Weekly posts include short notes on various cinematic topics, followed by the Now Showing in Madison guide to commercial theaters and alternative venues.

There seem to be new events popping up all over the place, including some screenings that I have mentioned earlier that have been rescheduled. Unfortunately, I only have time to list them, without saying enough about them to get you to check them out!

Tonight at MMoCA’s Rooftop Cinema we will present Canadian experimental feature film Gangsterism, which was the closing night film at the most recent Onion City Experimental Film Festival in Chicago. The only question, as I type this Thursday afternoon, is whether the weather will force us to move the screening indoors. Either way, things will start at 8:30pm at the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, 227 State Street. Again, you can read Grant Phipps’s comments on Gansterism in his overview of Rooftop Cinema at Isthmus.

Also going on tonight: Side Room Cinematheque presents “Works by Janicza Bravo: A Shortfilm, A Feature, and A Television Pilot” at 9:00pm, at the Aftershock Vintage Arcade (in the “side room,”) 1444 E Washington Ave.

Wisconsin 48hr Film Project and Madison Film Festival

Wisconsin 48hr Film Project has set the entry deadline for their September filming weekend, films from which will be showcased at the Badger Theater in Stoughton.

• Early Bird Deadline: Tuesday, August 18

• Regular Deadline: Friday, September 11

• Filming weekend: September 11-13

• World Premieres: Saturday, September 26, starting at 10:00am, Badger Theater, 255 E Main St, Stoughton.

Learn the details at the Wisconsin 48hr Film Project website.

The date for this year’s Madison Film Festival is unfortunately the same Saturday as the Wisconsin 48hr Film Project Premieres! The Madison Film Festival will take place at the Bartell Theater, with awards going to categories including: Best Animated Film; Best Narrative Short Film; Best Documentary Short Film; Best Student Film; Best Screenplay; Best Wisconsin Film; Best Poster. More information (and updates as the Festival approaches) at the Madison Film Festival website.

Two rescheduled screenings: Cinesthesia and Catfish Stephenson

• The Madison Public Library Cinesthesia Series screening of WILD AT HEART (1990), directed by David Lynch, has been rescheduled for Tuesday, August 26, MPL Central Branch, 6:30pm.

• The “Side Show Premiere” of THE CATFISH STEPHENSON PERFORMANCE FILM has been rescheduled for Friday, August 28, 8:00pm at the Weary Traveller Free House,1201 Williamson St. You can find more information about the film and Catfish Stephenson more generally at the Facebook event page for the screening.

Lea Jacobs discusses her book about director John Ford at University Place, PBS Wisconsin

An interview with film scholar Lea Jacobs, discussing her book John Ford at Work: Production Histories 1927–1939 (Indiana University Press, 2025) will air on the PBS Wisconsin series University Place on September 30. But there’s no need to wait that long! You can watch and listen right now at the PBS Wisconsin website.

UW-Cinematheque Fall 2026 Schedule announced

And talk about burying the lead! You can see what the UW-Cinematheque will be up to this Fall at their website, cinema.wisc.edu.

Too many highlights to go over right now, but two that stand out for me is a 4-film series of films by Indian Telugu-language action filmmaker S.S. Rajamouli, in one weekend, November 13-15. And the Madison premiere of John Wilson’s documentary The History of Concrete, Thursday, October 1.

Now Playing In Madison: August 5–August 10, 2026

Please confirm showtimes with the venues (follow venue links where provided). The commercial theaters update their weekend listings on Wednesdays. Another valuable source that posts on Wednesdays with now playing lists is The Horizon Line Madison. When possible, I will provide links to reviews by Rob Thomas at Not That Rob Thomas, who gets around to far more proper reviews than I do.

Comments here are not reviews of the films, they are usually a response to the trailer, a summary of the buzz I have heard, or just snark. They are not always particularly accurate, according to reader feedback. I add trailers to new films of interest that you might not know about (American indies, international features, etc.).

MMoCA Cinema, Madison Museum of Contemporary Art

• GANGSTERISM (2025), Thursday, August 13, 8:30pm

  • See notes above.

Highway 18 Outdoor Theater, Jefferson, Wisconsin

WUD Film Lakeside Cinema

• LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS (1986), The Terrace @ Memorial Union, Monday, 8/17, 9:00 P.M.

• Lakeside Cinema, Monday nights at the Memorial Union Terrace returns with monthly themes: “Back to the 80’s” (August).

Commercial Theaters:
AMC Theatres
Flix Brewhouse
Marcus Theatres (Palace and Point)

Please confirm showtimes with the venues (follow venue links where provided). The commercial theaters update their weekend listings on Wednesdays. Another valuable source that posts on Wednesdays with now playing lists is The Horizon Line Madison. When possible, I will provide links to reviews by Rob Thomas at Not That Rob Thomas, who gets around to far more proper reviews than I do.

Comments here are not reviews of the films, they are usually a response to the trailer, a summary of the buzz I have heard, or just snark. They are not always particularly accurate, according to reader feedback. I add trailers to new films of interest that you might not know about (American indies, international features, etc.).

• AUGUST CRUNCHYROLL ANIME NIGHTS - YOUR LETTER (2026) at AMC, Point.

• BATWARA 1947 at AMC

• BRINK OF WAR, THE (2026) at AMC, Point, Palace, Flix.

• CATVIDEOFEST at Flix.

• COOKIE QUEENS (2026) at AMC, Point.

• DC (2026) at AMC.

• EAST OF EDEN (1955) at AMC.

• ELIJAH PEEL (2026) at Point.

• END OF OAK STREET, THE (2026) at AMC, Point, Palace, Flix.

• HADESTOWN: THE MUSICAL (2026) at AMC, Point.

• I WANT YOUR SEX (2026) at AMC.

• ICE CREAM MAN (2026) at AMC, Point.

• IMAX SPACE STATION 3D at AMC.

• KATSEYE: WILD HEARTS (2026) at AMC, Point, Palace.

• MINIONS & MONSTERS (2026) at AMC, Point, Palace.

• MOANA (2026) at AMC, Point, Palace.

• MUPPET MOVIE, THE at Point.

• MUPPET TREASURE ISLAND at AMC.

• NIMRODS (2026) at AMC.

• ODYSSEY, THE (2026) at AMC, Point, Palace, Flix.

• ONE NIGHT ONLY (2026) at AMC, Point, Palace, Flix.

• PAW PATROL: THE DINO MOVIE (2026) at AMC, Point, Palace, Flix.

• POINT BREAK 35TH ANNIVERSARY (2026) at AMC, Point, Flix.

• RIVALS OF AMZIAH KING, THE (2026) at AMC, Point.

• SHE’S THE MAN at Flix.

• SHEEP IN THE BOX (2026) at AMC, Point.

• SIX: THE MUSICAL LIVE! (2026) at AMC, Point, Palace.

• SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY (2026) at AMC, Point, Palace, Flix.

• SUPER TROOPERS 3 (2026) at AMC, Point, Palace, Flix.

• TOY STORY 5 (2026) at AMC, Point, Palace, Flix.

• TRAIN TO BUSAN - 10TH ANNIVERSARY REMASTERED & REVIVED (2026) at AMC.

• UECK (2026) at Point.

• VISHWANATH AND SONS (2026) at Point.

• WET HOT AMERICAN SUMMER: 25TH ANNIVERSARY (2026) at AMC, Point, Flix.

• WRONG GIRLS, THE (2026) at AMC, Point.

• YOUR NAME. 10TH ANNIVERSARY (2026) at AMC, Point.

Have you used the Now Showing in Madison listings at least once to find something interesting to see? Have you discovered a film that you didn’t realize was playing in town? Please consider supporting these efforts directly by clicking the “Buy Me a Popcorn” button and making a modest donation on those occasions when you find this resource valuable to your moviegoing in Madison.

Buy Me a Popcorn

Looking Ahead:

Local filmmaker Michael Doyle Olson has started what he hopes to be a comprehensive, collaborative public calendar of alternative film screenings in Madison. It is still a work in progress, but check it out at www.mdo.me/film.

MMoCA Cinema, Madison Museum of Contemporary Art

• Screenings begin about 20 minutes after sunset.

• KIN DZA-DZA!, Thursday, August 20

Side Room Cinematheque

• Second Thursday of the month, and last Monday of the month.

• DM @sideroomcinematic (Instagram) for screening details.

Cinesthesia at Madison Public Library Central Branch

• WILD AT HEART (David Lynch, 1987), Wednesday, August 26, 6:30pm

Four Star Video at Lola’s Sidecar Lounge, 617 North Sherman Avenue

• THE LOVED ONE (1965), Wednesday, August 19, 7:00pm

Marquee Cinema, Union South, 1308 West Dayton Street

• THE UGLY LITTLE MONKEYS, Thursday, September 10, 6:00pm.

• Documentary about Los Changuitos Feos de Tucson, a group of kids who grew up in the 1960s, in the working class barrios of Tucson, Arizona. Filmmakers David Valdez and Enrique Castillo will be in attendance. Free, reserve seats at Eventbrite page.

Weekly posts include short notes on various cinematic topics, followed by the Now Showing in Madison guide to commercial theaters and alternative venues.

Only time for a few notes about recent programs and what is coming up!

Tomorrow night at MMoCA’s Rooftop Cinema we will present America: Everything You’ve Ever Dreamed Of, a program of short documentaries produced for the 1970s public television by filmmakers Tony Ganz and Rhody Streeter. Everything starts when the sun goes down, about 20 minutes after sunset, so approximately 8:30pm, at the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, 227 State Street.

In his overview of the program in Isthmus, Grant Phipps writes, “Ganz and Streeter observe our nation’s contradictions with aplomb. . .They depict a regressive America and drive home how the country became primed for Ronald Reagan by the end of the decade. A few declarations by interviewees are as brazenly, bizarrely funny as they are troubling.” Read Grant’s full overview of the remaining Rooftop Cinema series online or in tomorrow’s print edition of Isthmus.

Other Recent Projects and Wanderings

I’ve been so busy that I failed to post a link to the July 17 episode of The Oscar Project Podcast, hosted by Jonathan Ytreberg. The premise of the podcast is to discuss all of the films nominated for an Academy Award in a given year, and Jonathan is currently working his way through 1931. So he and I discuss the documentary-ish (essentially a fictional narrative with documentary aspirations): Tabu: A Story of the South Seas co-directed by F.W. Murnau and Robert Flaherty.

The Project Projection screening at Mills Folly Microcinema last week went very well last week! Here are a few pictures from the Q & A afterwards.

And finally, I went to check out the installation and performance by Liz Sexe Dance, Through the Keyhole and the Storm last Saturday at Commonwealth Gallery. It was great. And I had a chance to document one of the small keyhole video loops on display.

Now Playing In Madison: August 5–August 10, 2026

Please confirm showtimes with the venues (follow venue links where provided). The commercial theaters update their weekend listings on Wednesdays. Another valuable source that posts on Wednesdays with now playing lists is The Horizon Line Madison. When possible, I will provide links to reviews by Rob Thomas at Not That Rob Thomas, who gets around to far more proper reviews than I do.

Comments here are not reviews of the films, they are usually a response to the trailer, a summary of the buzz I have heard, or just snark. They are not always particularly accurate, according to reader feedback. I add trailers to new films of interest that you might not know about (American indies, international features, etc.).

MMoCA Cinema, Madison Museum of Contemporary Art

• AMERICA: EVERYTHING YOU’VE EVER DREAMED OF (1971-1973), Thursday, August 6

  • See notes above.

Highway 18 Outdoor Theater, Jefferson, Wisconsin

WUD Film Lakeside Cinema

• THE PRINCESS BRIDE (1987), The Terrace @ Memorial Union, Monday, 8/10, 9:00 P.M.

• Lakeside Cinema, Monday nights at the Memorial Union Terrace returns with monthly themes: “Back to the 80’s” (August).

Commercial Theaters:
AMC Theatres
Flix Brewhouse
Marcus Theatres (Palace and Point)

Please confirm showtimes with the venues (follow venue links where provided). The commercial theaters update their weekend listings on Wednesdays. Another valuable source that posts on Wednesdays with now playing lists is The Horizon Line Madison. When possible, I will provide links to reviews by Rob Thomas at Not That Rob Thomas, who gets around to far more proper reviews than I do.

Comments here are not reviews of the films, they are usually a response to the trailer, a summary of the buzz I have heard, or just snark. They are not always particularly accurate, according to reader feedback. I add trailers to new films of interest that you might not know about (American indies, international features, etc.).

• AIDA: MET SUMMER ENCORE 2026 at Point.

• AMC SCREEN UNSEEN: AUGUST 10 at AMC.

• ATEEZ : LIGHT THE WAY IN CINEMAS (2026) at Palace.

• CATVIDEOFEST at Flix.

• COOKIE QUEENS (2026) at AMC and Point.

• DC (2026) at AMC.

• DCI 2026: BIG, LOUD & LIVE at Palace and Point.

• GRATEFUL DEAD MEET-UP AT THE MOVIES 2026 at AMC and Point.

• HADESTOWN: THE MUSICAL (2026) at AMC, Palace, and Point.

• HER PRIVATE HELL (2026) at Flix.

• I WANT YOUR SEX (2026) at AMC and Point.

• ICE CREAM MAN (2026) at AMC and Point.

• INVITE (2026), THE at AMC and Flix.

• MINIONS & MONSTERS (2026) at AMC, Flix, Palace, and Point.

• MOANA (2026) at AMC, Palace, and Point.

• MOTOR CITY (2026) at AMC and Point.

• MUPPET MOVIE, THE at Palace and Point.

• MUPPET TREASURE ISLAND at AMC.

• NATIONAL LAMPOON’S ANIMAL HOUSE at Flix.

• ODYSSEY (2026), THE at AMC, Flix, Palace, and Point.

• ONE NIGHT ONLY (2026) at AMC, Flix, Palace, and Point.

• ONLY YESTERDAY 35TH ANNIVERSARY - STUDIO GHIBLI FEST 2026 at AMC, Palace, and Point.

• PANDAS at AMC.

• PAW PATROL: THE DINO MOVIE - EARLY ACCESS MY FIRST MOVIE (2026) at AMC, Palace, and Point.

• SCHOOL OF ROCK at Flix.

• SECRET FLIX at Flix.

• SESAME STREET PRESENTS: FOLLOW THAT BIRD at Palace and Point.

• SHEEP IN THE BOX (2026) at AMC and Point.

• SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY (2026) at AMC, Flix, Palace, and Point.

• SPONGEBOB MOVIE: SEARCH FOR SQUAREPANTS (2025), THE at AMC.

• SUPER TROOPERS 3 (2026) at AMC, Flix, Palace, and Point.

• SUPER TROOPERS 3: SPECIAL BROKEN LIZARD FAN EVENT Q&A (2026) at Palace and Point.

• TALES FROM EARTHSEA 20TH ANNIVERSARY - STUDIO GHIBLI FEST 2026 at AMC, Palace, and Point.

• TOY STORY 5 (2026) at AMC, Flix, Palace, and Point.

• UECK (2026) at Palace and Point.

• WILLY WONKA & THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY 55TH ANNIVERSARY at Flix, Palace, and Point.

Have you used the Now Showing in Madison listings at least once to find something interesting to see? Have you discovered a film that you didn’t realize was playing in town? Please consider supporting these efforts directly by clicking the “Buy Me a Popcorn” button and making a modest donation on those occasions when you find this resource valuable to your moviegoing in Madison.

Buy Me a Popcorn

Looking Ahead:

Local filmmaker Michael Doyle Olson has started what he hopes to be a comprehensive, collaborative public calendar of alternative film screenings in Madison. It is still a work in progress, but check it out at www.mdo.me/film.

MMoCA Cinema, Madison Museum of Contemporary Art

• Screenings begin about 20 minutes after sunset.

• GANGSTERISM (2025), Thursday, August 13

• KIN DZA-DZA!, Thursday, August 20

Side Room Cinematheque

• Second Thursday of the month, and last Monday of the month.

• DM @sideroomcinematic (Instagram) for screening details.

Cinesthesia at Madison Public Library Central Branch

• WILD AT HEART (David Lynch, 1987), Tuesday, August 19, 6:30pm

Four Star Video at Lola’s Sidecar Lounge, 617 North Sherman Avenue

• THE LOVED ONE (1965), Tuesday, August 19, 7:00pm

Marquee Cinema, Union South, 1308 West Dayton Street

• THE UGLY LITTLE MONKEYS, Thursday, September 10, 6:00pm.

• Documentary about Los Changuitos Feos de Tucson, a group of kids who grew up in the 1960s, in the working class barrios of Tucson, Arizona. Filmmakers David Valdez and Enrique Castillo will be in attendance. Free, reserve seats at Eventbrite page.

Weekly posts include short notes on various cinematic topics, followed by the Now Showing in Madison guide to commercial theaters and alternative venues.

I have an extra busy week this week, with two screenings that I’m still working on preparations for: Mills Folly Microcinema’s Project Projection tomorrow night at Arts + Literature Laboratory, 7:00pm, and the first Rooftop Cinema screening of this season at Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, Thursday night, after the sun goes down. So this will have to be another minimalist edition of Moving Image Madison, with a barebones Now Playing listing.

One thing I do want to take a moment to acknowledge, however, is that this week is the eighth anniversary of the first Mills Folly Microcinema screening, which was also the first Project Projection screening. Eight years! Even my newer projects are getting old. I must be getting old.

In addition to the screenings I’m involved in, there are some other events by local filmmakers and artists that should be on your radar. Late this afternoon, the Cut the Deck Creative folks are screening some short docs at Gibs at 5:00pm (1380 Williamson Street). [Update 3pm: This screening has been canceled out of respect for current protests to the killing of Corey Ruiz.] And Thursday through Saturday, Liz Sexe Dance will present an installation and performances, Through the Keyhole and the Storm, at Commonwealth Gallery (1501 Williamson Street).

Okay, back to work for me . . . I hope to see some of you this week!

Now Playing In Madison: July 28–August 3, 2026

Please confirm showtimes with the venues (follow venue links where provided). The commercial theaters update their weekend listings on Wednesdays. Another valuable source that posts on Wednesdays with now playing lists is The Horizon Line Madison. When possible, I will provide links to reviews by Rob Thomas at Not That Rob Thomas, who gets around to far more proper reviews than I do.

Comments here are not reviews of the films, they are usually a response to the trailer, a summary of the buzz I have heard, or just snark. They are not always particularly accurate, according to reader feedback. I add trailers to new films of interest that you might not know about (American indies, international features, etc.).

Our Parks on the Big Screen, Gibs, Tuesday, July 28, 5:00pm

• The folks over at Cut the Deck Creative, Corey Holl and David Guenther, have been busy these days. They will present a screening of six independent short films on the them of natural beauty and parks of the midwest at Gibs (1380 Williamson Street), for the benefit of the Madison Parks Foundation and their current production, The Park People.

• Update 7/28: This screening has been canceled out of respect for current protests to the killing of Corey Ruiz.

Mills Folly Microcinema at Arts + Literature Laboratory

• PROJECT PROJECTION, local film and video showcase, Wednesday, July 29, 7:00pm. The featured filmmakers are: Jane Lowy, Steve Chappell, Gretta Wing Miller, Christopher Bennett, Fatemeh Fani, Meggen Heuss, Ezra Ewen, Keasion Griffin, Alex Jacobs, Emmy Hannibal, Heidi E. Johnson, Litza Bixler & Aaron Granat, and Emmalee Pearson. Read about all of the films, including experimental films, short docs, animation, and music videos, at the Arts + Literature Laboratory website.

MMoCA Cinema, Madison Museum of Contemporary Art

• GIRL INTERNET SHOW: A KATI KELLI MIXTAPE (2013-2019), Thursday, July 30. Screenings begin about 20 minutes after sunset.

Commonwealth Gallery, 100 South Baldwin Street.

• THROUGH THE KEYHOLE AND THE STORM, July 30–August 1

  • “It is not often performance and film allow for such a full immersion of the audience, and it is something Liz Sexe Dance enjoys crafting and sharing with the community. Through the Keyhole and the Storm will bring together dance and film through an immersive gallery performance taking place at the Commonwealth Gallery. Each night from Thursday, July 30, through Saturday, August 1, the gallery will be open from 6:30-9:00 p.m. for people to explore the environments of a room filled with keyholes and the room of plastic. At 7:30 p.m. each night a performance will erupt with a storm.” (Description by organizers.)

Highway 18 Outdoor Theater, Jefferson, Wisconsin

WUD Film Lakeside Cinema

• BACK TO THE FUTURE (1985), The Terrace @ Memorial Union, Monday, 8/3, 9:00 P.M.

• Lakeside Cinema, Monday nights at the Memorial Union Terrace returns with monthly themes: “Sports” (June), “Under the Lake,” (July), “Back to the 80’s” (August).

Commercial Theaters:
AMC Theatres
Flix Brewhouse
Marcus Theatres (Palace and Point)

Please confirm showtimes with the venues (follow venue links where provided). The commercial theaters update their weekend listings on Wednesdays. Another valuable source that posts on Wednesdays with now playing lists is The Horizon Line Madison. When possible, I will provide links to reviews by Rob Thomas at Not That Rob Thomas, who gets around to far more proper reviews than I do.

Comments here are not reviews of the films, they are usually a response to the trailer, a summary of the buzz I have heard, or just snark. They are not always particularly accurate, according to reader feedback. I add trailers to new films of interest that you might not know about (American indies, international features, etc.).

Here is the updated and corrected list of all films playing between July 28 and August 3, double-checked for missing titles and proper theater locations:

• ABOVE AND BELOW at AMC.

• AMC SCREAM UNSEEN: AUGUST 3 at AMC.

• BACKROOMS: EVERYTHING MUST GO EDITION W/ BONUS FOOTAGE (2026) at AMC, Point.

• BAD GUYS 2 (2025), THE at AMC.

• CHENNAI LOVE STORY (2026) at AMC.

• CURIOUS GEORGE at Palace, Point.

• DISCLOSURE DAY (2026) at AMC, Palace, Point.

• EVIL DEAD BURN (2026) at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.

• FIFTH ELEMENT (2026), THE at Flix.

• HADESTOWN: THE MUSICAL (2026) at AMC, Palace, Point.

• HER PRIVATE HELL (2026) at AMC, Flix, Point.

• I WANT YOUR SEX (2026) at AMC, Point.

• INVITE (2026), THE at AMC, Flix.

• JANA NAYAGAN (2026) at AMC.

• JOURNEY TO THE SOUTH PACIFIC: AN IMAX 3D EXPERIENCE at AMC.

• MARCUS MYSTERY MOVIE at Palace, Point.

• MINIONS & MONSTERS (2026) at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.

• MOANA (2026) at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.

• MOTOR CITY (2026) at AMC, Point.

• OBSESSION (2026) at AMC, Flix, Palace.

• ODYSSEY (2026), THE at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.

• PINOCCHIO UNSTRUNG (2026) at AMC, Point.

• RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (1981) at Flix.

• READING LOLITA IN TEHRAN (2026) at AMC.

