2016 holiday movie preview: ‘Star Wars’ spin-off, another ‘Bad Santa’

A certain doctor, some aliens and “Fantastic Beasts” have already kicked off the holiday movie season, but there are still lots of heavy hitters and awards-season favorites on the way.

Here’s a look at what’s in store through the end of the year (release dates are subject to change):

Wednesday, Nov. 23

“Allied” – It’s pretty-people-go-to-war time, as Brad Pitt plays an intelligence officer in 1942 North Africa who becomes romantically involved with a French resistance fighter (Marion Cotillard). Robert Zemeckis (“Forrest Gump”) directs.

“Bad Santa 2” – Because the world just simply couldn’t go on without another “Bad Santa” movie comes this sequel with Billy Bob Thornton returning as the worst Kris Kringle ever.

“Moana” – Disney’s animation follows an adventurous Polynesian teenager who sails out on a daring mission to save her people.

“Rules Don’t Apply” – Warren Beatty writes, directs and stars as Howard Hughes in this comedy/drama set in 1958 Hollywood about the romantic relationship between a young actress (Lily Collins) and her driver (Alden Ehrenreich), which is forbidden by their boss – Hughes himself. This is Beatty’s first starring role since 2001’s “Town and Country” and his first directorial effort since 1998’s “Bulworth” (well, he couldn’t go out with that).

Friday, Nov. 25

“Lion” – A young Indian man (Dev Patel, the go-to guy for such roles after “Slumdog Millionaire” and “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel”) sets out to find the family he was separated from when he took a wrong train as a 5-year-old. Rooney Mara and Nicole Kidman also star.

Dec. 2

“Incarnate” – If holiday shopping crowds aren’t enough to scare you, this horror tale follows a scientist who uses his subconscious powers to rescue a young boy possessed by a demon.

“Kidnap” – Halle Berry tries to reinvent herself – as Liam Neeson did going the action route in “Taken” – as a mother who will stop at nothing to recover her kidnapped son. Pretty literal title, but hey, “Taken” was, well, taken.

Dec. 9

“Office Christmas Party” – It’s just what the title says, as a group of workers throw an office Christmas party that gets out of hand in this raucous comedy. With Jason Bateman, T.J. Miller, Kate McKinnon and Jennifer Aniston.

Dec. 16

“Collateral Beauty” – Will Smith stars as a successful New York advertising executive who experiences a personal tragedy and retreats from life until his colleagues force him to confront his grief. Also starring Keira Knightley, Kate Winslet and Edward Norton.

“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” – The first of the “Star Wars” spinoff movies takes place after “Revenge of the Sith” and before “A New Hope,” as a ragtag group of rebels set out to steal the plans to the Death Star.

“The Space Between Us” – The first human (Asa Butterfield, “Ender’s Game”) born on Mars returns to Earth and sets out to find his father.

Dec. 21

“Assassin’s Creed” – The wildly popular video games series gets turned into a movie, starring Michael Fassbender as a man who explores the memories of his ancestors and gains the skills of a master assassin.

“Passengers” – A spacecraft traveling to a distant colony planet transporting thousands of people has a malfunction in its sleep chambers, causing two people (Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt) to awaken 90 years too early. They didn’t need the beauty rest, anyway.

“Sing” – This animated musical from the makers of “Despicable Me” follows a koala named Buster Moon (voice of Matthew McConaughey), who has one final chance to restore his theater to its former glory by producing a singing competition.

“Why Him?” – Comedy about an overprotective dad (Bryan Cranston) who visits his daughter at Stanford, where he clashes with her well-meaning but socially awkward billionaire boyfriend (James Franco).

Christmas Day

“Fences” – Denzel Washington directs and reprises his 2010 Tony-winning Broadway role opposite Viola Davis in this adaptation of playwright August Wilson’s drama about a former baseball player struggling with race relations and events in his life during the 1950s. Look for this to be Oscar fodder.

“Gold” – An unlikely pair of people (Matthew McConaughey and Bryce Dallas Howard) venture to the Indonesian jungle in search of gold. And some box office dollars, too.

This story was originally published November 17, 2016 at 1:10 PM with the headline "2016 holiday movie preview: ‘Star Wars’ spin-off, another ‘Bad Santa’."