story of the defiant leader Moses (Christian Bale) as he rises up against the Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses (Joel Edgerton), setting 600,000 slaves on a monumental journey of escape from Egypt and its terrifying cycle of deadly plagues.
STARRING: John Turturro, Christian Bale, Sigourney Weaver,Ben Kingsley, Joel Edgerton, Aaron Paul
The Captive
December 12 – Thriller
Matthew (Ryan Reynolds) steps briefly into a diner and comes out to find that his young daughter Cassandra has vanished without a trace from the back of his truck. Her unsolved abduction destroys Matthew’s once-happy relationship with his wife, Tina (Mireille Enos), who, haunted by mementos of Cassandra that appear mysteriously at her work, suspects her husband of foul play. Years later, when detectives Nicole (Rosario Dawson) and Jeffrey (Scott Speedman) discover recent images of Cassandra online, Matthew risks everything to ensure his daughter’s safe return—and to save himself and Tina from the limbo of unrelenting despair.
STARRING: Rosario Dawson, Ryan Reynolds, Scott Speedman,Mireille Enos
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
December 17 – Action, Fantasy
This version brings to an epic conclusion the adventures of Bilbo Baggins, Thorin Oakenshield and the Company of Dwarves. Having reclaimed their homeland from the Dragon Smaug, the Company has unwittingly unleashed a deadly force into the world. Enraged, Smaug rains his fiery wrath down upon the defenseless men, women and children of Lake-town. Obsessed above all else with his reclaimed treasure, Thorin sacrifices friendship and honor to hoard it as Bilbo’s frantic attempts to make him see reason drive the Hobbit towards a desperate and dangerous choice. But there are even greater dangers ahead. Unseen by any but the Wizard Gandalf, the great enemy Sauron has sent forth legions of Orcs in a stealth attack upon the Lonely Mountain. As darkness converges on their escalating conflict, the races of Dwarves, Elves and Men must decide – unite or be destroyed. Bilbo finds himself fighting for his life and the lives of his friends in the epic Battle of the Five Armies, as the future of Middle-earth hangs in the balance.
STARRING: Ian McKellen, Cate Blanchett, Martin Freeman,Stephen Fry, Jed Brophy, Christopher Lee, Orlando Bloom,Billy Connolly, James Nesbitt, Ian Holm, Hugo Weaving, Ken Stott, Benedict Cumberbatch, Graham McTavish, Lee Pace,Luke Evans, Evangeline Lilly, Richard Armitage, John Bell,Adam Brown, John Callen, Ryan Gage, Mark Hadlow, Peter Hambleton, Stephen Hunter, William Kircher, Sylvester McCoy, Dean O’Gorman, Mikael Persbrandt, Aidan Turner, Manu Bennett, Lawrence Makoare
Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb
December 19 – Comedy
Get ready for the wildest and most adventure-filled Night At the Museum ever as Larry (Ben Stiller) spans the globe, uniting favorite and new characters while embarking on an epic quest to save the magic before it is gone forever.
STARRING: Robin Williams, Ben Kingsley, Steve Coogan, Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Ricky Gervais, Rebel Wilson, Dan Stevens
Annie
December 19 – Comedy, Musical
Originally left by her parents as a baby with the promise that they’d be back for her someday,it’s been a hard knock life for little orphan Annie ever since being left with the mean, Miss Hannigan (Cameron Diaz). But everything’s about to change when the hard-nosed tycoon and New York mayoral candidate Will Stacks (Jamie Foxx) – advised by his brilliant VP, Grace (Rose Byrne) and his shrewd and scheming campaign advisor, Guy (Bobby Cannavale) – makes a thinly-veiled campaign move and takes her in. Stacks believes he’s her guardian angel, but Annie’s self-assured nature and bright, sun-will-come-out-tomorrow outlook on life just might mean it’s the other way around.
STARRING: Jamie Foxx, Cameron Diaz, Bobby Cannavale,Rose Byrne, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, David Zayas, Quvenzhané Wallis.
The Gambler
December 19 – Drama
Jim Bennett (Mark Wahlberg) is a risk taker. Both an English professor and a high-stakes gambler, Bennett bets it all when he borrows from a gangster (Michael Kenneth Williams) and offers his own life as collateral. Always one step ahead, Bennett pits his creditor against the operator of a gambling ring (Alvin Ing) and leaves his dysfunctional relationship with his wealthy mother (Academy Award®-winner Jessica Lange) in his wake. He plays both sides, immersing himself in an illicit, underground world while garnering the attention of Frank (John Goodman), a loan shark with a paternal interest in Bennett’s future. As his relationship with a student (Brie Larson) deepens, Bennett must take the ultimate risk for a second chance.
