Ever since Avatar hit theaters in 2009 and smashed box office records, the last few weeks of the year have become increasingly important to movie studios. Many of the year’s biggest movies are now reserved for November and December–three of the last four Star Wars movies were released just before Christmas, and the Avatar sequels have all got December releases lined up over the next decade. The first of this year’s big winter releases arrives this week, in the magical shape of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. The first Fantastic Beasts made more than $814 million at the worldwide box office two years ago, and expect the sequel to perform just as well.
For those movie fans uninterested in warring wizards, this week also sees the US release of Widows, the highly acclaimed heist thriller from 12 Years a Slave director Steve McQueen. There’s also the comedy Instant Family with Mark Wahlberg and Rose Byrne, while UK audiences can check out a couple of new horror movies– the Dario Argento remake Suspiria and slasher movie Hell Fest.
The Coen brothers also make a return this week, with The Ballad of Buster Scruggs on Netflix. It’s a western comedy that tells six different stories, and has a cast that includes Liam Neeson and James Franco. Also on Netflix is Cam, a dark horror movie about video cam girls and doppelgangers from Get Out producers Blumhouse. So here’s the week’s new releases in the both the US and UK, in both theaters and on streaming…

