Highlights of the fall and holiday film slate (release dates are subject to change, and some films will only play in limited release):

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September:

"Abduction": Assassins come after a young man ("Twilight" werewolf Taylor Lautner) as he tries to unravel his own mysterious past.

"Apollo 18": A lunar horror tale plays out through "actual footage" of a secret 1974 mission to the moon.

"Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star": A grocery bagger (Nick Swardson) learns his parents were porn stars and aims to follow their path. With Christina Ricci.

"Contagion": Steven Soderbergh unleashes a deadly global virus on an all-star ensemble including Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Gwyneth Paltrow and Marion Cotillard.

"Courageous": Four devoted cops deal with fatherhood and faith in this Christian-themed police drama.

"Dolphin Tale": Compassionate humans team to rescue an injured dolphin in a family tale featuring Ashley Judd, Harry Connick Jr. and Morgan Freeman.

"Dream House": Real-life newlyweds Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz play a couple whose new home holds terrifying secrets. With Naomi Watts.

"Drive": A stunt driver (Ryan Gosling) who moonlights as a getaway wheelman takes on ruthless mobsters. With Carey Mulligan.

"50/50": A cancer patient (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) tries to cope with help from a raunchy pal (Seth Rogen) and a novice therapist (Anna Kendrick). With Bryce Dallas Howard.

"I Don't Know How She Does It": Sarah Jessica Parker's a working mom juggling office, family and the temptations of a new co-worker. With Pierce Brosnan, Greg Kinnear.

"Killer Elite": A former special ops agent (Jason Statham) takes on assassins to rescue his mentor (Robert De Niro). With Clive Owen.

"The Lion King": The 1994 animated blockbuster returns in a 3-D version for a limited two-week run.

"Machine Gun Preacher": A drug-dealing biker (Gerard Butler) finds God and takes his tough-guy ways to East Africa, building an orphanage as he takes on warlords.

"Moneyball": Brad Pitt stars as Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane, who uses number-crunching "sabermetrics" to put together a competitive team on a tight budget.

"Pearl Jam Twenty": Cameron Crowe directs a documentary portrait of the band's rise to stardom, featuring archival material and recent interviews and concert footage.

"Puncture": A small-time lawyer (Chris Evans) with a drug habit faces heavyweight corporate attorneys in the case of a nurse pricked by a contaminated needle.

"Restless": A loner (Henry Hopper) bonds with a terminal cancer patient (Mia Wasikowska) and offers to liven up her final days. Gus Van Sant directs.

"Seven Days in Utopia": An aspiring golfer (Lucas Black) gets life lessons from an eccentric rancher (Robert Duvall) while stranded in a Texas town.

"Shark Night 3D": Partying college kids are trapped on an island surrounded by hundreds of sharks.

"Straw Dogs": A writer (James Marsden) is forced to fight back against Southern thugs that menace his family in this update of the 1971 film. With Kate Bosworth.

"Take Shelter": A blue-collar family guy (Michael Shannon) has visions of a cataclysmic storm approaching. With Jessica Chastain.

"Tanner Hall": Four teen girls struggle through changing relationships and approaching adulthood at a boarding school. With Rooney Mara.

"Warrior": Estranged brothers (Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton) are on a collision course in a mixed martial-arts tournament. With Nick Nolte.

"What's Your Number?": A regretful woman (Anna Faris) goes in search of the perfect man among her ex-lovers. With Chris Evans.

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October:

"Anonymous": An Elizabethan-era drama asks the question, who really wrote Shakespeare's plays? With Rhys Ifans, Vanessa Redgrave.

"The Big Year": Steve Martin, Jack Black and Owen Wilson square off in the vicious world of competitive bird-watching.

"Dirty Girl": A school outcast (Juno Temple) sets out with a new pal (Jeremy Dozier) on a cross-country trek. With Milla Jovovich.

