Get ready for what's coming over the next two months with our 2019 Fall and Winter Holiday Movie Preview. After an uneven summer that started out big (thanks to Avengers: Endgame) but was down in overall attendance, the box office recovered in September and October thanks to hits like IT Chapter Two, Hustlers, and especiallly the much-discussed Joker, even as movies like The Goldfinch and Gemini Man floundered.

With November and December upon us, it's time for the customary late-year rush of Oscar hopefuls and tentpoles aiming to dominate the holiday box office frames on the horizon. As has become our tradition at Screen Rant, this year's fall/winter holiday preview will focus on the upcoming films that are going to be playing nationwide from the get-go (as opposed to the limited releases that will gradually expand to additional markets).

So, with that out of the way, here are our 15 Films to Check Out Over the Fall and Winter Holidays in 2019 (in the order of their release).

15. TERMINATOR: DARK FATE (NOVEMBER 1)



Plot Summary: Sarah Connor joins forces with a soldier from the future to protect a young woman who's being hunted by a time-traveling Terminator.

The Breakdown: Fourth time isn't typically the charm, but that seems to be the case with the Terminator films, judging by the early reviews for Terminator: Dark Fate. The James Cameron-produced sequel is a semi-reboot that acts as a continuation of Terminator 2: Judgement Day (ignoring the not-so-beloved previous three entries in the sci-fi franchise), and is picking up praise for Linda Hamilton's performance as a seasoned, but still badass as ever Sarah Connor, in combination with the work from the rest of the cast and the action scenes by Deadpool director Tim Miller. After nearly thirty years, it appears Terminator is, at long last, back... to form.

14. DOCTOR SLEEP (NOVEMBER 8)



Plot Summary: 40 years after his terrifying stay at the Overlook Hotel, Dan Torrance helps a teenager who's targeted by a dangerous cult for her own "shining" abilities.

The Breakdown: The Shining doesn't necessarily scream for a sequel, but Stephen King wrote one anyway, titled Doctor Sleep. The film version stars Ewan McGregor and is being directed by Mike Flanagan, who's coming off the success with Netflix's The Haunting of Hill House series and has explored many of the same themes from King's source material (addiction, trauma, loss) to great effect in his previous work, including his film adaptation of the author's psycho-horror drama Gerald's Game. It seems he's done the same thing here, with early Doctor Sleep reactions praising the movie for being a worthy sequel to both King and Stanley Kubrick's tellings of The Shining.

13. LAST CHRISTMAS (NOVEMBER 8)



Plot Summary: Kate is a young woman with a habit of making poor life decisions when she meets Tom, a charming fellow who seems too good to be real.

The Breakdown: Yes, Last Christmas is a romantic dramedy, but is it also a ghost story? The question's been on people's minds ever since the film's trailer dropped and made Tom (Henry Golding) seem suspiciously like a spirit that only Kate (Emilia Clarke) can see, and the theories have only gotten wilder since then... which isn't to say they aren't much ado about nothing. Either way, between the cast, Emma Thompson as cowriter, and Bridesmaids' Paul Feig directing (not to mention, the gorgeous backdrop of London during the winter holidays) Last Christmas is worth keeping on your radar, ghostly boyfriends or not.

12. CHARLIE'S ANGELS (NOVEMBER 15)



Plot Summary: After blowing the whistle on dangerous technology, a systems engineer is recruited by the Townsend Agency (which now operates worldwide).

The Breakdown: All appearances to the contrary, Elizabeth Banks' Charlie's Angels isn't actually a reboot of the '70-born franchise, and instead takes place in the same universe as McG's movies from the 2000s, albeit with a newbie team of Angels (Naomi Scott, Kristen Stewart, and Ella Balinska) and multiple "Bosleys" running around. It's a fresh start for the property all the same, and the trailers suggest it's as silly, stylish, and action-packed as the entries before it. Still, Sony's had mixed success with reviving its biggest properties in 2019 (see Men in Black: International, Zombieland: Double Tap), so it remains to be seen how their latest attempt goes.