JAKE COYLE Film Writer, Author at The Rapid City Post

A movie theater puts up a poster for the screening of a documentary about Melania Trump, in Ljubljana, Slovenia, Friday, Jan. 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

‘Melania’ falls steeply and ‘Send Help’ holds steady at No. 1 on a quiet weekend in theaters

February 8, 2026

Hollywood is largely ceding attention to football this weekend. The survival thriller “Send Help” repeated as the weekend’s No. 1 film at the box office and the Melania Trump documentary “Melania” fell sharply in its second weekend. Super Bowl weekend is typically one of the year’s lowest for movie attendance. The Sam Raimi-directed survivalist thriller “Send Help” lead the weekend box office with $10 million in ticket sales. Amazon MGM’s “Melania” added 300 theaters in its second weekend of release, but dropped 67% to just $2.4 million in sales. The rapid downturn means the Brett Ratner-directed documentary is likely heading toward flop territory given its high price tag.

Paul Thomas Anderson wins at 78th Directors Guild Awards for ‘One Battle After Another’

February 8, 2026

Paul Thomas Anderson won the top prize at the 78th Directors Guild Awards, putting the “One Battle After Another” filmmaker on course to potentially win his first Oscar. The DGA Awards, held Saturday night at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California, is among the most reliable Academy Awards precursors. In the last 10 years, nine DGA winners have gone on to win best director at the Oscars. In the guild’s nearly eight-decade history, only eight times has the guild not predicted the Oscar winner. The award adds to a virtual awards-season sweep for “One Battle After Another,” the best-picture front-runner.

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump arrive for the premiere of her movie "Melania" at The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center For The Performing Arts, Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

‘Melania,’ panned by some film critics, opens with strong ticket sales for a documentary

February 1, 2026

Promoted by President Donald Trump as “a must watch,” the Melania Trump documentary “Melania” debuted with a better-than-expected $7 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday. The release of “Melania” was unlike any seen before. Amazon MGM Studios paid $40 million for the rights, plus some $35 million to market it, making it the most expensive documentary ever. While the result would be a flop for most films with such high costs, “Melania” was a success by documentary standards. It’s the best opening weekend for a documentary, outside of concert films, in 14 years. The Sam Raimi-directed survival thriller “Send Help” was No. 1 with $20 million.

Hollywood starts 2026 with ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’ No. 1, as James Cameron’s sci-fi epic crosses $1B

January 4, 2026

Hollywood kicked off 2026 with “Avatar: Fire and Ash” atop the box office for the third straight week and with hopes for a blockbuster-filled year after a disappointing 2025. In three weeks of release, “Fire and Ash” has cleared $1 billion worldwide. The third chapter in James Cameron’s Pandora epic collected $40 million over its third weekend in North American theaters, according to studio estimates Sunday. But over the holiday week, it wasn’t just about the weekend ticket sales. The whole week was a lucrative one for Hollywood, with most schools still out. What drove ticket sales, beyond “Avatar”? Sydney Sweeney, Timothée Chalamet and “Zootopia 2.”

‘Avatar’ and ‘Marty Supreme’ propel strong ticket sales to wrap a turbulent 2025 for Hollywood

December 28, 2025

Hollywood has wrapped up a turbulent 2025 with big ticket sales for “Avatar: Fire and Ash” and “Marty Supreme.” As expected, James Cameron’s latest trip to Pandora dominated ticket sales over a busy holiday weekend in theaters. It collected an estimated $88 million over the four-day Christmas-to-Sunday period. But much of the heat in theaters over the holiday weekend belonged to “Marty Supreme.” Josh Safdie’s 1950s-set table tennis drama collected $27.1 million over the four-day weekend. It’s a smash success for the indie studio. Hollywood is ending a rough year with its best Christmas Day box office since before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Timothée Chalamet wants to be great. ‘Marty Supreme’ might get him there

December 23, 2025

Since his breakthrough performance in 2017’s “Call Me By Your Name,” Timothée Chalamet has been on an ever-ascending path that seemed to reach a culmination when he declared that he’s “in pursuit of greatness” while accepting the best actor award from the Screen Actors Guild for his performance as Bob Dylan in “A Complete Unknown. “But “Marty Supreme” is yet another new level for Chalamet. His Marty is far from a period-piece study. He’s a blur of forward motion. He’s a quintessentially American hustler, and it’s probably the defining performance of Chalamet’s young career. A year after he come so close, it may win him his first Academy Award.

‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’ launches with $88M domestically, $345M worldwide

December 21, 2025

“Avatar: Fire and Ash” opened with $345 million in worldwide sales, according to studio estimates Sunday, notching the second-best global debut of the year and potentially putting James Cameron on course to set yet more blockbuster records. Sixteen years into the “Avatar” saga, Pandora is still abundant in box-office riches. “Fire and Ash,” the third film in Cameron’s science-fiction franchise, launched with $88 million domestically and $257 million internationally. The only film to open bigger in 2025 was “Zootopia 2.” But there was a tad less fanfare to this “Avatar” film. Sales were notably less than 2022’s “Avatar: The Way of Water.”

‘Zootopia 2’ retakes No. 1 at box office, crosses $1 billion worldwide

December 14, 2025

“Zootopia 2” has regained the No. 1 spot at the box office with $26.3 million in its third weekend of release. According to studio estimates Sunday, The Walt Disney Co. animated sequel became the year’s second film to cross $1 billion worldwide. With “Avatar: Fire and Ash” arriving Friday, it was a relatively quiet weekend in theaters. There were no major new releases, leaving holdovers “Zootopia 2” and “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2” to duke it out for the top spot. The edge went to “Zootopia 2,” which has quickly amassed $1.14 billion in ticket sales thanks to its enormous success in China. “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2” collected $15.4 million, a drop of 70% from its above-expectations debut.

A string of awards makes it clear: ‘One Battle After Another’ is the Oscar front-runner

December 3, 2025

If there were any doubt, the first few days of Hollywood’s year-end awards has already made it abundantly clear. Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another” is the Oscar front-runner. On Monday, “One Battle After Another” won best film at the 35th Gotham Awards. On Tuesday, it was named best film by the New York Film Critics Circle. On Wednesday, it swept the National Board of Review Awards, winning best film, best director for Anderson and acting awards for Leonardo DiCaprio, Benicio Del Toro and newcomer Chase Infiniti. Expect to hear this pun a lot: one award after another.

‘One Battle After Another’ and Jafar Panahi win big at Gotham Awards

December 1, 2025

Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another” was crowned best feature film and the dissident Iranian director Jafar Panahi won three awards Monday at the 35th annual Gotham Awards, a starry kickoff to the film industry’s awards season. The black-tie affair, held at Cipriani Wall Street in downtown Manhattan, is known for celebrating smaller films. That made “One Battle After Another,” a studio release that cost at least $130 million to make, unlike any previous winners at the Gothams. Panahi won best director, best screenplay and best international film for his revenge drama “It Was Just an Accident.” Earlier Monday, Panahi’s attorney, Mostafa Nili, said the director was sentenced to one year in prison and a two-year travel ban.

‘Rush Hour 4’ will be distributed by Paramount after Trump’s reported request

November 26, 2025

After President Donald Trump’s reported intervention, Paramount Pictures is set to distribute Brett Ratner’s “Rush Hour 4,” a project that Hollywood had eschewed after earlier sexual misconduct allegations against the director. Paramount Pictures on Tuesday was in closing talks to distribute the film, according to a person close to the negotiations who requested anonymity because they weren’t authorized to announce a deal. Paramount would be stepping in to take a distribution fee on the film, not finance it. In 2017, during the #MeToo movement, six women said Ratner sexually harassed them in a Los Angeles Times report.

