I find myself both surprised and disappointed that I feel I have to ask if Kaitlyn Dever is considered a household name yet? If not, I think that is a sign of a major fracture in the Hollywood hierarchy because her stunningly talented and versatile actor – who has been cast in The Last of Us Season 2 as Abby – deserves all the recognition she can get. You will surely understand what I mean after taking a look at these picks for the best Kaitlyn Dever movies and TV shows (with a tip on how to watch them) now — starting with one of more recent leading roles.

No One Will Save You (2023)

Director: Brian Duffield

Starring: Kaitlyn Dever

What it's about: A young woman’s safe, isolated existence is interrupted by otherworldly creatures encroaching on her property and her life.

Why it is one of Kaitlyn Dever’s best: For the first time, Dever shows she has what it takes to be an action star in No One Will Save You — a uniquely crafted, thoroughly terrifying take on the alien invasion genre from writer and director Brian Duffield.

How to watch No One Will Save You

• Stream No One Will Save You on Hulu

Last Man Standing (2011-2021)

Starring: Tim Allen, Nancy Travis

What it's about: A married sporting goods store marketing director (former Home Improvement cast lead Tim Allen) with three daughters struggles to maintain his manhood at home.

Why it is one of Kaitlyn Dever’s best: Dever made a breakthrough when she was cast on Last Man Standing as the tomboyish Eve Baxter, which became a recurring part after the first six seasons of the long-running sitcom.

How to watch Last Man Standing

• Stream Last Man Standing on Hulu
• Buy Last Man Standing on Amazon

Justified (2011-2015)

Starring: Timothy Olyphant, Walton Goggins

What it's about: A no-nonsense U.S. Marshall is relocated from Miami to his hometown in Kentucky, where he cleans things up with his old-fashioned approach to crimefighting.

Why it is one of Kaitlyn Dever’s best: Another one of Dever’s first and most acclaimed TV roles was a recurring part in the Justified cast as Loretta McReady — a troubled youth who finds a father figure in Olyphant’s Raylan Givens after her real dad’s murder on the hit Neo-Western TV show from FX.

How to watch Justified

• Stream Justified on Hulu
• Buy Justified on Amazon
• Buy Justified on DVD on Amazon

Bad Teacher (2011)

Director: Jake Kasdan

Starring: Cameron Diaz, Justin Timberlake

What it's about: A sleazy middle school teacher (Cameron Diaz) begins to step up her game in hopes of winning the heart of a committed, handsome new staff member (Justin Timberlake).

Why it is one of Kaitlyn Dever’s best: At the same time she was making waves on the small screen, Dever made her big screen debut in Bad Teacher — a raunchy take on the school movie genre from the point of view of a reluctant educator.

How to watch Bad Teacher

• Rent or buy Bad Teacher on Amazon
• Buy Bad Teacher on Blu-ray on Amazon

The Spectacular Now (2013)

Director: James Ponsoldt

Starring: Miles Teller, Shailene Woodley

What it's about: A debaucherous, aimless high school senior is inspired to clean up his act when he meets and falls for an astute young woman.

Why it is one of Kaitlyn Dever’s best: Dever has a small role as Krystal — whom she described as “annoying… pushy… [and] bossy” to Shine On Media — in director James Ponsoldt’s acclaimed, romantic coming-of-age drama, The Spectacular Now.

How to watch The Spectacular Now

• Stream The Spectacular Now on Tubi
• Rent or buy The Spectacular Now on Amazon
• Buy The Spectacular Now on Blu-ray on Amazon

Short Term 12 (2013)

Director: Destin Daniel Cretton

Starring: Brie Larson, John Gallagher Jr.

A young woman struggles to balance her career as a residential facility employee with her relationship with her co-worker and longtime boyfriend.

Why it is one of Kaitlyn Dever’s best: For her second collaboration with Larson after The Spectacular Now, Dever gave a stunning performance in the powerful drama Short Term 12 as a girl with a troubling past named Jayden.

How to watch Short Term 12

• Stream Short Term 12 on Amazon Prime
• Stream Short Term 12 on Tubi
• Stream Short Term 12 on Peacock
• Stream Short Term 12 on Pluto TV
• Buy Short Term 12 on Blu-ray on Amazon

Detroit (2017)

Director: Kathryn Bigelow

Starring: John Boyega, Anthony Mackie

What it's about: In 1967, a deadly police raid on innocent Black people at the Algiers Motel became the inciting incident leading to a historical race riot.

Why it is one of Kaitlyn Dever’s best: In director Kathryn Bigelow’s historical drama, Detroit, Dever is terrific as a young woman named Karen Malloy -- a first-hand witness of the killings alongside Julie Delaney, who was involved with the production and recalled her side of the film’s shocking true events to the Detroit Free Press in 2017.

How to watch Detroit

• Stream Detroit on Peacock
• Stream Detroit on Tubi
• Buy Detroit on Blu-ray on Amazon

The Front Runner (2018)

Director: Jason Reitman

Starring: Hugh Jackman, Vera Farmiga

What it's about: A married family man and U.S. Senator from Colorado leads a very promising presidential campaign that descends into a downward spiral after the media catches wind of his affair with a young woman.

Why it is one of Kaitlyn Dever’s best: Just a year after starring in Detroit, Dever played yet another real-life person named Andrea Hart — the daughter of U.S. Senator, Gary Hart — in director Jason Reitman’s scandalous political docudrama, The Front Runner.

How to watch The Front Runner

• Stream The Front Runner on Starz
• Rent or buy The Front Runner on Amazon
• Buy The Front Runner on Blu-ray on Amazon

Beautiful Boy (2018)

Director: Felix van Groeningen

Starring: Steve Carell, Timothée Chalamet

What it's about: A newly separated father tries to help his teenage son overcome his drug addiction.

Why it is one of Kaitlyn Dever’s best: Dever is mesmerizing in her otherwise brief but pivotal role as Lauren — a fellow young addict with a romantic connection to Chalamet’s character — in Beautiful Boy, Amazon’s heartbreaking adaptation of the memoirs by Nic Sheff and his son, David.

How to watch Beautiful Boy

• Stream Beautiful Boy on Amazon Prime

Booksmart (2019)

Director: Olivia Wilde

Starring: Kaitlyn Dever, Beanie Feldstein

What it's about: A pair of introverted best friends take one last chance to make an impression on their high school social scene before graduating.

Why it is one of Kaitlyn Dever’s best: For her first cinematic leading role, Dever absolutely kills it in the instant party movie classic, Booksmart, with pitch-perfect comedic timing and impeccable chemistry with Feldstein.

How to watch Booksmart

• Rent or buy Booksmart on Amazon
• Buy Booksmart on Blu-ray on Amazon

Unbelievable (2020)

Starring: Toni Collette, Merritt Wever, Kaitlyn Dever

What it's about: After a teenage girl is accused of falsifying an attack against her, two FBI agents search for an elusive rapist to find evidence that uncovers the truth.

Why it is one of Kaitlyn Dever’s best: Dever gives one of the most acclaimed performances of her career so far (and her first to earn a Golden Globe nomination) as real-life sexual assault victim, Marie Adler, in Unbelievable — a shocking, Netflix original true crime miniseries from showrunner Susannah Grant.

How to watch Unbelievable

• Stream Unbelievable on Netflix

Monsterland (2020)

Starring: Various

What it's about: A socially challenged teen experiences a strange unwelcome encounter, a restaurant server at a dire crossroads, a grief-stricken married couple desperate for some form of solace, and more bizarre, thought-provoking tales of redemption make up this anthology series based on Nathan Ballingrud's book of short stories, North American Lake Monsters.

Why it is one of Kaitlyn Dever’s best: In the same year she earned raves for Netflix’s Unbelievable, Dever switched streaming platforms to star in Monsterland — a Hulu-exclusive horror TV show in which she appears in three episodes (more than any other cast member) as a server named Toni.

How to watch Monsterland

• Stream Monsterland on Hulu

Dopesick (2021)

Starring: Michael Keaton, Rosario Dawson

The lives of a trusted medical doctor, a pharmaceutical rep, two U.S. attorneys, a committed DEA agent, and others intersect over the distribution of a powerful narcotic called Oxycontin.

Why it is one of Kaitlyn Dever’s best: Dever earned her first Emmy nomination for her astonishingly authentic performance in the Dopesick cast as a fictionalized victim of America’s real-life opioid crisis in this eye-opening miniseries.

How to watch Dopesick

• Stream Dopesick on Hulu

Ticket To Paradise (2022)

Director: Ol Parker

Starring: George Clooney, Julia Roberts

What it's about: After learning their daughter is suddenly engaged in Bali, a divorced couple agrees to work together to prevent her from repeating their own mistake.

Why it is one of Kaitlyn Dever’s best: In addition to reuniting with her Booksmart co-star and friend, Billie Lourd, the fun rom-com Ticket to Paradise sees Dever holding her own alongside two Hollywood legends in the role of their onscreen daughter.

How to watch Ticket to Paradise

• Rent or buy Ticket To Paradise on Amazon
• Buy Ticket to Paradise on Blu-ray on Amazon

To be honest, we have barely scratched the surface of all that Kaitlyn Dever is known for or what she is capable of as an actor. It’s great to know that there is more where these came from as she could also be heard in the 2023 movie, Next Goal Wins, and has joined the cast of The Last of Us Season 2 as Abby.

Come Friday, James Cameron's Avatar: The Way Of Water is set to become the biggest thing in theaters, and if early buzz is any indication, it will likely hold that position as we ride out what's left of 2022. Until we get there, however, the big screen world still belongs to Ryan Coogler's Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which brought in another eight figure haul during its sixth weekend since its opening.

Check out the full Top 10 in the chart below, and join me after for analysis!

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Wins The Box Office For A 2022-Best Six Weekends In A Row

I noted in my column last weekend that Black Panther: Wakanda Forever was the first film released in 2022 to dominate the domestic box office for five weekends in a row, and now the blockbuster has successfully enhanced that record. For reasons that honestly aren't wholly clear, studios opted not to put any new movies out in wide release this past weekend, which left Black Panther's path to another victory wholly unobstructed.

With the haul, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever continues to climb up the 2022 charts, and it will soon become the second biggest film of the year domestically. The  blockbuster wasn't quite able to surpass the opening weekend numbers put up by Sam Raimi's Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness this past May, but it is set to move past its Marvel sibling in total earnings. The Ryan Coogler feature has made $409.8 million to date in the United States and Canada, and Doctor Strange 2 brought in $411.3 million before it was done playing on the big screen.

According to The Numbers, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever has now officially moved into the Top 5 worldwide for 2022, having brought it $767.8 million. It will need to make an additional $171.5 million to move past Kyle Balda's Minions: The Rise Of Gru and into fourth place, but it has now made more than Matt Reeves' The Batman, which made $767.6 million during its theatrical run.

When put side by side, the numbers for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and Ryan Coogler's first Black Panther movie don't really compare – but more than anything that's an expression of what has happened to cinema distribution and the industry since March 2020. The 2018 film ranks as the sixth highest grossing title to come from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and the sequel sits in 16th place, despite the franchise having a history of follow-ups surpassing their predecessors at the box office.

With Disney shifting its focus to promoting Avatar: The Way Of Water, this will probably be Black Panther: Wakanda Forever's last big weekend in the spotlight, and its numbers probably won't go much higher than where they are now, but Marvel Studios can certainly call the film a success – particularly in light of all the challenges that the production faced during development.

The Whale Only Played In Six Theaters, But The Screenings Were Packed

While earnings a mixed critical reaction and stirring up its fair share of controversy, Darren Aronofsky's The Whale has successfully earned a great deal of curiosity since it screened at multiple festivals this fall. It's unclear just yet how that will ultimately translate to box office earnings for the film – which centers on a dying, 600-pound man played by Brendan Fraser – but its time in limited release this past weekend suggests that it could end up making quite a lot of money.

The Whale won't be playing in theaters around the country until December 21, but it played in a total of six locations in New York and Los Angeles over the past three days, and it did exceptionally well. As you can probably tell from the chart above, it didn't do well enough to make it into the Top 10, but it made an impressive $360,000  – which equates to $60,000 per location.

That's obviously coming from a very tiny sample size, and it won't be possible for it to be recreated in wide release (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever only averaged $41,251 in its opening weekend), but it's an indication that people are excited to see the film and the Brenasainnce hit its peak. The movie definitely won't be a destination for families looking for something to watch together during the holidays, but it will make for some fascinating counterprogramming to Avatar: The Way Of Water in the blockbuster's second weekend of release. 

Violent Night Has A Tremendous Sophomore Performance, Dropping Only 35 Percent Weekend-To-Weekend

Further looking for silver linings during a rather dismal stretch at the box office, I can also point to the performance of Tommy Wirkola's Violent Night starring David Harbour. After earning positive reviews prior to its release, the R-rated action movie had an debut in theaters last week that exceeded expectations, and now it is demonstrating some impressive legs with an awesome weekend-to-weekened drop.

After making $13.5 million in its first Friday-to-Sunday, the killer Santa film made an additional $8.7 million during its second, which is a dip of only 35 percent. The movie only cost a reported $20 million to produce (via Variety), and to date it has more than doubled that figure in ticket sales worldwide – its current global total standing at $41.8 million. As I noted in my column last week, positive buzz and the arrival of the Christmas holiday in a couple weeks should help the movie stick around in the Top 5 for the rest of December, even as competition gets more significant.

On that note, Avatar: The Way Of Water will be here soon, and we'll know next Sunday morning if its a hit or a flop. Be sure to come back here to CinemaBlend to see the results and the shakeup to the rest of the Top 10.

To discover all of the films that are set to still scheduled to arrive between now and the end of the year, check our our 2022 Movie Release Calendar.

Have you seen Ticket To Paradise yet? Well, if you have, you know it’s a lot of fun, and part of the reason why it’s so much fun is because the chemistry is great between everyone involved. Julia Roberts and George Clooney are quite obviously having the best time together, but that natural affinity also extends to the rest of the cast. It’s particularly clear when Kaitlyn Dever and Billie Lourd bounce off one. There’s an obvious spark, which makes sense given they’re really close in real life.

It turns out when Kaitlyn Dever agreed to play Lily, the daughter of Roberts and Clooney’s feuding exs, she was asked by the director who she’d like to play her best friend in the movie. She picked Billie Lourd, and the two had the best time hanging out while shooting the movie in paradise. Luckily for fans, they also kept a video diary on set, which was turned into a featurette called Keep A Straight Face for the upcoming home entertainment release (digital on 12/9 and Blu-ray on 12/13). You can check out an exclusive clip from that featurette below…

The great thing about shooting a movie with your friend is that you always have a friend. Kaitlyn Dever says that during the featurette and it’s such a simple yet obvious truth. It’s clear the two had an absolute blast both while they were on set and during their downtime, of which there is a lot on movie sets. Fortunately, that time passes a lot more quickly when you have a buddy who wants to do things like record Fleetwood Mac covers and go swimming.

Now, just because everyone likes each other doesn’t inherently mean the end product is going to work. Fortunately for Dever, Lourd, Clooney, Roberts and everyone else involved with the infectious chemistry, the end result here is a good time. It might not be Pretty Woman, but it’s a fun spin on a romantic comedy with several exciting B-plots that work in really strong acting all around. If you like the genre, you’ll like this for sure, which is why it’s running at an 87% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.

Thankfully, if are you down, you don’t have to wait long to pick up a home entertainment copy. The digital release is out today, and you’ll be able to pick up the physical copy on Tuesday. You can do that and in the spirit of this featurette, perhaps go watch it with your own best friend. 

