The summer box office numbers may have been lackluster, but the news coming out of TIFF this week proves that we have much to look forward to this fall. Now in its 50th year, the Toronto International Film Festival kicked off last Friday with a slate of anticipatory films. Oscar buzz tends to circulate this festival, and for good reason. 12 Years a Slave and Slumdog Millionaire both screened at TIFF and ended up winning the Academy Award for Best Picture in 2014 and 2009, respectively. Below are three titles that you should keep on your radar this fall and beyond.

Rental Family

Set against modern-day Tokyo, Rental Family follows an American actor (Brendan Fraser) who struggles to find purpose until he lands an unusual gig: working for a Japanese “rental family” agency, playing stand-in roles for strangers. As he immerses himself in his clients’ worlds, he begins to form genuine bonds that blur the lines between performance and reality. Confronting the moral complexities of his work, he rediscovers purpose, belonging, and the quiet beauty of human connection. Directed by HIKARI with music by Jónsi and Alex Somers.

Hamnet

William Shakespeare (Paul Mescal) and his wife, Agnes (Jessie Buckley), celebrate the birth of their son, Hamnet. However, when tragedy strikes and Hamnet dies at a young age, it inspires Shakespeare to write his timeless masterpiece “Hamlet.” Academy Award–winning director Chloé Zhao (Nomadland) helms this lush and tender drama about Shakespeare and his family, as seen through the eyes of his thoughtful wife.

Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery

Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) returns for his most dangerous case yet in the third and darkest chapter of Rian Johnson’s murder mystery opus. When young priest Jud Duplenticy (Josh O’Connor) is sent to assist charismatic firebrand Monsignor Jefferson Wicks (Josh Brolin), it’s clear that all is not well in the pews. Wicks’s modest-but-devoted flock includes devout church lady Martha Delacroix (Glenn Close), circumspect groundskeeper Samson Holt (Thomas Haden Church), tightly-wound lawyer Vera Draven, Esq. (Kerry Washington), aspiring politician Cy Draven (Daryl McCormack), town doctor Nat Sharp (Jeremy Renner), best-selling author Lee Ross (Andrew Scott), and concert cellist Simone Vivane (Cailee Spaeny).

After a sudden and seemingly impossible murder rocks the town, the lack of an obvious suspect prompts local police chief Geraldine Scott (Mila Kunis) to join forces with renowned detective Benoit Blanc to unravel a mystery that defies all logic. Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Rian Johnson writes and directs Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery. In select theaters on November 26th, coming to Netflix on December 12, 2025.