The Big Picture

On today’s show, Sean is joined by Chris Ryan for all things horror. First, they react to the casting rumors for the much-anticipated role of James Bond and hypothesize why there is a new trend of limiting theatrical exhibition for movies with poor tracking data. Then, they cover DC Studios' new body horror film ‘Clayface,’ a type of movie that they have collectively been begging for from the superhero genre but is ultimately a pretty mixed bag. Then, they evaluate what the current state of the horror genre looks like, and share their favorite horror movies of 2026. Finally, Sean i...

Sean and Amanda open today’s jam-packed episode by celebrating the incredible box office performance over the weekend, especially from ‘You Can See Everything’ and ‘Street Fighter.’ Then, they cover the major shake-up at Netflix, most notably the firings of Bela Bajaria and Dan Lin. Then, they discuss an incredibly “Sean-coded” movie in ‘Whalefall’ and an incredibly “Amanda-coded” movie in ‘Sense and Sensibility,’ which they both were very mixed on. Later, they conduct their second Best Picture Power Rankings of the season and make some drastic changes from last month’s list. Finally, legendary actor Kyle MacLachlan joins the show for a new series called...

We’re not deceiving you: This is the movie of the year. Sean and Amanda open today’s show by reacting to the first trailer for Greta Gerwig’s much anticipated ‘Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew,’ discussing the news that Zendaya will star in Alex Garland’s next sci-fi film for A24, and also breaking down how the show will cover a handful of fall movie releases. Then, they dive incredibly deep into Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim’s three-hour documentary on Elizabeth Holmes, ‘You Can See Everything.’ They briefly discuss the film in a spoiler-free conversation and give it the utmost recomm...

Gather ‘round folks, a long-awaited episode has arrived. Sean and Amanda open the show by covering a lengthy amount of movie news, including ‘The Social Reckoning’ bombing at the box office, reacting to the new trailers released for ‘River’ and ‘Exorcist: Martyrs,’ and of course, some updates on ‘The Beatles.' Then, they discuss the new Blumhouse horror movie, ‘Other Mommy,’ starring Jessica Chastain, and have a spirited debate on whether or not it was ultimately successful. Later, they break down ‘Animals,’ the new Ben Affleck vehicle, and explore where this “spiritual” ‘High and Low’ sequel went horribly wrong. Finally, they talk about what ma...

Drop the “the.” Just “Big Picture.” It’s cleaner. Today on Big Picture, Sean and Amanda discuss the much anticipated (and also dreaded) legacy sequel ‘The Social Reckoning,’ written and directed by one of our main characters: Aaron Sorkin. Before diving in, they briefly react to the official merging of Warner Bros. and Paramount and hypothesize what the future of David Ellison’s Skydance will look like. Then, Sean shares his New York Film Festival recap and highlights the best movies he saw, many of which Amanda has also seen. Next, in theme with corporate power trillionaires, they cover Alex Gibney’s ne...

Another year, another Colleen Hoover adaptation. How lucky are we? Before diving into the biggest box office success from the weekend, Sean and Amanda react to the news that Mike DeLuca and Pam Abdy will not continue their roles at David Ellison’s Skydance. They look back at their biggest successes and failures, and wonder what the future of Skydance looks like. Then, they briefly discuss ‘Sicario 3’ being greenlit with all of the returning stars, but notably neither Denis Villeneuve or Stefano Sollima. Finally, they cover ‘Verity,’ an adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s erotic thriller, starring Anne Hathaway, Dakota Johnson, and...

BANG! BANG! BANG! On today’s show, Sean and Amanda discuss one of their most anticipated movies of the year in Alejandro González Iñárritu’s ‘Digger,’ starring Tom Cruise. They unpack their very complicated feelings and make the case for why you need to see this incredibly divisive movie on the big screen. Later, they look at Iñárritu’s career at large and wonder: Why did Tom Cruise make this movie? Finally, they take an extensive look at where Cruise fits into the Best Actor race at this year’s Academy Awards, and share their 10 favorite performances from...

Batter up! Sean and Amanda are joined by Chris Ryan and Mallory Rubin to draft some of their favorite movies focused on one of their biggest shared interests: baseball. They break down what makes baseball movies so special, explain the new (and somewhat controversial) categories, and, most importantly, draft.

