MOVIES

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Project Hail Mary arrives as a grand science fiction spectacle that clearly aims to be the kind of uplifting blockbuster audiences gravitate toward during uncertain times. With Ryan Gosling in the lead role and directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller at the helm, the film presents a visually rich journey into deep space. It blends environmental themes, humor, and emotional connection, all wrapped in a large scale cinematic production. Yet despite its ambition and impressive visuals, the film often feels overly familiar and stretched beyond what its story can comfortably support.

The story centers on Ryland Grace, played by Ryan Gosling, a science teacher and former molecular biologist who unexpectedly becomes humanity’s last hope. Earth faces a catastrophic crisis as the sun begins to lose energy, threatening global cooling and the eventual collapse of life on the planet. Scientists discover a mysterious phenomenon known as the Petrova line stretching between Venus and the sun. This discovery leads to the identification of microscopic organisms called Astrophage, which can store enormous amounts of energy and be used as powerful rocket fuel. With this breakthrough, humanity launches a desperate mission to Tau Ceti, the only nearby star system that appears unaffected by the same problem.

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Paramount Skydance chief executive David Ellison has promised that CNN will maintain editorial independence even as his company moves closer to acquiring Warner Bros Discovery in a massive deal reportedly valued at $111 billion. The potential acquisition has sparked concern inside CNN about the network’s future direction, especially among staff members who fear that new leadership could shift its editorial stance.

Those concerns intensified after Ellison recently installed journalist and Free Press founder Bari Weiss as head of CBS News following Paramount’s acquisition of her media company. Weiss has frequently criticized what she describes as “woke” tendencies in mainstream journalism, and her appointment created turbulence within CBS News. Some media observers believe she could also play a role in overseeing CNN once the Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros Discovery transaction is finalized.

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The specialty box office delivered a relatively quiet weekend, with a handful of independent titles holding steady while a few new releases tested the market ahead of the upcoming Oscars ceremony. Among the standouts was Neon’s documentary EPiC: Elvis Presley In Concert, which continued to perform solidly in its third week of release.

The music documentary directed by Baz Luhrmann held the number nine spot at the domestic box office while playing on 1,965 screens across the United States. The film is expected to generate about $1.5 million during the weekend, pushing its total domestic earnings to roughly $10.9 million. While the broader independent film market remains calm at the moment, the documentary has managed to maintain consistent interest from audiences drawn to Elvis Presley’s enduring cultural influence.

Another new release entering theaters this weekend was the action thriller Protector, starring Milla Jovovich. The film opened to an estimated weekend gross of $744,000 across just over 1,000 screens. Directed by Adrian Grunberg and released by Magenta Light Studios, the movie entered the crowded action market with moderate results but still managed to attract viewers looking for a straightforward action offering during a slower theatrical period.

Meanwhile, the annual 2026 Oscar Nominated Shorts program continued its theatrical run through Roadside Attractions. The three part showcase, which includes animated, live action, and documentary short films nominated for Academy Awards, is expected to earn around $545,000 from 325 screens this weekend. That result brings the program’s cumulative total to approximately $2.98 million. As in previous years, the Oscar shorts collection typically sees its strongest interest during the awards season and will conclude its theatrical run after next Sunday’s ceremony.

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Hulu is expanding its animation slate with a new original project, The Kids from S.I.P.P.Y., an animated action comedy from writers and executive producers Branson Reese and Nicole Silverberg. The series is currently in development at 20^th Television Animation and adds to what has become an increasingly active period for Hulu in the animated comedy space.

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Pop singer Tiffany recently revealed that she had no idea her classic song “I Think We’re Alone Now” would appear in the fifth and final season of the hit Netflix series Stranger Things. The discovery came as a surprise to the singer, who said she only learned about the song’s inclusion when the new season premiered in November.

Tiffany, who became a major pop sensation in the late 1980s, recorded her version of “I Think We’re Alone Now” in 1987. The track was a cover of the original 1960s hit by Tommy James and the Shondells, but Tiffany’s version quickly became iconic in its own right. Released when she was still a teenager, the song climbed to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 and helped define the sound of late 1980s pop music.

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Peacock’s raunchiest comedy is almost back. After a two year wait, Ted returns for its second season on March 5, bringing with it the same outrageous humor fans expect, along with a supernatural twist that promises to shake things up for the Bennett family.

The Ted television series serves as a prequel to the hit films from Universal Pictures and Seth MacFarlane. The original 2012 movie introduced audiences to John Bennett and his foul mouthed teddy bear, Ted, who magically came to life after a childhood wish. Starring Mark Wahlberg as the adult John, the film became a major box office success and led to a sequel. Now, the Peacock series travels back in time, focusing on John’s teenage years and exploring how his unusual friendship with a living teddy bear shaped his life long before adulthood.

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The weekend box office is expected to be led by two very different films as Disney and Pixar’s Hoppers and Warner Bros’ The Bride! Arrive in theaters around the world. Early projections suggest that Hoppers will deliver a strong global debut of about $88 million, marking the best opening for a Pixar original film since Coco in 2017. Meanwhile, The Bride! Is projected to open to around $40 million worldwide.

Pixar’s Hoppers appears poised to give the studio a much needed boost for its original animated titles. The film is expected to collect between $36 million and $38 million in North America across about 4000 theaters. International markets are projected to add another $45 million to $50 million, pushing the global opening close to $88 million.

The strong early outlook places Hoppers among Pixar’s better launches for original films in recent years. Since the success of Coco, which opened to about $104.7 million worldwide in comparable markets, the studio has struggled to reach similar heights with original concepts. Onward debuted domestically with $39.1 million in 2020 but its theatrical run was quickly disrupted by the COVID pandemic, eventually finishing with $61.5 million in North America and $141.9 million globally.

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After a near awards-season sweep by “One Battle After Another,” “Sinners” won best ensemble at the Screen Actors Guild’s 32nd Actor Awards on Sunday, shaking up the Oscar race and setting up a potential nail-biter finale in two weeks at the Academy Awards.

The guild’s awards, formerly known as the SAG Awards, are one of the most closely watched Oscar precursors. Actors make up the largest slice of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and their choices at the Actor Awards often align.

The victory for Ryan Coogler’s blues-soaked vampire saga showed that it has a strong chance to win at the Oscars, too, despite an almost unblemished run of awards for Paul

Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another.” It’s won at the Golden Globes, the Producers Guild Awards, the BAFTAs and the Directors Guild Awards.