The first weekend in December has historically never been big when it comes to box office results. With studios usually filling theaters to the brim with new tentpole movies during the Thanksgiving holiday, it's often been the case that zero fresh wide releases are put out in the week that follows. This year, however, has presented a break in the pattern.

As expected, Ryan Coogler's Black Panther: Wakanda Forever once again took the top spot at the box office, but Tommy Wirkola's Violent Night – which arrived in over 3,600 theaters on Friday – ended up being legitimate competition and finished with an eight-figure haul. Check out the full Top 10 below, and join me after for analysis!

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Spends Its Fourth Weekend In A Row At The Top Spot: A New High For 2022

In its second weekend playing in wide release, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever took a surprise dip at the box office – with a 63 percent weekend-to-weekend drop – but the film has held strong in the weeks since then, and in doing so has set yet a domestic record.

This weekend marks the fourth time in a row that the Marvel Studios blockbuster has been in the number one movie in the United States and Canada, and that's something that no other film has managed to do in 2022. Major films like Matt Reeves' The Batman, Sam Raimi's Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness, Joseph Kosinski's Top Gun: Maverick, and Jaume Collet-Serra's Black Adam all managed to stay in first place for three straight weekends earlier in the year, but all of them ended up being dethroned. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever has outlasted all of them, and continues to climb the box office rankings as a result. 

When it premiered, the film notably fell short of having the biggest opening weekend of 2022, but while it failed to outpace Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness in its first three days, the blockbuster is getting closer and closer to outgrossing it domestically. To date, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever has made $393.7 million in the US and Canada, which is less than $20 million away from the total that the Doctor Strange sequel earned before it left theaters during the summer. 

Globally, the 30th Marvel Cinematic Universe movie has earned $733 million, which is good enough for seventh place on the worldwide box office chart. It should ultimately make enough money to surpass Taika Waititi's Thor: Love And Thunder ($745.2 million) and Matt Reeves' The Batman ($767.6 million), but it likely won't be able to reach Doctor Strange, which finished its big screen run around the world earning $952.2 million.

In the next week, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will likely claim the top of the box office again, but where things go from that point forward will really depend on the performance of the next blockbuster from Disney: James Cameron's Avatar: The Way Of Water. The long-anticipated sequel to the biggest movie of all-time will be playing in theaters around the globe on December 16, and it has the potential to either steal all of the attention away from the Marvel film or merely co-exist with it at the box office for what remains of 2022.

David Harbour's Killer Santa Makes Bank As It Earns Second Place At The Box Office

We are most definitely in a season that invites warm and fuzzy movies and families unite for the holidays, but every so often there is a fun bit of counterprogramming that audiences latch on to. In 2022, Violent Night is scratching the itch, and its off to a wonderful start after its first three days playing in wide release.

After earning a positive reception from critics, Violent Night made $13.3 million in its debut, which is a terrific start when you factor in that it had a reported production budget of $20 million (per Variety). Adding in the money its made from release in foreign markets, the film has already brought in $20.4 million. Audiences are evidently getting a kick out of it, with CinemaScore surveys returning a "B+" grade, and while it's not going to grow to be a four-quadrant hit because of its R-rating, those who are looking for a bloody and fun time at the movies could keep it in the Top 5 in the weeks that remain in the year – and it may end up getting a bump from Christmas as well.

It's the second success story for production company 87North in 2022, which had a win with David Leitch's Bullet Train in the final weeks of the summer. Violent Night won't end up being able to match it at the box office, as the Brad Pitt-led action film made $238.8 million worldwide, but it will be regarded as a solid win.

The Menu Moves Up To Fourth Place As It Nears $25 Million Domestically

Looking at the rest of the Top 10 beyond the first two spots from this past weekend is a rather depressing endeavor, but in the search for a bright spot, one small one can be seen in the performance of Mark Mylod's The Menu. Since opening in second place on November 18, the film has managed to move very little, and this weekend it even managed to move up a spot, from fifth place to fourth. It's not exactly setting 2022 records, but it's performing modestly as a small movie made with a $30 million budget (according to Deadline), and it's made $47.2 million worldwide thus far.

As noted, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will likely be the number one movie domestically again next weekend, but two new titles in wide release that may lure audiences to theaters include Darren Aronofsky's The Whale starring Brendon Fraser and Michael Showalter's Spoiler Alert with Jim Parsons. Check back here next Sunday for our breakdown of the box office results, and hit up our 2022 Movie Release Calendar to discover all of the films set to come out in what remains of the year.

As is the tradition come late November, filmmakers offered up an eclectic mix last week for moviegoers to enjoy alongside their Thanksgiving feasts. A handful of new movies hit theaters with Wednesday releases, resulting in quite a bit of movement in the box office rankings. Overall the numbers were disappointing — and specifically for Disney’s pulpy sci-fi adventure Strange World — as domestic ticket sales are estimated to have brought in just $125 million overall. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, however, held strong to its No. 1 spot for a third week in a row, adding an additional $45.9 million to its domestic total at the end of the three-day weekend and continuing its climb up this year's overall global and domestic charts.

Take a look at this week’s Top 10 — which looks wildly different from last week’s pre-Thanksgiving box office chart — and then we’ll break it all down below: 

After a worrisome second week saw Black Panther 2 drop 63 percent from its premiere, Ryan Coogler’s sequel was able to bring its domestic earnings to $367.7 million after three weekends. With a reported budget of $250 million, Marvel can count this one a success, as it currently stands at No. 6 for highest grossing movies of the year and is threatening to overtake both The Batman (No. 5, $369.3 million) and Minions: The Rise of Gru (No. 4, $369.5 million).  

The MCU blockbuster — which had the challenge of continuing without its predecessor’s star, when Chadwick Boseman passed away after battling colon cancer — also increased its international earnings to $307.9 million for a worldwide total of $675.6 million, jumping to No. 7 in the 2022 global rankings. 

This good news is one of few silver linings of an overall tepid Thanksgiving weekend, whose $125 million overall is down more than 10 percent from 2021’s $142 million, per Variety, which itself was considered a concern. These past two years have brought in just a fraction of pre-pandemic Thanksgiving box office results, which often reportedly topped $250 million over the five-day holiday. 

Strange World Disappoints For Disney On Holiday Weekend 

The year-over-year Thanksgiving drop might not have felt so drastic if we’d seen the success that’s come to be expected from Disney with its holiday release. When the kids are out of school, families are accustomed to hitting the theaters for a Disney animated flick to enjoy on Thanksgiving weekend, with past holiday offerings including Encanto, Frozen II and Ralph Breaks the Internet. That makes it all the worse that Strange World opened to such low numbers, earning just $18.6 million over its first five days — which include Wednesday and Thursday in addition to the traditional three-day weekend total.

In comparison, Encanto earned $40.3 million in its first five days last year, with the pre-pandemic Frozen sequel garnering $123.7 million in 2019; Ralph Breaks the Internet earning $84.6 million in 2018; and Coco raking in $71 million in 2017.

The new movie didn’t get any help from international ticket sales, either, as it picked up $9.2 million for a worldwide total of just $27.8 million. With a reported budget of $180 million, it’s unlikely that Disney is going to be able to break even with this one, especially as it opened to mixed reviews from critics — though CinemaBlend’s Sarah El-Mahmoud said in her review that she thought the Jake Gyllenhaal-starrer was a blast. 

And not to kick a movie while it’s down, but Strange World’s grade of a B from CinemaScore makes it the first Disney Animation Studios film to ever receive a grade lower than A- since polling began with 1991’s Beauty and the Beast (which received an A), per ScreenRant. 

Glass Onion Scores A Big Win In Limited Run Ahead Of Netflix Release 

Of the new releases during this holiday weekend, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery easily saw the most success, landing at No. 3 in the box office rankings with its five-day haul of $13.3 million. The sequel — which is receiving rave reviews from critics, including a perfect score from CinemaBlend’s own Mike Reyes — was released in fewer than 700 theaters for a one-week run before it hits Netflix on December 23. 

While its earnings are considerably less than Knives Out’s 2019 five-day total of $41 million, it’s important to remember that the original was released before COVID wreaked havoc on movie theaters, and it was released on more than 3,800 screens — over five times as many as Glass Onion in its limited release. In fact, according to The Numbers, Glass Onion earned $13,218 per theater this weekend, in comparison to the $10,780 per-theater earnings of the week’s No. 1 movie, Wakanda Forever, and No. 2 Strange World’s paltry $2,851 per theater.

It’ll be interesting to see how this week’s new releases — which also included the Korean War drama Devotion, Steven Spielberg’s The Fabelmans and the cannibalistic romance Bones and All — do in their second week, as the only new competition will be the Christmas dark comedy Violent Night, starring Stranger Things’ David Harbour, so be sure to join us for next week's box office breakdown! In the meantime, be sure to take a look and see what else is heading to theaters in December, and check out our 2023 Movie Release Schedule to start planning ahead for movie nights in the new year. 

As the relationship between theaters and streaming services continues to evolve, one worrisome trend that has developed concerns the weekend-to-weekend drops that new films experience in the wake of their debuts. Not only are opening numbers tending to be more modest, but even huge blockbusters are getting frontloaded results when it comes to ticket sales. 

It's a troubling development, and the latest title to raise red flags is Ryan Coogler's Black Panther: Wakanda Forever – which has made a lot of money worldwide and is getting ready to surpass a major milestone, but had a worrisome second weekend domestically. Check out the full Top 10 below, and join me after for analysis!

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Nears $500 Million Worldwide, But Dipped 63 Percent In Its Second Weekend Domestically

As I acknowledged in my box office column last week, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is firmly on its way to becoming one of the biggest hits of 2022. After having the second biggest domestic opening weekend of the year and more than a full week in theaters around the world, the Marvel Studios release has made a stunning $496.9 million, which is already good enough for eighth place in the global rankings. The blockbuster was expensive to make, with a reported price tag of $250 million (per Variety), but the latest figures posted by The Numbers show that it is well on its way to being considered the latest big hit for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

That's all great and supports the heath of theatrical distribution, but there are also reasons to be concerned by the film's performance this week. The $67.3 million made by Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in the last three days was clearly more than enough to secure the top spot at the box office... but things look far less sunny when you realize that marks a 63 percent drop from the film's $181.3 million start last weekend.

If we're hunting for silver linings, that drop is smaller than those experienced by Taika Waititi's Thor: The Dark World (68 percent) and Sam Raimi's Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness (67 percent) earlier this year, but it's still a steep fall. Prior to the pandemic, it was relatively rare for any Marvel Studios film to see earnings decline over 60 percent weekend-to-weekend after their premiere (Ryan Coogler's Black Panther back in 2018 only dropped 45 percent). Since the launch of MCU's Phase Four with Cate Shortland's Black Widow in 2021, every title has eclipsed that number with the exception of Destin Daniel Cretton's Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings.

Looking at this trend (which is far from just a Marvel problem), one has to consider the impact of streaming and the reduction of the window between the big screen and home video. Major blockbusters are still a big draw to theaters, but the numbers suggest that if a section of the audience doesn't go see a movie in its first weekend, their more inclined now to wait until they can catch it in the comfort of their own home.

Box office standards are unquestionably shifting – though it certainly can be said that within the context of the industry in 2022, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is a success. The Marvel movies has surpassed Jeff Fowler's Sonic The Hedgehog 2 on the domestic chart and now sits in seventh place behind Thor: Love And Thunder, which completed its big screen run in the United States and Canada making $343.3 million.

There is almost no chance that it will ultimately be able to catch up to the $716.7 million made by this year's biggest hit, Joseph Kosinski's Top Gun: Maverick, but by the time the Ryan Coogler movie is done playing on the big screen, it will be fascinating to see if it can earn more than Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness, which made $411.3 domestically before it left theaters this summer.

The Menu Is Off To An OK Start, Cooking Up A $9 Million Domestic Debut

With a budget of only $30 million (according to Deadline), Mark Mylod's The Menu faced some smaller stakes arriving at the box office this weekend, and while it didn't precisely turn into a sensation, it had itself a serviceable start. The mystery/thriller/horror/dark comedy movie has been earning positive buzz since its debut at the Toronto International Film Festival in September, and that paid off with a $9 million opening and a second place finish.

In the coming weeks, it will be an interesting film to track. In addition to getting great reviews, the movie is a crowd-pleaser at a time when mass audience tastes are leaning a bit darker (as indicated by the success that the horror genre has had in 2022). It may end up quietly doing quite well if it hangs around in the Top 10 for the remaining weeks of the year.

She Said Has A Weak Opening Weekend Despite Critical Acclaim

Though buzz boosted The Menu in theaters over the last few days, sadly the story is not the same for Maria Schrader's She Said – which also had a festival premiere this fall and has been viewed as a contender in this year's Oscar race. It's still very possible that the film will pick up a number of trophies in the coming months from various critics groups and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts And Sciences, but this weekend suggested that audiences weren't particularly hungry to see the docudrama on the big screen.

Released by Univeral Pictures in over 2,000 theaters nationwide, She Said only made $2.3 million this past weekend – which is an average of $1,113 per location. Adding insult to injury, its sixth place finish puts it behind Ol Parker's Ticket To Paradise, which Universal released in theaters five weeks ago.

With Thanksgiving coming up on Thursday, Hollywood is providing audiences a lot of big screen new releases to check out this week – including J.D. Dillard's Korean War drama Devotion, Walt Disney Animation Studios' Strange World, Luca Guadanino's cannibal coming-of-age story Bones And All, Steven Spielberg's autobiographical The Fabelmans, and Rian Johnson's Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery. 

Be sure to head back here next Sunday to see how these new releases shake up the Top 10, and check out our 2022 Movie Release Calendar to learn about all of the films still to come out in what remains of the year.

As expected, there was really only one game in town this weekend at the box office. It was fully anticipated that Ryan Coogler's Black Panther: Wakanda Forever would be a box office juggernaut, and the only real question to be answered was about whether or not it would have the biggest theatrical opening of 2022. 

With early numbers in, it doesn't look like the Marvel blockbuster is going to take hold of that record, but the ticket sales are impressive nonetheless. Check out the full Top 10 below, and join me after for analysis!

Earning $330 Million Worldwide, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Is An Instant Hit

Like Jaume Collet-Serra's Black Adam, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever was produced with a massive price tag (to be specific, a $250 million budget, per Variety), but while it took the DC movie three weeks to reach $300 million worldwide, the Marvel film was able to earn that much money in three days. This weekend's only new title in wide release made an estimated $180 million domestically, and it also earned $150 million overseas, bringing its global box office total thus far to $330 million.

Those figures automatically launch the movie to high spots on the 2022 charts. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is already ranked as the eighth biggest film of the year domestically, and it sits in 14th place worldwide. 

There is no question that the Marvel movie is off to a terrific start... but it also wasn't quite able to grab the brass ring mentioned earlier. Earlier this year, Sam Raimi's Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness made $187.4 million in its first three days, and the early results via The Numbers show Black Panther sequel fell a bit short of that total. The silver lining is that there is a very real possibility that Wakanda Forever will have stronger legs and become the bigger hit in the long run.

Remembering back to this past May, those who track box office developments will remember that Doctor Strange And The Multiverse Of Madness did not have a strong second weekend – dropping a scary 67 percent. It continued to make money throughout the month, but eventually its core audience was taken by new blockbusters like Joseph Kosinski's Top Gun: Maverick and Colin Trevorrow's Jurassic World: Dominion.

