Best films released in the UK this month: September 2024
Highlights include Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, The Substance and The Outrun.
Summer blockbuster season has come and gone for 2024, but as we look ahead to the rest of the year there are still lots of exciting films to look forward to – starting this month.
The first major release of September is Tim Burton's long-awaited sequel Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, which sees Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder return to their iconic roles from the original and recently had a splashy premiere at the Venice Film Festival.
Later in the month, there are also a couple of very intriguing releases for horror fans.
First up, James McAvoy stars in a remake of the chilling 2022 Danish film Speak No Evil, and then there's the hugely well-received – if a little divisive – body horror The Substance, which comes from French writer/director Coralie Fargeat and stars Demi Moore in the lead role.
Elsewhere, there are new films starring the likes of Jude Law, Kate Winslet, Saoirse Ronan and Ian McKellen – plus the small matter of Francis Ford Coppola's self-funded passion project Megalopolis, which finally arrives in cinemas towards the end of the month.
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To help you pick out the highlights, we've put together a selection of some of the best films to watch this month – check out the video above or read on for our choices.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
Release date: Friday 6th September in cinemas
Tim Burton has made a sequel to his cult classic from 1988 – with Michael Keaton returning as the titular bio-exorcist and Jenna Ortega among those joining the cast, which also sees Winona Ryder and Catherine O'Hara return to their previous roles.
This time around, Beetlejuice rears his head again when the Deetz family return to Winter River following a family tragedy. And he's still just as mischievous as ever – even though he now has to deal with a vengeful ex-wife on his tail.
Firebrand
Release date: Friday 6th September in cinemas
Alicia Vikander taken on the role of Catherine Parr and Jude Law stars as Henry VIII in this historical drama about the king's sixth wife, directed by Brazilian filmmaker Karim Aïnouz.
The fictionalised film follows Catherine as she fights for her survival during the last days of Henry's reign, while he grows increasingly ill and paranoid and she is accused of blasphemy and other supposed misdeeds by his courtiers.
Speak No Evil
Release date: Friday 13th September in cinemas
This remake of the chilling Danish film of the same name from 2022 explores events after an American family living in the UK befriend a British family on holiday and are subsequently invited to visit them in their country home – with nightmarish results.
James McAvoy shines in a somewhat terrifying role, and the film makes a couple of notable changes from the original, including a vastly altered final act.
Lee
Release date: Friday 13th September in cinemas
Kate Winslet stars as legendary photojournalist Lee Miller in this star-studded portrait of her career as a war reporter, which mainly focuses on her pioneering work in the immediate aftermath of the Second World War.
A passion project for Winslet, the film is directed by Ellen Kuras and features a notably starry supporting cast including Marion Cotillard, Andrea Riseborough, Andy Samberg, Josh O'Connor and Alexander Skarsgård.
The Critic
Release date: Friday 13th September in cinemas
This 1930s-set thriller is adapted from the 2015 novel Curtain Call, and sees Ian McKellen play a veteran theatre critic who concocts a devious blackmail scheme when he is phased out of his long-time newspaper job by its new owner.
That scheme involves Gemma Arterton's Nina Land, a stage actress whose performances he has often fiercely criticised in his reviews, while the supporting cast also includes Mark Strong, Lesley Manville and Romola Garai.
The Substance
Release date: Friday 20th September in cinemas
This gruesome body horror film from French writer/director Coralie Fargeat proved somewhat divisive when it premiered at this year's Cannes Film Festival, but earned a large number of rave reviews – especially for the lead performance of Demi Moore.
She plays Elisabeth Sparkle, the presenter of an aerobics show who is suddenly fired on her 50th birthday, only to be told of a mysterious substance which promises to transform her life and offer a way out of her worries about ageing.
The Outrun
Release date: Friday 27th September in cinemas
Saoirse Ronan's performance in this moving drama as a young woman fresh from a stint in rehab has been tipped as a possible awards contender.
Directed and co-written by German filmmaker Nora Fingscheidt, it follows recovering alcoholic Rona as she returns to her home in the Orkney Islands hoping to heal from her time spent living on the edge in London.
Megalopolis
Release date: Friday 27th September in cinemas
A lot has been written about Francis Ford Coppola's ambitious, star-studded, long-in-the-making and partly self-funded epic – but will the end result be worth the wait?
It sees Adam Driver star as Cesar Catilina – an architect whose utopian, idealistic vision for the future of the fictional metropolis New Rome is in stark contrast to that of the city's mayor Franklyn Cicero, played by Giancarlo Esposito.
My Old Ass
Release date: Friday 27th September in cinemas
This indie drama about a young woman who is advised by her future self not to fall in love was well-received when it premiered at Sundance in January, with the lead performance of star Maisy Stella singled out for praise.
Written and directed by Megan Park, the film also includes a small but important role for Aubrey Plaza.
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