Ralph Fiennes in Conclave Credit: Courtesy of Philippe Antonello/Focus Features

new in theaters

THE BEST CHRISTMAS PAGEANT EVER: Six siblings known for making trouble take over the local church’s festivities in this comedy from director Dallas Jenkins, starring Lauren Graham and Judy Greer. (99 min, PG. Capitol, Essex, Majestic, Marquis, Star)

ELEVATION: Three people brave postapocalyptic monsters to save a kid in this action thriller from George Nolfi, starring Anthony Mackie and Morena Baccarin. (90 min, R. Majestic)

HERETIC: Missionaries (Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East) try to convert the wrong person (Hugh Grant) in this horror film from directors Scott Beck and Bryan Woods. (110 min, R. Essex, Majestic, Paramount, Star, Sunset)

MEANWHILE ON EARTH: A young woman (Megan Northam) receives a mysterious message from her brother, an astronaut lost in space, in this drama from director Jérémy Clapin. (89 min, R. Savoy)

SMALL THINGS LIKE THESE: Cillian Murphy plays a man discovering the dark secrets of the local Magdalen Laundry in this historical drama directed by Tim Mielants and based on Claire Keegan’s novel. (98 min, PG-13. Capitol)

currently playing

ABSOLUTION ★★1/2 Liam Neeson stars in this crime thriller as an aging gangster trying to right past wrongs. Hans Petter Moland (Cold Pursuit) directed. (112 min, R. Majestic)

THE APPRENTICE ★★★ Sebastian Stan plays the young Donald Trump in this biopic about his real estate dealings; Maria Bakalova is Ivana. Ali Abbasi (Border) directed. (120 min, R. Roxy)

BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE ★★★1/2 A grown-up Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder) must save her daughter in this Tim Burton fantasy sequel. (104 min, PG-13. Capitol, Majestic, Sunset; reviewed 9/11)

CONCLAVE ★★★★ A conspiracy interferes with the selection of a new pope in this thriller starring Ralph Fiennes and Stanley Tucci, directed by Edward Berger. (120 min, PG. Essex, Majestic, Savoy)

EXHIBITING FORGIVENESS: An artist faces a reckoning with his estranged father in this Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize nominee, directed by Titus Kaphar and starring André Holland and John Earl Jelks. (117 min, R. Savoy)

HERE ★★ The latest from director Robert Zemeckis follows the events on a single plot of land as time passes and different people make it a home. Tom Hanks, Robin Wright and Paul Bettany star. (104 min, PG-13. Capitol, Essex, Majestic)

HITPIG: Berkeley Breathed is among the writers of this animated comedy about a porcine bounty hunter (voice of Jason Sudeikis) pursuing a dancing elephant. (86 min, PG. Bijou, Majestic, Marquis, Paramount, Welden)

LOST ON A MOUNTAIN IN MAINE: This adventure drama from director Andrew Boodhoo Kightlinger is the survival tale of a 12-year-old (Luke David Blumm) who becomes stranded on Mount Katahdin. (98 min, PG. Bijou, Capitol, Roxy)

PIECE BY PIECE ★★★ Lego animation tells the story of Pharrell Williams, who stars in the musical biopic with director Morgan Neville, Kendrick Lamar and Gwen Stefani. (93 min, PG. Catamount)

SATURDAY NIGHT ★★★1/2 Jason Reitman’s comedy-drama chronicles the 90 minutes before the 1975 premiere of “Saturday Night Live.” (109 min, R. Big Picture, Playhouse, Roxy; reviewed 10/16)

SINGHAM AGAIN: Rohit Shetty directed the Hindi action drama. (144 min, NR. Majestic)

SMILE 2 ★★★1/2 In the sequel to the horror hit, a pop star (Naomi Scott) is stalked by … a cheery expression? With Kyle Gallner and Drew Barrymore. (127 min, R. Essex, Majestic, Marquis, Roxy, Star, Sunset)

THE SUBSTANCE ★★★★1/2 Coralie Fargeat (Revenge) wrote and directed this horror drama about a celebrity (Demi Moore) seeking the fountain of youth. (140 min, R. Roxy; reviewed 9/25)

TERRIFIER 3 ★★★ Art the Clown (David Howard Thornton) gets his own holiday movie in the third installment of this cult gore-fest. “Unrated” means don’t bring kids. (125 min, NR. Roxy, Stowe, Sunset)

VENOM: THE LAST DANCE ★★ Tom Hardy returns as the Marvel Comics character in a complicated relationship with an alien symbiote. (109 min, PG-13. Bijou, Capitol, Essex, Majestic, Paramount, Roxy, Star, Stowe, Sunset, Welden)

WE LIVE IN TIME ★★★1/2 John Crowley (Brooklyn) directed this romance starring Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh. (107 min, R. Essex, Majestic, Roxy, Sunset; reviewed 10/30)

WHITE BIRD ★★1/2 A boy learns life lessons from his grandmother’s story of escaping Nazi-occupied France in this family drama. (120 min, PG-13. Big Picture)

THE WILD ROBOT ★★★★1/2 A shipwrecked robot becomes caretaker to an orphaned gosling in this animated family adventure. (101 min, PG. Bijou, Capitol, Essex, Majestic, Star, Stowe, Welden)

older films and special screenings

ANDREA BOCELLI 30: THE CELEBRATION (Essex)

A CHRISTMAS STORY (Sunset)

DRAGON BALL DAIMA (Essex, Sun & Mon only)

EQUINOX ENVIRONMENTAL FILM FESTIVAL (Savoy, Sat only)

JOHN WICK: 10TH ANNIVERSARY (Essex, Wed 6 only)

MISSION MT. MANGART (Catamount, Mon only)

THE POLAR EXPRESS (Sunset)

THE PRINCESS BRIDE (Catamount, Wed 6 only)

PUPPY LOVE (Savoy, Wed 6 only)

RED ONE (Essex, Sun only)

open theaters

(* = upcoming schedule for theater was not available at press time)

This article appears in Nov 6-12, 2024.

Margot Harrison is a consulting editor and film critic at Seven Days. Her film reviews appear every week in the paper and online. In 2024, she won the Jim Ridley Award for arts criticism from the Association of Alternative Newsmedia. Her book reviews...