The Doctor Strange sequel ended up doing quite well in its theatrical run, earning $411.3 million on the big screen, but Black Panther: Wakanda Forever has a lot of advantages that could eventually see it end up playing leap frog its Marvel sibling in the box office rankings.  For starters, the Ryan Coogler movie has earned a warmer critical reception, and, for what it's worth, it also has a superior grade from CinemaScore surveys ("A" vs. "B+"). Perhaps more importantly, its biggest competition isn't arriving until December 16 when James Cameron brings audiences back to Pandora with Avatar: The Way Of Water.

There is a lot of excitement about Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and it will very likely reverberate through the Thanksgiving holiday and into next month. It's unlikely that it will end up making as much money as Ryan Coogler's Black Panther back in 2018, but it will be regarded as one of Marvel's premium hits since 2020 and the start of the pandemic.

Black Adam's Numbers Take A Dip, But The DC Film Crosses Another Domestic Milestone

The arrival of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever was always going to spell trouble for Black Adam. The two movies have the exact same primary target audience, and while there is certainly a population of DC fans who don't see Marvel movies, they most definitely aren't the majority. As such, it's unsurprising to see the Dwayne Johnson film – after three weeks of coasting in the top spot at the box office – experience a rough 53 percent weekend-to-weekend drop.

For the first time, Black Adam failed to put up eight-figure numbers in ticket sales, and had to settle for $8.6 million added to its domestic total. On the bright side, this has pushed the film over $150 million earned in the United States and Canada, and in the region it now sits as the ninth biggest movie of the year (pushing just past Baz Luhrmann's Elvis). Now the question looms as to whether or not it will be able to finish the year in the Top 10, which definitely isn't guaranteed right now.

As has been the cast since the beginning, Black Adam's box office situation looks a lot rosier when one factors in the money from foreign markets. Adding to the list of milestones, this weekend saw the movie's overseas numbers eclipse $200 million, putting the worldwide earnings at $352.2 million.

In Super Limited Release, Steven Spielberg's The Fabelmans Has A Crazy Per Theater Average

While Black Panther: Wakanda Forever was the massive movie new to wide release this weekend, this past Friday also saw one of this year's big prestige titles arrive on the big screen: Steven Spielberg's The Fabelmans. The autobiographical drama will be  in theaters nationwide in time for Thanksgiving later this month, but it has launched in four theaters in New York and Los Angeles, and it did quite well in those locations.

Given its extreme limited release, The Fabelmans didn't make it on to this weekend's Top 10, but it did still end up being the fourteenth biggest movie domestically with $161,000 earned in ticket sales. Obviously that isn't a lot of money when you consider the budget of a film, but it's an awesome gross from just four theaters. Crunching the numbers, that's $40,250 per location, and that's a number that nearly matches what Black Panther: Wakanda forever did in more than 4,000.

Looking ahead to next weekend, it will surprise exactly zero people when the new Marvel blockbuster is back in the number one spot, but there are some interesting titles arriving in wide release – including Mark Mylod's horror film The Menu and Maria Schrader's docudrama She Said. Head back here to CinemaBlend on Sunday to see how they shake up the Top 10, and get a look ahead at all the features set to come out in what remains of the year with our 2022 Movie Release Calendar.

Sometimes after watching a movie, I will go to Rotten Tomatoes and check to see if the film is certified fresh or rotten in the eyes of critics. Though my own opinions mostly line up with those of the reviewers the website views as experts, there are times where they couldn’t be more opposite. This happened with the Summer 2022 release of The Gray Man, a movie I actually liked, but critics, for the most part, did not. I wasn’t alone in this, as there was nearly a 50-point difference in the critical and audience scores.

This has also been the case for a large number of 2022 movies released so far, including Black Adam, which had a 51-point gap between critics and audiences. But Dwayne Johnson’s massive superhero movie isn’t alone in this regard, as some other big releases feel like critics and audiences were watching two entirely different movies.Let’s get into these differences now…

Black Adam - 39% Critic Score; 90% Audience Score

The long-awaited Black Adam was released in October 2022, and became an immediate hit with audiences despite receiving mixed to negative reviews from critics. Regardless of the poor critical response, Dwayne Johnson’s first superhero movie soared to number one at the box office the weekend of its release, with a weekend domestic gross of $67 million. 

Over on the Black Adam Rotten Tomatoes page, the movie, which saw the spectacular return of one of DC’s biggest heroes in the end-credits sequence, currently has a 39% critic score with an audience score of 90%. The site’s critical consensus essentially states that Black Adam points the way to “an exciting future for DC films” but is also “a wildly uneven letdown.”

Don’t Worry Darling - 38% Critic Score; 74% Audience Score

After what seems like years of behind-the-scenes rumors and all sorts of drama leading up to its release, Olivia Wilde’s Don’t Worry Darling opened in September 2022, and gave audiences a thrilling yet muddled psychological thriller. Upon release, the film received tepid reviews, though Florence Pugh’s lead performance did receive a great deal of praise.

The movie’s Rotten Tomatoes page currently lists the critic score as 38% while the audience score is 74%. The general consensus from the audience is that the cast more than makes up for the Don’t Worry Darling ending, which isn’t for everyone.

Amsterdam - 33% Critic Score; 62% Audience Score

David O. Russell’s star-studded mystery-comedy about three friends navigating post-WWI Europe was another film that didn’t do too hot with critics or at the box office, despite featuring performances by the likes of Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, and John David Washington.

As it stands on Rotten Tomatoes, Amsterdam has a critic score of 33% and an audience score of 62%, but there is some commonality in each group’s response to the movie. The general critics consensus is that the movie is busy, both in terms of the number of A-listers in the cast and the plot. Even the audiences agreed with critics when it came to the movie’s hard-to-follow story that requires a lot from the viewer.

The School For Good And Evil - 36% Critic Score; 68% Audience Score

The 2022 Netflix movie, The School for Good and Evil received largely negative reviews when it was released in October, with some critics calling it an “aggressively convoluted YA movie” with others saying that it was funny in parts despite being neither clever nor original.

The School for Good and Evil, which features a remarkable cast, currently has a decent size gulf between the critic and audience scores on Rotten Tomatoes. The movie has a 36% critical response with an audience score of 68%, which isn’t the best or worst but still flunks in terms of storytelling, according to the critical consensus.

Ticket To Paradise - 56% Critic Score; 88% Audience Score

In October 2022, Julia Roberts and George Clooney got back together once again for the romantic comedy, Ticket to Paradise. Upon its release, the film received mixed to good reviews, with critics pointing out the performances by the two leads and the happy nature of its story. 

Ticket to Paradise is only a few percentage points shy of reaching the “Fresh” ranking on Rotten Tomatoes with its critics score of 56%, but moviegoers are almost in full support of the movie, and its audience score sits at 88%. Critics and audiences alike pointed out the pairing of Roberts and Clooney as a positive for the movie.

Where The Crawdads Sing - 33% Critic Score; 96% Audience Score

The 2022 movie with the biggest difference in critic and audiences scores on Rotten Tomatoes (so far) is Where the Crawdads Sing. Although audiences couldn’t get enough of the 2022 book-to-movie adaptation (96% of moviegoers enjoyed it), the same can’t be said for critics, who largely panned the coming-of-age drama.

According to the Where the Crawdads Sing Rotten Tomatoes page, critics felt the movie failed to properly adapt the 2018 best-selling novel of the same name “into a tonally coherent drama,” though professional reviewers did enjoy Daisy Edgar-Jones' portrayal of Kya Clark. 

Jurassic World Dominion - 30% Critic Score; 77% Audience Score

Although it’s true none of the Jurassic Park/Jurassic World movies have been able to reach the heights of Steven Spielberg’s 1993 summer blockbuster in terms of cultural relevancy and critical consensus, the series reached new lows in the eyes of reviewers with Jurassic World Dominion in June 2022. On the movie’s Rotten Tomatoes page, it is stated that the “franchise has lumbered a long way down” since starting nearly 30 years ago.

Even moviegoers were lukewarm on Jurassic World Dominion, which has an audience score of 77%. However, this is still an improvement over Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, which had an audience score of 48% upon release in 2018.

Sonic The Hedgehog 2 - 69% Critic Score; 96% Audience Score

In April 2022, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, and its lovable titular character voiced by Ben Schwartz, warmed the hearts of audiences of all ages with its humor, action, and surprising amount of emotion. According to its Rotten Tomatoes page, 96% of audiences liked Sonic 2, which is a great deal higher than the critical reaction.

It should be pointed out that the 69% critic score for the second confrontation between Sonic and Jim Carrey’s Dr. Robotnik isn’t the lowest of the year, but there’s still nearly a 30-point difference between general moviegoers and reviewers who called it a “generally acceptable sequel.”

The Gray Man - 46% Critic Score; 91% Audience Score

Joe and Anthony Russo directed some of the best Marvel movies that were equally loved by critics and audiences, but the same can’t be said about their 2022 Netflix movie The Gray Man, which has a gap between the two categories that is about as big as the spy thriller’s massive budget.

According to The Gray Man's Rotten Tomatoes page, only 46% of critics liked the movie while 91% of audiences enjoyed watching Ryan Gosling, Chris Evans, and the rest of The Gray Man cast. The only movie directed by the Russos to have a higher audience score is Captain America: The Winter Soldier at 92%.

Purple Hearts - 40% Critic Score; 67% Audience Score

The romantic drama, Purple Hearts, has been a hit with audiences ever since taking up residence on the Netflix Top 10 list in August 2022, and it still has a 67% approval rating with fans on Rotten Tomatoes. The same, however, can’t be said about the critical response to the emotionally-wrecking affair.

According to the Purple Hearts Rotten Tomatoes page, the movie has a 38% approval rating with critics in the weeks following its release.

Uncharted - 40% Critic Score; 90% Audience Score

The Tom Holland-led Uncharted seemed like it was never actually going to be released, but it became an instant hit with audiences when it finally did enter theaters in February 2022. Currently, it has a Rotten Tomatoes audience score of 90%, which is Holland’s third highest non-Marvel movie (Onward and Spies in Disguise barely beat it). 

The critical response is a different story though, and the critic score sits at 41% with the official consensus being that it’s a “disappointing echo of superior adventure films.”

Persuasion - 32% Critic Score; 67% Audience Score

Despite being on the receiving end of backlash over its dialogue, the 2022 adaptation of Persuasion has been a hit with Netflix subscribers since it arrived on the scene. And, that popularity has translated to a 67% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.

The critical response hasn’t been nearly as favorable, and according to the movie’s Rotten Tomatoes page, only 32% of critics liked the movie, with the consensus being that Persuasion “fails to convince as a worthwhile [Jane] Austen adaptation.”

Death On The Nile - 62% Critic Score; 82% Audience Score

Kenneth Branagh’s Death on the Nile, in which he also appears as legendary detective Hercule Poirot, is another 2022 movie that wasn’t necessarily hated by critics but still one that has a gulf between the critical and audience responses.

According to the movie’s Rotten Tomatoes page, the star-studded murder mystery has a 62% critic score and an 82% audience score, with the latter group declaring it an “all-star mystery” with “plenty of entertaining twists.”

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets Of Dumbledore - 46% Critic Score; 83% Audience Score

Though an improvement from its predecessor, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore doesn’t come close to some of the better Harry Potter movies, at least in the eyes of critics. Following its release, the Rotten Tomatoes critic score for the third movie in the Wizarding World prequel series had a 46% approval rating.

Audiences were actually quite fond of the third Fantastic Beasts movie, specifically pointing out the special effects that were on full display throughout.

Moonfall - 36% Critic Score; 70% Audience Score

Roland Emmerich’s disaster sci-fi adventure, Moonfall, failed to find a big audience when it was released in February 2022, but the people who did end up seeing it on the big screen liked what they saw from the large ensemble cast. 

The movie currently has a 70% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, which is nearly double that of critics (36% score). And, despite the poor marks, the critical consensus was it was an “Emmerich disaster thriller through and through.”

With so many movies still slated to come out before 2022 draws to an end, expect to see more titles added to this list in the months to come. And then we’ll have to start paying attention to all those 2023 new releases.

Spoilers for Ticket to Paradise can be found throughout this story. 

For weeks leading up to the release of Ticket to Paradise, there were two facts that seemed inarguable about the George Clooney and Julia Roberts rom-com. 

• George Clooney and Julia Roberts have incredible bantering chemistry, as evidenced by their interviews ahead of the movie.
• It was nice to see a beautifully shot, major rom-com heading to the big screen. 

If you’ve seen Ticket to Paradise, you should already know both of these two things hold true. Clooney and Roberts have undeniable chemistry of the bantering variety and Ticket to Paradise cleverly sets them up in a storyline that avoids them having to do a lot of mushy, ooey-gooey rom-com stuff. It’s also set in Bali and is undeniably a story worth watching on a big screen, but maybe that’s just because I still love going to the movies. Despite these pros, I have to admit I hate the last two minutes. 

Here’s the gist if you are unfamiliar with the premise. Clooney and Roberts play exes David and Georgia Cotten, respectively, who have been split up for much longer than they were ever together. The couple had managed to produce a daughter during their five-year union, and every now and again they would reunite when societal dictates would force them into situations where they’d need to share space for the sake of their daughter, no matter how much they disliked the prospect. 

Speaking of their daughter, Lily (Kaitlyn Dever) has generally put pressure on herself to succeed. She’s landed her degree as a lawyer, but first she wants to travel to Bali with her pal Wren (Billie Lourd) where she promptly meets her husband-to-be and begins to rewrite the plan for her entire life. This means David and Georgia are in a bit of a conundrum, forced to work together for the first time in decades to achieve a goal: Stopping the wedding. 

Spoiler: It doesn’t work. 

Ticket To Paradise Ending: What Happens In The Last Two Minutes

New beginnings are the major theme at the end of Ticket to Paradise. In the last two minutes of the film, the wedding has gone through, perhaps not as planned, but it has given Lily a chance at a brand new life she never would have expected. Meanwhile, David and Georgia have finally grown enough to see each other as real people and to heal the rifts over the miscommunications and missteps that led to their two decades of strife. As they both decide to head home on a boat, the movie doesn’t lead its audience toward a grand kiss nor does it lead us toward a major declaration of love. Instead, it leads us to the promise of a start. At least that's what it seemed to be doing.

I loved this. I loved every single second of how Ticket to Paradise set up David and Georgia’s return to good graces with one another. It was a slow process, as the two had history, had known each other intimately and spent a good deal of time bickering in the movie. The movie excels in the relationship building space (there's even a beer pong scene guys!) and particularly with the chemistry from its leads. As Georgia and David boarded a ferry to leave their daughter behind in Bali, I thought, "How refreshing to leave on a promise and not a ridiculous romantic declaration.”

I was too soon in my assessment. During final two minutes of the movie, the two recall Georgia’s favorite life philosophy, ‘Why save the good stuff?” In an off-tone moment, they jump off the ferry – leaving all their luggage on board – to I guess leave their lives and careers on hold in order to blow off some steam for longer in Bali. It certainly follows in a long line of “big declarations” in rom-coms in years past. This movie didn’t need it. 

In addition, “why save the good stuff,” may be a major philosophy of Georgia’s, but it’s also what broke up their marriage in the first place. David’s desire to make her happy and build a home on the lake led them to being broke and exhausted and was the icing on the cake that tore their marriage apart. Clooney’s character himself tells this story in one of Ticket to Paradise’s most poignant scenes. I suppose it’s nice to learn the subsequent divorce didn’t ruin that sentiment for Georgia, but I dunno if it should be the hallmark of her reunion with David either. 

