As we settle in for a prestige movie season, all isn’t quite well in the movie world: This summer’s box-office totals, despite some big hits, lagged behind last year’s— no doubt due in large part to the 2023 Hollywood strikes still affecting the amount of product in theaters. Will this year’s crop of fall movies get us all back in theaters again?

Here are a lucky 13 upcoming releases that might do the trick; note that release dates are subject to change.

“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice”

So, why isn’t this movie being held for Halloween? (Well, I guess the original, which came out in March 1988, wasn’t either.) Anyway, Tim Burton’s follow-up to everyone’s favorite Goth horror comedy reunites Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder and Catherine O’Hara from the original, and adds Jenna Ortega (star of “Wednesday” on Netflix), Justin Theroux and Willem Dafoe. (Sept. 6)

“My Old Ass”

All of us who miss “Parks and Rec” would likely watch Aubrey Plaza in anything, and this comedy from Megan Park sounds like a winning premise: Plaza plays a younger woman’s older self who pops up to offer advice — in, no doubt, perfect deadpan. (Limited theatrical release Sept. 13; expands nationwide Sept. 27)

“Wolfs”

Jon Watts, who’s directed the last few (very zippy) “Spider-Man” installments, here takes on a crime caper in which two longtime “fixers” (George Clooney and Brad Pitt) accidentally get called to clean up the same apparent murder. Call it “Ocean’s Two,” maybe? (Limited theatrical release Sept. 20; streams on Apple TV+ Sept. 27 )

“Megalopolis”

A longtime passion project for filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola (whose masterpiece “The Godfather” celebrates its 52nd birthday this year), “Megalopolis” was described by the Toronto International Film Festival as “pivoting between political drama, philosophical science fiction, and star-crossed romance.” Adam Driver stars as a grieving architect with utopian ambitions; the cast also includes Giancarlo Esposito, Jon Voight, Laurence Fishburne, Talia Shire, Jason Schwartzman and Dustin Hoffman. (Sept. 27)

“Joker: Folie à Deux”

So, is it a musical? Or is it just Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga staring at each other while wearing smeary makeup? I wasn’t a huge fan of Todd Phillips’ 2019 film “Joker,” but perhaps Gaga and her scratchy-voiced magnetism is the missing ingredient. She plays Harley Quinn, who Joker/Arthur Fleck meets during a stint at a psychiatric hospital; note that the French subtitle translates as “madness for two.” (Oct. 4)

“Piece by Piece”

I did not have on my 2024 movie bingo card the phrase “the life of Pharrell Williams rendered in Lego animation,” but hey, life is a rich journey and I’ll roll with it. Need I really say anything more? Morgan Neville (“20 Feet From Stardom,” “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?”) directs, and the trailer looks like this movie just might make us — say it with me — “ Happy.” (Oct. 11)

“We Live in Time”

Here’s a potentially charming pairing: Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh, as a couple who meet cute (she runs him over) and embark on a long romance. John Crowley (watch his lovely “ Brooklyn,” should you be in need of a perfect romantic drama) directs. (Oct. 11)

“Nickel Boys”

Colson Whitehead’s 2019 novel, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for fiction, gets the movie treatment in an adaptation directed by RaMell Ross. The story is set in a fictionalized version of the Dozier School for Boys, a reform school in Jim Crow-era Florida notorious for abuse, and follows a man looking back on his experiences there. (Oct. 25)

“Conclave”

Based on a novel by Robert Harris, this drama takes us inside the Vatican for a notoriously secret process: the selection of a new pope. Ralph Fiennes plays a cardinal tasked with overseeing the succession — who finds that the previous pope has kept a secret from him. Also on hand and robed up: Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow and Isabella Rossellini. German filmmaker Edward Berger (“All Quiet on the Western Front”) directs. (Nov. 1)

“The Piano Lesson”

The latest August Wilson play to arrive on screen is the story of two siblings clashing over the family legacy of an heirloom piano; it stars Samuel L. Jackson, Danielle Deadwyler and John David Washington, with Malcolm Washington directing. Wilson is known for his 10-play Pittsburgh Cycle, a series of plays depicting the Black American experience across the 20th century; previous films include “ Fences” and “ Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.” (Limited theatrical release Nov. 8; streaming on Netflix Nov. 22)

“A Real Pain”

Jesse Eisenberg, still known as Mark Zuckerberg in “The Social Network” to a lot of us, wrote and directed this Sundance Award-winning drama about a pair of cousins (Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin) who travel through Poland to honor their late grandmother and sort out their complicated connection. (Nov. 15)

“Heretic”

I had not realized until this moment that I have been waiting a very long time for a horror movie starring Hugh Grant as a demented, plummy-voiced villain. Here, he plays a diabolical man who has a lovely time luring two missionaries into a cat-and-mouse game. Grant doesn’t appear in movies too often these days; I suspect this one might be good scary fun. (Nov. 15)

“Gladiator II”

It’s been rather a wait — the original “Gladiator” was back in 2000 — and Russell Crowe’s not involved, but nonetheless Ridley Scott’s long-awaited sequel of ancient Rome is finally arriving in theaters. Connie Nielsen and Derek Jacobi reprise their roles, and Denzel Washington, Paul Mescal and Pedro Pascal join the cast. (Nov. 22)

“Wicked”

The “Wizard of Oz”-inspired musical has been beloved for a couple of decades — and fans have been waiting for the movie almost that long. (Plans for the film were first confirmed in 2012.) Now, finally, here it is — or, rather, here’s the first half; the second half comes next year — with Cynthia Erivo as the green-skinned witch Elphaba, Ariana Grande as the pink-clad witch Glinda, and supporting roles played by Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum, Bowen Yang and Peter Dinklage. Ready to hum “Defying Gravity”? (Nov. 22)

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