The greatest mystery of Rian Johnson’s ‘Knives Out’ movies? Daniel Craig’s Benoit Blanc

November 24, 2025

The greatest mystery in Rian Johnson’s “Knives Out” movies might be Benoit Blanc. Over the course of three films, Johnson and Daniel Craig have stingily dropped clues to Blanc’s past and personal life. Since Blanc first introduced himself in “Knives Out” as “a respectful, quiet, passive observer … of the truth,” following the breadcrumbs has been a sport of its own. Every “Knives Out” movie is a wholesale change. New setting. New case. New cast of characters. But Craig and Johnson are the mainstays. Together, they’ve turned Blanc, the gentleman sleuth, into one of the greatest protagonists in recent movies.

Brendan Fraser’s new horizons include ‘Rental Family’ and rental hedgehogs

November 19, 2025

“Rental Family” is Brendan Fraser’s first leading role since winning the best actor Oscar for “The Whale.” In it, the 56-year-old plays a struggling actor living in Japan who, out of desperation and curiosity, takes a job with an agency that hires out actors to fulfill roles in real people’s lives. In an interview, Fraser discusses his life since the Oscar win, his eye-opening experiences in Japan and what returning to the “Mummy” series means to him. His time in Japan included a visit to a hedgehog cafe. “Rental Family” opens Friday in theaters.

‘Predator: Badlands’ tops box office with $80 million worldwide

November 9, 2025

“Predator: Badlands” has topped the North American box office with a $40 million debut, according to studio estimates. This marks a new high for the franchise, surpassing the $38.3 million opening of 2004’s “Alien vs. Predator.” The film, written and directed by Dan Trachtenberg, also earned $40 million overseas. Despite a challenging box office climate, “Predator: Badlands” has performed well, receiving positive reviews and an “A-” CinemaScore. Other new releases, like “Die My Love” and “Christy,” struggled to make a significant impact, while “Sarah’s Oil” emerged as the best performer among newcomers.

In ‘Sentimental Value,’ art imitates life and vice versa

November 5, 2025

Joachim Trier’s “Sentimental Value” builds its emotional power subtly through scenes that, like much of the acclaimed Danish-Norwegian filmmaker’s filmography, pulse with the rhythm of life. By the time the film reaches its crescendo, a simple exchange of looks is enough to leave you stirred to your core. The film, starring Renate Reinsve and Stellan Skarsgård, is one of the most acclaimed of the year partly because it’s so much about the intermingling of life and art, and how each enriches the other. Neon, which backed the Oscar-winner “Anora,” is hoping “Sentimental Value” can likewise be a major awards contender.

FILE - Castmembers Christopher Lloyd, from left, Michael J. Fox and Lea Thompson appear at the "Back To The Future" 25th anniversary reunion in New York on Oct. 25, 2010. (AP Photo/Peter Kramer, File)

40 years later, Michael J. Fox looks back on ‘Back to the Future’

October 28, 2025

For Michael J. Fox, traveling through time with “Back to the Future” has been part of life. It’s the film that strapped a flux capacitor to his career and that has, ever since, stayed in his rear view. On Friday, “Back to the Future” is, again, back in theaters. The anniversary celebration also includes a new 4K trilogy gift set that comes complete with an OUTATIME license plate. What was once so firmly lodged in the space-time continuum has, over the years, turned curiously timeless. Watch “Back to the Future” now and you might be astonished at how effects-free most of Robert Zemeckis’ science-fiction landmark is.

Adam Driver on Jarmusch, ‘Star Wars’ and putting filmmakers first

October 20, 2025

In an interview with The Associated Press, Adam Driver says he developed a Kylo Ren “Star Wars” movie that would have been directed by Steven Soderbergh. They spent two years developing and scripting “The Hunt for Ben Solo.” Ultimately, Walt Disney Co. executives nixed it. Driver says the script was one of the best he’s ever read. It would have taken place following the events of 2019’s “The Rise of Skywalker.” Representatives for Disney declined to comment. The studio has multiple other “Star Wars” projects in the works.