I’m not even getting into the annoying tendency of rom-coms thinking the “big declaration” is more important than logical details, like how are David and Georgia going to get their luggage back? Does their daughter even want them in Bali as she embarks on her own marriage? And what about the couple’s careers? Putting those on the backburner was a problem for both in the past, and while they are older and more established by the events in the movie, this still seems like it could turn into a contentious point. Honestly, I’m actually willing to go on the ride for the sake of fantasy and happiness, but I cannot get over the movie choosing to return to “why save the good stuff?”  

There was a scene earlier in the movie in which intense turbulence in the air on the way to Bali led Georgia and David to quickly hold hands before being disgusted with each other and breaking apart. As they boarded the ferry at the end of the film, I had the thought that wouldn’t it be perfectly circular if on the way back home  the two dealt with turbulence a second time. They might reach out, grab each other’s hands, and this time they would hold onto each other. That would have been the only sort of declaration I needed to see at the end of this movie. It had already done the hard work. 

Audiences don’t seem to mind the escapism offered by Ticket to Paradise, as the Rotten Tomatoes score from those who have seen the film has it running at 88% and the Universal rom-com is doing well at the box office, though critics have been less kind to the movie. I’m torn because the movie is pure escapism: it’s enjoyable and it should be seen on a big screen. But its last two minutes lost me, and unfortunately, that’s what’s sticking with me days after seeing the film. 

As the calendar flipped over to November this past week, Hollywood didn't put up much of an effort to provide theaters with new wide releases – something that we've seen happen multiples times in 2022. With Halloween in the rear view mirror and Ryan Coogler's Black Panther: Wakanda Forever set to take over multiplexes the world over in just a few days, the box office crown was left open to be taken for a third time by the star power of Dwayne Johnson in Jaume Collet-Serra's Black Adam.

Check out the Top 10 for this past weekend at the box office below, and join me after for analysis!

In Its Last Weekend At #1 Domestically, Black Adam's Ticket Sales Exceed $300 Million Worldwide

As I have emphasized in the last few weeks, analysis of Black Adam's journey at the box office has to be done keeping in mind the project's budget. According to Variety, it took a reported production budget of $195 million to bring the DC Comics property to life, and that notably doesn't include costs for marketing, publicity, and development. The blockbuster has had a mountain to climb in the accounting department since it was first released in mid-October... and only now are the numbers are starting to look a bit rosier.

It can't be said that Black Adam is doing particularly well domestically. It's now ranked in the Top 10 releases of 2022, but achieving that ranking meant pushing past Jordan Peele's Nope, which is a film that was made with a budget about a third the size of the Dwayne Johnson tentpole release. To date, per The Numbers, the movie has made $137.4 million in the United States and Canada, which means that it is at minimum $200 million away from accompanying this year's other major superhero movies on the chart (Taika Waititi's Thor: Love And Thunder made $343.3 million; Matt Reeves' The Batman made $369.3 million; and Sam Raimi's Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness made $411.3 million).

Black Adam is still far away from those titles in the worldwide box office rankings as well, but at the very least the numbers look better when put in context with the budget. Thanks to the global earnings from ticket sales this past weekend, the movie has now made $319.7 million to date.

Black Adam's ticket sales are surely going to plummet next weekend, as almost the entirety of its target audience is going to be purchasing tickets to see Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and it probably means that the movie is going to go down in the books as a financial disappointment for Warner Bros. There is, however, a silver lining to be observed, which is that it may still have set the table for a more positive future.

Dwayne Johnson may not have successfully changed the hierarchy of power in the DC universe with his first comic book movie, but the star is now an established presence in the DC Extended Universe, and thus the potential exists for him to be a part of greater success that may build in the years to come with James Gunn and Peter Safran now the co-CEOs of DC Films. The origin story heavy lifting for the character is out of the way and now the promise of Black Adam vs. Superman can be fulfilled – and presumably that two-hander would be a much bigger draw for audiences than the former's solo film. 

Black Adam may go down in the books as a loss for Warner Bros. in 2022, but taking proper advantage of the potential that it leaves on the board will be the way to reclaim its legacy in the next decade.

One Piece Film: Red Is The Third Anime Movie To Make A Big Impression Thus Far In 2022

While all of the major studios decided to not put out a new wide release this past Friday, Crunchyroll took advantage of the situation and ended up putting out the film that claimed second place in the weekend's Top 10. Gorō Taniguchi's One Piece Film: Red, the fifteenth title in the One Piece Film series (and based on the manga of the same name), made $9.5 million this past weekend – putting it ahead of Ol Parker's Ticket To Paradise in tickets sales over the last three days.

This is the second time in the last few months that Crunchyroll has captured attention with a big screen release, though the numbers aren't quite as big. In August, the distributor had Tetsuro Kodama's Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero go head-to-head with Baltasar Kormákur's Beast, and it won the weekend earning $21.1 million.

It marks the third time that we've seen a widly released anime film in the Top 3 of the weekend box office thus far in 2022, as Seong-Hu Park's Jujutsu Kaisen 0: The Movie made $18 million in its first few days of release in March and took second place in the rankings behind The Batman (which was in its third weekend at the time). 

Smile Prepares To Eclipse $100 Million Domestically

Spooky season may technically be over, but that doesn't mean that we're done celebrating the brilliant horror hits of this past October. Parker Finn's Smile has been doing exceptional business since its release in he middle of last month, and as a result it is about to cross a stellar milestone. With the estimated $4 million made by the creepy feature in the last few days, it has now made $99 million domestically – which means it will soon become one of only 15 titles to reach nine figures in 2022.

The significance of this is primarily registered in recognition of the fact that Smile only cost $17 million to make. It's well on its way to being remembered as one of the biggest success stories of the year.

As mentioned earlier, this upcoming Friday will see the highly anticipated arrival of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and the question about its success isn't whether or not it will do well, but instead about how well it will do. Could it top the opening of Sam Raimi's Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness, which made $187.4 million when it hit theaters in May? Head back here to CinemaBlend next Sunday to see the results – and keep track of everything that is on the way in what remains of the year by reading our 2022 Movie Release Calendar.

The press run for Ticket to Paradise has been filled with countless looks into Julia Roberts and George Clooney’s decades-long friendship. They’ve covered everything from joking about Roberts’ iconic laugh to Clooney’s nickname in his co-star’s phone contacts. Their fun downtime started on the island set after shooting wrapped for the day and the two would hang out together. The Hollywood A-listers weren’t the only ones partaking in the excitement as Clooney’s wife Amal got in on the fun times. The Ticket to Paradise co-stars opened up about the group hanging out during the filming.

George Clooney turned a long movie shoot into a family getaway for his wife and children. While his clan was on the shoot, the two-time Oscar winner didn’t leave out his frequent co-star from the festivities. The Ocean's Eleven star explained to Extra how his family took advantage of being in Queensland, Australia.

Of course, George Clooney had to get in a cheeky jab at Roberts’ expense. But that’s all part of the movie stars’ well-earned witty rapport. Compared to other film shoots, the actor felt a beautiful island would be the perfect time for a Clooney family vacation. Who could agree with that? Plus, you have Julia Roberts in the mix; it sounds like a blast.

Roberts didn’t let her co-star's joke just fall flat. She joined in by mentioning there were times when she was already on the golf cart prepared for a fun evening after a long shooting day.   

George Clooney couldn’t let go of Roberts’ remark as he joked his kids were tired of seeing the Oscar winner regularly. After his sarcastic response, The Tender Bar director recalled the daily fun he, his wife, and Roberts had while shooting the rom-com.

Hanging out with the Clooneys and Roberts sounds like so much fun. It must’ve been a sight to see the two Oscar winners enjoying morning coffee at a local coffee shop with his human rights lawyer wife as well. Going on a coffee run showed there were no hard feelings between Julia Roberts and Amal Clooney following her response to her husband and Roberts kissing 80 times in one scene. Of course, Roberts and George Clooney are only close friends to the point where the Best Actress winner struggled to shout at her co-star during another scene.

While George Clooney and Julia Roberts have provided fun interviews, Ticket to Paradise has been met with mixed reviews despite setting a box office milestone for both actors. The rom-com is currently available in movie theaters. After watching the movie stars’ latest pairing, look over our 2022 movie schedule to see what new movies are about to hit the cinema.

This year has seen its fair share of rough months at the box office, but October 2022 has definitely produced some positive narratives – and it's coming to an end on what could relatively be called a high note. As expected, the superhero blockbuster that is Jaume Collet-Serra's Black Adam is at the top of the domestic charts again, crossing some key milestones in the process, but what's also nice to see is a whole lot of horror movies turning into hits as people everywhere prepare to celebrate Halloween. 

Check out the full Top 10 for this past weekend below, and join me after for analysis!

Black Adam Crosses $250 Million Globally And Holds The #1 Spot

As I've regularly noted in my time writing this column, the average movie drops somewhere between 40 and 60 percent weekend-to-weekend when it comes to ticket sales during a second Friday-to-Sunday run – and Black Adam has unfortunately found itself on the worse end of that spectrum. After earning $67 million in its first three days, the DC Comics film only made about $27.7 million in the last few days, which equates to a 59 percent fall. That's not great all by itself, but the positive news to spin out of the situation are the nine-figure totals that the release is now showing both domestically and globally.

Starring Dwayne Johnson, Black Adam was an expensive movie to make, sporting a $195 million production budget (per Variety), and with development, marketing and publicity costs to also account for, the film's domestic legs don't inspire a great deal of confidence. Fortunately, the $111.1 million that the release has earned at home is bolstered by higher quality performance overseas. According to The Numbers, 55 percent of profits are coming from foreign markets thus far, and they raise the film's worldwide total to $250.1 million. 

That's still not a number that is going to let the production be called an overwhelming success... but pretty good by 2022 standards.

As anyone could have predicted based on the basic audience hunger for superhero blockbusters, Black Adam is already starting to climb the domestic and international charts. It may not seem like all that much, but $111.1 million is enough to already make it the twelfth biggest title to hit theaters in 2022 (in front of Aaron and Adam Nee's The Lost City, which made $105.3 million this spring). With the aforementioned $250.1 million globally, the film is in fifteenth place having surpassed the $249.6 million earned by Pierre Perifel's The Bad Guys.

Black Adam needs to count its wins while its getting them, as the "good times" may not be rolling for much longer. Its biggest competition arriving on Friday will be James Gray's award season drama Armageddon Time and the Gorō Taniguchi's One Piece Film: Red, and while the DC movie may be able to top the box office again, it definitely won't do so in its fourth weekend. Ryan Coogler's Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is coming, and it's effectively going to take all eyes off of Dwayne Johnson's new movie.

Prey For The Devil, Smile, Halloween Ends, And Terrifier 2 Prove To Be Appreciated Holiday Treats

Black Adam notably didn't face off any new, big blockbuster release this past weekend, but it did find some competition from the horror genre – which clearly has been getting a boost from Halloween. The holiday isn't until tomorrow, but scary movies are all over the Top 10, starting with Daniel Stamm's Prey For The Devil.

The new exorcism movie didn't get much of a publicity push from Lionsgate, and critical reception hasn't been particularly kind (it's rocking a 20 percent on Rotten Tomatoes), but it earned enough curiosity as the new horror title being released right before Halloween that it managed to make about $7 million in its first three days. The budget on the production hasn't been reported, but the money made is probably enough enough to put the project in the black – which will be celebrated given that everybody will very likely forget about this film's existence with the arrival of November. 

Parker Finn's Smile, meanwhile, continues to be the big story of October at the box office. Unlike Black Adam, the movie's weekend-to-weekend drops have been shockingly small, and while it's numbers are starting to fall a bit more now (down 40 percent from its last Friday-to-Sunday), the success is undeniable. Holding on to fourth place, the $5.1 million it made these last few days brings its domestic total to $92.4 million, which means it ranks in the Top 20 of 2022 releases.

On more of a bummer note, David Gordon Green's Halloween Ends continues to be handcuffed by the chosen hybrid release model that sees the movie currently available on Peacock... but at least the bleeding has slowed a bit. After plummeting 80 percent in its second weekend, the trilogy capper only fell 52 percent weekend-to-weekend and added $3.8 million to its earnings. It's made $60.3 million at home to date, which is enough to make it deemed profitable due to the movie's low budget, but it's sad when compared to the $92 million made by its predecessor, Green's Halloween Kills. 

Finally there's Damien Leone's Terrifier 2. The new film has become a bit notorious due to the fact that it reportedly has people fainting and vomiting in theaters, and its reputation has led to big box office results. When it first opened on October 7, it played in 886 theaters and made $805,000 – which wasn't too shabby for a movie made for only $250,000 (per Variety). Three weeks later, it's now playing in 1,550 locations, has risen to seventh place in the Top 10, and has made $7.6 million to date. That's remarkable.

So what will the box office landscape look like once we start moving away from spooky season? We'll find out next weekend, and you'll be able to find my box office analysis here on CinemaBlend.

For a full look ahead at all of the films on the way in what remains of the year, check out our 2022 Movie Release Calendar. 

Some weekends at the box office prove very hard to predict and offer big surprises... but this is not one of those weekends. Despite the fact that we are right in the heart of spooky season, David Gordon Green's Halloween Ends in its second week never stood a chance against Jaume Collet-Serra's Black Adam, and that's exactly what we saw play out over the last three days. The new DC superhero comic book blockbuster starring Dwayne Johnson had one of the biggest debuts of 2022 thus far, and the final battle between Jamie Lee Curtis' Laurie Strode and Michael Myers utterly crated – which is surely a result of the film's hybrid release strategy.

Take a look at the weekend's Top 10 below, and join me after for analysis!

Black Adam Is The New #1 Movie... But It Didn't Quite Put Up Marvel-esque Numbers

Like any major studio tentpole, Black Adam is a movie that cost a lot of money to make. Not even counting the project's decade-plus in development, publicity, or marketing, the film had a production budget of $195 million (per Variety) to ensure that the scale of the action made it fit right into the modern field of superhero blockbusters. That, obviously, has a major impact on the way that we view the box office results from the film's first Friday-to-Sunday in theaters.

When viewed in the vacuum of "movies released in 2022," Black Adam's performance this weekend looks good. Early estimates from The Numbers say that the DC Comics adaptation brought in about $67 million from ticket sales in the United States and Canada, and that's enough money to firmly place it in the Top 10 of domestic debuts since January – sandwiched between Jeff Fowler's Sonic The Hedgehog 2 ($72.1 million) and Angus MacLane's Lightyear ($50.6 million). 

As of right now, it seems primed to be called one of the years biggest releases of the year .. but the aforementioned budget for the film adds a layer of context that makes one question how we will look back on the project's theatrical run once we get to the end of the year.

One big positive that Black Adam has working for it is the foreign release of the film. With some exceptions, Dwayne Johnson movies have long had a tendency to perform better overseas than in the United States and Canada, and it presently appears as though the star's latest project will continue that trend. In addition to the aforementioned $67 million made domestically, the film has also brought in an estimated $73 million from abroad, bringing its present global total to $140 million.

But are the box office earnings substantial and potentially stable enough to allow the blockbuster to have long legs that put Black Adam in the same league as the global totals for Taika Waititi's Thor: Love And Thunder ($745.2 million), Matt Reeves' The Batman ($767.6 million), or Sam Raimi's Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness ($952.2 million)? There's good reason to think that it won't. 