(0:00) Intro

(1:19) Why baseball movies are the best sports movies

(17:27) The categories and draft order

(25:11) The Baseball Movie Draft

(1:29:47) Honorable mentions and draft recap

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

Guests: Chris Ryan and Mallory Rubin

What does it mean when old movie rereleases make more money than ever at the box office? Sean and Amanda try to answer that question on today’s show by discussing ‘Avengers: Endgame Encore’ outperforming a slew of new releases this weekend, including ‘Heart of the Beast,’ ‘Forgotten Island,’ and ‘Primetime.’ Then, they cover a handful of other recent releases in ‘The Weight,’ ‘The Love Hypothesis,’ and ‘The History of Concrete.’ Finally, Sean is joined by acclaimed documentarian John Wilson to discuss his new film, ‘The History of Concrete,’ and why he finds the current state of the genre to be strange.

(0:00) Intro...

Why don’t you take a seat and sit back, because on today’s show, Sean and Amanda discuss one of their most anticipated films of the year: ‘Primetime,’ starring Robert Pattinson. Before diving in, they briefly share their overall feelings with the Paramount-Warner Bros. merger looking likely to go through, and preview an exciting weekend at the movies. Then, they break down the new film from Lance Oppenheim and sing its praises by identifying it as one of the most exciting movies of the year. Finally, Oppenheim joins Sean to explore the difficulties of transitioning from documentary to narrativ...

On today’s show, Sean is joined by Tracy Letts to cover a new documentary, ‘Boorman and the Devil,' which tells the fascinating tale of director John Boorman and his misbegotten ‘Exorcist’ sequel. They discuss the film at length as well as use it as a springboard to discuss what a director actually does on set, as well as share their favorite documentaries and scripted movies about filmmakers.

(0:00) ‘Halloween’ double feature in San Francisco!

(1:05) Intro

(2:10) ‘Boorman and the Devil’, why ‘The Exorcist II’ doesn’t work, and John Boorman’s legacy

(43:30) Demythologizin...

In today’s action-packed episode, Sean and Amanda react to ‘Resident Evil’ smashing its opening weekend box office expectations, Paramount settling lawsuits paving the way for the Warner Bros. merger to go through, and the new trailer released for ‘The Further Misadventures of Cliff Booth.’ Then, they bring in mean pod guy Adam Nayman to break down the good, the bad, and the strange from the Toronto International Film Festival. Next, Sean and Amanda construct their first Best Picture power rankings of the year and go over 31 possible contenders for the Oscars' biggest prize. Finally, Zach Cregger joins the show to ha...

Get in, gang. We’re going to Raccoon City. Sean is joined by Chris Ryan to discuss Zach Cregger’s thrilling follow-up to his mega-successful ‘Weapons’ with his video game adaptation ‘Resident Evil,’ starring Austin Abrams. Before diving in, they react to a handful of movie news headlines, including Noah Baumbach leaving Netflix for Warner Bros. Clockwork, Quentin Tarantino publishing a new Cliff Booth novel, and John Leguizamo joining ‘Miami Vice ‘85’. Then, they giddily break down ‘Resident Evil’ and gush over the countless reasons why the movie is absolutely incredible. Finally, they look into what the future holds for movie video game adapt...

Don’t look back in anger if you spent over two hours watching a pretty rough legacy sequel. On today’s show, Sean and Amanda are joined by Yasi Salek to cover two new releases in ‘Oasis: Don’t Look Back in Anger,’ a film they loved, and ‘Practical Magic 2,’ a film they found to be quite poor. Later, they bring back the movie star playbook for Sandra Bullock and explore what they’d like to see from her career going forward.

(0:00) We’re coming to San Francisco!

(0:45) Intro

(2:02) TIFF premieres and Venice film festival priz...

On today’s action-packed show, Sean and Amanda briefly react to the first trailer released for M. Night Shyamalan's new film, ‘Remain,’ and the news that Paul Feig is attached to remake ‘The Italian Job.’ Then, they look back at the historic summer at the box office and share some of their biggest winners and losers, as well as recap the final results of their very serious summer movie preview game. Later, they cover a handful of recent releases they haven’t discussed on the show yet, including ‘The Uprising,’ ‘Hope,’ and more. Finally, in collaboration with his curation for the Criterion Ch...

It’s time for one of our favorite episodes of the year: the fall film festival report! Sean and Amanda break down all of the best things they saw this year at the Telluride and Venice film festivals, the general vibes, and what it all means for the Oscar races going forward.

(0:00) Intro

(3:22) ‘Artificial’ trailer

(6:22) The secret screening of Nathan Fielder’s Elizabeth Holmes documentary stuns at Telluride

(23:30) The festival vibes report

(40:50) The best movies from Telluride and Venice

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

Producer...

