December at the movies: All the greatest (and lamest) flicks to catch
December at the movies always arrives with a strange mix of prestige hunger and pure popcorn appetite. The 2018 slate delivered both in spades, mixing documentaries that demanded attention with blockbusters that promised escape and a few titles that split the difference. The calendar ran heavy on streaming originals, studio tentpoles, and awards hopefuls that would shape the conversation well into the following year.
Say Her Name: The Life and Death of Sandra Bland (HBO)
Airs on HBO Dec. 3, 2018. HBO brought viewers this television documentary about the forceful arrest of volunteer and civil rights activist Sandra Bland, who was removed from her car following a minor traffic violation in Texas and held for three days before she was found dead in her cell, ruled a suicide. The mysterious and heated circumstances of her death by hanging caused a national uproar, particularly within African-American communities and the Black Lives Matter movement. An outspoken Black activist, Bland had been known in Chicago as a champion for equal rights through her frequent video blogs. Say Her Name aimed to illuminate some of the suspect factors that led to her arrest and death, as well as celebrate the life of a fierce fighter of injustice taken too soon. Many alleged racial violence against her during and following her arrest, and documentarians Kate Davis and David Heilbroner hoped to shed light on the malpractice and underlying racism present in police precincts throughout America.
All the Devil’s Men (Big Book Media)
In theaters Dec. 7, 2018. Milo Gibson starred as a Navy SEAL-turned-bounty-hunter in this war-torn thriller. A combat junkie, Collins works underground for the CIA, tracking down terrorist threats on missions too extreme for the average soldier. Milo is the son of actor Mel Gibson, who enjoyed a surprising comeback in the years prior thanks to his work as the director of Hacksaw Ridge, as well as his co-starring role in Christmas comedy Daddy’s Home 2. While his son’s career hasn’t been nearly as beset with controversies as his father’s, All the Devil’s Men is the exact breed of solo operative championing, patriotically gun-wielding action set piece nonsense that we would expect from the Braveheart family. Its plotting is nothing special, though appearances from William Fichtner and Sylvia Hoeks could prevent this from being this year’s holiday stinker.
Dumplin’ (Netflix)
Available on Netflix Dec. 7, 2018. Willowdean has always felt self-conscious about her weight, especially when compared to her pageant queen mother played by Jennifer Aniston. In defiance, she signs up for the local pageant her mother oversees in hopes of bringing the world of beauty contests to its knees. Netflix was overdue a real old-fashioned musical outing to rival last year’s La La Land, and they had the chance to finally deliver with Dumplin’, if they handled the subject matter sensitively. The streaming overlord had already caught its fair share of flack thanks to the problematic Insatiable, and Dumplin’ had equal opportunity for either sensible discussion or simply adding more fuel to the fire. With rom-com specialist Anne Fletcher and Aniston’s real-life bestie Kristin Hahn at the helm, who knows what could happen with this one, but a brand new soundtrack by Dolly Parton does give us some hope. We’re not sure if a triumph or a disaster would be more entertaining.
Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle (Netflix)
In select theaters Nov. 29, 2018 / Available on Netflix Dec. 7, 2018. Andy Serkis took the reins on his Jungle Book passion project, combining live action with his state-of-the-art brand of motion capture to deliver a darker, more faithful take on Rudyard Kipling’s classic novel. The mastermind behind Gollum and Planet of the Apes’s Caesar had this dream in the pipeline for some time. Its production was somewhat staggered with the release of John Favreau’s update on the Disney classic in 2016, and has since had some interesting developments with its distribution. At the thirteenth hour, it was suddenly snatched up by Netflix and slotted into their Christmas release schedule. While a more grounded and more realistic take on Kipling’s story of a young boy raised and threatened by the inhabitants of India’s rainforests isn’t exactly what we think of when we huddle up for an evening of holiday viewing, Serkis’s vision at least keeps the talking animals intact, led by an all-star cast. Serkis himself portrays Baloo the bear, distinctly less lazy and lovable for this version, and the two big cats, Bagheera and Shere Khan, are played by Christian Bale and Benedict Cumberbatch.
Vox Lux (Killer Films)
In theaters Dec. 7, 2018. Natalie Portman is Celeste, an energetic and provocative pop star who, along with her sister, launched her music career as a teenager after channeling a violent tragedy into a hit single. Their stardom is catapulted by Jude Law’s manager, but threatened by Celeste’s struggles to balance her life as a mother to a teenager of her own. In the year that Lady Gaga stripped away her flamboyant fashion persona for her grounded take on the pop star in Bradley Cooper’s remake of A Star is Born, it made complete sense that someone else would step up to take her outrageous yet strangely enviable pop aesthetics. Vox Lux is far more than a Gaga imitation, though. The trailer trades glitz and glamor for terror and armed shootouts, promising a portrait of a plagued artist against the backdrop of mood lighting, ecstatic crowds, and sequins. After working solely against sets of green screens and plastic props for the Star Wars prequels, Portman can’t be blamed for seeking out projects that strive for visual splendor, and Vox Lux could well be one of her more luscious performances, with depth just underneath the aesthetic surface.