For starters, significant as the star power of Dwayne Johnson may be, Black Adam doesn't have the same established brand cachet, and in addition to getting off to a slower start at the box office, the hype isn't as significant. Critics haven't been particularly kind to the movie – which is presently holding a 40 percent on Rotten Tomatoes – and the CinemaScore "B+" grade doesn't suggest any kind of populist edge over the previous 2022 superhero blockbusters (it matches the two Marvel movies, and The Batman got an "A-").

As far as competition is concerned, Black Adam does have some runway, as there aren't any other major blockbusters set to come out in the next couple weeks... but mid-November is when Ryan Coogler's Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is set to be unleashed to the world . The Hollywood Reporter says that the new Marvel Studios film could make as much as $175 million in its opening weekend, and that kind of launch would quickly move Dwayne Johnson's movie to long-term memory in audience's minds.

Black Adam is basically in a position where it needs to make as much money as possible before November 11, and tracking it across the next couple of weeks will be interesting.

Like Halloween Kills, Halloween Ends Suffers A Massive Second Week Plummet Of About 80 Percent

Even more predictable than what happened with Black Adam this weekend is the end result for Halloween Ends... which I'll describe with the words I used when I foresaw this happening in last weekend's box office column:  it's a nightmare. Thanks to the choice by Universal Pictures to release the trilogy capper in theaters and on Peacock simultaneously, the horror movie's box office numbers have proven to be extremely front-loaded, and the film tanked in its second weekend.

The reason this was so easy to see coming is because almost the exact same thing happened with David Gordon Green's Halloween Kills in October 2021. That movie had a solid start at the box office, making $49.4 million in its first three days, but one week later it was proven that pretty much everyone who wanted to see the film on the big screen saw it within 72 hours. It collapsed in its second weekend, resulting in a shocking 71 percent weekend-to-weekend drop.

Bad as that was, the results for Halloween Ends are far, far worse. Not only did the 2022 release make less than its predecessor when it debuted (earning only about $40 million), but it has suffered an even worse weekend-to-weekend drop of about 80 percent, and it only managed a seven figure total. Because Universal doesn't officially release numbers about Peacock subscriber engagement and traffic, we have no idea how many people watched the slasher sequel online since this past Friday, but we do no that relatively few movie-goers left their house to watch it at their local cineplex.

The silver lining for Halloween Ends is that, unlike Black Adam, it didn't cost a crazy amount of money to produce. USA Today says the reported budget is between $20-30 million, and it has made $82 million globally to date. That being said, it's sad that the film didn't get the opportunity to reach its full box office potential as we get closer and closer to the holiday that it's named after.

Ticket To Paradise Has A Middling Opening As Counter Programming To Blockbusters And Horror

Unlike Black Adam and Halloween Ends, one big release this weekend that didn't come loaded up with expectations was Ol Parker's Ticket To Paradise, and it did... ok. The romantic comedy starring George Clooney and Julia Roberts is late getting a domestic release, as it hit theaters in other markets last month, but that just means that the money it makes in the United States and Canada is icing on the cake. The movie was surprisingly expensive to make – Variety pins the production budget at $60 million – and to date it has made $98.7 million globally. 

How will things shift around next weekend with Halloween set to arrive the following Monday? What kind of drop can we expect from Black Adam? We'll have those answers for you next Sunday as part of our box office report, so be sure to return here to CinemaBlend for the results.

To learn more about all of the films set to come out between now and the end of the year, check out our 2022 Movie Release Calendar.

George Clooney and Julia Roberts really are a breath of fresh air in Ticket to Paradise. The hilarious trailer alone is enough to convey that we need more rom-coms with A-listers. Not only was their chemistry on point but so were their beer-ponging skills! To that point, the Ocean's Eleven duo explain how they were able to pull off the fun and hilarious scene so well and shock their co-stars in the process.

In Ticket to Paradise, there’s a scene in which resentful exes, played by George Clooney and Julia Roberts, face off against their daughter and her fiancé in an entertaining game of beer pong. Clooney told Entertainment Weekly that there was no need for any prep during this key scene and that he and his co-star had this scene down to a T:

So the Money Monster duo knew exactly what they were doing -- so much so that George Clooney nailing his shot in a red cup during the first take, and that's what was ultimately used in the final cut. Like the crew, I would've probably been surprised by the stars' prowess at the drinking game as well. Julia Roberts further explained to EW that there was no need for pros like them to start with a warm-up for this scene:

Director Ol Parker revealed during the same interview that he thought the stars were going to need a choreographer to get the scene down. Boy, did they prove him wrong! Not only did the Oscar winners show off their excellent beer pong skills, but they also pulled off some old-school moves during the celebratory dance sequence that followed. (And funny enough, House of Pain’s “Jump Around” is the former Batman actor's real-life go-to party closer song, so Parker couldn’t have picked a better tune for him to bust a move to.)

As soon as the news came out that George Clooney and Julia Roberts would be re-teaming for another movie, you better believe some rom-com fans were all jumping for joy. The Descendants alum had previously taken a break from acting for four years, returning to the big screen with the mixed review Netflix movie Midnight Sky. The last time he starred in a true rom-com was when he co-led 1996’s One Fine Day. Roberts is also making a comeback of her own as she stopped acting in rom-coms for years because she couldn’t find a script that seemed good enough for a return to the genre. Of course, that changed when she was offered the chance to work with a certain familiar co-star of hers.

One thing that was a struggle for Julia Roberts, however, was the fact that she had to hurl insults at her frequent co-star while in character. She didn’t want to be mean to George Clooney since the two of them are such great friends in real life. Their interviews along show just how much they care about each other. During this press tour, alone they've revealed A+ nicknames and discussed what Clooney considered Roberts' best quality. Ticket to Paradise itself has received mixed reviews, though the critics agree that Clooney and Roberts are a great pairing.

Now that we know George Clooney and Julia Roberts are impressive beer pongers, I kind of want to see them go head to head in a real game. The chances of us actually witnessing a thing are slim, so we'll just have to settle for their hilarious faux competition in new movie release Ticket to Paradise, which is playing in theaters now. 

Julia Roberts and George Clooney have officially reunited for their fifth project together in this weekend’s new movie release, Ticket To Paradise. The film brings Roberts (who's led some of the best romantic comedies of all time) back to the genre that arguably made her a household name. While the actress was certainly treading familiar ground with her frequent co-star, she did struggle with one thing while acting alongside Clooney this time around, and that led the film's director to give her a note. 

Ol Parker, who previously helmed feel-good movies like Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel before directing George Clooney and Julia Roberts, dished about his time working with the stars. While doing so he explained that the always-Roberts had trouble with one aspect of the gig -- being mean to Clooney:

Can you blame her, though? I mean, we're talking about George Clooney first off, Julia Roberts has been good friends with the actor for years. As their director told Entertainment Weekly, Roberts was going too easy on Clooney when their characters, two divorcees who hold years of resentment against one another, had scenes together. Parker continued: 

I don’t need to tell you that the actress is the most iconic name in romantic comedies. She landed her breakout role in 1990’s Pretty Woman and would go on to star in numerous other hit movies of the genre during the ‘90s. And she broke a major glass ceiling for women in Hollywood as a result of that success, by asking and receiving $20 million for starring in 2000’s Erin Brockovich. 

In the film, Julia Roberts and George Clooney play exes who must reunite for their daughter’s destination wedding in Bali. Once they get there, they band together to break up the ceremony because they both disapprove of the union. As a true-blue rom-com that's getting a theatrical release, the flick is a bit of a novelty. Clooney called Universal Pictures “brave” for sending the movie to the big screen in the age of streaming. 

The production has earned mixed reviews from critics, with CinemaBlend’s Ticket To Paradise review awarding it a 2 out 5, saying it’s a “lazy genre entry that screams of the stars figuring out a way to go on vacation together and get paid.” Moviegoers are responding more warmly to the film overall, considering it got an A- Cinemascore. The movie also hit a big international box office milestone ahead of its domestic opening weekend. 

If anything, viewers should get a good laugh out of seeing Julia Roberts and George Clooney's characters verbally tear each other to shreds. And those who enjoy it should be extra grateful to Roberts for powering through and hurling some faux insults at her co-star.

Ticket to Paradise, one of the most high-profile titles on the schedule of upcoming movies, is now playing.

History has shown that George Clooney and Julia Roberts have excellent chemistry. Both individually being great talents, their styles work well opposite each other on screen, and there's rapport in their timing. But just how far can the strength of that chemistry be stretched by a film before it snaps like a rubber band? This is the question asked and answered by Ol Parker’s Ticket To Paradise.

The new romantic comedy is clearly built to coast on the natural likability of Clooney and Roberts, but trips over its own feet by having them play characters who are easy to despise. The entire narrative is built around how much the two protagonists hate each other, and they’re so unpleasant for so long that by the time they inevitably start to soften, everything in the plot feels wholly unearned. It’s a lazy genre entry that screams of the stars figuring out a way to go on vacation together and get paid.

It certainly doesn’t take long for Ticket To Paradise to show what it is, as the film opens with George Clooney’s David and Julia Roberts’ Georgia in the midst of respective context-less conversations with characters who don’t matter complaining about the other and vomiting exposition. We learn they were married for five years and have been divorced for 20, and they do everything in their power not to see one another. Getting in the way of this practice is their daughter, Lily (Kaitlyn Dever), who first brings them together for her college graduation, and then, a little over a month later, invites them to Bali so that they can attend her surprise wedding.

Lily meets her husband-to-be, Gede (Maxime Bouttier), while on a post-graduation vacation, and after a 37-day romance, she is ready to abandon her planned future as a lawyer in America to be with him. David and Georgia object to the union, but it’s not so much about the whirlwind nature of the relationship nor Lily uprooting her life as it is about them being poisoned against romance in general.

The parents decide to temper their hatred of one another so that they can manipulate their daughter to see things from their miserable point of view, all while taking advantage of local traditions to attain their goals.

George Clooney and Julia Roberts play shallow and miserable characters in Ticket To Paradise.

David and Georgia perhaps would be tolerable to follow if either one had any kind of complexity, but Ticket To Paradise’s script chooses to have them entirely defined by their relationship with one another… despite the fact that they have been divorced for 20 years. Early in the film, it’s established that Georgia works at (owns?) an art gallery, and she has a mimbo pilot boyfriend (Lucas Bravo) – a familiar trope that has been gender swapped – but that’s all that the audience is provided as far as deeper characterization is concerned beyond the plot. Clooney and Roberts play empty vessels only driven by their hatred for one another, and it’s passed off as entertainment.

Off-putting as the characters are together, their team-up to “Trojan horse” their daughter only exacerbates the awfulness as they try to exploit Balinese customs to ruin Lily’s wedding instead of just expressing their concerns. Lying about giving their blessing, stealing the wedding rings and taking Lily and Gede to a temple said to curse unwed couples would be perceived as ugly behavior even if we did like the characters, and it’s just straight awful from these unlikable jerks.

Adding insult to injury is the fact that, despite its devastating lack of likable protagonists, Ticket To Paradise fully commits to the formulaic ending that you expect to see even before the lights get low in the theater and the trailers start to roll. It earns none of the conclusions in the main plot, and it’s insulting to the intelligence of the audience.

Ticket To Paradise is a good looking movie, but natural beauty does most of the heavy lifting.

Ticket To Paradise is certainly a pretty movie – full of pretty people in pretty locations – but the style is straight out of a tourism video, and there is a tolerability limit when it comes to watching rich white people on vacation taking in beautiful sunrises and swimming with dolphins. A few years back, Adam Sandler admitted that he was influenced to make some projects that doubled as exotic vacations, and this feels like an exercise with similar motivations. Hopefully the cast and crew had a good time, because it definitely doesn’t translate on to the screen.

This is a film that could have potentially worked had it been made with a tonal shift – specifically a dark comedy edge that would accentuate all of the nastiness on display – but its commitment to try and be a bright, goofy and standard romantic comedy gets rotten results. It’s a movie exclusively made for those with an unconditional love of both George Clooney and Julia Roberts because it’s a prerequisite for any enjoyment in what they are doing here.

Typically, when you go to the movies these days you’re going to see a superhero movie, a sequel, or a prequel. Not often is it a rom-com. However, over the course of the month, we’ve received not one, but two rom-coms with theatrical releases. One was Bros, which came out earlier this month, and the other is Ticket to Paradise which comes out this week. Now, days before its U.S. release, Ticket to Paradise star George Clooney is commending the movie for not going straight to streaming. 

Over the last few years, we’ve seen rom-coms released mostly on streaming platforms, and they’ve been super successful. Some of the best films this genre has to offer didn’t get a theatrical release. This includes the 2018 Netflix hit To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, and Hulu’s 2020 hits Palm Springs and Happiest Season. So, with even the star-studded rom-coms going straight to smaller screens these days it’s impressive that Universal decided to give Ticket to Paradise an exclusive theatrical release. George Clooney explained to THR: 

Even just from the trailer, it became clear that this film could help kickstart a theatrical rejuvenation of the rom-com, especially with the A-listers leading the film. Since the movie stars two incredibly iconic actors – Clooney and Julia Roberts – who have a successful shared history. this film seemed bound to be a home run. Then, when the movie opened overseas it made $60.6 million, and it’s expected to be a hit at the United States box office as well. Clooney nodded to its worldwide success as well, saying: 

There really is a lot going for this film. It marks the duo's sixth time working together – their other collaborations include Ocean’s Eleven and Twelve, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, Money Monster, and August: Osage County. They have remarkable chemistry, and they are not afraid to throw some light-hearted, silly shade at each other, as they demonstrated in the Ocean’s movies. 

On top of this Roberts is a rom-com queen. Some of the actress's best rom-coms have also been placed on CinemaBlend’s best rom-coms of all time, like Notting Hill and Pretty Woman. So, seeing her return to the genre is incredibly exciting. 

Critics are all about Clooney and Roberts, and I’d assume audiences will be as well. Their star power alone feels like enough to make a movie successful in the theaters. I’m so happy that this movie is a rom-com, because the genre deserves to be seen on a big screen every once and a while, in my opinion. And it seems like Universal agrees. 

You can catch Ticket to Paradise in theaters on October 21, and you can check out the 2022 movie schedule for all the other rom-coms coming out this year, both on streaming and theatrically. 

Starring in multiple films together has bred a genuine friendship between Julia Roberts and George Clooney. Clooney’s the reason Roberts returned to romantic comedies with Ticket to Paradise after she stopped doing them years ago. The true sign of a meaningful friendship though is giving out nicknames. It appeared the two movie stars have reached that level as Roberts revealed the nickname she has her Ticket to Paradise co-star under in her phone contacts.

The Hollywood A-lister opened up about the surprising nickname while speaking with ReelBlend podcast co-host Jake Hamilton to promote the rom-com. The onscreen duo fielded questions about the movie before it turned to their decades-long friendship. They spoke about everything from drunk moments together to pitching movies from their extensive filmographies they could’ve starred in together. The conversation turned to a particular moment in the rom-com involving mobile phones. This prompted Roberts to mention what nickname Clooney is saved in her phone. She said: 

If you’re a real Clooney fan, you know the codename was a nice friendly jab at the Oscar winner’s expense. Of course, the 61-year-old actor starred in the ill-fated 1997 sequel Batman and Robin as the Dark Knight. The film was seen as the demise of the Batman franchise at the time. Even, the movie star hasn’t shied away from saying the superhero film was terrible.

But when you are friends like Clooney and Roberts are, you can do goofy things like this without any fallout, like joking about Roberts' iconic laugh, for example. He took it in jest as he was asked if there was a codename for his co-star. Of course, the Ticket to Paradise star cheekily responded with a classic from Robert’s film resume.

