Conclave Credit: Courtesy of Focus Features

new in theaters

ANORA: The Cannes Film Festival’s Palme d’Or went to this drama about the romance between a sex worker (Mikey Madison) and a Russian oligarch’s son from writer-director Sean Baker (Red Rocket). (139 min, R. Essex, Majestic, Savoy)

A REAL PAIN: Jesse Eisenberg wrote, directed and stars with Kieran Culkin in this comedy-drama about two estranged cousins exploring their family history in Poland. (90 min, R. Majestic)

RED ONE: The North Pole’s head of security (Dwayne Johnson) joins forces with a bounty hunter (Chris Evans) to rescue a kidnapped Santa Claus in this action comedy. Jake Kasdan (Jumanji: The Next Level) directed. (123 min, PG-13. Essex, Majestic, Marquis, Paramount, Star, Sunset)

currently playing

BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE ★★★1/2 A grown-up Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder) must save her daughter in this Tim Burton fantasy sequel. (104 min, PG-13. Capitol; reviewed 9/11)

THE BEST CHRISTMAS PAGEANT EVER ★★★ Six siblings known for making trouble take over the local church’s festivities in this comedy from director Dallas Jenkins, starring Lauren Graham and Judy Greer. (99 min, PG. Bijou, Capitol, Essex, Majestic, Marquis, Star, Welden)

CONCLAVE ★★★★ A conspiracy interferes with the selection of a new pope in this thriller starring Ralph Fiennes and Stanley Tucci, directed by Edward Berger. (120 min, PG. Essex, Majestic, Playhouse, Savoy)

ELEVATION ★★1/2 Three people brave postapocalyptic monsters to save a kid in this action thriller from George Nolfi, starring Anthony Mackie and Morena Baccarin. (90 min, R. Majestic)

HERE ★★ The latest from director Robert Zemeckis follows the events on a single plot of land as time passes and different people make it a home. Tom Hanks, Robin Wright and Paul Bettany star. (104 min, PG-13. Capitol, Majestic)

HERETIC ★★★★1/2 Missionaries (Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East) try to convert the wrong person (Hugh Grant) in this horror film from directors Scott Beck and Bryan Woods. (110 min, R. Essex, Majestic, Paramount, Star, Sunset; reviewed 11/13)

LOST ON A MOUNTAIN IN MAINE: This adventure drama from director Andrew Boodhoo Kightlinger is the survival tale of a 12-year-old (Luke David Blumm) who becomes stranded on Mount Katahdin. (98 min, PG. Bijou, Capitol)

PIECE BY PIECE ★★★ Lego animation tells the story of Pharrell Williams, who stars in the musical biopic with director Morgan Neville, Kendrick Lamar and Gwen Stefani. (93 min, PG. Catamount)

SATURDAY NIGHT ★★★1/2 Jason Reitman’s comedy-drama chronicles the 90 minutes before the 1975 premiere of “Saturday Night Live.” (109 min, R. Big Picture, Welden; reviewed 10/16)

SMALL THINGS LIKE THESE ★★★★ Cillian Murphy plays a man discovering the dark secrets of the local Magdalen Laundry in this historical drama based on Claire Keegan’s novel. (98 min, PG-13. Capitol)

SMILE 2 ★★★1/2 In the sequel to the horror hit, a pop star (Naomi Scott) is stalked by … a cheery expression? With Kyle Gallner and Drew Barrymore. (127 min, R. Majestic)

TERRIFIER 3 ★★★ Art the Clown (David Howard Thornton) gets his own holiday movie in the third installment of this cult gore-fest. “Unrated” means don’t bring kids. (125 min, NR. Stowe)

VENOM: THE LAST DANCE ★★ Tom Hardy returns as the Marvel Comics character in a complicated relationship with an alien symbiote. (109 min, PG-13. Bijou, Essex, Majestic, Star, Stowe, Sunset, Welden)

WE LIVE IN TIME ★★★1/2 John Crowley (Brooklyn) directed this romance starring Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh. (107 min, R. Majestic, Sunset; reviewed 10/30)

WHITE BIRD ★★1/2 A boy learns life lessons from his grandmother’s story of escaping Nazi-occupied France in this family drama. (120 min, PG-13. Big Picture)

THE WILD ROBOT ★★★★1/2 A shipwrecked robot becomes caretaker to an orphaned gosling in this animated family adventure. (101 min, PG. Bijou, Capitol, Essex, Majestic, Stowe)

older films and special screenings

ANDREA BOCELLI 30: THE CELEBRATION (Essex, Wed 13 & Thu only)

A CHRISTMAS STORY (Sunset)

FAR OUT: LIFE ON AND AFTER THE COMMUNE (Savoy, Sat only)

THE FIFTH ELEMENT (Essex, Sun & Wed 20 only)

THE POLAR EXPRESS (Sunset)

WHITE HEAT (Catamount, Wed 13 only)

open theaters

(* = upcoming schedule for theater was not available at press time)

This article appears in The Winter Preview Issue 2024.

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Margot Harrison is a consulting editor and film critic at Seven Days. Her film reviews appear every week in the paper and online. In 2024, she won the Jim Ridley Award for arts criticism from the Association of Alternative Newsmedia. Her book reviews...