ROMA (Netflix)
Available on Netflix Dec. 12, 2018. Alfonso Cuarón draws from childhood memories in this semiautobiographical tale, an authentic take on life in 1970s Mexico that follows the interconnected lives of a middle class family and their live-in housekeeper. Cuarón has become one of Hollywood’s most successful international imports. In 2003 he reinvented the Harry Potter franchise, and has since crafted some of the best recent science fiction thrillers with Children of Men and Gravity. More internationally inclined film buffs will likely remember him from his smaller, more intimate work as a younger filmmaker, most notably his romantic film Y Tu Mama Tambien, which helped solidify the careers of Diego Luna and Gael García Bernal. ROMA, already celebrated as a masterwork for the Mexican auteur, sees him return to his intimate dramatic roots, so don’t expect to see Sandra Bullock fall out the sky. The film won the Golden Lion at Venice, earned 10 Oscar nominations including Best Picture, and took home three Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film, Director, and Cinematography.
Aquaman (Warner Bros. Pictures)
In theaters Dec. 13, 2018. When Arthur Curry isn’t masquerading on dry land as your average, muscle-bound son of a lighthouse keeper, he’s the secret heir to the underwater throne of Atlantis, protecting the realms of both sea and earth as the aquatic hero, Aquaman. Until recently known as DC’s most embarrassing superhero, Aquaman had a recent rival in past years thanks to a grizzled upgrade in the form of Jason Momoa. While his moments in Justice League did little to serve as anything other than a bearded goofball, we’re hoping the fish whisperer is finally done justice, with James Wan at the helm of the DCEU’s latest attempt at a homerun. Packed to bursting with a cast of high-class talents such as Willem Dafoe and Nicole Kidman, a blockbuster comeback for Dolph Lundgren, and Wan’s frequent collaborator Patrick Wilson, if Momoa and his heroic partner Amber Heard can’t salvage the scraps of the DC Universe, we’re at least guaranteed a hell of a show from the supporting players. Whether DC achieves another smash hit like Wonder Woman or just one more entry on their wall of shame, there isn’t going to be anything in cinemas this Christmas that’s quite as entertaining as giant sharks and crabs duking it out on the sea bed. The film grossed $1.152 billion worldwide and became the highest-grossing DCEU title at the time.
Mortal Engines (Universal Pictures)
In theaters Dec. 14, 2018. Tom is a low-class Londoner, and, in the world of Mortal Engines, that means his feet have never touched the ground. Based on Phillip Reeve’s classic series of teen fiction and co-written by Peter Jackson, the genius behind The Lord of the Rings, the latest YA craze to get an adaptation introduces a barren, post-apocalyptic world of towering mobile cities. This series is long overdue its own cinematic counterpart, with the first of the quartet having been released way back in 2001. However, its formidable premise of cities on the move demands top-notch special effects and blockbuster mastery, so if the wait means that Jackson’s protégé Christian Rivers has learned all the tricks of the trade needed for an enthralling sci-fi thriller, then we’re happy to swallow the 17-year gap. Starring Robert Sheehan, making his second foray into YA movies after the first shot at a Shadowhunters adaptation failed to achieve lift-off, and relative newcomer Hera Hilmar, the film also features yet another villainous turn from Hugo Weaving to lend it some Middle Earth pedigree.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (Sony Pictures Animation)
In theaters Dec. 14, 2018. You may know Spider-Man best as Peter Parker, the hapless young kid from Queens who tries to balance his high school drama with superhero duties. But, when Brooklyn-born Miles Morales is bitten by a radioactive spider, he soon learns that there’s a whole universe of Spider-Men out there. 2018 has been Spider-Man’s year, and he’s only growing in popularity. Since his introduction into the MCU, Tom Holland’s interactions with Tony Stark have been the highlights of the blockbuster movie season, and snapping him out of existence has only made us love him more. Not to mention the Spidey spin-off Venom stumbling into theaters and the PlayStation 4 exclusive, Spider-Man, allowing us to step into the sticky shoes of the wall-crawling hero. Now this frenetically animated exploration of the character’s more cross-dimensional adventures is all set to cap off this Year of the Spider. With a unique style and the vocal talents of Nic Cage, John Mulaney, and Hailee Steinfeld, Incredibles 2 could have some competition for the best animated super-flick of the year. The film went on to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.
