Diary of a Wimpy Kid Christmas: Cabin Fever

Diary of a Wimpy Kid Christmas: Cabin Fever is a 2023 animated Christmas comedy film directed by Luke Cormican. It is the seventh installment in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid film series, the third animated feature, and the first adaptation of Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever by Jeff Kinney. Wesley Kimmel replaced Brady Noon as Greg Heffley, while Hunter Dillion, Erica Cerra, and Chris Diamantopoulos reprised their roles as Rodrick, Susan, and Frank respectively. Ethan William Childress is replaced by Spencer Howell in the role of Rowley.

The winter holidays are turning out to be especially stressful for Greg Heffley this year. After accidentally damaging a snowplow while making a snowman with best friend Rowley Jefferson, Greg worries he won’t get the new video game console he so desperately wants for Christmas. To make matters worse, he gets snowed in with his family, including his grumpy older brother Rodrick and annoying younger brother Manny.

It was released on Disney+ as a Disney+ original film on December 8, 2023. Watch the official trailer below.

Leave the World Behind

Leave the World Behind is a 2023 psychological thriller film written, directed, and produced by Sam Esmail (Mr. Robot). It is based on the 2020 novel of the same name by Rumaan Alam. The film stars Julia Roberts (who also produced the film), Mahershala Ali, Ethan Hawke, Myha'la, and Kevin Bacon.

A family’s (Julia Robert and Ethan Hawke) vacation on Long Island is interrupted by two strangers (Myha’la and Mahershala Ali) bearing news of a mysterious blackout. As the threat grows more imminent, both families must decide how best to survive the potential crisis, all while grappling with their own place in this collapsing world.

Leave the World Behind will have its world premiere at Grauman's Chinese Theatre on October 25, 2023. It is scheduled to be released in select theaters on November 22, 2023, before its streaming release by Netflix on December 8, 2023. Watch the official trailers below.

Merry Little Batman

Merry Little Batman is a 2023 American animated superhero film directed by Mike Roth, and written by Morgan Evans and Jase Ricci, from a story by Evans and Roth, based on DC Comics featuring the characters Batman and Damian Wayne. The film stars the voices of Yonas Kibreab, Luke Wilson, James Cromwell, and David Hornsby.

This Christmas, Damian Wayne wants to be a superhero like his dad – the one and only Batman. When Damian is left home alone while Batman takes on Gotham’s worst supervillains on Christmas Eve, he stumbles upon a villainous plot to steal Christmas and leaps at the chance to save the day.

The film was released on December 8, 2023, on Amazon Prime Video. A TV series based on the film, titled Bat-Family, is in development. Watch the official trailer below.

The Boy and the Heron

The Boy and the Heron (Japanese: 君たちはどう生きるか, Hepburn: Kimitachi wa Dō Ikiru ka, lit. "How Do You Live?") is a 2023 Japanese animated dark fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki and produced by Studio Ghibli. The Japanese title references the 1937 novel of the same name by Genzaburō Yoshino, which appears in the film, but the film has an original story that is not connected to the novel. The voice cast includes Soma Santoki, Masaki Suda, Ko Shibasaki, Aimyon, Yoshino Kimura, Takuya Kimura, Karou Kobayashi, and Shinobu Otake. Described as a "big fantastical film", it follows a boy named Mahito Maki (Santoki), who discovers an abandoned tower in his new town and enters a fantastical world with a talking grey heron.

The Boy and the Heron was theatrically released in Japan on July 14, 2023, by Toho, and was screened in both traditional theaters and other premium formats such as IMAX. The release of the film, which is stated to be Hayao Miyazaki's last feature film, was noted for its intentional absence of any promotion, with Ghibli choosing not to release any trailers, images, synopsis, or casting details of the film in advance of its Japanese premiere with the exception of a single poster. It grossed over $52 million in Japan.

Following the film's release in Japan, the North American rights were acquired by distributor GKIDS with the film being internationally titled The Boy and the Heron. The film will have its international premiere at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival as its opening film on September 7, becoming the first animated film in history to open the festival. The film will also be screened at both the 71st San Sebastián International Film Festival and the 2023 New York Film Festival, before being released in North American theaters later this year on December 8. Watch the official teaser trailer below.

Poor Things

Poor Things is a 2023 black comedy fantasy film directed by Yorgos Lanthimos (The Lobster, The Favourite) from a screenplay by Tony McNamara, based on the 1992 novel of the same name by Alasdair Gray. The film stars Emma Stone (La La Land, Cruella), who also serves as producer, Mark Ruffalo (Shutter Island, Avengers: Infinity War), Willem Dafoe (The Lighthouse, Spider-Man: No Way Home), Ramy Youssef (Ramy, Why Him?), Jerrod Carmichael (mid90s, On the Count of Three), Christopher Abbott (First Man, Possessor), Margaret Qualley (Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood, The Nice Guys), and Kathryn Hunter (The Tragedy of Macbeth).

Bella Baxter (Stone) is brought back to life by the brilliant and unorthodox scientist Dr. Godwin Baxter (Dafoe). Hungry for the worldliness she is lacking, Bella runs off with Duncan Wedderburn (Ruffalo), a slick and debauched lawyer, on a whirlwind adventure across the continents.

Poor Things premiered at the 80th Venice International Film Festival on September 1, 2023, where it won the Golden Lion. The film is scheduled to be theatrically released by Searchlight Pictures in the United States on December 8, 2023, and in the United Kingdom on January 12, 2024. Watch the official trailer below.

Eileen

Eileen is a 2023 American psychological thriller film directed by William Oldroyd (Lady Macbeth) and starring Thomasin McKenzie (Jojo Rabbit, Last Night in Soho), Shea Whigham (The Wolf of Wall Street, Joker), Marin Ireland (I Am Legend, The Irishman), Owen Teague (Bloodline, It) and Anne Hathaway (The Dark Knight Rises, Interstellar). It is based on the 2015 novel of the same name by Ottessa Moshfegh and adapted into a screenplay by Moshfegh with her husband Luke Goebel.

In 1960s Massachusetts, an unhappy prison secretary (McKenzie) is beguiled by a new co-worker (Hathaway) who pulls her into complicity in a crime that surpasses her wildest imaginings.

Eileen premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival on January 21, 2023. It will begin a limited theatrical release in the United States on December 1, 2023, by Neon, before expanding wide on December 8, 2023. Watch the official trailer below.

Culprits

Culprits is a heist television series created by J Blakeson (I Care a Lot), that stars Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Gemma Arterton, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, Niamh Algar, Kamel El Basha, Tara Abboud, Karl Collins, Vincent Riotta, Amara Karan, Tom Mothersdale, Mark Field, and Laura Morgan as Soldier.

Family man Joe Petrus (Stewart-Jarrett) is living the American dream with his fiancé and step-kids. However, unbeknownst to them, Joe was involved in a mysterious crime three years ago and now his dangerous past is about to catch up with him. When a killer starts targeting the crew behind the crime, Joe realizes it’s only a matter of time before his family is targeted. He returns to London to track down his old gang and find out who is coming after them.

The series premiered on Star via Disney+ on November 8, 2023, in several countries around the world as a Star Original, and was released on Hulu on December 8, 2023, as a Hulu Original. Watch the official trailer below.

Welcome to Earth

The six-part limited series produced by Darren Aronofsky features Will Smith explores the ocean, the Serengeti, glaciers, deserts and volcanos with the help of experts.

Welcome to Earth streaming on Disney+ December 8th. Watch the official trailer below.