Well, ladies and gentlemen, it’s time to take some MDMA, get kinky, and grab some guns because on today’s show, Chris Ryan joins us (duh) to discuss Adam Wingard’s new metal action flick, ‘Onslaught.’ They briefly cover two additional recent releases in ‘Mutiny’ and ‘The Whisper Man’ before diving into ‘Onslaught’ and building out their “Black-and-Chrome Action Movie Pack.” Later, Sean is joined by iconic actor Michael Biehn and Wingard to discuss ‘Onslaught’ as well as the wild personal story that inspired the film and plenty of anecdotes about making movies in Hollywood.

(0:00) Intro

(1:47) The ‘Mutiny’ leak...

Sean and Amanda open today’s show by breaking down the weekend box office and highlighting the solid performance of ‘Coyote vs. Acme,’ the continued bulldozing by ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ and ‘The Odyssey,’ and the big bomb by ‘The Dog Stars.’ Then, they kick off their fall movie preview by each highlighting five movies they can’t wait to see and three movies they’ve seen and would recommend. Finally, they create the "September Oscars” and select five “guaranteed” Oscar nominations from films that have already been released.

(0:00) Intro

(0:38) ‘Coyote vs. Acme’

(6:08) ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ and ‘Th...

Sean and Amanda are joined by Chris Ryan to discuss the newest release from his guy Ridley Scott in ‘The Dog Stars’ starring Jacob Elordi and Margaret Qualley. They share their takeaways from the movie, debate Elordi’s performance and evolution as an actor, and assess where the film fits within Scott’s career. Before diving into ‘The Dog Stars’, they reflect on the passing of Dolly Parton and Tim Curry, celebrating their remarkable careers and discussing what each of them meant personally. Then, they check in on the latest James Bond casting race and debate the strongest candidates among the si...

We’re drafting again! Sean and Amanda are joined by Bill Simmons and Chris Ryan for their first ever “Flops Movie Draft” where they highlight some of their favorite movies that were commercial failures at the box office. 

(0:00) Intro

(1:43) Earliest flop memories

(12:34) The Flops Movie Draft rules breakdown

(17:17) The Flops Movie Draft

(1:38:25) Honorable mentions

(1:48:06) Draft recap

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

Guests: Bill Simmons and Chris Ryan

Producer: Jack Sanders

Editor: Jamie Yukich

Production Support: Sarah Reddy a...

Well, there’s only one man to bring in to discuss Matt Johnson’s new biopic, ‘Tony,’ and that’s Anthony Bourdain aficionado Chris Ryan. Before diving into the movie, CR briefly gives a temperature check on the highly anticipated ‘Miami Vice’ sequel. Then, they unpack ‘Tony’ and highlight all of the reasons they found it to be deeply affecting. Later, they both share their top five “coming of age” movies of all time. Finally, Matt Johnson joins the show to tell Sean all of his secrets, because he likes him (his exact words). Johnson explains how Dominic Sessa convinced him to make...

A very special occasion (a potentially good dinosaur movie) requires very special company, which is why on today’s show, Sean is joined by Chris Ryan and Mallory Rubin to discuss David Robert Mitchell’s ‘The End of Oak Street.’ Before transporting back to the Mesozoic era, they cover Mallory’s trip to D23 and react to myriad announcements, most crucially the casting for the upcoming X-Men movie. Then, they briefly discuss ‘The Last House’ (a film they found utterly dreadful) before diving into ‘The End of Oak Street’ (a film they found wildly entertaining and incredibly fascinating). Later, they each provide...

Sean is joined by “mean pod guy” Adam Nayman to cover Jane Schoenbrun’s new sexy slasher flick ‘Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma’ starring Hannah Einbinder and Gillian Anderson. They celebrate what makes the movie so exciting and singular, and make the case for why it cements Schoenbrun as a crucially important and definitional millennial filmmaker. Then, they discuss what makes a great “final girl” and build the “final girl” film canon. Finally, Sean has a very special conversation with Schoenbrun, Einbinder, and Anderson where they dive deep into their film, shed light on the actual process behind making the...

Sean is back from vacation, and to celebrate, we opened up the mailbag with an incredibly fun “ask Sean anything” prompt. Before diving in, he reacts to the massive commercial success of ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day,’ wish-casts some potential ‘X-Men’ roles following more casting updates, and shares his thoughts on the trailer for ‘Primetime,’ starring Robert Pattinson. Then, he answers all of your questions on how he prepares for filmmaker interviews, which actors are the most reliable chemistry alchemists, and whether he is “too horny.” Finally, Sean is joined by Patrick Fischler to break down what it’s really like to be a character...

