Your guide to new films in cinemas across Australia this week, 11 to 17 November 2024.
For the monthly guide to new film releases, head to our guide for new films in November.
New movies
14 November
Aquarius
Documentary on the dawning of the Aquarius Festival in Nimbin 1973 – an alternative gathering embraced by activists, hippies, and radicals that changed a town (and a generation) forever. The small northern NSW dairy town was the perfect location, surrounded by farmland and rainforest. The inhabitants (all 300 of them) hoped the event would bring young people to their struggling town. Thousands arrived, all willing to contribute to the festival, whether by playing instruments or digging drains. It wasn’t quite all saunas, nudity, acrobatics, and chilled-out bliss, however: festivalgoers faced down police interference, internal chaos, drugs and personal dramas. Nonetheless, countless participants found kinship as well as a blueprint for a sustainable life.
Director: Wendy Champagne, Oren Sidler
Cast: N/A
Classification: CTC
Country: Australia
Runtime: 82m
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever
The absolute worst kids in the history of the world are taking over their local church Pageant – and they just might unwittingly teach a shocked community the true meaning of Christmas.
Director: Dallas Jenkins
Cast: Judy Greer, Lauren Graham, Pete Holmes
Classification: G
Country: Canada
Runtime: 100m
Christmas Eve in Miller’s Point
On Christmas Eve, a family gathers for what could be the last holiday in their ancestral home. As the night wears on and generational tensions arise, one of the teenagers sneaks out with her friends to claim the wintry suburb for her own.
Director: Tyler Taormina
Cast: Elsie Fisher, Michael Cera
Classification: M
Country: USA
Runtime: 107m
Dragon Ball DAIMA
Mysteriously transformed into mini versions of themselves, Goku and his friends travel to the Demon Realm to uncover the truth and find a cure.
Director: Aya Komaki, Yoshitaka Yashima
Cast: Masako Nozawa, Koki Uchiyama
Classification: CTC
Country: Japan
Runtime: 83m
Gladiator II
Years after witnessing the death of the revered hero Maximus at the hands of his uncle, Lucius is forced to enter the Colosseum after his home is conquered by the tyrannical Emperors who now lead Rome with an iron fist. With rage in his heart and the future of the Empire at stake, Lucius must look to his past to find strength and honor to return the glory of Rome to its people.
ScreenHub: Gladiator II review: I’m not NOT entertained
Director: Ridley Scott
Cast: Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, Joseph Quinn
Classification: M
Country: USA/UK
Runtime: 148m
Memory
Sylvia (Chastain) is a social worker who leads a simple and structured life. This is blown open when Saul (Sarsgaard) follows her home from their high school reunion. Their surprise encounter will profoundly impact both of them as they open the door to the past.
Director: Michel Franco
Cast: Jessica Chastain, Peter Sarsgaard
Classification: MA
Country: USA/Chile/Mexico
Runtime: 100m
17 November
Kiss Me, Kate: The Musical
Adrian Dunbar (Ridley) and Broadway royalty Stephanie J. Block (Into The Woods) lead a stellar cast in this production of Kiss Me, Kate, filmed live at the Barbican in London especially for the big screen.
Director: Bartlett Sher
Cast: Adrian Dunbar, Stephanie J. Block
Recently released
4 November
Conquering Skin Cancer
A documentary that explores our complex relationship with the sun and follows the quest of the remarkable Aussie change makers seeking to conquer skin cancer.
Director: Mike Hill
Cast: Hugh Jackman, Keith Thomas, Mike Hill
Classification: CTC
Country: Australia
Runtime: 90mins
7 November
Audrey
Jackie van Beek (Nude Tuesday) leads this Australian comedy as Ronnie, self-appointed Mother of the Year, who has given her daughter Audrey everything. So when Audrey selfishly falls into a coma, Ronnie has no choice but to keep their dreams alive by assuming her identity.
