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The Assassination of Richard Nixon Drama, set in 1974, about a paranoid furniture salesman who embarks on a plan to kill the 37th president. Based on the true story of Samuel Byck. Niels Mueller makes his feature directorial debut from a screenplay by Mueller (“Tadpole”) and Kevin Kennedy. With Sean Penn (“Mystic River,” “It’s All About Love”), Naomi Watts (“I Heart Huckabees”), Don Cheadle (“The United States of Leland,” “After the Sunset,” “Hotel Rwanda,” “Ocean’s Twelve”), Jack Thompson (“Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones”), Nick Searcy (“Runaway Jury”) and Brad Henke (“The Thirteenth Floor”). Flat. 105 min. R: Language; a scene of graphic violence. Dec. 29 in New York and Los Angeles. ThinkFilm.   Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress Mandarin- and French-language drama about a young Chinese intellectual who, during Mao’s Cultural Revolution, is sent to live in a rural village – where he falls in love with a seamstress who shares his passion for forbidden Western literature. Based on the novel by Dai Sijie. Written and directed by Sijie and Nadine Perront. With Zhou Xun (“Beijing Bicycle”), Kun Chen , Ye Liu (“Lan Yu,” “Purple Butterfly”) Wang Shuangbao (“Blind Shaft”), Cong Zhijun (“Devils on the Doorstep”). Scope. 112 min. Dec. 3. Empire.     Blade: Trinity As the vampire slayer Blade flees the federal authorities who believe him to be a serial murderer, the vampire community resurrects Dracula, said to be the most powerful bloodsucker of them all. Returnees from parts one and two include screenwriter David S. Goyer and actors Wesley Snipes (“Undisputed”) and Kris Kristofferson (“Silver City”). Goyer, who previously helmed the direct-to-video feature “Zigzag”, makes his big-screen directorial debut. Newcomers to the series include Jessica Biel (“Cellular”), Ryan Reynolds (“Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle”), Parker Posey (“Laws of Attraction”), Eric Bogosian (“Wonderland”), Natasha Lyonne (“Die, Mommie, Die!”), Patton Oswalt (“Taxi”), James Remar (“The Girl Next Door”), Callum Keith Rennie (“The Butterfly Effect”), Ron Selmour (“The Chronicles of Riddick”), Haili Page (“We Don’t Live Here Anymore”), Francoise Yip (“The Pledge”), Scott Heindl (“I, Robot”), Steve Braun (“Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle”), John Michael Higgins (“A Mighty Wind”), Dominic Purcell (“Equilibrium”), Cascy Beddow (“Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed”) and wrestling icon Michael Paul “Triple H” LeVesque. Scope. 106 min. R: Strong, pervasive vampire violence and gore; language; brief sexuality. Dec. 10. New Line.   Dolls Japanese-language drama about a young man who resists the customary arranged marriage planned by his parents to save his true love, who insists her life cannot go on without him. Written and directed by Takeshi Kitano (“Kikujiro,” “Brother,” “Zatôichi”). With Tsutomu Takeshige (“Zatôichi”), Miho Kanno, Hidetoshi Nishijim, Tatsuya Mihashi and Kyôko Fukada. Scope. 114 min. Dec. 10 in New York. Palm.     Fierce People Drama about 16-year-old who finds himself running with a much more affluent crowd when his cocaine-addicted mother is invited to move onto the estate of her wealthy, much-older boyfriend. Based on the novel by Dirk Wittenborn. Directed by Griffin Dunne (“Practical Magic,” “Lisa Picard is Famous”) from a screenplay by Wittenborn. With Anton Yelchin (“Hearts in Atlantis”), Diane Lane (“Under the Tuscan Sun”), Donald Sutherland (“Cold Mountain”), Kristen Stewart (“Catch That Kid,” “Undertow”), Chris Evans (“Cellular”) and Christopher Shyer (“The Core”). Dec. 24 in New York and Los Angeles; wider Jan. 14. Lions Gate.     