“It’s the most wonderful time of the year…”

The sentiment doesn’t just apply to those who love the winter holidays; it’s also true for many movie buffs.

‘Tis the season when studios roll out not only big-budget blockbusters but many of what they regard as their quality, prestige releases for the year, just in time to be fresh in the minds of critics putting together their Top Ten lists and award season voters filling out their ballots. It’s also a time of year when moviegoers like to show up at the multiplexes, often in big, lucrative mobs of friends and family, to consume popcorn and depressurize from the bustle of the season.

According to The Associated Press,  "Moana 2," "Wicked" and "Gladiator II"  drove in a record $420 million in overall Thanksgiving weekend ticket sales (Comscore reports) -- more than $100 million than before.  AP Jake Coyle reports,  "for an industry that has been battered in recent years by the pandemic, work stoppages and the upheaval caused by streaming, it was a triumphant weekend that showed the still-potent power of Hollywood’s blockbuster machine." Coyle writes, before the three big releases, ticket sales were running about 25% behind pre-pandemic levels.

So here are just a few of the big December movie releases at Valley theaters:

 Opening Dec. 6 is Y2K, a lowbrow period comedy set on the New Year’s Eve 1999 and New’s Year Day 2000, directed and co-written by Kyle Mooney of SNL. Slated for the same weekend is The Return, a version of The Odyssey with Ralph Fiennes as Odysseus and Juliette Binoche as the patient Penelope.

The weekend of Dec. 13 brings one of the more obscure Marvel characters to the screen in Kraven the Hunter, with Aaron Taylor-Johnson playing the classic Spider-Man foe. Whether the character is well-known enough to hunt down good box office remains to be seen. The same weekend, another devoted pack of nerds are serviced with Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, an anime adventured based on material from the appendices of Tolkien’s trilogy. Given time, they may start making films based on Tolkien’s grocery lists.

Dec. 13 also marks the opening of September 5, a drama about the terrorist attack at the Munich Olympics in 1972.

December 20 brings a new French version of The Count of Monte Cristo, and Mufasa: The Lion King.

Christmas Day you’ll find folks where the projector light gleams; the holiday itself is often opening day for major releases.

This year’s include Babygirl, an erotic tale in which hotshot executive Nicole Kidman finds herself in a kinky affair with a much younger intern, and Nosferatu, a remake of the silent German horror classic of 1922, because nothing says “Christmas” like sadomasochism, vampirism and pestilence. A bit more upbeat, perhaps, is The Fire Inside, a boxing drama about Claressa “T-Rex” Shields, written by Barry Jenkins of Moonlight.

January tends to be a dumping ground for questionable releases, but it also invariably brings a few award-bait gems held over from December. This year’s may include The Last Showgirl, with Pamela Anderson as a Vegas dancer at a loose end, or Better Man, an oddball take on the life of singer Robbie Williams. Keep your loyalty cups rinsed!

Editor's note: Independent Newsmedia is a member of The Associated Press. 

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