Mary Poppins Returns (Walt Disney Pictures)
In theaters Dec. 19, 2018. Everyone’s favorite magical nanny makes her long-awaited second appearance in this sequel to the Disney classic, Mary Poppins. This time portrayed by Emily Blunt, her fantastical adventures feature Hamilton breakout Lin-Manuel Miranda, as well as the grown up Banks children played by Emily Mortimer and Ben Whishaw. Turning the clocks forward by 25 years, the practically perfect Ms. Poppins, of course having not aged a single day, finds herself once again in London, this time in 1935 and in the midst of another Banks crisis. Michael has just suffered a personal loss, and it’s up to Mary, her seemingly infinite bag of tricks, and her new companion Jack, a lamplighter whose terrible Cockney accent rivals his mentor Bert’s in terms of hokey charm, once again to spark new light into a depressed London household. Enlisting the talents of Disney’s musical favorite Rob Marshall to direct and with brand new songs scored and written by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, if the film even captures a tenth of the original’s magic it’s sure to be the holiday extravaganza to watch out for. The film grossed approximately $349.5 million worldwide and earned four Oscar nominations.
Bird Box (Netflix)
Available on Netflix Dec. 21, 2018. An alien invasion movie with a twisted premise. When Earth is taken over by a dark force, all you must do to survive is avoid looking at it. Simple enough, until Sandra Bullock is forced to travel blindfolded to safety. Filmmaker Susanne Bier, Academy Award-winner for her Danish thriller In a Better World and director of 2016’s out-of-nowhere hit miniseries The Night Manager, returns to the feature length for Netflix’s run at the intelligent action-horror. With a synopsis that sounds like someone played roulette with the plot of A Quiet Place and ran wild with it, Bird Box is actually based on a 2014 novel of the same name by singer Josh Malerman. Featuring an all-star supporting cast including John Malkovich, Lil Rel Howery, and Bullock’s Ocean’s 8 co-star and American Horror Story breakout Sarah Paulson, expect some much needed thrills for those allergic to Christmas cheer. The film became one of Netflix’s most-viewed originals and generated widespread discussion.
Bumblebee (Paramount Pictures)
In theaters Dec. 21, 2018. Hailee Steinfeld stumbles across a shapeshifting extraterrestrial in this prequel to Michael Bay’s infamous blockbuster phenomenon Transformers. Teen Charlie Watson discovers that her new VW Beetle is more than just an adorable method of transport, it’s also a transforming alien refugee on the run from his own kind as well as a mysterious government agency, both of whom want him for scraps. No Transformers film has ever struggled to find a foothold at the box office, but favor for the farfetched franchise has been gradually slipping after the last few installments, with 2017’s The Last Knight standing as the least successful entry yet. Michael Bay promised that the most recent Autobot flick would be his last and, far from granting any salvation in the possibility for a series finale, instead it means some new blood will be stepping in for prequels, spin-offs, and reboots galore. Travis Knight is the first to fill Bay’s overblown shoes with this 80s prequel, Bumblebee, set canonically 20 years before the events of the first film. Knight is well-known as a key animator for Laika Studios, having worked on films such as Coraline and The Boxtrolls, as well as making his directorial debut with Kubo and the Two Strings. If anyone is able to put some life behind the cold, dead eyes of an Autobot it’s he, and with Hailee Steinfeld behind the wheel, six films in Transformers could finally be on to a winner. The film received stronger reviews than recent Transformers entries and helped refresh the series.
Destroyer (Annapurna Pictures)
In theaters Dec. 25, 2018. Nicole Kidman transforms into Erin Bell, a grizzled detective haunted by a reemerging tragedy in her past when she’s faced with her toughest case yet. The upcoming thriller is guaranteed to be a fresh take on the neo-noir, finally positioning a female detective front and center and utilizing Kidman’s transcendent ability to slip into even the most damaged personas with uncanny ease. Director Karyn Kusama is set to have her mainstream breakthrough with this grungy detective story that’s bound to ruin a few holidays. Known for her underrated collaboration with writer Diablo Cody on Tully and Jennifer’s Body, she startled indie audiences with her enticing The Invitation in 2015, but with any hope Destroyer, combined with Kidman’s best work in years, is set to keep people obsessed through the new year. Every year needs a glossy, insanely well produced crime flick that opens up a crack to America’s seedy underbelly to send a shock to the system, and Destroyer could be the perfect antidote to the holiday season’s slew of Grinch remakes and dog movie fare. It also features subversive performances from some of your favorites, including Sebastian Stan, Tatiana Maslany, and Bradley Whitford.
