‘The Favourite’ Tops BIFA Nominations for British Independent Films

Sept. 7: "The Nun" 

"The Conjuring" is one of the most popular horror movie franchises out there, and "The Nun" spinoff is only looking to elevate the series.

Sept. 14: "The Predator" 

Though it was always billed as a reboot, director Shane Black has stressed that his movie “The Predator” is closer to a sequel, actually expanding on the backstory of the Predator aliens seen in the first two Arnold Schwarzenegger films. And while it includes the likes of Boyd Holbrook ("Narcos") Trevante Rhodes (“Moonlight”) and Thomas Jane, early looks at ComicCon highlighted Black’s sense of humor as well, with Keegan Michael-Key and Olivia Munn doing some heavy lifting. 

Sept. 14: "Lizzie" 

The new take on the Lizzie Borden murders, starring Kristen Stewart and Chloe Sevigny, captivated fans at the Sundance Film Festival.

Sept. 21: "Maniac" 

Jonah Hill and Emma Stone reunite after 2008's "Superbad" for Netflix's "Maniac," about two people who are persuaded to participate in a pharmaceutical trial that will change their lives forever.

Sept. 21: "Fahrenheit 11/9" 

Alluding to his 2004 documentary "Fahrenheit 9/11," Michael Moore's upcoming documentary takes aim at Donald Trump in the aftermath of the 2016 presidential election.

Sept. 21: "Colette" 

Keira Knightley plays the real-life French writer who publishes her works under her husband's name -- and then defies early 20th century norms with gender-bending affairs. "Colette" was all the rage at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival. 

Sept. 21: "Assassination Nation" 

Another movie that made waves at Sundance, this film sold to the Russo brothers and Neon for a whopping $10 million, and follows a small town that absolutely loses its mind. Odessa Young, Hari Nef, Suki Waterhouse, Bill Skarsgard and Bella Thorne star. 

Oct. 5: "Venom" 

Tom Hardy steps into the role of Venom, one of the most popular characters from Spider-Man's rogues gallery. Thanks to incredible effects, Venom looks like he literally stepped out of the pages of the Marvel comics. Sony rebranded all its Spider-Man characters into "Sony's Universe of Marvel Characters" with Venom leading the charge.

Oct. 5: "A Star Is Born" 

Bradley Cooper! Lady Gaga! Bradley Cooper SINGING (and directing for the first time)! We get it all in this movie.

Oct. 12: "First Man" 

Damien Chazelle's follow-up to "La La Land" reteams him with Ryan Gosling, who plays the moonwalking astronaut Neil Armstrong. 

Oct. 12: "Bad Times at the El Royale" 

Drew Goddard directs this ensemble cast of, well, beautiful people. Chris Hemsworth, Jon Hamm and Dakota Johnson star in the thriller about seven strangers meeting in a rundown hotel. 

Oct. 12: "Beautiful Boy" 

Timothée Chalamet captured everyone's hearts with last year's "Call Me by Your Name," and early critics have been raving about the movie that looks at the experience of struggling with addiction over many years. Steve Carell also stars as his dad. 

Oct. 19: "Halloween" 

A reboot of John Carpenter's 1978 horror classic of the same name? Count us in! David Gordon Green directs, with Jamie Lee Curtis reprising her role as Laurie Strode. 

Oct. 19: "The Hate U Give" 

“The Hate U Give” may end up being one of the timeliest movies of the year. This adaptation of Angie Thomas’s young adult novel of the same name follows an African American teen turned activist after she witnesses her friend shot and killed by a white police officer. Amandla Stenberg plays Starr Carter opposite a great cast including Regina Hall, Anthony Mackie, Issa Rae, Common and Russell Hornsby.

Nov. 2: "Bohemian Rhapsody" 

The film has been in the news a lot, for good and bad -- director Bryan Singer was fired and replaced by Dexter Fletcher, for one. But the movie amped up anticipation again with the first trailers in which star Rami Malek looks identical to Freddie Mercury. The casting couldn't have been better. 

Nov. 2: "Suspiria" 

To be honest, Luca Guadagnino's upcoming remake of Dario Argento's creepy horror movie "Suspiria" has been haunting us for months with stills, teasers and most recently, its first trailer. Dakota Johnson and Tilda Swinton star. 

Nov. 2: "Boy Erased" 

Joel Edgerton returns to direct "Boy Erased," which stars Lucas Hedges, Nicole Kidman, Russell Crowe and Edgerton himself. It follows Jared (Hedges), a teen sent by his conservative religious parents to a gay conversion therapy program.

Nov. 9: "The Girl in the Spider's Web" 

Claire Foy is stepping into the role of goth hacker Lisbeth Salander, previously played by Rooney Mara, in this highly anticipated sequel to "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo." 

Nov. 9: "Overlord" 

Although J.J. Abrams said "Overlord" will not be part of the "Cloverfield" franchise, we're still excited -- the film follows American soldiers who discover secret Nazi experiments.

