movies

‘Stuart Fails To Save The Universe’ Stars On Episode 2 & Stuart’s Bold Move

Published

4 hours ago

July 31, 2026

SPOILER ALERT: The story includes details about Episode 2 of HBO Max’s Stuart Fails To Save the Universe.

After Denise (Lauren Lapkus) got separated from Stuart (Kevin Sussman), Bert (Brian Posehn) and Kripke (John Ross Bowie) at the end of the first episode of Stuart Fails To Save the Universe as the guys were transported from the post-apocalyptic CalTech lab to an alternate universe, Stuart made it his mission to find Denise — or that alternate reality’s version of her.

He tracked her down to find her “happily” married to Gary (Tommy Walker), the same guy who was Denise’s boyfriend in post-apocalyptic Pasadena in the premiere where he was senselessly killed by CalTech guards.

Happily is in quotes because in that universe, society is ruled by an evil AI through a buzzer on everyone’s neck which sends electric shocks through their body if they express any negative emotion.

“Denise, you and I are destined to be together, and I have come from a parallel universe to claim you,” Stuart said while sitting in Denise and Gary’s living room.

Deadline asked Sussman about Stuart’s gutsy move.

”That’s interesting that you bring that up because that’s pretty un-Stuart like,” he said. “So I guess if there is some growth for Stuart, it’s that his love for her pushes him into a kind of assertiveness that he never would have had on the original show.”

Lupkus spoke about Denise’s unhappy marriage, which had driven her to drinking, and Stuart’s arrival.

“In that universe, we have buzzers on our necks that stop us from ever being rude or saying what like anything that’s not totally happy, so she’s conditioned at that point to just act like everything’s fine, and to have someone coming into her apartment saying like, you don’t have to live like this like, I’m gonna get you out of here, she can’t even react because she knows that she’ll just be writhing on the floor,” Lapkus said. “So I think, as we see later, she gets swept up in it with him, but then her real feelings for him start to return, and she can feel again.”

Added Sussman, ” Yeah, and it actually is a good metaphor for anybody who’s ever felt stuck in a relationship.”

What about Gary? Once again, he was left behind as by the end of the episode, Denise had joined Stuart, Bert and Kripke, and she and Stuart were seen holding hands while leaping into the next universe together.

“I think Denise has some sort of love for Gary, even if he’s the wrong guy for her, because she’s excited to see him every time she sees him, and she’s back with him over and over again,” Lapkus said. “There are those people in your life where you’re like, you got to break up with that guy, but she kind of likes him for some weird reason, and then she cares for him, so when he’s killed over and over, that’s also pretty upsetting.”

Added Sussman, “It’s bad enough when your loved one is murdered once.”

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Box Office: ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ Previews Best ‘No Way Home’s $50M

Published

18 minutes ago

July 31, 2026

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EXCLUSIVE: When it comes to breaking box office records this weekend, look out, because Spider-Man: Brand New Day will do whatever a spider can, starting with tonight as the Sony/Marvel Studios co-production is outstripping the Thursday night previews of the 2021 previous chapter Spider-Man: No Way Home, which did $50M. All of this makes sense given the $80M advance ticket sales figure we heard about for the Tom Holland and Zendaya $225M net production.

No Way Home (which had previews begin at 3PM on its first Thursday) posted the third best previews ever behind 2019’s Avengers: Endgame‘s $60M (6PM start time) and 2015’s Star Wars: Force Awakens‘ $57M Thursday night. Now with more than $50M, Brand New Day stands as the third best U.S./Canada previews ever for a theatrical release, the best previews ever for a Sony movie, and the best previews post Covid. The Destin Daniel Cretton directed Spider-Man sequel began showtimes at 12 noon today, and its preview cash will include Wednesday night’s Prime Video member screening. Some sources were hearing that Brand New Day‘s preview money tonight was exceeding Avengers: Endgame. We’ll know by tom’w morning if it’s higher.

No Way Home‘s previews of $50M only repped 41% of its $121.96M first Friday. That resulted in the second best opening ever at the domestic box office with $260.1M behind Avengers: Endgame‘s all-time high of $357.1M. Force Awakens‘ $57M previews accounted for 48% of its first Friday which was $119.1M. At one point in time Force Awakens 3-day start of $247.96 held the all-time opening record in North America, but it eventually fell to fourth. NRG had a low domestic opening estimate of $195M for Brand New Day, but exhibitors and other tracking services such as Greenlight Analytics believe it’s significantly higher from $260M to even maybe $300M.

