At last, you can wave goodbye to the summer blockbusters and welcome the flood of quality films between now and Christmas. Michael Dwyer takes a look ahead

ACCEPTED Grosse Point Blank screenwriter Steve Pink turns director with a comedy yarn of an enterprising slacker (Justin Long) enrolling at a fictional college to mollify his parents. October 6

ALL THE KING'S MEN The 1949 film based on Robert Penn Warren's novel took the 1949 Oscars for best picture and best actor (Broderick Crawford). Will lightning strike twice for Steven Zaillian's treatment, with Sean Penn playing corrupt politician Willie Stark? The formidable cast includes Jude Law, Kate Winslet, Patricia Clarkson, James Gandolfini, Mark Ruffalo and Anthony Hopkins. October 27

BARNYARD In Steve Oerekerk's animated comedy, Kevin James (as a carefree cow) heads the voice cast. October 20

BEERFEST Comedy troupe Broken Lizard follow Super Troopers with a romp that takes them from the US to Germany for Oktoberfest. September 8

BIG NOTHING Dark comedy featuring David Schwimmer as an embittered teacher embarking on a blackmail scheme with a con artist (Simon Pegg). November 24

THE BLACK DAHLIA Brian de Palma's thriller based on James Ellroy's novel is set in 1940s Los Angeles as two detectives (Josh Hartnett and Aaron Eckhart) investigate a murder and uncover police corruption. With Hilary Swank, Scarlett Johansson and Irish actors Fiona Shaw and John Kavanagh. September 15

BORAT Sacha Baron Cohen plays the eponymous Kazakhstan TV reporter on assignment in the US - where he becomes obsessed with meeting and marrying Pamela Anderson, who plays herself. November 3

BREAKING AND ENTERING After a succession of literary adaptations, Anthony Minghella directs an original screenplay of his own. Jude Law plays a landscape architect whose London office is repeatedly burgled, triggering events that intersect the lives of disparate characters. With Juliette Binoche, Robin Wright Penn, Vera Farmiga, Ray Winstone and Martin Freeman. December 1

BROTHERS OF THE HEAD Directors Keith Fulton and Louis Pepe follow Lost in La Mancha with a mockumentary on conjoined twins groomed as rock stars. October 8

THE CAIMAN In Nanni Moretti's scathing political satire, a faded Italian B-movie producer (Silvio Orlando) takes on a script written by an idealistic single mother (Jasmine Trinca) that deals with Silvio Berlusconi. November 10

CASINO ROYALE Will Daniel Craig fit the part as James Bond takes on the first mission of his career, pitted against Le Chiffre (Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen), banker to the world's terrorists? Martin Campbell, who made GoldenEye, directs. November 17

CHILDREN OF MEN In Alfonso Cuarón's film of the futuristic PD James novel, the human race faces extinction unless a disenchanted activist (Clive Owen) can save the last pregnant woman (Julianne Moore). September 22

CLERKS II Originally titled The Passion of the Clerks, Kevin Smith's sequel to his no-budget 1994 hit is a non-PC comedy in which New Jersey slackers Dante (Brian O'Halloran) and Randal (Jeff Anderson) are employed at a cow-themed burger joint. September 22

CLICK Adam Sandler plays a harassed man finding relief through a universal remote control that allows him to pause or fast-forward his nagging wife (Kate Beckinsale) and his irritating employer (David Hasselhoff). September 29

THE COVENANT In Renny Harlin's horror-thriller, four young men are charged with stopping an evil force they released into the world. With Steven Strait and Toby Hemingway. December 8

CRIME STORY/ROMANZO CRIMINALE Michele Placido's factually based Italian drama follows three childhood friends as they take over Rome's criminal empire in the 1970s. November 3

DECK THE HALLS A seasonal comedy starring Danny DeVito as a man who insists on decorating his house with a mass of Christmas lights, and Matthew Broderick as his irate neighbour. December 1

THE DEPARTED Martin Scorsese's reworking of Hong Kong thriller Infernal Affairs transposes the action to an Irish-American criminal milieu in Boston where two men operate under secret identities on opposite sides of the law - an undercover cop (Leonardo DiCaprio) and a hardened criminal (Matt Damon). With Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen and Ray Winstone. October 6

DÉJÀ VU Denzel Washington plays a US agent aided by his sense of deja vu in solving the bombing of a ferry. Tony Scott directs. December 22

THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA Meryl Streep is on scintillating form, delivering bitchy put-downs with panache and exuding hauteur as the powerful editor of a fashion magazine. Anne Hathaway plays her unfortunate new assistant. October 6

DIRTY SANCHEZ Britain's answer to Jackass gets the big-screen treatment as the series regulars, four men who revel in nudity and masochistic behaviour, perform gross stunts based on the seven deadly sins. September 22

ECHO PARK LA Released in the US as Quinceanera, this Sundance award-winner features Emily Rios as a Mexican-American teen thrown out of home when she becomes pregnant. September 29

ERAGON Newcomer Edward Speelers plays the eponymous farm boy aided by a CGI-generated female dragon to topple an evil king (John Malkovich) in this fantasy adventure based on Christopher Paolini's best-seller. December 15

FAST FOOD NATION Richard Linklater reshapes Eric Schlosser's non-fiction book as a narrative feature, pulling no punches to depict fast food production as disgusting and dangerous. With Greg Kinnear, Catalina Sandino Moreno and Ethan Hawke. November 10

FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS Thriving at 76, Clint Eastwood directs a second World War drama based on the six soldiers who raised the US flag at Iwo Jima after an epic battle with the Japanese. Ryan Phillippe, Jesse Bradford and Jamie Bell head the cast. A companion film, Red Sand, White Sand - in which Eastwood observes the battle from the Japanese point of view - follows next year. December 22

FLUSHED AWAY Hugh Jackman, Kate Winslet and Ian McKellen lead the voice cast in an animated comedy of a rat flushed down the toilet of his penthouse residence to a life in the London sewers. December 1

FUR Director Steven Shainberg follows the provocative Secretary with a fictionalised biopic of photographer Diane Arbus, played by Nicole Kidman. With Robert Downey Jr. November 10

GABRIELLE Patrice Chereau's discursive melodrama, set in early 20th-century Paris and based on a Joseph Conrad story, charts the loveless marriage between a smug businessman (Pascal Greggory) and the wife (Isabelle Huppert) he takes for granted. November 17

A GOOD YEAR Reunited with Gladiator director Ridley Scott for a film inspired by Peter Mayle's A Year in Provence, Russell Crowe plays a workaholic English banker transformed when he inherits a French vineyard from his uncle (Albert Finney). October 27

THE GRUDGE 2 Takashi Shimizu's apparently unstoppable obsession with his Ju-On horror series continues with his US remake of the first sequel, as Amber Tamblyn picks up the curse that afflicted her sister (Sarah Michelle Gellar). October 27

THE GUARDIAN Ashton Kutcher plays an ambitious swimmer training for an elite military unit, with Kevin Costner as his troubled mentor. Andrew Davis directs. October 20

GYPO Jan Dunn's British Dogme film features Pauline McLynn as a harried Margate woman living with an uncommunicative husband (Paul McGann) and befriending a Czech asylum seeker (Chloe Sirene). October 27 tbc

HAPPY FEET Emperor penguins return to the screen in an animated musical, as a couple (voiced by Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman) frets that their tone-deaf son (Elijah Wood) is preoccupied with tap dancing. December 8

THE HISTORY BOYS Nicholas Hytner brings his awards-laden production of Alan Bennett's play to the screen, with the stage cast, led by Richard Griffiths, Stephen Campbell Moore and Frances de la Tour, as the teachers of bright, unruly students seeking places at Oxford and Cambridge. October 13

HOODWINKED! The Little Red Riding Hood story gets an irreverent CGI-animated makeover. October 13

I AM CUBA/SOY CUBA Restored and reissued with the support of Scorsese and Coppola, Mikhail Kalatozov's 1964 film, scripted by poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko, shimmers with technical virtuosity as it celebrates the fall of capitalism in Cuba and the rise of Fidel Castro. September 22

IDLEWILD OutKast duo Andre 2000 and Big Boi play speakeasy performers dealing with gangsters and romantic complications in a musical set during the Prohibition era. October 8

AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH The compelling filmed record of Al Gore's touring multimedia presentation employs a hi-tech assembly of data, charts and graphics to drive home its pertinent points on the causes and dangers of global warming. September 15

ISOLATION Corkonian writer-director Billy O'Brien makes his feature debut with an unsettling drama dealing with genetic tampering on a remote Irish farm. With John Lynch, Essie Davis, Ruth Negga and Sean Harris. September 29