On today’s show, Amanda is joined by her Jam Session co-host and romantic comedy expert Juliet Litman to discuss a movie referenced as "The Purge, but for sex,” otherwise known as ‘One Night Only,’ starring Callum Turner and Monica Barbaro. They break down why it’s an incredibly charming movie that almost works, mainly because it has all of the essential “rom-com” tropes nailed down, but has an insurmountable premise. Later, they theorize why romantic comedies have been dying as a genre and form their legally binding 21st century romantic comedy canon.

(0:00) Intro

(0:49) Juliet Litman joins t...

O Canada! For the first time in The Big Picture’s history, we visited Toronto for a very special live show at the TIFF Lightbox. They open the show with some movie trivia about Canadian film, Christopher Nolan, and much more, before being joined by a wandering man named Chris searching for his girlfriend “Brie”. Then, they are joined by filmmaker Matt Johnson to discuss the current state of the Canadian film industry and answer what makes a movie Canadian. Finally, they are joined by mean pod guy Adam Nayman to draft some of their favorite “Canadian movies” across some very...

With great power comes great responsibility. That’s why we brought in Van Lathan to discuss the fourth installment in the Tom Holland–era Spidey series: ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day.’ They break down what worked for them and what didn’t work and sort through what it could all mean for the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Later, they debate how it stacks up against the rest of the franchise and rank all 11 Spider-Man movies.

(0:00) Intro

(1:08) We are returning to American Cinematheque's Friend of the Fest!

(2:16) ‘The Thomas Crown Affair’ trailer reaction

(8:14) ‘...

It’s Sean’s (observed) birthday, and what better way to celebrate than by reacting to the news that Ryan Gosling will star as Ghost Rider in a Shawn Levy–directed MCU film? Then, they cover some additional movie news before giving a brief update on their Summer Movie Preview game. Next, they cover a handful of recent releases they haven’t discussed on the show yet, ranging anywhere from interesting to awful. Finally, Sean is joined by Gregg Araki to discuss his new film, ‘I Want Your Sex,’ starring Olivia Wilde and Cooper Hoffman. He breaks down what he learned o...

Sean and Amanda open the show by reacting to the quite disappointing official lineup for this year’s Venice Film Festival, the news that Sony and Alamo Drafthouse are reviving the iconic Cinerama Dome, and some exciting new movies that have officially been green-lit. Then, they open up the mailbag to answer all of your summer movie questions. They explore what the future of IMAX will look like (especially with an impending sale on the table), wonder where Christopher Nolan could possibly go from here, debate what the best movie of the summer will be, and much more.

...

Movies are back! On today’s show, Sean and Amanda are joined by Chris Ryan to bask in the glorious commercial and cultural success of Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Odyssey.’ Before diving in, they react to myriad movie news headlines, including the first trailer for ‘Avengers: Doomsday,’ the Paramount and Warner Bros. merger being paused, some fall film festival updates, and much more. Then, they sort through the dominant opening weekend box office performance of ‘The Odyssey’ and break down the film at length by discussing some of CR’s main takeaways. Finally, they embark on the overwhelming challenge of ranking every m...

Ladies and gentlemen, it’s time. On today’s show, Sean and Amanda cover the biggest movie event of the year, Christopher Nolan’s highly anticipated ‘The Odyssey.’ Before entering their wooden horse to ambush the gates of Troy, they react to some movie news, including ‘The Batman Part II’ being delayed (again), some fall film festival lineup announcements, and more. Then, they kick off their deep dive into this legitimately levitating epic. They make the case for why it’s the perfect Christopher Nolan movie, highlight the pivotal decision to cast Matt Damon as Odysseus, and predict its box office and A...

Sean and Amanda are joined by Chris Ryan for their first ever (and potentially last) Epic Movie Draft, in anticipation of Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Odyssey’. Before kicking things off, they react to legendary actor Sam Neil’s passing, Moana’s opening weekend box office bomb, and the trailers released for ‘Digger’ and ‘Dune: Part Three’. Then, they debate what it is exactly that makes a movie “epic” and draft some incredible films from a myriad of different categories. 

(0:00) Intro

(1:47) We went to Canada

(3:27) Sam Neill’s passing

(7:12) ‘Moana’ bombs at the box office (and Disney's...

