The Big Picture - The Ringer

Latest Episodes:

You Must See ‘You Can See Everything.’ Plus: Judd Apatow! Oct 16, 2026

Show notes

We’re not deceiving you: This is the movie of the year. Sean and Amanda open today’s show by reacting to the first trailer for Greta Gerwig’s much anticipated ‘Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew,’ discussing the news that Zendaya will star in Alex Garland’s next sci-fi film for A24, and also breaking down how the show will cover a handful of fall movie releases. Then, they dive incredibly deep into Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim’s three-hour documentary on Elizabeth Holmes, ‘You Can See Everything.’ They briefly discuss the film in a spoiler-free conversation and give it the utmost recommendation possible. Then, they go (as best of memory) beat-by-beat of the film and dissect all of its wonderfully captivating and fascinating twists and turns. Finally, legendary comedy filmmaker, showrunner, producer, and documentarian Judd Apatow joins the show to talk about his two new documentaries: ‘Paralyzed by Hope: The Maria Bamford Story,’ and ‘Norm: The Tale of Norm MacDonald.'

(0:00) Intro

(1:25) ‘Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew’ trailer reaction

(12:33) Zendaya to star in Alex Garland’s upcoming science-fiction film

(14:16) How we’re covering upcoming movies this fall

(18:34) ‘You Can See Everything’

(35:37) SPOILER WARNING

(1:50:25) Awards and box office chances

(1:57:49) Judd Apatow joins the show!

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

Guest: Judd Apatow

Producer: Jack Sanders

Production Support: Lucas Cavanagh

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The Ben Affleck Hall of Fame and ‘Animals.’ Plus: ‘Other Mommy’ Is Jump-Scary and Silly Oct 13, 2026

Show notes

Gather ‘round folks, a long-awaited episode has arrived. Sean and Amanda open the show by covering a lengthy amount of movie news, including ‘The Social Reckoning’ bombing at the box office, reacting to the new trailers released for ‘River’ and ‘Exorcist: Martyrs,’ and of course, some updates on ‘The Beatles.' Then, they discuss the new Blumhouse horror movie, ‘Other Mommy,’ starring Jessica Chastain, and have a spirited debate on whether or not it was ultimately successful. Later, they break down ‘Animals,’ the new Ben Affleck vehicle, and explore where this “spiritual” ‘High and Low’ sequel went horribly wrong. Finally, they talk about what makes Ben Affleck so special and construct his Hall of Fame.

(0:00) Intro

(0:51) ‘Miami Vice ‘85’

(3:12) Weekend box office

(13:59) Trailer reactions (‘River’ and ‘Exorcist: Martyrs’)

(17:25) Sadie Sink to star in ‘The Guest’ adaptation and Derek Cianfrance adapting Gary Paulsen’s 'Survival Book: Hatchet' for Netflix

(18:33) ‘The Beatles’ movies updates

(22:58) ‘Other Mommy’

(31:26) SPOILER WARNING

(40:58) ‘Animals’

(58:30) What makes Ben Affleck so special?

(1:06:10) The Ben Affleck Hall of Fame

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

Producer: Jack Sanders

Production Support: Lucas Cavanagh

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‘The Social Reckoning’ Is No ‘The Social Network,’ and the Top Five Most Unnecessary Legasequels. Plus: The Best Movies at NYFF! Oct 09, 2026

Show notes

Drop the “the.” Just “Big Picture.” It’s cleaner. Today on Big Picture, Sean and Amanda discuss the much anticipated (and also dreaded) legacy sequel ‘The Social Reckoning,’ written and directed by one of our main characters: Aaron Sorkin. Before diving in, they briefly react to the official merging of Warner Bros. and Paramount and hypothesize what the future of David Ellison’s Skydance will look like. Then, Sean shares his New York Film Festival recap and highlights the best movies he saw, many of which Amanda has also seen. Next, in theme with corporate power trillionaires, they cover Alex Gibney’s new documentary, ‘Musk,’ and break down what did and didn’t work for them. Finally, they unpack all of their feelings on ‘The Social Reckoning,’ explore why many of the performances didn’t jive with Sorkin’s style, and share their most unnecessary legasequels of all time.