• SESAME STREET PRESENTS: FOLLOW THAT BIRD at Palace, Point.

• SONIC THE HEDGEHOG (2020) at Flix.

• SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY (2026) at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.

• SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY AMAZON PRIME EARLY ACCESS SCREENINGS (2026) at AMC, Palace, Point.

• SPONGEBOB MOVIE: SEARCH FOR SQUAREPANTS (2025), THE at AMC.

• TOY STORY 5 (2026) at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.

• UECK (2026) at Palace, Point.

• WHAM! 10 DAYS IN CHINA (2026) at Point.

• WILLY WONKA & THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY 55TH ANNIVERSARY at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.

• YOUNG WASHINGTON (2026) at AMC

Have you used the Now Showing in Madison listings at least once to find something interesting to see? Have you discovered a film that you didn’t realize was playing in town? Please consider supporting these efforts directly by clicking the “Buy Me a Popcorn” button and making a modest donation on those occasions when you find this resource valuable to your moviegoing in Madison.

Buy Me a Popcorn

Looking Ahead:

Local filmmaker Michael Doyle Olson has started what he hopes to be a comprehensive, collaborative public calendar of alternative film screenings in Madison. It is still a work in progress, but check it out at www.mdo.me/film.

MMoCA Cinema, Madison Museum of Contemporary Art

• Screenings begin about 20 minutes after sunset.

• AMERICA: EVERYTHING YOU’VE EVER DREAMED OF (1971-1973), Thursday, August 6

• GANGSTERISM (2025), Thursday, August 13

• KIN DZA-DZA!, Thursday, August 20

Side Room Cinematheque

• Second Thursday of the month, and last Monday of the month.

• Works by Janicza Bravo: A Shortfilm, A Feature, and A Television Pilot, Thursday, August 13, 9:00pm

• DM @sideroomcinematic (Instagram) for screening details.

Cinesthesia at Madison Public Library Central Branch

• WILD AT HEART (David Lynch, 1987), Tuesday, August 19, 6:30pm

Coney Island Side Show, Weary Traveller, 1202 Williamson Street

• “Patio premiere” of The Coney Island Side Show: Catfish Stephenson, which documents a performance by local musician Catfish Stephenson. Thursday, August 6 at 8:00pm. Presented by Wendy Schneider and Coney Island Studios.

• Update 7/28: This screening has been canceled, according to its Facebook event page.

Weekly posts include short notes on various cinematic topics, followed by the Now Showing in Madison guide to commercial theaters and alternative venues.

A lot of films open in Madison this week, now that they don’t have to be up against the opening weekend for The Odyssey (which did pretty, pretty good). So the Now Showing list took up most of my allocated Moving Image Madison time this week. But, here are a few brief notes about Project Projection and a pop up screening at Gibs.

Project Projection: Thirteen films by local filmmakers

The next Project Projection screening, a showcase for local filmmakers presented by Mills Folly Microcinema, will take place on Wednesday, July 29, 7:00pm at Arts + Literature Laboratory, 111 S. Livingston Street, Suite 100. Admission is free.

The featured filmmakers are: Jane Lowy, Steve Chappell, Gretta Wing Miller, Christopher Bennett, Fatemeh Fani, Meggen Heuss, Ezra Ewen, Keasion Griffin, Alex Jacobs, Emmy Hannibal, Heidi E. Johnson, Litza Bixler & Aaron Granat, and Emmalee Pearson. Read about all of the films, including experimental films, short docs, animation, and music videos, at the Arts + Literature Laboratory website.

Our Parks on the Big Screen, Gibs, Tuesday, July 28, 5:00pm

The folks over at Cut the Deck Creative, Corey Holl and David Guenther, have been busy these days. They will present a screening of six independent short films on the them of natural beauty and parks of the midwest at Gibs (1380 Williamson Street) next week, for the benefit of the Madison Parks Foundation and their current production, The Park People.

Holl and Geunther appeared on the 8 O’Clock Buzz on WORT-FM this past Monday to talk about what they’re up to with their recent screening at the Barrymore and their current production.

Now Playing In Madison: July 22–July 27, 2026

Please confirm showtimes with the venues (follow venue links where provided). The commercial theaters update their weekend listings on Wednesdays. Another valuable source that posts on Wednesdays with now playing lists is The Horizon Line Madison. When possible, I will provide links to reviews by Rob Thomas at Not That Rob Thomas, who gets around to far more proper reviews than I do.

Comments here are not reviews of the films, they are usually a response to the trailer, a summary of the buzz I have heard, or just snark. They are not always particularly accurate, according to reader feedback. I add trailers to new films of interest that you might not know about (American indies, international features, etc.).

Highway 18 Outdoor Theater, Jefferson, Wisconsin

WUD Film Lakeside Cinema

• PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL (2003), The Terrace @ Memorial Union, Monday, 7/20, 9:00 P.M.

• Lakeside Cinema, Monday nights at the Memorial Union Terrace returns with monthly themes: “Sports” (June), “Under the Lake,” (July), “Back to the 80’s” (August).

Side Room Cinematheque

• The counterhistory/documentary “HyperNormalisation” by BBC Journalist Adam Curtis (2015, 2h 46m), Monday, July 27, 8:00pm.

• DM @sideroomcinematic (Instagram) for screening details.

Commercial Theaters:
AMC Theatres
Flix Brewhouse
Marcus Theatres (Palace and Point)

Please confirm showtimes with the venues (follow venue links where provided). The commercial theaters update their weekend listings on Wednesdays. Another valuable source that posts on Wednesdays with now playing lists is The Horizon Line Madison. When possible, I will provide links to reviews by Rob Thomas at Not That Rob Thomas, who gets around to far more proper reviews than I do.

Comments here are not reviews of the films, they are usually a response to the trailer, a summary of the buzz I have heard, or just snark. They are not always particularly accurate, according to reader feedback. I add trailers to new films of interest that you might not know about (American indies, international features, etc.).

• AMC SCREEN UNSEEN: JULY 27 at AMC.

• BACKROOMS: EVERYTHING MUST GO EDITION W/ BONUS FOOTAGE at AMC, Palace, Point.

  • If you want that little bit more of the recent box office hit, this is for you. I like the film quite a bit, but I have a feeling that less is better in this instance.

• BAD COUNSELORS at Palace.

  • Fathom Events limited release.

• BAD GUYS 2, THE at AMC.

• CHENNAI LOVE STORY at AMC, Point.

  • Indian Telugu-language romance starring Kiran Abbavaram and Sri Gouri Priya

• CURIOUS GEORGE at Palace, Point.

• DISCLOSURE DAY at AMC, Palace, Point.

• END OF EVANGELION (EVANGELION 30TH MOVIE FEST), THE at AMC, Palace, Point.

  • I’m a fan of the original series (1995–96), and I like some of the recent reboot films (2007–2021), but this 1997 feature film, which re-works the controversial ending to the original series, is very, very depressing.

• EVIL DEAD BURN at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.

• FIFTH ELEMENT, THE at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.

• GAIL DAUGHTRY AND THE CELEBRITY SEX PASS at AMC.

• GOONIES, THE at Flix.

• HADESTOWN: THE MUSICAL at AMC, Palace, Point.

  • Very limited release (like, 5 days) of this filmed performance of Tony award winning musical, featuring the original Broadway cast.

• HER PRIVATE HELL at AMC, Flix, Point.

  • I liked Nicolas Winding Refn’s last few feature films (Only God Forgives, The Neon Demon) more than most people. But Demon was released 10 years ago! I have not watched his two produced for streaming series (Too Old to Die Young, and Copenhagen Cowboy). I’m intrigued by his return to theatrical features.

• INVITE, THE at AMC, Flix.

  • Directed by Olivia Wilde, this remake of the 2020 Spanish comedy The People Upstairs stars Wilde, Seth Rogen, Penélope Cruz, and Edward Norton

• JACKASS: BEST AND LAST at Point.

  • I never was a fan when Jackass was on television, but I have to admit I have enjoyed some of the films. I might go see this.

• JANA NAYAGAN at AMC, Point.

  • Indian Tamil-language action thriller, starring C. Joseph Vijay

• MARCUS MYSTERY MOVIE at Palace, Point.

• MERRY WIDOW: MET SUMMER ENCORE 2026, THE at Point.

• MINIONS & MONSTERS at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.

  • This latest entry in the Minions franchise apparently has a lot of film buff jokes, if that sways you. Read Rob Thomas’s review.

• MOANA at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.

  • Live action adaptation of Disney’s animated feature, Moana (2016). I hear this was dead on arrival, box office wise.

• MOTOR CITY at AMC, Point.

  • Action thriller, starring Alan Ritchson and Ben Foster.

• OBSESSION at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.

• ODYSSEY, THE at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.

  • The latest film from director Christopher Nolan. Maybe you’ve heard of it.

• OH…! SUKUMARI at AMC.

  • Indian Telugu-language romantic comedy starring Thiruveer and Aishwarya Rajesh

• OUR HERO, BALTHAZAR at Flix.

  • Indie black comedy from director Oscar Boyton, starring Jaeden Martell, Asa Butterfield, and Chris Bauer.

• PINOCCHIO UNSTRUNG at AMC, Point.

  • Slasher film starring Robert Englund and Richard Brake. The fifth entry in the “Twisted Childhood Universe,” which has taken public domain characters (Winnie-the-Pooh, Peter Pan) to make new horror films.

• POUT-POUT FISH, THE at Palace, Point.

• RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK at Flix.

• SIA: NOSTALGIC FOR THE PRESENT at Point.

  • Filmed version of Sia’s “Nostalgic for the Present” tour performance.

• SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 3 at AMC.

• SUMMER TOUR at AMC.

  • Documentary about “Deadheads” following Dead & Company on their final tour in 2023.

• SUPERGIRL at AMC, Palace.

• TOY STORY 5 at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.

• UECK at Palace, Point.

  • Documentary about legendary Brewers play-by-play broadcaster, “Mr. Baseball,” Bob Uecker

• VADHALA at AMC.

  • Indian Telugu-language drama starring Jagapathi Babu and Laya

• YOUNG WASHINGTON at AMC, Palace.

  • Wow, this seems to be playing forever in town.

Have you used the Now Showing in Madison listings at least once to find something interesting to see? Have you discovered a film that you didn’t realize was playing in town? Please consider supporting these efforts directly by clicking the “Buy Me a Popcorn” button and making a modest donation on those occasions when you find this resource valuable to your moviegoing in Madison.

Buy Me a Popcorn

Looking Ahead:

Local filmmaker Michael Doyle Olson has started what he hopes to be a comprehensive, collaborative public calendar of alternative film screenings in Madison. It is still a work in progress, but check it out at www.mdo.me/film.

MMoCA Cinema, Madison Museum of Contemporary Art

• Screenings begin about 20 minutes after sunset.

• GIRL INTERNET SHOW: A KATI KELLI MIXTAPE (2013-2019), Thursday, July 30.

• AMERICA: EVERYTHING YOU’VE EVER DREAMED OF (1971-1973), Thursday, August 6

• GANGSTERISM (2025), Thursday, August 13

• KIN DZA-DZA!, Thursday, August 20

Mills Folly Microcinema at Arts + Literature Laboratory

• PROJECT PROJECTION, local film and video showcase, Wednesday, July 29, 7:00pm. See notes above.

Side Room Cinematheque

• Second Thursday of the month, and last Monday of the month.

• Works by Janicza Bravo: A Shortfilm, A Feature, and A Television Pilot, Thursday, August 13, 9:00pm

• DM @sideroomcinematic (Instagram) for screening details.

Commonwealth Gallery, 1501 Williamson Street

• THROUGH THE KEYHOLE AND THE STORM, July 30–August 1

  • It is not often performance and film allow for such a full immersion of the audience, and it is something Liz Sexe Dance enjoys crafting and sharing with the community. Through the Keyhole and the Storm will bring together dance and film through an immersive gallery performance taking place at the Commonwealth Gallery. Each night from Thursday, July 30, through Saturday, August 1, the gallery will be open from 6:30-9:00 p.m. for people to explore the environments of a room filled with keyholes and the room of plastic. At 7:30 p.m. each night a performance will erupt with a storm.

Cinesthesia at Madison Public Library Central Branch

• WILD AT HEART (David Lynch, 1987), Tuesday, August 19, 6:30pm

Coney Island Side Show, Weary Traveller, 1202 Williamson Street

• “Patio premiere” of The Coney Island Side Show: Catfish Stephenson, which documents a performance by local musician Catfish Stephenson. Thursday, August 6 at 8:00pm. Presented by Wendy Schneider and Coney Island Studios.

Weekly posts include short notes on various cinematic topics, followed by the Now Showing in Madison guide to commercial theaters and alternative venues.

Yesterday’s post on the dominance of Asian films in Madison’s foreign-language film market ate up most of my time budget for working on Moving Image Madison this week. So this post will just be the Now Showing listings, with a few extra notes.

Looking ahead, Liz Sexe Dance will present a dance, film, and gallery installation experience, Through the Keyhole and the Storm at the Commonwealth Gallery, 1501 Williamson Street, from Thursday, July 30 through Saturday, August 1, with the gallery hours of 6:30pm–9:00pm. The performances will take place each evening at 7:30pm.

The Facebook event page description states, “This innovative experience allows the audience to roam through and be part of the performance. Three installations will be offered to the viewers: peering through keyholes into new worlds, being immersed in a storm of five local dancers (Erin Alberts, Abby Frank Taylor, Eve Levi, Tara McAninch and Megan Schimke) and their movement and reflecting on over consumption in an excessive world of plastic bags.”

I missed the last film/dance/installation event by Liz at Commonwealth Gallery, so I’m hoping I can catch this one!

And looking much further ahead, Wendy Schneider and Coney Island Studios has scheduled a “patio premiere” of The Coney Island Side Show: Catfish Stephenson, which documents a performance by local musician Catfish Stephenson. The screening will take place at The Weary Traveller, 1201 Williamson Street, Thursday, August 6 at 8:00pm (or sundown).

The Facebook event page states that Catfish Stephenson “has lived a life that reads like oral history. He has been a songwriter, a soldier, a street performer, a master leather worker, an outdoorsman, a hunter - friends and father. His stories carry the imprint of a world that is nearly gone.” The film documents a performance that was recorded back in December 2025. I’ll post reminders about this as the screening date approaches.

Project Projection Submission Deadline: Friday, July 17

And one last reminder: The submission deadline for the next Project Projection screening of local film and video at Mills Folly Microcinema is coming up this Friday, July 17. Project Projection screenings showcase work by filmmakers from Madison and Dane County, with a focus on experimental film, short documentaries, animation, and music videos. No submission fee, 10 minute limit.

The screening will take place on Wednesday, July 29, 7:00pm at Arts + Literature Laboratory, 111 S. Livingston Street, Suite 100. Admission is free. You can find more details, including the submission form, at the Arts + Literature Laboratory website.

Now Playing In Madison: July 14–July 20, 2026

Please confirm showtimes with the venues (follow venue links where provided). The commercial theaters update their weekend listings on Wednesdays. Another valuable source that posts on Wednesdays with now playing lists is The Horizon Line Madison. When possible, I will provide links to reviews by Rob Thomas at Not That Rob Thomas, who gets around to far more proper reviews than I do.

Comments here are not reviews of the films, they are usually a response to the trailer, a summary of the buzz I have heard, or just snark. They are not always particularly accurate, according to reader feedback. I add trailers to new films of interest that you might not know about (American indies, international features, etc.).

Cinesthesia at Madison Public Library Central Branch

• FULL METAL JACKET (Stanley Kubrick, 1987), Tuesday, July 14, 6:30pm

  • TONIGHT!

Highway 18 Outdoor Theater, Jefferson, Wisconsin

Unfortunately, they reverted back to the wrong actress for Supergirl, despite fixing it in one poster. Thanks, A.I.

WUD Film Lakeside Cinema

• AQUAMARINE (2006), The Terrace @ Memorial Union, Monday, 7/20, 9:00 P.M.

• Lakeside Cinema, Monday nights at the Memorial Union Terrace returns with monthly themes: “Sports” (June), “Under the Lake,” (July), “Back to the 80’s” (August).

Commercial Theaters:
AMC Theatres
Flix Brewhouse
Marcus Theatres (Palace and Point)

Please confirm showtimes with the venues (follow venue links where provided). The commercial theaters update their weekend listings on Wednesdays. Another valuable source that posts on Wednesdays with now playing lists is The Horizon Line Madison. When possible, I will provide links to reviews by Rob Thomas at Not That Rob Thomas, who gets around to far more proper reviews than I do.

Comments here are not reviews of the films, they are usually a response to the trailer, a summary of the buzz I have heard, or just snark. They are not always particularly accurate, according to reader feedback. I add trailers to new films of interest that you might not know about (American indies, international features, etc.).

• AIRPLANE! at Flix.

• AMC SCREEN UNSEEN: JULY 20 at AMC.

• BACKROOMS: EVERYTHING MUST GO EDITION W/ BONUS FOOTAGE (2026) at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.

  • If you want that little bit more of the recent box office hit, this is for you. I like the film quite a bit, but I have a feeling that less is better in this instance.

• CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS at Flix.

• DHAMAAL 4 (2026) at AMC.

  • Indian Hindi-language adventure comedy, starring Ajay Devgn.

• DISCLOSURE DAY (2026) at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.

• EVIL DEAD BURN (2026) at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.

• GAIL DAUGHTRY AND THE CELEBRITY SEX PASS (2026) at AMC, Point.

• GALAPAGOS 3D (1999) at AMC.

  • IMAX 3D nature documentary

• IDHAYAM MURALI (2026) at AMC.

  • Indian Tamil-language coming-of-age romantic drama, starring Atharvaa.

• INVITE, THE (2026) at AMC, Flix, Palace.

  • Directed by Olivia Wilde, this remake of the 2020 Spanish comedy The People Upstairs stars Wilde, Seth Rogen, Penélope Cruz, and Edward Norton

• JACKASS: BEST AND LAST (2026) at AMC, Palace, Point.

  • I never was a fan when Jackass was on television, but I have to admit I have enjoyed some of the films. I might go see this.

• JULY CRUNCHYROLL ANIME NIGHTS - MOB PSYCHO 100 (2026) at AMC, Point.

• LEGO MOVIE, THE (2014) at AMC.

• LENIN (2026) at AMC.

  • Indian Telugu-language action drama. I was hoping for a splashy Tollywood production of the life of Vladmir Lenin, but that is not what this is. Ends Thursday, July 16.

• MADDIE’S SECRET (2026) at AMC.

  • Comedy directed by John Early, starring Early, Kate Berlant, Claudia O’Doherty, and Vanessa Bayer. Appears to be ending Thursday, July 16.

• MARCUS MYSTERY MOVIE at Palace, Point.

• MINIONS & MONSTERS (2026) at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.

  • This latest entry in the Minions franchise apparently has a lot of film buff jokes, if that sways you. Read Rob Thomas’s review.

• MOANA (2026) at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.

  • Live action adaptation of Disney’s animated feature, Moana (2016). I hear this was dead on arrival, box office wise.

• MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO - STUDIO GHIBLI FEST 2026 at AMC, Palace, Point.

• NIGHT NURSE (2026) at AMC.

  • Edited by Madison’s own Alex Jacobs! Read Rob Thomas’s review. Appears to end Thursday, July 16.

• OBSESSION (2026) at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.

• ODYSSEY, THE (2026) at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.

  • Based on an epic poem by Homer, maybe you’ve heard of it? Directed by Christopher Nolan, maybe you’ve heard of him?

• POUT-POUT FISH, THE (2026) at Palace, Point.

• ROTTEN MOVIES, FRESH BEER: GREASE 2 at Flix.

• SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 3 (2024) at AMC.

• SPONGEBOB MOVIE: SEARCH FOR SQUAREPANTS, THE (2025) at Palace, Point.

• STAR WARS: THE MANDALORIAN AND GROGU (2026) at Point.

• SUPERGIRL (2026) at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.

  • Read Rob Thomas’s review.

• TOY STORY 5 (2026) at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.

• YOUNG WASHINGTON (2026) at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.

Have you used the Now Showing in Madison listings at least once to find something interesting to see? Have you discovered a film that you didn’t realize was playing in town? Please consider supporting these efforts directly by clicking the “Buy Me a Popcorn” button and making a modest donation on those occasions when you find this resource valuable to your moviegoing in Madison.

Buy Me a Popcorn

Looking Ahead:

Local filmmaker Michael Doyle Olson has started what he hopes to be a comprehensive, collaborative public calendar of alternative film screenings in Madison. It is still a work in progress, but check it out at www.mdo.me/film.

MMoCA Cinema, Madison Museum of Contemporary Art

• Screenings begin about 20 minutes after sunset.

• GIRL INTERNET SHOW: A KATI KELLI MIXTAPE (2013-2019), Thursday, July 30.

• AMERICA: EVERYTHING YOU’VE EVER DREAMED OF (1971-1973), Thursday, August 6

• GANGSTERISM (2025), Thursday, August 13

• KIN DZA-DZA!, Thursday, August 20

Highway 18 Outdoor Theater, Jefferson, Wisconsin

• SUPERGIRL and MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE, July 16-19.

Mills Folly Microcinema at Arts + Literature Laboratory

• PROJECT PROJECTION, local film and video showcase, Wednesday, July 29, 7:00pm

• Now taking submissions of experimental film/video art, short docs, animation, and music videos (10 minute limit). Submit your work at artlitlab.org, deadline Friday, July 17.

Side Room Cinematheque

• Second Thursday of the month, and last Monday of the month.

• DM @sideroomcinematic (Instagram) for screening details.

Commonwealth Gallery, 1501 Williamson Street

• THROUGH THE KEYHOLE AND THE STORM, July 30–August 1

  • It is not often performance and film allow for such a full immersion of the audience, and it is something Liz Sexe Dance enjoys crafting and sharing with the community. Through the Keyhole and the Storm will bring together dance and film through an immersive gallery performance taking place at the Commonwealth Gallery. Each night from Thursday, July 30, through Saturday, August 1, the gallery will be open from 6:30-9:00 p.m. for people to explore the environments of a room filled with keyholes and the room of plastic. At 7:30 p.m. each night a performance will erupt with a storm.

This is my third installment of numbers crunching about Madison’s theatrical market in the first half of 2026. I’ve already taken a look at the total number of films that have played in Madison from January though June, and how many of those films that have appeared on Best of 2026 Films So Far lists have played in town.

In this post I’m taking a look at the number of international / foreign language films that have played in town in the first half of the year. The TL;DR is this: of the nearly 400-or-so films or special programs in Madison theaters so far this year, there were 67 international or foreign language films.

I have included a complete list of titles at the end of this post. The breakdown by country can be seen in the pie chart below, where the leading country begins at 12 o’clock, with subsequent countries following clockwise. So, there were 30 films from India, 16 films from Japan, and so on. Further down, I also break down the films by language, which is important for discussing the many languages heard in Indian popular cinema.

