Dakota Johnson in Verity Credit: Courtesy of Alisha Wetherill/Amazon MGM

new in theaters

AMERICAN DOCTOR: Poh Si Teng’s documentary follows three American doctors in Gaza — one of Jewish ancestry, one Palestinian, one Zoroastrian. (91 min, NR. Partizanfilm)

DIGGER: In the latest satire from Alejandro G. Iñárritu (Birdman), Tom Cruise plays the world’s most powerful man on a mission to save humanity. With Riz Ahmed and John Goodman. (128 min, R. Bijou, Capitol, City Cinema, Essex, Majestic, Marquis, Playhouse, Star, Sunset)

THE STUNT DRIVER: Jay Baruchel plays stuntman Ken Carter, who hoped to ride a rocket car across the St. Lawrence River, in this biopic. (99 min, R. Sunset)

VERITY: An author (Dakota Johnson) uncovers sinister doings when she’s hired to ghostwrite for a woman (Anne Hathaway) in a coma in Michael Showalter’s adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s thriller. (114 min, R. Bijou, Capitol, City Cinema, Essex, Majestic, Star, Sunset)

currently playing

BUDDY★★★1/2 Kids must escape a deadly children’s TV show in this indie slasher. (95 min, R. Majestic)

CHARLIE HARPER★★1/2 A young couple (Emilia Jones and Nick Robinson) face challenges after moving to a new city in Tom Dean and Mac Eldridge’s romance. (102 min, R. Majestic)

COYOTE VS. ACME★★★★ Looney Tunes’ Wile E. Coyote sues the Acme corporation in this live action/animated comedy. (101 min, PG. Majestic, Marquis, Sunset)

FORGOTTEN ISLAND★★★1/2 Two friends get trapped in a world that steals their memories in this DreamWorks animation featuring the voices of H.E.R. and Liza Soberano. (109 min, PG. Bijou, Capitol, Essex, Majestic, Star, Sunset, Welden)

HA-CHAN, SHAKE YOUR BOOTY!★★★1/2 Rinko Kukuchi plays a grieving dancer in Josef Kubota Wladyka’s drama set in Tokyo’s competitive ballroom scene. (122 min, R. Essex, Partizanfilm)

HEART OF THE BEAST★★★1/2 A Special Forces officer (Brad Pitt) and his dog must survive in the Alaskan wilderness after a plane crash in David Ayer’s adventure drama. (101 min, PG-13. Big Picture, Bijou, City Cinema, Essex, Majestic, Paramount, Star)

HOPE★★★1/2 Something monstrous invades an isolated village in this sci-fi action thriller from Na Hong-jin (The Wailing), starring Hwang Jun-min, Zo In-sung and Michael Fassbender. (160 min, R. Savoy)

THE MARCHING BAND: In this comedy from France, a famous classical conductor (Benjamin Lavernhe) learns he has a musician brother in far humbler circumstances. (102 min, NR. Catamount)

THE ODYSSEY★★★★ Christopher Nolan takes on the Homeric epic of a weary warrior (Matt Damon) trying to return home. (180 min, R. Majestic; reviewed 7/22)

PAW PATROL: THE DINO MOVIE★★1/2 The team must save a dinosaur island in this family adventure. (88 min, PG. Majestic)

PRACTICAL MAGIC 2★★★ Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock reprise their roles as sister witches in Susanne Bier’s legacy sequel. (110 min, PG-13. Capitol, Essex, Majestic, Stowe, Sunset, Welden; reviewed 9/16)

PRIMETIME★★★★ Robert Pattinson plays “To Catch a Predator” host Chris Hansen in Lance Oppenheim’s fact-based drama about the perils of turning crime into ratings. With Merritt Wever and Skyler Gisondo. (110 min, R. Capitol, Essex, Majestic, Partizanfilm, Savoy, Stowe, Sunset; reviewed 9/30)

RESIDENT EVIL★★★★ Cowriter-director Zach Cregger (Weapons) offers his cinematic take on the zombie horror game franchise, starring Austin Abrams. (90 min, R. Essex, Majestic, Paramount, Stowe, Sunset, Welden; reviewed 9/23)