"Footloose": A new kid in town (Kenny Wormald) rebels against a local ban on dancing in a remake of the 1980s teen favorite. With Julianne Hough, Dennis Quaid.

"The Ides of March": George Clooney directs and co-stars as a presidential candidate whose press secretary (Ryan Gosling) uncovers shocking secrets about the campaign.

"In Time": Justin Timberlake and Amanda Seyfried are on the run in a future where time has replaced money as currency — and people's lives have expiration dates.

"Johnny English Reborn": The disaster-prone British spy (Rowan Atkinson) aims to stop the assassination of a Chinese leader.

"Like Crazy": Romance hits the rocks for an American student (Anton Yelchin) and a Brit (Felicity Jones) after she overstays her visa on a U.S. visit.

"Margin Call": Kevin Spacey leads the cast in a financial thriller that unfolds over a 24-hour period at an investment firm amid the 2008 economic meltdown.

"Martha Marcy May Marlene": A young woman (Elizabeth Olsen) struggles with life on the outside after escaping from a domineering cult leader (John Hawkes).

"The Mighty Macs": Women's basketball coach Cathy Rush (Carla Gugino) leads her college team from obscurity to national triumph. With David Boreanaz.

"Paranormal Activity 3": The micro-budgeted horror sensation sparks another follow-up examining the supernatural happenings.

"Real Steel": Hugh Jackman's an ex-fighter who trains a new contender: a robot bruiser in a future where machine boxers have taken over the sport.

"Revenge of the Electric Car": A documentary chronicles automakers' renewed interest in vehicles powered by electricity over fossil fuels.

"The Rum Diary": Johnny Depp stars in an adaptation of Hunter S. Thompson's tale of a journalist caught up in booze, seduction and corruption in 1950s Puerto Rico.

"Safe": An ex-elite operative (Jason Statham) rescues an abducted Chinese girl and finds himself caught in a showdown between mobsters and corrupt authorities.

"The Skin I Live In": An obsessive plastic surgeon (Antonio Banderas) finds a secret test subject for his artificial-skin breakthrough. Pedro Almodovar directs.

"The Thing": The prequel to John Carpenter's 1982 horror tale follows a research team in Antarctica that uncovers a deadly alien that can mimic human form.

"The Three Musketeers": Alexandre Dumas' swashbucklers ride again in a 3-D update from director Paul W.S. Anderson. With Logan Lerman, Milla Jovovich, Orlando Bloom.

"Thunder Soul": Jamie Foxx is executive producer for a documentary about a high school bandleader who broke racial barriers in the 1970s.

"Trespass": A husband and wife (Nicolas Cage and Nicole Kidman) are taken hostage in their home by a band of crooks. Joel Schumacher directs.

"The Way": Emilio Estevez directs his dad, Martin Sheen, who plays a doctor on a spiritual journey through southwest Europe, where he has come to collect the remains of his son.

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November:

"Arthur Christmas": An animated adventure answers the question: How does Santa deliver all those presents in one night? Voice cast includes James McAvoy, Hugh Laurie.

"The Artist": The downfall of a silent-film star (Jean Dujardin) in the talkies era is told through a black-and-white silent film. With John Goodman.

"The Descendants": A neglectful dad (George Clooney) struggles with choices about his daughters, his ancestral Hawaiian land and his wife, who was injured in a boating accident.

"Happy Feet Two": Elijah Wood, Robin Williams, Brad Pitt and Matt Damon lead the voice cast in the 3-D follow-up to the animated penguin hit.

"Hugo": Martin Scorsese shoots his first 3-D film with this tale of an orphan living in the walls of a Paris train station who searches for answers about his late father.

"Immortals": Gods and heroes of ancient Greece duke it out as a power-mad king unleashes an army. With Henry Cavill, Freida Pinto, Mickey Rourke.

"Jack and Jill": Adam Sandler plays two roles as a successful family man and his bothersome twin sister. With Katie Holmes.