On the Basis of Sex (Focus Features)
In theaters Dec. 25, 2018. Felicity Jones portrays Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the legendary lawyer and Supreme Court Justice who, since the beginning of her career, has been advocating for gender equality and women’s rights in both the courtroom and across America. Those of you who saw the cracking documentary RBG will be well aware of the achievements secured by the Justice, and it was only a matter of time before Hollywood glamorized her story in time for next year’s Oscars season. Though the less said about her cinematic input the better, director Mimi Leder has been doing some of television’s most stunning heavy lifting behind the camera in recent years for prestige shows such as Shameless and The Leftovers. On the Basis of Sex also departs from the traditional biopic route, attempting not to canvas a famous figure’s entire existence, instead crafting a more personal account of a slice of Ginsburg’s life, her integral involvement with her husband for the Moritz v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue case of 1972, in which a man is denied a deduction of expenses on the basis of his sex. Though it promises terminology and courtroom procedure in place of artificial drama and set pieces, Felicity Jones’ Oscar vehicle is nevertheless valuable coverage of one of America’s tensest junctures.
Vice (Annapurna Pictures)
In theaters Dec. 25, 2018. Adam McKay follows up his homerun The Big Short with another blend of biopic and comedy to prove that recent American history is just as packed with absurdist humor, shocking events, and palm-against-forehead idiocy as his earlier films. The director of such quotable masterpieces as Anchorman and Step Brothers took everyone by surprise with his frenetic and self-knowing take on the 2008 economic crisis, delivering an ensemble piece that managed to deftly transcribe a vast financial tragedy while still managing to play to the comedic strengths of its cast. With the release of the trailer for Vice, however, if anything The Big Short feels like a warmup for McKay’s takedown of the Bush administration. Only the second time a filmmaker has portrayed George W.’s time in the White House after Oliver Stone’s more straight-laced W., it’s surely the period of American politics most rife with unintentional comedy and cringe-out-loud moments. Here focusing more on Bush’s Vice President Dick Cheney and his rise to become the most powerful VP in US history, prepare for Christian Bale as you’ve never seen him before. The film earned eight Oscar nominations and one win for makeup, and Bale received critical praise including a Golden Globe.
Awards Season Impact
December releases often function as the final push before awards season voting begins, and the 2018 slate proved unusually successful at converting holiday visibility into Oscar recognition. ROMA earned 10 nominations and three wins, including Best Foreign Language Film, cementing Alfonso Cuarón’s status as a perennial awards contender. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse took home Best Animated Feature, validating the risky decision to pursue a distinctive visual style over safer house styles. Vice collected eight nominations and won Best Makeup and Hairstyling, proving that political satire could still land with voters when the performances were this committed. Mary Poppins Returns secured four nominations, including nods for its original score and production design, rewarding the studio’s investment in musical spectacle. These outcomes turned what began as a crowded December preview into a slate with lasting industry impact.
Box Office Standouts
Commercial performance revealed which holiday titles met or exceeded studio expectations once the receipts came in. Aquaman grossed $1.152 billion worldwide, becoming the first DCEU film to cross the billion-dollar mark and proving that audiences would turn out for a fully realized underwater spectacle. Mary Poppins Returns earned nearly $350 million globally, demonstrating that family musicals could still generate significant returns when positioned as event viewing during the holiday window. Aquaman became the highest-grossing DCEU entry at release, a milestone that reshaped internal conversations at Warner Bros. about which properties deserved continued investment. These numbers provided concrete data on which December bets paid off and which remained niche attractions.
Streaming vs. Theatrical Divide
The 2018 December slate highlighted the growing influence of Netflix releases alongside traditional theatrical blockbusters, creating a split viewing experience that would only intensify in subsequent years. ROMA and Bird Box were major Netflix titles with strong cultural reach, each generating conversation that extended far beyond the platform’s subscriber base. Theatrical successes like Aquaman and Bumblebee anchored holiday box office, reminding studios that certain spectacles still required the big screen to achieve maximum impact. The coexistence of these models during a single month underscored how release strategies were evolving, with prestige and genre films finding homes on streaming while event-driven blockbusters maintained their theatrical dominance.
Franchise Revivals and Risks
Several entries attempted to refresh or extend established properties with varying degrees of long-term success, offering case studies in how studios approach legacy IP. Aquaman revitalized DC’s aquatic hero in the DCEU, transforming a punchline into a viable franchise pillar through visual ambition and committed casting. Bumblebee offered a fresher take on Transformers, dialing back the bombast in favor of character-driven storytelling and earning stronger reviews than recent entries. Spider-Verse launched a critically acclaimed new animation style for the character, proving that audiences would embrace reinvention when the creative risks felt genuine. These outcomes demonstrated that franchise fatigue could be addressed through targeted creative resets rather than simple repetition.
Looking back, the December 2018 slate offered a snapshot of an industry in transition, balancing awards ambitions with commercial imperatives and testing how new distribution models could coexist with traditional exhibition. The films that succeeded did so by delivering on their core promises, whether that meant spectacle, intimacy, or reinvention, while the ones that faded reminded us that even the most anticipated releases require execution to match their positioning. The month left a measurable footprint in both box office records and awards history, shaping the conversation about what December at the movies could still achieve.