There are a few problems with my methodology, but they should not significantly alter the larger points I’ll be making in this post. When deciding whether a film counted as a foreign-language film produced in another country, I erred on the side of inclusion. So, two films are included that most people might leave off the list: Erupcja, a Polish co-production and Marama, a co-production from New Zealand. The trailers for both films suggest that the dialogue is primarily in English, more than Polish and Māori, respectively. Since neither of those examples significantly impact the thesis of this post, I’m comfortable with leaving them in as examples of international co-productions. If you find that decision problematic, then mentally remove two very thin slices of the pie.

The Hong Kong action thriller The Furious, distributed in North America by Lionsgate, also presents a problem in terms of language, even though it is clearly an international production. The film is obviously dubbed in English, but a few accounts of the film suggest that it was always the intention of the filmmakers to have the dialogue primarily in English. For my purposes here, I feel very comfortable describing it as a Hong Kong production.

I don’t have enough information to be completely sure if some animated films were presented in either subtitled or English dubbed versions, or both. This does affect the numbers for Japan and Japanese-language films, but not enough to be too worried about in the larger picture.

I was also somewhat inconsistent in defining Japanese anime screenings. I attempted to count anything marketed as “a movie” as a movie, even if it was a collection of anime television series episodes. In Japan there is a history of marketing re-edits of anime television episodes as “movies.” For example, currently on the Criterion Channel you can watch Gatchaman: The Movie, released in Japanese theaters in 1978.

With methodology issues out of the way, let’s look at the results. In my July 2 post, when teasing Madison film market numbers, I wrote, “If you’re a regular reader here, you probably don’t need to guess the top countries of origin for international films that play in Madison (clue: they’re not in Europe).” JoAnne Powers chimed in with the correct answer in the comments on that post: India and Japan. It makes sense that JoAnne would know this, because she sees many if not most of the Indian films that play in town. If you’re not already listening to JoAnne’s show on WORT-FM, Fire Worship, every other Tuesday from 2:00pm to 5:00pm, you should do so and catch the film calendar segment, “The Wages of Cinema.”

Indian popular cinema, with dialogue in Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, or Malayalam, accounts for almost half of the foreign-language films in Madison in the first half of 2026. Even the least frequent Indian language, Malayalam, beats out several countries.

The dominance of Indian popular cinema in Madison’s international film market is not new. Back in November 2013, I wrote an overview of the Bollywood films1 that screened at AMC Star Fitchburg 18 (as it was then called) for Isthmus. Even back then, Indian popular cinema would often outnumber films from other countries screened in Madison theaters. I wrote:

Of the 21 foreign-language films that have played in Madison commercial theaters since June 1 [to the publication date, November 7], more than half have been from India. There were 12 by my count, compared to five subtitled films at Sundance Cinemas in the same period.

The Indian diasporic community in Madison seems to have more faithfully returned to theaters after COVID than other specialty film fans did. In part, that is because Indian Popular Cinema serves a range of functions for Indian diasporic communities. Surabhi Raj wrote an interesting article on this topic in 2023, “The Creation of Indian Diasporic Culture Through Hindi Cinema” in Confluence, an online platform for student writing at NYU’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study.

What seems to have dropped since 2017 (the year of the Sundance Theater’s transition to an AMC Theater) has been the number and range of other specialty titles on Madison screens. I’ll have to crunch some numbers at the end of the year to see if this is just a subjective impression. (But most subscribers to this Substack probably have a similar subjective impression.)

In another Isthmus article, written in 2017, I had access to Sundance booking documents for 2015 and 2016, thanks to a little birdie. (I did not make it clear at the time that I had such access, because the little birdie potentially would have gotten in trouble.) With that data in hand, I argued that in its later days, Sundance was not doing as bad a job as some people were arguing at the time:

Sundance delivered what the specialty market demanded. The theater screened 75 percent of IndieWire’s list of highest grossing specialty releases in 2015 and 2016. (“Specialty” means indie, foreign and limited-release documentaries.) Of the 136 feature films Sundance screened in 2016, 90 (66 percent) were from specialty distributors or specialty divisions of studios, while 46 (34 percent) were mainstream studio releases . . .

. . . On its six screens, Sundance averaged four specialty films and two mainstream films. Sundance showcased specialty distributors like Music Box and Oscilloscope far more frequently than Marcus or AMC.

Again, it seems like we’re not doing as well currently with specialty releases in Madison’s theaters. At the end of this year, assuming I keep up with the Now Showing posts here at Moving Image Madison, I’ll be in a position to compare the 2026 highest grossing specialty releases to what ended up playing in Madison. This will hopefully be a more useful assessment of the international and independent specialty film markets in Madison than only referencing the year end “Best of 2026” lists.

Whenever I make predictions, at best I only get things half right. I ended up getting something half wrong and half right in that 2017 Isthmus article. When predicting changes in programming at the “AMC Madison 6,” the new name for the former Sundance Theater, I wrote:

The most likely shift at [AMC] Madison 6 will be an increase in Asian popular cinema, as suggested by the screening of three Mandarin-language titles just before Sundance’s rebranding. This reflects the corporate strategy of AMC’s parent company, the Chinese conglomerate Wanda Group.

What I clearly got wrong is that an ongoing increase in Asian films never developed at AMC Madison 6, despite being closer to UW international student housing in Eagle Heights than the AMC Fitchburg 18. With 20/20 hindsight, one wonders if AMC Madison 6 could have held out longer if they had catered to the demand for Indian popular cinema, which remains a part of AMC’s current corporate strategy.

What I got right is that now we do see Mandarin-language films via AMC, at AMC Fitchburg 18. Mandarin-language Chinese films2 come in right between Telugu and Tamil films in the chart below.

The takeaway here is the truism that I keep repeating like a broken record: If you want to see certain types of films in Madison’s theaters, you have to go see them when they do play in town. If there is a demand, there will be a supply. If there is not an adequate demand, the supply will not be there. Indian diasporic communities (and general movie enthusiasts) in Madison have supported Indian popular cinema when it plays in town, therefore the supply of these films has been consistent for well over 10 years.

1. 7 DOGS

   1. Country: Saudi Arabia

   2. Language: Arabic

2. AA BATA AAMA

   1. Country: Nepal

   2. Language: Nepali

3. ALL YOU NEED IS KILL

   1. Country: Japan

   2. Language: Japanese

4. ALPHA

   1. Country: India

   2. Language: Hindi

5. ARCO

   1. Country: France

   2. Language: English dub

6. ATTACK ON TITAN: THE LAST ATTACK

   1. Country: Japan

   2. Language: Japanese

7. BEING TOWARDS DEATH

   1. Country: China

   2. Language: Mandarin Chinese

8. BENDITO CORAZÓN (BLESSED HEART)

   1. Country: Mexico

   2. Language: Spanish

9. BERSHAMA

   1. Country: Egypt

   2. Language: Arabic

10. A BETTER TOMORROW

    1. Country: Hong Kong

    2. Language: Cantonese Chinese

11. BHOOTH BANGLA

    1. Country: India

    2. Language: Hindi

12. BLADES OF THE GUARDIANS

    1. Country: China

    2. Language: Mandarin Chinese

13. BLEACH: THOUSAND-YEAR BLOOD WAR - THE CALAMITY

    1. Country: Japan

    2. Language: Japanese

14. BORDER 2

    1. Country: India

    2. Language: Hindi

15. CHAND MERA DIL

    1. Country: India

    2. Language: Hindi

16. CHAO

    1. Country: Japan

    2. Language: Japanese

17. DACOIT: A LOVE STORY

    1. Country: India

    2. Language: Telugu

18. DHURANDHAR

    1. Country: India

    2. Language: Hindi

19. DHURANDHAR: THE REVENGE

    1. Country: India

    2. Language: Hindi

20. DRISHYAM 3

    1. Country: India

    2. Language: Malayalam

21. ERUPCJA

    1. Country: Polish

    2. Language: Polish

22. EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY

    1. Country: China

    2. Language: Mandarin Chinese

23. EXIT 8

    1. Country: Japan

    2. Language: Japanese

24. THE FURIOUS

    1. Country: Hong Kong

    2. Language: English dub

25. FRUITS BASKET: PRELUDE

    1. Country: Japan

    2. Language: Japanese

26. GODZILLA MINUS ONE

    1. Country: Japan

    2. Language: Japanese

27. GOVERNOR: THE SILENT SAVIOUR

    1. Country: India

    2. Language: Hindi

28. HAI JAWANI TOH ISHQ HONA HAI

    1. Country: India

    2. Language: Hindi

29. HAPPY RAJ

    1. Country: India

    2. Language: Tamil

30. HARD BOILED

    1. Country: Hong Kong

    2. Language: Cantonese Chinese

31. HAUNTED: ECHOES OF THE PAST

    1. Country: India

    2. Language: Hindi

32. KAPODISTRIAS (THE GOVERNOR)

    1. Country: Greece

    2. Language: Greek

33. KARUPPU

    1. Country: India

    2. Language: Tamil

34. KATTALAN

    1. Country: India

    2. Language: Malayalam

35. KIKI’S DELIVERY SERVICE

    1. Country: Japan

    2. Language: Japanese

36. THE KILLER

    1. Country: Hong Kong

    2. Language: Cantonese Chinese

37. KING’S WARDEN

    1. Country: South Korea

    2. Language: Korean

38. KRISHNAVATARAM

    1. Country: India

    2. Language: Hindi

39. LUPIN THE IIIRD: THE MOVIE-THE IMMORTAL BLOODLINE

    1. Country: Japan

    2. Language: Japanese

40. MAIN VAAPAS AAUNGA

    1. Country: India

    2. Language: Hindi

41. MANA SHANKARAVARAPRASAD GARU

    1. Country: India

    2. Language: Hindi

42. MARAMA

    1. Country: New Zealand

    2. Language: Maori

43. MARDAANI 3

    1. Country: India

    2. Language: Hindi

44. MRITHUNJAY

    1. Country: India

    2. Language: Telugu

45. OM SHANTI SHANTI SHANTIHI

    1. Country: India

    2. Language: Telugu

46. PARIMALA AND CO

    1. Country: India

    2. Language: Tamil

47. PATI PATNI AUR WOH DO

    1. Country: India

    2. Language: Hindi

48. PEDDI

    1. Country: India

    2. Language: Telugu

49. PEGASUS 3

    1. Country: China

    2. Language: Mandarin Chinese

50. PONYO

    1. Country: Japan

    2. Language: Japanese

51. PRATHICHAYA

    1. Country: India

    2. Language: Malayalam

52. THE PRESIDENT’S CAKE

    1. Country: Iraq

    2. Language: Arabic

53. RAAKAASAA

    1. Country: India

    2. Language: Telugu

54. THE RAJASAAB

    1. Country: India

    2. Language: Telugu

55. SAMPRADAYINI SUPPINI SUDDAPOOSANI

    1. Country: India

    2. Language: Telugu

56. SCARLET

    1. Country: Japan

    2. Language: Japanese

57. THE SECRET AGENT

    1. Country: Brazil

    2. Language: Portuguese

58. THE SECRET WORLD OF ARRIETTY

    1. Country: Japan

    2. Language: Japanese

59. SENTIMENTAL VALUE

    1. Country: Norway

    2. Language: Norwegian

60. THAT TIME I GOT REINCARNATED AS A SLIME THE MOVIE: SCARLET BOND

    1. Country: Japan

    2. Language: Japanese

61. THAT TIME I GOT REINCARNATED AS A SLIME THE MOVIE: TEARS OF THE AZURE SEA

    1. Country: Japan

    2. Language: Japanese

62. USTAAD BHAGAT SINGH

    1. Country: India

    2. Language: Telugu

63. VANISHING POINT

    1. Country: China

    2. Language: Mandarin Chinese

64. VISHNU VINYASAMM

    1. Country: India

    2. Language: Telugu

65. WHISPER OF THE HEART

    1. Country: Japan

    2. Language: Japanese

66. WITH LOVE

    1. Country: India

    2. Language: Tamil

67. ZOMBIELAND SAGA: YUMEGINGA PARADISE

    1. Country: Japan

    2. Language: Japanese

Weekly posts include short notes on various cinematic topics, followed by the Now Showing in Madison guide to commercial theaters and alternative venues.

I should probably do more research about something before I write about it here, and maybe talk to the people involved with it. But no time, no time! I’ve been intrigued enough by the new Magic Pixel Guild Discord to bring it to your attention this week, before the first “Second Sunday Meetups” begin this Sunday, July 12, 3:00pm, at Imaginary Factory (1401 Northern Court).

What is the Magic Pixel Guild? Well, it is a new online community with a Madison chapter for people interested in digital and traditional arts. The key resource will be their Discord channel, which can be found at https://discord.gg/kbJewTrvj.

My main contact with the Magic Pixel Guild has been through Michael Doyle Olson. (Did you happen to see Michael’s cover for Isthmus this month?) Michael does video, photography, design, illustration, and you see his name at the bottom of each Now Playing section of Moving Image Madison because I link to his ongoing collaborative public calendar of alternative film screenings at www.mdo.me/film.

Here are two pieces of information that I have already gleaned from combing though the posts at Magic Pixel Guild. First, I didn’t realize that John Early’s Maddie’s Secret was finally getting a theatrical run in Madison, at AMC Fitchburg, starting Thursday, July 9. And second, I learned that the new film edited by Alex Jacobs, Night Nurse, is also opening in town this week! (More on that below.)

Members can also post events to the Magic Pixel Guild calendar, so I have posted an event listing for the upcoming Project Projection screening on July 29, hoping that we’ll get some new interest in screening local work.

So join me (and about 60 members) over on the Discord, and some of us at the meetup this Sunday at Imaginary Factory, and let’s see how this evolves!

Night Nurse, edited by Alex Jacobs, opens at AMC Fitchburg this week

Madison’s Alex Jacobs has had his abstract experimental glitch video work screened at the Wisconsin Film Festival and Mills Folly Microcinema, and well beyond. As a professional film editor, he has worked on features such as In a Violent Nature, which was distributed by IFC Films and Shudder. (It is currently streaming for free on Kanopy, but be warned, it is not for the squeamish).

Alex’s most recent project as editor, the thriller Night Nurse, directed by Georgia Bernstein, premiered at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. The Independent Film Company (formerly IFC Films) picked it up for North American distribution. Now, Madison audiences will be able to see the film when it opens at AMC Fitchburg on Thursday, July 9. This looks like quite the trip. Congrats, Alex!

Now Playing In Madison: July 8–July 13, 2026

Please confirm showtimes with the venues (follow venue links where provided). The commercial theaters update their weekend listings on Wednesdays. Another valuable source that posts on Wednesdays with now playing lists is The Horizon Line Madison. When possible, I will provide links to reviews by Rob Thomas at Not That Rob Thomas, who gets around to far more proper reviews than I do.

Comments here are not reviews of the films, they are usually a response to the trailer, a summary of the buzz I have heard, or just snark. They are not always particularly accurate, according to reader feedback. I add trailers to new films of interest that you might not know about (American indies, international features, etc.).

Highway 18 Outdoor Theater, Jefferson, Wisconsin

WUD Film Lakeside Cinema

• THE LIFE AQUATIC WITH STEVE ZISSOU (2004), The Terrace @ Memorial Union, Monday, 7/13, 9:00 P.M.

• Lakeside Cinema, Monday nights at the Memorial Union Terrace returns with monthly themes: “Sports” (June), “Under the Lake,” (July), “Back to the 80’s” (August).

Side Room Cinematheque

• MIRANDA JULY TRIPLE FEATURE, Thursday, July 9, 8:00pm

• DM @sideroomcinematic (Instagram) for screening details.

Commercial Theaters:
AMC Theatres
Flix Brewhouse
Marcus Theatres (Palace and Point)

Please confirm showtimes with the venues (follow venue links where provided). The commercial theaters update their weekend listings on Wednesdays. Another valuable source that posts on Wednesdays with now playing lists is The Horizon Line Madison. When possible, I will provide links to reviews by Rob Thomas at Not That Rob Thomas, who gets around to far more proper reviews than I do.

Comments here are not reviews of the films, they are usually a response to the trailer, a summary of the buzz I have heard, or just snark. They are not always particularly accurate, according to reader feedback. I add trailers to new films of interest that you might not know about (American indies, international features, etc.).

• ALPHA (2026) at AMC.

  • Indian Hindi-language action film, the latest installment in the YRF Spy Universe from Yash Raj Studios. So that always means a cameo by a star from another film in the series, in this case Hrithik Rashan.

• BACKROOMS: EVERYTHING MUST GO EDITION W/ BONUS FOOTAGE (2026) at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.

  • If you want that little bit more of the recent box office hit, this is for you. I like the film quite a bit, but I have a feeling that less is better in this instance.

• BLEACH: THOUSAND-YEAR BLOOD WAR - THE CALAMITY (2026) at AMC.

  • Anime feature, taken from the popular television series.

• CITIZEN KANE 85TH ANNIVERSARY at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.

  • I’ve heard good things.

• DEEP SKY (2023) at AMC.

• DISCLOSURE DAY (2026) at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.

• EVIL DEAD BURN (2026) at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.

• GAIL DAUGHTRY AND THE CELEBRITY SEX PASS (2026) at AMC, Point.

  • Latest comedy from director David Wain (Wet Hot American Summer). Read Rob Thomas’s review.

• GATTA KUSTHI 2 (2026) at AMC.

  • Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy / sports drama, a sequel to a 2022 film. Title roughly translates as “Tied wrestling.”

• GIRLS LIKE GIRLS (2026) at AMC.

• HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON (2025) at AMC.

• INVITE, THE (2026) at AMC, Flix.

  • Directed by Olivia Wilde, this remake of the 2020 Spanish comedy The People Upstairs stars Wilde, Seth Rogen, Penélope Cruz, and Edward Norton.

• JACKASS: BEST AND LAST (2026) at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.

  • I never was a fan when Jackass was on television, but I have to admit I have enjoyed some of the films. I might go see this.

• LEGO MOVIE, THE (2014) at AMC.

• LENIN (2026) at AMC.

  • Indian Telugu-language action drama. I was hoping for a splashy Tollywood production of the life of Vladmir Lenin, but that is not what this is.

• LEVITICUS (2026) at Point.

  • Supernatural horror spiced with some social commentary.

• LOCKBOX (2026) at AMC.

  • Supernatural horror film starring Carla Gugino.

• LUCKY STRIKE (2026) at AMC, Point.

  • World War II action drama starring Scott Eastwood. Read Rob Thomas’s review.

• MADDIE’S SECRET (2026) at AMC.

  • This has some buzz on the Magic Pixel Guild Discord. Comedy directed by John Early, starring Early, Kate Berlant, Claudia O’Doherty, and Vanessa Bayer.

• MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE (2026) at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.

• MINIONS & MONSTERS (2026) at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.

  • This latest entry in the Minions franchise apparently has a lot of film buff jokes, if that sways you. Read Rob Thomas’s review.

• MOANA (2026) at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.

  • Live action adaptation of Disney’s animated feature, Moana (2016).

• MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO - STUDIO GHIBLI FEST 2026 at AMC, Palace, Point.

• NIGHT NURSE at AMC.

  • Edited by Madison’s own Alex Jacobs! See above.

• OBSESSION (2026) at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.

• PADDINGTON (2015) at Palace.

• PUSS IN BOOTS: THE LAST WISH (2022) at Flix.

• RAO BAHADUR (2026) at AMC.

  • Indian Telugu-language psychological drama starring Satyadev.

• SCARY MOVIE (2026) at AMC, Palace, Point.

• SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY at AMC, Flix.

• SPONGEBOB MOVIE: SEARCH FOR SQUAREPANTS, THE (2025) at Palace, Point.

• STAR IS BORN, A (1954) at AMC.

  • This is Mrs. Norman Maine.

• STAR WARS: THE MANDALORIAN AND GROGU (2026) at Palace, Point.

• SUPERGIRL (2026) at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.

  • Read Rob Thomas’s review.

• TOY STORY 5 (2026) at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.

• TUNER (2026) at AMC.

• YOUNG WASHINGTON (2026) at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.

Have you used the Now Showing in Madison listings at least once to find something interesting to see? Have you discovered a film that you didn’t realize was playing in town? Please consider supporting these efforts directly by clicking the “Buy Me a Popcorn” button and making a modest donation on those occasions when you find this resource valuable to your moviegoing in Madison.

Buy Me a Popcorn

Looking Ahead:

Local filmmaker Michael Doyle Olson has started what he hopes to be a comprehensive, collaborative public calendar of alternative film screenings in Madison. It is still a work in progress, but check it out at www.mdo.me/film.

MMoCA Cinema, Madison Museum of Contemporary Art

• Screenings begin about 20 minutes after posted sunset.

• GIRL INTERNET SHOW: A KATI KELLI MIXTAPE (2013-2019), Thursday, July 30.

• AMERICA: EVERYTHING YOU’VE EVER DREAMED OF (1971-1973), Thursday, August 6

• GANGSTERISM (2025), Thursday, August 13

• KIN DZA-DZA!, Thursday, August 20

Highway 18 Outdoor Theater, Jefferson, Wisconsin

• SUPERGIRL and MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE, July 16-19.

Cinesthesia at Madison Public Library Central Branch

• FULL METAL JACKET (Stanley Kubrick, 1987), Tuesday, July 14, 6:30pm.

Mills Folly Microcinema at Arts + Literature Laboratory

• PROJECT PROJECTION, local film and video showcase, Wednesday, July 29, 7:00pm

• Now taking submissions of experimental film/video art, short docs, animation, and music videos (10 minute limit). Submit your work at artlitlab.org, deadline Friday, July 17.

Commonwealth Gallery, 1501 Williamson Street

• THROUGH THE KEYHOLE AND THE STORM, July 30–August 1

  • It is not often performance and film allow for such a full immersion of the audience, and it is something Liz Sexe Dance enjoys crafting and sharing with the community. Through the Keyhole and the Storm will bring together dance and film through an immersive gallery performance taking place at the Commonwealth Gallery. Each night from Thursday, July 30, through Saturday, August 1, the gallery will be open from 6:30-9:00 p.m. for people to explore the environments of a room filled with keyholes and the room of plastic. At 7:30 p.m. each night a performance will erupt with a storm.

This past Friday, I posted a list of all of the films that played in Madison’s theaters (AMC Fitchburg, Flix Brewhouse, and Marcus Theatres) so far in 2026.

Today, I present an aggregate list of titles drawn from the widely seen mid-year articles usually named something like “The Best Movies of 2026 So Far.”

I’m not going to discuss the lists in any detail. I’m posting the aggregated list to set the stage for upcoming discussions about Madison’s theatrical film market.

My sample Best of 2026 So Far lists came from the following 17 sources: Collider, Complex, Consequence of Sound, Esquire, The Film Stage, The Hollywood Reporter, IndieWire, Letterboxd, Mashable, Metacritic, RogerEbert.com, Rolling Stone, Rotten Tomatoes, Screen Crush, Variety, and World of Reel.

I chose to use neither The New York Times nor The Washington Post, mainly because they would present paywall obstacles if you wanted to follow through and look at their lists.