RUNNER★★★ A cartel attack complicates a life-saving organ delivery in Scott Waugh’s action comedy. (97 min, PG-13. Big Picture)

SHAUN THE SHEEP: THE BEAST OF MOSSY BOTTOM★★★★ An attempt to fix the farm’s pumpkin patch goes horribly awry in this stop-motion-animated twist on Frankenstein. (80 min, PG. Majestic)

SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY★★★1/2 Can Peter Parker (Tom Holland) stay under the radar? (145 min, PG-13. Essex, Majestic)

THE WEIGHT★★★1/2 Ethan Hawke plays a desperate war vet hired to smuggle gold across the Depression-era U.S. in Padraic McKinley’s adventure drama, with Russell Crowe. (115 min, R. Majestic)

older films and special screenings

AVENGERS ENDGAME ENCORE (Capitol, Essex, Majestic)

BAGDAD CAFÉ (VTIFF, Thu only)

DONNIE DARKO 25TH ANNIVERSARY (Essex, Fri-Sun only)

EVERY DAY: BIG AND SMALL (Catamount [Sun only], Playhouse [Wed 7 only], Savoy [Thu & Fri only], Welden [Tue only])

MANHATTAN SHORT FILM FESTIVAL 2026 (Majestic)

SPLENDOR IN THE GRASS (Partizanfilm, Wed 30 only)

STEAL THIS STORY, PLEASE! (Welden, Mon only)

VTIFF 2026 SNEAK PREVIEW (VTIFF, Wed 7 only)

THE WORK IN PROGRESS (VTIFF, Fri only)

open theaters

(* = upcoming schedule for theater could not be confirmed at press time)

  • *BIG PICTURE THEATER: 48 Carroll Rd., Waitsfield, 496-8994, bigpicturetheater.info. Closed through April 29.
  • BIJOU CINEPLEX 4: 107 Portland St., Morrisville, 888-3293, bijou4.com
  • CAPITOL THEATER: 93 State St., Montpelier, 229-0343, fgbtheaters.com
  • CATAMOUNT ARTS: 115 Eastern Ave., St. Johnsbury, 748-2600, catamountarts.org
  • CITY CINEMA: 137 Waterfront Plaza, Newport, 334-2610, citycinemanewport.com
  • ESSEX CINEMAS & T-REX THEATER:
    21 Essex Way, Suite 300, Essex, 879-6543, essexcinemas.com
  • *MAJESTIC 10: 190 Boxwood St., Williston, 878-2010, majestic10.com
  • MARQUIS THEATER: 65 Main St., Middlebury, 388-4841, middleburymarquis.com.
  • PARAMOUNT TWIN CINEMA: 241 N. Main St., Barre, 479-9621, fgbtheaters.com
  • PARTIZANFILM: 230 College St., Unit 13, Burlington, 276-4588, partizanfilm.org
  • PLAYHOUSE MOVIE THEATRE: 11 S. Main St., Randolph, 728-4012, playhouseflicks.com
  • SAVOY THEATER: 26 Main St., Montpelier, 229-0598, savoytheater.com
  • THE SCREENING ROOM @ VTIFF: 60 Lake St., Ste. 1C, Burlington, 660-2600, vtiff.org
  • STAR THEATRE: 17 Eastern Ave., St. Johnsbury, 748-9511, stjaytheatre.com
  • *STOWE CINEMA 3PLEX: 454 Mountain Rd., Stowe, 253-4678, stowecinema.com
  • SUNSET DRIVE-IN: 155 Porters Point Rd., Colchester, 862-1800, sunsetdrivein.com
  • *WELDEN THEATRE: 104 N. Main St., St. Albans, 527-7888, weldentheatre.com

This article appears in September 30 • 2026.

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 have also appeared in the New York Times. She is a member of the Online Film Critics Society, with reviews on the Tomatometer, and the author of five novels, including YA thrillers Only She Came Back and We Made It All Up.