Universal Pictures has moved the release date of its lavish musical Wicked forward by a few days, from Nov. 27 (the day before Thanksgiving) to the preceding Friday, Nov. 22.
The move is ostensibly, and sensibly, to avoid a clash with Disney’s animation sequel Moana 2, also set for Nov. 27. Universal may have been motivated (read: scared) by the astonishing box office performance of Disney and Pixar’s Inside Out 2, which has racked up over $1 billion globally in a little over two weeks, setting a new record for an animated film.
But the date change also sets up another, potentially more exciting clash: Wicked, which stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, will now hit theaters on the same day as Ridley Scott’s historical action drama Gladiator II, starring Paul Mescal and Pedro Pascal. Wicked is the first part of a two-part adaptation of the hit stage musical, which prefigures the 1939 classic The Wizard of Oz, telling the witches’ backstory. Gladiator II is a generation-later sequel to Scott’s Oscar-winning 2000 epic. (Vanity Fair just published a surprisingly meaty preview of Gladiator II, which is stuffed with first-look images, plot details, and good quotes from Scott and the cast; it’s worth checking out.)
The contest between these two movies instantly recalls “Barbenheimer,” the 2023 box office phenomenon that pitted Greta Gerwig’s candy-colored comedy Barbie against Christopher Nolan’s somber nuclear bomb drama Oppenheimer. That date clash created a storm of publicity and a kind of unofficial festival of moviegoing that worked out to the benefit of both movies, which finished 2023 as the biggest and third-biggest films of the year worldwide.
Theater owners, if no one else, will be hoping for similar from Wicked and Gladiator II, but the juxtaposition isn’t quite so striking this time around.It’s true that one is a colorful, fantastical stage musical centering female characters and the other is a violent action movie front-loaded with manly actors.
But they’re both big, old-school spectacles with Old Hollywood feel, and they don’t make for as stark (or as funny) a contrast as between a toy-branded meta comedy and a three-hour biopic about physics and nuclear holocaust. Wicked and Gladiator II are also both franchise movies of a sort, relying on brand familiarity, whereas Barbie and Oppenheimer are both daring, original films from auteur directors.
Also, it’s hard to come up with a compound name for them that rolls off the tongue as smoothly “Barbenheimer” does. Gladicked? Surely not. The best I can do is “Wickiator.”
None of that matters quite as much as what Wicked and Gladiator II have in common with Barbie and Oppenheimer, though: They’re both exciting-looking movies that present very compelling reasons to see them on the big screen, that complement each other in fun ways, and that stand to do very well with audiences. It’s going to be a fun November.
Greetings, Polygon readers! Each week, we round up the most notable new releases to streaming and VOD, highlighting the biggest and best new movies for you to watch at home.
This week, Trigger Warning, the new action thriller starring Jessica Alba as a hardened Special Forces commando, premieres on Netflix. That’s not all, as plenty of other exciting new releases make their streaming debuts this week, including a documentary on tennis legend Roger Federer on Prime Video, Kung Fu Panda 4 on Peacock, Sometimes I Think About Dying on MUBI, and more. There’s also several highly anticipated releases on VOD this week, including animated sci-fi noir mystery Mars Express and dystopian sci-fi romance The Beast starring Léa Seydoux.
Here’s everything new that’s available to watch this weekend!
New on Netflix
Trigger Warning
Where to watch: Available to stream on Netflix
Image: Netflix
Genre: Action thriller Run time: 1h 46m Director: Mouly Surya Cast: Jessica Alba, Anthony Michael Hall, Mark Webber
The Alba-naissance is here. Five years after her last film role (crime thriller Killers Anonymous), the onetime Sue Storm is teaming up with Indonesian director Mouly Surya in an action-packed movie inspired by the John Wick franchise (and produced by John Wick producer Basil Iwanyk). Trigger Warning is Surya’s English-language debut and was filmed three years ago, but is finally dropping on Netflix this week.
Black Barbie
Where to watch: Available to stream on Netflix
Image: Netflix
Genre: Documentary Run time: 1h 40m Director: Lagueria Davis
This doc from Shondaland digs into the first Black Barbie and three Black women at Mattel who made it happen: Beulah Mae Mitchell, Kitty Black Perkins, and Stacey McBride-Irby.