I linked the sources to Google Notebook LM (so I chose and limited the sources), provided a prompt, and Notebook LM devised the following methodology to rank the films:

To calculate the top 20 films from the lists in the sources, a standardized scoring system was applied: films in ranked lists received points based on their exact position (e.g., 20 points for 1st place, scaling down accordingly), while films in unranked lists received the mathematical average score for that list’s length. This accounts for both how high a film ranked and how often it appeared.

In terms of methodology, there are all kinds of problems with all of this. But for my purposes here, I don’t really care.

All I wanted was a broad overview of what film titles came up on Best of 2026 So Far lists, so that we could discuss them in relation to the Films that Played at Madison Theaters list. Here’s what Google Notebook LM spat out, followed by the number of weeks the films appeared on the Now Playing lists in Moving Image Madison:

1. Project Hail Mary - 155.5 points (10 lists).
Played in Madison 14 weeks so far.

2. Obsession - 124.0 points (8 lists).
Played in Madison 7 weeks so far.

3. Blue Heron - 116.5 points (9 lists).
Screened twice at Wisconsin Film Festival. Has not returned for a theatrical run.

4. 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple - 109.5 points (8 lists).
Played in Madison 3 weeks so far. (I need to double check that.)

5. Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie - 94.5 points (7 lists).
Local premiere at UW-Cinematheque. Then played in Madison 3 weeks.

6. Is God Is - 88.0 points (7 lists).
Played in Madison 3 weeks so far.

7. I Love Boosters - 86.0 points (6 lists).
Played in Madison 4 weeks so far.

8. Send Help - 78.0 points (6 lists).
Played in Madison 7 weeks so far.

9. EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert - 68.5 points (6 lists).
Played in Madison 5 weeks so far.

10. The Christophers - 65.5 points (5 lists).
Local premiere at Wisconsin Film Festival. Then played in Madison 2 weeks.

11. The Sheep Detectives - 62.5 points (4 lists).
Played in Madison 8 weeks so far.

12. The Drama - 59.0 points (5 lists).
Played in Madison 7 weeks so far.

13. Backrooms - 57.0 points (4 lists).
Played in Madison 5 weeks so far.

14. Disclosure Day - 53.5 points (4 lists).
Played in Madison 3 weeks so far (opened June 12).

15. Our Land (Nuestra Tierra) - 52.5 points (5 lists).
Has not played theatrically in Madison. Latest film, a documentary, from Lucrecia Martel (Zama, 2017).

16. Yes - 52.5 points (5 lists).
Local premiere at Wisconsin Film Festival. Has not returned for a theatrical run.

17. Pillion - 52.5 points (5 lists).
Played in Madison 2 weeks.

18. Silent Friend - 48.0 points (3 lists).
Has not played theatrically in Madison.

19. Rose of Nevada - 47.0 points (5 lists).
Has not played theatrically in Madison

20. Exit 8 - 47.0 points (4 lists).
Played in Madison 3 weeks.

Coming in at #3 on the aggregated list, Blue Heron is the big missing piece in the theatrical puzzle in Madison so far this year. Yes, Blue Heron screened twice at the Wisconsin Film Festival (including a Thursday mid-day screening). And yes, that is great that it did. And yes, it is great that some films that played at either the Wisconsin Film Festival or UW-Cinematheque came back for short runs in Madison’s commercial theaters (Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie at #5; The Christophers at #10). But it is probably the time, after 25+ years of the UW-Cinematheque and the Wisconsin Film Festival (as well as other alternative venues like WUD Film and MMoCA), to come to terms to what impact they do or don’t have on the film market in Madison (not just on subjective impressions of Madison’s film culture).

I attempted, with admittedly mixed results, to write about this topic in Isthmus over 10 years ago (maybe it’s more like 14 years ago, I’ll have to look it up!). I ended up making a few people angry with me at the time. So this time around, I’m going to very gingerly approach the topic and slowly lay down the groundwork so that it doesn’t appear like I’m attacking anyone or being a Negative Nelly (Jaundiced Jimbo?). But the upshot of my point will be: There’s very little incentive for local theaters to play films like Blue Heron, and there’s very little incentive for independent film distributors to place films in Madison within an ever narrowing theatrical window.

It makes sense that Blue Heron hasn’t had a theatrical run in Madison, despite being #3 on the aggregated Best Films of 2026 So Far list. Discussion forthcoming. Meanwhile…

One problem with discussing Madison’s theatrical market is that subjective impressions about what plays in town can be very different from the hard facts of what films do play in town, and for how long. One goal for Moving Image Madison, which I haven’t had a chance to dig into so far, is to offer a better informed analysis of Madison’s theatrical market, and by extension Madison’s broader film culture.

One reason I have tried my best to be consistent with posting Now Showing lists in 2026 was that I realized at the end of 2025 that my collected data was not as useful as it could be, given the effort that I was putting into it. I could not answer a central question with any accuracy: What films played in Madison theaters this year?

There are still flaws with my methodology if I wan’t to answer this question each year. But I think the list below of films that played in Madison between January 1 and June 30 this year offers an interesting starting point, and provides a broad overview of Madison’s theatrical market.

I’m going to do a few more in depth posts using this data in the coming weeks. I wanted this post to have more analysis, not just churning out a list of titles, but I discovered that the list of titles was in itself more challenging to produce than I thought it would be.

So for now I have only pointed out two special categories of films that I intend to discuss more in subsequent posts. First, I have highlighted International and Foreign Language films in yellow. When a film was on the border of this category, I tended to err on the side of inclusion. I have also highlighted Repertory Film Programming / Older Films in aqua blue. When these two categories overlapped, like with older Studio Ghibli films, I tended to highlight them in yellow. There are likely errors in the email newsletter version (films that should/should not be highlighted) that I will attempt correct in the web version. Comments are welcome to assist in this matter.

A few caveats…

The accurate way to describe this list is: films that appeared in the Moving Image Madison Now Showing lists, and how many Now Showing lists they appeared in. It would be incorrect to assume that this raw data tells us how many films had week-long engagements in local commercial theaters.

There are many special engagements, like Fathom events or Flix Brewhouse’s “Flix Picks” series, that only have one to three screenings. And sometimes those limited engagements might extend across two Now Showing lists. For example, you will notice a fluke that The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers is listed as “three weeks,” while the other Lord of the Rings films are listed as “two weeks.” This does not mean The Two Towers had more screenings than the other LOTR films, it simply means that due to the publication of the Now Screening lists, usually on Tuesdays, The Two Towers popped up on an additional list. None of the LOTR films had full week-long theatrical runs with multiple screenings each day of the week.

Also, keep in mind that some films on the list were at the tail end of their runs from 2025 (and perhaps returned for Oscar season), and some films are just starting their runs this summer.

It took me some time to establish criteria for what counted as a film. I don’t know if I have come up with the most consistent criteria, but generally speaking I removed pop concerts that were not presented as documentaries, as well as other live events like Metropolitan Opera performances and World Cup games. I also removed special programs like Oscar nominated shorts.

I will continue to tweak the list on the web version, so you will likely see changes and updates after receiving the email newsletter version. (Again, comments are welcome.)

And finally, it is a deliberate choice to focus in this context on the commercial theater chains in Madison (AMC, Flix Brewhouse, and Marcus Theatres) instead of alternative venues like UW-Cinematheque, WUD Film, Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, and Mills Folly Microcinema. For now, I’m setting up economic and industry questions, not aesthetic questions. Aesthetics will soon enter the discussion, especially after I survey “Best of 2026 so far” lists. A glaring absence from this list is Blue Heron, which did not return to Madison after its screening at the Wisconsin Film Festival.

Oh, and one last sweep over the list just minutes before posting brought the total down to 397 films. Please don’t hassle me about the title of the post! Ultimately there were far more than 400 distinct programs in the theaters, and this list would be longer if I hadn’t tried to weed out what wasn’t relevant to my central question. The number will continue to go down on the web version as I catch more duplicates.

Films in Madison Theaters, January–June 2026

Here is the list of film titles that played in Madison, Wisconsin theaters between January 1, 2026, and June 30, 2026 (with some wiggle room for before and after those cut off dates), ordered from the most weeks played to the fewest.