Jafar Panahi doesn’t want to be called a hero. He just wants to make films

October 17, 2025

The Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi has been imprisoned, banned from traveling, put under house arrest and ordered to stop making films for 20 years. And, yet, Panahi has continually made films. Many of them rank among the greatest of the century. His latest, “It Was Just an Accident,” was made clandestinely in Iran following a seven-month stint in prison that only ended in 2023 once Panahi went on a hunger strike. He made it inspired by the stories his fellow prisoners told. It opens in theaters in the U.S. this week.

In ‘The Mastermind’ and more, Josh O’Connor is stealing the show

October 16, 2025

Josh O’Connor stars in four films this fall, including the New England romance “The History of Sound,” with Paul Mescal; “Rebuilding,” in which he plays a Colorado rancher whose home is taken by wildfires; Rian Johnson’s whodunit “Wake Up Deadman: A Knives Out Mystery”; and Kelly Reichardt’s “The Mastermind,” a 1970-set heist movie. It’s a convergence of movies that cover a wide range of terrain, showcasing O’Connor’s rangy talent and innate, scruffy soulfulness. If “La Chimera” or “Challengers” didn’t already convince you, this season should be a veritable onslaught of O’Connor’s loose leading-man magnetism.

In ‘Mr. Scorsese,’ fitting a filmmaking titan into the frame

October 15, 2025

Can one documentary encapsulate the life of Martin Scorsese? In the case of “Mr. Scorsese,” Rebecca Miller’s portrait of the filmmaker, no. What began as a two-hour film grew into a five-hour series for Apple TV+. Over the course of five years, Miller spent 20 hours interviewing Scorsese, while also speaking to his collaborators, friends and family to make the definitive documentary about one of the greatest living filmmakers. “Mr. Scorsese” debuts Friday on Apple TV+. It features Scorsese collaborators like editor Thelma Schoonmaker, Paul Schrader, Robert De Niro, Leonardo DiCaprio and Daniel Day-Lewis. It also includes Scorsese’s children, his ex-wives and his old Little Italy pals.

A team of artisans brings Guillermo del Toro’s ‘Frankenstein’ to life

October 14, 2025

In “Frankenstein,” metaphors are hard to resist. Moviemaking, itself, is a Frankenstein art. Each element of production — the costumes, the set design, the lighting, the music — is brought together like appendages stitched into one body. Guillermo del Toro’s new adaptation of Mary Shelley’s gothic novel, in particular, is a feast of filmmaking arts. Del Toro called on many of his most regular collaborators to turn his long-held vision of “Frankenstein” into a living, breathing reality. Netflix releases “Frankenstein” in theaters Friday, and on its streaming platform Nov. 7.

Daniel Day-Lewis, pulled out of retirement by his son, finds his acting fire still burns

October 1, 2025

It’s been eight years since Daniel Day-Lewis announced his retirement from acting and said he wanted to “explore the world in a different way.” But the big-screen absence of the actor many would peg as the greatest one alive ends with “Anemone,” a new film directed by his son, Ronan Day-Lewis. The two of them wrote it together. What began as something small, with no real ambitions, grew until a feature film and Day-Lewis’ long-awaited return to movies. In an interview alongside Ronan, Day-Lewis discussed the misunderstood mythology surrounding him, how “Anemone” reawakened his hunger to act and why he liked starting from scratch so much.

FILE - Actor Frances Fisher holds a sign that says "AI is not art" at a rally by striking writers and actors outside Paramount studios in Los Angeles on July 14, 2023. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)

‘AI actor’ Tilly Norwood stirs outrage in Hollywood

September 30, 2025

Like thousands of actors, Tilly Norwood is looking for a Hollywood agent. But unlike most young performers aspiring to make it in the film industry, Tilly Norwood is an entirely artificial intelligence-made character. Norwood, dubbed Hollywood’s first “AI actor,” is the product of a company named Xicoia, which bills itself as the world’s first artificial intelligence talent studio. Since the Dutch producer and comedian Eline Van der Velden launched the digital character’s prospective career, Tilly Norwood has been all the talk in Hollywood. But not in a good way. Guilds, actors and filmmakers have met the Xicoia product with an immediate wave of backlash, protesting that AI should not have a starring role in the acting profession.