(0:00) Intro

(1:22) Skydance movie news

(13:02) New York Film Festival recap

(44:33) ‘Musk’

(53:58) ‘The Social Reckoning’

(1:35:48) The most unnecessary legasequels

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

Producer: Jack Sanders

Production Support: Lucas Cavanagh

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‘Verity’ Is Trash. But Is It Good Trash? Plus: ‘Digger’ Flopped and Warner Bros. Is No More. Oct 06, 2026

Show notes

Another year, another Colleen Hoover adaptation. How lucky are we? Before diving into the biggest box office success from the weekend, Sean and Amanda react to the news that Mike DeLuca and Pam Abdy will not continue their roles at David Ellison’s Skydance. They look back at their biggest successes and failures, and wonder what the future of Skydance looks like. Then, they briefly discuss ‘Sicario 3’ being greenlit with all of the returning stars, but notably neither Denis Villeneuve or Stefano Sollima. Finally, they cover ‘Verity,’ an adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s erotic thriller, starring Anne Hathaway, Dakota Johnson, and Josh Hartnett. They break down why the original source material sets the movie up for failure, what they want from the erotic thriller genre going forward, and debate whether we have a “Dakota Johnson problem.”

(0:00) Intro

(0:50) ‘Digger’ bombs at the box office

(7:32) Mike DeLuca and Pam Abdy out at Warner Bros.-Paramount, and the future of Skydance

(38:04) ‘Sicario 3’ a go with Emily Blunt, Benicio Del Toro, and Josh Brolin to return

(41:09) ‘Verity’

(1:02:07) SPOILER WARNING

(1:23:31) Dakota Johnson temperature check

(1:29:24) The state of erotic thrillers vs. what we want

(1:32:46) Looking forward to the October slate

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

Producer: Jack Sanders

Production Support: Lucas Cavanagh and Remy Hernandez

This episode is sponsored by State Farm®️. A State Farm agent can help you choose the coverage you need. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.®️

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Is ‘Digger’ the Tom Cruise Movie We’ve Been Waiting For? Plus: Our Top 10 Tom Cruise Performances. Oct 02, 2026

Show notes

BANG! BANG! BANG! On today’s show, Sean and Amanda discuss one of their most anticipated movies of the year in Alejandro González Iñárritu’s ‘Digger,’ starring Tom Cruise. They unpack their very complicated feelings and make the case for why you need to see this incredibly divisive movie on the big screen. Later, they look at Iñárritu’s career at large and wonder: Why did Tom Cruise make this movie? Finally, they take an extensive look at where Cruise fits into the Best Actor race at this year’s Academy Awards, and share their 10 favorite performances from his fascinating career.

(0:00) Intro

(1:07) ‘Digger’

(13:05) SPOILER WARNING

(54:18) Iñárritu’s career at large

(59:21) Why did Tom Cruise make this movie?

(1:08:07) The Best Actor race

(1:23:05) The top 10 Tom Cruise performances

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

Producer: Jack Sanders

Production Support: Lucas Cavanagh

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The Baseball Movie Draft Sep 30, 2026

Show notes

Batter up! Sean and Amanda are joined by Chris Ryan and Mallory Rubin to draft some of their favorite movies focused on one of their biggest shared interests: baseball. They break down what makes baseball movies so special, explain the new (and somewhat controversial) categories, and, most importantly, draft.

(0:00) Intro

(1:19) Why baseball movies are the best sports movies

(17:27) The categories and draft order

(25:11) The Baseball Movie Draft

(1:29:47) Honorable mentions and draft recap

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

Guests: Chris Ryan and Mallory Rubin

Producer: Jack Sanders

Production Support: Lucas Cavanagh

Talk to a State Farm agent today to learn how you can choose to bundle and save with the Personal Price Plan®. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there®.

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Old Movies vs. New Movies: How ‘Avengers: Endgame Encore’ Beat Brad Pitt, Robert Pattinson, and an Awesome Weekend Movie Lineup Sep 28, 2026

Show notes

What does it mean when old movie rereleases make more money than ever at the box office? Sean and Amanda try to answer that question on today’s show by discussing ‘Avengers: Endgame Encore’ outperforming a slew of new releases this weekend, including ‘Heart of the Beast,’ ‘Forgotten Island,’ and ‘Primetime.’ Then, they cover a handful of other recent releases in ‘The Weight,’ ‘The Love Hypothesis,’ and ‘The History of Concrete.’ Finally, Sean is joined by acclaimed documentarian John Wilson to discuss his new film, ‘The History of Concrete,’ and why he finds the current state of the genre to be strange.

(0:00) Intro

(1:57) Jon Watts to direct new ‘Star Wars’ film

(7:13) Sabrina Carpenter, Margaret Qualley join Tom Holland's Fred Astaire biopic

(10:15) The weekend box office and the old vs. new wave

(18:28) ‘Avengers: Endgame Encore’

(34:51) ‘Heart of the Beast’

(50:38) ‘Forgotten Island’

(58:28) ‘Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother’

(1:05:10) ‘The Weight’

(1:13:07) ‘The Love Hypothesis’

(1:25:32) ‘The History of Concrete’

(1:30:45) John Wilson joins the show!