New on Prime Video
Federer: Twelve Final Days
Where to watch: Available to stream on Prime Video
Image: Prime
Genre: Documentary Run time: 1h 40m Directors: Asif Kapadia, Joe Sabia Cast: Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic
Arguably the greatest men’s tennis player to ever live, Roger Federer finally hung up his racket for good in 2022. This documentary, co-directed by Senna and Amy director Asif Kapadia, focuses on the final 12 days of the Swiss legend’s illustrious career.
Genre: Martial arts comedy Run time: 1h 34m Director: Mike Mitchell Cast: Jack Black, Awkwafina, Bryan Cranston
The fourth entry in the Kung Fu Panda saga sees Po taking on a new apprentice to succeed him as the Dragon Warrior. When a mysterious sorceress plots to resurrect Po’s past adversaries, he’ll need to call upon all his strength and allies to save the day.
While the individual scenes and moments in Kung Fu Panda 4 are entertaining (and sometimes even great), it never quite gels as an enjoyable movie on its own. The message of change tying it together is flimsy, and the plot feels strung along, trying to get the characters in the right place to launch a few seconds of cool action. After four movies, it isn’t really a surprise that the Kung Fu Panda machine is running out of steam — thankfully, though, it has just enough power left to churn out some genuine laughs at the end.
New on MUBI
Sometimes I Think About Dying
Where to watch: Available to stream on MUBI
Image: Oscilloscope Laboratories
Genre: Romantic drama Run time: 1h 34m Director: Rachel Lambert Cast: Daisy Ridley, Dave Merheje, Parvesh Cheena
Star Wars icon Daisy Ridley takes a dramatic turn in this new existential drama, playing the role of a socially awkward office worker who tentatively attempts to come out of her shell. It’s dark, funny, awkward, and achingly human.
Not much happens in Sometimes I Think About Dying, but that’s the point of the movie. Even the smallest thing, like Fran mustering up the courage to say goodbye to someone after work, is given huge weight. The movie lingers on the mundane, using it to paint a thorough portrait of who she is, without having her say or act much. The steps she takes to help overcome her social anxiety might seem small, but they’re all hurdles to her. It’s a movie made up of quiet moments: pauses in conversation, lingering glances, and outstretched hands. Lambert emphasizes the importance of these small interactions, and the ways they build up to connections. It’s a quiet story that aches in the best sort of way.
New on Metrograph at Home
Last Night I Saw You Smiling
Where to watch: Available to stream on Metrograph at Home
Image: Metrograph at Home
Genre: Documentary Run time: 1h 18m Director: Kavich Neang
In the final days of a condemned, iconic building, director Kavich Neang follows three families who live there (including his own). This is the streaming premiere of the movie, which first came out in 2019 and won awards on the international festival circuit, and is a part of Metrograph’s “Davy Chou Selects” series.
New to rent
Handling the Undead
Where to watch: Available to rent on Amazon, Apple, and Vudu
Image: Neon
Genre: Horror drama Run time: 1h 37m Director: Thea Hvistendahl Cast: Renate Reinsve, Anders Danielsen Lie, Bahar Pars
There’s tons of horror movies about the dead coming back to life. None of them are quite like Handling the Undead, though. Based on John Ajvide Lindqvist’s 2005 novel, the film follows the story of three families living in Oslo whose loved ones all mysteriously rise from the dead as semi-sentient corpses. How will they handle this new phenomenon, and is it a second chance to say goodbye… or a curse?
I Used to Be Funny
Where to watch: Available to rent on Amazon, Apple, and Vudu
Image: Barn 12/Utopia
Genre: Comedy drama Run time: 1h 45m Director: Ally Pankiw Cast: Rachel Sennott, Olga Petsa, Jason Jones
Rachel Sennott (Bodies Bodies Bodies) stars as Sam, a stand-up comedian living in Toronto who takes on a nannying job in order to earn some cash. After the young girl she was caring for goes missing, Sam is stricken with PTSD and no longer performs comedy, haunted by the loss of her charge and her own helplessness.
IF
Where to watch: Available to rent on Amazon, Apple, and Vudu
Image: Paramount Pictures
Genre: Fantasy comedy Run time: 1h 44m Director: John Krasinski Cast: Cailey Fleming, Ryan Reynolds, John Krasinski
Remember Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends? Well, imagine that, but set in New York and starring Ryan Reynolds and not so imaginative. IF follows Bea (Cailey Fleming), a young girl who works alongside her neighbor to help imaginary friends whose real-life friends have grown up. It’s ostensibly a kids’ movie, but with a message that’s slightly… off.