IT'S A BOY GIRL THING A body-swap comedy involving a popular high-school student (Kevin Zegers from Transamerica) and his prim neighbour (Samaire Armstrong from The OC). December 29

JACKASS: NUMBER TWO Johnny Knoxville, Steve-O and their MTV partners-in-slime return for a romp rooted in the belief that nothing succeeds like excess. October 13

THE LAST KISS Actor Tony Goldwyn directs a remake of a 2001 Italian romantic comedy with Zach Braff as the man torn between two women (Jacinta Barrett and Rachel Bilson) as he reaches 30. October 20

LEONARD COHEN: I'M YOUR MAN Lian Lunson's documentary blends a career-spanning interview with Cohen and extensive footage filmed in Sydney last year at the Cohen tribute concert, Came So Far For Beauty (due in Dublin earlier in October). Performers include U2, Nick Cave, Rufus Wainwright, Martha Wainwright, Jarvis Cocker and Beth Orton. October 20

LIFE & LYRICS Former So Solid Crew rapper Ashley Walters (from Bullet Boy) plays a south London DJ falling for a rival performer during a rap crew contest. September 29

LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE Music video veterans Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris make their feature debut with a dark comedy of a family determined to get their daughter into a beauty pageant. With Greg Kinnear, Toni Collette, Steve Carell and Alan Arkin. September 8

MARIE-ANTOINETTE Kirsten Dunst is appealing as the teen queen in Sofia Coppola's slavishly hip picture, which is preoccupied with capturing the style of the time at the expense of historical context. With Jason Schwartzman, Rip Torn, Judy Davis and Steve Coogan. October 20

MIDDLETOWN Brian Kirk's dark, brooding drama set in late 1950s Northern Ireland features Matthew Macfadyen as a scarily fundamentalist clergyman. With Daniel Mays, Eva Birthistle and Gerard McSorley. October 27 TBC

THE NAMESAKE The US-born son (Kal Penn) of Indian immigrants resists his family traditions as he tries to fit in with life in present-day Boston. Mira Nair directs. November 24

NATIVITY Director Catherine Hardwicke follows her tough contemporary US drama, Thirteen, with a biblical picture featuring Keisha Castle-Hughes and Oscar Isaac as Mary and Joseph before they go to Bethlehem for the birth of Jesus, and Ciaran Hinds as King Herod.

NEIL YOUNG: HEART OF GOLD Jonathan Demme's documentary features the gifted Canadian singer-songwriter on stage in Nashville, a week before he had brain surgery for an aneurism in August last year. The music draws on Young's recent Prairie Wind album and classics from his back catalogue. October 6

NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM Ben Stiller plays a security guard at a natural history museum where the exhibits come to life after hours. With Paul Rudd, Owen Wilson, Robin Williams, Dick Van Dyke, Mickey Rooney, Ricky Gervais and Steve Coogan. December 26

THE NIGHT LISTENER In Patrick Stettner's film of Armistead Maupin's novel, Robin Williams plays a radio presenter who develops a friendship over the phone with a young man (Rory Culkin) who has Aids. With Toni Collette and Sandra Oh. September 15

OPEN SEASON Gary Sinise, Billy Connolly and Ashton Kutcher lead the voice cast in an animated picture of a former circus bear teaming up with a deer against hunters. October 13

THE PAGE TURNER/LA TOURNEUSE DE PAGES Denis Dercourt's French drama features Deborah Francis as a frustrated musician employed by the concert pianist (Catherine Frot) she blames for wrecking her career prospects. November 3

PAN'S LABYRINTH Mexican director Guillermo del Toro blends magic realism, fairytale trappings and striking special effects for a fantasy set at the end of the Spanish Civil War. Sergi Lopez oozes malevolence as an army captain, the stepfather to a young girl who encounters a fantastical creature. November 24

PERFUME: THE STORY OF A MURDERER Run Lola Run director Tom Tykwer brings Patrick Susskind's novel of 18th-century criminal genius to the screen with Ben Whishaw in the central role of perfume perfectionist Jean-Baptiste Grenouille. With Dustin Hoffman, Alan Rickman and Corinna Harfouch. December 8

THE PRESTIGE Director Christopher Nolan reunites with Batman Begins star Christian Bale for a thriller set in London at the end of the 19th century. Bale and Hugh Jackman play magicians whose intense rivalry leads to murder. With Scarlett Johansson, Michael Caine and David Bowie. November 10

