You have a big month in front of you. Maybe you have travel plans or gifts to buy. But you also have movies you need to catch in theaters.
If you’re trying to plan out which movies should be at the top of your list for theater outings in December, we’ve got you covered, because there’s a ton of great stuff on the way.
Note that all of the movies mentioned below are hitting the theaters for the first time during the month of December 2021. Movies that are already in theaters (e.g. King Richard, House of Gucci or tick, tick…BOOM!) were not included in this list.
Apologies in advance to fans of mega-franchises like Spider-Man and The Matrix. Much like Sing 2 starring Matthew McConaughey, I’m confident that tons of people are planning to watch those movies and don’t need any sort of recommendation from me beforehand.
Speaking of which, make sure to check out some other lists of ours to see other recommendations we have for shows and movies to watch and some video games to play:
- The 30 best movies streaming on Netflix
- The best movies streaming free for Amazon Prime members
- Our favorite shows to binge on Hulu
- 26 great free video games to play while stuck at home
8
National Champions
RELEASE: December 10
If you saw JK Simmons in Whiplash (2015), for which he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, you know that he plays the authority role well. He has a similar role in the upcoming film National Champions. I’ll admit that I would have probably seen it anyway as I’m an absolute sucker for a sports movie. But this one is about labor issues in college football and athletes going on strike, so now I’m definitely locked in here.
7
The Lost Daughter
RELEASE: December 17
I’m super interested in what Maggie Gyllenhaal offers in her directorial debut. It’s a psychological drama based on the novel by Elena Ferrante and it stars Olivia Colman (The Favourite, The Lobster) and Dakota Johnson (Fifty Shades) with supporting roles from Paul Mescal (star of Normal People), Peter Sarsgaard, Ed Harris. Jessie Buckley, Dagmara Domińczyk and Oliver Jackson-Cohen.
It releases in theaters before eventually hitting Netflix on December 31.
6
Nightmare Alley
RELEASE: December 17
Guillermo del Toro (Pan’s Labyrinth, The Shape of Water) is directing a psychological thriller starring Bradley Cooper, Cate Blanchett and Willem Dafoe. It’s the remake of a 1940s film noir based on a controversial novel by William Lindsay Gresham and Cooper plays a charismatic, conning carney.
It could easily be a tougher watch but for one of the colder nights this winter, I’m looking forward to checking this one out even if it looks like it could be a little terrifying.
5
Being the Ricardos
RELEASE: December 10
Considering the fact that I wasn’t watching much television in the 1950s as I wasn’t born until several decades later, I can’t say that I was ever fully invested in I Love Lucy.
However, I can tell you that I’m fully invested in Aaron Sorkin. His track record (Sports Night, The West Wing, The Social Network, Moneyball, The Trial of the Chicago 7) is enough to get me in the theater and learn a little about what happens when Ricardo (portrayed by Javier Bardem) tells Lucy (played by Nicole Kidman) that he’s home.
Bonus points for reuniting Arrested Development stars Tony Hale and Alia Shawkat in this cast. It releases in theaters on December 10 before later dropping on Amazon Prime Video on December 21.
4
West Side Story
RELEASE: December 10
When you’re a Jet, you’re a Jet all the way, from your first cigarette ‘till your last dyin’ day. I’m not a Jet, to be clear. I’ve always preferred the Sharks. But I’m a sucker for musical theaters and I love idealizing New York City in the 1950s.
I was always going to be first in line to watch West Side Story — directed by Steven Spielberg! — when it hit theaters. This one will have especially strong sentimental value considering the musical’s lyricist, broadway elder statesman Stephen Sondheim, recently passed away.
3
The Tragedy of Macbeth
RELEASE: December 25
Joel Coen (The Big Lebowski, No Country For Old Men, A Series Man, Inside Llewyn Davis) is making his solo debut. It’s the first time that Joel or brother Ethan Coen has released anything without the involvement of the other. It’s an A24 film starring the legendary Denzel Washington (as Macbeth) and Frances McDormand (as the iconic Lady Macbeth) and they’re tackling William Shakespeare.
Is it ambitious? Of course, it is! But we saw what Coen did with his interpretation of the epic Greek poem The Odyssey with O Brother, Where Art Thou? It was fantastic and this has every reason to delight as well. You can catch it in theaters on Christmas before it comes out on Apple TV+ on January 14.
2
Don’t Look Up
RELEASE: December 10
Yet another titan is stepping into the ring this December as Adam McKay (Anchorman, Talladega Nights, The Big Short, Vice) is releasing his latest film. This cast is insane.
We’ve got Timothée Chalamet, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Jonah Hill, Meryl Streep, Cate Blanchett, Ariana Grande, Kid Cudi and Tyler Perry all starring in a movie about an approaching comet that could destroy the Earth. It’s a satirical film about climate change and it will only have a limited theatrical release before later streaming on Netflix on Christmas Eve.
1
Licorice Pizza
RELEASE: December 25
Forget the month of December. The most anticipated movie of the entire year for me is Licorice Pizza, the upcoming film written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. I’d see anything that he made — he’s earned it with Boogie Nights, Magnolia and Punch-Drunk Love — but this one is special.
If you’re like me and you’re from Los Angeles, or if you even just romanticize Southern California every once in a while, you’ve got plenty of reason to look forward to this one.
You get to see Bradley Cooper, which is always a treat. But you also get to see Cooper Hoffman (the son of late Hollywood star Phillip Seymour Hoffman) and Alana Haim (from the pop-rock band Haim) make their film debuts. Academy Award winner Sean Penn is in a supporting role. The legendary left-of-center musician Tom Waits is in it. So, too, is Bennie Safdie (the writer and director of Uncut Gems). Sign me up.