Leonardo DiCaprio greets fans during a red carpet event for the film "One Battle After Another" in Mexico City, Thursday, Sept. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)

‘One Battle After Another’ opens with $22.4 million

September 28, 2025

“One Battle After Another,” Paul Thomas Anderson’s widely acclaimed American epic of rebellion and resistance, opened with $22.4 million in ticket sales from North American theaters over the weekend. Anderson’s ultracontemporary opus signifies a major gamble by Warner Bros. With “One Battle After Another,” the studio is making a $130 million-plus bet that audiences would come out for 170-minute-long powerhouse drama from one of cinema’s most celebrated auteurs the way they usually only turn up for a franchise or superhero movie.

At the New York Film Festival, legacies loom large

September 26, 2025

Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another” isn’t part of the New York Film Festival’s lineup, but its agitated sense of inheritance and keeping a fighting spirit alive are all over this year’s cinematic convergence at Lincoln Center. Much of what so energetically animates “One Battle After Another” can be felt across a wide spectrum of the 106 features unspooling across the 18-day festival. Highlights at this year’s festival include Daniel Day-Lewis return from retirement, in “Anemone,” the Martin Scorsese documentary profile “Mr. Scorsese” and Ben Stiller’s family documentary “Stiller & Meara: Nothing Is Lost.”

Asher Rogers holds an image of Jimmy Kimmel outside El Capitan Entertainment Centre, where the late-night show "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" is staged on Thursday, Sept. 18, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

In battles over free speech, comedians are often center stage

September 20, 2025

In all the stunning things about ABC’s swift removal of Jimmy Kimmel, its longtime late-night host and Oscars-hosting face of the network, perhaps the least surprising was that a comedian was again at the center of a battle over free speech. As long as jokes have been told, comedians have drawn the ire of the powerful. That has often put comedians on the front lines of free-speech battles, from George Carlin violating obscenity laws to satirical puppet shows trying to exist in Vladimir Putin’s Russia. In authoritarian regimes, crackdowns on speech usually make comedy a target.

France selects the Iranian drama ‘It Was Just An Accident’ as its Oscar submission

September 17, 2025

France announced Wednesday that it has selected the Iranian director Jafar Panahi’s Palme d’Or-winning drama “It Was Just An Accident” as its submission to the Academy Awards. The selection gives an Oscar pathway to a film that Iran was certain not to select, itself. Panahi, who has spent much of the last 15 years either under house arrest, banned from travel or incarcerated, made “It Was Just An Accident,” like his previous films, in his native Iran without government permission. “It Was Just An Accident” is Panahi’s first film since he was released from jail two years ago, following a hunger strike. It won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival in May.

FILE - Robert Redford poses on a balcony along Main Street decorated with his Sundance Film Festival banners on Jan. 17, 2003, in Park City, Utah. (AP Photo/Douglas C. Pizac, File)

Robert Redford embodied an American ideal, and often lived the part, too

September 16, 2025

Born during the Great Depression with sun-kissed California looks, Robert Redford never failed to epitomize something quintessential and hopeful about the American character. Redford left a movie trail etched into land. The actor who died Tuesday seemed to reside as much across the American landscape as he did on movie screens. He was in the Rocky Mountains of “Jeremiah Johnson,” the Wyoming grasslands of “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” the Washington alleyways of “All the President’s Men” and the Montana streams of “A River Runs Through It.” The movie-star paragon was savvy with how he used his all-American image. But it was one of Redford’s greatest feats that he remained innately connected to some aspirational American ideal.

