The Big Picture · Discussion · Roundtable
April 5, 2025/ 96 min/ Sean Fennessey · Amanda Dobbins · Matt Belloni
Sean and Amanda open with the week's news, a Val Kilmer remembrance and the Fincher-directed Cliff Booth follow-up at Netflix, then bring in Matt Belloni of 'The Town' to report from CinemaCon: the state of theatrical, a studio-by-studio walk through the slate, and each of their five most anticipated movies. Plus Amanda's first trip to Vegas and a David Copperfield show.
41 films across 3 segments.
AI-generated This episode was transcribed and analyzed with AI models. The matches aren't perfect — expect the occasional misheard title or a link to the wrong film.
The week's newswith Amanda Dobbins
The week's big story, announced April 1st and so real it seemed fake: a David Fincher-directed follow-up starring Brad Pitt as Cliff Booth, set up at Netflix. Sean frames it not as a sequel but a further-adventures spinoff set in 1977, reworked from Tarantino's abandoned 'The Movie Critic,' and likens it to how 'The Big Sleep' and 'Farewell, My Lovely' share Philip Marlowe across different actors.
Tarantino's 2019 ninth feature, the Cliff Booth film the new project follows: 'legendary to us and that we love.' The new one is set eight years later in his life.
Sean's evidence he's fine with Fincher on Netflix: he saw it on a theater screen and liked it. Amanda too.
The physical-media grievance: neither this nor 'The Killer' has a 4K release, which Sean calls bullshit and Fincher apparently doesn't care about.
Kilmer's late-career high point, a crucial scene opposite Tom Cruise. CinemaCon held a moment of silence for him.
Kilmer as a high-level number two, Amanda and Sean's recurring frame for his career.
Another Kilmer supporting turn cited in the remembrance.
The mid-'80s comedy breakout, alongside 'Top Secret!'
Part of Kilmer's early run of comedies.
The documentary made with Kilmer's cooperation; Sean liked how it reflects on being a 90s leading man, his voice affected by his illness.
Statham is back: the number one movie at the box office last weekend, in a down year.
Bombed; Sean calls the blaming of Rachel Zegler's politics one of the lamest reputation tarnishings he's seen. Amanda's daughter reported it was 'beautiful.'
Sold to Ketchup Entertainment for $50 million after Warner Bros. shelved it.
A prior Ketchup Entertainment release, cited as Sean warms to the buyer.
The Robert Rodriguez / Ben Affleck movie neither host could name at first: a man imagining a past and future inside a corporate system. Also, they note, a disgusting 2000s liqueur.
Amanda's daughter's other review: 'a beautiful movie.' Vocabulary is a developing skill.
CinemaCon, studio by studiowith Matt Belloni
Universal's July 4th tentpole with Scarlett Johansson and Mahershala Ali, directed by Gareth Edwards. The trailer won Matt and Sean over even as they grant the series is formulaic; on-stage banter was awkward, with multiple references to Johansson's contract.
Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande held hands but didn't sing. The sequel lacks the first film's signature 'Defying Gravity' number, so they sold Wizard of Oz footage instead. Neither host is excited, but it'll make money.
The Warner Bros. centerpiece that sparked the most conversation and dimmed the hosts' enthusiasm. James Gunn's silver-age, hopeful Superman with a dog, robots and a Godzilla-ish monster reads as an overloaded premise; both worry the Gunn tone that suits Chris Pratt won't fit David Corenswet's Superman.
Sony dated it for 2027, a long wait after the last Spider-Verse film, which itself slipped.
The new Tom Holland live-action Spider-Man, dated for summer 2026, worryingly soon given Holland is currently shooting 'The Odyssey' and cameras haven't rolled.
Amazon's He-Man movie, and the pick that most delighted five-year-old Sean: audio clips of 'By the power of Grayskull.' Directed by Travis Knight, Nicholas Galitzine as He-Man; the draw is practical sets and costumes over a CGI green-screen mess.
Shown by Neon ahead of Lionsgate: Mike Flanagan's TIFF audience-award winner.
The other Neon trailer: Dave Franco and Alison Brie, a real-life couple, in the Sundance breakout horror. Sean thought it looked really good.
Disney's July Marvel tentpole, and the loudest cheers of their presentation. Julia Garner's Silver Surfer as herald to planet-eating Galactus; retro-futuristic style Sean's dubious of, with Incredibles vibes. A real test of whether Pedro Pascal is a movie star.
The pre-Fantastic Four Marvel release, very Suicide Squad, bumbling-Guardians energy. Wyatt Russell was paraded in fake-drunk from the casino floor. Looked fun but lower stakes.
A big Disney animated title; Sean wonders if it gets the long Disney+ tail 'Moana' did.
The live-action remake Sean doesn't get and thinks looks stupid (Stitch looks inane to him), but nearly everyone in his movie fantasy league drafted it as a hit.
Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan reunite. Sean thought the body-switching footage looked painfully bad, but bets on an untapped female market, and notes the shift from film to digital makes these comedies look cheaper.
The 15 most anticipated movies at CinemaCon Sean, Amanda and Matt each pick five
Sean's No. 1 and the surprise of the week: Amazon MGM cold-opened with a six-minute reel of the Andy Weir adaptation, then walked Ryan Gosling out, and Amanda fully gasped. Directed by Lord and Miller with Sandra Hüller; Sean calls it a 'movie movie,' big-scale but simple, the kind that makes you want to know what happens next.
Amanda's No. 1 and Matt's No. 2. Tom Cruise presented Christopher McQuarrie with a Director of the Year award via a 12-minute speech; the footage was close to what they'd seen before, but Sean still gets emotional at 'trust me one last time.' A boat-dive and dueling biplanes headline the eighth entry.
The hosts' shared top pick and Matt's No. 3. An extended sequence revealed PTA's movie as a fast, funny, absurdist comedy in a Boogie Nights key, with a Lebowski-esque Leo. Helicopters and battle sequences explain the $150 million, and the Sean Penn military element; it now feels bigger and more sellable than the first trailer suggested.
Sean's No. 2. Zach Cregger's first since 'Barbarian,' moved into the early-August 'Longlegs' slot. The premise (an entire class of kids walks out of their homes one night and vanishes), with Julia Garner and Josh Brolin, made for a deeply unnerving trailer Amanda swears she'll never watch.
Half of Sean's two-in-one No. 3. Scott Cooper's Springsteen film around the making of 'Nebraska,' Jeremy Allen White as Bruce, Jeremy Strong as Jon Landau. Sean hates music biopics but flipped 'oh no, oh yes' in real time; White looks right on stage, less so off it.
The other half of Sean's No. 3 and a Matt honorable mention. Channing Tatum as a heart-of-gold McDonald's robber and family man; Sean has no box-office expectations but loves Derek Cianfrance's 'Place Beyond the Pines' register of sad guys reconnecting with their families.
Sean's No. 4. Edgar Wright's Stephen King adaptation with Glenn Powell, Colman Domingo taking the Richard Dawson host role. A November release and a big one for Powell; the trailer looked kinetic and surprisingly gory, maybe too gory for Amanda.
Sean's No. 5 and Matt's No. 4. Shown in 3D; the third film introduces the Ash people and Wind Traders in what looks like an intersectional war, with a new reds-and-browns fire palette. Nobody else makes 3D look like this; the lone worry is whether it brings anyone new into the tent.
Amanda's No. 5. Part of Universal's live-orchestra presentation, with 30 Megans dancing to 'Oops!... I Did It Again.' Amanda was the only person fully on board. It flips the killer robot from villain to hero, a Terminator 2 move, which she will not be mocked for.
Amanda's No. 4. Luca Guadagnino's campus-cancel-culture drama with Julia Roberts and Andrew Garfield, shot on film, one of only two on-film movies they saw besides PTA's. Sean's wary the blacklist-era politics play as tired 'political correctness gone amok,' a poor-man's 'Tár.'
Amanda's No. 3, and the Wes Anderson entry she planted her flag on. A spy-movie parody; Sean chuckled through the trailer and is on board, having been an Anderson devotee since seeing 'The Royal Tenenbaums' at 17.
Matt's No. 5, presented under Lionsgate as essentially one long fight scene with Ana de Armas. Matt's never seen a John Wick movie but thought it looked great; used to announce John Wick 5, an animated prequel and a Donnie Yen 'Caine' spinoff. Sean's excitement is tempered by knowing the reshoot troubles.
Also mentioned raised along the way
In the news, in passing The Big SleepFarewell, My LovelyFight ClubThe Curious Case of Benjamin ButtonWorld War ZThe Doors
CinemaCon comparison points The IncrediblesSuicide SquadBumblebeeTransformers OneCreed IITerminator 2: Judgment DayBarbarianLonglegsThe OdysseyMaterialistsThe Bride!SinnersCaptain America: Brave New WorldMoanaInside OutSolo: A Star Wars StoryCloudy with a Chance of Meatballs21 Jump StreetSpider-Man: Into the Spider-VerseThe SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants
The anticipated picks, glossed TárDisclosureA Complete UnknownThe MartianAnatomy of a FallNo Time to DieThe Place Beyond the PinesBoogie NightsThe Wolf of Wall StreetThe Big Lebowski
War Machine detour and other mentions War MachineJokerGuardians of the GalaxyHorizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1
Not films filtered out: TV, games, ads
TV The StudioEmily in ParisSeveranceThe Last of UsThe MandalorianThe Bear
Live show David Copperfield
Ads Good HangAmazon PrimeTremfyaState FarmBoar's HeadNetflix