And so it’s downright bizarre to see Columbus return to the director’s chair for a big holiday movie that won’t leave any footprint whatsoever; a joyless schlep up to the North Pole that seems to have been made with all the creative enthusiasm and holiday cheer of that video they make you watch in the waiting room at jury duty. Even by the decidedly sub-“Irishman” standards of Netflix’s typical yuletide content — a standard that Columbus helped to set as a producer of “The Christmas Chronicles” back in 2018 — the poorly wrapped “The Christmas Chronicles 2” feels like a last-minute gift that someone bought at a gas station on December 24....

While the recently released continuation, “The Craft: Legacy,” does not lean any further in the Sapphic direction, it does include a trans girl in the coven. What’s most refreshing about the character of Lourdes, played by 17-year-old newcomer Zoey Luna, is that she’s just one of the witches. Luna, whom LGBTQ audiences may remember from the 2017 documentary “Raising Zoey,” had an interesting introduction to “The Craft.” “I tried to watch it when I was like 15, just on a whim, and I couldn’t get past the first 15 minutes because I was too bothered by Robin Tunney’s wig,” Luna said during a recent phone interview....

Now, two decades on, “The Eyes of Tammy Faye” gets the narrative treatment, care of a frazzled, unfocused biopic that, again, leans into stories so crazy that they must be true, as led by the indomitable charms of a woman without peer. Michael Showalter’s film — also, somewhat confusingly, titled “The Eyes of Tammy Faye” — initially opens with the facts, including archival footage from the early days of the so-called “Pearlygate” drama that effectively ended the Bakkers’ careers (and marriage), before moving squarely into Tammy Faye’s (Jessica Chastain) line of vision....

It’s a compelling viewpoint into how Carter saw her relationship with Roy — a young man she would encourage to kill himself in the summer of 2014 — but also is one of the few surrealist moments that the series doesn’t have nearly enough of. Liz Hannah (executive producer on “The Dropout” and Patrick MacManus’ (executive producer on “Dr. Death”) limited series follows Carter and Roy, from their first meeting on a Florida tennis court to the moment of Roy’s eventual suicide and Carter’s trial for it....

The streamer reported that “Gray” amassed over 88 million hours in worldwide viewing its initial weekend, the fifth highest for an original film. That’s 60 million fewer hours than last year’s “Red Notice” starring Dwayne Johnson, Ryan Reynolds, and Gal Gadot. “Red” spent 12 days as #1, including two full weekends, but more important is the staying power of an expensive original. “Red” placed in the top 10 over 11 weeks; “Gray” will need to stick around until mid-October to accomplish the same, with total hours viewed as the most important metric....

In that time, America got comfortable, and Fox renewed “The Moodys” for a second season in July 2020, seven months after the “first season” averaged more live viewers than comedy staples like “Family Guy” and “Bob’s Burgers.” (Season 1 snagged nearly 2 million live viewers over three nights.) With Season 2 set to premiere April 1, Fox released a new trailer for “The Moodys” (which you can watch below), while the cast and creators took part in Fox’s TCA panel Wednesday afternoon to tease what’s in store for their first non-holiday adventures....

It raises the question: Why was nobody buying at Toronto? There’s certainly not one cause, though unsurprisingly COVID is an easy catchall to explain why TIFF was unable to maintain its status as the fall’s most important dealmaking venue this year. This marked the second year in a row that TIFF was a largely virtual affair, with a lineup just one-third the size of the 300-plus it screened in 2019....

The Producers Guild of America (PGA) has announced that the “Top Gun: Maverick” producer and star will be honored with the 2023 David O. Selznick Achievement Award at the 34th Annual Producers Guild Awards on Saturday, February 25, 2023 at The Beverly Hilton. The Producers Guild of America’s Selznick Achievement Award recognizes a producer or producing team for their extraordinary body of work in motion pictures. Past recipients of The Selznick Award include legendary filmmakers like Steven Spielberg, Barbara Broccoli, Mary Parent, Brian Grazer, David Heyman, and Kevin Feige....

During an appearance on The Ringer’s “Bill Simmons Podcast” (video embedded below), Hanks was asked to pick his three favorite Tom Hanks movies. The actor obliged, but with a slight tweak. “I would not do it according to the way the movies came out,” he said. “I’d do it the way of the personal experience I had while doing them.” That’s where “Cloud Atlas” comes in. According to Hanks, the film is one of the most magical experiences he’s ever had in his decades-spanning acting career....