James Cameron on two decades of making ‘Avatar’ and the future he sees for movies

August 26, 2025

James Cameron first began developing “Avatar” more than 30 years ago. He started working on the first film in earnest 20 years ago. Production on the third “Avatar” film, “Fire and Ash,” got underway eight years ago. By any measure, “Avatar” is one of the largest undertakings ever by a filmmaker, and maybe the only project that could make “Titanic” look like a modest one-off. Cameron has dedicated a huge chunk of his life to it. Now, as he prepares to unveil the latest chapter of his Na’vi opus on Dec. 19, Cameron is approaching what he calls a crossroads.

FILE - Bruce Springsteen appears during a concert with the E Street Band in Berlin, Germany, on June 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, File)

Jeremy Allen White on taking ‘a leap of faith’ to play Springsteen in ‘Deliver Me From Nowhere’

August 26, 2025

Jeremy Allen White grew up listening to Bruce Springsteen. But sing his songs? It wasn’t until White began preparing to play the rock ‘n’ roll legend for “Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere” that he even tried. There’s an established playbook for music biopics. “Deliver Me From Nowhere” ignored all of it. The film, written and directed by Scott Cooper, eschews the standard life-spanning, play-the-hits approach and instead focuses on a small portion of Springsteen’s sprawling life: the making of his 1982 album, “Nebraska.” It’s the first movie based on Springsteen’s life. And it marks the first lead movie role for White, the Emmy-winning star of “The Bear.”

Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein dreams are alive

August 25, 2025

“Frankenstein” may be the culmination of Guillermo del Toro’s artistic life. It’s his chance to, finally, unleash a movie — an epic of creator and creation, father and son, God and sinner — that he’s been dreaming of decades. On the first day of shooting “Frankenstein,” Guillermo del Toro held up a drawing of the creature he had made when was a teenager. For the Mexican-born filmmaker, Mary Shelley’s 1818 gothic novel and the 1931 film with Boris Karloff, is his personal urtext: the origin of a lifelong affection for the monsters del Toro has ever since, almost compulsively, breathed into life. Netflix will release “Frankenstein” in theaters Oct. 17 and on streaming in November.

After uproar, documentary on Hamas 2023 attack will screen at Toronto Film Festival

August 14, 2025

The Toronto International Film Festival will screen a documentary on the 2023 Hamas attack, after all, following an uproar over the film’s disinvitation from the upcoming festival. Earlier this week, TIFF withdrew its invitation to the film “The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue,” saying the decision was based in part on legal clearance for footage used in the film. Deadline, which first reported the news, said a sticking point was the identification and legal clearance of Hamas militants’ own livestreaming of the attack. TIFF chief executive Cameron Bailey and “The Road Between Us” filmmaker Barry Avrich issued a joint statement Thursday announcing the film’s selection.

Bob Odenkirk isn’t an action newbie anymore

August 14, 2025

Bob Odenkirk ducks into a West Village coffee shop wearing sunglasses and a Chicago Cubs cap. Some degree of subterfuge might have been necessary for Odenkirk years ago. Surely fans of “Mr. Show” or “The Larry Sanders Show” might have recognized him. But with time, Odenkirk has traveled from the fringes of pop culture to the mainstream. He’s well-known now, but for what is a moving target. At 62, Odenkirk is not only a comic icon, he’s a six-time Emmy-nominated actor, a Tony-nominated Broadway star and, most surprisingly, an action star. He’s not a newbie, either. With “Nobody 2,” the sequel to the 2021 pandemic hit original, Odenkirk’s butt-kicking bona fides are more or less established.

Denzel Washington and A$AP Rocky had a rap battle. One is claiming victory

August 13, 2025

A$AP Rocky had no idea Denzel Washington was going to throw Nas at him. Midway through Spike Lee’s “Highest 2 Lowest,” Washington’s wealthy music executive David King has cornered Rocky’s aspiring rapper Yung Felon after he tried to kidnap his son. They meet in a music studio. A rap battle ensues. Washington freestyles, mixing in lines from Nas, Tupac, DMX and others. While the scene was scripted, much of what Washington freestyled startled his professional rapper co-star. In the annals of movie face-offs between the veteran and the up-and-comer, the scene is a riveting showdown. Rocky is clear about one thing. Washington won.

