Hong Kong Cinema Classics by John Woo will screen at AMC Fitchburg in 2026
Some new directions for Moving Image Madison in 2026 as well.
Scroll down for Now Showing in Madison, January 5–12, 2026
I ended my last post with “it won’t be a month before you hear from me again.” Funny how life happens, it has been a little over a month!
You can expect a more regular schedule of posts in January 2026. I’ve decided to vary the format a little bit.
Mondays will focus on the Now Showing listings, but will no longer include reviews. Instead I’ll have brief notes and responses to recent news, or updates on film curating projects that I’m working on. As the year goes on, I will also provide some analysis of what has played in town.
Film reviews or longer essays will appear as I complete them, so not posted on a specific day of the week.
Videos will also be posted as they are completed. When they are posted, they will typically be on a Friday.
I’ve decided to narrow the focus of the Monday postings to make sure that I complete the Now Showing listings every week. I looked back at the Now Showing data I collected in 2025, I realized that it could be a valuable resource to better understand how the Madison theatrical film market. But I couldn’t do that unless I had a more complete set of data. So one New Year’s resolution is to aim for more complete data.
More importantly, I think people are finding the local listings in one place helpful for planning their movie-going week. It is not that hard to use Fandango or hop between Marcus, AMC, and Flix websites to figure out what is playing. But personally, I have found it useful to look at the listings to discover films that I was unaware of and worth my attention.
Why the irregular schedule for reviews and essays. Well, I had so much fun doing the One Battle After Another post in my own good time that it turned churning out reviews on a regular cycle into a real not-so-fun grind. And I want to maintain the joy of discussing films here. I think you’ll be able to notice the difference between joyful writing (even in a negative review) and trying to hit a deadline.
Okay, that covers what I want to do in 2026. Now let’s get down to business.
AMC Fitchburg set to screen Hard Boiled (1992), A Better Tomorrow (1986) and The Killer (1989) in 2026
I have been keeping track of Shout! Factory’s physical media releases of their Hong Kong Cinema Classics line since they were announced last year. Back in October, I noted that several titles had appeared on Criterion Channel, and that I had been watching some on Shout! Factory’s ad supported free streaming channel, Hong Kong Fight Club. But I also heard that Shout! Factory also had plans to re-release some of the films theatrically. I wondered if they would screen in Madison.
Well, my question has been answered on the GKIDS page for the Hong Kong Cinema Classics series, as well as at the AMC Fitchburg website.
Three films produced by Golden Princess studios, directed by John Woo, and starring Chow Yun-fat will screen this year at AMC Fitchburg:
Hard Boiled (1992) will screen January 25, 26, and 28.
A Better Tomorrow (1986) will screen March 1, 2, and 4.
The Killer (1989) will screen April 5, 6, and 8.
You can follow the linked dates to the advance ticket sales at the AMC Fitchburg website.
I worried that it would be just my luck that they would play in Madison they would be up against some one-time screening that I wanted to catch. Indeed, Hard Boiled will screen the same weekend that UW-Cinematheque and WUD Film resume their campus programming in January. But fortunately, there are multiple screenings scheduled for all of the scheduled dates at AMC Fitchburg. And The Killer (the title I’m most interested in watching on the big screen again, even though I watched it recently on Criterion Channel) will appear days before the start of the 2026 Wisconsin Film Festival.
These three titles make complete sense in terms of the impact they had when they all reached North American shores in the 1990s through home video and theatrical releases for The Killer and Hard Boiled. I have to admit, I have mixed feelings about Hard Boiled, and it is my least favorite of these three. Watching it recently on the Hong Kong Fight Club channel, I felt that it had the excessive violence but not the anarchic energy of the earlier films. The more audacious moments just seemed to be audacious for their own sake. But I still think I’ll revisit it at the end of January.
As far as current films go, I saw Marty Supreme last night (Sunday, January 4), and it gave me a lot to think about. I’ll assemble a review soon, in my own sweet time.
Now Playing In Madison: January 5–12, 2026
Please confirm showtimes with the venues (follow venue links where provided). The commercial theaters update their weekend listings on Wednesdays.
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.
AMC Theatres, Flix Brewhouse, Marcus Theatres
Always check the respective websites to confirm dates and showtimes. I add trailers to new films of interest that you might not know about (American indies, international features, etc.).
Based on the sources, here are the films playing at AMC Fitchburg 18, Marcus Palace Cinema, Marcus Point Cinema, and Flix Brewhouse between Monday, January 5, and Monday, January 12:
AMC SCREAM UNSEEN: JANUARY 5 at AMC.
ANACONDA at AMC, Palace, Point, Flix.
AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH at AMC, Palace, Point, Flix.
CHRONOLOGY OF WATER, THE at AMC.
Opens Friday, January 9. Directoral debut of Kirsten Stewart, adapted from the memoir by Lidia Yuknavitch.
DAVID at AMC, Palace, Point, Flix.
Faith-based animated feature, telling the story of young David and his battle with Goliath.
DHURANDHAR at AMC.
The top grossing Indian feature film of 2025. I’ve had a chance to see this, and I liked its scope and ambition, despite occasionally wallowing in some brutal violence. This plays for only a few more days in town, and it is worth catching if you can spare 214 minutes. I hope to return to it to write about the evolving nationalist tone of current Indian action dramas. Meanwhile, Dhurandhar is a Hindi-language spy action thriller with some big Bollywood stars (Ravneer Singh, Sanjay Dutt) very loosely based on a crackdown against organized crime in Karachi, Pakistan.
DUTCHMAN, THE at AMC.