Well, Clooney’s answer was a little anticlimactic. It would’ve been great if he had saved her under the beloved film. At least, he was in on the fun. But just like Roberts, he’s probably going to need to change her phone codename just in case his phone falls into the wrong hands.

In the duo's latest film they play divorced couple Georgia and David Cotton. The onscreen couple (or in this case ex-couple) travel to Bali to stop their daughter from marrying a man she just met, like they did decades earlier. Along with the two Hollywood A-listers, Kaitlyn Dever and Billie Lourd are part of the upcoming rom-com cast.

Viewers will finally get to see Julia Roberts and George Clooney back together when Ticket to Paradise arrives in movie theaters on October 21. Before seeing the romantic comedy, watch some of Roberts' best rom-coms. Look at our 2022 movie schedule to see what other upcoming movies will premiere in 2022.

There’s a reason why Julia Roberts’ best movies have been her rom-coms. She possesses a vibrant energy, has great chemistry with her male leads, and has that infectious laugh of hers. After coming out of her rom-com retirement, she next co-stars with George Clooney in Ticket to Paradise where we’ll see the same chemistry they've shared in past movies like the Oceans trilogy. Knowing her well, the 61-year-old actor has jokes about Julia Roberts’ iconic laugh and what he considers to be her best quality.

You may remember when Julia Roberts was in Pretty Woman and she stole the scene where Richard Gere’s character accidentally snaps a jewelry box responding with her memorable laugh. Fun Pretty Woman behind-the-scenes fact: did you know her laughter in the scene was genuine? This helped give audiences a real taste of Roberts' charm. In an interview with Access Hollywood, George Clooney spoke about what he thought of Roberts’ signature laugh:

George Clooney got to hear that laugh all over again when co-starring with Roberts in Ticket to Paradise. In fact, the two of them couldn’t stop laughing after having to do a kissing scene 80 times for the rom-com. Even the Michael Clayton star's wife, Amal Clooney, couldn’t believe it took so long. Considering these two have been friends for a long time and it’s been about six years since their last movie together, it could have been very awkward to suddenly go lip-to-lip after all of this time. 

It reminds me of the time when Emma Watson and Rupert Grint awkwardly filmed their kiss scene for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 and did multiple takes because they couldn’t stop breaking. Laughing can definitely ruin what’s supposed to be a romantic moment on screen, but luckily the Oceans Eleven duo are good friends in real life.

Access Hollywood also revealed the message that is brought out in Ticket to Paradise is about not leaving the good stuff for later. This allowed The Descendants star to reveal what he thought his thoughts on Julia Roberts' positive qualities:

That’s absolutely true, as the Pretty Woman star has stated before that acting was her dream come true, but not her only dream. She’s proud of the life she’s built with her husband, cameraman Daniel Moder, and their three kids. But don’t think the wheels of her movie success train have stopped as she’ll be starring and co-producing the upcoming movie Leave the World Behind. Originally, she was going to reteam with Denzel Washington, but Moonlight’s Mahershala Ali will be starring instead. As exciting as it would have been to see another dynamic duo reunite, I’m confident she’ll have great chemistry with Ali as she has with her other male leads. 

As much as George Clooney loves Julia Roberts’ iconic laugh, his favorite quality of hers is her lease on life. No wonder the Mystic Pizza actress wanted to film with Clooney so much. Throughout their Access Hollywood interview, you could see the fun the two of them have with each other as well as their inside jokes and snappy banter. It’s always a breath of fresh air to see co-stars being so close. 

You can see their loving chemistry in Ticket to Paradise in theaters on October 21.

I don’t know about you, but I grew up on Julia Roberts rom-coms. She was one of the actresses who was at the front of the genre throughout the 1990s, and this month she will make her return to the genre on the 2022 movies schedule with George Clooney in Ticket to Paradise. While Roberts and Clooney played wife and husband in Ocean’s Eleven and Twelve, this will be their first foray into the rom-com genre together. With the movie coming out soon, I thought it’d be a good idea to rank six of Roberts' rom-coms. So here we go:  

6. Runaway Bride 

Who is Julia? Maggie Carpenter, runaway bride x3 who runs a hardware store.

Who is her love interest? Dating columnist Ike Graham, played by Richard Gere.

Year of Release: 1999

I’ll start with what I liked about this movie: I loved that the cat was named Italics. I appreciated that Roberts’ character was independent and worked an unconventional job for a woman. Finally, Gere and Roberts are phenomenal together. However, lightning did not strike twice with this one. While you’ll see Pretty Woman later on this list – which stars both Roberts and Gere and was also directed by Garry Marshall – Runaway Bride does not even get close to the quality of its predecessor. 

The movie follows Ike (Gere) as he travels to a small town to report on a bride who has run away from her wedding three times. Somehow all her ex-fiancés aren’t that mad at her, except the one that tipped Ike off, and overall the town is unbothered by Maggie’s inability to go through with a wedding. Talk about a financial and logistical nightmare; it was distracting me from the plot!

You can watch Runaway Bride with a Netflix subscription.

5. My Best Friend’s Wedding

Who is Julia? Julianne Potter. In the movie, all that’s relevant is she’s best friends with Michael O’Neal.

Who is her love interest? Michael O’Neal, played by Dermot Mulroney, is engaged to a woman who is not Julia Roberts.

Year of Release: 1997

I know that people really love this movie, but there is something about ruining weddings that rubs me the wrong way. This one is slightly better than Runaway Bride, but still, the wedding wrecking is a trope I’m not a fan of. Anyways, I digress.

The film follows Julianne (Roberts) after she finds out her longtime best friend Michael (Mulroney) is getting married. Michael’s fiancée Kimberley (Cameron Diaz) decides to make Julianne her maid of honor and chaos ensues. My Best Friend’s Wedding is interesting in the fact that it does not have a conventional ending, which I really appreciated, especially given how much I disliked Roberts’ character for the majority of the movie. Overall, it’s a swell time. Roberts and Mulroney have excellent chemistry, and Diaz is super funny.

You can watch My Best Friend’s Wedding with a Peacock subscription. 

4. Eat Pray Love  

Who is Julia? Liz Gilbert, a writer-turned-world traveler on a journey of self-discovery.

Who is her love interest? Felipe, played by Javier Bardem, a Brazilian businessman she meets in Bali.

Year of Release: 2010

Based on the memoir of the same name, Eat Pray Love follows Elizabeth Gilbert on an around-the-world journey to find herself after a rough divorce from her longtime husband Stephen (Billy Crudup). The movie is split into thirds, just like the title, and we don’t get the rom-com section until the third act. She eats, she meditates and then she goes to Bali and meets Felipe, a sweet Brazilian who is also on his own journey of self-acceptance. 

Overall the movie is very thoughtful and gorgeous. I think Liz is someone everyone can relate to, and Roberts does a good job of portraying both the good and the bad parts of our protagonist. My only complaint is I wish we would have gotten to the 'love' part faster because Roberts’ scenes with Bardem are heartfelt and warm. This movie is a great time, and while not as rom-com-y as others, it has its moments, and will make your heart happy. 

You can stream Eat Pray Love with an Amazon Prime subscription (it’s through Freevee, so there are ads, but it’s free)

3. Mystic Pizza - HBO Max 

Who is Julia? Daisy, a rebellious young woman who works in a pizza joint with her gal pals.

Who is her love interest? Charlie, played by Adam Storke, a rich kid who got kicked out of law school (think Logan from Gilmore Girls; this boy has the same energy).

Year of Release: 1988

This is a lovely movie about three girls who all work at the same pizza place (hence the name of the movie), each with their own romantic story arcs. Released in 1988, this was one of Roberts’ breakout performances. Unlike a lot of her other movies, her character is a bit more rebellious and fiery, very much a stick-it-to-the-man kind of girly, and it's super refreshing.

I think Mystic Pizza is a stellar way to kick off a career, and it's somehow simultaneously a time capsule of the ‘80s and timeless. Roberts is also surrounded by a fantastic ensemble cast that includes a young Vincent D’Onofrio, as well as Annabeth Gish, Lili Taylor, Adam Storke and William R. Moses. Also, if you look closely, you can catch a baby-faced Matt Damon. 

You can watch Mystic Pizza with an HBO Max Subscription. 

2. Notting Hill - Peacock 

Who is Julia? Anna Scott, a super famous actress.

Who is her love interest? William Thacker, played by Hugh Grant, owner of a travel bookshop in Notting Hill.

Year of Release: 1999

When it came to rom-coms in the 1990s, Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant were the cream of the crop. So, pairing them together feels like something that was bound to happen. The story follows William (Grant) after he meets Anna (Roberts), and while the two fall in love with each other, the challenges of fame get in their way. 

I think what makes this movie great is it takes the character types Roberts and Grant portray best and plays to their strengths to create a unique romantic comedy. Roberts plays the independent woman, as she has in almost all her other movies, she tells it like it is, and she is able to be both hilarious and extremely dramatic with the flip of a switch. Meanwhile, Grant brings his awkward, introverted and clumsy persona from movies like Four Weddings and a Funeral to Notting Hill. It’s a match made in rom-com heaven and a very good time. 

You can watch Notting Hill with a Peacock subscription.  

1. Pretty Woman 

Who is Julia? Vivian Ward, a prostitute. 

Who is her love interest? Edward Lewis, played by Richard Gere, a rich businessman

Year of Release: 1990

I feel like this one is obvious. Pretty Woman was game-changing. It showed Roberts in the role of Vivian, a prostitute who falls in love with the rich Edward, played by Richard Gere. The movie does not look down on Roberts or chastise her for being a prostitute. Instead, it depicts an independent woman trying to make money who happens to fall in love. Overall, it is a movie that was ahead of its time in 1990. 

Pretty Woman is so funny, yet heartfelt, and it is all grounded in Roberts’ nuanced performance. Her infectious laugh can be felt throughout the movie, and when she’s down on her luck, we are right there sympathizing with her. Along with her performance, Gere is also fantastic, and the duo's chemistry is off the charts. There’s a reason this movie is a classic, and it’s because of Julia Roberts. 

Pretty Woman is not currently streaming, but it can be rented. 

There you have it, that's Julia Roberts’ rom-coms ranked. Personally, I really look up to the actress and admire the characters she has taken on. Much like how she broke the glass ceiling with Erin Brokovich in terms of salaries and defended '90s rom-coms, I think she helped represent strong and independent women in film in a way that really hadn’t been seen until the 1990s. 

Now we get to see her back in this fun genre, with her snarky scene partner George Clooney (she even said a reason she did the movie was to be snarky with Clooney), and I couldn’t be more excited. You can watch Ticket to Paradise on October 21, and you can stream all of Roberts’ other rom-coms across various streaming platforms. 

Typically, the summer blockbuster season is where we see the biggest movies of the year, both in terms of scope and box office returns. But, the fun at your local movie house doesn’t have to come to an end at the conclusion of Labor Day weekend. In fact, some of the biggest 2022 movie releases happen to be scheduled to premiere throughout the fall. 

If you are the type that likes to plan out your theater trips months in advance (or simply want to know what you can expect to see on the silver screen as the temps start dropping), you’ve come to the right place, because we are about to break down a couple dozen of the biggest fall 2022 movies that are coming to a movie house near you (as well as various streaming services) as well as those that have already been released. There’s a lot to take in, so let’s get this show on the road…

Pinocchio (September 8, 2022)

One of two movies based on the classic fairy tale scheduled for release in 2022, Robert Zemeckis’ long in the works Pinocchio follows the lonely toymaker Geppetto (Tom Hanks) as he builds and raises the wooden figure (Benjamin Evan Ainsworth) like a real boy. The live-action/animation hybrid landed September 8 on Disney+. Cynthia Erivo, Luke Evans, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt also appear on the Pinocchio cast

The Woman King (September 16, 2022)

Gina Prince-Bythewood’s upcoming historical epic, The Woman King, centers on Nanisca (Viola Davis), a Dahomey Amazon general as she and a new recruit named Nawi (Thuso Mbedu) set out to defend their kingdom’s honor and get revenge on those who brought pain, suffering, and loss to their kind. The movie made its theatrical debut on September 16.

Don’t Worry Darling (September 23, 2022)

Olivia Wilde’s psychological thriller, Don’t Worry Darling, centers on young married couple Alice (Florence Pugh) and Jack Chambers (Harry Styles), as they move to a seemingly idyllic company town in the 1950s. As the inquisitive Alice begins to find out, however, looks can be deceiving. The controversial movie landed in theaters on September 23.

Blonde (September 28, 2022)

The long-awaited Marilyn Monroe biographical drama Blonde premiered September 28 on Netflix  and welcomed audiences into the Hollywood icon’s short and tortured life. Ana de Armas led the star-studded Blonde cast which also featured Bobby Cannavale, Adrien Brody, and others playing fictionalized versions of those closest to her.

Bros (September 30, 2022)

On September 30, the Billy Eichner-led romantic comedy Bros opened in theaters. Despite not bringing in a ton of cash at the box office, the movie was nearly universally loved by critics and audiences alike with respective Rotten Tomatoes scores of 89% and 91% upon release.

Hocus Pocus 2 (September 30, 2022)

Nearly 30 years after they were defeated and locked away once again, the Sanderson Sisters (Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy) are out on the loose again in Hocus Pocus 2. The sequel, which also features Doug Jones, Tony Hale, Sam Richardson, and Ted Lasso’s Hannah Waddingham, debuted September 30 on Disney+. Talk about a way to kick off the Halloween season.

Amsterdam (October 7, 2022)

David O. Russell’s Amsterdam was at one point one of the biggest mystery projects in Hollywood, with the only revealed details being about its incredibly stacked cast, which includes Margot Robbie, Christian Bale, John David Washington, Robert De Niro, Taylor Swift, and more than a dozen others. The period drama following three friends as they are accused of committing a murder in 1930s Europe opened theatrically on October 7.

Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile (October 7, 2022)

The classic children’s book, Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile, got the big screen treatment when Will Speck and Josh Gordon’s live-action/animated comedy opened October 7. The movie, which features Shawn Mendes in the titular role, follows the fun-loving reptile as he attempts to get residents in his New York City neighborhood to see him as more than a singing croc with a mouth full of sharp teeth. Javier Bardem, Constance Wu, Scoot McNairy, and Stranger Things star Brett Gelman round out the cast of what looks to be an incredibly fun and wholesome time.

Hellraiser (October 7, 2022)

Clive Barker’s Hellraiser films will forever go down as some of the best horror movies of all time, and so it should come as no surprise that they are being remade. On October 7, the new Hellraiser debuted on Hulu and immediately became a hit with critics like CinemaBlend’s Eric Eisenberg, who gave the movie 4 out of 5 stars in his review of David Bruckner’s supernatural horror flick. 

Tár (October 7, 2022)

On October 7, Todd Field’s drama film Tár opened in theaters and told the story of orchestra conductor Lydia Tár (Cate Blanchett), as she becomes the first female chief conductor of a major orchestra in Germany, per Deadline. This intriguing film also stars Nina Hoss, Noémie Merlant, Sophie Kauer, and Mark Strong.

All Quiet On The Western Front (October 14, 2022)

On October 14, audiences in select theaters across the country will be able to witness the brutality of Edward Berger’s adaptation of All Quiet on the Western Front, a harrowing military drama set in the height of the “War to End All Wars.” The WWI movie will find its streaming home later in the month when it premieres October 28 on Netflix.

Halloween Ends (October 14, 2022)

On October 14, Blumhouse released Halloween Ends, the third and final chapter of the production company’s saga set in the iconic horror franchise. Although the future of the franchise is a little unclear right now, Halloween Ends will surely give longtime fans of the property something to look forward to this Halloween season.

