Sundance Watch: Hbo Doc Films Buys Me @the Zoo

Before we send 2024 packing, it’d be good karma to acknowledge some offbeat screen experiences don’t fit a typical best-of-the-year list. And we’ll also get to the worst movies of the year, guaranteed to undo that karma in a flash. So. Goodbye, year. And hats off to Chicago’s cinema workers, archivists, educators, theater managers, projectionists — and to all venues offering real butter on popcorn that didn’t come out of a bag and doesn’t taste like something that fell out of an Amazon packing envelope. Favorite never-again screening experience of 2024: “The Art of the Benshi” at Gene Siskel Film Center, April 16-17.

Will Lionsgate finally find a buyer? Will A24 set a new box office record? Will Apple TV+ finally go AVOD? We think so.

After Dark: Starring Olivia DeJonge as one unlucky babysitter, this seasonal home invasion from 2016 combines holiday magic with the winking cruelty of “Funny Games.”

Warner Bros. also announced new 2025 release dates for "Mickey 17" and "Sinners."

The 72nd Annual Golden Reel Awards will be held February 23, 2025, with nominations announced January 6.

Business is as good as any holiday since COVID, but much less than before.