"J. Edgar": Leonardo DiCaprio has the title role in Clint Eastwood's saga of FBI kingpin J. Edgar Hoover. With Naomi Watts, Judi Dench.

"The Muppets": Kermit, Miss Piggy and pals reunite for a telethon to save their theater from a greedy oilman. With Jason Segel, Amy Adams.

"My Week with Marilyn": A production assistant (Eddie Redmayne) hangs with Marilyn Monroe (Michelle Williams) during filming of "The Prince and the Showgirl." With Kenneth Branagh, Emma Watson.

"Piranha 3DD": The ravenous flesh-eating fish return for a feeding frenzy at a water park.

"Puss in Boots": Antonio Banderas reprises his voice role in a tale of early adventures of the dashing little cat of the "Shrek" films. Salma Hayek co-stars.

"The Son of No One": Old secrets endanger a young cop (Channing Tatum) assigned to the Queens neighborhood where he grew up. With Katie Holmes.

"Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy": John Le Carre's spymaster George Smiley (Gary Oldman) tries to ferret out a Cold War Soviet mole in British intelligence.

"Tower Heist": Ben Stiller and Eddie Murphy lead an ensemble of swindle victims plotting a caper against the crook who bilked them out of their pensions.

"The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 1": Marriage enters the world of vampire romance as Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner near the franchise's end.

"A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas": John Cho and Kal Penn reunite as the whip-smart party guys stumble through the holidays.

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December:

"The Adventures of Tintin": Steven Spielberg directs and Peter Jackson produces a treasure-hunt adventure based on Belgian writer Herge's tales. With Jamie Bell, Andy Serkis.

"Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked!": The talking rodents find themselves shipwrecked on an island during a luxury cruise.

"Coriolanus": Ralph Fiennes directs and stars in a Shakespeare adaptation about an exiled Roman hero who teams with an enemy (Gerard Butler) to take revenge on the city.

"The Darkest Hour": Five people stranded in Moscow struggle to survive an alien attack. With Emile Hirsch, Olivia Thirlby.

"Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close": A boy searches for a message he believes was left for him by his father (Tom Hanks), who died in the 9/11 attacks. With Sandra Bullock.

"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo": Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara star in the best-selling tale of brilliant but deeply troubled computer hacker. Directed by David Fincher.

"The Iron Lady": Meryl Streep plays Margaret Thatcher in a drama about the conservative prime minister who changed the face of Britain. With Jim Broadbent.

"Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol": Tom Cruise goes rogue after his Impossible Missions Force becomes the scapegoat for a Kremlin bombing.

"New Year's Eve": An ensemble including Halle Berry, Robert De Niro, Jessica Biel, Ashton Kutcher and Sarah Jessica Parker maneuver through the last night of the year.

"Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows": Holmes (Robert Downey Jr.) and Watson (Jude Law) square off against criminal mastermind Moriarty (Jared Harris).

"The Sitter": The world's worst babysitter (Jonah Hill) takes on three kids during a one-night prowl through New York City.

"War Horse": Steven Spielberg directs a saga following a horse on a sweeping journey across the landscape of World War I.

"W.E.": Madonna directs a tale juxtaposing a modern lonelyheart (Abbie Cornish) and Wallis Simpson (Andrea Riseborough), lover of British King Edward VIII.

"We Bought a Zoo": Matt Damon stars in the story of a single father who buys a rundown zoo for his family. With Scarlett Johansson, directed by Cameron Crowe.

"Young Adult": A writer (Charlize Theron) rekindles high school connections on a trip back to her hometown. Jason Reitman directs.

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In this file photo from October 2024, Atlanta Braves outfielder Jorge Soler and teammates react after losing to the San Diego Padres 5-4 in San Diego. The Braves and Soler, who now plays for the Los Angeles Angels, face a lawsuit by a fan injured at a 2021 World Series game at Truist Park in Atlanta. (Jason Getz/AJC)

Credit: Jason.Getz@ajc.com