House of Flying Daggers Mandarin-language drama, set in ninth-century China, about an undercover police captain tasked with capturing a rebel group’s assumed leader, a brothel worker. The “Hero” team of director Zhang Yimou and screenwriters Li Feng & Wang Bin reunite. With Takeshi Kaneshiro (“Returner”), Andy Lau (“Infernal Affairs”), Zhang Ziyi (“Hero,” “Purple Butterfly”) and Song Dandan. Also known as “Shi Mian Mai Fu.” Scope. 119 min. Dec. 10. Sony Pictures Classics.   In the Realms of the Unreal Documentary about the life of psychologically fascinating, now-famous outsider artist and Chicago janitor Henry Drager, whose death led to the discovery of his allegorical illustrated children’s fantasy novel “In the Realms of the Unreal.” Featuring interviews, archival photos and animated sequences based on Drager’s original illustrations. Directed by Jessica Yu (TV’s “American Dreams”). Flat. 82 min. Dec. 22 in New York. Wellspring.   Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera Musical drama about a disfigured recluse compelled to woo the woman of his dreams. The big-screen version of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s (“Evita”) monster Broadway hit, based on the oft-filmed novel by Gaston Leroux (“Balaoo”). Written and directed by Joel Schumacher (“Phone Booth,” “Veronica Guerin”). With Gerard Butler (“Timeline”), Emmy Rossum (“The Day After Tomorrow”), Minnie Driver (“Ella Enchanted”), Patrick Wilson (“The Alamo”), Miranda Richardson (“The Prince & Me”), Ciarán Hinds (“The Statement”), Simon Callow (“Bright Young Things”), Victor McGuire (“Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels”), Murray Melvin (“The Emperor’s New Clothes”), Kevin McNally (“De-Lovely”) and James Fleet (“Charlotte Gray”). Scope. 103 min. PG-13: Brief violent images. Dec. 25 limited, wider Jan. 21. Warner Bros.   The Aviator Biography of the reclusive and eccentric businessman, inventor, pilot and filmmaker Howard Hughes, who in the 1920s, ‘30s and ‘40s transformed a considerable inheritance into one of the era’s largest fortunes. Directed by Martin Scorsese (“Bringing Out the Dead,” “Gangs of New York”) from a screenplay by John Logan (“The Time Machine,” “Star Trek: Nemesis,” “The Last Samurai”). With Leonardo DiCaprio (“Catch me If You Can”) as Hughes, Cate Blanchett (“Coffee and Cigarettes” , “The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou”) as Katherine Hepburn, Frances Conroy (“Catwoman”) as Kit Hepburn, Kate Beckinsale (“Van Helsing”) as Ava Gardner, No Doubt vocalist Gwen Stefani as Jean Harlow, Adam Scott (“Torque”) as Johnny Meyer, Kelli Garner (“Love Liza”) as Faith Domergue, Alec Baldwin (“The Last Shot”) as Juan Trippe, Danny Huston (“Silver City,” “Birth”) as Jack Frye, John C. Reilly (“Criminal”) as Noah Dietrich, Matt Ross (“Down With Love”) as Glenn Odekirk, Ian Holm (“Garden State”) as the fictitious Prof. Fitz, Brent Spiner (“Star Trek: Nemesis”) as Robert Gross, Alan Alda (“What Women Want”) as Sen. Ralph Owen Brewster, Edward Herrmann (“Intolerable Cruelty”) as Joseph Breen, Stanley DeSantis (“The Man Who Wasn’t There,” “Die Mommie Die”) as Louis B. Mayer, Amy Sloan (“Head in the Clouds”) as Hughes’ mother Allene and Nellie Sciutto (“The Closet”) as Nadine Henley. Also with Willem Dafoe (“Spider-Man 2,” “The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou”). PG-13: Thematic elements; sexual content; nudity; language; a crash sequence. Dec. 17. Miramax.   