TIFF pulls documentary on 2023 Hamas attack from festival lineup, citing footage rights issue

August 13, 2025

The Toronto International Film Festival has disinvited a documentary on the Hamas 2023 attack on Israel over what the festival says was a footage rights issue. Organizers for the festival on Tuesday acknowledged that they withdrew “The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue” by Canadian filmmaker Barry Avrich after initially offering the film a spot in next month’s edition of TIFF. The film chronicles the story of retired Israeli Gen. Noam Tibon. His efforts to save his family and others was profiled in a “60 Minutes” segment. The filmmakers say the festival is engaging in “censorship” by withdrawing the film.

‘Happy Gilmore’ became a cult comedy. 29 years later, Adam Sandler is swinging again

July 23, 2025

Adam Sandler’s “Happy Gilmore” became one of the most beloved comedies of the ’90s and codified the hockey-style swing as a mainstay on golf courses. “A hop, skip and a hit,” as Sandler says. “Happy Gilmore” made comic heroes of Bob Barker, Christopher McDonald and Carl Weathers, and turned lines like “Are you too good for your home?” plausible things to ask golf balls. Now, nearly three decades later, and after years of batting away pleas for a sequel, Sandler has finally put Happy’s Bruins jersey back on. “Happy Gilmore 2” debuts Friday on Netflix and is arguably the most anticipated streaming release of the summer.

Ari Aster made a movie about polarized America. ‘Eddington’ has been polarizing

July 17, 2025

Ari Aster’s “Eddington,” appropriately enough, has been divisive. Since its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in May, Aster’s film has one of the most polarizing releases of the year. “Eddington” releases in theaters Friday and may be the most prominent American movie yet to explicitly wrestle with social and political division in the U.S. In a showdown between Joaquin Phoenix’s bumbling right-wing sheriff and Pedro Pascal’s elitist liberal mayor, arguments over mask mandates, Black Lives Matter protests and elections spiral into a demented fever dream. In an interview, Aster says it’s essential for filmmakers to try to capture the current American moment.

Superman stars David Corenswet, center, Rachel Brosnahan, left, and writer, director, and producer James Gunn pose with fans during the first stop of the Superman World Tour in Pasig city, Philippines on Thursday June 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

‘Superman’ and DC Studios fly to a $122 million opening

July 13, 2025

In a bid to kickoff a new era for DC Studios, James Gunn’s “Superman” opened with $122 million in U.S. and Canada ticket sales over the weekend. DC and Warner Bros. had a lot riding on “Superman.” The superheroes of DC have recently found mostly kryptonite in theaters. Films like “Joker: Folie à Deux,” “The Flash” and “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” all flopped. But “Superman” is intended as a new start. It’s the first release fully steered by Gunn and Peter Safran since they were handed the keys to DC’s superhero cinematic universe. The roughly on-target opening was the third largest of 2025. Ticket sales were relatively soft for “Superman” overseas. In 78 international markets, it grossed $95 million.

David Koepp is Hollywood’s go-to scribe. He’s back with a fresh start for ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’

June 27, 2025

In the 32 years since penning “Jurassic Park,” David Koepp has established himself as one of Hollywood’s top screenwriters not through the boundlessness of his imagination but by his expertise in limiting it. Koepp is the master of the “bottle” movie — films hemmed in by a single location or condensed timed frame. From David Fincher’s “Panic Room” to Steven Soderbergh’s “Presence,” he excels at corralling stories into uncluttered, headlong movie narratives. Koepp can write anything, as long as there are parameters. “Jurassic World Rebirth” is a fresh start for one of Hollywood’s biggest multi-billion-dollar franchises. But just as he did 32 years ago, Steven Spielberg turned to Koepp to write it.