Mars Express
Where to watch: Available to rent on Amazon, Apple, and Vudu
Image: Everybody on Deck/GKIDS
Genre: Sci-fi action Run time: 1h 25m Director: Jérémie Périn Cast: Léa Drucker, Mathieu Amalric, Daniel Njo Lobé
This sci-fi noir thriller follows a private detective and her android partner who are hired by a wealthy businessman to track down an elusive hacker. Their investigation dovetails into a search for a missing woman before inadvertently spiralling into a vast conspiracy that threatens to unravel the fabric of human civilization.
Mars Express is the rare example of an animated feature that warrants an almost immediate rewatch upon completion, if only to appreciate the craftsmanship of its presentation. It’s a densely layered sci-fi story that’s light on proper nouns, but heavy on subtext. It’s set in a world that doesn’t tell so much as it shows the depth of its narrative and worldbuilding, by trusting its audience to pay close attention and connect the dots alongside the film’s characters. In short, it’s a rare example of “adult” animation that treats its audience like adults, and its execution elevates its premise until it stands confidently as one of the year’s best animated features.
The Beast
Where to watch: Available to rent on Amazon, Apple, and Vudu
Image: Janus Films
Genre: Sci-fi romance Run time: 2h 26m Director: Bertrand Bonello Cast: Léa Seydoux, George MacKay, Guslagie Malanda
Imagine Cloud Atlas meets The Age of Innocence meets Mulholland Drive. That’s about the simplest way of describing The Beast, Bertrand Bonello’s sci-fi romance drama. Léa Seydoux (Spectre) stars as Gabrielle, a woman living in the near-future who undergoes a process to “purify” her DNA of strong emotions by reliving her past lives. Her procedure becomes more complicated after crossing paths with Louis (George MacKay), a man whom — in a past life — she may or may not have loved.
The Beast’s three timelines play with seemingly unmixable genres: a classic period romance, a gripping horror-thriller, and dystopian sci-fi. That places them at a logistical disconnect, but Bonello binds them aesthetically and emotionally. Through his lengthy, thought-provoking close-ups of Gabrielle and Louis in each section, he creates a sense of longing and isolation across time, binding together human experiences of the past, present, and future, and putting them into sharp and chilling context.
We Grown Now
Where to watch: Available to rent on Amazon, Apple, and Vudu
Image: Sony Pictures Classics
Genre: Drama Run time: 1h 33m Director: Minhal Baig Cast: Blake Cameron James, Gian Knight Ramirez, S. Epatha Merkerson
Set in Chicago in the early ’90s, We Grown Now centerson the story of Malik and Eric, two young boys growing up in a housing complex who survive the mundanity of school life and the perils of their environment through the strength of their friendship. When a sudden tragedy threatens to strain their bond, Malik and Eric will have to grow up fast and make a choice between what to hold on to and what to let go of.
Greetings, Polygon readers! Each week, we round up the most notable new releases to streaming and VOD, highlighting the biggest and best new movies for you to watch at home.
This week, Kung Fu Panda 4, the new animated action comedy starring Jack Black, arrives on VOD following its theatrical run last month. There’s tons of other exciting releases this week, too, like the satirical spy thriller Argylle on Apple TV Plus, a new action thriller starring Aaron Eckhart as a former CIA agent landing on Netflix, the new romantic fantasy film The Greatest Hits on Hulu, and much more. And then there’s Mayhem!, one of the best action movies of the year so far, now streaming on AMC Plus.
Here’s everything new that’s available to watch this weekend!
New on Netflix
Strange Way of Life
Where to watch: Available to stream on Netflix
Image: El Deseo/Saint Laurent Productions
Genre: Western drama Run time: 31m Director: Pedro Almodóvar Cast: Ethan Hawke, Pedro Pascal
This Western short from legendary Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar (Volver, Pain and Glory) follows the story of two gunslingers (and former lovers) who reunite after 25 years apart.
The Bricklayer
Where to watch: Available to stream on Netflix
Image: Millennium Media/Vertical Entertainment
Genre: Action thriller Run time: 1h 50m Director: Renny Harlin Cast: Aaron Eckhart, Nina Dobrev, Tim Blake Nelson
The latest in a long tradition of “action movies with odd profession titles,” The Bricklayer follows a former CIA agent (Aaron Eckhart) needed by his former agency when journalists start dying. The movie has a bit of pedigree behind it, as Renny Harlin (Cliffhanger, Die Hard 2) directs.