The “CODA” star made history as the second deaf performer and first deaf male actor to win an acting Oscar. “CODA” co-star Marlee Matlin holds the title as the first deaf Oscar recipient. Kotsur won Best Supporting Actor for his turn as a deaf father to a teen daughter (Emilia Jones) who is trying to launch her singing career. To note, CODA stands for a Child of Deaf Adults. While Ruby’s life is centered on being an interpreter for her parents, played by Matlin and Kotsur, plus working on their fishing boat with her brother (Daniel Durant), she dreams of attending a prestigious music school....

The international film community finds itself at a similar crossroads. While the stakes are lower, global film festivals, producers, financiers, and distributors are faced with difficult decisions about how to deal with Russian cinema. The Ukrainian Film Academy has weighed in on the matter, encouraging the film industry to stop doing business with any Russian filmmakers who contribute tax revenue to the Russian government. In a new statement released from Kyiv, the group also called for film festivals to stop accepting films produced in Russia until the invasion ceases....

Per an official statement on behalf of Universal and Cinemark: “The agreement includes at least three full weekends (17 days) of theatrical exclusivity for all Universal Pictures and Focus Features theatrical releases, at which time the studio will have the option to make its titles available across premium video on demand (PVOD) platforms. Under the terms of the deal, any title that opens to $50 million or more, including many franchise titles, will play exclusively in theaters for at least five full weekends (31 days) before the title may become available on PVOD....

But despite the pressure that came with such a high profile project, Gilligan and “Better Call Saul” co-creator Peter Gould quickly proved naysayers wrong. Over five seasons the show has developed into something uniquely its own, with many fans and critics believing that it may have even surpassed “Breaking Bad.” But the end of the road is near. This month “Better Call Saul” Season 6 will begin airing on AMC, marking the end of a long journey for Gilligan and Gould....

BBC One, Sky, and ITN will be broadcasting the the funeral live. Each of those networks can be accessed in the U.S. by using a VPN, and the coverage can be watched online for free at BBC.com starting at 5 a.m. ET (2 a.m. PT). As for American networks, broadcasts by CNN and Fox News will start at 9 a.m. ET (6 a.m. PT); NBC, ABC and CBS will start at 9:30 a....

“Space Jam: A New Legacy” bounced into movie theaters on Friday, but if you want to watch from the comforts of home, you can stream the film exclusively on HBO Max. LeBron James, Don Cheadle, Kris Davis, Sonequa Martin-Green, newcomer Cedric Joe, and Zendaya (as the voice of Lola Bunny) star in the part live-action, part-animated film featuring beloved “Looney Tunes” characters including Bugs Bunny (Jeff Bergman), Tweety (Bob Bergen), Tasmanian Devil (Fred Tatasciore), Granny (Candi Milo), and Porky Pig (Eric Bauza)....

No wide films opened this weekend. The top two titles — “Raya and the Last Dragon” and “Tom & Jerry” — account for nearly half of the business and also are available for home viewing. The top 10 this weekend has only three titles concurrently available at home, but that didn’t seem to boost totals. Roughly 2.5 million tickets sold this weekend. Business overall went down 25 percent from last weekend, mainly because of the dearth of new titles....

Facing critical backlash and less-than-stellar word of mouth, it’s now at #3. To add to the ignominy, what replaced it was the Gerard Butler thriller “Last Seen Alive,” which had a brief run as a direct-to-VOD release in May. In recent weeks, Netflix originals “Lou,” “End of the Road,” “Me Time,” Day Shift,” and “Look Both Ways” all spent more time atop its movie-watching chart. Some had stars like Kevin Hart, Mark Wahlberg, Queen Latifah, and Jamie Foxx to elevate them....

“Basic with Ads” will cost $6.99 per month at launch, $3 (or about 30 percent) less than the company’s existing “Basic” plan, which is ad-free. Simultaneously, the existing “Basic” plan without ads will be upgraded from 480p resolution to 720p, bringing it into high-definition territory; “Basic with Ads,” which will include 4-5 minutes of commercials per hour, will also be in 720p. Netflix’s “Standard” plan, the 1080p one you probably have, costs $15....

Desperate theater owners were already resigned to the idea that a Christmas date was unlikely, or braced themselves for home availability within a month on either Warners’ HBO Max or Premium VOD. But day-and-date in theaters and on HBO Max?! It’s unprecedented, and tells everyone that at least two of the three dominant studios do not prioritize the theatrical release. Of course, this decision directly related to our current and extraordinary circumstances....

Ray (Brown) and Billy (Duplass) are the only residents of an apartment-sized bio-dome after some unknown catastrophe appears to have annihilated all other life on Earth. It’s implied eventually that Billy, once the American president during a time of crisis, may have had a hand in whatever it was that went down before the start of the movie. Ray, on the other hand, is haunted by the memory of a birthday party magician who made a bowling ball appear out of thin air....