December 2016: Movies Opening This Month
Posted on December 1, 2016 at 8:00 am
Happy December! There are lots of great movies opening this month, with something for everyone, from the latest in the “Star Wars” saga to “Fences,” a prestige drama based on a Tony and Pulitzer Prize winning play, plus extraordinary true stories (“Lion,” “Jackie,” “Hidden Figures”), fantasy (“A Monster Calls”), romance (“La La Land”), and more.
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 9
“Office Christmas Party” is a raunchy but good-natured comedy about a plan to save a company on the brink of disaster with a wild party.
“Miss Sloane” Jessica Chastain plays a Washington lobbyist with an ethical dilemma.
“Lion” The festival favorite tells the true story of an Indian boy adopted by an Australian couple who searches Google Earth to find his birth family.
“Jackie” Natalie Portman stars as Jacqueline Kennedy in the days following the assassination of her husband.
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 16
“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” The Rebellion makes a risky move to steal the plans to the Death Star, setting up the epic saga to follow.
“Collateral Beauty” Will Smith plays a man devastated by tragedy who deals in a very direct way with Love, Time, and Death.
“The Space Between Us” A pregnant astronaut gives birth to the first human born on Mars. Sixteen years later, he makes his first visit to Earth.
“La La Land” Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling re-team for their third film together, a musical that tells a lyrical love story.
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21
“Assassin’s Creed” Yes, it’s based on a video game, but it has some intense star power with Marion Cotillard and Michael Fassbender.
“Sing” An animated story about an animal singing competition stars Reese Witherspoon, Matthew McConaughey, Scarlett Johansson, and Seth MacFarlane.
“Passengers” Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence are astronauts who are supposed to sleep for 100 years before they arrive at their destination planet. But something goes wrong and they wake up 90 years early.
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 23
“A Monster Calls” This fantasy about a boy coping with his mother’s terminal illness is based on the book by Patrick Ness, inspired by Siobhan Dowd.
“Why Him?” Bryan Cranston plays a loving father who is horrified by his daughter’s boyfriend (James Franco).
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 25
“Fences” The Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning play by August Wilson comes to the screen, starring and directed by Denzel Washington, with his Broadway revival co-star Viola Davis.
“Hidden Figures” Taraji P. Henson and Octavia Spencer star in the true story of brilliant African-American female mathematicians who played a critical role at NASA in the race to the moon.