Bride and Prejudice Bollywood-musical interpretation of Jane Austen’s 18th-century novel “Pride and Prejudice,” this time about a worldly and wealthy Californian who comes to India and develops a contentious relationship with a small-town local determined to marry for love. The “What’s Cooking?”-”Bend it Like Beckham” team of writer-director Gurinder Chadha and screenwriter Paul Mayeda Berges reunite. With Martin Henderson (“Torque”), Aishwarya Rai (“Devdas”), Daniel Gillies (“Spider-Man 2”), Naveen Andrews (“Rollerball”), Namrata Shirodkar and Indira Varma (“The Sixth Happiness”). Dec. 25 in New York and Los Angeles. Miramax.     Closer Drama about two couples, and the tumultuous events that unfold after two members of the quartet have an affair with each other. Based on the play by Patrick Marber (“Dealer’s Choice”). Directed by Mike Nichols (“The Birdcage,” “Primary Colors,” “What Planet Are You From?”) from a screenplay by Marber. With Julia Roberts (“Mona Lisa Smile,” “Ocean’s Twelve”), Jude Law (“I Heart Huckabees,” “Alfie,” “The Aviator”), Natalie Portman (“Garden State”), Clive Owen (“King Arthur”) and Michael Haley (“Joe Somebody”). Flat. 98 min. R: Sequences of graphic sexual dialogue, nudity/sexuality; language. Dec. 3. Sony.     Fat Albert Comedy about television’s quirky, misfit inner-city cartoon kids, and what happens when they find themselves transported into the real world. Based on the inveterate Saturday morning cartoon TV series created by Bill Cosby. Directed by Joel Zwick (“Second Sight,” “My Big Fat Greek Wedding”) from a screenplay by Cosby, Charles Kipps and Lowell Ganz (“Where the Heart Is,” “National Treasure”). With Kenan Thompson (“Barbershop 2: Back in Business”) as the title character, Marques Houston (“You Got Served”) as Dumb Donald, Jermaine Williams (“Bulworth”) as Mush Mouth, Aaron Frazier (“House of Sand and Fog”) as Weird Harold, Keith Robinson (TV’s “Power Rangers: Lightspeed Rescue”) as Bill, Jeremy Suarez (“The Ladykillers”) as Russell, Shedrack Anderson III as Rudy, Omarion Grandberry (“You Got Served”) as Reggie, Farnsworth Bentley (“Honey”) as Derek and Kyla Pratt (“Dr. Dolittle 2”) as Doris. Dec. 25. Fox.   Hotel Rwanda Drama based on the true story of Rwanda hotel manager Paul Rusesabagina, who put his life in danger when he decided to house over 1,000 refugees during the 1994 genocide of the Tutsis. Directed by Terry George (“Some Mother’s Son”) from a screenplay by George and Keir Pearson. With Don Cheadle (“The United States of Leland,” “After the Sunset,” “The Assassination of Richard Nixon,” “Ocean’s 12”), Nick Nolte (“Hulk”), Sophie Okonedo (“Dirty Pretty Things”), Joaquin Phoenix (“Ladder 49,” “It’s All About Love”) and Antonio David Lyons (“Masked and Anonymous”). Dec. 22 limited. MGM.   I Am David Drama, set in 1940s Europe, about a 12-year-old concentration camp escapee who makes a long journey to Denmark. Based on the novel “North to Freedom” by Anne Holm. Written and directed by Paul Feig (TV’s “Freaks & Geeks”). With Jim Caviezel (“Final Cut”), Joan Plowright (“Bringing Down the House”), Ben Tibber, Paco Reconti (“The Passion of the Christ”), Maria Bonnevie (“Reconstruction”), Silvia De Santis (“Artemisia”) and Paul Feig (“Stealing Harvard”). Flat. 95 min. PG: Thematic elements; violent content. Dec 3. Lions Gate.