3 New Jersey-Made Films We Can't Wait To See

It’s 90 degrees out and we’re dreaming of sweater weather. And Halloween. And movie award season. One of our favorite rituals of the fall season is beginning: Predicting which films of 2026 may be leading the race to Oscars in 2027. As we scour film festival lineups for indications of what may seduce the critics and audiences alike, there are three New Jersey-made films appearing on everyone’s lists. Place your bets on these.

Oscar-winning director Peter Farrelly (GREEN BOOK) helms this movie behind the movie about Sylvester Stallone and his epic quest to not only have his screenplay about down-and-out boxer Rocky Balboa produced, but to take on the starring role himself. Starring Anthony Ippolito as Stallone and Matt Dillon as his hard-as-nails father, the film was mostly shot in Elizabeth, which doubled as 1970s Philadelphia, and at the Cinelease Studios Caven Point Soundstage, last year.

Though Stallone himself was not involved in the production, it will no doubt create a new legion of fans for the 80-year old actor. We recommend (re)watching the original Oscar winner on Netflix ASAP. Consider it part of your training.

I PLAY ROCKY is debuting at the Toronto International Film Festival.

One of the few American films to debut at the Cannes Film Festival in May, James Gray’s PAPER TIGER is taking the coveted opening night film slot at the New York Film Festival. Though its distributor Neon has yet to release a full trailer, we know that it follows the Grey’s ARMAGEDDON TIME (which was also shot in New Jersey) in its themes, exploring family life in the mid-1980s with dose of Russian Mafia drama.

With New Jersey doubling as Brighten Beach, the film was shot primarily in Denville, as well as Teaneck, Bergenfield and Newark. It stars Scarlett Johansson, Miles Teller and Adam Driver. The Hollywood Reporter calls it “piercing account of the American Dream in tatters.”

Get tickets to PAPER TIGER at the New York Film Festival.

New Jersey-raised Jesse Eisenberg has a homecoming in more ways than one in his new film, THE DEBUT Premiering at the Toronto Film Festival. As he told Deadline about the film recently, “The movie takes place in 1990 in New Jersey, which is the time I started getting into theater. I loved it and I was terrified by it — it was the only place I felt comfortable and the place where I felt the most fear.”

THE DEBUT is a loving tribute to the world of summer stock theater, with Julianne Moore starring as Mona Friedman, a woman who is cast in a small part at a community theater and it upends her life. Paul Giamatti is the demanding stage director. The Brook Arts Center in Bound Brook, NJ also has a starring role, as the small theater with big ambitions.

A24 is releasing doing a limited release of THE DEBUT in December, which smells like an award season strategy to us.

Publisher Adam Nelson: “New Jersey invented American cinema, and for a hundred years it didn’t have a magazine of its own. We built one, and within months of launch the dotCOMM judges named it among the best digital publishing in the country. That’s not a trophy for us. That’s proof that this state’s story deserves to be told at the highest level.”

The Socko! team is currently at work putting together our Fall 2026 issue. If you’re a business owner that’s a part of the NJ Film economy, you will want to be a part of it. Contact adam@sockomagazine.com to reserve your spot. Visit the Socko! site for more information and to view our media kit.