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

Guest: John Wilson

Producer: Jack Sanders

Production Support: Lucas Cavanagh

Talk to a State Farm agent today to learn how you can choose to bundle and save with the Personal Price Plan®. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there®.

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‘Primetime’ Is a Robert Pattinson Transformation and the Nightmare Media Movie of Our Time, With Lance Oppenheim! Sep 25, 2026

Show notes

Why don’t you take a seat and sit back, because on today’s show, Sean and Amanda discuss one of their most anticipated films of the year: ‘Primetime,’ starring Robert Pattinson. Before diving in, they briefly share their overall feelings with the Paramount-Warner Bros. merger looking likely to go through, and preview an exciting weekend at the movies. Then, they break down the new film from Lance Oppenheim and sing its praises by identifying it as one of the most exciting movies of the year. Finally, Oppenheim joins Sean to explore the difficulties of transitioning from documentary to narrative film, how he first discovered Chris Hansen as a kid and found him endlessly fascinating, and shares a handful of films that ultimately inspired Pattinson’s performance.

(0:00) Intro

(1:37) Paramount merger feelings and looking forward to an exciting weekend at the movies

(10:00) ‘Primetime’

(31:56) SPOILER WARNING

(53:11) Opening weekend cultural, critical, and box office expectations

(1:00:33) Amanda’s (very brief) ‘La Bola Negra’ thoughts

(1:03:00) Lance Oppenheim joins the show!

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

Guest: Lance Oppenheim

Producer: Jack Sanders

Production Support: Lucas Cavanagh

Talk to a State Farm agent today to learn how you can choose to bundle and save with the Personal Price Plan®. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there®.

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The Best Movies About Filmmakers, and ‘Boorman and the Devil’ Sep 23, 2026

Show notes

On today’s show, Sean is joined by Tracy Letts to cover a new documentary, ‘Boorman and the Devil,' which tells the fascinating tale of director John Boorman and his misbegotten ‘Exorcist’ sequel. They discuss the film at length as well as use it as a springboard to discuss what a director actually does on set, as well as share their favorite documentaries and scripted movies about filmmakers.

(0:00) ‘Halloween’ double feature in San Francisco!

(1:05) Intro

(2:10) ‘Boorman and the Devil’, why ‘The Exorcist II’ doesn’t work, and John Boorman’s legacy

(43:30) Demythologizing the director myth and the best documentaries about directors

(1:28:37) Scripted films about real directors

Host: Sean Fennessey

Guest: Tracy Letts

Producer: Jack Sanders

Production Support: Lucas Cavanagh

Talk to a State Farm agent today to learn how you can choose to bundle and save with the Personal Price Plan®. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there®.

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2026 Best Picture Power Rankings, and the Best Movies at TIFF. Plus: Zach Cregger on ‘Resident Evil’! Sep 22, 2026

Show notes

In today’s action-packed episode, Sean and Amanda react to ‘Resident Evil’ smashing its opening weekend box office expectations, Paramount settling lawsuits paving the way for the Warner Bros. merger to go through, and the new trailer released for ‘The Further Misadventures of Cliff Booth.’ Then, they bring in mean pod guy Adam Nayman to break down the good, the bad, and the strange from the Toronto International Film Festival. Next, Sean and Amanda construct their first Best Picture power rankings of the year and go over 31 possible contenders for the Oscars' biggest prize. Finally, Zach Cregger joins the show to have an in-depth (spoilers included) conversation about his new film, ‘Resident Evil,’ and explains why it was the hardest thing he’s ever made.

(0:00) Intro

(1:56) ‘Resident Evil’'s big box office success

(3:02) Paramount to settle lawsuits, paving the way for Warner Bros. deal to go through

(8:39) ‘The Further Misadventures of Cliff Booth’ trailer reaction

(10:57) Teaser for Jeremy Saulnier’s new film, ‘Slayground!’

(14:15) ‘NARNIA’ NEWS

(19:06) Best of TIFF with Adam Nayman!

(54:04) The first Best Picture power rankings

(1:23:42) Amanda’s thoughts on ‘Resident Evil’

(1:29:55) Zach Cregger joins the show!

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

Guests: Zach Cregger and Adam Nayman

Producer: Jack Sanders

Production Support: Lucas Cavanagh

Talk to a State Farm agent today to learn how you can choose to bundle and save with the Personal Price Plan®. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there®.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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