PULSE The US remake of the 2001 Japanese horror movie deals with a virus that allows malevolent spirits to infect the living through computers and mobile phones. With Ian Somerhalder and Kristen Bell. September 8

THE QUEEN Stephen Frears's provocative film is set after the death of Princess Diana, as Tony Blair (Michael Sheen) tries to reconnect her mother-in-law, Queen Elizabeth II (Helen Mirren), with the British public. September 15

RED ROAD A prize-winner at Cannes this year, Andrea Arnold's gripping psychological thriller features Kate Dickie as a lonely CCTV operator in Glasgow, where she takes great risks in following a violent ex-convict. November 3

REGULAR LOVERS/LES AMANTS REGULIERS Philippe Garrel's black-and-white autobiographical drama features his son Louis (from The Dreamers) as a young man caught up in the turbulent events of May 1968 in Paris. November 17

REQUIEM Hans-Christian Schmid's effects-free German production features Sandra Hueller as the troubled student whose 1976 exorcism inspired the recent US movie, The Exorcism of Emily Rose. November/December TBC

SANTA CLAUSE 3: THE ESCAPE CLAUSE No, there is no sanity clause as Tim Allen does his shtick again, this time preventing Jack Frost (Martin Short) from taking over Christmas. November 24

SHANGHAI DREAMS Chinese director Wang Xiaoshuai follows a family's return home to Shanghai in 1983, having left there during the Cultural Revolution in the late 1960s. October 13

SHORTBUS John Cameron Mitchell's exuberant, no-sexual-holds-barred movie is set among the habitués of a Manhattan underground "salon", a hive of multi-sexual activity for participants and voyeurs. December 1

SIXTY SIX A 12-year-old English boy (Greg Silkin) faces a dilemma when his bar mitzvah clashes with the 1966 World Cup final in this comedy-drama with Helena Bonham-Carter, Eddie Marsan, Catherine Tate and Stephen Rea. November 3

STARTER FOR TEN James McAvoy plays a working-class student on his first year at university in this British romantic comedy set in 1985. October 13

STICK IT Jeff Bridges is cast as a crusty coach clashing with a rebellious teen gymnast (Missy Peregrym) in a comedy yarn. October 27

STRANGER THAN FICTION Will Ferrell turns serious as a tax auditor mysteriously entangled within a plotline concocted by a British novelist (Emma Thompson). With Dustin Hoffman as a literature professor and Maggie Gyllenhaal as a heavily tattooed anarchist baker. Directed by Marc Forster. December 1

TALLADEGA NIGHTS: THE BALLAD OF RICKY BOBBY Will Ferrell reunites with Anchorman director Adam McKay for a comedy in which he plays the Nascar racing champion challenged by a sneaky French Formula One driver (Sacha Baron Cohen). September 15

TENACIOUS D IN THE PICK OF DESTINY Expect irreverent humour as the acoustic-metal duo of Jack Black and Kyle Gass seek out a magical guitar pick that could turn them into rock gods. November 17

THE TIGER'S TAIL "I play a property developer working in Celtic Tiger Ireland," Brendan Gleeson tells us. "He sees his double, which really freaks him out, because this guy appears to be stalking him." John Boorman's thriller also features Kim Cattrall, Ciaran Hinds, Brenda Fricker, Sean McGinley and Sinead Cusack. November 10

THREE TIMES Hou Hsiao-Hsein's meditative Taiwanese picture on longing and loneliness is formed as short stories set in 1911, 1966 and 2005, and featuring the same actors, Chang Chen and Shu Qi. October 20

TRUST THE MAN Julianne Moore plays an actress breaking up with her husband (David Duchovny), while her brother (Billy Crudup) and his long-time girlfriend (Maggie Gyllenhaal) have their own problems in this tale directed by Moore's husband, Brad Freundlich. September 22

UNACCOMPANIED MINORS Wilmer Valderamma plays a flight attendant coming to the rescue of disparate teens stranded at an airport on Christmas Eve. December 15

WORLD TRADE CENTER Oliver Stone follows Alexander with a 9/11 drama inspired by the experiences of two police officers (played by Nicolas Cage and Michael Pena) trapped in the ruins of the towers. With Maggie Gyllenhaal and Maria Bello. September 29

ZIDANE: A 21st CENTURY PORTRAIT Douglas Gordon and Philippe Parreno's documentary was shot with 17 cameras over a day in April 2005 as Zizou captained Real Madrid in a game against Villareal. It ends with the superstar getting a red card. September 29

Release dates are subject to change