The Weekly Digests will now be published on Tuesday mornings to align with the podcast episode releases.
Introduction
This is your weekly digest for recent film industry news that caught my attention for the week of 07.28.2026.
This Past Weekend In New Movies
The industry as a whole seemed to be scared off by The Odyssey‘s massively good legs at the box office, which left us with a slate of new films this past weekend that were on the smaller side of the scale. Netflix released the inter-generational Kevin Hart comedy 72 Hours, which was met with negative reviews from both critics and audiences. Among critics it got a pathetic 14% on Rotten Tomatoes and just a 44 on Metacritic. Among audiences it got a sad 48% on the Popcornmeter, a 2.6 on Letterboxd, and a 5.5 on IMDb.
Having watched this on this past Friday afternoon, I will say I thought there was a lot of potential here with the themes it explored about the way younger men react to life and responsibility versus older men, and I did get a few chuckles out of it. Ultimately though, the movie hurts itself with a convoluted subplot where the protagonists get caught up with Miami mobsters - leading to a bizarre unnecessary cameo from Andy Garcia.
Apple TV+ released its own comedy straight-to-streamer this past weekend with The Dink, a satirical sports movie with some big names in its ensemble about a washed-up tennis player who turns to pickleball in an effort to save his dad’s country club. Interestingly enough, critics seem higher on this one than audiences. Critics gave it a 74% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 57 on Metacritic. Audiences meanwhile gave it just a lowly 56% on the Popcornmeter, a 3.0 on Letterboxd, and a 6.2 on IMDb. Having seen the movie for myself this past Friday morning, and I liked it okay enough, I think a certain romantic subplot fake-out is part of why the film seems to be less well received by audiences. Still, I got more than a few chuckles from this one and ultimately leaned positive on it.
Paramount+ gave us its own straight-to-streaming counterprogramming with Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender, an extension of the first season of the hit Nickelodeon animated series. Admittedly, unlike many people my age, I did not grow up a big fan of this franchise, and that’s probably why this came off as just okay to me when I watched it this morning. I wasn’t blown away by it in any way and was occasionally confused by some of the references, but I was still positive enough on it overall, which means the actual fans will probably love it, as we’re seeing reflected in the audience scores. Critics gave it an 87% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 68 on Metacritic. Audiences gave it a 95% on the Popcornmeter, a 3.9 on Letterboxd, and an 8.1 on IMDb.
Neon meanwhile tried to take advantage of the quiet weekend for new releases with Her Private Hell, the eerie futuristic-set film that was met with negative reactions at Cannes. Both critics and audiences have failed to vibe with this movie. Among critics it has a 42% on Rotten Tomatoes and just a 44 on Metacritic. Among audiences it has a pathetic 32% on the Popcornmeter, a 2.3 on Letterboxd, which is especially rough given this is the crowd that should respond well to it, and a 4.9 on IMDb. I caught this literally just before finalizing the draft of this digest, and I have to say I’m in agreement with the consensus. It has some cool, hypnotic sequences, but overall it wasn’t my cup of tea and reminded me of the avant-garde fare that doesn’t click with me.
I didn’t mention it last weekend, but another theatrical release we got during this quiet stretch for new movies was Motor City, an Alan Ritchson action vehicle where he plays a man seeking revenge on a mobster in 1970s Detroit. The movie has been met with okay-enough, but not particularly enthusiastic, reception from both critics and audiences. Among critics it got a 64% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 63 on Metacritic. Among audiences it has a 69% (nice) on the Popcornmeter, a 2.9 on Letterboxd, and a 6.2 on IMDb. I was just positive enough on this movie, having seen it this morning. It definitely plays like something my dad would catch on a random afternoon on FX or TNT. Enjoyable enough while it’s on, but also pretty easy to forget by year’s end.
This Next Weekend In New Movies
The lull in major new releases post-The Odyssey will break in a big way as we get the first of two MCU movies this year with Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which is tracking for an absolutely massive opening weekend off the back of the Spider-Man brand being so popular aside from the MCU brand and the great response to the Avengers: Doomsday trailer that announced tickets were already available. My interest level in the MCU has taken a nosedive over the last few years, even as I’ve really liked some of their individual films, so this will be an interesting subjective test for me in terms of how I respond to this one. Unfortunately, I won’t have an early review for readers, as my Tampa market’s critics continue to get hosed by big studios not named Universal and I’ll have to catch this one with general audiences. A written review will still be coming from me on this Substack.
The biggest counter-programmer in theaters to the new MCU release is Black Bear’s I Want Your Sex, a new erotic comedy from indie darling director Gregg Araki. I’m super curious about this one as some critics have gotten to see it already and generally have positive things to say, plus the movie was well received at festivals earlier in the year. It stars Olivia Wilde, continuing her hot year, and Cooper Hoffman as an employer and employee who get caught up in sexual hijinks that eventually lead to murder. I’m a bit surprised Black Bear hasn’t reached out to me yet as of this writing to screen it, as they’ve generally been good about helping me get access to their films, but I’ll definitely make time to check this one out.
