We’ve made it to the last month of 2019, and as such, the theatrical calendar is filled with titles hoping to earn big stacks of holiday cash or contend for end-of-year awards, or both. With that in mind, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that the most anticipated release of December is set a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, or that the sequel to a wildly popular fantasy adventure also made the cut. What might surprise a few folks is that the list is also populated by a war epic, a based-on-current-events drama, and perhaps most unexpectedly, a thriller starring none other than Adam Sandler. Read on to see what movies RT site users and our fans across social media are looking forward to the most in December.
10,236 Want-to-See Votes
#1 pick by our Instagram and Twitter fans, #2 pick by our Facebook fans
Opens December 20
After Rian Johnson impressed the critics and divided the fans with his penultimate installment of the Skywalker Saga, J.J. Abrams settles back into the director’s chair for the final chapter, cryptically subtitled The Rise of Skywalker. Set just one year after the events of The Last Jedi, the story follows up with Rey and Kylo Ren as they struggle to understand the dual nature of the Force, while the remnants of the Resistance contend with the First Order in hopes of establishing galactic peace. The core cast is joined by newcomers played by Keri Russell, Richard E. Grant, and Naomi Ackie, while Billy Dee Williams and Ian McDiarmid return to reprise their iconic characters Lando Calrissian and Emperor Palpatine. This film netted the most Want-to-See votes by a wide margin and topped both our Instagram and Twitter polls.
#1 pick by our Facebook fans, #2 pick by our Instagram fans, #3 pick by our Twitter fans
Opens December 25
Ever since we got our first look at Sam Mendes’ war epic 1917 a few months ago, the film has quickly and quietly gathered steam to become one of the most anticipated awards season contenders. Reportedly based on a real life account relayed to Mendes by his grandfather, the story follows two British soldiers on the front lines of World War I tasked with delivering a message across enemy territory to warn another battalion of an impending ambush. Its grandiose scale and technical flourishes have already earned the praise of most critics, and it ranked high in all of our social polls for the month.
1,096 Want-t0-See Votes
#2 pick by our Twitter fans, #3 pick by our Facebook fans, #4 pick by our Instagram fans
Opens December 13
It’s 2019, and the man who once starred in movies like Little Nicky, Grown Ups, and The Ridiculous 6 is looking at a potential Best Actor Oscar nomination. In movies like P.T. Anderson’s Punch-Drunk Love and Noah Baumbach’s The Meyerowitz Stories, Adam Sandler has proven he can carry meatier roles if he’s paired with directors who are looking to deliver more than fart jokes. The same appears to be true of his latest project, which sees him doing arguably his best work ever under the guidance of the Safdie brothers, who pulled a similarly impressive performance from Robert Pattinson in last year’s Good Time. Here, Sandler plays a jeweler with a bad gambling habit who finds himself in deep with the wrong people and must figure out a way to pay off his debts quickly. Uncut Gems has already earned rave reviews from critics, and our social fans responded by voting it into the third spot this month.
2,965 Want-to-See Votes
#3 pick by our Instagram fans, #4 pick by our Facebook fans, #5 pick by our Twitter fans
Opens December 13
Back in 2017, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle surprised everyone by being more than just halfway decent — far more, in fact, as it earned a Certified Fresh 76% on the Tomatometer and made close to $1 billion at the global box office. Director Jake Kasdan managed to turn what could have been a mere nostalgia cash-grab into a legitimately entertaining adventure, helped by a game cast who were all clearly having fun in their roles. Jumanji: The Next Level may not end up feeling quite as fresh, but audiences are clearly on board for another ride, this time with new additions Dannys Glover and DeVito and Awkafina along for the journey. It racked up the second most Want-to-See votes on RT and ranked in the top five across all of our social platforms.
1,003 Want-to-See Votes
#4 pick by our Twitter fans
Opens on December 13
Lastly, we have a based-on-true-events drama centered on the scandal that brought down Fox News chief Roger Ailes. Director Jay Roach has taken on timely material before in films like Recount and Game Change with pretty consistent results, and he’s aided in Bombshell by a trio of powerhouse actors, namely Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman, and Margot Robbie. The film charts the sexual misconduct allegations leveled at Ailes (played by John Lithgow) by Gretchen Carlson (Kidman), Megyn Kelly (Theron), and several other women whose experiences were rolled into Robbie’s fictional character Kayla Pospisil. It came in at #4 in our Twitter poll and garnered the fourth most Want-to-See votes on RT.
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