International / Foreign language films

Repertory Film Programming / Older Films

1. PROJECT HAIL MARY - 14 weeks

2. HOPPERS - 10 weeks

3. MICHAEL - 10 weeks

4. SUPER MARIO GALAXY MOVIE, THE - 10 weeks

5. ZOOTOPIA 2 - 9 weeks

6. AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH - 8 weeks

7. GOAT - 8 weeks

8. MARTY SUPREME - 8 weeks

9. SHEEP DETECTIVES, THE - 8 weeks

10. DEVIL WEARS PRADA 2, THE - 7 weeks

11. DRAMA, THE - 7 weeks

12. OBSESSION - 7 weeks

13. ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER - 7 weeks

14. REMINDERS OF HIM - 7 weeks

15. SEND HELP - 7 weeks

16. DAVID - 6 weeks

17. HAMNET - 6 weeks

18. HOUSEMAID, THE - 6 weeks

19. IRON LUNG - 6 weeks

20. READY OR NOT 2: HERE I COME - 6 weeks

21. SCREAM 7 - 6 weeks

22. SINNERS - 6 weeks

23. STAR WARS: THE MANDALORIAN AND GROGU - 6 weeks

24. BACKROOMS - 5 weeks

25. CRIME 101 - 5 weeks

26. EPIC: ELVIS PRESLEY IN CONCERT - 5 weeks

27. MORTAL KOMBAT II - 5 weeks

28. SONG SUNG BLUE - 5 weeks

29. WUTHERING HEIGHTS - 5 weeks

30. ANACONDA - 4 weeks

31. BLUE ANGELS, THE - 4 weeks

32. BRIDE!, THE - 4 weeks

33. CHARLIE THE WONDERDOG - 4 weeks

34. DHURANDHAR: THE REVENGE - 4 weeks

35. F1 THE MOVIE - 4 weeks

36. HOKUM - 4 weeks

37. I LOVE BOOSTERS - 4 weeks

38. KIKI’S DELIVERY SERVICE 4K - 4 weeks

39. LEE CRONIN’S THE MUMMY - 4 weeks

40. MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE - 4 weeks

41. NO OTHER CHOICE - 4 weeks

42. PEAKY BLINDERS: THE IMMORTAL MAN - 4 weeks

43. POUT-POUT FISH, THE - 4 weeks

44. PRESSURE - 4 weeks

45. PRIMATE - 4 weeks

46. ROAD AT NIGHT, A - 4 weeks

47. SCARY MOVIE - 4 weeks

48. SPONGEBOB MOVIE: SEARCH FOR SQUAREPANTS, THE - 4 weeks

49. UNDERTONE - 4 weeks

50. YOU, ME & TUSCANY - 4 weeks

51. 28 YEARS LATER: THE BONE TEMPLE - 3 weeks

52. AI DOC: OR HOW I BECAME AN APOCALOPTIMIST, THE - 3 weeks

53. ANIMAL FARM - 3 weeks

54. ARCO - 3 weeks

55. BILLIE EILISH - HIT ME HARD AND SOFT: THE TOUR - 3 weeks

56. BREADWINNER, THE - 3 weeks

57. BUGONIA - 3 weeks

58. BUSBOYS - 3 weeks

59. DEEP WATER - 3 weeks

60. DEMON SLAYER: KIMETSU NO YAIBA INFINITY CASTLE - 3 weeks

61. DISCLOSURE DAY - 3 weeks

62. DRACULA - 3 weeks

63. EXIT 8 - 3 weeks

64. FACES OF DEATH - 3 weeks

65. FURIOUS, THE - 3 weeks

66. GOOD LUCK, HAVE FUN, DON’T DIE - 3 weeks

67. GREENLAND 2: MIGRATION - 3 weeks

68. HOW TO MAKE A KILLING - 3 weeks

69. HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON - 3 weeks

70. I CAN ONLY IMAGINE 2 - 3 weeks

71. IN THE GREY - 3 weeks

72. IS GOD IS - 3 weeks

73. IS THIS THING ON? - 3 weeks

74. LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS, THE - 3 weeks

75. LORNE - 3 weeks

76. MELANIA - 3 weeks

77. MERCY - 3 weeks

78. MOTHER MARY - 3 weeks

79. NIRVANNA THE BAND THE SHOW THE MOVIE - 3 weeks

80. NORMAL - 3 weeks

81. PASSENGER - 3 weeks

82. PEGASUS 3 - 3 weeks

83. SECRET AGENT, THE - 3 weeks

84. SENTIMENTAL VALUE - 3 weeks

85. SHELTER - 3 weeks

86. SHREK 25TH ANNIVERSARY - 3 weeks

87. SILENCE OF THE LAMBS 35TH ANNIVERSARY, THE - 3 weeks

88. SLANTED - 3 weeks

89. SOLO MIO - 3 weeks

90. STOP! THAT! TRAIN! - 3 weeks

91. THAT TIME I GOT REINCARNATED AS A SLIME THE MOVIE: TEARS OF THE AZURE SEA - 3 weeks

92. THEY WILL KILL YOU - 3 weeks

93. TOP GUN 40TH ANNIVERSARY - 3 weeks

94. TOP GUN: MAVERICK RE-RELEASE - 3 weeks

95. TUNER - 3 weeks

96. WICKED: FOR GOOD - 3 weeks

97. WINTER HYMNS - 3 weeks

98. 7 DOGS - 2 weeks

99. ALI - 2 weeks

100. ALPHA - 2 weeks

101. AMAZING DIGITAL CIRCUS: THE LAST ACT, THE - 2 weeks

102. AMERICAN UNDERDOG - 2 weeks

103. BEAUTIFUL PLANET IMAX, A - 2 weeks

104. BEN-HUR - 2 weeks

105. BIG LEBOWSKI, THE - 2 weeks

106. BIRDCAGE 30TH ANNIVERSARY, THE - 2 weeks

107. BLADES OF THE GUARDIANS - 2 weeks

108. BLEACH: THOUSAND-YEAR BLOOD WAR - THE CALAMITY - 2 weeks

109. BORN TO BE WILD - 2 weeks

110. BRIDESMAIDS: 15TH ANNIVERSARY - 2 weeks

111. BUFFALO KIDS - 2 weeks

112. CAROLINA CAROLINE - 2 weeks

113. CASA GRANDE - 2 weeks

114. CHRISTOPHERS, THE - 2 weeks

115. CHRONOLOGY OF WATER, THE - 2 weeks

116. CORPORATE RETREAT - 2 weeks

117. COUTURE - 2 weeks

118. CRAZY RICH ASIANS - 2 weeks

119. CRIME 101: LIVESTREAM Q&A - 2 weeks

120. CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON - 2 weeks

121. CRUNCHYROLL ANIME NIGHTS SNEAK PEEK - 2 weeks

122. DACOIT: A LOVE STORY - 2 weeks

123. DAZED AND CONFUSED - 2 weeks

124. DEAD MAN’S WIRE - 2 weeks

125. DEATH OF ROBIN HOOD, THE - 2 weeks

126. DESERT WARRIOR - 2 weeks

127. DHURANDHAR - 2 weeks

128. DOG MAN - 2 weeks

129. DOLLY - 2 weeks

130. ERIN BROCKOVICH - 2 weeks

131. ERUPCJA - 2 weeks

132. EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE - 2 weeks

133. FATHER MOTHER SISTER BROTHER - 2 weeks

134. FERRIS BUELLER’S DAY OFF - 2 weeks

135. FIGHT CLUB 4K REMASTER - 2 weeks

136. FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY’S 2 - 2 weeks

137. FORBIDDEN FRUITS - 2 weeks

138. FRANKENSTEIN - 2 weeks

139. FRIED GREEN TOMATOES 35TH ANNIVERSARY - 2 weeks

140. FUZE - 2 weeks

141. GET ON THE BUS - 2 weeks

142. GIRLS LIKE GIRLS - 2 weeks

143. GODZILLA MINUS ONE - 2 weeks

144. GREAT AWAKENING, A - 2 weeks

145. GUNDAM PREMIERE NIGHT (DOUBLE FEATURE) - 2 weeks

146. HAI JAWANI TOH ISHQ HONA HAI - 2 weeks

147. HAMLET - 2 weeks

148. I SWEAR - 2 weeks

149. I WAS A STRANGER - 2 weeks

150. ISLANDS - 2 weeks

151. JACK JOHNSON: SURFILMUSIC - 2 weeks

152. JACKASS: BEST AND LAST - 2 weeks

153. JESUS REVOLUTION - 2 weeks

154. K-POPS! - 2 weeks

155. KARUPPU - 2 weeks

156. KING OF KINGS, THE - 2 weeks

157. KRISHNAVATARAM - 2 weeks

158. LABYRINTH 40TH ANNIVERSARY - 2 weeks

159. LAST WHALE SINGER, THE - 2 weeks

160. LEGALLY BLONDE 25TH ANNIVERSARY - 2 weeks

161. LEVITICUS - 2 weeks

162. LITTLE SOMETHING EXTRA, A - 2 weeks

163. LITTLE WOMEN - 2 weeks

164. LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING, THE - 2 weeks

165. LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING, THE - 2 weeks

166. LUCKY STRIKE - 2 weeks

167. MAGNIFICENT LIFE, A - 2 weeks

168. MARAMA - 2 weeks

169. MAY CONTAIN: MY LIFE - 2 weeks

170. MIDWINTER BREAK - 2 weeks

171. MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM HATHAWAY: THE SORCERY OF NYMPH CIRCE - 2 weeks

172. MOSES THE BLACK - 2 weeks

173. MUMMY RETURNS 25TH ANNIVERSARY, THE - 2 weeks

174. NEGLECTED - 2 weeks

175. ONE SPOON OF CHOCOLATE, RZA’S - 2 weeks

176. OVER YOUR DEAD BODY - 2 weeks

177. PARIS HILTON INFINITE ICON: A VISUAL MEMOIR - 2 weeks

178. PATI PATNI AUR WOH DO - 2 weeks

179. PEDDI - 2 weeks

180. PILLION - 2 weeks

181. PLAGUE, THE - 2 weeks

182. POWER BALLAD - 2 weeks

183. PREMARITAL - 2 weeks

184. PRIVATE LIFE, A - 2 weeks

185. PROTECTOR - 2 weeks

186. PSYCHO KILLER - 2 weeks

187. RAAKAASAA - 2 weeks

188. RAD 40TH ANNIVERSARY - 2 weeks

189. RAJA SAAB, THE - 2 weeks

190. RETURN TO SILENT HILL - 2 weeks

191. REVOLUTIONARY AMERICA - 2 weeks

192. ROOM WITH A VIEW, A - 2 weeks

193. ROTTEN MOVIES, FRESH BEER: HOT ROD - 2 weeks

194. SCARED TO DEATH - 2 weeks

195. SECRET BETWEEN US, THE - 2 weeks

196. SPEED RACER - 2 weeks

197. STAND BY ME 40TH ANNIVERSARY - 2 weeks

198. STEAL THIS STORY, PLEASE! - 2 weeks

199. STEEL MAGNOLIAS - 2 weeks

200. STILL HOPE - 2 weeks

201. STORM RIDER: LEGEND OF HAMMERHEAD - 2 weeks

202. STRANGERS: CHAPTER 3, THE - 2 weeks

203. SUPERGIRL - 2 weeks

204. TALLADEGA NIGHTS: THE BALLAD OF RICKY BOBBY - 20TH ANNIVERSARY - 2 weeks

205. TESTAMENT OF ANN LEE, THE - 2 weeks

206. THAT TIME I GOT REINCARNATED AS A SLIME THE MOVIE: SCARLET BOND - 2 weeks

207. TMNT II: THE SECRET OF THE OOZE 35TH ANNIVERSARY - 2 weeks

208. TO WONG FOO, THANKS FOR EVERYTHING, JULIE NEWMAR - 2 weeks

209. TOW - 2 weeks

210. TOY STORY 5 - 2 weeks

211. TRAIN DREAMS - 2 weeks

212. TRAINSPOTTING - 2 weeks

213. TWISTER - 2 weeks

214. USTAAD BHAGAT SINGH - 2 weeks

215. WE BURY THE DEAD - 2 weeks

216. WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE - 2 weeks

217. WHISPER OF THE HEART 4K - 2 weeks

218. WHISTLE - 2 weeks

219. WIZARD OF THE KREMLIN, THE - 2 weeks

220. WOMAN KING, THE - 2 weeks

221. A.I.: ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE - 1 week

222. AA BATA AAMA - 1 week

223. ALL YOU NEED IS KILL - 1 week

224. AMERICAN IN PARIS, AN - 1 week

225. APOCALYPSE OF ST. JOHN, THE - 1 week

226. ATTACK ON TITAN: THE LAST ATTACK - 1 week

227. AURORA: WHAT HAPPENED TO THE EARTH? - 1 week

228. BAD GUYS 2, THE - 1 week

229. BARBIE - 1 week

230. BEAST - 1 week

231. BEING TOWARDS DEATH - 1 week

232. BENDITO CORAZÓN (BLESSED HEART 2026) - 1 week

233. BERSHAMA - 1 week

234. BEST IN SHOW - 1 week

235. BETTER TOMORROW, A - 1 week

236. BHOOTH BANGLA - 1 week

237. BILLY IDOL SHOULD BE DEAD - 1 week

238. BLADE RUNNER: THE FINAL CUT - 1 week

239. BLAST - 1 week

240. BOOGIE NIGHTS - 1 week

241. BORDER 2 - 1 week

242. CABIN FEVER - 1 week

243. CABIN IN THE WOODS, THE - 1 week

244. CHAND MERA DIL - 1 week

245. CHAO - 1 week

246. CHORAL, THE - 1 week

247. CITIZEN KANE 85TH ANNIVERSARY - 1 week

248. COCKTAIL 2 - 1 week

249. COLD STORAGE - 1 week

250. DARK CRYSTAL, THE - 1 week

251. DEPARTED, THE - 1 week

252. DREAMS - 1 week

253. DRISHYAM 3 - 1 week

254. DUTCHMAN, THE - 1 week

255. ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND - 1 week

256. ETERNITY - 1 week

257. EVENT HORIZON - 1 week

258. EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY - 1 week

259. EVIL DEAD, THE - 1 week

260. FANTASY LIFE - 1 week

261. FIRST HYMN, THE - 1 week

262. FOR WORSE - 1 week

263. FRUITS BASKET: PRELUDE - 1 week

264. FRUITVALE STATION - 1 week

265. GABBY’S DOLLHOUSE: THE MOVIE - 1 week

266. GALE: YELLOW BRICK ROAD - 1 week

267. GARDENER, THE - 1 week

268. GHOST ELEPHANTS - 1 week

269. GODFREY: REBEL WITH A CAUSE - 1 week

270. GOVERNOR: THE SILENT SAVIOUR - 1 week

271. GREY, IN THE - 1 week

272. H IS FOR HAWK - 1 week

273. HAPPY RAJ - 1 week

274. HARD BOILED - HONG KONG CINEMA CLASSICS - 1 week

275. HAUNTED: ECHOES OF THE PAST - 1 week

276. HE CALLS ME DAUGHTER - 1 week

277. HOBBIT MARATHON, THE - 1 week

278. HOMECOMING: THE TOKYO SERIES - 1 week

279. HORRIBLE BOSSES - 1 week

280. HUBBLE - 1 week

281. HUNGRY - 1 week

282. HUNTING MATTHEW NICHOLS - 1 week

283. I CAN ONLY IMAGINE - 1 week

284. I LIVE HERE NOW - 1 week

285. I STILL BELIEVE - 1 week

286. IMAX SPACE STATION 3D - 1 week

287. IN COLD LIGHT - 1 week

288. INTERSTELLAR - 1 week

289. IRON GIANT, THE - 1 week

290. IRON MAIDEN: BURNING AMBITION - 1 week

291. JANA NAYAGAN - 1 week

292. JERRY MAGUIRE 30TH ANNIVERSARY - 1 week

293. JINSEI - 1 week

294. KAPODISTRIAS (THE GOVERNOR) - 1 week

295. KATTALAN - 1 week

296. KIDZ BOP LIVE: THE CONCERT MOVIE - 1 week

297. KILLER, THE - HONG KONG CINEMA CLASSICS - 1 week

298. KING’S WARDEN, THE - 1 week

299. KOKUHO - 1 week

300. LABYRINTH - 1 week

301. LAND BEFORE TIME, THE - 1 week

302. LAST STARFIGHTER, THE - 1 week

303. LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN, A - 1 week

304. LEGENDS OF THE LOST ARK - 1 week

305. LEGO MOVIE 3D EXCLUSIVE, THE - 1 week

306. LEGO MOVIE, THE - 1 week

307. LIFEHACK - 1 week

308. LOCKBOX - 1 week

309. LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING 2026, THE - 1 week

310. LOVE & BASKETBALL - 1 week

311. LUPIN THE IIIRD: THE MOVIE-THE IMMORTAL BLOODLINE - 1 week

312. MADAGASCAR 20TH ANNIVERSARY - 1 week

313. MAGIC MIKE XXL - 1 week

314. MAIN VAAPAS AAUNGA - 1 week

315. MAMMA MIA! - 1 week

316. MANA SHANKARAVARAPRASAD GARU - 1 week

317. MARDAANI 3 - 1 week

318. MEN IN BLACK - 1 week

319. MILE END KICKS - 1 week

320. MILK - 1 week

321. MINECRAFT MOVIE, A - 1 week

322. MINIONS & MONSTERS - 1 week

323. MINIONS: THE RISE OF GRU - 1 week

324. MOMENT, THE - 1 week

325. MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL - 1 week

326. MOONLIGHT - 1 week

327. MORTAL KOMBAT - 1 week

328. MORTUARY ASSISTANT, THE - 1 week

329. MRITHUNJAY - 1 week

330. MUPPET MOVIE, THE - 1 week

331. NEWBORN - 1 week

332. NIGHT PATROL - 1 week

333. O HORIZON - 1 week

334. OCEAN’S ELEVEN 25TH ANNIVERSARY - 1 week

335. OM SHANTI SHANTI SHANTIHI - 1 week

336. OPTIMIST: THE BRAVEST ACT IS TRUTH, THE - 1 week

337. OTHELLO - 1 week

338. PADDINGTON - 1 week

339. PADDINGTON IN PERU - 1 week

340. PANDAS - 1 week

341. PARIMALA AND CO - 1 week

342. PAST LIVES - 1 week

343. PONYO - STUDIO GHIBLI FEST 2026 - 1 week

344. POWER TO THE PEOPLE: JOHN & YOKO LIVE IN NYC - 1 week

345. PRATHICHAYA - 1 week

346. PRESIDENT’S CAKE, THE - 1 week

347. PRETTY IN PINK 40th ANNIVERSARY - 1 week

348. PRIDE & PREJUDICE 20TH ANNIVERSARY RE-RELEASE - 1 week

349. PRINCE OF EGYPT, THE - 1 week

350. PURPLE RAIN - 1 week

351. REDUX REDUX - 1 week

352. RESERVOIR DOGS - 1 week

353. REVENANT 10TH ANNIVERSARY RE-RELEASE, THE - 1 week

354. ROSE: COME BACK TO ME, THE - 1 week

355. ROTTEN MOVIES, FRESH BEER: BAD BOYS - 1 week

356. ROTTEN MOVIES, FRESH BEER: HOOK - 1 week

357. SACCHARINE - 1 week

358. SACRED HEART: HIS REIGN HAS NO END - 1 week

359. SAMPRADAYINI SUPPINI SUDDAPOOSANI - 1 week

360. SCARE OUT - 1 week

361. SCARLET - 1 week

362. SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD - 1 week

363. SECRET WORLD OF ARRIETTY 4K, THE - 1 week

364. SHEEPDOG - 1 week

365. SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN - 1 week

366. SMURFS - 1 week

367. SPACEBALLS - 1 week

368. STARDUST - 1 week

369. STARSHIP TROOPERS - 1 week

370. STORY OF EVERYTHING, THE - 1 week

371. STRAY KIDS: THE DOMINATE EXPERIENCE - 1 week

372. SUPERPOWER DOGS: AN IMAX 3D EXPERIENCE - 1 week

373. TAFITI: ACROSS THE DESERT - 1 week

374. TEKKONKINKREET - 1 week

375. THAT THEY MAY BE ONE - 1 week

376. THEY LIVE - 1 week

377. THIS IS NOT A TEST - 1 week

378. THREE AMIGOS! - 1 week

379. TIME HOPPERS: THE SILK ROAD - 1 week

380. TWILIGHT - 1 week

381. TWILIGHT SAGA MARATHON, THE - 1 week

382. UNDER THE SEA - 1 week

383. UNSUNG HERO - 1 week

384. URBAN COWBOY - 1 weeks

385. VANISHING POINT - 1 week

386. VERTIGO - 1 week

387. VISHNU VINYASAMM - 1 week

388. WHIPLASH - 1 week

389. WITH LOVE - 1 week

390. WIZARD OF OZ, THE - 1 week

391. WOLF OF WALL STREET, THE - 1 week

392. WORLDBREAKER - 1 week

393. YETI, THE - 1 week

394. YOU’RE DATING A NARCISSIST! - 1 week

395. YOUNG WASHINGTON - 1 week

396. ZOMBIELAND SAGA: YUMEGINGA PARADISE - 1 week

Weekly posts include short notes on various cinematic topics, followed by the Now Showing in Madison guide to commercial theaters and alternative venues.

I know how you feel. It has been a tough week, with the cancellation of the remainder of the UW-Cinematheque summer series. The cooling pipe breakdown on the UW-Madison campus has been a complete disaster, not only for Vilas Hall but for several other buildings. I won’t go into the details here, but you can read Chali Pittman’s Isthmus coverage of the ongoing nighmare, including a quote from the Cinematheque’s Ben Riser.

But keep your chin up! There are still interesting options this week, including Bloody Nose Empty Pockets (pictured above, trailer below) presented by Four Star Video at the Bartell Theater on Sunday, July 5, 5:00pm

Somehow I missed tonight’s screening of the Oscar-winning documentary Mr. Nobody Against Putin in my last few weekly listings! It screens tonight at the Bartell Theater, 7:30pm. Other films at the Bartell this weekend include Jaws (Friday, July 3, 6:30pm) and the sing-along version of Grease (with on-screen lyrics, Sunday, July 5, 2:00pm)

MMoCA Rooftop Cinema: Schedule now posted

I’ll have a lot more to say about the newly posted Rooftop Cinema schedule in the next few days, between now and the first screening on Thursday, July 30. But for now, here’s the lineup with some brief descriptions. You can also find the schedule at the MMoCA website.

Thursday, July 30, 9:00pm
GIRL INTERNET SHOW: A KATI KELLI MIXTAPE | Kati Kelli | USA | 2013-2019 | 80 minutes

Underground web personality Kati Kelli produced an avant-garde YouTube series, Girl Internet Show, from 2013 until her death from asthma in 2019. This compilation, assembled by Kelli’s widower Jordan Wippel and filmmaker Jane Schoenbrun (I Saw the TV Glow), presents a raw and unfiltered look at Kelli’s absurd, surreal sketches and her unsettling direct-address persona, including her first and final short film, Total Body Removal Surgery.

Thursday, August 6, 8:30pm
AMERICA: EVERYTHING YOU’VE EVER DREAMED OF | USA | Tony Ganz and Rhody Streeter | 1971-1973 | 80 minutes

The short documentaries of Tony Ganz and Rhody Streeter are as funny as they are unsettling, as affectionate as they are trenchant, and made with a refreshing concision that belies the depth of their cultural and social observations. Their films have been newly restored and are poised to regain their rightful place as some of the most eccentric and hilarious examples of American independent documentary filmmaking.

Thursday, August 13, 8:30pm
GANGSTERISM | Isiah Medina | Canada | 2025 | 84 minutes

As he mulls over the budget for his new film, director-gangster Clem (Mark Bacolcol) sends his artist cronies after an old comrade rumoured to be a leaker. Selected as the Closing Night Feature at the 2026 Onion City Experimental Film Festival (Chicago).

Thursday, August 20, 8:15pm
KIN DZA-DZA! | Georgiy Daneliya | Soviet Union | 1986 | 135 minutes

Imagine Andrei Tarkovsky (Solaris) directing Douglas Adams’ The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and you’ll come close to the existential weirdness of the wonderfully loopy Soviet-era sci-fi comedy Kin-Dza-Dza! It’s a deadpan, absurdist mixture of Kurt Vonnegut, Monty Python, Samuel Beckett and Alejandro Jodorowsky’s never-made Dune, as well as a savage satire of bureaucratic idiocy and dysfunction no matter what political system you’re living under—or what planet you’re living on.

Halfway through 2026: Where have we been, where are we going?

I’m going to post a few mid-year surveys of Madison’s theatrical film market over the next few days, including:

• A list of all 400 (or so) films that played in town between January and June 2026, and how many weeks they played. This first post (probably tomorrow) will more or less just be the list, with subsequent posts providing some analysis of the data.

• A look at the many, many Best of 2026 (so far) lists, in relation to Madison’s theatrical market. (To get you started, here’s Rob Thomas’s list.)

• And a closer look at the international films that have played in Madison so far in 2026. If you’re a regular reader here, you probably don’t need to guess the top countries of origin for international films that play in Madison (clue: they’re not in Europe).

Now Playing In Madison: July 3–July 8, 2026

Please confirm showtimes with the venues (follow venue links where provided). The commercial theaters update their weekend listings on Wednesdays. Another valuable source that posts on Wednesdays with now playing lists is The Horizon Line Madison. When possible, I will provide links to reviews by Rob Thomas at Not That Rob Thomas, who gets around to far more proper reviews than I do.

Comments here are not reviews of the films, they are usually a response to the trailer, a summary of the buzz I have heard, or just snark. They are not always particularly accurate, according to reader feedback. I add trailers to new films of interest that you might not know about (American indies, international features, etc.).

Bartell Theater

• JAWS, Friday, July 3, 6:30pm

• FLASH GORDON (1980), Friday, July 3, 9:00pm

• GREASE (Sing Along Version), Sunday, June 5, 2:00pm

• BLOODY NOSE, EMPTY POCKETS, Sunday, June 5, 5:00pm

  • A 2020 docu-fiction hybrid film from directors Bill and Turner Ross, which examines the last day of operations for a dive bar in Las Vegas. This screening will be presented by Four Star Video Rental.

Highway 18 Outdoor Theater, Jefferson, Wisconsin

WUD Film Lakeside Cinema

• FINDING NEMO (2003), The Terrace @ Memorial Union, Monday, 7/6, 9:00 P.M.

• Lakeside Cinema, Monday nights at the Memorial Union Terrace returns with monthly themes: “Sports” (June), “Under the Lake,” (July), “Back to the 80’s” (August).

Side Room Cinematheque

• MIRANDA JULY TRIPLE FEATURE, Thursday, July 9, 8:00pm

• DM @sideroomcinematic (Instagram) for screening details.

Commercial Theaters:
AMC Theatres
Flix Brewhouse
Marcus Theatres (Palace and Point)

This list seems short, probably because all of the screens taken up by Supergirl (for now), Toy Story 5, and Minions & Monsters.

• ALPHA (2026) at AMC.

  • Indian Hindi-language action film, the latest installment in the YRF Spy Universe from Yash Raj Studios. So that always means a cameo by a star from another film in the series, in this case Hrithik Rashan (the striking green eyes at the end of the trailer).

• BACKROOMS: EVERYTHING MUST GO EDITION W/ BONUS FOOTAGE (2026) at AMC, Flix.

  • If you want that little bit more of the recent box office hit, this is for you. Meanwhile, here is Rob Thomas’s review of the original release.

• BLEACH: THOUSAND-YEAR BLOOD WAR - THE CALAMITY (2026) at AMC.

  • Anime feature, taken from the popular television series.

• CITIZEN KANE 85TH ANNIVERSARY at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.

  • So see it already! So that I can tell non-spoilery film-snob jokes about it. But seriously, go see it if you haven’t, or see it again if you have.

• DEEP SKY (2023) at AMC.

• DISCLOSURE DAY (2026) at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.

• GATTA KUSTHI 2 (2026) at AMC.

  • Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy / sports drama, a sequel to a 2022 film. Title roughly translates as “Tied wrestling.”

• GIRLS LIKE GIRLS (2026) at AMC.

• HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON (2025) at AMC.

• JACKASS: BEST AND LAST (2026) at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.

  • I never was a fan when Jackass was on television, but I have to admit I have enjoyed some of the films. I might go see this.

• LEVITICUS (2026) at Point.

• LOCKBOX (2026) at AMC.

  • Supernatural horror film starring Carla Gugino.

• LUCKY STRIKE (2026) at AMC, Point.

  • World War II action drama starring Scott Eastwood. Read Rob Thomas’s review.

• MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE (2026) at AMC, Flix, Palace.

• MINIONS & MONSTERS (2026) at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.

  • This latest entry in the Minions franchise apparently has a lot of film buff jokes, if that sways you. Read Rob Thomas’s review.

• OBSESSION (2026) at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.

• PADDINGTON (2015) at Point.

• PUSS IN BOOTS: THE LAST WISH (2022) at Flix.

• RAO BAHADUR (2026) at AMC.

  • Indian Telugu-language psychological drama starring Satyadev.

• SCARY MOVIE (2026) at AMC, Palace, Point.

• STAR WARS: THE MANDALORIAN AND GROGU (2026) at Palace, Point.

• SUPERGIRL (2026) at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.

  • Read Rob Thomas’s review.

• TOY STORY 5 (2026) at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.

• TUNER (2026) at AMC.

• YOUNG WASHINGTON (2026) at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.

Have you used the Now Showing in Madison listings at least once to find something interesting to see? Have you discovered a film that you didn’t realize was playing in town? Please consider supporting these efforts directly by clicking the “Buy Me a Popcorn” button and making a modest donation on those occasions when you find this resource valuable to your moviegoing in Madison.

Buy Me a Popcorn

Looking Ahead:

Local filmmaker Michael Doyle Olson has started what he hopes to be a comprehensive, collaborative public calendar of alternative film screenings in Madison. It is still a work in progress, but check it out at www.mdo.me/film.

MMoCA Cinema, Madison Museum of Contemporary Art

• See Rooftop Cinema schedule discussed above. Series starts July 30.

Highway 18 Outdoor Theater, Jefferson, Wisconsin

• Keen-eyed readers have noticed that the image for Supergirl is not Milly Alcock. But hey, they do what they can with these Facebook posts.

Cinesthesia at Madison Public Library Central Branch

• FULL METAL JACKET (Stanley Kubrick, 1987), Wednesday July 14, 6:30pm.

Mills Folly Microcinema at Arts + Literature Laboratory

• PROJECT PROJECTION, local film and video showcase, Wednesday, July 29, 7:00pm

• Now taking submissions of experimental film/video art, short docs, animation, and music videos (10 minute limit). Submit your work at artlitlab.org, deadline Friday, July 17.

Weekly posts include short notes on various cinematic topics, followed by the Now Showing in Madison guide to commercial theaters and alternative venues.

The UW-Cinematheque joins the American Cinematheque in Los Angeles and over 100 theaters in 73 cities around the world in celebrating (or observing?) Bleak Week, “an annual festival of despair.” A complete list of participating theaters, with links to their Bleak Week film schedules, can be found at the American Cinematheque website.

For a preview of the UW-Cinematheque’s Bleak Week lineup, consult Grant Phipps’ coverage at Isthmus, which also includes some notes about the remaining Ctek summer schedule, which continues through July 24. At Not that Rob Thomas, Rob interviews Ctek programmer Josh Martin about his Bleak Week selections. And, of course, the complete UW-Cinematheque summer schedule can be found at cinema.wisc.edu.

After Bleak Week, the two titles this summer that I’m most interested in are The Taste of Tea (Katsuhito Ishii, 2004) on Wednesday, July 22 and Letty Lynton (Clarence Brown, 1932) on Thursday, July 24. The latter, starring Joan Crawford, has earned a lot of attention as it has been generally unavailable until the recent home media release from Warner Archives. The Cinematheque, of course, will present the film in a 4K DCP. Letty Lynton was directed by Clarence Brown, a name Duck Soup Cinema fans will recognize as the director of the most recent screening, The Signal Tower.

MMoCA Rooftop Cinema: Coming Soon!

The films have been selected for this season’s Rooftop Cinema, Thursdays from June 30 through August 20. I hate to be a tease, but I’ll have to wait just a little bit longer to post the schedule here. But mark your calendar now for those Thursday nights!

Now Playing In Madison: June 23–June 29, 2026

Please confirm showtimes with the venues (follow venue links where provided). The commercial theaters update their weekend listings on Wednesdays. Another valuable source that posts on Wednesdays with now playing lists is The Horizon Line Madison. When possible, I will provide links to reviews by Rob Thomas at Not That Rob Thomas, who gets around to far more proper reviews than I do.

Comments here are not reviews of the films, they are usually a response to the trailer, a summary of the buzz I have heard, or just snark. They are not always particularly accurate, according to reader feedback. I add trailers to new films of interest that you might not know about (American indies, international features, etc.).

UW Cinematheque

Bleak Week films every evening from June 24 through June 30.

• MIRACLE MILE, 4070 Vilas Hall, Wednesday, June 24, 7 p.m.

  • Steve De Jarnatt, USA, 1989, 87 min.

• THE GREAT SILENCE, 4070 Vilas Hall, Thursday, June 25, 7 p.m.

  • Sergio Corbucci, France, Italy, 1968, 105 min.

• CHIME, 4070 Vilas Hall, Friday, June 26, 7 p.m.

  • Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Japan, 2024, 45 mins.

• CURE, 4070 Vilas Hall, Friday, June 26, 8 p.m.

  • Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Japan, 1997, 111 mins.

• MESSIAH OF EVIL, 4070 Vilas Hall, Saturday, June 27, 4 p.m.

  • Willard Huyck, Gloria Katz, USA, 1974, 90 min.

• LE BONHEUR, 4070 Vilas Hall, Sunday, June 28, 5 p.m.

  • Agnès Varda, France, 1965, 80 min.

• SUCH A PRETTY LITTLE BEACH, 4070 Vilas Hall, Sunday, June 28, 7 p.m.

  • Yves Allégret, France, 1949, 91 min.

• THE HOLE, 4070 Vilas Hall, Monday, June 29, 7 p.m.

  • Tsai Ming-Liang, Taiwan, France, 1998, 95 min.

• TESTAMENT, 4070 Vilas Hall, Tuesday, June 30, 7 p.m.

  • Lynne Littman, USA, 1983, 89 min.

• The remaining summer schedule is posted at the UW-Cinematheque website.

MMoCA Cinema, Madison Museum of Contemporary Art

• KÖLN 75 (2025), Thursday, June 25, 7:00pm, 227 State Street. Presented with the Madison Jazz Festival. The story behind the best-selling jazz album (Keith Jarret’s The Köln Concert) that almost never was, told through the eyes of the 18-year-old concert promoter who made the legendary live performance possible.

Highway 18 Outdoor Theater, Jefferson, Wisconsin

• Confirm this weekend’s double feature at highway18.com.

WUD Film Lakeside Cinema

• CHALLENGERS, The Terrace @ Memorial Union, Monday, 6/29, 9:00 P.M.

• Lakeside Cinema, Monday nights at the Memorial Union Terrace returns with monthly themes: “Sports” (June), “Under the Lake,” (July), “Back to the 80’s” (August).

Commercial Theaters:
AMC Theatres
Flix Brewhouse
Marcus Theatres (Palace and Point)

I’m slowly working my way back to snarky comments for current releases, but for now I’m just including trailers for a few interesting new releases.

• 7 DOGS at AMC.

  • A Saudi Arabian-backed Arabic-language globetrotting action film.

• BACKROOMS at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.

• BLEACH: THOUSAND-YEAR BLOOD WAR - THE CALAMITY at AMC, Palace, Point.

• BORN TO BE WILD at AMC.

• BUFFALO KIDS at Palace, Point.

• COCKTAIL 2 at AMC.

  • Indian Hindi-language comedy, a sequel to 2012’s Cocktail.

• COUTURE at AMC.

  • Angelina Jolie stars in the latest film from Alice Winocour (Proxima, Mustang)

• DAVID at AMC.

• DEATH OF ROBIN HOOD, THE at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.

• DISCLOSURE DAY at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.

• DOG MAN at Palace, Point.

  • Dreamworks animated film.

• FURIOUS, THE at AMC, Palace, Point.

  • Read Rob Thomas’s review. My brief review: Go see this if you have any interest in batshit crazy fight choreography (which I certainly do).

• GIRLS LIKE GIRLS at AMC, Point.

• JACK JOHNSON: SURFILMUSIC at Point.

• JACKASS: BEST AND LAST at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.

• LEVITICUS at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.

• LUCKY STRIKE at AMC, Point.

  • World War II action drama starring Scott Eastwood.

• MARCUS MYSTERY MOVIE at Palace, Point.

• MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE at AMC, Flix, Palace.

• MICHAEL at AMC, Palace, Point.

• MINIONS & MONSTERS: XFINITY EARLY ACCESS SCREENINGS at Palace, Point.

• MOONLIGHT at AMC.

• MUPPET MOVIE, THE at Flix.

• O HORIZON at AMC.

  • Sci-fi indie comedy directed by Madeleine Sackler, yes the Sackler family heiress Madeleine Sackler.

• OBSESSION at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.

• OCEAN’S ELEVEN 25TH ANNIVERSARY at Flix, Palace, Point.

• PADDINGTON IN PERU at AMC.

• PROJECT HAIL MARY at AMC.

• SCARY MOVIE at AMC, Palace, Point.

• SHEEP DETECTIVES, THE at AMC, Palace, Point.

• STAR WARS: THE MANDALORIAN AND GROGU at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.

• STOP! THAT! TRAIN! at AMC, Palace, Point.

• SUPERGIRL at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.

• SUPERGIRL: FAN FIRST SCREENINGS at AMC, Palace, Point.

