Beetlejuice 2, It Ends With Us

Tim Burton’s long-awaited sequel “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” comes to streaming this month courtesy of Max after grossing a sturdy $294 million at the domestic box office this fall. The movie’s worldwide tally stands at $451 million. Micheal Keaton returns as the disruptive ghost with the most alongside newcomer Jenna Ortega as the tormented daughter of Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder, also back). Variety’s Owen Gleiberman wrote in his review that the sequel has “got just enough Burton juice” to make it worth the price of admission, adding: “There’s good fan service and bad, and as stilted and gimcracky as it can sometimes be, I had a pretty good time at ‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.’”

Blake Lively’s box office smash hit “It Ends With Us” is sure to bring in even more eyeballs through the holidays as it makes its streaming premiere on Netflix this month. Adapted from Colleen Hoover’s novel of the same name, “It Ends With Us” stars Lively as a flower shop owner forced to confront an abusive relationship to a handsome doctor (Justin Baldoni, also the film’s director). Things become even more complicated when her first boyfriend, Atlas (Brandon Sklenar), re-enters the picture. The romance drama exceeded industry expectations when released in theaters in August with a huge $350 million worldwide gross.

Warner Bros. earned backlash for seemingly burying the theatrical release of Clint Eastwood’s morality drama “Juror #2,” which might be the iconic director’s final movie behind the camera. Now the film finally gets its chance to be seen with its streaming debut on Max right before Christmas. From Variety’s review: “Nicholas Hoult plays a guilty man tapped to judge someone else for his own mistake in Eastwood’s unlikely yet engaging courtroom drama…it’s a slightly preposterous but thoroughly engaging extension of the 94-year-old filmmaker’s career-long fascination with guilt, justice and the limitations of the law.”

Pablo Larrain concludes his “Jackie” and “Spencer” historical trilogy with “Maria,” starring Angelina Jolie as the doomed opera singer Maria Callas. The film, set during the singer’s final days, acts as a wandering and emotional coda on her acclaimed but troubled life. Jolie is widely considered a lock to land an Oscar nomination for best actress. From Variety’s review: “Jolie does an extraordinary job of lip-syncing to the nuances of Callas’s vocal splendor. And we can feel how the singing haunts Maria, who can’t listen to her old records; they have a perfection that gives her pain.”

The Christopher Reeve documentary “Super/Man” is directed by Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui and follows the late actor’s rise to superstardom as the Man of Steel, as well as his fight to find a cure for spinal cord injuries after he became a quadriplegic following a horse riding accident. Reeve’s family participated in the making of the doc, which includes personal archive material. Variety called the doc a “superbly made and supremely moving portrait of an actor’s rise and fall.”

The James McAvoy-starring horror remake “Speak No Evil” arrives on Peacock this month after grossing $76 million at the box office in late summer. The story centers on an American family put through unimaginable hell after they’re invited to stay at the remote farmhouse of a seemingly friendly British couple. From Variety’s review: “The remake matches the prolonged build of the bleak Danish thriller from two years ago, but drops its Euro art-house pretensions for a Blumhouse joy-buzzer…McAvoy has proven that he can go over the top like few actors of his generation can.”

Scarlet Johansson and Channing Tatum’s historical romantic-comedy “Fly Me to the Moon” fizzled at the box office this summer with a weak $42 million worldwide on a reported $100 million production budget, but perhaps more people will be won over by its charms when it debuts on Apple TV+ this month. Johansson plays a marketing specialist hired by NASA before the launch of Apollo 11 to film a fake moon landing in case the real mission fails. Tatum is the launch director who slowly wins her heart. Variety’s Peter Debruge called the movie a “crowd-pleaser” and “the rare 21st-century rom-com to boast the brains and heart to support repeat viewing.”

Netflix scored a huge streaming hit last holiday season with the thriller “Leave the World Behind.” Will the upcoming “Carry On” be the Netflix movie to dominate buzz this Christmas? The streamer is surely hoping thanks to the film’s many twists. Taron Edgerton plays a TSA officer working on the holiday who gets a sinister call from a man (Jason Bateman) who blackmails him into letting a suspicious package slip through security and onto a flight. Sofia Carson co-stars. 