ScreenHub: Audrey film review: comedy with teenage hopes and tacky tropes
Director: Natalie Bailey
Cast: Jackie van Beek, Hannah Diviney
Classification: MA
Country: Australia
Runtime: 96m
Overlord: The Sacred Kingdom
Momonga, now known as the Sorcerer King Ains Ooal Gown, rallies the Sorcerer Kingdom and its undead army to join the fight alongside the Sacred Kingdom and the Slane Theocracy in hopes to defeat the Demon Emperor Jaldabaoth.
Director: Naoyuki Itô
Cast: Asami Seto, Yumi Hara
Classification: MA
Country: Japan
Runtime: 132m
Red One
Dwayne Johnson reunites with the director of Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle for this Christmas flick, co-starring Chris Evans, Lucy Liu and J.K. Simmons. After a villain kidnaps Santa from the North Pole, an E.L.F (Extremely Large and Formidable) operative (Johnson) must partner with the world’s most accomplished tracker (Evans) to find Santa and save Christmas.
Director: Jake Kasdan
Cast: Dwayne Johnson, Chris Evans, Lucy Liu.
Classification: CTC
Country: USA
Runtime: 123m
ScreenHub: Godzilla at 70: a brief history of movies’ most memorable monster
Sasquatch Sunset
The filmmakers behind Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter follows a year in the life of a Sasquatch family, two of whom are played by Oscar nominee Jesse Eisenberg and Emmy nominee Riley Keough.
Director: David Zellner, Nathan Zellner
Cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Riley Keough
Classification: CTC
Country: USA
Runtime: 89m
The Pool
Documentary following a year in the life of the Bondi Icebergs, the most photographed pool in the world. This is where generations of children have learnt to swim, where the diehard have braved the frigid waters of one hundred winters, where the young and beautiful have come to bond and bake in the hot sun.
Director: Ian Darling
Cast: N/A
Classification: CTC
Country: Australia
Runtime: 95m
Unbreakable: The Jelena Dokic Story
Tennis star Jelena Dokic survived war, bullying and extreme violence by her father Damir Dokic. This is her story.
Director: Jessica Halloran
Cast: Jelena Dokic
Classification: CTC
Country: Australia
Runtime: 120m
8 November
Andrea Bocelli 30: The Celebration
Journey to the Teatro del Silenzio (Theater of Silence), Lajatico, where once-in-a-lifetime performances showcase the Maestro’s extensive and beloved repertoire, alongside captivating duets with an unprecedented cast of global superstars, including Ed Sheeran, Shania Twain, Will Smith, Jon Batiste, Sofia Carson, Lang Lang, Nadine Sierra and more. With extraordinary staging, production, and visuals, set against a landscape of unparalleled beauty amongst the Tuscan hills, Andrea Bocelli’s sensational career comes to life in a truly unforgettable experience.
Director: Sam Wrench
Cast: Andrea Bocella, Ed Sheeran, Shania Twain
Classification: CTC
Country: USA
Runtime: 151m
The Piano Lesson
Samuel L Jackson, John David Washington (Tenet), Danielle Deadwyler (Till), and Corey Hawkins (Straight Outta Compton) star in this screen adaptation of the stage play by August Wilson (Fences, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom). The story follows the lives of the Charles family as they deal with themes of family legacy and more, in deciding what to do with an heirloom, the family piano.
Director: Malcolm Washington
Cast: Samuel L Jackson, Danielle Deadwyler, John David Washington
Classification: M
Country: USA
Runtime: 127m
9 November
Exhibition on Screen: Van Gogh – Poets & Lovers
200 years after its opening and a century after acquiring its first Van Gogh works, the National Gallery is hosting the UK’s biggest ever Van Gogh exhibition.
Director: David Bickerstaff
Cast: N/A
Classification: E
Country: UK
Runtime: 90m
MetOpera: Grounded
The Met takes on librettist George Brant’s acclaimed play, wrestling with the ethical quandaries and psychological toll of 21st-century warfare.
Director: The Metropolitan Opera
Cast: Ben Bliss, Emily D’Angelo
Classification: CTC
Country: USA
Runtime: 164m