• TALLADEGA NIGHTS: THE BALLAD OF RICKY BOBBY - 20TH ANNIVERSARY at AMC, Point.

• TO WONG FOO, THANKS FOR EVERYTHING, JULIE NEWMAR at AMC.

• TOY STORY 5 at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.

• TWISTER at Flix.

• WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE at AMC.

  • Akshay Kumar stars in this Indian Hindi-language action comedy.

Have you used the Now Showing in Madison listings at least once to find something interesting to see? Have you discovered a film that you didn’t realize was playing in town? Please consider supporting these efforts directly by clicking the “Buy Me a Popcorn” button and making a modest donation on those occasions when you find this resource valuable to your moviegoing in Madison.

Buy Me a Popcorn

Looking Ahead:

Local filmmaker Michael Doyle Olson has started what he hopes to be a comprehensive, collaborative public calendar of alternative film screenings in Madison. It is still a work in progress, but check it out at www.mdo.me/film.

Cinesthesia at Madison Public Library Central Branch

• FULL METAL JACKET (Stanley Kubrick, 1987), Wednesday July 14, 6:30pm.

Side Room Cinematheque

• Consult Instagram @sideroomcinematic for screening details, second Thursday of the month, and last Monday of the month.

Bartell Theater

• JAWS, Friday, July 3, 6:30pm

• FLASH GORDON (1980), Friday, July 3, 9:00pm

• GREASE (Sing Along Version), Sunday, June 5, 2:00pm

• BLOODY NOSE, EMPTY POCKETS, Sunday, June 5, 5:00pm

  • A 2020 docu-fiction hybrid film from directors Bill and Turner Ross, which examines the last day of operations for a dive bar in Las Vegas. This screening will be presented by Four Star Video Rental.

Weekly posts include short notes on various cinematic topics, followed by the Now Showing in Madison guide to commercial theaters and alternative venues.

I think that things will finally calm down for me, now that Duck Soup Cinema has completed its season and Mills Folly Microcinema only has one more event for the summer (Project Projection, June 29).

But wait…I’m not done with my busy season! I have to finalize MMoCA Rooftop Cinema for this summer (late July) and book next year’s Duck Soup Cinema. More on those projects soon. Meanwhile, yet again this will be a brief post.

Special Screenings at MMoCA

The MMoCA Teen Forum has organized a screening of The Wizard of Oz (1939) as a means to explore themes that can also be seen in the current MMoCA exhibition, David R. Harper, Good Morning Sweetheart. The screening is set for Thursday, June 18, 7:00pm. Admission is free, and you can register at the MMoCA website.

Another film program has been added at MMoCA for next week. The Madison Jazz Festival 2026 will present Köln 75 on Thursday, June 25 at 7:00pm. Again, admission is free and you can register at the MMoCA website.

Köln 75 is the story behind the concert that produced the best selling solo jazz album of all time, focusing on the teenage concert promoter who organized the concert at the Colonge Opera House in January, 1975. Scroll down to watch the trailer in the Looking Ahead section.

A Conversation on WORT-FM’s Access Hour

Nicholas Wootton invited me to participate in an interview on The Access Hour last night on Madison’s community radio station, WORT 89.9 FM. It ended up being a wide ranging interview about the evolution of my interest in experimental film, as well as a quick survey of my film programming in Madison over the years.

You can hear the interview in the WORT-FM Archive (Access Hour, Monday, June 15, 7:00pm). The interview ends with a question that I promised Nicholas that I’d answer in a post on Moving Image Madison. I’ll need a little more time to think about that answer, and I will post it here soon!

Now Playing In Madison: June 16–June 22, 2026

Please confirm showtimes with the venues (follow venue links where provided). The commercial theaters update their weekend listings on Wednesdays. Another valuable source that posts on Wednesdays with now playing lists is The Horizon Line Madison. When possible, I will provide links to reviews by Rob Thomas at Not That Rob Thomas, who gets around to far more proper reviews than I do.

Comments here are not reviews of the films, they are usually a response to the trailer, a summary of the buzz I have heard, or just snark. They are not always particularly accurate, according to reader feedback. I add trailers to new films of interest that you might not know about (American indies, international features, etc.).

Cinesthesia at Madison Public Library Central Branch

• MIDNIGHT COWBOY (John Schlesigner , 1993), Wednesday June 17, 6:30pm.

Madison Museum of Contemporary Art

• THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939), Thursday, June 18, 7:00pm, 227 State Street. Organized by the Teen Forum, in conjunction with the exhibition, “David R. Harper: Good Morning Sweetheart” now on display at the museum.

Highway 18 Outdoor Theater, Jefferson, Wisconsin

WUD Film Lakeside Cinema

• BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM (2002), The Terrace @ Memorial Union, Monday, 6/22, 9:00 P.M.

• Lakeside Cinema, Monday nights at the Memorial Union Terrace returns with monthly themes: “Sports” (June), “Under the Lake,” (July), “Back to the 80’s” (August).

Commercial Theaters:
AMC Theatres
Flix Brewhouse
Marcus Theatres (Palace and Point)

I’m slowly working my way back to snarky comments for current releases, but for now I’m just including trailers for a few interesting new releases.

• ADOLESCENCE OF UTENA at Point.

• AMAZING DIGITAL CIRCUS: THE LAST ACT, THE at AMC, Palace, Point.

• BACKROOMS at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.

• BREADWINNER, THE at AMC, Palace, Point.

• BUFFALO KIDS at Palace, Point.

• CALL ME BY YOUR NAME at AMC.

• CHARLIE THE WONDERDOG at Palace.

• COCKTAIL 2 at AMC.

• DEATH OF ROBIN HOOD, THE at AMC, Flix, Point.

• DEEP SEA 3D at AMC.

• DEVIL WEARS PRADA 2, THE at AMC, Flix, Point.

• DISCLOSURE DAY at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.

• FURIOUS, THE at AMC, Point.

• GIRLS LIKE GIRLS at AMC, Point.

• GOVERNOR: THE SILENT SAVIOUR at AMC.

• GREGG ALLMAN: THE MUSIC OF MY SOUL at Point.

• HAUNTED: ECHOES OF THE PAST at AMC.

• I LOVE BOOSTERS at AMC.

• JINSEI at AMC.

• KPOP DEMON HUNTERS at Palace.

• LEVITICUS at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.

• MAIN VAAPAS AAUNGA at AMC.

• MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.

• MICHAEL at AMC, Palace, Point.

• MIDSOMMAR at Flix.

• MOONLIGHT at AMC.

• OBSESSION at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.

• OCEAN’S ELEVEN 25TH ANNIVERSARY at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.

• PADDINGTON at Flix.

• PATRIOT, THE at Flix.

• PONYO - STUDIO GHIBLI FEST 2026 at AMC, Palace, Point.

• POWER BALLAD at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.

• PRESSURE at Palace, Point.

• PROJECT HAIL MARY at AMC.

• RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK at AMC, Palace, Point.

• SCARY MOVIE at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.

• SECRET FLIX at Flix.

• SHEEP DETECTIVES, THE at AMC, Flix, Point.

• STAR WARS: THE MANDALORIAN AND GROGU at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.

• STOP! THAT! TRAIN! at AMC, Point.

• TOY STORY 5 at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.

• TUNER at AMC.

Have you used the Now Showing in Madison listings at least once to find something interesting to see? Have you discovered a film that you didn’t realize was playing in town? Please consider supporting these efforts directly by clicking the “Buy Me a Popcorn” button and making a modest donation on those occasions when you find this resource valuable to your moviegoing in Madison.

Buy Me a Popcorn

Looking Ahead:

Local filmmaker Michael Doyle Olson has started what he hopes to be a comprehensive, collaborative public calendar of alternative film screenings in Madison. It is still a work in progress, but check it out at www.mdo.me/film.

MMoCA Cinema, Madison Museum of Contemporary Art

• KÖLN 75 (2025), Thursday, June 25, 7:00pm, 227 State Street. Presented with the Madison Jazz Festival. The story behind the best-selling jazz album (Keith Jarret’s The Köln Concert) that almost never was, told through the eyes of the 18-year-old concert promoter who made the legendary live performance possible.

UW Cinematheque

• UW Cinematheque will resume with “Bleak Week” from Wednesday, June 24 through Tuesday, June 30.

• The remaining summer schedule is now posted at the UW-Cinematheque website.

Side Room Cinematheque

• Consult Instagram @sideroomcinematic for screening details, second Thursday of the month, and last Monday of the month.

Bartell Theater

• JAWS, Friday, July 3, 6:30pm

• FLASH GORDON (1980), Friday, July 3, 9:00pm

• GREASE (Sing Along Version), Sunday, June 5, 2:00pm

• BLOODY NOSE, EMPTY POCKETS, Sunday, June 5, 5:00pm

  • This last film is a 2020 docu-fiction hybrid film from directors Bill and Turner Ross, which examines the last day of operations for a dive bar in Las Vegas. It will be presented by Four Star Video Rental.

Weekly posts include short notes on various cinematic topics, followed by the Now Showing in Madison guide to commercial theaters and alternative venues.

Once again, I’ve had a very busy week, and I’m darting around today putting finishing touches on recent projects. But here are a few short notes about what I’ve been up to and what you should put on your appointment schedule.

Tonight: Filmmaker Emily Pelstring, Mills Folly Microcinema, 7:00pm at Arts + Literature Laboratory. I mentioned this last week, but it is worth repeating one more time because it will be a fantastic show. Grant Phipps has led the charge to make this screening happen. If you want a short preview of the screening, you can see one of Pelstring’s films at Cartoon Brew, posted when A Flame the Colour of Air (2025) was selected as a Cartoon Brew Pick.

Saturday: The Signal Tower (1924) at Duck Soup Cinema, 2:00pm and 7:00pm at the Overture Center. In addition to the feature film with live accompaniment on the Grand Barton Organ, the screening will include the early American avant-garde film The Life and Death of 9413: A Hollywood Extra (1928), with live accompaniment by experimental composer and saxophonist Nick Zoulek. It should be very interesting to see how the combination of sound and image plays to the Duck Soup Cinema audience.

Monday: The Access Hour, WORT 89.9 FM, 7:00pm, host Nicholas Wootton has invited me to be one of the guests. Nicholas and I know each other from his several contributions as a filmmaker to Project Projection screenings at Mills Folly Microcinema, as well as my visits to WORT’s 8 O’Clock Buzz on Mondays, where Nicholas serves as a producer. Nicholas has invited a series of guests whom he knows, and with whom he would like to sit down and ask questions. So we’ll likely talk about flim programming and film culture in Madison, but the chat could also be more wide ranging than that. I’ll post a link to the WORT archive if you miss it live.

Announced for Thursday, June 25: Madison Jazz Festival will present a free screening of Köln 75 (2025) at the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art at 7:00pm. I’ll have more to say on this in the coming weeks. In a nutshell, this narrative feature tells the story behind the concert that was recorded and released as Keith Jarrett’s album, The Köln Concert, which became the best selling solo album in jazz history.

In other MMoCA news, the opening reception and anniversary party went very well last Thursday. It was great to see filmmaker Bill Bedford enjoy the occasion. Be sure to catch Films by Bill Bedford during its run in the Video Gallery through September 6.

New Crestwood Elementary animation debuts on YouTube on Friday, 7:00pm.

One last bit of local film news: I received an email from Luke Bassuener with news about a new animated short by his Crestwood Elementary students. As many of you know, previous Crestwood shorts have been featured at the Wisconsin Film Festival and other regional and national film festivals.

Luke wrote, “This Friday June 12th at 7pm (Central), we’ll be premiering Crestwood Elementary’s newest animated short, “Arachne” for a limited time on the “Crestwood Art” YouTube channel. We’d love to have you tune in! The film is a delightfully askew adaptation of a well-known Greek myth, twisted with just the right amount of Gen Alpha weirdness. Our 4th and 5th graders have been working hard on this for months, and we’re thrilled to share it with you. We will hopefully have some of the kids on for a live chat during the screening.”

Here’s the trailer:

Now Playing In Madison: June 10–June 15, 2026

Please confirm showtimes with the venues (follow venue links where provided). The commercial theaters update their weekend listings on Wednesdays. Another valuable source that posts on Wednesdays with now playing lists is The Horizon Line Madison. When possible, I will provide links to reviews by Rob Thomas at Not That Rob Thomas, who gets around to far more proper reviews than I do.

Comments here are not reviews of the films, they are usually a response to the trailer, a summary of the buzz I have heard, or just snark. They are not always particularly accurate, according to reader feedback. I add trailers to new films of interest that you might not know about (American indies, international features, etc.).

Mills Folly Microcinema

• OUR PSYCHEDELIC NATURE: SHORT FILMS BY EMILY PELSTRING, Wednesday, June 10, 7:00pm at Arts + Literature Laboratory, 111 S. Livingston Street, Suite 100.

• Mills Folly Microcinema welcomes Canadian artist and animator Emily Pelstring for an in-person visit and screening of her recent work.

Side Room Cinematheque

• CULT FILMS: COVENS AND COVER-UPS, Thursday, June 11, 8:00pm, 1444 E. Washington Avenue. RED STATE (2011) and ROSEMARY’S BABY (1968) plus selected shorts. Program duration: 4hrs, 30min.

• Consult Instagram @sideroomcinematic for screening details, second Thursday of the month, and last Monday of the month.

Highway 18 Outdoor Theater, Jefferson, Wisconsin

Duck Soup Cinema at Overture Center

• THE SIGNAL TOWER (Clarence L. Brown, 1924), Saturday, June 13, 2:00pm and 7:00pm, Capitol Theater in the Overture Center, 201 State Street.

• In an extra special bonus, experimental musician Nick Zoulek will provide live accompaniment to the early American avant-garde short, LIFE AND DEATH OF A 9413: A HOLLYWOOD EXTRA (1928), at each screening.

SOGO Film Festival, Stoughton Village Players Theater

• Friday, June 12 through Sunday, June 14 at the Stoughton Village Players Theater, 225 E. Main Street, Stoughton, Wisconsin. Screening schedule at sogo.film.

WUD Film Lakeside Cinema

• SPEED RACER (2008), The Terrace @ Memorial Union, Monday, 6/15, 9:00 P.M.

• Lakeside Cinema, Monday nights at the Memorial Union Terrace returns with monthly themes: “Sports” (June), “Under the Lake,” (July), “Back to the 80’s” (August).

Commercial Theaters:
AMC Theatres
Flix Brewhouse
Marcus Theatres (Palace and Point)

Unfortunately, this will be another bare-bones list this week due to other project commitments. But snarky comments will return at some point!

• AMAZING DIGITAL CIRCUS: THE LAST ACT, THE at AMC, Palace, and Point.

• AMC SCREEN UNSEEN: JUNE 15 at AMC.

• BACKROOMS at AMC, Flix, Palace, and Point.

• BEAUTIFUL PLANET IMAX, A at AMC.

• BIRDCAGE 30TH ANNIVERSARY, THE at AMC, Flix, Palace, and Point.

• BREADWINNER, THE at AMC, Flix, Palace, and Point.

• BTS WORLD TOUR ‘ARIRANG’ IN BUSAN: LIVE VIEWING at Palace and Point.

• CAROLINA CAROLINE at AMC.

• CHARLIE THE WONDERDOG at Palace and Point.

• CRUNCHYROLL ANIME NIGHTS SNEAK PEEK at AMC and Point.

• DEVIL WEARS PRADA 2, THE at AMC and Point.

• DISCLOSURE DAY at AMC, Flix, Palace, and Point.

• FURIOUS, THE at AMC and Point.

• GABBY’S DOLLHOUSE: THE MOVIE at Palace.

• GOVERNOR: THE SILENT SAVIOUR at AMC.

• HAI JAWANI TOH ISHQ HONA HAI at AMC.

• HAUNTED: ECHOES OF THE PAST at AMC.

• I LOVE BOOSTERS at AMC.

• JACK JOHNSON: SURFILMUSIC at Point.

• JINSEI at AMC.

• LAST WHALE SINGER, THE at AMC, Palace, and Point.

• MAIN VAAPAS AAUNGA at AMC.

• MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE at AMC, Flix, Palace, and Point.

• MICHAEL at AMC, Palace, and Point.

• MILK at AMC.

• OBSESSION at AMC, Flix, Palace, and Point.

• PARIMALA AND CO at AMC.

• PEDDI at AMC.

• PONYO - STUDIO GHIBLI FEST 2026 at AMC, Palace, and Point.

• POWER BALLAD at AMC, Flix, Palace, and Point.

• PRESSURE at AMC, Flix, Palace, and Point.

• PRINCE OF EGYPT, THE at Flix.

• PROJECT HAIL MARY at AMC.

• PURPLE RAIN at Flix.

• ROTTEN MOVIES, FRESH BEER: HOOK at Flix.

• SACRED HEART: HIS REIGN HAS NO END at Palace and Point.

• SCARY MOVIE at AMC, Flix, Palace, and Point.

• SHEEP DETECTIVES, THE at AMC and Point.

• SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN at AMC.

• STAR WARS: THE MANDALORIAN AND GROGU at AMC, Flix, Palace, and Point.

• STOP! THAT! TRAIN! at AMC and Point.

• TRAINSPOTTING at Point.

• TUNER at AMC and Point.

Have you used the Now Showing in Madison listings at least once to find something interesting to see? Have you discovered a film that you didn’t realize was playing in town? Please consider supporting these efforts directly by clicking the “Buy Me a Popcorn” button and making a modest donation on those occasions when you find this resource valuable to your moviegoing in Madison.

Buy Me a Popcorn

Looking Ahead:

Local filmmaker Michael Doyle Olson has started what he hopes to be a comprehensive, collaborative public calendar of alternative film screenings in Madison. It is still a work in progress, but check it out at www.mdo.me/film.

Cinesthesia at Madison Public Library Central Branch

• MIDNIGHT COWBOY (Joh , 1993), Wednesday June 17, 6:30pm.

MMoCA Cinema, Madison Museum of Contemporary Art

• THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939), Thursday, June 18, 7:00pm, 227 State Street. Organized by the Teen Forum, in conjunction with the exhibition, “David R. Harper: Good Morning Sweetheart” now on display at the museum.

• KÖLN 75 (2025), Thursday, June 25, 7:00pm, 227 State Street. Presented with the Madison Jazz Festival. The story behind the best-selling jazz album (Keith Jarret’s The Köln Concert) that almost never was, told through the eyes of the 18-year-old concert promoter who made the legendary live performance possible.

UW Cinematheque

• UW Cinematheque will resume with “Bleak Week” from Wednesday, June 24 through Tuesday, June 30.

• The remaining summer schedule is now posted at the UW-Cinematheque website.

Tuesday weekly posts feature some short notes on various cinematic topics, followed by the Now Showing in Madison guide to commercial theaters and alternative venues.

Once again, deadlines for many projects will restrict my time available for Moving Image Madison this week, but I wanted to make sure that two upcoming experimental film opportunities are on your radar.

First, films by Watertown-based experimental filmmaker Bill Bedford will begin screening in the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art video gallery (227 State Street) starting Friday, June 4, and running through September 6. Fans of the Wisconsin Film Festival will recognize Bedford’s name, because his films have been featured in several experimental film programs at Festival in recent years.

I have a hand in bringing Bedford’s films to MMoCA in my role as Assistant Curator of Film and Art Video. Here are a few notes I prepared for Films by Bill Bedford:

Filmmaker and photographer Bill Bedford has investigated the relationship between still and moving images since the mid-1970s. He creates what he calls “moving, semi-moving, and non-moving pictures” in short films that move between documentation and abstraction. Sometimes this abstraction evolves while filming, through camera movement or objects moving in front of the camera. Other times Bedford creates or discovers abstract shapes and patterns during the editing process.

I’m very pleased to share Bedford’s films with MMoCA visitors. Friday also marks the 125th anniversary of MMoCA (in its various incarnations) and a special Spring Opening Celebration to celebrate the opening of Extended Play: A-Side, an exhibition of groundbreaking abstract art associated with Sam Gillam and the Washington Color School. The public reception on Friday from 6:00pm to 9:00pm will be your first opportunity to see Bedford’s films in the newly renovated MMoCA video gallery. But you’ll have plenty of opportunities to walk in during gallery hours and see the program through September.

Our Psychedelic Nature: Short Films by Emily Pelstring

Meanwhile, you won’t have as much time to see work by Canadian filmmaker Emily Pelstring, so mark Wednesdsay, June 10 on your calendar now.

Pelstring will attend a program of her short films, Our Psychedelic Nature, at Mills Folly Microcinema on Wednesday, June 10, 7:00pm at Arts + Literature Laboratory, 111 S. Livingston Street, Suite 100.

I plan to have more about this special screening in next Tuesday’s post. But here is a brief introduction from the program’s promotional material and Pelstring’s website:

Emily Pelstring is a Canadian artist and tenured professor in the Department of Film and Media at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario. Her animated short films have screened widely at film festivals, including Slamdance, the Ann Arbor Film Festival, Transmediale Berlin, Images, and Internationale Short Film Festival Oberhausen. The Ottawa International Animation Festival (OIAF) presented a 13-film retrospective of her work in 2020. In 2023, the GIRAF Festival presented a second retrospective of her work.

Pelstring’s A Flame the Colour of Air (2025, pictured above) won 2nd Prize for Best Experimental Film at the ASIFA East Awards.

Mills Folly programmer Grant Phipps has been working with Pelstring to facilitate her visit next week. It should be a special screening, so I hope you can join us!

Now Playing In Madison: June 2–June 8, 2026

Please confirm showtimes with the venues (follow venue links where provided). The commercial theaters update their weekend listings on Wednesdays. Another valuable source that posts on Wednesdays with now playing lists is The Horizon Line Madison. When possible, I will provide links to reviews by Rob Thomas at Not That Rob Thomas, who gets around to far more proper reviews than I do.

Comments here are not reviews of the films, they are usually a response to the trailer, a summary of the buzz I have heard, or just snark. They are not always particularly accurate, according to reader feedback. I add trailers to new films of interest that you might not know about (American indies, international features, etc.).

Wisconsin 48 Hour Film Project

• THE WISCONSIN 48 B.O.W.s (Best of Weekend), Sunday, June 7, 1:00pm, Crucible Madison, 3112 Commercial Avenue.

• The 48hr Film Project folks will screen the films produced back on the weekend of May 17 that have advanced to the “Yes We Cannes” competition.

WUD Film Lakeside Cinema

Based on the sources provided, there is only one film scheduled to play at WUD Film during the specified period of Tuesday, June 2 through Monday, June 8, 2026:

• WHIP IT, The Terrace @ Memorial Union, Monday, 6/8, 9:00 P.M.

• Lakeside Cinema, Monday nights at the Memorial Union Terrace returns with monthly themes: “Sports” (June), “Under the Lake,” (July), “Back to the 80’s” (August).

Commercial Theaters:
AMC Theatres
Flix Brewhouse
Marcus Theatres (Palace and Point)

Unfortunately, this will be a bare-bones list this week due to other project commitments. But snarky comments will return next week!

• A.I.: ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE at Flix.

