The Most Anticipated Movies of September 2025

September brings a packed lineup across horror, romance, music mockumentary, prestige drama, and sharp-eyed thrillers. Several franchises are closing long-running chapters, while a few long-gestating projects finally step into the spotlight. Release calendars are also nicely spaced, so you can plan a few different kinds of movie nights.

Below you’ll find the biggest titles to circle on your calendar, with when and how they’re releasing, plus concrete story details and confirmed talent. Everything here is locked to current studio materials, trailers, or official listings, so you can skim and decide what to watch and where to watch it.

‘The Conjuring: Last Rites’ (2025)

Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga return as Ed and Lorraine Warren for a final big screen case inspired by the Smurl family haunting, with Michael Chaves back behind the camera. The film runs 135 minutes and completes the main Warren saga within the wider universe that began in 2013. It opens in theaters on September 5, 2025. Production notes and press confirm Benjamin Wallfisch composed the score and that Ben Hardy and Mia Tomlinson joined the cast alongside the returning leads.

Marketing points to a case file structure tied to the Warrens’ Occult Museum, which the studio is echoing with an immersive London pop up the first week of September. Recent coverage also connects the new characters to the Warrens’ circle from real life cases. Expect a period setting with the Warrens confronting the entities reported in West Pittston, Pennsylvania, and a close of the couple’s on screen arc in theaters only.

‘Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale’ (2025)

The Crawleys step into the 1930s as Lady Mary faces a divorce scandal and the estate weathers financial trouble, with Simon Curtis directing from Julian Fellowes’ script. Focus Features releases the third film in theaters on September 12, 2025, with returning favorites and new faces that include Paul Giamatti and Dominic West. The studio synopsis highlights a generational handover as staff and family brace for change.

Trailers and official materials frame Mary’s public scrutiny and its impact on Downton’s future, while teasing reunions among the wider family. The movie is positioned as a proper farewell to the franchise on the big screen, with additional preview programming across NBC and Peacock boosting awareness in the run up to opening weekend.

‘Spinal Tap II: The End Continues’ (2025)

Rob Reiner returns as director and as documentarian Marty Di Bergi, reuniting Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer for one last concert. Bleecker Street releases the sequel in theaters on September 12, with the first trailer confirming cameos from Paul McCartney and Elton John. Studio listings clock the runtime in the mid 80 minute range, keeping the mockumentary lean and loud.

Filming included New Orleans and a finale sequence shot at Stonehenge, a wink to the original’s most infamous set piece. Expect a mix of new gags and returning characters, plus musical drop ins from Questlove and others, as the band tries to get through a farewell gig with their drummer curse still very much a concern.

‘The Long Walk’ (2025)

Francis Lawrence adapts Stephen King’s first written novel into a dystopian thriller about a state sanctioned walking contest in which young contestants must maintain three miles per hour or die. Lionsgate releases the movie in theaters on September 12, 2025, with Cooper Hoffman as Garraty, David Jonsson as McVries, and Mark Hamill as the Major. The production reunites Lawrence with cinematographer Jo Willems and features a score by Jeremiah Fraites.

Official materials and trailers emphasize the rules of the contest, the friendships formed under pressure, and the moral calculus of survival inside a spectacle. The adaptation draws directly from the novel’s premise and arrives after years of prior attempts, with a cast of rising actors and veteran performers rounding out the field of walkers and the authorities who oversee them.

‘American Sweatshop’ (2025)

Lili Reinhart plays a social media content moderator who stumbles across a video that may show a real crime, then leaves her desk to chase answers in the physical world. After premiering at SXSW in March, the film opens in the United States on September 19 in theaters and on VOD, with Brainstorm Media handling the North American release. Uta Briesewitz directs from a screenplay by Matthew Nemeth.

The trailer and festival write ups describe a tech world rabbit hole that blurs online and offline harm, with supporting turns from Daniela Melchior and Joel Fry. Production took place in Germany with support from local film funds, and distribution details confirm the hybrid release model for North America on the same date.

‘A Big Bold Beautiful Journey’ (2025)

Kogonada directs a romantic fantasy in which two strangers, Sarah and David, meet at a wedding and find a way to step through doorways into pivotal moments from their past. Sony Pictures releases the movie in theaters on September 19, with Margot Robbie and Colin Farrell starring, and Joe Hisaishi composing the score. The screenplay is by Seth Reiss.

Studio synopsis and trailers point to a gentle blend of magical realism and character study, as the pair revisits personal turning points and considers how those choices shaped the present. The cast also features Kevin Kline and Phoebe Waller Bridge, with filming completed in California after the project originated from a Black List script.

‘HIM’ (2025)

A rising quarterback suffers a traumatic brain injury on the eve of the Combine and gets an invitation to recover and train at the isolated compound of his hero, a legendary veteran. Justin Tipping directs from a script developed at Monkeypaw Productions, with Universal releasing the film in theaters on September 19. Tyriq Withers plays the prospect, Marlon Wayans plays the quarterback mentor, and Julia Fox co stars as the mentor’s wife.

The official synopsis and trailers frame the story as a descent into the pressures of fame and the cost of greatness, with hints of cultlike ritual and manipulation woven into the training regimen. Recent features confirm Bobby Krlic on score and expand on the Black List origins under the earlier title ‘GOAT’, which later became the final title used for the release.

‘One Battle After Another’ (2025)

Paul Thomas Anderson writes and directs a modern day story about ex revolutionaries who reunite when an old enemy resurfaces, sending them on a mission to rescue a kidnapped daughter. Warner Bros releases the film in theaters and IMAX on September 26, with Leonardo DiCaprio leading a cast that includes Sean Penn, Regina Hall, Teyana Taylor, Wood Harris, Benicio Del Toro, Alana Haim, and Chase Infiniti.

Anderson shot across California and Texas on 35mm with VistaVision, and materials note a nearly three hour runtime. Trailers highlight a mix of action and dark humor, while interviews and features connect the premise to ideas from Thomas Pynchon’s ‘Vineland’ filtered through Anderson’s own long gestating notes.

‘The Strangers: Chapter 2’ (2025)

Renny Harlin’s follow up continues the story that began in the 2024 entry, with the second and third films having been shot consecutively. Lionsgate releases the new chapter in theaters on September 26, with a world premiere set for Fantastic Fest earlier in the month. Madelaine Petsch returns, with Gabriel Basso and Ema Horvath among the credited cast.

The setup follows the couple from the previous film as their cross country trip goes from bad to worse, with a breakdown leading to a remote rental and a renewed siege by masked attackers. Franchise materials emphasize that this installment expands the story in unexpected ways while keeping the focus on survival horror, and that the trilogy was designed to play as one continuous narrative.

Tell us which September release you’re heading to first and why in the comments.