The only major straight-to-streaming releases next weekend will be two horror films. First, Universal will be releasing the much-delayed M3GAN spin-off Soulm8te to digital after awkwardly holding on to it following M3GAN 2.0 flopping with critics, audiences, and at the box office. I’m kind of curious to see how this one plays out as someone who thought the first M3GAN was a solid horror flick but hated the tone shift in the second film toward something much more superhero-like.
The other major straight-to-streaming release horror flick will be coming through Prime Video. Titled The Devil’s Mouth, the movie is about a pair of kids who get trapped in a cave that just so happens to have a predator living inside it. I’ll make sure to give it a watch.
Recent Film Industry News That Caught My Attention
The Paramount and Warner Brothers merger’s legal woes once again took a massive hit. While the European side of things approved the merger to move forward, the antitrust suit involving 12 states and the WGA’s own legal case still standing (SAG-AFTRA also just came out against the merger) caused a judge to decide that the merger would be delayed until next summer to give the attorney generals more time to gather evidence.
This means that starting on September 30th, Paramount could potentially owe Warner Brothers millions, or even with time billions, the longer the merger is delayed. Now, that payment to WB will only happen if the deal ultimately goes through, but Paramount would still have to pay a seven billion termination fee if the merger fails. Paramount is hiring some top-tier lawyers who specialize in antitrust disputes like this, and we know the Trump administration is on their side, but this could be a sign that the merger is actually in trouble. It’s still early days, though, and we have to prepare for the worst still possibly happening.
This past week saw San Diego Comic-Con hold what seems to have been its most successful event in years. What was once a major annual calendar event for announcing and hyping future films and TV projects had lost some of its luster, but this year brought several major reveals. Among them was the MCU announcing that after Avengers: Secret Wars next year, it would try to reset things in 2028 with a Ghost Rider film starring Ryan Gosling and directed by Shawn Levy. We also learned that Ryan Coogler’s follow-up to Sinners will be Black Panther III, with David Jonsson cast as the titular character’s son. The film will also be shot on large-format celluloid. The other big items to come out of SDCC was the reveal of the new Godzilla character design for Godzilla Minus Zero, as well as Johnny Depp interrupting a Collider panel to promote his next film, Ebenezer, which is somehow being directed by Ti West of all people. I’ll have a lot more to say about all of this on this week’s podcast.
The Los Angeles Cinerama Dome was announced as being slated to re-open in 2028 after Sony Pictures purchased the iconic theater, which has been shuttered since the pandemic, and plans to incorporate it into its Alamo House theater chain. The Cinerama Dome was an iconic part of the Los Angeles moviegoing experience, and for the last seven years there has been an aggressive campaign by actor Ben Steinberg through his “Save Your Cinema” social media efforts to get it reopened. The guy even got into a legal battle with the previous owners of the theater, for his troubles. I have to give props to him for being so persistent and helping make this happen. It’ll be great to see such an iconic theater re-opened to the LA public.
Director Chuck Russell, known for films such as A Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, the 1980s remake of The Blob, The Mask, Eraser, and The Scorpion King, passed away at the age of 74 this past week. Russell’s filmography doesn’t exactly consist of the first films that come to mind when people talk about the greatest films of their years, but he absolutely directed some cult classics that remain beloved by moviegoers to this day. Dream Warriors and The Blob in particular have endured for decades because of how much they resonated with horror fans; and The Mask stands out to me as one of those early nineties films that my mom rented for me and my brother to watch. Rest in eternal light to the man. His legacy will live on through the films he left behind.
Easily the hardest and saddest news I have to respond to from this past week is the sudden, tragic, untimely passing of Kaylee Hottle following a fatal car accident. Hottle was a passenger in a vehicle late at night when it lost control and crashed after veering into a ditch. The deaf actress was best known for her work as Jia in Godzilla VS Kong and Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire, two silly popcorn MonsterVerse films that received mixed responses from critics but connected much more strongly with general audiences. Even so, many of the films’ harshest critics still singled out her performances for praise. As a Godzilla superfan, I’d argue Jia is one of the best human characters the franchise has ever had. It might be the new girl dad in me talking, but this one hit especially hard compared to some of the other recent industry passings. This was a young woman who had just turned 19 and had her whole life ahead of her, only for one car crash to take it all away. It’s a sobering reminder of just how fleeting life can be. May she rest in eternal light. I know she’ll be remembered fondly by both the Godzilla and Kong fan communities, as well as by the deaf community. You can donate to a gofundme for her family here.
What Else Is On My Mind
Anyone seen these new designs that were unveiled for Coca-Cola cans and bottles? I don’t know if they’re supposed to be a response to Pepsi’s recent minimalist brand redesigns, but Coke is returning to more of the horizontal Coca-Cola Classic design that I grew up with. The problem is they’ve decided to barely differentiate between regular Coke and Coke Zero on the new packaging. It would be very easy to accidentally grab one when you meant to get the other. It’s a baffling design choice given how big Coke Zero has become. Hell, it’s the biggest-selling soda in the country now. So I’d caution all you Coke drinkers out there to be careful when you start picking up these new cans and bottles. Make sure you get the right flavor.
