Buffalo Movies: Film Focus is your guide to movies opening and currently showing in theaters across WNY

(Above: Johnny Depp in Ebenezer (2026). Photo Credit: Jaap Buitendijk/Jaap Buitendijk – © 2026 PARAMOUNT PICTURES. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

By M. Faust

OPENING THIS WEEK:

DONGA NAA KODUKU (NR) A jewelry store robbery goes epically wrong in this Telugu language comedy. Starring Mouli Tanuj Prasanth, Raghu Babu, and Sushmitha Shetty. Directed by Sreenu Kambala. Regal Elmwood

EBENEZER (PG-13) Johnny Depp in what the studio is describing as not just another Christmas Carol adaptation. You have been warned. With Rupert Grint, Andrea Riseborough, Sam Claflin, Daisy Ridley, and Ian McKellen. Directed by Ti West (MaXXXine). AMC Maple Ridge, Aurora, Dipson Capitol, Dipson Flix, Joylan, Market Arcade, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria, Spotlight Theater of Warsaw, Transit Drive-In (Fri-Sat only)

EVEREST: THE OTHER SIDE (PG-13) From National Geographic Films, a documentary about the attempt by Jim Morrison and Hilaree Nelson to climb up Mount Everest and then ski down it. Directed by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin. Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria

GHOST SOLDIER (PG-13) Jim Caviezel as a former Green Beret who uses his knowledge of top-secret weapons to battle a foreign company that is illegally seizing land in Utah, where he lives. With Olivia Thirlby, Beau Knapp, Garret Dillahunt, and Shea Whigham. Directed by William Eubank (Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin). AMC Maple Ridge, Dipson Capitol, Dipson Flix, Dunkirk Multiplex, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria, Spotlight Theater of Warsaw, Transit Drive-In (Fri-Sat only)

HOW TO ROB A BANK (R) Action comedy about a crew of bank robbers who film and show off their heists on social media. Starring Nicholas Hoult, Zoë Kravitz, Anna Sawai, Rhenzy Feliz, Pete Davidson, and John C. Reilly. Directed by David Leitch (The Fall Guy). AMC Maple Ridge, Dipson Capitol, Dipson Flix, Market Arcade, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria, Transit Drive-In (Fri-Sat only)

ITLLU ARJUNA (NR) Telugu action comedy about a mute man’s attempts to romance a woman he meets. Starring Anaswara Rajan, Nagarjuna Akkineni, and Vennela Kishore. Directed by Mahesh Uppala. Regal Elmwood

MOUSE (R) Drama about the relationship between a woman (Sophie Okonedo) and the best friend of her deceased daughter. With Katherine Mallen Kupferer, Chloe Coleman, and Tara Mallen. Directed by Alex Thompson and Kelly O’Sullivan (Ghostlight). Regal Quaker, Regal Transit

UT LAN 2: THE RIVER DEMON (NR) Sequel to the hit Vietnamese fantasy horror film. Directed by Dan Trong Tran. Regal Walden Galleria

VICTORIAN PSYCHO (R) In 1858 England, a couple learns the hard way that you gotta check those references when hiring a governess. Starring Maika Monroe, Jason Isaacs, Ruth Wilson, and Thomasin McKenzie. Directed by Zachary Wigon (Sanctuary). Dipson Capitol, Market Arcade, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria

NOW PLAYING:

THE CAT IN THE HAT (PG) Animated adaptation of the perennial Dr. Seuss favorite. With the voices of Bill Hader, Quinta Brunson, Xochitl Gomez, Giancarlo Esposito, America Ferrera, and Matt Berry. Directed by Alessandro Carloni and Erica Rivinoja. AMC Maple Ridge, Dipson Capitol, Dipson Flix, Dunkirk Multiplex, Market Arcade, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria, Spotlight Theater of Warsaw, Transit Drive-In (Fri-Sat only)

CLAYFACE (R) Tom Rhys Harries as the DC Comics villain, in this version an actor whose disfigured face is rebuilt by a surgery that warps his personality. With Naomi Ackie, David Dencik, Max Minghella, and Eddie Marsan. Directed by James Watkins (Speak No Evil). AMC Maple Ridge, Dipson Capitol, Dunkirk Multiplex, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria, Transit Drive-In (Fri-Sat only)

GODZILLA MINUS ZERO (R) Sequel to Godzilla Minus One, with the three-headed King Ghidorah joining the party. Starring Ryunosuke Kamiki, Minami Hamabe, Hidetaka Yoshioka, and Yuki Yamada. Directed by Takashi Yamazaki. AMC Maple Ridge, Dipson Capitol, Dipson Flix, Dunkirk Multiplex, Market Arcade, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria, Transit Drive-In (Fri-Sat only)

HEART OF THE BEAST (PG-13) Brad Pitt as a retired Army Special Forces veteran who must travel across 58 miles of Alaskan wilderness to safety with his dog after a plane crash. With J. K. Simmons. Directed by David Ayer (End of Watch). Regal Quaker