This combination of photos shows actors, from left, Danielle Deadwyler, Ariana Grande and Jason Momoa. (AP Photo)

New film academy members include Danielle Deadwyler, Ariana Grande, Jason Momoa, Conan O’Brien

June 26, 2025

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences invited 534 new members to its organization on Thursday, adding recent Oscar nominees and many more to Hollywood’s most exclusive club. The newest class of Oscar voters includes a number of stars like Dave Bautista, Jason Momoa, Aubrey Plaza, Danielle Deadwyler and Andrew Scott. They, along with filmmakers, below-the-line professionals and executives will bring the film academy’s membership total to 11,120, with voting members numbering 10,143. That’s the largest membership ever for the film academy. Since the #OscarsSoWhite backlash, the academy has added thousands of members to swell its ranks and diversify its voting body.

Denis Villeneuve to direct next James Bond film

June 25, 2025

Denis Villeneuve is going from “Dune” to Bond. Amazon MGM Studios announced Wednesday that Villeneuve will direct the next James Bond movie. The untitled film will be the first since the studio took creative reins of the storied film franchise after decades of control by the Broccoli family. Producers Amy Pascal and David Heyman had maintained that before the next Bond is cast, they would develop a screenplay and find a director first. Now, they have one of the most respected blockbuster makers in Hollywood who’s coming off a pair of widely acclaimed “Dune” films. In a statement, Villeneuve called Bond “sacred territory” that he intends to honor.

‘Jaws’ changed movies forever, but Hollywood could still learn from it

June 18, 2025

Fifty years after “Jaws” sunk its teeth into us, we’re still admiring the bite mark. Steven Spielberg’s 1975 film, his second feature, left such a imprint on culture and Hollywood that barely any trip to the movies, let alone to the beach, hasn’t been the same since. “Jaws” established — and still in many ways defines — the summer movie. And yet the “Jaws” legacy is so much more than being Hollywood’s prototype blockbuster. It’s not possible to, 50 years later, watch Spielberg’s film and see nothing but the beginning of a box-office bonanza, or the paler fish it’s inspired. It’s just too good a movie — and too much unlike so many wannabes since –— to be merely groundbreaking.

For Ana de Armas, Keanu Reeves’ co-star 10 years ago and once again, ‘Ballerina’ is a pirouette

June 5, 2025

Years before Ana de Armas was using an ice skate to slice a neck in “From the World of John Wick: Ballerina,” she co-starred with Keanu Reeves in a much different film. But since the 2015 erotic thriller “Knock Knock,” de Armas’ rise to stardom has been one of the most meteoric of the last decade. Now, 10 years after those scenes with Reeves, de Armas is for the first time headlining a big summer action movie. In “Ballerina,” de Armas’ progressive development as an unlikely action star reaches a butt-kicking crescendo as she inherits the mantle of one of the most esteemed, high-body-count franchises.

Highlights from The Associated Press’ interview with Stephen King

June 4, 2025

There’s a new Stephen King adaptation heading to theaters, and it’s one the prolific author endorses. “The Life of Chuck,” starring Tom Hiddleston, is an apocalyptic tale that includes moments of joy. King tells The Associated Press in a wide-ranging interview that while dread and grief are very much a part of life (and his works), so is joy. King also recently released the mystery novel “Never Flinch,” which features private investigator Holly Gibney, the author’s recent favorite protagonist. King says he’s always happy writing. He’s also an avid moviegoer, though has adopted a rule to only talk about the adaptations of his work that he likes — hence his praise for “The Life of Chuck.”

Stephen King on ‘The Life of Chuck,’ the end of the world and, yes, joy

June 4, 2025

So vividly drawn is Stephen King’s fiction that it’s offered the basis for some 50 feature films. For half a century, since Brian De Palma’s 1976 film “Carrie,” Hollywood has turned, and turned again, to King’s books for their richness of character, nightmare and sheer entertainment. Over time, King has developed a personal policy in how he talks about the adaptations of his books: Keep your mouth shut unless you have something nice to say. But King is such a fan of “The Life of Chuck,” Mike Flanagan’s new adaptation of King’s novella of the same name, that he’s supporting it in ways the author never has before.

JAKE COYLE Film Writer.