Genre: Musical romance Run time: 1h 34m Director: Ned Benson Cast: Lucy Boynton, Justin H. Min, David Corenswet
After suffering the loss of her boyfriend in a car accident, a young woman named Harriet (Lucy Boynton) inadvertently discovers that she has the power to go back in time to various points in their relationship by listening to his old record collection. When Harriet meets a new love interest named David (Justin H. Min), she struggles between her desire to correct the past to resurrect her boyfriend or pursue the possibility of newfound love in the present.
New on Prime Video
The Exorcist: Believer
Where to watch: Available to stream on Prime Video
Image: Universal Studios
Genre: Horror Run time: 1h 51m Director: David Gordon Green Cast: Leslie Odom Jr., Ellen Burstyn, Ann Dowd
David Gordon Green’s new entry in the Exorcist franchise arrives this week on streaming. It’s a bizarre twist on the franchise, per our review:
Up until this most recent movie, the title The Exorcist carried some weight. While its role as a representation of quality was up for debate, its mark as a sign of ambition was not. Since the original Exorcist, the series has provided some of American cinema’s best and most interesting artists with space to ruminate on faith and evil. Believer lacks the ambition that’s meant to define an Exorcist movie. This is the most profound statement the movie has to offer, seemingly by accident: If the result of moving past God is that everything in the world will feel as empty and pointless as The Exorcist: Believer, we should cling to faith forever.
New on Apple TV Plus
Argylle
Where to watch: Available to stream on Apple TV Plus
Photo: Peter Mountain/Universal Pictures/Apple Original Films/Marv
Genre: Action comedy Run time: 2h 19m Director: Matthew Vaughn Cast: Henry Cavill, Bryce Dallas Howard, Sam Rockwell
What happens when you take the meta-fictional irreverence of Stranger than Fiction and smash it together with a premise similar to Matthew Vaughn’s 2014 movie Kingsman: The Secret Service?
You get Argylle, an action satire of spy novels à la 1984’s Romancing the Stone that follows Elly Conway (Bryce Dallas Howard), an introverted novelist who is dragged kicking and screaming into a world of international espionage when it turns out that her popular spy novels are predicting the future. Who is the real agent Argylle? You’ll have to watch in order to find out.
Argylle is too winking, too keen to show that it’s in on its own joke, to admit any real romantic feeling or any excitement that runs deeper than the surface level of its flashy choreography. Vaughn, the impish ringmaster, delights in challenging the audience to figure out what’s real and what’s fictional within his stylized, nested worlds. It’s just that he never really answers the question: Why should we care? With Argylle, he mounts a playful, rollicking thriller with an all-star cast and some dazzling action — but then holds the audience at arm’s length from it, just to show how clever he’s been in putting it together. The truly clever thing would have been to let the dumb film be joyously dumb, and invite the audience to lose themselves in it instead.
Genre: Road comedy Run time: 1h 24m Director: Ethan Coen Cast: Margaret Qualley, Geraldine Viswanathan, Beanie Feldstein
Ethan Coen’s first narrative feature without his brother Joel is an offbeat crime comedy about a pair of young women who embark on an impromptu road trip. Things get dicey after the two cross paths with a group of incompetent criminals sent to retrieve a mysterious briefcase on behalf of their shady employer.
Drive-Away Dolls’ well-worn beats are buttressed by tremendous style, a deep care taken with the film’s production and costume design. All that attention to the era that isn’t fully present in the script comes out in the visuals instead. There isn’t much narrative texture to Marian and Jamie’s various stopovers — in particular, there isn’t much for Jamie or Marian to connect with. While the pair have frequent and funny interactions on their trip, the people they meet are more or less cartoon characters setting up a gag.
New on Paramount Plus
Bob Marley: One Love
Where to watch: Available to stream on Paramount Plus, MGM Plus
Image: Paramount Pictures
Genre: Biographical musical Run time: 1h 47m Director: Reinaldo Marcus Green Cast: Kingsley Ben-Adir, Lashana Lynch, James Norton
This biopic follows the story of cultural icon Bob Marley, portrayed by Kingsley Ben-Adir (One Night in Miami…). The film follows Marley from his rise to fame in the ’70s up until his death in 1981.