Till (October 14, 2022)

The story of the Emmett Till is one of the most tragic in the American Civil Rights Movement, and it came to the big screen with Chinonye Chukwu’s biographical drama Till. Focusing both on the Chicago teenager who was brutally murdered in Mississippi in 1955 and his grieving mother, Mamie Till Mobley, who held an open-casket funeral so the world could see what was done to her son, the movie opened in theaters October 14.

The Banshees Of Inisherin (October 21, 2022)

Martin McDonagh released his upcoming drama film, The Banshees of Inisherin, in theaters on October 21. The movie, which has a cast featuring Brendan Gleeson, Colin Farrell, Barry Keoghan, and Kerry Condon, will tell the story of two longtime buddies whose friendship begins to break apart, causing a whole bevy of issues for themselves and others on their remote Irish island. 

Black Adam (October 21, 2022)

On October 21, the world finally got to see Dwayne Johnson go from successful wrestler-turned-actor to a comic book hero when Black Adam opens in theaters. The highly-anticipated movie about one of the comic world’s toughest anti-heroes has been hyped up by longtime fans, Warner Bros., and even The Rock himself, who just couldn’t help himself in the lead-up to the debut of the film’s first trailer.

My Policeman (October 21, 2022)

On October 21, My Policeman saw Harry Styles play Tom Burgess, a Brighton police officer in the 1950s with a secret that could ruin his marriage, career, and standing in the community. The movie, which also stars The Crown Season 4 star Emma Corrin and David Dawson will make its streaming debut just weeks later on November 4 on Prime Video.

Ticket To Paradise (October 21, 2022)

George Clooney and Julia Roberts teamed up for the sixth time in Ol Parker’s upcoming romantic comedy, Ticket to Paradise, which will see the Ocean’s Eleven cast members play a divorced couple who attempt to stop their daughter from making the same mistake they made all those years ago. The dynamic duo got back together on the big screen (and maybe in the story) on October 21.

Armageddon Time (October 28, 2022)

James Gray’s period drama Armageddon Time will follow a young boy named Paul Graff (Michael Banks Repeta) as he is forced to face identity, race, and coming of age after being sent to a prestigious preparatory academy. The movie, which also features Anne Hathaway, Anthony Hopkins, Jessica Chastain, and Jeremy Strong, saw a limited release on October 28 before going nationwide on November 4.

Weird: The Al Yankovic Story (November 4, 2022)

Weird: The Al Yankovic Story premiered at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival in September, where it became an “instant midnight classic” according to CinemaBlend’s Mike Reyes. On November 4, the movie about the iconic polka-turned-parody master landed on the Roku streaming channel with Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe portraying Weird Al.

Bardo, False Chronicle Of A Handful Of Truths (November 4, 2022)

Alejandro González Iñárritu won back-to-back Academy Awards for his decorated movies Birdman and The Revenant, and after a seven-year break, the Mexican filmmaker will soon try for his third Best Director Oscar with Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths. The movie, which follows a journalist and filmmaker embarks on an existential journey, opened for a limited theatrical release on November 4 before landing on Netflix on December 16.

Enola Holmes 2 (November 4, 2022)

Those who have been waiting anxiously for the next chapter in Enola Holmes’ journey will wait no more when Enola Holmes 2 premiered on November 4. The 2022 Netflix movie saw the return of Millie Bobby Brown’s titular heroine and Henry Cavill’s Sherlock Holmes, as well as several new characters.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (November 11, 2022)

Although there has yet to be a trailer, pictures, or release of plot details about one of the most anticipated upcoming Marvel movies, comic book film fans around the world are beyond excited for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. With so many questions surrounding the movie, like who will take on the Black Panther moniker following the death of Chadwick Boseman, it is easy to see why so many couldn't wait for the film’s November 11 release.

Spirited (November 11, 2022) 

There have been countless remakes and reimaginings of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, but having another adaptation won’t hurt anyone. On November 11, Spirited, a modern musical version of the holiday classic starring Ryan Reynolds, Will Ferrell, and others will land in theaters. The movie will became available for anyone with an Apple TV+ subscription starting November 18.

Disenchanted (November 18, 2022)

In November 2007, moviegoers fell in love with Giselle (Amy Adams), Robert Philip (Patrick Dempsey), and the rest of the Enchanted cast with its hilarious and heartfelt take on the fairy tale genre. The long-awaited sequel, Disenchanted premiered November 18 on Disney+, and took audiences back to the magical land of Andalasia once again.

The Menu (November 18, 2022)

Ralph Fiennes has largely shied away from playing creepy characters since he last portrayed Lord Voldemort in the Harry Potter finale, but that will change with Mark Mylod’s upcoming dark comedy horror movie, The Menu. In the movie, Fiennes takes on the role of Chef Slowik, who specializes in a rather unique culinary experience that pushes boundaries for his wealthy guests. The unnerving movie, which also stars Anya Taylor-Joy and Nicholas Hoult, was first served up November 18.

She Said (November 18, 2022)

The Harvey Weinstein sexual abuse case was one of the biggest moments in the Me Too movement in 2017, and now the story of how the allegations surfaced and took down one of the biggest players in Hollywood is coming to the big screen. Directed by Mari Schrader, She Said will center on Jodi Kantor (Zoe Kazan) and Megan Twohey (Carey Mulligan) and how the New York Times reporters turned a story no one wanted to talk about into a story no one could not talk about. The film debuted November 18th.

Devotion (November 23, 2022)

J.D. Dillard’s action drama, Devotion, opened November 23, and tell the true story of American fighter pilots Jesse Brown (Jonathan Majors) and Tom Hudner (Glen Powell) whose actions during the Korean War helped turn them into two of the most highly decorated wingmen in U.S. military history.

The Fabelmans (November 23, 2022)

Steven Spielberg’s semi-autobiographical coming-of-age drama, The Fabelmans, debuted November 23 following a limited rollout in New York City and Los Angeles on November 11. The film will follow Sammy Fabelman (Gabriel LaBelle and Mateo Zoryna Francis-Deford), a young boy based on Spielberg, as he grows up in post World War II Arizona and dreams of becoming a filmmaker. 

Strange World (November 23, 2022)

On November 23, Walt Disney Animation Studios released Strange World, a science-fiction action spectacle starring Jake Gyllenhaal as Searcher Clade, an explorer who travels with his family to the far reaches of the galaxy where they uncover all sorts of fantastical and dangerous creatures and terrain. Trippy visuals, Jake Gyllenhaal, and a new Disney dog? What’s not to love?

Well, this should be more than enough to get you started on your fall moviegoing experience. Now all there is left to do is book a babysitter, buy your tickets, and take off to the world of cinema.

Ticket to Paradise is the new romantic comedy reuniting fan-favorite actors, Julia Roberts and George Clooney. The two stars have worked together several times and have developed a long-standing friendship over the years. Turns out this friendship has been extremely profitable, and the duo have contributed a heck of a lot to the film industry, to the tune of a whopping billion dollars. 

This weekend, Ticket to Paradise opened overseas, reeling in $60.6M to date (via Deadline). This box office number has also made Roberts and Clooney together a billion dollar industry. The box office numbers from all five productions these two mega movie stars have made together now total to $1.007B at the global box office. The most profitable film is currently 2001’s Ocean’s Eleven, which came in at $451.5M, followed by 2004’s Ocean’s Twelve ($364.3M), 2016’s Money Monster ($93.9M), and 2003’s Confessions of a Dangerous Mind ($36.9M). Ticket to Paradise is still yet to release in the United States, so their box office totals may skyrocket once that happens in the next few weeks. 

This film is also a milestone for both Clooney and Roberts, individually. This is Clooney’s biggest film internationally since his 2016 directorial feat, Monuments Men, and Robert’s biggest since 2017’s Wonder. Both actors have ventured out into television within the last few years, which -- met with a pandemic -- has led to middling box office numbers for the two iconic movie stars. However, Ticket to Paradise is still already a major accomplishment.

Ticket to Paradise should result in big American box office numbers as well, as it not only bolsters major movie stars, but also a crowd pleasing premise. Clooney and Roberts star as a divorced couple who travels to Bali for their daughter's wedding. The two don’t want their daughter to repeat their mistakes, so they team up to try to stop their daughter, played by Kaitlyn Denver, from getting married. Many are excited to see these two back an action, especially after Roberts stepped away from the romantic comedy genre for a long time. 

The film is a traditional rom-com, which was once a slam-dunk for box office numbers, as it usually guaranteed full audiences with many people going out to see their favorite stars fall in love. While the genre isn’t defunct, it doesn’t draw the same crowds as it used to. This was recently proven by the poor performance of Bros within the last few weeks. Many of these films live on streaming now, however the international numbers are certainly a good sign. Ticket to Paradise caters to older woman which is a traditionally underrepresented demographic at the box office, so this film could potentially draw in a new audience. Ticket to Paradise may just be what cinemas need to get movie theater goers laughing again. 

Ticket to Paradise is in theaters domestically on October 21st, and is sure to quickly become a rom-com staple. If you want to revisit another iconic Clooney/Roberts team-up, Ocean’s Twelve is currently streaming for Netflix subscribers, and Money Monster is streaming for free on The Roku Channel.  For more information regarding other films set for release this year, check out our 2022 movie release schedule. 

A few days ago we witnessed a rare occasion, Brad Pitt actually complimented his long-time pal George Clooney. Normally the two are always poking fun or throwing light-hearted shade at each other, so while there was a compliment Pitt also threw in just a hint of shade. Now, Clooney has responded in an A+ way to Pitt’s kind words, while he agreed with Pitt's compliment, he also noted that he does not 100% buy it. 

The two have a storied bromance. Ever since Ocean’s Eleven, the dynamic duo has been known for their shenanigans and pranks. Both actors are in the midst of promoting movies on the 2022 movie schedule, and their friendship has been coming up in interviews. Pitt was asked who the most handsome actor alive was, and while it came with an f-bomb, he did say it was George Clooney. Recently, Clooney was chatting with CBS Mornings, and when asked about Pitt’s comments he responded with: 

I wouldn’t expect anything else from Clooney. The snark is always real, especially with long-time costars. As he’s been on his press tour with Julia Roberts for their new movie Ticket to Paradise, the biting and simultaneously goofy comments have been flying left and right. Roberts, who also starred in Ocean’s with Pitt and Clooney, mentioned that she did the movie because it gave her a chance to be “really snarky to George.” 

The snark is for sure real on all sides, and I love it. All of this reminds me of the tomfoolery from the Ocean’s movies. For example, Clooney once pranked Brad Pitt and Don Cheadle by leaving them in a haunted house while filming Ocean’s Twelve. 

While the iconic heist movies, which are considered not only some of Clooney’s best movies but also some of Pitt’s best films, came out almost two decades ago, I’m so happy Pitt and Clooney are back on the screen in super fun movies. It seems like they’ve both been having a blast with their new projects this year. 

Pitt starred in the fun action comedy Bullet Train and popped up in the comedy The Lost City earlier this year. Meanwhile, Clooney has Ticket to Paradise coming out later this year. All these movies take me back to the Ocean’s days, but I just wish the two actors would work together again.

Oh, wait…they are! The two will be back together again in a new movie from Spider-Man: No Way Home director Jon Watts. Not much is known about the movie other than it will follow two “lone wolf fixers.” This all sounds kind of similar to the dynamic between Danny Ocean and Rusty Ryan, making it perfect for Clooney and Pitt.

While this movie is a ways away, luckily both actors have projects coming out this year to get excited about. Hopefully, these upcoming movies and interviews will mean more playful jabs at each other. On top of these silly responses, you can catch Clooney with his heist wife Roberts in Ticket to Paradise in theaters on October 21. As for Pitt, you can go back and watch The Lost City and Bullet Train, he will also appear in the Old Hollywood epic Babylon on December 25. So, I feel pretty confident more Clooney/Pitt shinanigans are on their way. 

Julia Roberts and George Clooney have managed to keep their friendship intact since first teaming up in Ocean’s Eleven. Of course, the two Hollywood stars have developed enough of a rapport with each other to trade witty banter on occasion. That’s why pairing up for the romantic comedy Ticket to Paradise made sense. With the movie premiering in a few weeks, Roberts gave an A+ response regarding why she decided to film the rom-com with Clooney.

The movie marked Roberts’ return to the genre after she stopped doing rom-coms for years. In fact, doing Ticket to Paradise led to her defending her and other stars' 1990s romantic comedies. Seeing the Ocean’s Eleven co-stars as a divorced couple may be what audiences need as critics are saying in Ticket to Paradise reviews, as playing a former couple suits the friends’ dynamic. Roberts was asked what prompted her to join the comedy film, and the rom-com staple cheekily responded by implying it was the chance to make fun of Clooney, saying to The AU Review:

It seemed like the Pretty Woman star reveled in the chance to talk smack to the two-time Oscar winner while collecting a check. Of course, she couldn’t pass up the opportunity to do so. It appears Clooney’s David is still in love with Roberts’ Georgia, according to the 54-year-old actress. So the friends’ witty banter will be on display for moviegoers to see.

One might think Clooney and Roberts knew each other before co-starring in numerous films, but that wasn’t the case, as these two didn’t formally meet until they began preparing for Ocean’s Eleven. In the same interview with The AU Review, Clooney spilled about how Steven Soderbergh fostered their decades-long friendship. In his words: 

Of course, The Tender Bar director must get a quip at Roberts’ expense. At least the Hollywood stars hit it off from the jump. It makes sense now why their friendly humor seems so natural. That’s why doing a rom-com together made sense after previously starring in the 2016 thriller Money Monster.

Unlike their chaotic harmony in the Ocean’s franchise, Ticket to Paradise will see George Clooney and Julia Roberts playing the divorced exes David and Georgia Cotton who come together to stop their daughter from marrying a man she just met. Humor and hijinks ensued as they try enacting their plan in the groom’s native country as shown in the Ticket to Paradise trailer. Moviegoers will get to see the Roberts-Clooney reunion when the rom-com premieres in theaters on October 21. After watching the onscreen duo, don’t forget to check out other upcoming movies arriving in 2022.

Reviews are pouring in for Ticket to Paradise, and hardcore fans of the romantic comedies likely know where all of the buzz is centered. We've seen a great number of brilliant pairings between A-list actors in the genre, but we somehow have gone this long without seeing George Clooney and Julia Roberts star in one together. Suffice it to say there are people invested in seeing how this one pans out, especially given Clooney doesn’t often appear in funny love stories. 

