MMoCA Cinema: THE WIZARD OF OZ and KÖLN 75
The MMoCA Teen Forum presents The Wizard of Oz this Thursday, and the Madison Jazz Festival presents Köln 75 next Thursday.
Scroll down for Now Showing in Madison, June 16–June 22, 2026
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.
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.
Awesome! Sadly, I will miss the Wizard of Oz screening, but I registered for the Köln 75 screening today—can't wait! Let's hang out again soon, Jim. I miss you!