‘Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora’ Photo: UbisoftFilm• “Poor Things” (Dec. 8): The shapeshifting Yorgos Lanthimos (“The Lobster,” “The Favourite”) works his directorial magic once again with this darkly comedic fantasy based on Alasdair Gray ’s novel. Emma Stone , Jerrod Carmichael , Willem Dafoe , Mark Ruffalo and Ramy Youssef star in this tale of a woman brought back to life by an eccentric scientist who then flees to see the world. • “The Boy and the Heron” (Dec. 8): The newest film from anime icon Hayao Miyazaki (“My Neighbor Totoro”) and his much lauded Studio Ghibli follows a boy mourning the death of his mother, only to be told by a magical bird that she’s still alive in a different realm.

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Persons: ’, Alasdair Gray ’, Emma Stone, Jerrod Carmichael, Willem Dafoe, Mark Ruffalo, Ramy Youssef, Hayao Miyazaki Organizations: Ubisoft, Ghibli