The good news is that it seems like most every critic is all-in on George Clooney and Julia Roberts (who also doesn’t do a ton of rom-coms anymore) in Ticket to Paradise – even if they aren’t all-in on the movie as a whole. News.com.au’s Wenlei Ma indicates that while the movie itself might feel a tad generic, Clooney and Roberts absolutely rectify that with their performances:

George Clooney and Julia Roberts often get praise when they share a screen together (the Ocean’s franchise is a great example), so it should be little surprise that Ticket To Paradise reviews about the film laud their performance. Indie Wire’s Ella Kemp is another who feels Roberts and Clooney shoulder the film well, and that’s thanks in part to the instincts of director Ol Parker: 

For all the praise given to Ol Parker and Ticket to Paradise for doing right by its main stars, the movie gets its lumps for ignoring some of the other talent involved. The Hollywood Reporter’s Leslie Felperin noted that many of the characters become an afterthought in the story thanks to the powerful A-listers leading it, including the super talented Kaitlyn Dever: 

Additionally, those going into Ticket to Paradise with the hope that this movie re-invents the wheel of the romantic comedy genre will likely be disappointed. Sarah Ward of Concrete Playground notes that George Clooney and Julia Roberts are certainly worth the price of admission, but there isn’t much beyond that brings something new to the genre or will excite an audience: 

To be fair, one could say what’s being said about Ticket to Paradise is what is about a lot of movies in the gemre. There are certainly a number that stand the test of time and stand out as real game-changing moments, but a good number of them are just fine and mainly an excuse to see lead actors paired. Audiences don’t typically put on a romantic comedy expecting some huge twist ending with cliffhangers and the like, so I think it’s fair to say an experienced veteran of the genre will know what they’re getting into watching this. Andrew Pierce of The Curb put it quite eloquently in his review, which noted that while it may not rank among the best romantic comedies, there’s nothing wrong with re-treading familiar territory: 

Ticket to Paradise is about two divorced parents, David and Georgia, who travel to Bali to meet with their daughter after she reveals she’s marrying a man she’s only known for a short time (you’ll gather that much from the trailer). In an attempt to prevent what they feel is a big mistake, they collaborate in an attempt to sabotage the romance, and prevent their daughter from jumping into a marriage they feel shouldn’t happen. 

Ticket To Paradise won’t arrive stateside until October 21, but those in Australia can already watch it and anyone in the U.K. will be able to enjoy it beginning September 20.  Keep tabs on its arrival, along with many others using our upcoming movies guide.

Having Julia Roberts and George Clooney star in a romantic comedy may have seemed like a no-brainer after seeing their palpable chemistry in the Ocean’s Eleven franchise. Now, moviegoers will get to see Roberts and Clooney reunite in Ticket to Paradise. Surprisingly, this film will be both stars' first rom-com in years. Of course, Roberts was the queen of the genre in the '90s, with hit after hit. At the time, critics and fans tended to look down on the genre. Playing such an instrumental role in the genre’s success, the Oscar winner chose to defend 1990s romantic comedies.

Julia Roberts was the face of romantic comedies in the 1990s with her resumé including Pretty Woman, My Best Friend’s Wedding, and Notting Hill. Looking back on the 1990s rom-com boom, Julia Roberts mentioned how under-appreciated the genre’s success and abundance while pointing out that these films were more effort than they appeared. She explained to The New York Times about why it’s so hard to keep romantic comedies unpredictable.

The genre vet would be the right person to explain the importance of rom-coms! As the Oscar winner mentioned, the light-heartedness of the genre can sometimes make critics and fans think there was no effort put into them. That might be why she stopped doing romantic comedies for years.

The factory-like precision of 1990s rom-coms didn’t help their case to fight this perception. Sticking to the formula while deviating from certain tropes was a tough balance that a few films did get right. Fortunately, Julia Roberts managed to escape relatively unscathed.

While romantic comedies weren’t always well-received by critics, moviegoers swarmed these films making them huge commercial hits. The period was a boom for the genre with Julia Roberts and other stars making them year after year. Roberts led hits like Runaway Bride and Something to Talk About throughout the decade. Along with Roberts’ output, the 1990s gave viewers rom-com classics, including Sleepless in Seattle, Four Weddings and a Funeral, As Good as It Gets, She’s All That, and The Wedding Singer. Even George Clooney did the cult classic One Fine Day during this prosperous period. Oftentimes, multiple films were released at the same time.

Ticket to Paradise marked the two Oscar winners’ first rom-com since Julia Roberts appeared in 2016’s Mother’s Day and George Clooney starred in 2003’s Intolerable Cruelty. They last appeared together in the 2016 crime thriller Money Monster. The film sees Robert and Clooney playing divorced parents who travel to Bali to stop their daughter from marrying a man she just met. It appears fans are in for a fun time with the two A-listers as seen in the trailer.

Ticket to Paradise will hit theaters on October 21, 2022. If you want to see what other romantic comedies are coming out, check out our 2022 movie schedule to keep tabs on any new films.

Anybody who is married to an actor like George Clooney is likely prepared for the fact that, at some point, their job is going to require them to kiss other people. It’s a strange job actors have. While I’m sure spouses and significant others don’t love their partners kissing others, it’s a thing they have to do for work. But I feel like George Clooney’s wife Amal is perhaps a bit justified in her reaction when she found out her husband had done a kissing scene with Julia Roberts 80 times in a new movie.

George Clooney and Julia Roberts will co-star in the upcoming film Ticket to Paradise where they play a divorced couple that joins forces to try and stop their daughter’s wedding. Since Ticket to Paradise is a rom-com, there is a kiss between the two leads, and the duo tell the New York Times the single kiss took them quite some time to get right. As they explained…

"ROBERTS: One kiss. And we did it for, like, six months.
CLOONEY: Yeah. I told my wife, ‘It took 80 takes.’ She was like, ‘What the hell?’
ROBERTS: It took 79 takes of us laughing and then the one take of us kissing.
CLOONEY: Well, we had to get it right."

It’s unclear why this single kiss scene apparently took so long, unless Julia Roberts isn’t exaggerating when she says that most of the takes were ruined by the two of them laughing. George Clooney and Julia Roberts have been friends for a long time, and made a few movies together, so it probably was a bit weird kissing each other, and that tension could have easily been broken by the two laughing over it all.

It’s not exactly surprising that somebody responded to learning that a kissing scene took 80 takes, assuming the pair are not exaggerating even a little, with “what the hell?” Honestly, that should be the response to any scene taking 80 takes. When you can’t get a shot after the first few takes normally the director would be trying to figure out what they need to do to make this work. I suppose when you’re dealing with George Clooney and Julia Roberts you probably don’t get too mad at your stars for screwing up take after take. Maybe that’s why it took six months. Eventually you just quit and come back later.  

You have to figure the question from George Clooney’s wife wasn’t figurative. She probably really did want to know exactly why the hell the scene took 80 takes. There had to be a story there. Even if the story was “we couldn’t stop laughing.”

Julia Roberts was considered one of the queens of romantic comedies. Her infectious personality would stand out in classics like Pretty Woman, Runaway Bride, My Best Friend’s Wedding, and Notting Hill. Next, we’ll see her back in her rom-com glory as she re-teams with George Clooney in the upcoming film Ticket to Paradise. But does Julia Roberts have faith in her new project? The Ocean’s Eleven actress shares a publicist comment after she jokes that her new movie with George Clooney could be “terrible.”

Julia Roberts and George Clooney have been a dynamic duo in five projects together including the Oceans movies, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, and Money Monster. In their sixth collaboration Ticket to Paradise, a divorced couple travels to Bali to stop their daughter’s abrupt marriage to prevent her from making the same mistake her parents made. The August: Osage County star spoke to Variety about the possibility that her new film could be “terrible.”

One may think it’s strange that Julia Roberts is already having potentially negative feelings towards a movie that hasn’t even come out yet. Maybe she feels that audiences could still be looking down on this film despite the talented leads that will be in it. The ‘90s rom-com actress once said that the reason she stopped doing romantic comedies for years was that she was waiting for a really good rom-com idea to come out. So, she’s clearly taking a chance with this film if she’s had her doubts in the past. This is also a rom-com first in years for George Clooney who felt like the script was funny and that Julia Roberts was what helped him decide to take part in this project. 

A lot of actors have been making comebacks towards the rom-com genre. Legally Blonde’s Reese Witherspoon will be returning to her rom-com roots for the Netflix film Your Place or Mine with Ashton Kutcher. Meg Ryan will also be returning to the rom-com genre after a decade with David Duchovny called What Happens Later. While these movies may not give these stars recognition during award season, we need something to make our hearts warm during these uncertain times we live in. 

The romantic comedy genre has been starting to resurface again in theaters like Jennifer Lopez’s Marry Me. While the reviews for Marry Me were very mixed, critics agreed that the chemistry between Jennifer Lopez and Owen Wilson made the film worth watching. Maybe the same can be said for Ticket to Paradise even if the film ends up not being considered a classic rom-com. All we can do is hope that this Roberts/Clooney duo can be enough to wow audiences on October 21st. 

George Clooney has been in the acting game for a long time, and has even directed stars like Ben Affleck. He’s worked with a lot of the biggest names in Hollywood, frequently appearing alongside the likes of Matt Damon and Brad Pitt. Now he's getting set to reunite with another one of his Ocean Eleven’s co-stars, as he is joining Julia Roberts in the upcoming Ticket to Paradise, which will be his first romantic comedy in a number of years.

In an interview with Deadline, George Clooney comments on what has turned him on to starring in another rom-com, a genre he hasn’t really explored since 1996 when he in was in One Fine Day opposite Michelle Pfeiffer. According to Clooney, Ticket to Paradise is “something special.” Said the actor/director,

Even though George Clooney is one handsome man, and had been considered one of the biggest Hollywood heartthrobs for decades, he isn’t a face you typically place at the head of a rom-com. More often than not he is doing more dramatic work, and even when he is doing comedy it's typically not of the romantic variety.

That doesn’t mean there hasn’t been romance in his films, though, and in the same interview, George Clooney recognizes his history of “snarky” on screen romances (which is presumably how he categorizes Joel and Ethan Coen's satirical Intolerable Cruelty with Catherine Zeta-Jones). Another big title that comes to mind is, of course, Clooney and Julia Roberts’ relationship in the Oceans Eleven series. Clooney recalls consulting Roberts on committing to Tickets of Paradise, saying,

It’s interesting that George Clooney is going back to the romantic comedy genre, especially now that he has turned 60. Clooney doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon, though. If anything, he is speeding things up in both his life and career. In addition to continuing to make films, such as last year's The Tender Bar, the star became a parent a few years ago when he and his wife Amal Clooney had twins. Clooney has been vigilant about shielding them from his fame as he continues to work steadily as an actor and filmmaker. 

It’s not surprising that George Clooney is teaming back up with Julia Roberts when breaking back into the rom-com genre, as the two have worked together number of times over the years – shared credits including not only the Oceans trilogy, but also Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (which Clooney directed) and Money Monster. The pair is pretty much always impressive on screen together, so fans should be in for quite the rom-com experience come October 21 when Ticket To Paradise hits theaters. 

Head over to our 2022 Movie Calendar to discover all of the films coming out in the next 11 months.

If you’re a fan of the soon-to-conclude Last Man Standing, then you’re well acquainted with Kaitlyn Dever, who’s starred as Eve Baxter for the entirety of the Fox series’ run, be it as part of the main cast or in a recurring capacity. But Dever has also assembled an impressive lineup of film work over the years, and now she’s landed a movie that will see her acting opposite George Clooney, who also left a memorable impression on TV during his ER days.

Kaitlyn Dever has boarded Ticket to Paradise, the romantic comedy that’s reuniting George Clooney with Julia Roberts, who have previously worked together on the first two Ocean’s movies and Money Monster. Deadline didn’t provide any details on who Dever is playing, but considering the movie’s premise follows exes who are on a mission to stop their lovestruck daughter from making the same mistake they did at her age, it’s easy enough to envision Dever playing said daughter.

The announcement of Kaitlyn Dever joining Ticket to Paradise comes several months before she’ll be seen in Dear Evan Hansen, the cinematic adaptation of the same-named musical where the actress plays Zoe Murphy opposite Ben Platt’s titular character. As far as Dever’s other film credits go, she’s arguably best well known for the Olivia Wilde-helmed coming-of-age comedy Booksmart, and she’s also shown up in Detroit, The Front Runner and Beautiful Boy. Dever also starred in the Netflix miniseries Unbelievable and will be seen later this year in the Hulu miniseries Dopesick.

Kaitlyn Dever is the fourth actor to board Ticket to Paradise, because in addition to George Clooney and Julia Roberts, it will also star American Horror Story’s Billie Lourd. Clooney most recently directed and starred in the Netflix movie The Midnight Sky, and he’s currently shooting a movie with Ben Affleck called The Tender Bar, where he’s repeatedly proven to be a class act. Roberts last appeared on camera in the movie Ben is Back and Season 1 of Amazon’s Homecoming, both of which came out in 2018. She’s also starring in the Starz miniseries Gaslit.

Behind the scenes, Ticket to Paradise snagged Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again’s Ol Parker to direct and co-write the script with Daniel Pipski. While a lot of romantic comedies have been streaming offerings in recent years, Ticket to Paradise hails from Universal Pictures, and the studio is adamant that it get a traditional theatrical release.

Ticket to Paradise is slotted for a September 30, 2022 release, and as of right now, it has that opening weekend to itself, sandwiched between Puss in Boots: The Last Wish and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse 2. While we wait for more news about the movie’s development, browse through our upcoming 2021 movies schedule to learn what arriving later this year.

20 years ago, George Clooney and Julia Roberts, both of whom were incredibly well known in Hollywood, collaborated for the first time on Ocean’s Eleven, with Clooney playing Danny Ocean, the leader of the titular group, and Roberts playing Tess Ocean, Danny’s ex-wife. The two would later work together on Ocean’s Twelve and Money Monster, and now their fourth collaboration has been announced. Romantic comedy fans, brace yourselves.

As reported by Deadline, George Clooney and Julia Roberts are re-teaming for Ticket to Paradise, which follows a divorced couple who head to Bali to stop their daughter from making the same mistake they think they made 25 years ago. Ol Parker, whose credits include the Exotic Marigold Hotel movies and Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, has been tapped to helm Ticket to Paradise, and he co-wrote the script with Daniel Pipski. Filming is set to begin later this year.

Now, if you’re into romantic comedies, you’ve probably noticed that in recent years, the genre hasn’t had as much of a presence in the traditional theatrical space, but has thrived in the streaming realm. Well, don’t expect Ticket to Paradise to end up on a service like Netflix or Hulu. Universal Pictures is handling the movie alongside Working Pictures, and the studio is reportedly adamant that this George Clooney/Julia Roberts reunion will play on the big screen.

Although the end of Ocean’s Eleven and Ocean’s Twelve saw Danny and Tess Ocean rekindling their relationship, the Ocean’s movies are heist stories first and foremost, so there wasn’t a lot of time to explore romance. Money Monster was a crime thriller that saw George Clooney’s character being taken hostage, so even if there were sparks between him and Julia Roberts’ character, there really wasn’t any way to delve into that. So after all these years, these popular actors finally get to fully explore what their chemistry is like in a romantic comedy setting. Granted, their characters are divorced at the start of Ticket to Paradise, but one wouldn’t be faulted for thinking that they’ll fall back in love as the story progresses.

It’s been a while since we last saw Julia Roberts on film and TV, with her last appearances being in Ben in Black and Season 1 of the Amazon series Homecoming, both of which came out in 2018. That said, Roberts did participate in the Fast Times at Ridgemont High virtual table read last year, and in addition to Ticket to Paradise, her other upcoming projects include White Bird, Little Bee, Leave the World Behind (where she’ll reunite with Denzel Washington) and the Starz series Gaslit.

As for George Clooney, he most recently directed and starred in the Netflix movie The Midnight Sky, which marked his first film appearance since Money Monster was released in 2016. He also directed 2017’s Suburbicon, as well as appeared in and executive produced Hulu’s Catch-22 miniseries. Along with Ticket to Paradise, it’s been reported that Clooney’s next directorial endeavor, The Tender Bar, might see him teaming up with fellow Batman actor Ben Affleck, although it’s unclear if Clooney would also appear in the movie.

Are you excited to see George Clooney and Julia Roberts star in a romantic comedy? Let us know in the poll below, and keep track of movies that are arriving later this year with our 2021 release schedule.

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