An early contender for one of this year’s best action films, Mayhem follows Samir (Nassim Lyes), an ex-con and martial artist, who flees from France to Thailand to escape his former gang. Struggling to build a new life, Samir finds himself once again dragged into a world of deceit and violence when a powerful real estate tycoon kidnaps a member of his family.
Mayhem’s action is brutal and kinetic, with inventive kills, strong location work, and realistic choreography that makes the most of Lyes’ kickboxing pedigree. It’s a true star-making performance for him, as he juggles the role’s demanding physical requirements with a deep well of sorrow that permeates the entire affair, even as he dispatches foe after foe.
New to rent
Ennio
Where to watch: Available to rent on Amazon, Apple, and Vudu
Image: Music Box Films
Genre: Documentary Run time: 2h 36m Director: Giuseppe Tornatore
Cinema Paradiso director Giuseppe Tornatore made a documentary on renowned film composer Ennio Morricone, one of the most accomplished people in that stacked field. The documentary includes Quentin Tarantino, Clint Eastwood, Bruce Springsteen, and many more luminaries from the entertainment world.
Glitter & Doom
Where to watch: Available to rent on Amazon, Apple, and Vudu
Image: SPEAK Productions/Music Box Films
Genre: Musical romance Run time: 1h 55m Director: Tom Gustafson Cast: Alex Diaz, Alan Cammish, Ming-Na Wen
A musical set to the songs of the Indigo Girls, Glitter & Doom follows a summer romance between a musician committed to this craft (Alan Cammish) and a “free-spirited circus kid” (Alex Diaz).
Io Capitano
Where to watch: Available to rent on Apple and Vudu
Image: Archimede/Cohen Media Group
Genre: Fantasy Run time: 2h 1m Director: Matteo Garrone Cast: Seydou Sarr, Moustapha Fall, Issaka Sawadogo
Desperate for an escape out of poverty, two cousins leave their hometown of Dakar, Senegal, to journey to Italy in search of a better life. Trekking across the hazards of the Sahara Desert and Mediterranean Ocean, the pair are met with sights and wonders beyond their wildest imaginations.
Kung Fu Panda 4
Where to watch: Available to rent on Amazon, Apple, and Vudu
Image: DreamWorks Animation
Genre: Martial arts comedy Run time: 1h 34m Director: Mike Mitchell Cast: Jack Black, Awkwafina, Bryan Cranston
The fourth entry in the Kung Fu Panda saga sees Po taking on a new apprentice to succeed him as the Dragon Warrior. When a mysterious sorceress plots to resurrect Po’s past adversaries, he’ll need to call upon all his strength and allies to save the day.
While the individual scenes and moments in Kung Fu Panda 4 are entertaining (and sometimes even great), it never quite gels as an enjoyable movie on its own. The message of change tying it together is flimsy, and the plot feels strung along, trying to get the characters in the right place to launch a few seconds of cool action. After four movies, it isn’t really a surprise that the Kung Fu Panda machine is running out of steam — thankfully, though, it has just enough power left to churn out some genuine laughs at the end.
One Life
Where to watch: Available to rent on Amazon, Apple, and Vudu
Photo: Peter Mountain/Bleecker Street
Genre: Biographical drama Run time: 1h 50m Director: James Hawes Cast: Anthony Hopkins, Helena Bonham Carter, Johnny Flynn
Anthony Hopkins stars in a dramatization of the life of Sir Nicholas “Nicky” Winton, a London broker and humanitarian who rescued the lives of 669 Jewish children in the months leading up to World War II. Hopkins portrays Winton in his late ’70s, while actor-musician Johnny Flynn portrays him during his youth in the late 1930s.
Sleeping Dogs
Where to watch: Available to rent on Amazon, Apple, and Vudu
Image: Nickel City Productions/The Avenue
Genre: Crime thriller Run time: 1h 50m Director: Adam Cooper Cast: Russell Crowe, Karen Gillan, Marton Csokas
After being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, retired homicide detective Roy Freeman (Russell Crowe) is motivated to reopen an investigation into the murder of a college professor when a mysterious new witness comes forward with a compelling piece of evidence. As he works to track down the true culprit, he’ll have to fight to convince those around him to trust his intuition and theories.