• AMAZING DIGITAL CIRCUS: THE LAST ACT, THE at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.

• BACKROOMS at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.

• BIRDCAGE 30TH ANNIVERSARY, THE at AMC, Point.

• BLAST at AMC.

• BREADWINNER, THE at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.

• CAROLINA CAROLINE at AMC.

• DEVIL WEARS PRADA 2, THE at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.

• HAI JAWANI TOH ISHQ HONA HAI at AMC.

• HUNGRY at AMC.

• I LOVE BOOSTERS at AMC, Palace.

• KATTALAN at AMC.

• LAST WHALE SINGER, THE at AMC, Palace, Point.

• MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.

• MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE EARLY ACCESS SCREENING at AMC, Palace, Point.

• METROPOLITAN OPERA: EL ÚLTIMO SUEÑO DE FRIDA Y DIEGO, THE at Point.

• MICHAEL at AMC, Palace, Point.

• MORTAL KOMBAT II at AMC, Flix.

• OBSESSION at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.

• PASSENGER at AMC, Palace, Point.

• PEDDI at AMC, Palace, Point.

• POWER BALLAD at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.

• PRESSURE at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.

• PROJECT HAIL MARY at AMC.

• REVOLUTIONARY AMERICA at Palace.

• SCARY MOVIE at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.

• SCARY MOVIE: FAN EVENT at Flix, Palace, Point.

• SHEEP DETECTIVES, THE at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.

• STAR WARS: THE MANDALORIAN AND GROGU at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.

• SUPER MARIO GALAXY MOVIE, THE at AMC.

• TRAINSPOTTING at AMC, Point.

• TUNER at AMC, Palace, Point.

Have you used the Now Showing in Madison listings at least once to find something interesting to see? Have you discovered a film that you didn’t realize was playing in town? Please consider supporting these efforts directly by clicking the “Buy Me a Popcorn” button and making a modest donation on those occasions when you find this resource valuable to your moviegoing in Madison.

Buy Me a Popcorn

Looking Ahead:

Local filmmaker Michael Doyle Olson has started what he hopes to be a comprehensive, collaborative public calendar of alternative film screenings in Madison. It is still a work in progress, but check it out at www.mdo.me/film.

Mills Folly Microcinema

• OUR PSYCHEDELIC NATURE: SHORT FILMS BY EMILY PELSTRING, Wednesday, June 10, 7:00pm at Arts + Literature Laboratory, 111 S. Livingston Street, Suite 100.

• Mills Folly Microcinema welcomes Canadian artist and animator Emily Pelstring for an in-person visit and screening of her recent work.

UW Cinematheque

• UW Cinematheque will resume with “Bleak Week” from Wednesday, June 24 through Tuesday, June 30.

• The remaining summer schedule is now posted at the UW-Cinematheque website.

Side Room Cinematheque

• Consult Instagram @sideroomcinematic for screening details, second Thursday of the month, and last Monday of the month.

Cinesthesia at Madison Public Library Central Branch

• MIDNIGHT COWBOY (Joh , 1993), Wednesday June 17, 6:30pm.

Rob and I saw an advance screening of Tuner a few weeks ago, and we recorded this discussion in the same session as our Wizard of the Kremlin review (thus the familiar combination of shirts).

For Rob’s written review, be sure to hop over to his Substack, Not That Rob Thomas.

As mentioned in the video, Rob liked Tuner more than I did. It is a well made film, overall, but I frequently found myself frustrated by how neat and tidy it is in its storytelling. More often than not, I praise films for narrative efficiency, especially in short 90-minute gems that come together perfectly. But in Tuner, the efficiency comes across as connecting the dots, especially where the romantic relationship is concerned.

Rob and I agree about the strong performances in the film, especially from Havana Rose Liu as Ruthie, the classical pianist and composer who meets the central character, Niki (Leo Woodall) during one of her rehearsal sessions. It took me forever to figure out where I had seen Liu before. Then just a few minutes before finishing this post I discovered that she played Isabel in Bottoms, a film I admired quite a bit.

Come back tomorrow for the next Now Showing in Madison post!

Tuesday weekly posts feature some short notes on various cinematic topics, followed by the Now Showing in Madison guide to commercial theaters and alternative venues.

Not everything has to work to be great.

If I put a little more thought into it, I could come up with a list of moments and ideas that don’t really work in Boots Riley’s fashion heist comedy / social satire I Love Boosters. But I found myself smiling, and often laughing out loud, at many of these ideas because Riley is perfectly willing to throw a lot of pasta at the wall to see what sticks. And even what doesn’t stick is always thought provoking in an era when independent film often takes itself far too seriously.

In the moment, I Love Boosters was one of the most enjoyable movie going experiences I’ve had in a while. And overall I think the film is best viewed as a series of great scenes rather than as a coherent three-act narrative within a particular genre.

“Boosters” are shoplifters who sell the clothes they steal at a deep discount. The central conflict in the film sets a group of boosters, The Velvet Gang, led by Corvette (Keke Palmer) against legendary designer Christie Smith (Demi Moore) and her Metro Designers chain of high fashion clothing stores. The Velvet’s scheme to hit one particular Metro Designers location is undermined when the entire inventory is stolen by a mysterious woman and a “magic bag.” The magic bag turns out to be a teleportation device stolen by Jianhu (Poppy Liu), a Chinese sweatshop worker who has teleported to the United States to plot revenge against Christie Smith for Smith’s inhumane labor practices in her Chinese factories.

And I should mention that Corvette may or may not be seduced by a mysterious and handsome man (LaKeith Stanfield) who is rumored to suck out a woman’s soul during oral sex. Stanfield’s character, the teleporter, and a third act reveal provided far more supernatural and science fiction elements than I expected going into the film. But I wouldn’t call I Love Boosters science fiction. These elements are just part of the mix that (more or less) make sense within the flow of the film.

Needless to say, there are a lot of ideas flowing in I Love Boosters. Not all of these ideas are fully developed or pay off beyond one scene. In fact, even the central idea of boosting, reselling the goods at a discount, is more-or-less dropped after the first scene where Corvette brings a man home from the club and sells him some shoes (when the man was expecting sex). Boosting after that scene focuses on the theft side of the process, with more elaborate and absurd heist schemes.

But I didn’t really care about the plot of I Love Boosters, because I had as much fun watching it as Boots Riley and his cast seem to have had making it. While plot ideas are not fully developed, many visual gags are developed to explore the logic of their premise. The key example here is the Metro Designers headquarters, and Christie Smith’s corporate office. Can describing an office count as a spoiler? In this case, yes it can, so I’ll leave it alone so that you can discover it yourself.

It’s interesting to compare the experience of the film to watching work by other stylistically flamboyant directors. I Love Boosters has the audacious color palette of Wes Anderson, with joyful playfulness instead of rigid formalism. It has the in-your-face style of (old-school) Sam Raimi without the gore. It has the cartoony feel of Tim Burton (or Frank Tashlin) without the so-white casting. But even after the success of Sorry to Bother You and now I Love Boosters, Riley probably will not be discussed with any depth in terms of visual style. I hope I’m wrong about that.

I Love Boosters may be the funniest film to include a literal explanation of dialectical materialism. The anti-corporate and pro-labor themes in the film are presented a little too broadly to have real bite. And issues of representation are not completely resolved by the diverse casting—the Asian characters in the film easily could have come from a 1980s comedy. But there was something exhilarating about watching an American indie comedy with an ambitious sense of style and a brain in its head.

Now Playing In Madison: May 26–June 1, 2026

Please confirm showtimes with the venues (follow venue links where provided). The commercial theaters update their weekend listings on Wednesdays. Another valuable source that posts on Wednesdays with now playing lists is The Horizon Line Madison. When possible, I will provide links to reviews by Rob Thomas at Not That Rob Thomas, who gets around to far more proper reviews than I do.

Comments here are not reviews of the films, they are usually a response to the trailer, a summary of the buzz I have heard, or just snark. They are not always particularly accurate, according to reader feedback. I add trailers to new films of interest that you might not know about (American indies, international features, etc.).

WUD Film Lakeside Cinema

• Lakeside Cinema, Monday nights at the Memorial Union Terrace, returns June 1 with Space Jam. Monthly themes will be “Sports” (June), “Under the Lake,” (July), “Back to the 80’s” (August).

• SPACE JAM, The Terrace @ Memorial Union, Monday, 6/1, 9:00 P.M.

C-FAM at Marcus Point Cinemas

• The Children’s Film Academy of Madison will screen three of their recent short productions on Monday, June 1, 6:30pm at Marcus Point.

• SMALL TOWN ROCK STARS is a coming-out story set in 1980s Racine, Wisconsin. WRESTLING is about a girl who grew up in the Mormon faith and becomes a high school wrestler. LEGEND OF THE PADDLE FISH was made in collaboration with Friends of the Lower Wisconsin River Way.

Commercial Theaters:
AMC Theatres
Flix Brewhouse
Marcus Theatres (Palace and Point)

• AMC SCREEN UNSEEN: JUNE 1 at AMC.

• BACKROOMS at AMC, Palace, Point.

  • I assume that most people reading this know the history behind the “Backrooms” meme, and its connection to Oshkosh, Wisconsin. But you can read a quick summary of that history in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.1Meanwhile, this has all (or most) of the hallmarks of another potential A24 hit.

• BREADWINNER, THE at AMC, Palace, Point.

  • I know what you’ve all been thinking: can comedian Nate Bargatze carry a feature film comedy? Well, we’ll all find out after The Breadwinner opens on Friday.

• CHAND MERA DIL at AMC.

  • Indian Hindi-language romantic drama starring Ananya Panday and Lakshya.

• CORPORATE RETREAT at AMC, Palace, Point.

  • Horror film (veering into broad social satire) that appears to tap into everyone’s contempt for corporate culture.

• DEVIL WEARS PRADA 2, THE at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.

• GODZILLA MINUS ONE at AMC.

  • Re-release of 2023 film which managed to win an Oscar for special effects. I actually liked this film quite a bit, but my preference of recent Godzilla films remains Shin Godzilla (2016).

• I LOVE BOOSTERS at AMC, Palace, Point.

  • See my comments, above. The upshot: go see it. Crime comedy from rapper/filmmaker Boots Riley, lead vocalist of The Coup, whose Sorry to Bother You (2018) was a surprise hit. Also read Rob Thomas’s review.

• IN THE GREY at AMC, Palace, Point.

  • If you have been to any film in any theater in the last month or so, there is a very good chance that you’ve seen this trailer for the latest Guy Ritchie action drama starring Henry Cavil, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Eliza Gonzalez. Might be fun, but appears to be getting mediocre to negative reviews.

• IS GOD IS at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.

  • I seem to have had the wrong impression about this in my original Now Playing comments…it is actually getting some decent reviews, 98% on Rotten Tomatoes in fact. It still seems a bit over the top, but I’m intrigued.

• LEGALLY BLONDE 25TH ANNIVERSARY at AMC, Flix, Point.

• MAY CONTAIN: MY LIFE at AMC.

  • Documentary about the dangers associate with living with food allergies.

• METROPOLITAN OPERA, THE: EL ÚLTIMO SUEÑO DE FRIDA Y DIEGO at Palace, Point.

• MICHAEL at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.

  • Apparently people didn’t know how much they needed a Michael Jackson music-filled bio-pic that doesn’t go beyond the Bad tour in 1988. I guess that makes sense to someone my age, I seem to recall disliking almost everything in the Michael Jacksons ouvre after (and including) Scorsese’s Bad video. As of this writing, Michael is the fourth-highest grossing film of 2026.

• MORTAL KOMBAT II at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.

• OBSESSION at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.

  • Horror film with the ol’ Be Careful What You Wish For theme. Young man buys a supernatural toy and wishes that his crush would fall hopelessly in love with him. Dude, you know you should have added “while respecting ourselves as individuals and providing sufficient space when needed.” This seems to be getting a strong response from viewers beyond horror fans.

• PASSENGER at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.

  • Supernatural horror film about a young couple on a road trip who are pursued by a demonic stalker. That old saw. Latest film from André Øvredal (Trollhunter 2016, Voyage of the Demeter 2023).

• PRESSURE at AMC, Palace, Point.

  • Adaptation of a play by David Haig, about the meteorologist James Stagg (Andrew Scott) who advises General Dwight D. Eisenhower (Brendan Fraser) on whether or not to proceed with the D-Day invasion.

• PROJECT HAIL MARY at AMC, Flix, Point.

• REVOLUTIONARY AMERICA at AMC, Palace, Point.

  • Documentary narrated by Tom Selleck. Produced by Hillsdale Studios, which is associated with Hillsdale College, the Christian liberal arts college in Michigan. A Fathom Events release.

• SACCHARINE at AMC.

  • Australian supernatural horror film, which had its world premiere in the Midnight section of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. Co-distributed by Independent Film Company and Shudder.

• SHEEP DETECTIVES, THE at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.

  • Okay, I have no idea if this is any good. Word-of-mouth so far is that it is seems to be better than the first impressions I had from the trailer. In fact, several friends have said that they enjoyed it on social media. But does it need a New Yorker think-piece from Jill Lepore (who just won the 2026 Pulitzer Prize for History) titled, “What ‘The Sheep Detectives’ Doesn’t Understand About Sheep”? Someone behind the paywall can tell me if it is worth it.

• SHREK 25TH ANNIVERSARY at AMC.

• STAR WARS: THE MANDALORIAN AND GROGU at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.

  • Well, here’s some more if you want it.

• SUPER MARIO GALAXY MOVIE, THE at AMC, Palace, Point.

• TEKKONKINKREET 20TH ANNIVERSARY at AMC and Point.

  • A 4K remaster of the 2006 anime feature film based on the manga of the same name (originally published 1993-94).

• TOP GUN 40TH ANNIVERSARY at Palace, Point.

• TOP GUN: MAVERICK RE-RELEASE at Point.

  • You know, when I finally caught up with this, I really regretted not having seen it on a big screen. I’m not quite sure if I’ll take the time to do so this particular week, but it is very tempting.

• TUNER at AMC, Palace, Point.

  • Read Rob Thomas’s review here. Watch Rob and I discuss Tuner in a video to be posted on Wednesday.

• VANISHING POINT at AMC.

  • Chinese crime suspense drama about a series of disturbing incidents at a usually quiet apartment building.

Have you used the Now Showing in Madison listings at least once to find something interesting to see? Have you discovered a film that you didn’t realize was playing in town? Please consider supporting these efforts directly by clicking the “Buy Me a Popcorn” button and making a modest donation on those occasions when you find this resource valuable to your moviegoing in Madison.

Buy Me a Popcorn

Looking Ahead:

Local filmmaker Michael Doyle Olson has started what he hopes to be a comprehensive, collaborative public calendar of alternative film screenings in Madison. It is still a work in progress, but check it out at www.mdo.me/film.

Wisconsin 48 Hour Film Project

• THE WISCONSIN 48 B.O.W.s (Best of Weekend), Sunday, June 7, 1:00pm, Crucible Madison, 3112 Commercial Avenue.

• The 48hr Film Project folks will screen the films produced back on the weekend of May 17 that have advanced to the “Yes We Cannes” competition.

Mills Folly Microcinema

• OUR PSYCHEDELIC NATURE: SHORT FILMS BY EMILY PELSTRING, Wednesday, June 10, 7:00pm at Arts + Literature Laboratory, 111 S. Livingston Street, Suite 100.

• Mills Folly Microcinema welcomes Canadian artist and animator Emily Pelstring for an in-person visit and screening of her recent work.

UW Cinematheque

• UW Cinematheque will resume with “Bleak Week” from Wednesday, June 24 through Tuesday, June 30.

• The remaining summer schedule is now posted at the UW-Cinematheque website.

Side Room Cinematheque

• Consult Instagram @sideroomcinematic for screening details, second Thursday of the month, and last Monday of the month.

Cinesthesia at Madison Public Library Central Branch

• MIDNIGHT COWBOY (Joh , 1993), Wednesday May 20, 6:30pm.

Tuesday weekly posts feature some short notes on various cinematic topics, followed by the Now Showing in Madison guide to commercial theaters and alternative venues.

Sometimes a little good news can really brighten your outlook. I’m very happy to report the return of the Highway 18 Outdoor Theatre near Jefferson, Wisconsin.

The first season under new ownership begins Thursday, May 21 with a double feature of The Greatest Showman and Bohemian Rhapsody. It looks like they’re slowly re-vamping the theater’s website, highway18.com, but there’s no schedule information beyond this week posted yet.

You can read about the new owner, Jason Feige, and his plans for the theater at the Leader Independent online local newspaper. It appears that there will be a new push to keep the Highway 18 Outdoor Theater Facebook page active and updated.

This is all very good news. I’ve been a big fan of the Highway 18 Outdoor Theater since I took a tour of all the drive-in theaters near Madison for an Isthmus article back in 2001 (see first page, below). In recent years, leading up to its (now temporary) closing in 2025, I tried to make it to Highway 18 at least once a summer.

The key to going to the drive-in is not to care about what is playing. So I know what you’re thinking when you see this week’s double feature: do I really want to drive all the way out there to see The Greatest Showman and Bohemian Rhapsody? The answer is yes, you do. If you’ve been saying to yourself, “I should finally go to a drive-in movie,” don’t wait for the perfect or ideal double feature to do it.

Starting next week, I’ll include the Highway 18 double features in the Now Showing listings. And maybe I’ll have some updates to the tips for drive-in first-timers that I wrote about back in 2001. Stay tuned!

Now Playing In Madison: May 19–May 25, 2026

Please confirm showtimes with the venues (follow venue links where provided). The commercial theaters update their weekend listings on Wednesdays. Another valuable source that posts on Wednesdays with now playing lists is The Horizon Line Madison. When possible, I will provide links to reviews by Rob Thomas at Not That Rob Thomas, who gets around to far more proper reviews than I do.

Comments here are not reviews of the films, they are usually a response to the trailer, a summary of the buzz I have heard, or just snark. They are not always particularly accurate, according to reader feedback. I add trailers to new films of interest that you might not know about (American indies, international features, etc.).

Cinesthesia at Madison Public Library Central Branch

• MENACE II SOCIETY (Allen & Albert Hughes, 1993), Wednesday May 20, 6:30pm.

Commercial Theaters:
AMC Theatres
Flix Brewhouse
Marcus Theatres (Palace and Point)

• BEING TOWARDS DEATH at AMC.

  • Chinese comedy-drama about a man who survives a suicide attempt, and takes a job as a caregiver in a cancer ward. The critically ill patients inspire the man to convert an ambulence into a “wish-fulfillment tour bus.”

• BILLIE EILISH - HIT ME HARD AND SOFT: THE TOUR at Flix, Palace, and Point.

  • Billie Eilish concert film. I have to admit, Billie Eilish is one of the few current female pop stars who I enjoy listening to during interviews. But I have mixed responses to most of the music, so I’ll pass on this one for now.

• CORPORATE RETREAT at Point.

  • Horror film that appears to tap into everyone’s contempt for corporate culture.

• CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON at AMC.

  • Worth seeing on the big screen if you didn’t get a chance back in 2000.

• DEVIL WEARS PRADA 2, THE at AMC, Flix, Palace, and Point.

• GODZILLA MINUS ONE at AMC.

  • Re-release of 2023 film which managed to win an Oscar for special effects. I actually liked this film quite a bit, but my preference of recent Godzilla films remains Shin Godzilla (2016)

• GREY, IN THE at Flix, Palace, and Point.

  • If you have been to any film in any theater in the last month or so, there is a very good chance that you’ve seen this trailer for the latest Guy Ritchie action drama starring Henry Cavil, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Eliza Gonzalez. Might be fun, but appears to be getting mediocre to negative reviews.

• HOKUM at Palace.

• I LOVE BOOSTERS at Point.

  • Crime comedy from rapper/filmmaker Boots Riley, lead vocalist of The Coup, whose Sorry to Bother You (2018) was a surprise hit. Good buzz on this from advance screenings.

• IS GOD IS at Flix, Palace, and Point.

  • I seem to have had the wrong impression about this last week…it is actually getting some decent reviews, 98% on Rotten Tomatoes in fact. It still seems a bit over the top, but I’m intrigued.

• KARUPPU at AMC.

  • Indian Tamil-language courtroom drama / action film with mythological fantasy elements, starring Prakash Raj and Suriya.

• LEGALLY BLONDE 25TH ANNIVERSARY at Point.

• MAMMA MIA! at Flix.

• MAY CONTAIN: MY LIFE at AMC.

  • Documentary about the dangers associate with living with food allergies.

• MICHAEL at AMC, Flix, Palace, and Point.

  • Apparently people didn’t know how much they needed a Michael Jackson music-filled bio-pic that doesn’t go beyond the Bad tour in 1988. I guess that makes sense to someone my age, I seem to recall disliking almost everything in the Michael Jacksons ouvre after (and including) Scorsese’s Bad video. As of this writing, Michael is the fourth-highest grossing film of 2026.

• MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM HATHAWAY: THE SORCERY OF NYMPH CIRCE at AMC, Palace, and Point.

• MORTAL KOMBAT II at Flix, Palace, and Point.

• OBSESSION at AMC, Flix, Palace, and Point.

  • Horror film with the ol’ Be Careful What You Wish For theme. Young man buys a supernatural toy and wishes that his crush would fall hopelessly in love with him. Dude, you know you should have added “while respecting ourselves as individuals and providing sufficient space when needed.” This seems to be getting a strong response from viewers beyond horror fans.

• PASSENGER at AMC, Flix, Palace and Point.

  • Supernatural horror film about a young couple on a road trip who are pursued by a demonic stalker. That old saw. Latest film from André Øvredal (Trollhunter 2016, Voyage of the Demeter 2023)

• PATI PATNI AUR WOH DO at AMC.

  • Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy, a “spiritual sequel” to Pati Patni Aur Woh (2019, translates as “Husband, Wife, and Her”).

• PRESSURE at Point and Palace.

  • Adaptation of a play by David Haig, about the meteorologist James Stagg (Andrew Scott) who advises General Dwight D. Eisenhower (Brendan Fraser) on whether or not to proceed with the D-Day invasion. Early Memorial Day access, 2:00pm screenings on May 25.

• PROJECT HAIL MARY at Flix, Palace, and Point.

  • Read Rob Thomas’s review.

• SECRET WORLD OF ARRIETTY 4K, THE at AMC.

  • Can’t lose with Studio Ghibli. This time it’s directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi, loosely adapted from The Borrowers by Mary Norton.

• SHEEP DETECTIVES, THE at AMC, Flix, Palace, and Point.

  • Okay, I have no idea if this is any good. Word-of-mouth so far is that it is seems to be better than the first impressions I had from the trailer. In fact, several friends have said that they enjoyed it on social media. But does it need a New Yorker think-piece from Jill Lepore (who just won the 2026 Pulitzer Prize for History) titled, “What ‘The Sheep Detectives’ Doesn’t Understand About Sheep”? Someone behind the paywall can tell me if it is worth it.

• SHREK 25TH ANNIVERSARY at AMC, Flix, Palace, and Point.