HEATED RIVALRY (NR) All six episodes of the popular cable-TV homoerotic hockey drama (filmed in nearby Hamilton) come to theater screens. Starring Hudson Williams, Connor Storrie, François Arnaud, and Dylan Walsh. Directed by Jacob Tierney. Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria

JIMMY (PG-13) Biography of film star James Stewart, centering on his service in the US Air Force during World War II. Starring KJ Apa, Max Casella, Sarah Drew, and Jason Alexander as Louis B. Mayer. Directed by Aaron Burns. Dipson Capitol, Dipson Flix, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit

LA BOLA NEGRA (The Black Ball) (R) Spanish drama adapted from an unfinished play by Federico García Lorca, connecting the lives of three gay men in 1932, 1937 and 2017. Starring Guitarricadelafuente, Miguel Bernardeau, Carlos González, Penélope Cruz, and Glenn Close, Directed by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi. Dipson Amherst, North Park

ONCE UPON A TIME IN HARLEM (PG-13) Documentary about the Harlem Renaissance based on recently rediscovered footage of a 1972 gathering of the surviving members of that group. Directed by William Greaves and David Greaves. Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker

THE ONLY LIVING PICKPOCKET IN NEW YORK (R) John Turturro as the title character, whose aversion to modern technology gets him into trouble after he robs a gangster. With Giancarlo Esposito, Will Price, Tatiana Maslany, Steve Buscemi, and Jamie Lee Curtis. Directed by Noah Segan (Blood Relatives). Regal Quaker 

OTHER MOMMY (R) From Blumhouse, another horror movie featuring a grotesquely grinning monster. Thought that had been played out by now. Starring Jessica Chastain, Jay Duplass, and Karen Allen. Directed by Rob Savage (The Boogeyman). Regal Walden Galleria 

RAMAYANA: PART ONE (NR) Bollywood spent $420 million on this lavish special effects fantasy made for an international audience. Starring Ranbir Kapoor, Yash, Sai Pallavi, Sunny Deol, and Ravi Dubey. Directed by Nitesh Tiwari. Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria

RESIDENT EVIL (R) Second reboot of the zombie video game. Starring Austin Abrams, Zach Cherry, Kali Reis, and Paul Walter Hauser. Directed by Zach Cregger (Weapons). Dunkirk Multiplex, Transit Drive-In (Fri-Sat only)

SCENE (NR) Tamil language cop comedy following the exploits of an oddball police officer and his quirky team. Starring Suriya, Nazriya Nazim, and Naslen. Directed by Jithu Madhavan. Regal Elmwood 

STREET FIGHTER (PG-13) Third live-action adaptation of the video game series. Starring Noah Centineo, Andrew Koji, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, and Jason Momoa. Directed by Kitao Sakurai (Bad Trip). Regal Walden Galleria

VERITY (R) Best known for comedies like Wet Hot American Summer, director Michael Showalter moves into psychological horror for this story of a writer hired to ghost write the uncompleted novel of a famous author. Starring Anne Hathaway, Dakota Johnson and Josh Hartnett. Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Transit Drive-In (Fri-Sat only)

WICKER (R) Olivia Colman as a medieval fisherwoman who spurns marriage until a local weaver builds her a husband (Alexander Skarsgård) out of wicker. Too bad the title The Wicker Man was already taken. With Elizabeth Debicki, Marli Siu, Nabhaan Rizwan, Richard E. Grant, and Peter Dinklage. Directed by Alex Huston Fischer and Eleanor Wilson. Dunkirk Multiplex, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Walden Galleria

WILD HORSE NINE (R) John Malkovich and Sam Rockwell as CIA agents looking back on their careers during a visit to Easter Island, just before the coup in Chile. With Steve Buscemi, Tom Waits, and Parker Posey. Directed by Martin McDonagh (In Bruges). AMC Maple Ridge, Dipson Amherst, Dipson Capitol, Dipson Flix, Market Arcade, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit

WILDWOOD (PG-13) Stop-motion animated feature from the creators of Coraline, based on the novel by Colin Meloy and Carson Ellis about the adventures of two teens in a mystical forest. With the voices of Peyton Elizabeth Lee, Jacob Tremblay, Carey Mulligan, Mahershala Ali, Awkwafina, Angela Bassett, Jake Johnson, Charlie Day, Jemaine Clement, Len Cariou, Tantoo Cardinal, Tom Waits, and Richard E. Grant. Directed by Travis Knight (Kubo and the Two Strings). Dipson Capitol, Dipson Flix, Dunkirk Multiplex, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria 

YOU CAN SEE EVERYTHING (R) Documentarians Lance Oppenheim (Some Kind of Heaven) and Nathan Fielder (the HBO series “The Rehearsal”) team up for this critically lauded look at Elizabeth Holmes in the month before she entered prison for defrauding investors. AMC Maple Ridge, Dipson Amherst, Dipson Flix, Market Arcade, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria

ETC. 