A new screen adaptation of Amiri Baraka’s 1964 stage play Dutchman (when Baraka was known by his birth name, LeRoi Jones). The play was originally filmed in 1966 by English filmmaker Anthony Harvey. The original play and film was a timely examination of race relations in the mid-1960’s. Should be interesting to see how the central dramatic conflict, between a black businessman (André Holland) and a mysterious white woman (Kate Mara) who meet on a train has been adapted to where we are in 2026.
ETERNITY at AMC.
FATHER MOTHER SISTER BROTHER at AMC.
Opens Wednesday, January 7. The latest from Jim Jarmusch, and the winner of the 2025 Palm d’Or at Cannes. A triptych of short films examining family relationships, with a cast that includes Tom Waits, Adam Driver, Mayim Bialik, Charlotte Rampling, Cate Blanchett, Vicky Krieps.
FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY’S 2 at AMC, Palace, Point.
GREENLAND 2: MIGRATION at AMC, Palace, Point.
GUNDAM PREMIERE NIGHT (DOUBLE FEATURE) at AMC, Palace, Point.
Anime program. Iron-Blooded Orphans Urdr-Hunt + Wedge of Interposition, followed by the 4K remastered Gundam Wing Endless Waltz Special Edition
HOUSEMAID, THE at AMC, Palace, Point, Flix.
Thriller pitting Sydney Sweeney (the titular housemaid) versus Amanda Seyfried. Adapted from the book by Freida McFadden.
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON at Palace, Point.
I WAS A STRANGER at AMC, Palace, Point.
The directorial debut of Brandt Anderson, which premiered at the 2024 Berlin International Film Festival about the refugee exodus after the Arab Spring and Syrian Civil War. Starring French actor Omar Sy and Lebanese-born Yasmine Al Massri. Distributed by faith-based streaming platform, Angel.
IS THIS THING ON? at AMC, Palace, Point.
Another backstage drama from director Bradley Cooper, this time the stage is at a comedy club. This actually getting decent reviews, so we’ll see if this is finally a fiction film where the standup routines are actually funny. Starring Will Arnett and Laura Dern.
JANA NAYAGAN at AMC.
Opens Thursday, January 8. Indian Tamil-language political action thriller. Promoted as the last film for Tamil-language star Vijay as he focuses more on politics. Although the release was pushed to January 2026, it had been featured on several “Most Anticipated Tamil Films of 2025” lists by The Indian Express, and The Times of India.
KIDZ BOP LIVE: THE CONCERT MOVIE at AMC.
Do you need more than these three words: KIDZ BOP LIVE?
LABYRINTH 40TH ANNIVERSARY at AMC, Palace, Point, Flix.
LUPIN THE IIIRD: THE MOVIE-THE IMMORTAL BLOODLINE at Palace, Point.
Anime feature featuring the popular character, Lupin the Third.
MARCUS MYSTERY MOVIE (1/5) at Palace, Point.
MARTY SUPREME at AMC, Palace, Point, Flix.
I saw a funny post on social media from a young woman: “I’ve never seen so many men together in one place in my life.” I expect to have a review up soon. Meanwhile, here is a review from Rob Thomas.
MEN IN BLACK at Flix.
METROPOLITAN OPERA: I PURITANI, THE at Palace, Point.
PLAGUE, THE at AMC.
Joel Edgerton co-produces and stars in psychological thriller which also marks directorial debut from screenwriter Charlie Polinger. The film debuted in the Un Certain Regard section of the 2025 Cannes Film Festival. A socially anxious 12-year-old boy is pulled into a cruel tradition at an all-boys water polo camp.
PRIMATE at AMC, Palace, Point, Flix.
I saw the trailer. This looks slick but dumb. A family’s adopted chimpanzee (their first mistake) is bitten by a rabid animal and goes, well, apeshit.
RAJA SAAB, THE at Palace, Point.
Opens Friday, January 9. Indian Telugu-language fantasy/horror/comedy. A young man, played by Prabhas, seeks relief to his financial problems, but instead finds himself in a haunted mansion.
SECRET FLIX at Flix.
SONG SUNG BLUE at AMC, Palace, Point, Flix.
SPONGEBOB MOVIE: SEARCH FOR SQUAREPANTS, THE at AMC, Palace, Point, Flix.
STARSHIP TROOPERS at Flix.
THEY LIVE at Flix.
WE BURY THE DEAD at AMC, Palace, Point.
Zombie survival thriller starring Daisy Ridley. A desperate woman (played by Ridley) searches for her husband after a catastrophic military experiment goes wrong. And we all know that can only mean one thing: zombies.
WICKED: FOR GOOD at AMC, Palace, Point, Flix.
ZOOTOPIA 2 at AMC, Palace, Point, Flix.
Looking Ahead:
Mills Folly Microcinema
Project Projection: Winter 2026, Wednesday, January 21, 7pm.
Experimental film, short docs, music videos, and animation produced by filmmakers in Madison and Dane County.
Wisconsin Union Directorate Film
Programming resumes January 23, 2026
UW-Cinematheque
Programming resumes in January 22, 2026
Oliver Laxe’s Sirat, 7pm
Side Room Cinematheque
Consult Instagram @sideroomcinematic for upcoming screenings, second Thursday of the month, and last Monday of the month.
The John Woo films are also screening at Point on roughly the same days and times. I believe the AMC adds an earlier screening on Sundays.
Happy New Year, Jim! Good to see you back, and I think your new posting approach will benefit your style. I always appreciate these Monday schedules, so it's nice to hear you'll continue organizing all of this info for us. I dismissed it when I saw the trailer a few months ago, but three people have recommended "Song Sung Blue" to me. Have you seen it or do you plan to see it? I can't tell if this is a good movie or if the Wisco angle is what appeals. As always, looking forward to your review.