STARRING: John Goodman, Mark Wahlberg, Jessica Lange, Brie Larson, Michael Kenneth Williams
Mr. Turner
December 19 – Drama
Profoundly affected by the death of his father, loved by a housekeeper he takes for granted and occasionally exploits sexually, he forms a close relationship with a seaside landlady with whom he eventually lives incognito in Chelsea, where he dies. Throughout this, he travels, paints, stays with the country aristocracy, visits brothels, is a popular if anarchic member of the Royal Academy of Arts, has himself strapped to the mast of a ship so that he can paint a snowstorm, and is both celebrated and reviled by the public and by royalty.
STARRING: Timothy Spall, Ruth Sheen, Martin Savage, Lesley Manville, Karl Johnson, Paul Jesson, Dorothy Atkinson, Marion Bailey, Sandy Foster, Amy Dawson, Richard Bremmer
Big Eyes
December 24 – Drama
Directed and produced by Tim Burton, “Big Eyes” is based on the true story of Walter Keane (Christoph Waltz), who was one of the most successful painters 1950s and early 1960s. The artist earned staggering notoriety by revolutionizing the commercialization and accessibility of popular art with his enigmatic paintings of waifs with big eyes. The truth would eventually be discovered that Keane did not create them, but were actually the works of his wife, Margaret (Amy Adams).
STARRING: Danny Huston, Jason Schwartzman, Terence Stamp, Amy Adams, Christoph Waltz, Krysten Ritter
Unbroken
December 25 – Drama
Following the incredible life of Olympian and war hero Louis “Louie” Zamperini (Jack O’Connell) who, along with two other crewmen, survived in a raft for 47 days after a near-fatal plane crash in WWII—only to be caught by the Japanese Navy and sent to a prisoner-of-war camp. Directed by Angelina Jolie.
STARRING: Garrett Hedlund, Jack O’Connell, Domhnall Gleeson, Finn Wittrock, Miyavi
Into the Woods
December 25 – Fantasy
Into the Woods is a modern twist on the beloved Brothers Grimm fairy tales, intertwining the plots of a few choice stories and exploring the consequences of the characters’ wishes and quests. This humorous and heartfelt musical follows the classic tales of Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk, and Rapunzel—all tied together by an original story involving a baker and his wife, their wish to begin a family and their interaction with the witch who has put a curse on them.
STARRING: Tracey Ullman, Frances de la Tour, Johnny Depp,Lucy Punch, Meryl Streep, Chris Pine, Emily Blunt, Simon Russell Beale, Tammy Blanchard, James Corden, Anna Kendrick, Christine Baranski, Billy Magnussen, Lilla Crawford, Daniel Huttlestone, MacKenzie Mauzy, Richard Glover, Joanna Riding, Annette Crosbie.
The Interview
December 25 – Comedy
When talk show host Dave Skylark (James Franco) and his producer Aaron Rapoport (Seth Rogen), who run the popular celebrity tabloid TV show ‘Skylark Tonight,’ discover that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is a fan of the show, they land an interview with him in an attempt to legitimize themselves as journalists. As Dave and Aaron prepare to travel to Pyongyang, their plans change when the CIA recruits them, perhaps the most unlikely candidates, to ‘take out’ Kim Jong-un.
STARRING: James Franco, Seth Rogen, Lizzy Caplan, Randall Park.
American Sniper
December 25 – Drama
U.S. Navy SEAL Chris Kyle is sent to Iraq with only one mission: to protect his brothers-in-arms. His pinpoint accuracy saves countless lives on the battlefield and, as stories of his courageous exploits spread, he earns the nickname “Legend.” However, his reputation is also growing behind enemy lines, putting a price on his head and making him a prime target of insurgents. He is also facing a different kind of battle on the home front: striving to be a good husband and father from halfway around the world. Despite the danger, as well as the toll on his family at home, Chris serves through four harrowing tours of duty in Iraq, personifying the SEAL creed to “leave no man behind.” But upon returning to his wife, Taya Renae Kyle (Sienna Miller), and kids, Chris finds that it is the war he can’t leave behind.
STARRING: Sienna Miller, Bradley Cooper.
A Most Violent Year
December 31 – Drama
Set during the winter of 1981 — statistically one of the most crime-ridden of New York City’s history, the lives of an immigrant and his family are changed as they attempt to capitalize on the American Dream, while the rampant violence, decay, and corruption of the day drag them in and threaten to destroy all they have built.
STARRING: Albert Brooks, Oscar Isaac, Jessica Chastain.