Some analysts begin to nerd out arguing that we need to take into account start time for the previews here on Brand New Day, and the time of year before making forecasts. Seriously, it doesn’t matter: this is a ton of money and the most we’ve seen in quite some time, putting away the previous post Covid preview record of $38.5M belonging to Deadpool & Wolverine two Julys ago.

And the other amazing thing about this Spider-Man is that he’s raking in all this cash without the help of Imax screens (which we saw Barbie do three years ago as Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer claimed them).

So far, Brand New Day has the best Rotten Tomatoes audience score out of the nine live-action Spider-Man movies with 98%. Critical score is strong at 90% certified fresh, which is just under the 93% of No Way Home.

Tonight’s estimates are according to sources.

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Sadie Sink’s Secret Role in Spider-Man: Brand New Day Revealed

Published

25 minutes ago

July 31, 2026

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[This story contains spoilers for Spider-Man: Brand New Day.]

Sadie Sink‘s top-secret-ish role in Spider-Man: Brand New Day has finally been revealed.

The reason I say “ish” is because despite Marvel and Sink remaining tight-lipped, fan rumors have been swirling about her casting since even before the first trailer that dropped in March included a two-second clip of a mystery person in a green jacket. This led fans to speculate that Sink was playing powerful mutant Jean Grey, as the character is known to have fiery red hair (much like Sink) and wear the color green, at least in some of her classic comic book appearances.

Now that the Tom Holland-led film has hit theaters, I’m happy to congratulate those behind the rumors for being correct.

Throughout the Brand New Day press tour leading up to the film’s release on July 31, the Stranger Things actress seemingly dodged all questions surrounding any specifics of her role.

Earlier this month, during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, director Destin Daniel Cretton shared that all the secrecy with Sink’s character has to do with the moviegoing experience. “Keeping what Sadie’s doing under wraps, you’ll honestly understand when you see the movie. The movie is a better movie if you don’t know certain things,” he said. “I wish people didn’t know anything when they go in to watch this movie, but we’re not doing it for any other reason but to protect the experience of the fans. And whoever goes on opening weekend, you are going to have a much cooler experience if you go in not knowing certain things.”

Brand New Day has Holland back in the Spidey suit, with Zendaya and Jacob Batalon also reprising their roles as MJ and Ned, respectively. The fourth installment, coming off the box office success of 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home, sees Peter Parker living entirely alone as Spider-Man in a world that doesn’t remember him. That’s until mounting pressure of seeing his old friends move on without him triggers a dangerous change, while a powerful new villain emerges.

Last year, while chatting with THR, Sink admitted she was looking forward to when she could finally talk about her Spider-Man role, as “There’s so much I want to share.”

“Spider-Man has always been my favorite,” she said at the time. “I love Spider-Man. I love Tom’s Spider-Man, especially. To be a fan of something and then join it is a familiar feeling for me, because I was a fan of Stranger Things before I joined the show, but I was super excited about what they had planned. I also worked with the director, Destin Daniel Cretton, in one of the first movies I ever did when I was 14, so it’s kind of a full-circle moment. I had an amazing time working on that film.”

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is currently playing in theaters.

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Kim Minha to Host 2026 Busan Film Festival’s Opening Ceremony

Published

57 minutes ago

July 31, 2026

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Pachinko star Kim Minha will host the gala opening ceremony of this year’s Busan International Film Festival. Asia‘s leading cinema event customarily features two Korean stars at its kick-off event, but organizers revealed Friday that Kim will hold down the duties solo when BIFF raises its curtain on Oct. 6.

Busan launched its first-ever main competition section last year for its landmark 30th edition. This year’s event will continue to try to build momentum for the section, establishing the Busan Awards Grand Prize as Asia’s premier cinema honor.

Kim is best known worldwide as young Sunja in Pachinko, Apple TV’s sweeping adaptation of Min Jin Lee’s bestselling novel, in which she shared the saga’s central role across timelines with Oscar winner Youn Yuh-jung. The part, spanning the series’ two seasons in 2022 and 2024, turned the actress — who debuted in 2016 — into one of the most closely watched young talents in Korean film and television. She has stayed busy since, with credits including the Dinsney+ series Light Shop, TVING’s Way Back Love and Typhoon Family on Netflix, along with this year’s film Hana Korea. She won best actress in the international competition at the 2025 Seoul International Drama Awards and best new actress at the 2025 Blue Dragon Series Awards.

In announcing the appointment, BIFF credited the “depth and emotional precision she brings to every role” and her growing stature as a star of Korea’s new generation.

“Known for her poised yet spirited presence, she is expected to bring warmth and confidence to the opening ceremony and set the tone for this year’s festival,” organizers said in a statement.

BIFF’s 31st edition runs Oct. 6-15 at the Busan Cinema Center and other venues across the South Korean port city.