AFTER HOURS (1985, R) Uptown yuppie Griffin Dunne spends a night in hell in Soho in Martin Scorsese’s underrated paranoid comedy. With Rosanna Arquette, Catherine O’Hara, John Heard, Cheech and Chong, Teri Garr, Linda Fiorentino, and Dick Miller. Sun only – see individual theaters for show times) Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria 

AMERICAN MOVIE (1999, NR) Perhaps the best documentary ever made about an independent filmmaker centers on young Milwaukee dead-ender Mark Borchardt’s attempts to raise money to make a short horror film. Directed by Chris Smith (Tiger King). Mon only – see individual theaters for show times) Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria 

THE DEVILS (1971, NC-17) The long suppressed full cut of director Ken Russell’s controversial historical drama starring Oliver Reed as a libertine priest in 17^th century France and Vanessa Redgrave as the repressed nun who accuses him of witchcraft. Fri only – see individual theaters for show times) Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria 

DRIVE (2011, R) Director Nicolas Winding Refn made his American debut with this offbeat thriller starring Ryan Gosling as a movie stunt driver who makes the mistake of getting involved in a real robbery. With Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston, Albert Brooks, Oscar Isaac, Christina Hendricks, and Ron Perlman. Sat only – see individual theaters for show times) Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria 

THE GENERAL (1926) Widely considered Buster Keaton’s crowning achievement, which is to say, one of the greatest comedies in cinema history. He stars as a Southern engineer of a train during the Civil War, and the stunt sequences involving the real, full-sized locomotive are still astonishing. The writers include Buffalo-born Al Boasberg, at the time one of Hollywood’s most popular gag men. Thurs only – see individual theaters for show times) Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria 

HUMBOLDT PARKWAY Winner of the Audience Award at this year’s Buffalo International Film Festival, a documentary about the centerpiece of the Olmstead-designed parkway that was torn down in the 1950s for the Kensington Expressway. Sat-Sun 11:30 am. North Park

PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES (1987, R) Back on the road with Steve Martin and John Candy. Directed by John Hughes (Weird Science). Tues only – see individual theaters for show times) Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria

REPO MAN (1984, R) “Repo man’s life is always intense!” Alex Cox’s feature film debut was an instant cult classic, a giddy blend of social and political satire, gritty urban and sci-fi imagery. Emilio Estevez stars as a suburban punk turned car repossessor who must compete with his own colleagues, government agents, and UFO investigators in pursuit of a 1964 Chevy Malibu with mysterious, glowing contents. With Harry Dean Stanton, Olivia Barash, and Tracey Walter. Directed by Alex Cox (Sid and Nancy).  Tues only – see individual theaters for show times) Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria 

WILLY WONKA & THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY (1971, G) Gene Wilder in the original version of the Roald Dahl novel. Directed by Mel Stuart (The Making of the President 1960), Transit Drive-In (Fri-Sat only)

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THEATER LOCATIONS AND WEBSITES

AMC Maple Ridge, 4276 Maple Road, Amherst https://www.amctheatres.com/movie-theatres/buffalo/amc-maple-ridge-8

Angola Theatre, 72 N. Main St. Angola, NY https://angolatheatre.com/

Aurora Theater, 673 Main Street, East Aurora https://theauroratheatre.com/

Dipson Amherst, 3500 Main Street, Buffalo. www.dipsontheatres.com

Dipson Capitol Theater, 720 Builders Way, Niagara Falls www.dipsontheatres.com

Dipson Flix, 4901 Transit Road, Depew http://www.dipsontheatres.com

Dunkirk Multiplex, 10520 Bennett Road, Dunkirk https://www.dunkirkmultiplex.com/

Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center Cinema, 431 Delaware Avenue, Buffalo https://www.hallwalls. org/

Hamburg Palace, 31 Buffalo Street, Hamburg http://www.hamburgpalace. com

Joylan, 11 W. Main Street, Springville https://joylantheater.com/

North Park, 1428 Hertel Avenue, Buffalo https://northparktheatre.org/

Market Arcade, 639 Main St. , Buffalo https://www.btmcinemas.com/our-locations/g0fz6-scene-one-market-arcade-cinemas/

Regal Elmwood, 2001 Elmwood Avenue. , Buffalo https://www.regmovies.com/

Regal Quaker Crossing, 3450 Amelia Drive, Orchard Park https://www.regmovies.com/

Regal Transit, 6707 Transit Road. Williamsville https://www.regmovies.com/

Regal Walden Galleria, Galleria Mall, Cheektowaga https://www.regmovies.com/

Riviera Theater, 67 Webster Street, North Tonawanda https://rivieratheatre.org/

The Screening Room, www.screeningroom. net REOPENING IN DECEMBER

Spotlight Theater of Warsaw, 23 S Main Street, Warsaw https://www.spotlighttheater. com/movie-theater/warsaw

Squeaky Wheel, Tri-Main Center, 2495 Main Street, Suite 310, Buffalo https://squeaky.org/

Transit Drive-In Theatre, 6655 S. Transit Road, Lockport https://www.transitdrivein.com