On today’s show, Sean and Amanda invite their enigmatic upstairs neighbor Chris Ryan for an episode that spirals into unexpected places, because they’re discussing Olivia Wilde’s ‘The Invite.’ They praise Wilde for her incredible sense of direction, celebrate the connective tissue between the wonderful writing and the distinct performances, and explore whether they read the ending as optimistic or pessimistic. Then, they share their personal top five “nightmare couple movies” of all time. Finally, Sean is joined by Wilde to dive deep into her new film. She explains why she feels we're very isolated in our culture now, h...

Sean and Amanda open the show by briefly discussing the disappointing opening weekend box office performance of ‘Minions & Monsters.’ Then, they honor legendary actor Diane Keaton by celebrating what made her such a special star, and they build her Hall of Fame, selecting their favorite performances from her illustrious career.

(0:00) Intro

(0:58) The disappointing box office performance of ‘Minions & Monsters’

(8:38) What made Diane Keaton so special?

(36:28) The Diane Keaton Hall of Fame

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

Producer: Jack Sanders

Production Support: Lucas Cavanagh

It’s o...

We’re back with the second part of our 2026 Movie Auction! Chris Ryan returns to look back at the results from the first auction (thus far), and then Chris, Sean, and Amanda bid against one another for some of their most anticipated movies coming out during the second half of the year.

(0:00) Intro

(1:17) ‘Werwulf’ trailer reaction

(5:20) The 2026 Movie Auction returns

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

Guest: Chris Ryan

Producer: Jack Sanders

Production Support: Lucas Cavanagh

It’s on Prime.

Learn...

Sean and Amanda are joined by some Ringer all-stars to share their favorite movies of the year so far, including big blockbusters, small indies, and everything in between. Later, Sean is joined by John Early to discuss his new film, ‘Maddie’s Secret,’ and break down the crazy journey of making this movie, shed light on his cinematic influences, and explain why he wants to prioritize filmmaking in his career going forward.

(0:00) Intro

(1:00) Chris Ryan’s favorite movie of 2026

(7:01) Joanna Robinson’s favorite movie of 2026

(17:20) Charles Holmes’s favorite movie of 2026

(27:22...

Sean and Amanda open the show by covering myriad movie news headlines, including the status of Luca Guadagnino’s ‘Artificial’, new footage released of Tom Cruise in his highly anticipated film, ‘Digger,’ and the Academy inviting 529 members, including Jacob Elordi, Teyana Taylor, Josh O’Connor, and more. Then, Sean and Amanda use the new DC film, ‘Supergirl,' which they found creatively and technically empty, as a springboard to have a wide-ranging conversation about the decline in importance of  superhero movie culture. Finally, Chris Ryan joins the show to discuss the (potentially) final film of the ‘Jackass’ franchise: ‘Jackass: Best and Last’, a mov...

We’re drafting again! Sean and Amanda are joined by Ringer all-stars Chris Ryan, Mallory Rubin, Van Lathan, Joanna Robinson, and Rob Mahoney to draft their favorite movies from the year 2010.

(0:00) Intro

(0:17) The state of movies (and us) in 2010

(24:03) The 2010 Mega-Movie Re-Draft

(2:40:50) Honorable mentions and draft recap

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

Guests: Chris Ryan, Mallory Rubin, Van Lathan, Joanna Robinson, and Rob Mahoney

Producer: Jack Sanders

Production Support: Lucas Cavanagh, Jacob Cornett, and Jamie Yukich

Learn more ab...

Sean and Amanda open today’s show with a long list of movie news headlines, including Luca Guadagnino’s Sam Altman movie ‘Artificial’ being dropped by Amazon following their OpenAI partnership, and Curry Barker inking a 10-figure deal with Universal and Blumhouse Atomic Monster for his next original project. Then, they cover a new release with Michael Sarnoski’s ‘The Death of Robin Hood’ starring Hugh Jackman. They highlight its impressively gnarly filmmaking, explain why its big flaw is in the concept of the film itself, and take a look at the history of ‘Robin Hood’ movies and discuss what makes them su...

On today’s show, Sean and Amanda dive deep into legendary filmmaker Steven Spielberg’s filmography throughout the 21st century. Before discussing those movies, they celebrate the New York Knicks becoming NBA champions, a feat so magnificent that Sean swears he’s become a changed man. Next, they briefly touch on the overperformance of ‘Disclosure Day’ at the box office on opening weekend and cover two wildly different recent releases: ‘Office Romance’ and ‘The Furious.’ Then, they share some secondary thoughts about ‘Disclosure Day’ and react to the divisive response to the film thus far. Finally, they explore Spielberg’s 21st-century filmograp...