Buffalo Movies: Film Focus is your guide to movies opening in theaters around WNY, and where to see them.

(Above: John Malkovich and Sam Rockwell in Wild Horse Nine (2026). Photo by Diego Araya Corvalán/Searchlight Pictures – © 2006 Searchlight Pictures All Rights Reserved.)

By M. Faust

OPENING THIS WEEK:

BEING HEUMANN (NR) Biographical drama based on the memoir by disability rights activist Judith Heumann, who in 1977 led the occupation of a federal building in San Francisco as a way of bringing attention to her cause. Starring Ruth Madeley, Mark Ruffalo, Dylan O’Brien, and Rob Delaney. Directed by Sian Heder (CODA). Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Walden Galleria (all theaters Mon-Weds only)

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, Hamburg Palace, Market Arcade, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria, Spotlight Theater of Warsaw, 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)

HEATED RIVALRY (NR) All six episodes of the popular cable-TV homoerotic hockey drama (filmed in nearby Hamilton) come to theater screens. It will be shown in three packages of two episodes each. Staring 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. AMC Maple Ridge, Aurora, Dipson Capitol, Dipson Flix, Market Arcade, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria

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. Market Arcade

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. Dipson Capitol, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria

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

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). Dipson Amherst, Dipson Flix, Regal Transit

NOW PLAYING:

AADARSHA KUTUMBAM HOUSE NO: 47 – AK47 (NR) Telugu-language comedy-drama about a seemingly ordinary family whose relationships are altered when hidden facts are revealed. Starring Venkatesh, Srinidhi Shetty, and Nara Rohith. Directed by Trivikram Srinivas. Regal Elmwood

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, 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

THE MONGOOSE (R) In Liam Neeson’s third action movie this year, he plays a veteran unjustly accused of a crime who leads police on a car chase that is broadcast live to a cheering nation. With Marisa Tomei, Ving Rhames, and Michael Chiklis. Directed by Mark Vanselow. Dipson Capitol

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). Market Arcade, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria

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 Quaker, Regal Walden Galleria, Transit Drive-In (Fri-Sat only)

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). AMC Maple Ridge, Dunkirk Multiplex, Regal Quaker, Regal Walden Galleria, Transit Drive-In (Fri-Sat only)

SENSE AND SENSIBILITY (PG) Daisy Edgar-Jones, Esmé Creed-Miles, Caitríona Balfe, Frank Dillane, Herbert Nordrum, George MacKay, and Fiona Shaw star in a new adaptation of the Jane Austen novel. Directed by Georgia Oakley (Blue Bird). Spotlight Theater of Warsaw

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). Market Arcade, Regal Elmwood, Regal Walden Galleria, Transit Drive-In (Fri-Sat only)

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. AMC Maple Ridge, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit

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. AMC Maple Ridge, Dipson Capitol, Dunkirk Multiplex, Market Arcade, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Walden Galleria

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). AMC Maple Ridge, Dipson Capitol, Dipson Flix, Dunkirk Multiplex, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria, Spotlight Theater of Warsaw

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, Dunkirk Multiplex, Market Arcade, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria, Spotlight Theater of Warsaw

ETC.

A CHRISTMAS STORY (1983, PG ) The season’s first screening of the holiday classic based on Jean Shephard’s memoir of growing up in Cleveland in the 1940s. Starring Melinda Dillon, Darren McGavin, and Peter Billingsley. Directed by Bob Clark (Children Shouldn’t Play With Dead Things). Transit Drive-In (Fri-Sat only)

BLOW OUT (1981, R) Never one to hide his influences, Brian DePalma runs Antonioni’s Blow-Up through his Hitchcockian filter with this crime drama starring John Travolta as a sound technician who believes he has accidentally recorded evidence of an assassination. With Nancy Allen, John Lithgow, and Dennis Franz. Weds 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. Sat-Sun 11:30 am. North Park

GOLDFINGER (1965, NR) The third and for many the best of the James Bond films. Starring Sean Connery, Gert Frobe, Honor Blackman, and Harold Sakata. Directed by Guy Hamilton. Mon only – see individual theaters for show times) Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria

KING KONG (1933, NR) The original giant monster classic, restored to its full pre-Production Code length. Starring Fay Wray, Robert Armstrong, and Bruce Cabot. Directed by Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack, Sat noon, Mon 7 pm. Market Arcade

THE NEVERENDING STORY (Germany, 1984, PG) Entranced by the adventures in a fantasy book, a young boy enters it to become a part of its magical world. Directed by Wolfgang Petersen (Das Boat). Fri 10 pm, Sun noon . Market Arcade

PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE (France, 2019, NR) Sapphic romance set in 18^th century France between an artist and a young noblewoman unhappy about her upcoming marriage. Staring Noémie Merlant, Adèle Haenel, and Valerie Golino. Directed by Céline Sciamma. Sun only – see individual theaters for show times) Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria

SECONDS (1966, NR)—Rock Hudson gave his best performance in this unsettling drama as a middle-aged man who gets the opportunity to recreate his life, at unexpected expense. With John Randolph, Murray Hamilton, Jeff Corey, Will Geer and Salome Jens. Directed by John Frankenheimer (The Manchurian Candidate). Tues only – see individual theaters for show times) Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria

THIEF (1981, R) Michael Mann’s directorial debut set the tone for the rest of his career with this crime drama starring James Caan as a professional safecracker. Co-starring Tuesday Weld, Willie Nelson, James Belushi, Dennis Farina, and Robert Prosky. Mon only – see individual theaters for show times) Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria

UNDER THE SKIN (2013, R) The IMDB.com plot synopsis says “An alien seductress preys upon hitchhikers in Scotland.” Which is as good as anything I could come up with about this indescribable movie starring Scarlett Johansson and directed by Jonathan Glazer (Sexy Beast). Fri 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