• STAR WARS: THE MANDALORIAN AND GROGU at Flix, Palace, and Point.

  • Well, here’s some more if you want it.

• SUPER MARIO GALAXY MOVIE, THE at Flix, Palace, and Point.

• THAT THEY MAY BE ONE at Palace and Point.

  • Faith-based documentary examining the concept of the Holy Spirit across denominational lines. A Fathom presentation.

• TOP GUN 40TH ANNIVERSARY at AMC, Palace, and Point.

• TOP GUN: MAVERICK RE-RELEASE at AMC, Palace, and Point.

  • You know, when I finally caught up with this, I really regretted not having seen it on a big screen. I’m not quite sure if I’ll take the time to do so this particular week, but it is very tempting.

• WIZARD OF THE KREMLIN, THE at AMC, Palace, and Point.

  • Yesterday I posted a review/discussion with Rob Thomas about the film, and you can also read Rob’s review at Not That Rob Thomas. It’s an interesting history lesson following a fictional character inspired by Russian avant-garde theater director / businessman / politician / bureaucrat Vladislav Surkov. But a history lesson does not always translate into a compelling drama.

Have you used the Now Showing in Madison listings at least once to find something interesting to see? Have you discovered a film that you didn’t realize was playing in town? Please consider supporting these efforts directly by clicking the “Buy Me a Popcorn” button and making a modest donation on those occasions when you find this resource valuable to your moviegoing in Madison.

Buy Me a Popcorn

Looking Ahead:

Local filmmaker Michael Doyle Olson has started what he hopes to be a comprehensive, collaborative public calendar of alternative film screenings in Madison. It is still a work in progress, but check it out at www.mdo.me/film.

UW Cinematheque & WUD Film

• UW Cinematheque will resume with “Bleak Week” from Wednesday, June 24 through Tuesday, June 30.

Side Room Cinematheque

• Consult Instagram @sideroomcinematic for screening details, second Thursday of the month, and last Monday of the month.

What was the other film we discussed? Well, I suppose I shouldn’t really worry about “spoilers” now that the mystery screening has already happened. But they always say “Leave ‘em wanting more,” so I’ll hold off on telling you, except to say that we will post the next review closer to the film’s nationwide release date on May 29.

Our method of operations for future Mystery Movie / Screen Unseen films will be to record the reviews and hold on to them until closer to the film’s local release date. In the case of The Wizard of the Kremlin, the turnaround time was a bit too tight to record and release something before its opening weekend. But you didn’t go to see it this weekend, did you? Alright then, so we’re not too late posting this today.

If you want to read more of Rob’s thoughts about The Wizard of the Kremlin, take a look at his written review at Not That Rob Thomas, posted last week on May 13.

As I mention in the video, I’m finding the mystery screenings very interesting. There’s something to be said for just going to a movie in the theaters, regardless of what the movie is. One reason I tend not to put together a Top Ten list of films at the end of any given year is because normally it would be a narrow list taken from a narrow range of films that I was already predisposed to see. I don’t plan on seeing a sufficient number of mystery films to dramatically alter what will be my personal favorites at the end of this year. But I think I’ll be in a better position to talk about the range of films released this year if I see more films that I’m not predisposed to see.

I’m reminded of an anecdote shared at film scholar David Bordwell’s memorial service, when a few speakers discussed the experience of going to see films with him. “These films aren’t going to watch themselves,” Bordwell would remind his filmgoing colleagues to implore them to go out and see a film with him. Regardless of my final opinion of these mystery films, I feel like I’m more genuinely fulfilling my vocation by going to the theater and supporting them.

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Tuesday weekly posts feature some short notes on various cinematic topics, followed by the Now Showing in Madison guide to commercial theaters and alternative venues.

As I mentioned last week, starting today I’m going to experiment with publishing the regular weekly posts, including the Now Showing in Madison listings, on Tuesdays. I needed to reclaim part of my weekend, namely lazy Sundays, and Sundays are hard to keep lazy with a Monday deadline looming every week. I just needed more me time.

The first Tuesday post today needs to be very short, however, because several projects have deadlines approaching and I need to focus on them this week. And unfortunately, I can’t wring much content out of them at this point, because it is too early to make any official announcements about them:

• I’m selecting and booking the 2026-2027 Duck Soup silent cinema series at Overture Center, with some deadlines looming because the season needs to be announced soon. It’s coming together. My “Plan A” is more or less set, but there are many moving parts that have to be worked out over the next few days. Meanwhile, don’t forget about The Signal Tower (1924) on Saturday, June 13.

• As many of you know, I’m now Assistant Curator, Film and Art Video at Madison Museum of Contemporary Art. There are not one but two exciting developments in progress at MMoCA. One should be announced soon, and you should see some new ongoing programming in the next few weeks. The other is in its early stages, but I’ll need to spend some time on it the next few weeks if it is ever going to come together!

• Mills Folly Microcinema has received a Dane Arts grant for its 2026-2027 season. Now I just have to figure out those programs as well! Luckily, Mills Folly will have some guest programmers for some upcoming screenings. Meanwhile, don’t forget that the next Project Projection screening will be Wednesday, July 29, and the submission form is already posted.

• And I have a few video ideas in the hopper for Moving Image Madison, both recorded conversations with Rob Thomas, and some video essay-type-things that involve learning some new tech and editing skills. A note posted at Not That Rob Thomas provides a pretty good hint about what we’ll be discussing at some time in the future. But the next topic will be a film set to be released this weekend.

Okay, I’ll stop here and get back to work. Just one more note: Don’t forget about tonight’s Laundry Film Screening, part of the LAB^4 community programming project at Arts + Literature Laboratory, which starts at 6:00pm (so unfortunately I can’t make it!).

Now Playing In Madison: May 12–May 18, 2026

Please confirm showtimes with the venues (follow venue links where provided). The commercial theaters update their weekend listings on Wednesdays. Another valuable source that posts on Wednesdays with now playing lists is The Horizon Line Madison. When possible, I will provide links to reviews by Rob Thomas at Not That Rob Thomas, who gets around to far more proper reviews than I do.

Comments here are not reviews of the films, they are usually a response to the trailer, a summary of the buzz I have heard, or just snark. They are not always particularly accurate, according to reader feedback. I add trailers to new films of interest that you might not know about (American indies, international features, etc.).

Arts + Literature Laboratory

• LAUNDRY FILM SCREENING, Wednesday, May 13, 6:00pm

  • As part of LAB^4 community programming at ALL, artist India Johnson has curated a selection of short films on the topic of laundry, including Clotheslines by Roberta Cantow.

Commercial Theaters:
AMC Theatres
Flix Brewhouse
Marcus Theatres (Palace and Point)

• AMERICAN IN PARIS, AN at AMC.

  • Vincente Minnelli / Gene Kelly classic. Should be fun on the big screen!

• ANIMAL FARM at AMC.

  • Hmm, Orwell adaptation distributed by faith-based distributor Angel. Interesting mix. Directed by everyone’s favorite motion-capture actor, Andy Serkis. Surprise: Opening week viewers are criticizing the film for changes from the original book.

• ATTACK ON TITAN: THE LAST ATTACK at AMC and Point.

  • My understanding is that this is comprised of final two special episodes (The Final Chapters Part 1 & 2) into one 2-hour and 40-minute feature, with improved visuals and sound.

• BEST IN SHOW at Flix.

• BILLIE EILISH - HIT ME HARD AND SOFT: THE TOUR at AMC, Flix, Palace, and Point.

  • Billie Eilish concert film. I have to admit, Billie Eilish is one of the few current female pop stars who I enjoy listening to during interviews. But I have mixed responses to most of the music, so I’ll pass on this one for now.

• CRAZY RICH ASIANS at AMC.

• CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON at AMC.

  • If you haven’t seen this on the big screen, you might want to consider catching this at AMC Fitchburg. Looks like it will be a week-long run starting Friday, May 15.

• DEEP WATER at AMC and Palace.

• DEVIL WEARS PRADA 2, THE at AMC, Flix, Palace, and Point.

• DRAMA, THE at AMC and Point.

• FRIED GREEN TOMATOES 35TH ANNIVERSARY at AMC, Flix, Palace, and Point.

• HOKUM at AMC, Palace, and Point.

• IN THE GREY at AMC, Palace, and Point.

  • If you have been to any film in any theater in the last month or so, there is a very good chance that you’ve seen this trailer for the latest Guy Ritchie action drama starring Henry Cavil, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Eliza Gonzalez. Might be fun.

• IS GOD IS at AMC, Palace, and Point.

  • Another one in heavy trailer rotation if you’ve been in the theaters this month. On the surface this seems like pretty predictable stuff, but the cast just might bring the right energy to make it interesting.

• KARUPPU at AMC.

  • Indian Tamil-language courtroom drama / action film with mythological fantasy elements, starring Prakash Raj and Suriya.

• KRISHNAVATARAM at AMC.

  • Indian Hindi-language mythological drama. Looks like the final screening is Wednesday night. Presented with no subtitles (but Variety says a English dubbed version will be released in North America in a few weeks).

• LIFEHACK at Palace and Point.

  • Ugh, there’s now a term for films whose characters spend most of their time online or in chats: “screenlife action thriller.” Sorry, just I threw up a little in my mouth. But I guess I should post the trailer.

• MĀRAMA at AMC.

  • Horror film set in 1859 North Yorkshire, about a young Maori woman who arrives from New Zealand to serve as a governess for a wealthy man’s granddaughter. This appears to offer more than the current wave of typical horror films, but I’m a little skeptical. Update: This is getting decent reviews.

• MARCUS MYSTERY MOVIE at Palace.

• MICHAEL at AMC, Flix, Palace, and Point.

  • Apparently people didn’t know how much they needed a Michael Jackson music-filled bio-pic that doesn’t go beyond the Bad tour in 1988. I guess that makes sense to someone my age, I seem to recall disliking almost everything in the Michael Jacksons ouvre after (and including) Scorsese’s Bad video. As of this writing, Michael is the fourth-highest grossing film of 2026.

• MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM HATHAWAY: THE SORCERY OF NYMPH CIRCE at AMC, Palace, and Point.

  • A pretty cool trailer, nearly incomprehensible if you are unfamiliar with the franchise.

• MORTAL KOMBAT II at AMC, Flix, Palace, and Point.

• NEGLECTED at AMC.

  • Josh Duhamel and Dylan Sprouse star as a detective (Guess what? He’s retiring soon) and serial killer in this cat-and-mouse crime drama. This seems like it will go straight to video-on-demand after a nominal theatrical release.

• OBSESSION at AMC, Palace, and Point.

  • Horror film with the ol’ Be Careful What You Wish For theme. Young man buys a supernatural toy and wishes that his crush would fall hopelessly in love with him. Dude, you know you should have added “while respecting ourselves as individuals and providing sufficient space when needed.”

• PATI PATNI AUR WOH DO at AMC.

  • Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy, a “spiritual sequel” to Pati Patni Aur Woh (2019, translates as “Husband, Wife, and Her”).

• PROJECT HAIL MARY at AMC, Flix, Palace, and Point.

  • Read Rob Thomas’s review.

• SHEEP DETECTIVES, THE at AMC, Flix, Palace, and Point.

  • Okay, I have no idea if this is any good. Word-of-mouth so far is that it is seems to be better than the first impressions I had from the trailer. But does it need a New Yorker think-piece from Jill Lepore (who just won the 2026 Pulitzer Prize for History) titled, “What ‘The Sheep Detectives’ Doesn’t Understand About Sheep”? Someone behind the paywall can tell me if it is worth it.

• SHREK 25TH ANNIVERSARY at AMC, Flix, Palace, and Point.

• STEAL THIS STORY, PLEASE! at Point.

• SUPER MARIO GALAXY MOVIE, THE at AMC, Flix, Palace, and Point.

• THAT TIME I GOT REINCARNATED AS A SLIME THE MOVIE: TEARS OF THE AZURE SEA at AMC.

• TOP GUN 40TH ANNIVERSARY at AMC, Palace, and Point.

• TOP GUN: MAVERICK RE-RELEASE at AMC, Palace, and Point.

• WINTER HYMNS at Flix.

  • Return engagement for this Wisconsin’s Own film that played at the Wisconsin Film Festival. Directed by Nathan Deming, who was one of the filmmmakers leading the drive for a new state film office, Film Wisconsin. Read Rob Thomas’s review.

• WIZARD OF THE KREMLIN, THE at AMC, Palace, and Point.

  • You might just hear more from me (and a certain someone) about this recent AMC Secret Cinema film. What I will say, for now, is that Putin (Jude Law) is not on-screen as much as he seems he might be from this trailer. And the trailer does not capture how many cups of tea are poured at meetings during the film. It’s an interesting history lesson following a fictional character inspired by Russian avant-garde theater director / businessman / politician / bureaucrat Vladislav Surkov. But a history lesson does not always translate into a compelling drama.

Have you used the Now Showing in Madison listings at least once to find something interesting to see? Have you discovered a film that you didn’t realize was playing in town? Please consider supporting these efforts directly by clicking the “Buy Me a Popcorn” button and making a modest donation on those occasions when you find this resource valuable to your moviegoing in Madison.

Buy Me a Popcorn

Looking Ahead:

Local filmmaker Michael Doyle Olson has started what he hopes to be a comprehensive, collaborative public calendar of alternative film screenings in Madison. It is still a work in progress, but check it out at www.mdo.me/film.

UW Cinematheque & WUD Film

• UW Cinematheque will resume with “Bleak Week” from Wednesday, June 24 through Tuesday, June 30.

Side Room Cinematheque

• Consult Instagram @sideroomcinematic for screening details, second Thursday of the month, and last Monday of the month.

Cinesthesia at Madison Public Library Central Branch

• MENACE II SOCIETY (Allen & Albert Hughes, 1993), Wednesday May 20, 6:30pm.

Weekly posts feature some short notes on various cinematic topics, followed by the Now Showing in Madison guide to commercial theaters and alternative venues.

As you’ve probably noticed, I’ve missed two Monday (self-imposed) publication deadlines. Multiple ongoing projects and schedule changes have led me to value my time off on Sundays, and I’ve taken advantage of opportunities to rest rather than consider the weekend as “workdays” for side projects. But I want to make sure that the Now Showing listings appear early in the week, so I’m going to make a change in the publication schedule.

These weekly free posts, which will include the Now Showing listings, will appear on Tuesdays starting next week, May 12.

Support your local artists, musicians, and filmmakers!

A piano recital by Deirdre Brenner and Sibila Konstantinova (pictured above) on Sunday, May 10, 12:30pm in the Collins Recital Hall within the Hamel Music Center on campus will also include film and video work by Blake Barit, Charlie Borowicz, Philip Denvir, TJ Hill, Claudia Krogmeier, Tina Rose Rea Meister and Blue Rachapradit.

The concert combines the original 2-piano version of the celebrated seven movement work, The Planets, by composer Gustav Holst (composed prior to the better known orchestral version), with a world-premiere 2-piano arrangement by Dobrinka Tabakova of “Tectonic” from her Earth Suite, composed originally in 2018.

“Each movement of the program will be presented alongside an original video exploring the ideas which inspired these compositions,” explains the promotional material for the program. The recital is free and open to the public, and it will also stream live on YouTube (I’m not sure how the film and video work will be handled for the livestream).

At Arts + Literature Laboratory, LAB^4 project artist India Johnson will curate a program of laundry-themed films on Wednesday, May 13 at 6:00pm. The free program will include Clotheslines by Roberta Cantow, I always do my collars first by Conni Castille and Allison Bohl, and The Washing Society by Lizzie Olesker and Lynne Sachs. You can find more program details at the Arts + Literature Laboratory website.

While this isn’t a screening of local films by local filmmakers, the event emerges from an ongoing local project, the LAB^4 community curation project at Arts + Literature Laboratory. The curator for this screening, India Johnson, is a research-based artist working across craft, artist publishing, and social practice. You can read an interesting essay on Clotheslines by Neyat Yohannes at the Criterion Collection website.

The Wisconsin 48 Hour Film Project has announced the date and location for its next screenings: Sunday, May 17, Marcus Palace Theaters. They will screen three unique programs at 12:00pm, 3:00pm, and 6:00pm. The broad theme for this round of films was “Movie Magic,” and filmmakers drew specific genres and were on the clock to produce the films on May 1.

I had the opportunity to be a judge for the last round of 48 Hour Films, and the whole process is a great deal of fun. Tickets for these screenings tend to sell out (you have the filmmaking teams, casts, and friends to compete with for seats). So, if you’re interested in going, I’d recommend purchasing tickets well in advance.

Looking ahead to June, the Children’s Film Academy of Madison (C-FAM) will hold a screening of their recent film projects, Wrestling and Small Time Rock Stars on Monday, June 1 at 6:30pm at Marcus Point Cinemas. I hope to find out more about these projects and this screening as the date approaches, and I’m sure we will find more updates at the C-FAM Instagram account (@cfam608_).

Now Playing In Madison: May 7–May 11, 2026

Please confirm showtimes with the venues (follow venue links where provided). The commercial theaters update their weekend listings on Wednesdays. Another valuable source that posts on Wednesdays with now playing lists is The Horizon Line Madison.

Comments here are not reviews of the films, they are usually a response to the trailer, a summary of the buzz I have heard, or just snark. They are not always particularly accurate, according to reader feedback. I add trailers to new films of interest that you might not know about (American indies, international features, etc.).

UW Cinematheque & WUD Film

• Campus film screenings have ended for the Spring Semester.

  • UW Cinematheque will resume with “Bleak Week” from Wednesday, June 24 through Tuesday, June 30.

Commercial Theaters:
AMC Theatres
Flix Brewhouse
Marcus Theatres (Palace and Point)

• AMC SCREEN UNSEEN: MAY 11 at AMC.

• ANIMAL FARM at AMC, Point, Flix.

  • Hmm, Orwell adaptation distributed by faith-based distributor Angel. Interesting mix. Directed by everyone’s favorite motion-capture actor, Andy Serkis. Surprise: Opening week viewers are criticizing the film for changes from the original book.

• BILLIE EILISH - HIT ME HARD AND SOFT: THE TOUR at AMC, Point, Palace, Flix.

  • Billie Eilish concert film. I have to admit, Billie Eilish is one of the few current female pop stars who I enjoy listening to during interviews. But I have mixed responses to most of the music, so I’ll pass on this one for now.

• CABIN IN THE WOODS, THE at AMC.

• CASA GRANDE at AMC.

• CRAZY RICH ASIANS at AMC.

• DEEP WATER at AMC, Point, Palace.

• DEVIL WEARS PRADA 2, THE at AMC, Point, Palace, Flix.

  • A sequel to a 2006 film you’ve probably heard about, even if you haven’t seen it.

• DRAMA, THE at AMC, Point.

  • This does appear to be staying for another week, so I hope to catch up with it before “the twist” gets ruined for me.

• ERUPCJA at AMC.

  • Fresh from its screening at the Wisconsin Film Festival. Not many screenings left for this one before it leaves Friday.

• EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE at AMC.

• FRIED GREEN TOMATOES 35TH ANNIVERSARY at AMC, Point, Palace, Flix.

• HOKUM at AMC, Point, Palace.

• HOPPERS at AMC, Point.

• IRON MAIDEN: BURNING AMBITION at Point, Palace.

  • This would make a very interesting double feature with the Billie Eilish concert documentary. This appears to be a right-down-the-middle documentary of the band best known for “Run For the Hills,” and Eddie.

• KRISHNAVATARAM at AMC.

  • Indian Hindi-language mythological drama about Lord Krishna. Interestingly, AMC Fitchburg (according to its website listings) will be screening this film in Hindi with no English subtitles. (But the film is being released in multiple Indian-language dubs around the world this weekend.) This is the first part (“The Heart / Hridayam”) of a planned trilogy. Apparently an English-language version will be released in North America in a few weeks.

• LABYRINTH at Point.

• LEE CRONIN’S THE MUMMY at AMC.

• MARAMA at AMC.

  • Horror film set in 1859 North Yorkshire, about a young Maori woman who arrives from New Zealand to serve as a governess for a wealthy man’s granddaughter. This appears to offer more than the current wave of typical horror films, but I’m a little skeptical.

• MARCUS MYSTERY MOVIE at Point, Palace.

• MICHAEL at AMC, Point, Palace, Flix.

  • Apparently people didn’t know how much they needed a Michael Jackson music-filled bio-pic that doesn’t go beyond the Bad tour in 1988. I guess that makes sense to someone my age, I seem to recall disliking almost everything in the Michael Jacksons ouvre after (and including) Scorsese’s Bad video. As of this writing, Michael is the fourth-highest grossing film of 2026.

• MORTAL KOMBAT at Point, Palace.

• MORTAL KOMBAT II at AMC, Point, Palace, Flix.

• MOTHER MARY at AMC.

  • I think I’m going to run out of time to see this before it leaves after Thursday night. But it has received decidedly mixed to negative reviews. Still, I’m curious.

• NEGLECTED at AMC.

  • Josh Duhamel and Dylan Sprouse star as a detective (Guess what? He’s retiring soon) and serial killer in this cat-and-mouse crime drama. This seems like it will go straight to video-on-demand after a nominal theatrical release.

• PROJECT HAIL MARY at AMC, Point, Palace, Flix.

• RZA’S ONE SPOON OF CHOCOLATE at AMC.

  • Last screening will be tonight. Saw this with Rob Thomas, and you can read his review at Not That Rob Thomas. I thought it had many interesting traits and details worthy of discussion, but I also admit that it is not particularly good.

• SHEEP DETECTIVES, THE at AMC, Point, Palace, Flix.

• STEAL THIS STORY, PLEASE! at Point.

  • Documentary about Amy Goodman, host of the progressive radio news program Democracy Now. Played at the Wisconsin Film Festival, and now returning for limited release. Read Rob Thomas’s review.

• SUPER MARIO GALAXY MOVIE, THE at AMC, Point, Palace, Flix.

• THAT TIME I GOT REINCARNATED AS A SLIME THE MOVIE: TEARS OF THE AZURE SEA at AMC, Point.

• WINTER HYMNS at Flix.

  • Return engagement for this Wisconsin’s Own film that played at the Wisconsin Film Festival. Directed by Nathan Deming, who was one of the filmmmakers leading the drive for a new state film office, Film Wisconsin.

Have you used the Now Showing in Madison listings at least once to find something interesting to see? Have you discovered a film that you didn’t realize was playing in town? Please consider supporting these efforts directly by clicking the “Buy Me a Popcorn” button and making a modest donation on those occasions when you find this resource valuable to your moviegoing in Madison.

Buy Me a Popcorn

Looking Ahead:

Local filmmaker Michael Doyle Olson has started what he hopes to be a comprehensive, collaborative public calendar of alternative film screenings in Madison. It is still a work in progress, but check it out at www.mdo.me/film.

Side Room Cinematheque

• Consult Instagram @sideroomcinematic for screening details, second Thursday of the month, and last Monday of the month.

Cinesthesia at Madison Public Library Central Branch

• MENACE II SOCIETY (Allen & Albert Hughes, 1993), Wednesday May 20, 6:30pm.