Nov. 16: "Widows" 

Viola Davis, Elizabeth Debicki, Michelle Rodriguez and Cynthia Erivo play women who kick ass after their late husbands leave them deeply in debt to crime lords.

Nov. 16: "Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald" 

Given the huge fan base of the "Harry Potter" franchise, anticipation for the second film in the prequel series is high. This time, we'll see Jude Law taking on the role of young Dumbledore alongside Eddie Redmayne's Newt Scamander. 

Nov. 21: "Green Book" 

Peter Farrelly, of “There’s Something About Mary” fame, may seem like an odd choice for a biopic resembling “Driving Miss Daisy” and two Oscar nominees. But “Green Book” plays on the humor and true story drama between pianist Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali) and his driver Tony Lip (Viggo Mortensen), a surly, Italian American former bouncer. Set during a tour of the South in the ‘60s, “Green Book” probes themes of race as well as friendship. 

Nov. 21: "Creed II" 

2015's "Creed" made a huge dent, both critically and commercially, and even scored Sylvester Stallone a Best Supporting Actor nomination from the Academy. We can't wait to see what Michael B. Jordan and new director Steven Caple Jr. cook up in the sequel. 

Nov. 21: "Ralph Breaks the Internet" 

Six years after "Wreck-It Ralph," John C. Reilly reprises his role in the animated feature. Gal Gadot, Kristen Bell, Sarah Silverman, Jane Lunch, Taraji P. Henson and Mandy Moore are also lending their voices to the movie.  

Nov. 23: "The Favourite" 

"Maniac" isn't the only film Emma Stone will star in this fall -- she will also play a servant in Yorgos Lanthimos' follow-up to "The Killing of a Sacred Deer." Rachel Weisz, Olivia Colman and Nicholas Hoult also star in this period drama about a royal love triangle.

Nov. 23: "Shoplifters" 

Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda’s thoughtful and often heartwarming family dramas have long been a staple of Cannes and the art-house circuit, but his latest, “Shoplifters,” finally won him the Palme D’Or at Cannes last May. It tells of a family of small-time thieves who find a missing child on the street and welcome her into their home, only to have their shoplifting habits come under the microscope.

Nov. 30: "If Beale Street Could Talk" 

All eyes are on Barry Jenkins after the Best Picture-winning success of his 2016 film “Moonlight.” His follow-up, which he writes and directs, is an adaptation of a 1974 novel by James Baldwin in which a Harlem woman named Tish (newcomer KiKi Layne) tries to prove that her imprisoned fiancé is innocent while pregnant with their child.

Dec. 7: "Mary Queen of Scots" 

Early photos of Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie as royal cousins amped up anticipation for the historical drama scripted by Beau Willimon ("House of Cards").

Dec. 14: "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse"

 "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" will introduce audiences to Miles Morales, who took over as Spider-Man after the death of Peter Parker -- in an animated film from producers Christopher Miller and Phil Lord as well as director Bob Persichetti. Miles Morales is voiced by Shameik Moore.

Dec. 19: "Mary Poppins Returns" 

After Julie Andrews played the famous nanny in the 1964 classic, Emily Blunt will step into the magical shoes, opposite Lin-Manuel Miranda, Meryl Streep, Colin Firth and Julie Walters.

Dec. 21: "Aquaman" 

Jason Momoa is back in a standalone film about the DC Comics hero. Prolific director James Wan, who is the mastermind behind the "Conjuring" and "Saw" franchises, is directing.  

Dec. 21: "Bumblebee" 

“Bumblebee” isn’t just the first “Transformers” spinoff but also the first in the franchise to be directed by someone other than Michael Bay. This prequel, set in the 1980s, has a lot to prove. Travis Knight, a veteran of the stop-motion animated films like “Kubo and the Two Strings," makes his live-action debut. 

Dec. 21: "Cold War" 

Pawel Pawlikowski's follow-up to his 2013 Best Foreign Language Oscar winner "Ida" is a searing love story that plays out over 10 years amid the, well, Cold War in 1950s Poland and Paris. Ten different chapters offer glimpses at the rough love between a conductor (Tomasz Kot) and his ingénue (Joanna Kulig). An unforgiving, stylish and cynical lens make Pawlikowski's cursed lovers all the more watchable. 

Dec. 21: "Alita: Battle Angel" 

Robert Rodriguez directs this adaptation of a beloved Japanese manga about a kickass cyborg (played by Rosa Salazar in motion-capture) who doesn't remember her origins.

Dec. 25: "On the Basis of Sex" 

In the midst of the #MeToo movement, Focus is releasing a biopic starring Felicity Jones as Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who authored majority opinions such as "United States v. Virginia," which struck down any law that would allow only men to be admitted into schools.

Dec. 21: "Welcome to Marwen" 

Robert Zemeckis' adaptation of the remarkable 2010 documentary "Marwencol" follows Steve Carell as a man who suffers a brutal attack and then spends his days re-creating a WWII-era village.

Dec. 25: "Destroyer" 

The first image for Karyn Kusama's "Destroyer" was recently released, amping up anticipation for the director's follow up to "The Invitation."