Tyler Perry directs Kerry Washington in the Netflix original “The Six Triple Eight,” which tells the story of the first and only Women’s Army Corps unit of color to serve overseas in World War II. Per the official synopsis: “Despite facing racism and sexism – and grueling working conditions – they were committed to serving their country with honor and distinction. Given an extraordinary mission and united in their determination, these unsung heroes delivered hope and shattered barriers.” The supporting cast includes Ebony Obsidian, Dean Norris, Sam Waterston and Oprah Winfrey.

Per Disney+: “Directed by R.J. Cutler and David Furnish, the documentary follows Elton John as he looks back on his life and the astonishing early days of his 50-year career in this emotionally charged, intimate and uplifting full-circle journey. As he prepares for his final concert in North America at Dodger Stadium, Elton takes us back in time and recounts the extraordinary highs and heartbreaking lows of his early years and how he overcame adversity, abuse and addiction to become the icon he is today.”

The Neon horror movie “Cuckoo” grossed $6 million at the box office in late summer but is bound to get more eyeballs when it debuts on Hulu this month. “Euphoria” breakout Hunter Schafer proves her movie star chops as a 17-year-old girl forced to move into an isolated resort with her family where everything is not what it seems. From Variety’s review: “German director Tilman Singer jettisons logic to make room for more horror tropes than you can shiv with a butterfly knife in his deliriously entertaining, very bonkers second feature…The profile of this highly enjoyable, unashamedly convoluted creepfest will be further raised by ‘Euphoria’ star Hunter Schafer‘s terrific Final Girl performance and by Dan Stevens‘ hilariously eccentric villain.”

Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie’s feature documentary “Sugarcane” won best political documentary and best true crime documentary at the Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards earlier this year and is currently nominated for five IDA awards. The synopsis reads: “In 2021, evidence of unmarked graves was discovered on the grounds of an Indian residential school run by the Catholic Church in Canada. After years of silence, the forced separation, assimilation and abuse many children experienced at these segregated boarding schools was brought to light, sparking a national outcry against a system designed to destroy Indigenous communities.”

With Ridley Scott’s long-awaited sequel “Gladiator II” earning money at the box office, it’s a perfect time for the original “Gladiator” to return to streaming courtesy of Hulu. Russell Crowe plays a Roman general who is forced to rise the ranks of the Gladiator system to avenge the murder of his father in Scott’s Oscar winner for best picture. From Variety’s review: “A muscular and bloody combat picture, a compelling revenge drama and a truly transporting trip back nearly 2,000 years, Ridley Scott’s bold epic of imperial intrigue and heroism brings new luster and excitement to a tarnished and often derided genre that nonetheless provided at least one generation of moviegoers with some of its most cherished youthful memories.”

Jeff Nichols’ “The Bikeriders” arrives on Prime Video this month at no extra cost to subscribers after making its streaming debut on Peacock in August. The film had a decent box office run this year, where it earned $34 million worldwide. Inspired by the 1968 photo book of the same name by Danny Lyon, “The Bikeriders” follows a Chicago motorcycle gang and the tension that forms between a young member (Austin Butler) and the gang’s leader (Tom Hardy). The film’s cast also includes Jodie Comer, Michael Shannon, Mike Faist, Boyd Holbrook, Emory Cohen and Norman Reedus.

The “A Quiet Place” prequel arrives on Prime Video just after Christmas following its streaming debut on Paramount+ earlier this year. “Day One,” starring Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o and Joseph Quinn, follows a group of New York City residents as they fight to stay alive on the first day of a deadly alien invasion. The film grossed $261 million at the worldwide box office over the summer.

Netflix is hoping to appeal to faith-based viewers this Christmas season with the release of the original drama “Mary,” directed by “Disturbia” and “Eagle Eye” helmer D.J. Caruso from a script by Timothy Michael Hayes. This retelling of the Nativity story is through the eyes of Mary of Nazareth, the mother of Jesus Christ. The biblical epic follows Mary, Joseph, and their newborn son, Jesus, as they flee the relentless pursuit of King Herod, portrayed by two-time Academy Award winner Anthony Hopkins. 

Comedian Jack Whitehall is stranded in the USA with just four days to make it back to the United Kingdom for Christmas in his comedy special feature “Jack in Time for Christmas.” Per the synopsis: “With time ticking away, Jack embarks on an incredible and implausible journey involving planes, trains, huskies and bobsleighs.” He gets help along the way from famous friends like Michael Bublé, Dave Bautista, Rebel Wilson, Jimmy Fallon, Daisy May Cooper and Tom Davies.